Unleashed

Chihuahua adopts 7 kittens

2009-11-21T13:05:17Z

This is just adorable. Shayla, a Chihuahua, has decided to play ma to seven stray kittens. Oh, how I love the inter-species love stories...

Piano kitty to perform 1st concert on Saturday

2009-11-20T16:03:47Z

Nora the famous Piano Cat is scheduled to perform her first concert tomorrow -- and you can watch the purrformance on live streaming video. How cool is that?

Nora, the Philadelphia cat known for her musicality, who was named ASPCA's Cat of the Year this year, will play Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Westchester Cat Show in White Plains, New York. The gray kitty's first concert is a benefit, being called "Shelter Aid." Millions have already seen her taped performances on YouTube.

Nora will perform live via webcam from her piano at home in Philadelphia. She’ll be joined by her accompanist and owner Betsy Alexander.

Everyone will be holding their breath because Nora is a cat -- and being a cat, she just might not performa on command.

]]> The concert is at 1 p.m. Go to www.ustream.tv live then to see the potential show. Replays will be available later.

Viewers who watch and enjoy are encouraged to go to www.westchester-feline.org to make a donation of any amount to support metro New York area shelters and animal welfare groups selected by the non-profit Westchester Feline Club and, supposedly, by Nora herself.

Picture of Nora playing the piano, AP/Matt Rourke.

Got an iPhone app for cat!

2009-11-20T13:59:42Z

It's now possible, thanks to the wonders of technology (and people's obsession with kitties) to edit an image on your iPhone, dropping in pictures of cats and kittens.

And not just ordinary cats and kittens -- these are kitties that mew. Genius? Crazy? Whatever.

The CatPaint application works like this, according to the designer. You pull out your litter box to select a kitty. Drop the image where you want it. You can shake the iPhone if the kitty didn't land in the right spot. The cats come in all varieties and sizes -- and they're captured in everything from lap pose to leap.

Here the cat people at MacWorld test the app. The editors include a photo gallery of how they've kittied up pictures of various folks in the office. They've put cats on people's laps and into their hands. Stacked them by the dozens behind them. Created kitty vortexes right next to them.....Tons and tons and tons of kitties. Pretty funny.

Drowning in dog books: Which titles rise to the top?

2009-11-20T12:53:19Z

There are seriously, seriously, seriously sooooo many dog books out there, I'm starting to lose track. At least a couple times a week a new one or two arrives in the mail.

There are heartwarming memoirs of man and beast, manuals for keeping the hound healthy, those that explore ways to understand the canine.

It seems that ever since Marley & Me skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller list, leaving sequels, a movie and who-knows-how-much-money and wet tissues in its wake, dog lovers have gotten really busy typing.

]]> So here's the question. I'm sitting here surrounded by new (and new-ish) titles including Speaking for Spot, The Wolf in the Parlor, Inside of a Dog, Marley & Me, To the Rescue, Power of the Dog, Bad to the Bone, Dogtown, Good Dogs Doing Good, Happy Dog, Fetching Dylan, Paws & Effect...the list goes on.

Which of these books are tops on your holiday wish list? And, more importantly, which dog books are front and center on your shelf, the ones you recommend to folks, the ones you'd read again if you had the time, the ones you found most meaningful....

Please share. A lot of us would love to know how to separate the dog lit wheat from the chaff.

And....yes....there will be booty sent out to some of those that comment.

H1N1 takes first feline victim in Oregon

2009-11-19T14:23:02Z

Officials in Oregon are reporting the nation's first instance of a cat dying of the H1N1 virus.

According to a disturbing report on OregonLive.com, earlier this month a 10-year old cat was brought to a clinic with shallow breathing and a very high temperature. The symptoms worsened and the cat died on Nov. 7.

This is the third documented case of swine flu in cats. The other two, in Iowa and Utah, recovered.

'New Moon' star calls his dog 'love of his life'

2009-11-19T14:03:57Z

Aw. Though bazillions of young ladies are head over heels for Twilight New Moon star Kellan Lutz, he tells Doggie Aficiando magazine that the real love of his life is Kola, his adopted dog. In this interview, he talks about driving home with the doggy for the holidays as the footage shows things like the star feeding Kola treats. Quite cute.

Mariah Carey denied request for 20 kittens

2009-11-19T13:22:28Z

Many stars are known for their outrageous requests on set. I read once that someone demanded bowls of M&M's but with one of the colors removed. Anwyay. Pop star Mariah Carey wanted her appearance at a London shopping center opening to include 20 kittens -- all white ones.

According to this report, the mall management turned her down, saying no animals were allowed on the property. And, um, maybe it wasn't such a good idea anyway?

This white kitten will not be appearing with songstress/actress Mariah Carey. Photo courtesy of Daisyree Bakker's photostream on Flickr.

Collared today: Stella

2009-11-19T12:22:50Z

NAME: Stellaluna, or Stella – excellent for yelling from the porch when she’s out in the yard.

OWNER: The Hartney family.

HOW THEY MET: We’ve always had Labradors, and my mom decided, in 2001 that she was ready for a new puppy. My brother and I were in school at the University of South Carolina, and my parents were living in Virginia, and they sent me to look at some nearby pups that they would come pick up when we moved out of the dorms for the summer.

My parents had given me a list of attributes to look for in a healthy, smart puppy, and I went to meet baby Stella’s owner at a rest stop near Orangeburg, S.C. She was so tiny, a ball of black fur and gangly paws, but she ran right over to me and started licking my toes. She let me pick her up without issue and inspect those gangly paws, and I was hooked.

My parents took my word for it that she would be our dog, and she’s been our smartest and sweetest Lab yet. She rode home with us in a cardboard box.

]]> AGE: 8.

HOME: Williamsburg, Va. (but has lived in Alexandria, Va.; Tampa, Fla.; and Baltimore).

BREED: Labrador retriever.

BEST TRICK: She can find any member of the family or any of her toys by name. If you say, “Where’s Dad? Go get Dad!” or “Get your rope!” she’ll run around until she’s found the person or the toy. Because she knows exactly who she’s hunting for, she'll bypass others along the way.

FAVORITE ACTIVITY: Following us around, waiting for scraps to drop in the kitchen. (Oops! Did that fall? Come here, Stella! … )

FAVORITE FOOD: Ice! She loves to chase cubes around the kitchen floor and will happily crunch them to bits.

FUNNIEST MOMENT: She loved to swim in our backyard pool in Florida but would go into high-alert mode if anyone went underwater. As soon as your head was under, she was in the water, swimming above you, trying to pull you up. My sister could hold her breath for a long time, and she’d swim across the pool and back, fully underwater, with Stella keeping time directly above her, doing the dog-paddle furiously. When Maureen would come up for air, Stella would pull her to the side by her ponytail. My brother, Mark, learned to exploit this by putting one of her toys on a float and letting her drag him around the pool.

ZEN PRACTITIONER OF PATIENCE: She is incredibly well-disciplined, which she proves when my dad starts “telling her a story.” He’ll pick up one of her toys, usually a pet monkey she loves, and hold it above her as she sits. He’ll tease her with it and make up a story, having the monkey tell her what a good dog she is, throwing out some of her favorite words (walk, bath, squirrel) and she’ll sit their calmly until she just can’t take it anymore and starts slowwwly opening her mouth to get the toy. You can almost hear the creak of her jaws as she reaches for it. But one stern look from the storyteller, and they’re clamped shut again.

IF STELLA HAD A MOTTO FOR LIFE, IT WOULD BE: Where are you going? I want to be near you all the time!

CREDIT FOR PHOTOGRAPH: Mary Hartney

To see more pets that have been Collared, click here.

Want your pet to be featured in Unleashed? Click here to download the Collared questionnaire. Fill it out and email it to us, along with a web-sized jpeg, at unleashed@baltsun.com. Share your pets' stories with us!

Plucky kitty climbs on cop writing ticket

2009-11-18T13:30:11Z

This video is getting all kinds of traction on the web and on TV. A little black kitty gets extremely friendly with a Texas police officer who's trying to write a ticket. The cop actually keeps writing the citation as the cat crawls all the way up his body and then perches on his head. This copy of the video doesn't show the part I saw on TV last night that isn't quite as cute -- after putting up with the kitty for so long, the officer finally gives him a little kick and the cat runs away.

Teddy Bean's kennel owner to stand trial

2009-11-18T13:04:39Z

This is the guy that ran the puppy mill that Teddy Bean and more than 200 other dogs were rescued from last summer:

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A former eastern Pennsylvania dog breeder is scheduled to go on trial on animal cruelty charges after withdrawing his guilty plea.

Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg granted Derbe Eckhart's request to withdraw his plea Monday. Steinberg set Eckhart's bail at $25,000 and ordered him jailed. He also ordered Eckhart to quit working with animals.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jay Jenkins says Eckhart faces trial in December on charges including cruelty to animals and operating a kennel without a license.

Authorities who raided Eckhart's Almost Heaven kennel in October 2008 say they found 189 dogs crowded in filthy conditions. They say they also discovered dozens of animal corpses in a freezer. The kennel was shut down in June.

Strawberry the pig booted from his Fla. development

2009-11-18T12:14:26Z

Town officials have ordered a man to get rid of his 300-pound pet pig, but the owner says he’d rather leave town than give up the animal.

Rob Falk of Southwest Ranches has a Yorkshire pig named Strawberry, and council members cited Falk’s landlord for a code violation in July.

Last week, officials gave Falk 30 days to remove Strawberry from the home, saying that the town allows only one Vietnamese pot bellied pig per household.

Officials are also worried that the pig will get bigger and grow large tusks.

]]> Falk says the family will move because “the pig is like one of our children.”

Strawberry the pig and her owner Kai Falk, pictured at their home. All photos by Deanna Dent/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/MCT.

Interest in an Unleashed Pets 'O Baltimore calendar?

2009-11-17T18:27:58Z

Floating an idea here... a BIG idea....

Wondering who among the Unleashed faithful would be interested in creating a group calendar.... You guys would send in your very best pet pictures and I would combine them to create the Pets of Unleashed 2010 or something like that.

To make it work, we'd need at least 12 of you to send in pictures -- ideally more so that it would be competitive, offer a bit of a selection....

]]> Then, of course, we'd need a certain number of folks to commit to buying a calendar. On Shutterfly, you can make orders of 25, 50, etc.... Depending on how many one orders, Shutterfly charges between $10 and $15 for calendars.

I think it could be fun and cute! But of course, a lot of you must find it equally fun and cute. Lemme know. We'd have to get going to get a calendar back in time for Jan. 2010! Also lemme know if you have any ideas to make the project cooler -- like a charity component or somesuch...

Saturday's the day to get pet pix with Santa

2009-11-17T16:12:14Z

No matter which side of town you live on, which worthwhile cause you'd like to contribute to, on Saturday, it will be almost hard not to get your pet's picture taken with Santa.

Santa, who apparently gets around, will be at Federal Hill Park, posing with dogs, cats and who knows what other animals to benefit the Franky Fund at BARCS. The fund pays for vet care for the sickest and neediest animals that come to the shelter. Pictures cost $10 and Santa will be waiting at the park from 10 to noon. Santa will also be at Riverside Park on Dec. 12 for pet pictures, also 10 a.m. to noon.

Meanwhile, across town in Canton, at the Canton Dog Park, during the exact same 10 to noon timeframe, Santa will also be posing with pets. Those pictures cost $15.

If you already have pictures of your dog or kitty with Santa and would like to share them, send 'em on in. I'll post only the cute ones. ;-)

Santa and dogs picture courtesy of Pacdog's Photostream on Flickr.

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Here's a shot of Jill's pup Libby posing with Santa at Locust Point Dog Park! She looks as if Santa just promised her list would all materialize.....

Baby also enjoyed her lap time with Santa (er, Councilman Ed Reisinger:

When an ordinary dog carrier just won't do....

2009-11-17T13:47:48Z

A limited edition dog carrier created by designer Marc Jacobs is one of six deluxe accessories being offered at the 'L' Excellence du Savoir-Faire' exhibition at Sotheby's auction house in London. The chi-chi auction includes Louis Vuitton limited-edition, special-order pieces by the likes of artist Damien Hirst, chef Ferran Adrià, photographer Annie Leibovitz, musician Gustavo Santaolalla, Jacobs and Patrick-Louis Vuitton.

The base price is listed in pounds -- 25,000 to 35,0000. I'm not sure how much that is in dollars but can only imagine it's one of those if-you-have-to-ask-you-can't-afford-it situations....

The auction takes place Tuesday (today), with proceeds going to the Red Cross to fight malnutrition in Niger.

Nice holiday present for Teddy Bean. Anyone? Anyone?

(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

What NOT to do to your bunnies......

2009-11-17T12:21:37Z

Ok. Call me a hypocrite. I posted practically two weeks of dressed up dogs as a lead-up to Halloween. But somehow, the idea of putting things on a bunny just seem kinda mean. No?

This rabbit dress-up contest was part of Rabbit Testa, held last weekend in Japan, of course. About 8,000 rabbit lovers visited the annual two-day event in Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo.

Thoughts?

Photos by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images.

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