Seriously. Our home is dog-hair central, and we gave up being anal about it years ago or we’d surely be in the Chock Full o’ Nuts hotel by now. If we combined the shed hair on the floors, furniture and in the car with the hair we amass when we brush them, we could easily fill the Pentagon—annually.

Okay. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s sometimes how it appears to us. I’d need a vacuum with a canister the size of a beer barrel to get up all the dog hair in one shot. But, just like you, the love we have for our fur kids far outweighs the dog-hair hardship we endure.

That said, there actually is something we can do with dog hair. It probably won’t make us rich quick (or at any other rate of speed, for that matter), but this idea does give new meaning to “puttin’ on the dog.” Here’s a book entitled Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater from a Dog You Know and Love Than a Sheep You’ll Never Meet by Kendall Crolius and Anne Montgomery. The authors tell you:

• How to make an afghan, beret and other knit items
• How to collect, clean and store your pooch’s fur
• How to modify your patterns to accommodate pet-spun yarn
• How to find experienced pet-hair spinners—a guide to resources and suppliers

How about some dog-hair designs and a video to inspire us? I should be able to open a department store by the end of the year…

A bond beyond borders

It’s not uncommon for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to befriend local animals as a way to help cope with the emotional hardships they endure every day while deployed in a war zone–the anger, loss and anxiety that come with the “job.”  These amazing animals are there for our soldiers, and now it’s time to for us to be there for them.

When a soldier comes home, it’s difficult and sometimes impossible for that pet to join them in the States, and they are often forced to deny their friend.  It’s hard, because leaving that dog or cat is almost like leaving another soldier behind.  However, the complicated process of bringing a pet from Baghdad and providing veterinary care while overseas can be simplified with your support.

How You Can Help — Veterans Day Challenge 2010

This Veterans Day, Thursday November 11th, help bring these little “soldiers” home and reunite them with the men and women whom they have served overseas.  Join the SPCA International in their “Operation Baghdad Pups” initiative so that No Buddy Gets Left Behind.  The Operation Baghdad Pups program provides veterinary care and coordinates complicated logistics and transportation requirements in order to reunite these beloved dogs and cats with their service men and women back in the U.S.  These important animals not only help our heroes in the war zone, but they also help them readjust to life back home after combat.

Visit the SPCA website at http://www.spcai.org/baghdad-pups.html to find out more and make a donation.  It’s a wonderful way to celebrate Veterans Day!

“Walk & Wag”  takes place every year near Halloween to help raise money for the organization, as well as for other pet rescue groups. I was there staffing the table for German Shepherd Dog Rescue of Georgia, and I ran into my dear friend, phenomenal pet photographer Pat Thomas of PhotoPhetish. Pat was there, as she always is, to support the organization, take candid shots and hang out with a park full of dogs and their people. (Pat’s as dog-obsessed as I am!) Events include a pet parade, a talent contest and a Halloween costume contest.  I thought you’d like to see some photos of the fur kids we were surrounded by on that beautiful, sunny, autumn day!

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Who cares? It’s still a robot, so any response to my emotions would be totally artificial. No, thanks.

When it comes to dogs and cats, there’s nothing like the genuine affection you feel when your pet curls up on the sofa next to you and looks at you with complete trust and love. Do you really think you’re going to get that same heartwarming connection from a bucket of bolts with fur?

Researcher Wei-Po Lee says, “With current technologies in computing and electronics and knowledge in ethology. neuroscience and cognition, it is now possible to create embodied prototypes of artificial living toys acting in the physical world.” For me, the operative word is acting.

I don’t want a pet who “acts” like he or she loves me anymore than I want my husband “acting” like he loves me. I’m human, and I can tell the difference.

While I understand that animatronic pets may be answer for people who live in places that don’t allow real pets or are allergic to pet fur and dander, I can’t help but wonder what’s next–substitute humans for people who can’t get along with anybody? Facebook, Twitter and all the other social networking sites have already begun to replace actual human contact with virtual contact, so we all have hundreds of “friends” who wouldn’t know us if we sat next to them on a bus. We’re actually changing the very definition of friends. So someday down the road, when I can buy robotic friends who are programmed to my wants and needs, why would I need the real thing? True, meaningful friendships will become obsolete.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m dazzled by human progress and advances in technology, but–like superior weapons of mass destruction–not all advancements serve humanity in a positive way. When my pooches cuddle up next to me and lick my face, I’d rather feel the love than some cold piece of metal scraping my cheek.

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For decades, I’ve dreamed of doing this exact same thing for dogs. I have nothing against cats, of course. Some of my best friends have cats. I just have this thing for dogs. I truly believe I’m a dog in another existence, because I feel so connected to them. And frankly, I wouldn’t want to live in a world without dogs–the ONLY animals who love and protect their owners.

All I need is about $3M and a nice, big piece of land in the North Georgia mountains. If you can help me out, just let me know! When it’s up and running, you can visit my puppy paradise any ‘ol time you want…

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(CBS) A Michigan man says he has his dog to thank for saving his life by chewing off his infected big toe as he lay in a drunken stupor.

For months, Jerry Douthett had refused to see a doctor for the festering digit, in spite of his wife’s pleas and her suspicion that he had out of control diabetes.

About two weeks ago the couple went to a bar, where Douthett told the Grand Rapids Press that he drank four or five beers.

“Jerry had had all these Margaritas, so I just let him sleep,” his wife Rosee, a registered nurse, told the paper. “But then I heard these screams coming from the bedroom, and he was yelling, ‘My toe’s gone, my toe’s gone!’”

Kiko, the family dog, had suddenly become a surgeon.

“It wasn’t an aggressive attack. He pretty much just ate the infection, so he saved my life,” Jerry Douthett said.

He was treated at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids where physicians said he had type 2 diabetes and was suffering from a dangerous toe infection. Surgeons amputated what was left of the digit.

“Maybe he thought it was not part of Jerry’s body,” Rosie told the Grand Rapids television station WOOD-TV, “that it was a dead animal laying on the bed. But he chewed off the infected part so he knew when to stop, which was great.”

Jerry Douthett says Kiko, a white terrier with brown ears, is a hero. Now that he knows he is diabetic, he has given up drinking.

Why 40? Because Dog Fancy magazine is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Congratulations, Dog Fancy! And congratulations to all the winners. (I’m betting my city is somewhere in that top 40. I love where I live!)

What Makes These Cities the Best?

The criteria used to select the winning city include lots of dog-friendly open spaces and dog parks, events celebrating dogs and their people, sufficient veterinary care, plenty of pet supply and other services, and municipal laws that support and protect all pets.

The next nine cities in the top ten are:

* Carmel, Calif.
* Madison, Wis.
* Benicia, Calif.
* Fort Bragg, Calif.
* Lincoln City, Ore.
* San Diego, Calif.
* Virginia Beach, Va.
* Sioux Falls, S.D.
* Salem, Ore.

I think every city in America should do whatever it takes to win this competition next year!

That’s because the US Postal Service just launched their Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet commemorative postage stamps as part of their Stamps to the Rescue promotional campaign.

Animal advocate Ellen DeGeneres announced the program on her show April 30, when the stamps went on sale nationwide. The loving pets you see in on the stamps are actual shelter pets photographed by veteran stamp photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce. She chose five cats and five dogs, and I’m happy to announce all ten animals were adopted from a shelter in New Milford, CT.

Postmaster General John E. Potter said, “This campaign will increase public awareness about sheltered pets, and our hope is that it will encourage pet adoption and promote humane and responsible pet care.”

Amen. Every year 6 to 8 million cats and dogs end up in animal shelters and, of that number, nearly half are euthanized. If everyone who wants a furry, four-legged companion chooses to adopt a shelter pet and spays/neuters their pet, we’d move toward eliminating not only a horrible end for these poor, sweet, defenseless animals, but we’d also help put unconscionable puppy mills out of business.

You can order the stamps from the postal service at StampsToTheRescue.com or by calling 1-800-STAMP24 (1-800-782-6724.) If you’re like me, you believe there’s nothing as wonderful as a beloved pet licking your face. Well, here’s your chance to lick back–and give another sweet pet the chance to love and be loved.

Thank you, US Postal Service, for caring so much, and thanks to every one of you who adopts your pets from shelters and animal rescue organizations. We have two incredibly loving rescued pets at home, and we simply can’t imagine life without them.