by Stephanie Modkins (Examiner)

Easter is a wonderful time for the whole family. However, it can present a few risks for the family dog. So, here are a few safety tips:

1. Keep yeast dough and chocolate away from your dog.
Yeast dough and chocolate can cause vomiting, bloating and other digestion problems in your dog. So keep your dog out of the kitchen and away from these foods. If necessary, create a diversion - like a special food bowl - that will give your dog his own treat. Also, don’t forget to let your children and visitors know not to feed your dog these items.

2. Store or throw away decorative Easter products.
Your dog will naturally be attracted to colorful Easter ribbon and grass. However, these items can hurt or even poison your dog if he eats them. Also, for tiny dogs, Easter ribbon is big enough for them to get entangled in. An event like this could lead to accidental death. So, after everyone’s opened up his or her Easter baskets, store away your ribbon or throw it along with any excess grass away.

3. Ask visiting smokers to put their butts in the trash.
Tobacco products are fatal to dogs. So ask smokers coming to your Easter festivities to throw their cigarette butts into the trash. Signs that your dog has nicotine poison are excitement, panting, vomiting, diarrhea and salivation. Twitching, depression, weakness and cardiac arrest follow these signs.

4. Watch out for stray candy wrappers in reach of your dog.
Like Halloween, Easter is a big candy day. So, children (and adults) will be tempted to drop candy wrappers on the floor or leaving them on seats and tables. If eaten, candy wrappers can block up a dogs intestines. So be sure to keep an eye out for them and throw them in the trash immediately.

5. Keep the stress level in your home low.
You may want to throw a huge Easter celebration, but if you own a skittish dog this may be a huge mistake. It will either stress him out or create a situation in which he may attack someone. So, you will have to consider how many people you really can have around your dog in order to make sure your Easter is fun. 

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Did your eyes meet across a crowded a pet shop, or down a dingy alley? Does he delight you daily, or do you long to return him to the shelter? Perhaps you prefer your best friend's pet?

At a July 2005 wedding in Wanganui, New Zealand, the groom Glen Armitage designated his dog as best man (aren't dogs our best friend?) but you can go one stage further and marry your pet. UK-based company "Marry Your Pet"  lets you literally marry your pet. , you can choose the 'simple wedding' for US $10 or the 'big wedding' for US $85 which comes with a T-shirt. In addition, the website carries a disclaimer advising, inter alia, that "by marrying your pet he/she may be entitled to half your house and all your income", so you have being warned!


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by Rosemary Parker

The long, snowy winter has left many pet owners with a disagreeable spring chore -- cleaning up after their dogs and cats now that the snow has melted. Picking up what pets have left behind in the yard is chore enough. Figuring out the responsible way to dispose of it may be worse.

While many recommend flushing, that's not a good idea when it comes to sewer maintenance, especially in areas served by on-site septic systems, local health officials say.

Hosing down the grass and washing the dissolved feces down the driveway is not a good solution either because of the potential for contamination of streams and lakes as runoff enters storm sewers.

So what is the solution? Homeowners are allowed to bury pet waste, although that's not always a practical solution with the accumulation of a winter's worth of feces and wet spring soils. Since pet waste can be disposed of legally in a landfill, scooping and bagging it and throwing it out with the household garbage is an option, as long as it is allowed by the homeowner's garbage hauler.

And if picking up poop is too odious to consider, homeowners can opt for spring cleanup services that will take care of the whole chore. A final option: Do nothing at all and allow the piles of waste to degrade with spring rains.

But urine salts pose more of a threat to lawns, he said, especially if pets have repeatedly visited the same part of the yard. It is recommended to thoroughly water the area to wash away accumulated salts. If the grass doesn't grow, turn over the soil and reseed it with rye grass or another quick-growing seed.


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This Friday March 6th The Luxury Pet Pavilion, a red carpet-inspired luxury pet trade show in Los Angeles, will present an exclusive fundraising event: “Barking Boutique Bid-N-Buy Auction” to benefit newly-founded L.A.-based "Ruff Houzen No-Kill" animal rescue shelter. 

Best Friend NYC joins Ashely Paige, a celebrity swimsuit designer and a TLC show host in supporting the cause, and raising awareness and funding for the new shelter in Los Angeles.

The celebrity fundraising event “Barking Boutique Bid-N-Buy” will feature a silent auction, which in addition to Best Friend NYC Dog Grooming Products will also feature over 50 of the latest pet fashions, home accessories, art and other pet products on the market today. On the night of the event, Ashley Paige, who is the Honorary Chair and the founder of Ruff Houzen, will unveil a custom swimsuit for the live auction and give an overview of plans for the new shelter.

Guests will enjoy specialty cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, delectable desserts and posh pet-product swag bags as they raise money for a great cause. Best Friend NYC will be in attendance and will report live from Beverly Hills. Stay posted for photos and videos from the event.



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Janine Franceschi

Janine Franceschi and her Irish setter Beau set off from Nantucket, Mass., in August to go on a four month, cross-country trip. Franceschi, the owner of a new hotel booking website Pet-friendly Accommodations Worldwide (PAW), was on a mission to source, visit, and review luxury pet-friendly hotels.

Now, about 13,000 miles, 30 states, and 50 pet-friendly hotels later, she has compiled a list of the “Top Dogs” in luxury accommodations, with the help of Beau, of course. The “Top Dog” list represents hotels that have at least a four-star rating and, in Franceschi’s opinion, not only offer the best in human and pet amenities, but also execute those amenities exceptionally well.

“The Tog Dog list, they are all hotels and businesses and resources that genuinely want to see you with your pet,” she said. “They’re not necessarily businesses that have pet programs to keep existing clients or attract clients. They really are excited to see you and your pet.”

Taking the title of PAW “Top Dog” Luxury Pet-friendly Resort 2008 was Calistoga Ranch in Calistoga, Calif. Westin and Kimpton tied for first place in the luxury pet-friendly hotel chain category and Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, Calif., was named the PAW “Top Dog” Luxury Pet-friendly Hotel 2008.

Recognition for the best pet-welcome amenity went to The Woodlands Resort & Inn in Summerville, S.C., for its personalized dog collar. Hotel Palomar of Dallas, Texas, received honorable mention for its goldfish bowl. Also included on the list are the top pet-friendly activities, resources, and restaurants Franceschi encountered throughout her and Beau’s trip.

In the pet-friendly restaurant category, Fetch, in the Upper East Side of New York City, and 50 Plates, of Portland, Ore., tied for first place. Franceschi said Fetch received high marks for its atmosphere and 50 Plates received high marks for its food.

The title of PAW “Top Dog” Pet-friendly Activity 2008 went to New York Dog Tours, of New York, N.Y., and the title of PAW “Top Dog” Pet-friendly Resource 2008 went to Dining with Sophie, of San Francisco, Calif.


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