pets

Meredith is feeding a neighbor's four cats while she's on vacation. And she has to use wet food because one of them needs medicine smushed in:

... There is something uniquely repugnant about wet cat food: The visceral smell upon opening the can, the squishy noise it makes as I mix in the powdered medicine, the slimy trace of congealed liquid left in the can that I must wash out so it can be recycled. ...

William is fed up with owners who tie their dogs up outside as they go into JP Cafe or City Supply and Feed for a leisurely repast - because the dogs start barking like nobody's business, annoying everybody else:

... IT IS NOT OKAY to leave your dog tied up barking for like 30 minutes while you have a Trucker's Breakfast or grab a coffee and a salmon bagel. You are violating one of the basic rules of the social contract. The Right To Quiet Enjoyment. ... Would you leave your child tied to a post screaming outside a restaurant? ...

A dog named Charlie retrieving a log in the Charles.

The folks at Pet Cabaret in Roslindale report:

There's lots of new pups and kitties (and even chickens!) in the neighborhood.

Liza explains.

Boston Police report a domestic house cat captured on Park Street last weekend was euthanized after it was reported to have rabies.

Click on the link for way more info than you probably want to know about what to do if you think you've been bitten by a rabid animal (go figure: there are an average of 100 rabid cats reported in Massachusetts each year - people, get your pet immunized, will ya?).

Jeff Cutler reports on the phenomenon of new mothers leashing their dogs to their baby's strollers, at least as observed on Newbury Street:

... I'm pretty certain if a life-size Chuck Wagon truck or a wild deer dashed through downtown, these dogs would be galloping across busy streets dragging mothers, infants and strollers through traffic to certain doom.

And if not doom, definitely destruction.

Where did common sense go off the rails? The likelihood of the Chuck Wagon or the deer showing up on Newbury Street in Boston is a fantasy. But a pickup truck with dogs in the back could happen. And the reality of nearly identical mommy/stroller/puppy combos on the other side of the street is common. ...

The folks at Pet Cabaret in Roslindale report they had to break the news to a caller yesterday that they don't carry ants:

... "Ants?" I say, "Why, no...you can get them outside..."

"Oh." came the reply and a polite "Thank you" followed. ...

This comes about a month after somebody called the store to ask if they sold piranhas (answer: no).

Pomsmith spotted the above sign tonight in front of the Brook House in Brookline.

Rhea reports on the Footlight Club's auditions - for the role of Sandy in a performance of "Little Orphan Annie:"

... When the doggy semi-finalists were announced, they lined up, and guess what? The judges were definitely going for the authentic Sandy look. There were no Lhasa apsos or poodle mixes among them. The young actress who will be playing the part of Annie called each dog to her. The ones that responded became the finalists. ...

David Prior reports what happens when one of your dogs gets loose and decides to go after a skunk, which does what skunks do, after which the dog runs right into the house. You know it's pretty bad when National Grid shows up because the downstairs neighbor called to report what he thought was a gas leak.

The Herald reports the Boston City Council voted (when?) to ban dog rentals in Boston - even as pet abandonments in the state rise threefold.

Ed. English-usage question: The Herald calls city councilors "solons." When did that happen? I thought only senators were "solons." And now I find myself wishing for a story involving solons and jakes.

Fabulously Out There, who does not have air conditioning, came home last night to find her dog really, really hot:

... So I did what any normal person would do....I opened the freezer and made him stand in it.

Worked like a charm.

No, I did NOT close the door on him. He was standing right next to my ice cream and you could tell he was totally cooling down. All that was missing was steam coming off his fur. Once he felt sufficiently cool to the touch, I took him out and made him sleep in front of the fan. ...

They get very specific on their kitten-adoption posters in Framingham.

Michael Pahre reports getting a robo-call from some company asking if he knew the whereabouts of some lost cat in his neighborhood:

... How much does this service cost? A lot! Prices range from $65 for 250 robo-calls (suitable for a low-density rural location) to $425 for 5000 robo-calls in a dense, urban environment.

Note that the organization's website claims that they are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry, which would explain why their call went through to my house despite having registered my phone number with the list.

Roslindale's Pet Cabaret provides links for people who want to ban dog rentals in Massachusetts:

... If you think dogs and cats should not be used and returned like ZipCars, now's the time to do something about it. Waiting even a few weeks could be too late. FlexPetz, which rents companion dogs by the hour or day, is poised to open in Boston soon. Once the door is open, other pet rental businesses will follow. All aggressively promote the "disposable pet" mindset, to the detriment of animals--and those of us dedicated to rescuing them. ...

Ashley reports seeing a guy taking a pig for a walk through Boston Common this afternoon:

... This might not have fazed me if I had been in Cambridge, but I am more used to seeing horses or stockbrokers on this side of the Charles. ...

Carver Just Became a 3-Legged Dog tells the story of a Jamaica Plain dog who lost a leg to cancer.

Spatch posts the bulletin that Abbie the cat is back where he belongs tonight - and eating up a storm, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

Apparently, Abbie never went very far even as Spatch, his roommates and a whole lot of other people fanned out across greater Davis Square looking for him - he was holed up in the "bahn" of the house next door:

Tracy was at home so once I got the message and told him, he dashed out to check. Abbie had, at that point, wandered past our house to the house on the other side and was busy in their side yard. Tracy got the cat's attention, whereupon Abbie walked right by him and up our driveway. Tracy then carefully followed the cat, knowing full well there was probably Scared Cat going on, but near the back of the driveway, Abbie turned around and let the big-but-not-so-scary-guy-who-looks-kinda-familiar approach.

Once inside, Abbie quickly ran up the stairs, over to the dining room where his food dish was supposed to be (it was still in the house trap at that point) and began to loudly complain. ...

Another dog gets shocked, in South Boston, but lives.

Spatch reports he has not seen his cat, Abbie, since Sunday:

... I don't want to lose the big guy so soon. This is killing me inside and I feel absolutely helpless from behind this desk. I've contacted animal control and nearby vets and agencies. Nobody's brought in a throw rug yet. It's rainy and shitty outside. He won't be going anywhere for a while if it's a safe space from that orange cat and his friends. I don't want ANYTHING right now except to have my buddy back. Come back, buddy. You're the best goddamn cat in the world and you don't deserve to be miserable right about now.

Jody can now speak to this with first-hand knowledge.

It's good to know that, even in the midst of rapidly declining readership, an endless series of staff buyouts and a fast-shrinking news hole, the Boston Globe has found one area in which it can beef up its coverage: Spotting the trends that matter to the Boston area's rich. Because Lord knows this is a group that has been sadly neglected in the past.

Thankfully, the Globe made the right choice in assigning the local Robb Report beat to Sarah Schweitzer, Read more

A couple of dogs playing at the Arboretum today.

Apparently, pushing babies in strollers is tres passe in both NoWa and SoWa. JD reports spotting somebody pushing a doggy stroller - yes, a stroller designed for a dog:

... Thinking it was just a fluke, I remember my friend Chris commenting on a mosquito-net enclosed doggy baby carriage we saw some lady pushing along the bay in San Diego a couple of years back. "Look at that" he said. "How long before you get the dog one of THOSE?" "Eh, how about NEVER?" but I admit I was fascinated. "Yeah but just wait," he said. "You'll be seeing them all over the east coast in no time. They like that sort of thing." ...