Blog Posts by Sarah D. Bunting

We've known and loved several "under-legged" pets over the years: Mrs. Beasley, the tripod barn cat who could still hop to the top of a fence post, and Oreo, our neighbor's Boston Terrier, who's still faster than his human even with just three pins.

Animals can adapt to amputations, usually quite well -- but some animals haven't had to. Owners of dogs, cats, chickens, and sheep have invested in everything from wheels to TK to TKTK paws to help their furry friends get around. Below, six of our favorite stories.

1. Retired battery chicken Amelia gets $900+ bionic leg
Amelia, rescued from a factory farm in the UK by Sue Murphy and her family, received a first-of-its-kind operation to scaffold a fractured femur. Richard Jones, who performed the procedure, had done similar surgeries on parrots and falcons before, but never on a hen. Three more operations followed to remove the bracing pins; Murphy said she'd have done the same for any pet, adding that Amelia has "such character." Apparently

A few fun facts about the competing field at the Westminster Kennel Club Show, which kicks off in just over a week:

2,077 dogs and 105 Junior Showmanship entries have entered the show; all 185 eligible breeds and varieties are represented.

Some are represented more strongly than others: Rhodesian Ridgebacks have the highest number of entrants (40), which should make for a chaotically fun family reunion for a certain Ridgy colleague of ours. But the French Bulldog isn't far behind; 39 of that breed will show at Madison Square Garden, as well as 38 Labrador Retrievers, 32 Golden Retrievers, and 29 Vizslas. None of these breeds has taken Best In Show at Westminster yet, so perhaps they're hoping bigger numbers mean better chances.

For other dogs, a win in their breed class is just a 50-50 shot away – breeds with only 2 dogs competing include the American Water Spaniel, the Harrier, the Kuvaszok, the Sealyham Terrier, and the Canaan Dog. How have these breeds done as

The rumor that cameramen and other "little people" are not allowed to look Martha Stewart in the eye is still going around. We don't think it's true; she seemed perfectly personable to us, although we were 10 feet away from her as she was being interviewed, and thus out of earshot. But wherever we're supposed to look, we congratulate her Chow Chow, Ghenghis Khan (the grandson of her previous Chow, Paw Paw) for his Best In Breed win today.

WKC.org: See how Ghenghis does in Group competition Monday night at 8 ET on USA Network

One Old English Sheepdog handler is using Aqua Net's maximum-hold hairspray to keep her dog's mane fluffy. We're from New Jersey in the '80s; we'd know that smell anywhere. (Our understanding is that, although using "product" on your dog is not legal, the practice is widespread and usually ignored.) 

The best way to get a dog through the backstage crowd? Over your head. We saw a Bichon Frise, a Bearded Collie, and even a Dalmatian traveling this way; it simply

The Cocker isn't Avello's pick -- but you just never knowJohnny Avello has set odds for 25 years – and he's set the line for the Westminster Kennel Club show for six years. He's currently the Executive Director for Race & Sports at Wynn Las Vegas, and he kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about how he calculates those odds, who he's rooting for at the show, and whether the Brittany's got a shot this year. (At 300-1, not really. Sorry, David Frei.)

You can see his complete odds sheet right here, and remember – these are just for funsies.

Shine Pets: I don't actually know that much about oddsmaking, so if I'm asking any stupid questions, please forgive me, but what is your process with that?

Johnny Avello: Well, I have to – you know, there's a hundred and eighty-something dogs here. Did you get the list, by any chance?

No, not yet.

You want it?

I do!

[Avello emails us the odds sheet]

Okay…not necessarily what I was expecting to see at the top of the list there.

What were you looking to see?

Johnny Avello has been making odds for 25 years; he's done the Westminster Kennel Club show for six years. He shared his odds sheet for the 2012 Westminster show with Shine Pets -- every single breed and the odds for them to win appears below!

(Note: These odds are just for fun/entertainment purposes.)

Little Harvey Dent -- named for the Batman character Two-Face's alter ego -- came into the world with what you might call an unusual outlook. Or, well, two outlooks: the kitten was born with two faces. This type of cat is known as a Janus cat, for the two-faced Roman god who also brought us the word "January," but the more official term is diprosopus cat. (A different Janus cat, born in West Virginia in 2010, is shown here.)

VIDEO: Pets getting plastic surgery?

The equally delightfully named owners, Nash Hand and Amelia Forsythe, were taken aback at first, but soon decided to give Harvey a chance, despite a less-than-supportive internet response. Unsure of how to proceed with a two-faced kitten, the couple went on Craigslist to see if anyone could help them -- and were told for their trouble that the little guy was an "abomination" that should be put down. An area vet disagreed, saying last week that Harvey didn't appear to have any heart or lung issues, and despite financial worries

This is a test blog post from the Pets editor.

So, you've stepped in dog poop. And you weren't wearing those nice, convenient smooth-soled ankle boots, either – you had on your most ridgy-soled pair of cross-trainers, or the expensive snow boots guaranteed to grip icy surfaces (and, it turns out, other more icky substances).

The last time this happened, you put the shoe on the mud porch and went into denial until the seasons changed or your husband threw the shoe away by mistake – but you don't want to lose another Adidas to doody. Now what?

We interviewed civilians, pet experts, colleagues, and even fashion writers to find out what they do when shoe meets poo. Some of their answers came from left field (Play-Doh!), others from the junk drawer (chopsticks!), but we hope you'll find at least one solution that works for you.

Good luck!

Enjoy the great outdoors
Walking around outside got you into this mess – and maybe it can get you out. Pet expert Steve Dale recommends stepping in snow to clean shoe treads, or "wait