WooHooo!!! Big kudos to Animal House pet store on 62nd Avenue N in St. Petersburg!! They made a a decision and took a stand to stop selling puppies, a decision that few pet stores would ever embrace because it would affect their bottom line. As a family, the owners of Animal House decided to ‘go greener’ and added ‘Natural’ to their name and instead of selling puppies, they now bring in shelter pets for adoptions.

The strangest day was the first. No barking. No squeals from excited kids. Just some empty cages and a stream of customers who asked the same question. “Where are they?”
The owners of the Animal House pet store on 62nd Avenue N in St. Petersburg decided this year they needed a newer, greener image. So they tacked Naturals to the end of their name and added stacks of natural products.
They also did something many smaller pet stores wouldn’t think of doing. They stopped selling puppies.

“It was a family decision,” said Rebecca Hearn, who manages the store with her sister, Rachel. The store is owned by their parents, Jim and Donna Nannen. “And it was a bit of a gamble.”

Puppy sales can account for up to 20 percent of monthly revenue, and the markup can be huge. A purebred puppy bought for $300 can be sold for $1,000 or more.

But sales at Animal House are better now than when puppies were sold, partly because of the store’s partnership with local animal rescue and adoption groups. Each weekend, a different group brings dogs to the store, where customers can adopt them. And, of course, shop for supplies.

PetSmart and Petco are among major retailers that decided years ago not to sell dogs and cats. But smaller stores often can’t afford to lose a large part of their business.

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Flexpetz has moved to London and it’s getting a chilly reception, to put it mildly. The US based firm that rents dogs on an hourly, daily, weekly basis is finding that, as in many places is the US, their service is not only unpopular, but getting blasted by animal welfare groups, trainers and the public as well.

Targeting the wealthy with not enough time for a full time pet or those who don’t want the inconvenience or responsibility, they rent dogs out at at a cost of £279 for once a week for a month or the equivalent of over $500! In the US the same service is about $150. The reason cited for the astronomical difference in cost the that pet care costs are much higher in the UK.

Right now they have only one dog available for rent, an 18 month old Pomeranian named Gucci who five people will be able to share. They plan on more in the future.

Pippa Woollard, the Flexpetz facilitator, has declined to say where Gucci came from except to say “he was well cared for and lived with a family that had other dogs on the outskirts of London.” In the US, Flexpetz says their dogs are acquired from shelters.

Concerns have been raised that passing a dog from one home to another could prove distressing to the animal, leaving it with no routine.

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Far too often rescue and shelter dogs and animals get a bad rap. People think because these animals were turned in to shelters there must be something wrong with them but what they don’t realize is that most often the ’something wrong’ was with the previous owner of the pet. Too often people get pets for the wrong reasons or maybe they’ve become ill or passed away, or have to move and cannot find adequate housing which will allow pets. The reasons are numerous and oft times have little to do with the pet.

Here’s a great article from Pet-Abuse.com dispelling some of the myths of adopting a shelter animal for a pet.

There are many misconceptions about the quality of animals found in rescue shelters. The stigma that shelter pets have been stuck with for many years is that they are “damaged goods”.

Myth: Shelter pets are obviously not good pets, or else their original owners wouldn’t have gotten rid of them

If the main reason why a pet gets brought to rescue shelters was because they were a *bad* pet, there would be thousands of empty shelters across the country. Animals are brought to shelters for a large variety of reasons, some of which are…

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Sometimes a dog’s behavior and actions can leave us completely baffled. This is especially true for new dog owners. So, here is a little guide to help you figure out why your dog might be doing the weird things that he does.

1. Why does my dog keep eating the cat’s poop out of the litter box?

Coprophagia is the technical term for eating feces. This has been studied in dogs by several people with no definitive answer for “why” being found. While this particular dog behavior seems to be among the most bizarre, there really is a simple explanation for it. Your cat’s diet consists mostly of protein, so his stool has a high protein content as well. Many dogs simply crave the protein located there. Try using a litter box with a cover or one that automatically scoops litter after each use.

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Vomiting and Diarrhea:

Treat for the first 12-24 hours by withholding food and water. After 12 hours, you can offer ice cubes or 1-2 ozs. of Gatorade or distilled water (in case the tap water has the contaminants). If this is handled well, you can advance to the small meal. If vomiting or diarrhea continues during withholding of food and water and is longer than 24 hours, seek veterinary help. When advancing to a small meal, this should be rice with lean, cooked, drained, meat; the ratio is 75% rice to 25% meat. Alternatively, you can offer baby cereal (cream of rice or cream of wheat) and some cooked egg. Avoid fatty foods and do not give milk with diarrhea. After 72 hours, gradually reintroduce regular food by mixing with mixture. After first small meal, gradually work up to giving same amounts of mixture as dog is used to receiving at normal meals. A sudden change from bland diet to regular dog food may precipitate a new bout of vomiting/diarrhea. When traveling, baby food rice cereal and baby food meat is more readily available. At this stage, water should be continually available, but only in small amounts at a time.

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Hip dysplasia is the most common cause of osteoarthritis in young dogs. It is mainly an inherited condition and it is where the ball and socket joint of the dog don’t fit together properly due to a loose joint. This then leads to other changes such as osteoarthritis and pain. Some dogs will have no signs where as others will be severely debilitated.

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Pointer + Setter = Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet

Kerry Blue Terrier + Skye Terrier = Blue Skye, a dog for visionaries

Great Pyrenees + Dachshund = Pyradachs, a puzzling breed

Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso = Peekasso, an abstract dog

Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel = Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle

Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever = Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists

Newfoundland + Basset Hound = Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors

Terrier + Bulldog = Terribull, a dog prone to awful mistakes

Bloodhound + Labrador = Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly

Malamute + Pointer = Moot Point, owned by….oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway

Collie + Malamute = Commute, a dog that travels to work

Deerhound + Terrier = Derriere, a dog that’s true to the end

Bull Terrier + Shitzu = Bullshitz, a gregarious but unreliable breed