I call them little fuzzy ninja demons.

Before anyone gets their hackles up let me be perfectly upfront with you: I own cats. Over the years I’ve owned a total of 6 cats and I can’t tell you how much joy they’ve brought me. I have loved each and every one of them immensely. However, all that love and admiration doesn’t mean that I’m not allowed to get red faced and angry at them when they do the things that cats do: claw the hell out of your home and eat your plants.

Over the winter we had to bring in a number of the tropical plants that we had outdoors. Tropical plants tend to be big and green and leafy; normally used for decoration. Evidently, out in the wild, tropical plants are like the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday. These plants would constantly attract the cats who would jump in them and eat their leaves.  These once beautiful plants started looking like they were being gnawed at by giant, furry termites. They became mangled and the leaves were shredded. Our once beautiful tropical plants had turned into a kitty playground.

I’ve tried the spray bottle method of reprimanding them but that idea went out the window when my largest, most dim-witted dog managed to chew the spray bottle (I think the cats coerced him into it!). At this point it became a battle of wills. Who would prevail? The humans who wanted to keep the plants alive until the weather warmed up enough to bring the plants back out or the kittens who wanted to treat said plants like an all you can eat buffet? Ultimately, would we be able to outwit the cats?

Oh, it was on. The game was afoot!

The first tactic used to deter the cats from mauling the plants was to make it difficult for them to stand in the planters or the pots.  One solution that I read about consisted of using pine cones. The theory was that cats would not want to step on the pine cones because it was very uncomfortable on their dainty, delicate paws. I was able to round up enough pine cones to put on top of the soil of each of my plant pots and cover up any exposed dirt. For the first two days it worked! Now new destruction! And then, after that second day, I started noticing an increase in hole caused by chewing. I had no idea how the heck these cats were doing it! How the heck were my two 6 month old kittens destroying my plants? I imagined it was something like this:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Like Wile E. Coyote I went back to the drawing board.

While in the pet store the other day I ran across this nifty device: The Ssscat Trainer. SSSCAT Spray senses your cat within 1 meter then emits a startling, deterring spray. The spray is an odorless, non-staining gas, harmless to pets and people and you can get approximately 120 sprays per can. What better way to beat a cat than by using our vastly superior intellect? I was overjoyed!

Unfortunately, this got my head thinking that this thing would be an awesome, mechanical sentry guarding my poor, defenseless plants. In my pea sized brain I thought that I would finally have something like my very own Robocop or, at the very least, the automatic machine gun sentry from the movie ‘Aliens’

Click here to view the embedded video.

Instead I got something that behaved like it was automatically spraying them with deodorant.

This isn’t to stay that it doesn’t work. It works very much like the following video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The problem is that I am trying to use one to protect a large, leafy plant that sits on the floor. I put the Ssscat inside the pot behind the plant’s stalks and then I turned it on. As promised the spray went off. First, in my face because I didn’t know what I was doing when I turned it on. Next, it went off when one of my kittens got curious. BAM! Harmless spray startled the kitten and our plants lived to see another day. Until we ran into a small problem.

The plant sat on the floor and in a corner, armed and ready to battle two 9 month old kittens. Unfortunately, the sensor doesn’t discriminate. All three dogs at one point or another got shot in the face, the sides and the butt. Just walking past it would cause it to spray you in the legs. 120 shots in a can? Great! But at about $13 a can it would turn out to be a pretty steep price to pay to replace the can EVERY WEEK.

Which makes me feel like I’m in another Wile E. Coyote moment looking for some other way to deter my cats from treating our plants like a salad.

Fortunately, it looks like time is on my side as the weather finally looks to be getting warmer! Yes, my friends. This war with my cats turned into a battle to see who would last the longest. Luckily, it seems as though Mother Nature was on my side.

With that said, does anyone have any ideas how to keep cats from doing their evil, little cat deeds?

During this season of holiday cheer and generosity let’s not forget our pet’s care givers – those people who make sure that our kittens and pups are healthy, happy and well cared for.  It may be your vet, your dog trainer, the service who comes by and picks up dog poop, your pet groomer or (plug!) your pet sitter.  Any sign of appreciation is…uh…well…appreciated

A few years ago one of my furry family members passed away the day after Christmas. He had spent the previous 9 months in and out of the vet, the emergency vet and more. My family spent as much as we possibly could to save him as he was such a dear boy to us. Our last Christmas together he had given us the sign that he felt safe and secure – he rolled on his back like dogs are prone to do, all four legs up in the air, and he snoozed in the comfort of his home. He snored and rested with us, our other pets snuggling with him and me taking a nap next to his outstretch, half-shaven body. The next morning he was gone.

Every year since then I’ve made it a point to stop by the emergency vet on the day after Christmas. My boy had spent so much time there as they tried to figure out what was wrong with him and they cared for him. As a sign of thanks I bring them a simple offering of coffee and doughnuts. It probably doesn’t mean much but it makes me feel better letting them know that I thank them for all that they did for my family.

If you have the capacity you might even consider helping those animals less fortunate than yours. Groups like FOHA and Best Friends could always use assistance – be it money for their general funds, sponsoring an animal, or supplying them with the materials needed to care for dogs and cats. For example, FOHA’s Holiday Wish List is filled with items that they need which don’t really cost a lot but would go a long way towards helping animals in need.

As I go through my list of charities that I donate to and service providers who care for my dogs and cats I try to remember what it was like before my pets and I just can’t imagine it. I look at them, staring at me and asking me to feed them, and make sure that I give each of my pets extra hugs and kisses and wish that all the other animals out there – the sick, the old, the abandoned and abused – will also find a warm, loving forever home.
To be honest, I make sure that I give each of my pets extra hugs and kisses during this time of the year.

Five-year-old Becky amazed her owner when she went bounding into the sea and returned with a catch that would make most anglers jealous – a sizeable cod.

Tony Smith, 71, had been walking Becky at Minsmere Sluice, near Aldeburgh, Suffolk, when she swam out to sea.

The retired painter and decorator expected his pet to return to the shore with a bit of old driftwood.

What a catch: Becky, a five-year-old golden retriever, clutches the cod in her mouth after plucking it from the surf at Minsmere Sluice in Suffolk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2061699/Pictured-The-moment-golden-retriever-bounded-sea-returned-COD.html#ixzz1eIlR6faB

I find this especially funny because I took my dog, Farley, to the beach one time with my dad. My parents weren’t animal people and this was the first time that they’d ever spent extended time with a dog. They were having a grand old time. As we started walking along the beach to head back to our truck my dad did what you think you’re supposed to do with a dog at the beach: he picked up a piece of driftwood and threw it into the ocean. My dog, Farley, happily trotted into the waves and looked to find this piece of wood. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Sticking out of the waves crashing along the shore were the black and white hind legs of my Springer as he hopelessly searched on the sandy ocean floor for a piece of driftwood…which was floating behind him. His head would bob up and he would take a breath and then back under the water he’d go. I had to jump into the ocean and pull him out lest he spend the rest of the day looking for this piece of wood which mockingly floated just out of his reach.

No, my dog didn’t come back up with a cod. He came back to the shore barfing salt water. That’s when I came to appreciate that my Springer is neither a retriever nor a water dog.

Now, many of you may have also seen the following owl video

I was absolutely bowled over by this! This was the first time I’ve seen a live animal look EXACTLY like a Pixar cartoon! I loved it!

Now I want an owl

And now for some disclosure. I’m a member of the Reddit community and I subscribe to many pet related ‘sub-reddits’ (essentially user made and moderated categories/forums). One story that popped out at me back in April was about The Abandoned Dog. It is an ongoing story about Tiffany, a veterinary technician at Wags 2 Whiskers Veterinary Hospital in Montgomery, Texas, and how one fateful day she drove past a severely abused and abandoned dog along the side of the road.

Some dogs end up with the wrong people…and sometimes, those very same dogs end up in the right place at the right time. It was against my genetic build up, my moral code, to continue driving down Calvary Road and not turn around once I’d passed him. If he doesn’t pull through this, he will at least know that someone cared enough to turn around after all the other cars drove right by…

I absolutely could not leave him…absolutely not…even if he doesn’t make it over the hump, he will at least know that someone tried…even if they didn’t succeed. He’ll know that not all people are as horrible as the one’s who left him. Of course, I want him to pull through and find a happy family to live with until he’s an old, old man…but, if it’s not meant to be…then I want him to at least know that he won’t die alone anymore. No puppy deserves that.

I’m not going to lie – when I first read about Tad’s plight (the dog’s new name) I was moved to tears watching the videos and looking at the pictures. Reading about this poor dog’s state wrenched my heart. But trust me, it isn’t all bad. Take the time to go back to the very first post at http://the-abandoned-dog.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html and read forward. It’s a story of compassion, the love and the will to live.

And then prepare to hug your own pets when you’re done.

Dogs of the Working Group were bred to perform such jobs as guarding property, pulling sleds and performing water rescues. They have been invaluable assets to man throughout the ages. The Doberman Pinscher, Siberian Husky and Great Dane are included in this Group, to name just a few. Quick to learn, these intelligent, capable animals make solid companions. Their considerable dimensions and strength alone, however, make many working dogs unsuitable as pets for average families. And again, by virtue of their size alone, these dogs must be properly trained.
http://www.akc.org/breeds/working_group.cfm

I was in Key West last week and I happened upon a different type of dog who, for all intents and purposes, could be considered a working girl. Her name is Cleo and she is a Golden Retriever and sports a fancy pair of athletic shorts. She doesn’t really fit into the traditional Working Group but, as you’ll see in the video below, she really does know how to earn a buck.

Key West is an interesting place. While waiting to watch the Sunset Ceremony at Mallory Square we were treated to a bevy of entertainment acts. It just so happens that the eclectic fellow playing the fancy banjo and singing Hank Williams, Jr.’s “Family Tradition”, accompanied by his spoon playing companion with strategically ripped jeans, had decided to park his act right behind me. As he set up he produced a large white bucket that had a lot of dog treats in them, opened his banjo case and started playing.

The area about him was cordoned off with some large rope on the ground and Cleo remained, for the most part, within this area. However, when the banjo was strummed and the spoons were clanked it was evident that Cleo couldn’t play an instrument. I was also pretty sure that she couldn’t dance. Instead, Cleo had her own role. She was the ‘ringer’.

I know that I could train my dogs to do this and that, theoretically, they have the potential to learn how to do it. However, it strikes me as more likely that my oldest dog, Farley, would merely be disinterested and then lay down and ignore everything, my Golden Retriever would become so co-dependent that she would stand in front of only one person and continuously paw at them and look for attention and my Berner would just wander off with a goofy expression on his face, half-eaten dollars strewn about him.

The latest song by Swedish House Mafia kind of asks the question: Who’s going to save the world? It looks like their answer is going to save the world is…dogs.

So, a few observations about this video:

• It reminded me of the dog rallying scene in 101 Dalmations
• It’s a Golden Retreiver. Was it really trying to stop the mugger or was it greeting him? I have a golden so I’m entirely sure
• The Corgi and the Bull dog looked so serious!
• Does this seem like every dog’s fantasy? Kind of like what they dream of when you see them while they’re running in their sleep.

So, go hug your dog today. You never know, it might help stave off an alien invasion…

I’ve also come to realize that this appreciation of commercials comes at a price: your will power. For all intents and purposes commercials are created to influence you to buy a service or a product or possibly advocate for a cause. Advertisers and advertising firms are banking on the fact that you will take something away from their commercial and have it lodged in your brain much like a sesame seed between your teeth after a morning bagel. It could be a song, an idea, imagery or a feeling. I’ve come to accept that and I whole heartedly went along my merry way, watching commercials, seeking them out online and gloriously recalling things like ‘Where’s the beef?’, ‘Who’s afraid of the ‘Noid?’. Did you know that at Eastern Motors your job’s your credit?

And then I saw this commercial for Oscar Mayer’s Lunchables:

Sure, it seems cute and fairly innocuous. Cute little girl walks a dog. Then she has other dogs. This is fine. Personally, the most dog’s I’ll take on at one time is 4-5, but that’s only if they’re from one household and they have the right disposition to be walked in a pack. I’ve seen other walkers here in NoVA and in New York walk A LOT of dogs at one time. They were adults and seemed capable so the thought of a little girl taking a few dogs out for a stroll made me cock my head to the side like my Berner waiting for a treat. Again, we’re talking about the alternate reality of a television commercial so I let it slide.

What pretty much infuriated me was the ending: little girl taking a pack of dogs out for their midday walk and letting them pull her as she wears roller skates.

Let’s never mind the fact that I don’t think a girl that young should be walking that many large dogs at one time. Let’s focus on the fact that what she’s doing is absolutely reckless. I know, I know: it’s television. But how is she supposed to stop? What is she going to do if they all get excited and decide to chase something or if they become aggressive?

What owner would agree to let their dog walker do this?!

Before I get pummeled for being self-righteous let me just point out the fact that I, too, have experience walking a pack of hounds. As well as running into trouble with them. Bonus points for me, though, for not wearing my roller skates.

This commercial is targeted at parents and their children. We all know that children are highly impressionable. I just don’t want to walk out of my house one day seeing someone’s kid being dragged down the street by a pack of dogs.

Click on the thumbnail for a larger view.

Although it may seem as simple as putting a fresh coat of paint what Woofie’s has done has been considerably more intricate. The deployment of the new website is a sign that Woofie’s has changed its ISP (Internet service provider). This means we’ve had to migrate our web content AND our email accounts. For a company that relies on being in contact with it’s employees as well as remaining constantly available to it’s clients this was a an almost ulcer inducing leap of faith! In order to reduce the chances of losing any email we had to time the switch during off-peak usage and also build in cost-effective redundancies.

Trust me – there were A LOT of crossed fingers this weekend!

Please, look around and tell us what you think! But pardon our mess as there may still be a few minor technical glitches that we’re working through as a result of our move.