Recently, on the CBS Evening News broadcast, there was a feature about a homeless man who could no longer care for his pet dog as he wished. He dropped the dog off at a local fire station, which was a designated “no judgment” location for mothers needing to surrender a child. He left a note stating the dog was indeed his “baby” and asked the fire station to care for the bully-breed mix until he was in a better position to do so himself. Not only did the first station take in

One of my loyal readers, Rick, recently emailed me about village dogs. In all transparency and full disclosure, I had never heard of village dogs, so I did some research and found some fascinating facts about them. Here is some of the information I uncovered. When most people think about dogs, they picture familiar breeds such as Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, or Chihuahuas. Yet these popular breeds represent only a small portion of the wor

Fostering orphaned newborn kittens is incredibly rewarding, but the first few weeks require a significant commitment. The younger the kittens, the more intensive their care. When I was with Halifax Humane Society, we were often blessed with litters of orphaned kittens in need of foster care. Newborn kittens need to be bottle-fed every 2-3 hours from birth to 4 weeks, including overnight. If you were caring for a large litter, it seemed like as soon as the last kitten was done

Every summer, preventable tragedies serve as a reminder that vehicles can become deadly traps for pets in a matter of minutes As temperatures climb during the summer months, animal shelters, veterinarians, and law enforcement agencies begin repeating the same urgent message: Never leave a pet in a parked vehicle. Despite years of public awareness campaigns, countless animals continue to suffer from heat-related illnesses after being left inside cars. Many pet owners believe t

Once again, the holiday season is upon us. It’s that time of year when family and friends conjugate to make merry with food, wine, and song. And if you have pets in your home, you must educate your guests, especially children about what your dog or cat can consume. So, let’s go down the list. Chocolate, although a human favorite treat, can be deadly to dogs and cats. Dark chocolate and baker’s grade are more dangerous for dogs and cats than milk chocolate, but both are toxic.

Anytime you take your dog for a walk, it should be on a leash. A good friend of mine, Ralph, has a Golden Retriever therapy dog that he often takes to assisted living facilities. After a recent visit, he traveled back to his home on his motorcycle complete with a sidecar for his dog. The commute was less than a mile on a fairly busy street, but within that short distance, he had the unfortunate experience of hitting a small dog that was unleashed and ran into the street. The

It was a cold day in March, even for Chicago, but the sky was a bright blue, and the frigid winds embraced the city as it has done for hundreds of years. A brisk 18 degrees above zero was not the best day to be house hunting, but this family of five huddled into a luxury Mercedes sedan, braving the cold to find a much-needed new home. “Yes, that’s it up ahead. East Townline Road, route 60. Take that exit and go east toward Lake Forest,” said the adult woman sitting in t

Chicago, IL December 24th 5:45 p.m. As the late December winds whistled through the city, a chill in the air embraced the pedestrians cluttering the streets as the temperature hovered slightly below freezing. Light snow began to fall as the skyline of the city cast towering shadows over the pavement. The holiday ritual of last-minute shoppers as they scurried from store to store searching for the one final perfect gift they surely should have purchased weeks before

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column, and later a book titled “Why Do People Have Pets?” This column asks why do pets have-need people from the POV of the pet. Not surprisingly, pets have people for some of the same reasons people have pets. Companionship, love, friendship, and understanding come to mind. However, pets need people for reasons that are not in common, such as shelter, food, protection, water, medical needs and attention, maintenance for their body, etc. A pe

Every day for about the last two weeks, I have seen a momma duck and her ducklings walking in the subdivision where I live. Seeing the ducks reminded me of when I lived in South Dakota. (yes, I lived in South Dakota before relocating back to the Daytona Beach area) We lived on a 28-acre lake, and we would watch the geese and ducks come out with their babies. In almost every case, there were at least eight ducklings/goslings per adult couple and as many as 12-15 teams (duck fa

In 2018, a small and very neglected Staffordshire Terrier was brought to Halifax Humane Society by animal control. Malnourished and scared to death, the dog was bleeding from numerous bite marks all over his body. The smaller, more submissive dog was obviously used as a bait dog to train other more aggressive dogs for a dogfighting ring and was in dire distress. Another shelter might have elected to euthanize the animal, but our vet services team worked tirelessly to save the