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| September 2007's WOOF Patrol Little Bites |
| Visit and play fetch with us @ www.woofpatrol.com |
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Little Bites
If you're looking for quick info, then Little Bites is your section. It's a collection of canine tidbits that have been put together in quick-read style. You'll read about the latest trends along with snippets of pooch news. You'll have information and fido facts at your fingertips.
Book and Film Reviews, Pet-Terrific Travel and Pomo's Telltale TiPs will keep you out of the dog house and put you into the K-9 insiders' world.
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Tony Conza is the dad of WOOF Patrol Mascot, Pomo. Tony is the Founder of the Blimpie sandwich chain. His years of experience in the restaurant business led him to believe the way to one's heart is through food. Pomo agrees. One night over dinner he sat down and compiled what WOOF Patrol has since and most appropriately tagged "Little Bites".
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Little Bites by Tony Conza
On October 24, 1953, "Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page reached #1 on the Billboard Top 100 charts and it's still remembered today. From 1948 to 1982 on the Mercury label, Page had 111 singles on the Billboard Charts.
Jake, the black lab from Utah who came to NYC to search for victims of 9/11, died of cancer. His 12 year old body has been given to the University of Pennsylvania to study the effects of toxic dust on search and rescue dogs at Ground Zero.
According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, nearly 45% of U.S. households own a dog.
The Astro, manufactured by Garmin, which makes G.P.S. equipment, is mounted on the dog's collar and comes with a hand-held G.P.S. unit that tracks dogs up to 5 miles away. It costs $599. and weighs 6 ounces so it's not meant for small dogs.
PupLight (puplight.com) has a dog collar with light-emitting diodes. The bright beams of the L.E.D.'s make dogs more visable at night.
In 1960, W. Watts Biggers quit his job at an ad agency and began to create cartoons for TV. One of his shows was called "Underdog" and 130 episodes ran for 7 years on NBC & CBS and for another 30 years in reruns all over the world. At age 80, Biggers gets to view "Underdog" the movie in thousands of theatres.
The Humane Society rates the following cities as the "most humane" in the country: 1. San Francisco 2. Seattle 3. Portland 4. Washington, DC 5. San Diego
San Francisco has banned plastic bags. Environmentally preferred alternatives for poop scooping include "The Scooperbox" and "Mutt Mitts"
Who says luck doesn't count in business? Following the discovery of melamine in dog & cat foods, "Hare Today", a supplier of raw rabbit food for cats, saw its sales jump 20%. Apparently kitty's palate is piqued by rabbit meat. But Nancy Furstinger of Elizaville, NY, who rescues rabbits and keeps them as indoor pets, is horrified. "As the 3rd most popular pet in the U.S., rabbits are intelligent, gentle creatures," she says. They suffer in agony on this (Hare Today) factory farm."
Regarding raw diets, the American Veterinary Medical Association urges caution. There's also the risk of transmitting bacteria to people. In other words, if your pet just ate something raw, avoid a pooch smooch.
Another company that is benefiting from the recall is Freshpet. Last year their all-natural blend was being sold in 200 stores; this year it's jumped to 1000 with a 1000 more projected.
By the way, the Chinese symbol for crisis is the same as it is for opportunity.
Who says lawyers are heartless? After years of practicing as a Dallas labor lawyer, Jim Karger moved to San Miguel de Allende where he and wife Kelly started "Save A Mexican Mutt", a group that takes dogs off the streets and out of pounds, finding them homes in America. Since 2003, SAMM has placed about 200 dogs in 15 states.
Leslie Alexander, the billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team, gave $2.5 million to the Humane Society to fight Animal Cruelty. With wife, Nanci, who is an ardent animal-rights advocate, he has a yellow lab named Joy. Joy was picked out at a shelter. She was obviously abused by a previous owner.
Peter Pracilio, a Brooklyn industrial designer believes that dogs suffer from stress caused by boxy crates where they have to sleep at home or during travel. "Corners produce anxiety," he says. So he invented the "eCrate", an egg-shaped cage out of curved wires. The crate will be available by year end at DeisgnGoStudio.com.
It seems there is no end to dog cruelty. At Hollywood, Florida's exclusive Teacups Boutique, where Whitney Houston, Hillary Duff, Mandy Moore and NY Knick's Jerome James buy their dogs, someone stole 2 toy Chihuahuas after breaking in. The suspect tried to carry numerous puppies out but dropped most of them. If these little puppies are not properly cared for, they will die.
"Pawniquely Yours" makes leopard-print chaise lounges, chocolate brown leather couches and forest green divans with matching feathers, all for pooches of any size. These items and more were featured during Pet Fashion Week in NYC.
Pet Trend expert, Charlotte Reed, has a book on the shelf entitled "The Miss Fido Manners Complete Book of Etiquette ($12.95, Adams Media).
NY's Museum of Modern Art has a bronze sculpture of a skin and bones dog by Alberto Giacometti.
A Jacksonville company is selling dog chew toys that are Michael Vick's likeness. (vickdogchewtoy.com - $10.99)
City Pet Transportation in NYC (917.532.5572) will fetch Fido or FiFi in an emergency.
A Tennessee company has created a device ($50.) that responds to other people's dogs barking by sending an ultrasonic squeal that humans can't hear. The unit looks like a birdhouse and shuts up the dog.
"Because Pets Can't Drive" (1999) ranked #23 on USA Today's list of the most memorable TV commercials of the past 25 years. Pets.com tried to promote itself by using a silly puppy sock puppet with button eyes. The spot created a national icon, but the dot-com company died.
The FDA received a record 18,000 calls after the largest pet-food recall ever. About half of the callers alleged a pet death. Sadly we'll never know how many animals did die. The FDA did not have the resources to investigate.
(Photo credits: Patti Page - www.misspattipage.com and eCrate by Keith J. Price)
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| Yvonne Conza, Founder of WOOF Patrol - ph: 917.847.2854 |
September 2007 |
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