Memorial Day Savings Coupon

Shop for summer essentials and save 10% off your order. Use the coupon code SUMMER at checkout to receive your discount, good until May 31, 2010.

Limit one coupon per customer, per order; cannot be combined any other specials, discounts or coupons. Not redeemable for cash or gift cards, nor is it valid toward previous purchases.

Go here to start shopping!

Surfing Dogs at Loews Resort Surf Dog Competition 2010

With Memorial Day around the corner, it's a reminder that summer is here! Check out this dog surfing competition from this past weekend and get beach ready.

It's Me or The Dog - Casting Call

Now casting dog-owners from the Tri-state area for season three of Animal Planet's It's Me or The Dog.

The show, from the producers of Supernanny and The Real Housewives of New York, are seeking owners of one (or more) out-of-control dogs. Is your pooch an obedience school drop-out? Then we want you! The casting team is currently seeking dog-owners with a variety of backgrounds, which are ready for the ultimate doggy boot camp!

Click here for more details

Kanellos the Greek protest dog

A dog that has been seen at nearly every demonstration in Athens over the last two years has turned up again during the recent protests against new austerity measures. View more images here: guardian.co.uk

Hair soaks up oil spills

Watch this video to see how hair and fur can help clean up the oil spill.

Fight The Oil Spill By Giving Your Dog A Haircut

Until today, Hair Balls thought pet hair clippings were only good for making you sneeze, but apparently the hair is incredibly absorbent, which could come in handy in the case of, say, a gigantic freakin' oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pet Paradise, a chain of chichi pet spas, with two in Houston, has started collecting hair clippings from its 13 locations and is donating them to Matter of Trust, a San Francisco-based charity that uses pet and human hair wrapped in used nylon stockings to make "booms" to help soak up oil spills. Matter of Trust is collecting as much hair as possible to battle the BP oil slick covering about 3,500 square miles. (Weird fact: Pet Paradise Spokeswoman Lisa Pogue tells us that "it's estimated that one pound of dog hair can soak up one quart of oil in one minute.")

The chain collects about 100 pounds of hair a week, which, if our math is correct, means the BP oil spill can be cleaned up in four seconds. But that's just a rough estimate. The hair is shipped off to Matter of Trust's warehouses in boxes lined with garbage bags, to ensure that not one strand goes missing.

Check out the Matter of Trust website for info on how you can donate your pup's hair. (Or maybe you just want to send the whole dog.) Or, if you don't own a dog but are raising rabbits, horses, sheep or alpacas in the backyard, Matter of Trust accepts their hair, too.

And don't worry, the oily booms aren't just tossed in the trash when they're all used up -- Matter of Trust says they use a totally green disposal method that involves worms eating the booms. That's right: worms eating giant piles of oil-soaked animal hair. Hope we didn't ruin your lunch.

[Source: Houston Press]

Actress Katherine Heigl rescues England, the hog-tied pit bull of Bakersfield

Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl and mother Nancy, co-founders of the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, teamed up with Last Chance for Animals at a press conference Tuesday to announce they will be taking in the Bakersfield pit bull, England, who was found hog-tied and left for dead in the mud for several hours late last month.

"Anyone that would do this to an animal is a coward and would potentially do this to a child or a woman,” said Chris DeRose, president of LCA.

Katherine Heigl added, “We really need to send a message out and educate people about the breed. This cruelty cannot be tolerated.”

Petting her own black pit bull, Apollo, who affably accompanied her to the press conference, she continued, “How can you do this to an animal that’s this loving and playful? All they want is for you to love them.” And love him she did, albeit at the expense of her manicure, which after five minutes was covered in the good-natured slobber of Apollo’s returned affections.

JDHF and LCA officials also announced they will be offering a reward for abuse cases that LCA investigates. “We will do everything possible to find the person or persons responsible and make sure they are made accountable and punished to the full extent of the law for their actions,” said the Knocked Up actress.

In fact, Chris DeRose wants to see the courts take animal cruelty more seriously and said he also wants to help educate the public on what to look for and what to stand up for. He pointed out that violent tendencies often start early and more attention should be given to children who act out aggressively toward animals.

"LCA is a non-profit animal rights organization that exposes cruelty and abuse nationwide. Since 1984 their investigations on vivisection, pet theft, fur farms and circuses have been used to develop public education and outreach campaigns, and to draft legislation leading to lasting changes for the animals. From exposing companion animal meat being sold for human consumption and the mass slaughter of deer by the National Parks Services at Gettysburg, to the first ever conviction of USDA licensed B dealers, LCA is committed to bringing these issues to the forefront and effecting change,” states the LCA press release.

[Source: Examiner.com]

Four pet heroes inducted into Purina Animal Hall of Fame

Four four-legged heroes have been inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame for their bravery, determination, selflessness and devotion.

Chance, Patty, Gepetto and Bingo have demonstrated a powerful bond with their families and have done the incredible feat of saving human lives.

Mary Siemiesz, executive director of the Purina PetCare Legacy, said in a press release that 2009 marked an important year for animal bravery:

“This year’s Inductees have shown us that a hero is a hero no matter how big or small – all that matters is the size of their hearts. They remind us why we adopt, rescue and welcome pets into our lives, and why it is so essential they are responsibly cared for and cherished.”

This year, three dogs and a cat have been inducted. Since the Hall of Fame’s creation in 1968, more than 140 animals have been inducted: 120 dogs, 25 cats and one horse.

Gepetto is a mellow cat from Wetaskiwin, Alta.; Patty is a Border Collie mix from Westlock, Alta.; Chance is a Dalmatian-Fox Terrier mix from South Bar, N.S.; and Bingo, who won the distinction of Service Dog of the Year, is a Jack Russell Terrier from Shilo, Man.

[Source: National Post]