Too sad; don't read

Washington Post article on the "growing at-home pet euthanasia movement that is beginning to relocate one of pet ownership’s most painful rituals, the final, one-way trip to the vet’s office."

The Economist:

Pet care is booming in emerging markets, as the growing middle class stops buying dogs for security (or dinner) and starts doting on them. Nowhere has the fashion taken off as quickly as in Latin America.

PHOTO: Economist

Pee-waves: Animals and Earthquakes

Ran across an impressive and amusing article in the Washington City Paper tackling the enduring question of animals' and pets' supposed quake-sniffing abilities. Cecil Adams writes that researchers have posited all manner of earthquake-attendant phenomena that might relate to the strange behavior of animals right before a quake - but that also there appears to be no evidence of said "strange behavior."

First Dog not to be the last of Obama administration controversies

Already, President-elect Barack Obama is making controversial decisions about his administration. Along with Rahm Emanuel, the new president will be bringing a puppy to the White House, a promise he made to his daughters at the outset of his campaign.

"You have earned the puppy that is coming with us," he told Malia and Sasha. Malia, whose allergies must be taken into account, asked for a "goldendoodle," some kind of hypo-allergenic poodle hybrid. But according to an American Kennel Club survey, the People would like to see a purebred poodle - America's eighth most popular dog - in the Obama White House.

Very likely the First Family will adopt. An unscientific Chicago Tribune poll showed a vast majority of readers prefer an unspecified shelter dog to any particular breed. PETA even wrote the Obamas a letter in July, stating, "Millions of Great American Mutts...are set to die in our nation's extremely overcrowded pounds and shelters for lack of good homes. When you are ready, please adopt a homeless pound puppy..."

The only administrations with no record of having a pet, according to the Presidential Pets Museum, are those of unknowns James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and Chester Arthur.

The Obama camp may have felt pressure this summer when an AP-Yahoo News poll showed McCain leading 42 percent to 37 percent among pet owners, while 63 percent of homes have a pet, according to an American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimate. People without pets, a minority, favored Obama 48 percent to 34 percent.

John McCain has as many pets as he does houses, maybe, including two dogs, two turtles, a cat, a ferret, three parakeets, and "a bunch" of saltwater fish. "You usually connect with things you're familiar with," American Kennel Club spokeswoman Christina Duffney said to explain the poll results. Interestingly, pet ownership had no effect on Nader, who got 3% in both categories, as well as several others.

But most importantly, while the new president worries over the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and failing wars abroad, Chicago Tribune resident idiot John Kass asks:

"Who's gonna clean up the doo?"

AP-Yahoo News poll

"Presidential Pets"

Economic downturn sinks to new lows

As the sinking economy drives more people out of their homes, non-human household members are suffering as well, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Some shelters are seeing an increase in animals received due to their owners' displacement. The owners either turn in their pets, or, more worryingly, leave them in the abandoned house or set them loose.

Also, shelters are receiving dogs, cats, and even horses, that owners can simply no longer afford to take care of. "We've had a lot of children in tears," said one shelter employee.

This trend, which can be expected to sharpen as the economic downturn drags more people into hardship, is especially painful coupled with another trend that sees pets taking an increasingly explicit role as members of the household. The pet industry is expanding substantially along with demand for luxury pet products, and traditional pet names are being replaced with popular human names.

"It's a reflection of the position that pets hold in a household," anthropologist Mary Thurston told USA Today. "They are integral members of the family, just like a child."

Moreover, pets may assuage feelings of loneliness in addition to boosting well-being.

Anthropomorphizing "pets, gadgets, or gods," can help people cope with loneliness and alienation. The presence even of a robotic dog can help lonely nursing home residents. Perhaps more concretely, the British Medical Journal published research in 2005 suggesting that "pet ownership is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, lower use of family doctor services, and a reduced risk of asthma and allergies in young children."


"It's an interesting contrast that, in a country where there's still child neglect and child abuse, people are spending so much time and effort on dogs," said psychologist and author Eleanora Woloy.

"It speaks to so many people's needs that they want a warm, comforting presence and companion."

"Pets Pampered with People Products" (LiveScience)

With an alluringly alliterative title, Maryann Mott's article for LiveScience.com is a nice follow-up to my own pet industry post on this blog a little bit ago.

Check it out.

Pic: from New York School of Dog Grooming

Get up to get down: Pet products fetch a pretty penny

Although it topped the New Zealand record charts at Christmas, listeners gave "A Very Silent Night" "mixed reviews" when it was played on the radio. Some would "just lie down and did nothing," Bob Kerridge told Reuters, while one "physically attacked the radio when it was played and went quite berserk and totally destroyed it."

Kerridge is the chief executive of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the song is off of a CD recorded at frequencies only audible to dogs and sold in New Zealand to raise money for the organization. It contains an instrumental as well as a vocal version of "Silent Night", and sold for $3.93 a copy, raising around $17,300 from sales.

"Never having heard it myself," Kerridge admitted, "I don't know what they'll hear and of course I don't know how dogs hear music."

Well, 70 percent of dogs in kennels and 85 percent in households have experienced reduced stress after listening to what researchers call "doggie classical", a stripped-down interpretation of classical tunes to be released on compact disc March 1 along with a book entitled Through a Dog's Ear.

Dogs apparently did not enjoy the likes of Britney Spears or Metallica as much as Bach, Schubert, and Chopin.

And songs and CD's for dogs isn't the least of what has become a booming industry, according to figures reported February 26 by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. The figures show pet owners spending an estimated $41 billion last year on their furry (or scaly) companions, almost double the expenditure in 1996, and expected to grow this year. About 63 percent of households are estimated to have pets, usually dogs, cats, or fish.

In the words of APPMA President Bob Vetere, "Pet owners and the companies providing pet products and services show no sign of letting up."

What's next? Food for dogs? Houses for dogs??



Special thanks to Meredith K.

Dog yawning photo: Inside Bay Area