PetHobbyist.com Site Blog

We've moved!

nospam@example.com (PetHobbyist) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:22 -0500

Hi, friends! PetHobbyist.com has a new name!

You'll find our team of bloggers -- along with great new features including the ability to create your OWN blog -- at our new location:

ConnectedByPets.com

You can log in with your PetHobbyist.com username and password.

See you there!

Pet food recall claims may soon be paid

nospam@example.com (Therese Kopiwoda) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:37:00 -0500

A court opinion issued today means pet owners may finally be paid for claims filed due to the 2007 pet food recall.

Four years after pet food contaminated by poisonous melamine killed and sickened tens of thousands of cats and dogs in North America, a court opinion issued today may open the door at last to payment of claims by owners of affected pets.

The opinion by Judge Noel Hillman in U.S. District Court in New Jersey was the last piece of court action required to put to rest appeals of a $24-million pet food settlement approved by Hillman in October 2008.

I am hopeful that we can begin processing claims shortly, said Lisa Rodriguez, liaison counsel for the multiple class-action suits covered by the settlement.

According to court documents, 24,344 claims were submitted by the Nov. 24, 2008, deadline. Of those, 20,550 have been deemed payable. The average claim is about $1,283. Allowed expenses included medical attention, lost wages, property damage and the price of replacement pets. The settlement covers claims by owners in the United States and Canada.

Read more from the Veterinary Information Network.

Another oil spill threatens birds

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:00:22 -0500

The Audubon Society blog describes the bad news from the South Atlantic Ocean. A ship ran aground, endangering thousands of penguins that live in the area:

Wildlife rescuers are in a race against time to save up to 20,000 endangered rockhopper penguins doused in oil after a shipwreck off a South Atlantic archipelago last week. A cargo ship, the MV Oliva, ran aground on March 16. Its crew was rescued, but the accident left thousands of the distinctive birds, with their punk-rocker hairdos, coated in crude.

To read the remainder of the article and watch a video, click here.

Featured Pet Photo: Firefighter Bird to the Rescue!

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:01:54 -0600

Be sure to tell mamajodi you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Featured Pet Photo: New Friends!

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:36:56 -0600

Be sure to tell smheimburg you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Chat Month 2011: The hoarding myth, rehabbing pit bulls, reptile smuggling

nospam@example.com (Christie Keith) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:08:04 -0600

From the frontlines of America's no-kill movement with one of its most controversial leaders, to the jungles and hideouts of the world of reptile smugglers, to the redemption story of the decade -- no, not the one about Michael Vick; the one about his dogs.

That's just the first weekend of our Thirteenth Annual Chat Month, when we'll be joined by:

Redemption" author and No-Kill Advocacy Center director Nathan Winograd; more information here. (Friday, March 4, at 9:30 PM Eastern in The Auditorium)

Jennie Erin Smith, talking about her controversial new book, "Stolen World: A Tale of Reptiles, Smugglers, and Skulduggery"; more information here. (Saturday, March 5, at 5 PM Eastern in the kingsnake.com Chat Room)

A panel featuring pit bull rescuers and advocates who have rehabilitated and adopted former fighting pit bulls, including two of the Michael Vick dogs, Hector and Leo; more information here. (Sunday, March 6, at 8:00 PM Eastern in The Auditorium)

Discussing Amazon Tree Boas with Kathy Love and Mike Heinrich (Sunday, March 6, at 10 PM Eastern in the kingsnake.com Chat Room)

That's not all. Guests later in the month include the forces behind the "Austin Miracle," Dr. Ellen Jefferson and Ryan Clinton; Dr. Robin Downing, one of a handful of veterinarians to hold the Diplomate credential in the American Academy of Pain Management; Joe Pittman of the Florida Snakebite Institute; an expert on the impact to wildlife of the Gulf Oil Spill; veterinary critical care specialist Dr. Tony Johnson of Purdue University, talking about how to get out of the emergency clinic with your pet and your wallet intact; Animal Wise Network's Mike Fry; Maddie's Fund president Rich Avanzino; "Do Border Collies Dream of Sheep?" author Carol Lea Benjamin; and Tom Crutchfield, one of the reformed smugglers featured in "Stolen World." More guests are being added and confirmed every day!

This year, like last, we'll be bringing you our guests in live streaming audio, with a text-based chat room running simultaneously so you can ask questions and discuss the interview with other listeners.

New this year, we'll be streaming over the Animal Wise Network, a popular, successful 24/7 channel featuring original content and interviews about animals and animal issues.

Learn more about how to listen and participate here.

To keep up with additions to our guest list and any schedule changes, as well as to view links to archived chats if you're not able to listen live, watch this feed and follow us on Facebook or Twitter!

And if you're wondering about that logo in the upper right hand corner of this post, it's true; PetHobbyist.com is getting a name change! Please join us at the beta site for ConnectedByPets.com, and help us get up and running!

Top 25 endangered turtle species, some just a handful survive

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:33:03 -0600

From Science Daily:

Decimated by illegal hunting for both food and the pet trade along with habitat loss, many turtle species will go extinct in the next decade unless drastic conservation measures are taken, according to the report, which was released at a regional workshop hosted by Wildlife Reserves Singapore and WCS. Seventeen of the 25 species are found in Asia, three are from South America, three from Africa, one from Australia, and one from Central America and Mexico

....

"Turtles are being unsustainably hunted throughout Asia," said co-author Brian D. Horne of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "Every tortoise and turtle species in Asia is being impacted in some manner by the international trade in turtles and turtle products. In just one market in Dhaka, Bangladesh we saw close to 100,000 turtles being butchered for consumption during a religious holiday, and we know of at least three other such markets within the city."
Liz Bennett, Vice President of WCS Species Program, said: "Turtles are wonderfully adapted to defend themselves against predators by hiding in their shells, but this defense mechanism doesn't work against organized, large-scale human hunting efforts. The fact is that turtles are being vacuumed up from every nook and cranny in Asia and beyond."

While pet trade is often blamed, as this article shows, there are far more factors more damaging to native reptile populations.

Featured Pet Photo: And then what did she say?

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 10:18:38 -0600

Be sure to tell wizbang you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Featured Pet Photo: Hi! my name is Lacey. What's yours?

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:11:21 -0600

Be sure to tell pommie you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Featured Pet Photo: Oh! Hello kitty...

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:41:21 -0600

Be sure to tell Skaket you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Featured Pet Photo: Wow it's raining cats and dogs!

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:23:51 -0600

Be sure to tell PHFasDog you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

New bird species discovered

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:45:37 -0600

Scientists have found a new bird in Madagascar. Audubon Magazines blog emphasizes the importance of this discovery:

In western Madagascar, scientists surveying the areas flora and fauna found a new bird: a forest-dwelling rail. Its size, plumage, and genetics differentiate it from its eastern cousin, making it unique to the Beanka Forest, an isolated and largely intact part of the countrys remaining western dry forests.

This bird theyve known about for decades, but no one has been able to go find it and get a specimen of it. Its not a common thing at all, and its really hard to find, said researcher Nick Block, a graduate student at the University of Chicago who is based at the citys Field Museum.

Article continues here.

Featured Pet Photo: Where did Mom go!

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:01:24 -0600

Be sure to tell crittercountry you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Is your dog ready for International Dog Cookie Day?

nospam@example.com (Cindy Steinle) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:09:00 -0600

It's a holiday made for the dogs. Wednesday, February 23, is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, and let me tell you, each "cookie" mine get, they do appreciate!

Here is an easy recipe from the Pit Bull Rescue Central blog today:

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use another type of flour if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
1 1/4 cups hot water
Additional flour for rolling

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F
Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix in the peanut butter and hot water. You may need to add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Knead the dough well.
Roll out the dough into 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes with dog cookie cutters.
Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them cool overnight.
After cooling, the cookies get very hard, just the way dogs like them!

They are good at room temp for a week, but can be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

Of course, you can go the easy route like me and stop at your local doggie bakery.

So, do you have a great recipe? We'd love to see it!

And check out a dog celebrating this holiday under the jump!

Continue reading "Is your dog ready for International Dog Cookie Day?"

Cranes leave for Louisiana

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:55:20 -0600

In the hope of restoring the wild population of whooping cranes, wildlife officials plan to release young cranes in Louisiana. The Baltimore Sun tells their story:

Ten young whooping cranes raised in Maryland are taking to the air today, as federal wildlife biologists and technicians who've tended them since they were chicks release them in Louisiana to join the annual winged migration of their fragile species.

The gangly birds were reared at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, as seen in the photo above. Their "parents" were human caretakers wearing white crane-like costumes, who exercised them, took them for walks and swims and fed them as chicks using a bird puppet.

To read the remainder of the article, click here.