NYCityPets.com

The Mayor’s Alliance is holding another Maddie’s Pet Adoption Festival this Sunday the 23rd in Central Park.
Here are the vitals:
Time: Noon–5:00 p.m.
Location: Enter at East 59th or 60th Street.
For Information: email the Alliance or call (212) 252-2350

Are you thinking about switching your dog’s diet? If you are considering preparing dog food yourself, a necessary resource is the book Home Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative by Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD. Strombeck specializes in gastroenterology and has been a veterinarian for over 40 years. You get over 200 recipes, some of which are formulated for the management of specific diseases (ie. kidney disease, obesity control, heart disease). It is dangerous to feed a home cooked diet to your pets without the proper guidance of a nutrition expert, so this book should be a welcome addition to your veterinary library.

If you are hard pressed for time, but want to try local, home made dog foods here is a list of companies to check out:

Scooter Food
FreshPet and their Homestyle Select Food
Zen Chien
The Healthy Pet Gourmet
Trudy’s Homemade Dog Food

Chicken and turkey recipe image from Trudy’s website. Mmm, palatable.

The image here came from The Book of Dogs by James Gilchrist Lawson, published in 1935. Notice in the text it says that dog fighting was out of style 72 years ago. I challenge you to make a positive change for all of the bully breed/mixed breed dogs. Call them Yankee Terriers. Why do we call them Pit Bulls when we don’t want them in the pits? Get into the spirit of being proud of all the good bully dogs you know and call them Yankee Terriers. Change the name, and you might just see the bad reputation disappear.

This week holds a variety of meetups for all breeds. The must see will be Dock Diving in Bryant Park on Tuesday. If your dog isn’t so into other dogs, take him out to the ball game, or on a marathon, or learn how to give him first aid if the need should arise…oh the possibilities!

Friday, Sept. 14th
6:00 PM
Active Dogs: First Aid for Cats and Dogs (Queens)

6:30 PM
English Bulldog: Dog Day at Shea!!!

7:00 PM
Active Dogs: Dog Days at Shea

Saturday, Sept. 15
8:45 AM
Active Dogs: Hike and Hound

9:00 AM
Active Dogs: Casey and Bella Book Signing - NJ

Adventurers: Hike & Hound 9-Miles

9:30 AM
Active Dogs: Bideawee Fitness with Fido

10:00 AM
Active Dogs: Fun Dog Show (PA)

11:00 AM
Small Breed Dogs: AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day

12:00 PM
Active Dogs: AKC RDO Day in New York

1:45 PM
Small Breed Dogs: The NYC Small Dog Social Group

Sunday, Sept. 16
8:00 AM
Active Dogs: Bike-A-Thon to Benefit Guide Dog Foundation

10:00 AM
Active Dogs: Singles Dog Day

11:00 AM
Italian Greyhound: UWS Italian Greyhound Meetup

Shiba Inu: BKLYN Shibas Unite!!!

1:00 PM
Active Dogs: Mutts Marathon

Monday, Sept. 17
6:00 PM
Small Breed Dogs: Small Dog Playdate

7:00 PM
Small Breed Dogs: Puppy Parenting 101

7:30 PM
Active Dogs: Puppy Parenting 101

Tuesday, Sept. 18
9:00 AM
Active Dogs: DockDogs at Bryant Park

6:00 PM
Active Dogs: First Aid for Cats and Dogs (Manhattan)

6:30 PM
Active Dogs: Dinner with Rover by the River: NJ

One year ago, NYCityPets had a post about how to make your pet a star. As an update, here is a link for the Dog Actors Guild that helps link companies looking for dog talent with your (well-trained) pets!
The DAG asks: “Is your dog cute, talented, or both?” If your response is the latter, and you have $25 to spare, sign your pooch up and let us know if you get any work.

Madison has been enjoying her Labor Day weekend by visiting Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn.

Michelle is a kind soul for taking in an abandoned cat, however, she too needs a little help. Michelle is allergic to cats and needs a foster home for Matty. See her message below (sorry for the lack of a photo):

He’s named Matty. He is all white/blue eyes about 2-3 years old, 9 pounds, but very underweight. He was dumped at Amsterdam Houses about 5 months ago and was barely managing. Fortunately a kind woman was feeding him.

He’s getting neutered and all vaccinations today. Hopefully we’ll have
results of FIV/leukemia tests today, but may not be available until tomorrow morning. He was treated for fleas yesterday and has frontline on him and should be free of them now.

I’m allergic and get asthmatic and need immediate foster home–he gets
discharged from the vet later today. He also really seems to need a home with tlc!!

If you can help, email NYCityPets.

Meet Brianna and her dog, Sam. They are pleased to say hello to you from their laundromat in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Coton de Tulear group meets Saturday, Sept. 8th at 1:00 pm.

The Bronx Shiba Inus meet on Saturday, Sept. 29th at 2:00 pm.

The Pugs are playing in Hells Kitchen on Saturday, Aug. 25th at 10:00 am and in Astoria on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 11:00 am.

The American Pit Bull Terrier group meets in Central Park on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 7:00 pm.

The Maltese group sets sail at the 2nd Annual Canine Cruise: Sun. Aug. 25th 11:00 am.

The Pekingese group meets Sunday, Aug. 26th at 2:00 pm.

And if you don’t have a sociable dog, the Movie Fans meetup is going to view Underdog on Sunday, Aug. 26th at 12:45 pm.

Summertime has been more than just vacations and hot weather for NYC pets.

There is a new ad campaign for the Center for Animal Care & Control that really tells it like it is: homeless pets aren’t at fault for being shelter dogs.

In Manhattan, the Pet Fashion Week took place in August. Pups strutting their stuff in designer fashions. It might be time to rename the cat walk. Jen at Gotham Unleashed has your photo highlights.
There have been reports of poisonings at the Chelsea Waterside Dog Park. Hopefully, everyone is doing fine now and park goers are being more watchful.
Oh, and you’ll love this photo of Cimbi (of Harlem Fur fame) enjoying summer in Central Park.

In Brooklyn, there has been a kennel cough outbreak.
At Hillside Dog Run, the community is working together to help a friend in need get the veterinary care he deserves and the Elegant Stinkhorn mushroom has returned to the dog run. Gracie (the lost Italian Greyhound) was reunited with her family after a lot of media coverage and a nearly 4 week search. Hazel(see photo) was voted Brooklyn Industries Top Dog. Congrats to you, Hazel!

On the subway, an ad promoting epilepsy awareness contains a furry friend. Although the intention of the ad is probably to show service dogs for people who have seizures, many epileptic dogs live long, happy lives too.

In local blogs:
Craftzine has a nice pattern for knitting a cat bed. You’ll know the bed is a success if your cat sleeps in it instead of your own bed.

Apartment Therapy gives a nod to the International Gift Fair that happened in August with a post about the Pet Project. They make modern furniture for your design-conscious pet.

Swissmiss shows you it is possible to craft your own dachshund with the Egg Press pillow kit.

Denise Flaim at Animal House has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to dogs. Canned pumpkin for constipation or diarrhea is something veterinarians inform dog owners about every day.

And on a sad note, this graphic from the NY CACC website resembles the scene today on West 68th Street when a German Shepherd was left tied up to a street sign in the afternoon. Some resourceful, dog-loving people came to her aide and she is currently being fostered until a new home can be found. Why, oh why, isn’t there a real organization that prosecutes people who abandon animals? Aren’t there enough cameras on us in NYC that these heartless lawbreakers can be identified and sent to trial?