The Ohio.com Pets Site

Gary Bell walks his dog Eduardo during the cold winter weather in Akron, N.Y., in January. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

Opinions are like — oh, let’s say noses — everybody’s got one, especially when it comes to pets.

So when I hear someone expound on a topic relating to dogs or cats, I prefer to put my money on the experts, those people who make animal care their life’s work. Folks who spend 12 years of their lives in the study of their field while attending veterinary school.

For example, take the question of how often you should bathe your dog.

How many of you believe that bathing Fido regularly is bad for him?

If you do, you couldn’t be more wrong. [click to continue…]

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Michael Antoniotti strapped his Jack Russell terrier's cage to a wagon and took him for a walk following leg surgery. Dodger was confined to a cage for six weeks after having his cruciate ligament repaired. Antoniotti said he did it because he didn't want the dog to get bored. A neighbor snapped the photo proving that we actually do crazy things for our pets. (Photo courtesy of Ed Kowalewski of Norton)

By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

No sooner had my first pet column appeared last week than I started getting texts and phone calls from friends who begged me not to share their crazy pet stories with readers.

It brought back memories of a birthday party I attended at Ken Stewart’s Grille last year, when everyone sat around the table sheepishly admitting the extents to which they are willing to go to for their animals.

It was like an AA meeting — make that Animals Anonymous — for those people addicted to their pets: Hello, my name is Kathy. I am an animal lover. I admit I spent New Year’s Eve in the kitchen baking liver treats for my dogs.

You get the idea.

But before you mark my behavior down to insanity, let me explain. I have an honest excuse. My dogs love those tasty tidbits. I believe I can teach a dog to do just about anything using them as a reward. The advantage is that I know they contain no ingredients that will upset their stomachs. That’s reason enough for me to give up an evening and suffer the disturbing smell of baked liver wafting through the house. To dogs, it’s ambrosia.

But the best story I can share involves my husband and his devotion to Dodger, our first Jack Russell terrier, who died of stomach cancer eight years ago. [click to continue…]

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Associated Press

LAWRENCE, MASS.: A Massachusetts man has turned over 94 hamsters to a local animal shelter, telling officials he was running out of room in his apartment.

The director of the shelter says the rodents were well cared for and will make nice pets.

Shelter director Mike Keiley tells the Eagle-Tribune that the hamsters’ owner, whom he didn’t identify, stopped by this month and said he had a lot of hamsters to surrender.

A Lawrence animal control officer says the man was “overwhelmed” when officials came to get the hamsters Friday, and initially wanted to keep a few. But she says he changed his mind.

Officials say the man started keeping the hamsters about five years ago.

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By Kathy Antoniotti
Beacon Journal staff writer

It should come as no surprise to pet owners that we spent an astonishing $50 billion on our pets in 2011 — almost double what we spent in 2001.

I admit my husband and I have paid our fair share of that total.

Owners who walk their dogs get as much out of the experience as do the dogs. (Karen Schiely/Akron Beacon Journal file photo)

According to the Animal Pet Products Association National Pet Owners survey, 62 percent of all Americans share their homes with a pet. That translates to 72.9 million homes.

Our two Jack Russell terriers, both from rescue groups in different parts of the state, eat high-grade, human-quality dog food. They see the veterinarian when necessary, are spayed and neutered, get their teeth brushed and cleaned and get three walks a day in a different park so they don’t get bored with trails.

Some people grouse that pet owners treat their animals better than they treat humans; I have to admit that sometimes I agree. But I understand the reasons. After all, our pets are part of our families, offering us unconditional love and acceptance.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that animals can suffer the same way humans do. Animals are without a voice to complain of bad treatment, and humans must act as their advocates to protect them.

While I have covered news stories and compelling features about animals for the past few years, the Beacon Journal has not had a pet column since 2008. Today, we are rectifying that. I will write about the pets in your life and try to provide you with information that will help you deal with your favorite pet, be it an iguana, a falcon or a rat named Ben.

I will have several experts helping me in this journey and a lifetime of love and commitment to my favorite furry friends.

I will try my hardest to make readers understand that a well-behaved dog is one that gets regular exercise at the end of a leash. What most people don’t (or won’t) understand is that the person at the other end of that leash will get as much benefit from that daily walk as does the dog.

Training, with consistency and repetition, builds a bond between you and your animal.

I don’t believe in bad dogs, only bad owners.

Cats need stimulation as well. They need something (a job) to do, even if it is chasing a feather on a string to simulate hunting. It is why experts at the Akron Zoo create enrichment toys that satisfy animals’ natural instincts for hunting, playing and recreation — all the same for them. [click to continue…]

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