Officer Momo to the rescue!!!

'Roo' Needs a Home!!

A stray dog has become the star of the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter not just because of his sweet temperament, but because he only has two legs.

The 4-month-old pooch was dropped off Thursday and quickly earned the nickname "Roo," short for kangaroo.

The disabled dog moves around pretty well using his hind legs.

Roo was likely born with just two legs due to some sort of birth deformity, according to veterinarians.

Veterinarians say he's capable of living a long, healthy life if provided the proper care.

They're now searching for a loving home.

For more information about how to adopt Roo, visit: http://rcdas.org/home/

You can also call 951-358-PETS.

(story via KTLA, video courtesy of KNBC)

Inside the science of how dogs think

Sit! Shake! Quit barking! Get off the couch! Go find your toy! Ever wonder what your dog is thinking as it gazes at you while you are barking commands?

Duke University's Canine Cognition Center in Durham, North Carolina, is one of the few labs in the country focused on how dogs think. "We're excited about describing the psychology of our dogs," says professor Brian Hare, the lab's director. "Different dogs solve different problems differently. And what we want to understand is: What is it that either makes dogs remarkable as a species or what is it that constrains the ability of dogs to solve problems?"

To test the dogs' ability, Hare and a team of graduate students put dogs through a variety of games similar to those you might play with young children.

"We don't want to look at cute pet tricks. What we want to know is, what does the dog understand about its world?" Hare said. Hare has been analyzing our four-legged friends for about 15 years. He says dogs have figured out how to read human behavior and human gestures better than any other species has, even chimpanzees.

"The way they think about their world is that people are superimportant and they can solve almost any problem if they rely on people," says Hare. Children start relying on adults' gestures when they're about a year old. That's about the same age that dogs start to recognize and rely on humans, too, Hare says. When both I and Hare tried to direct Hare's dog Tazzie to a cup that had a treat in it, Tazzie took his master's cue and went toward the cup. I was a stranger to Tazzie, so the dog didn't rely on my information.

"He's grown up with me," says Hare. "We do lots of stuff together. He's never met you before, so he's saying, look, if they're both telling me where to go, I'm going to trust the guy who I'm with all the time." According to Hare, this proves dogs are complex social animals who understand they have different relationships with different people. "They really narrow in and pay attention to you and they want to know what it is about the world that you can help them with," he says.

Researchers at Duke are studying dogs to better understand their limitations. If they can identify why dogs make mistakes, they believe they can help them improve. That could mean making dogs better at working with people with disabilities or better at working with the military.

"They are a very different species and they think about the world differently than we do. And we need to figure out what are the constraints on how they solve problems, how is it that they think differently from us. And I think that we're going to be able to have a much, even richer relationship with dogs than we already do if we figure all that out," says Hare. The professor says even though domestication has made dogs smarter, they are not perfect. Still, they're so smart, he says, that they can understand the principle of connectivity.

"They know they're connected on a leash and [dogs reason] 'Well, now I have to listen, because if I don't do what you say you can stop me. Where if I'm ... not on a leash, well, yeah, I know the command but I don't have to listen to you now,'" explains Hare.

And just like children, dogs also understand that if you turn your back, they can misbehave, especially after their owners have told them not to do something. "Your dog takes the food you just told it not to take, and you're really upset because your dog disobeyed you, and you think that your dog is not obedient. Well, no, no, no, your dog was obedient but it realized that it could get away with it," says Hare.

At the end of the day, dogs may rely on humans, but they also use their skills to manipulate their owners and the world they live in. And even though dog owners like to think they're in command, the professor says it may actually be Fido who is really in charge.

(via CNN)

Little Edie Sees Double!!

Edie met her twin at the park....

Now That's What I Call Using Your Head!!

Abandoned Dog Recovers from Hairy Situation

When Ripley the poodle was found by shelter staffers, they couldn't tell if the little pup was male or female. With fur so badly matted that the creature hardly resembled a dog, it was one of the worst cases rescuers in Houma, La., had ever seen.

Ripley, who turned out to be male, was discovered in a quarry outside a southern Louisiana shelter on Oct. 18. After he was recovered, staffers contacted My Heart's Desire, a private rescue group that helps last-chance pets. "We don't know if someone put him there, or if he wandered there," My Heart's Desire co-director Tracey Lapeyrouse tells PEOPLEPets.com. "We had no clue what the deal was. But we immediately started rounding people up, knowing this was going to be a huge undertaking financially and time-wise."

Since Ripley had been covered in this mess of fur for so long, he didn't know how to react to touch, nor did he understand how to walk on grass — he hadn't actually felt the ground in months.

To clean him up, veterinarians at a nearby clinic sedated Ripley, then shaved a whopping 2.5 lbs. of fur off his 7.5-lb. body. Though he still has some sores, he's recovering well, and now it's "just a matter of letting his skin breathe and heal," Lapeyrouse says.

As for his other issues, "he's done a complete turnaround in just the couple of weeks we've had him," Lapeyrouse says. He's gained a little weight, and craves human attention. "He realizes that people are good, and loves for you to pick him up and snuggle with him," Lapeyrouse shares. Though Ripley, estimated to be 2, isn't available for adoption yet, My Heart's Desire has had dozens of inquiries and is working on finding him a forever home — preferably one without children or large dogs.

When Ripley does join his new family, he'll be coming with a years' worth of grooming, food, toys and more from the PETCO Foundation and Ripley's Believe It or Not. Since the pup was unnamed when he was rescued, staffers decided to call him Ripley because "they just couldn't believe there was a dog under there," Lapeyrouse says. When Ripley's got wind of the story, they stepped in, offering to help sponsor the pooch for a year.

"We're so grateful. They want to follow him, the news wants to follow him, and we obviously want to follow him, too," Lapeyrouse says. "We didn't know the beginning of his story, but we know the middle, and hopefully, we'll know the happy end."

(via People Magazine)

Happy Birthday Peete!!!!

My favorite Doberman, Peete, turns 3 today!!

Dreaming Puppy Talks in His Sleep

This adorable video is making the internet rounds. Is it the puppy or the toy making the noises???

2011 Rose Parade Open Casting Call for Dogs!!

Your dog can audition to skimboard and dock dive on the Natural Balance Float with Tillman and Friends New Year's Day in the 122nd Rose Parade!!

Audition Date:
November 8th, 2010
10:30 am
12924 Pierce St. Pacoima, CA 91331

Click HERE to view Press Release

To fill out a registration form go HERE.

Have you met Maru???

Maru is the most adorable cat in Japan with a Youtube page that has almost 75,000 subscribers!! Check out some of Maru's accomplishments:

#9 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Japan
#8 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Partners - Japan
#35 - Most Viewed (This Week) - Japan
#15 - Most Viewed (This Week) - Partners - Japan
#15 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Japan
#8 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Partners - Japan
#10 - Most Viewed (All Time) - Japan
#8 - Most Viewed (All Time) - Partners - Japan
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If you've never seen a Maru video....check out his page and all his cute adventures here.

Here's one of my favorites:



Maru also has a website which you can see here

Happy Birthday Little Edie!!!

Today my baby girl turns 4! How time flies. I got to thinking recently about how long it had been since I posted anything on this blog. I started it when I got Edie and really enjoyed it for a while then things got busy with everyday life and.....oh well.....

Edie's 4th birthday has prompted me to revamp my blog and start blogging again. Hopefully you'll continue to tune in!!

As we mark the beginning (or is it the end??) of daylight savings time today we also celebrate Auntie Karen's birthday. And we must not forget the REAL Little Edie Bouvier Beale who would have been 93 years old today. It's only fitting that she and MY Edie have the same birthday.

Dog still waits for Deceased Owner

This story breaks my heart....

Don't Touch Me There....

Bobama

He's just like any other puppy. Here's an update on the new first dog Bo....

Little Edie Buries the Cookie

Edie got some doggie chocolate chip cookies as a gift. She really loves them. She never eats them right away as they are kinda big and cumbersome and it takes her a while to break one into pieces and finish it off. She just carries it around with her until she finally decides it's time to eat it. Since Jake always eats her canned food she is convinced that Jake will also take her cookie if she doesn't eat it right away. Trust me, Jake has no interest in the cookie.

I noticed that Edie started to go through the motions of "burying" the cookie even though there is no dirt on the couch or on my bed or any of her beds. It was cracking me up and I finally caught it on film.....