Blog Posts by Sarah D. Bunting

Friends, the time has come. The terrible reign of hideous, useless, and straight-up terrible pet-related gifts must end! Only together can we defeat the kitten sweatshirts, the cutesy needlepointed Scottie-dog pillows, the gingham food-bowl mats, the cheap-looking mousepads and the non-hilarious novelty lawn ornaments in the shape of pet poo. We have pets; we also have taste! (Usually! And even if we don't, please stop giving us mousepads!)

Maybe you collect Scottie-dog-iana; no judgments. Have fun with it. But Shine Pets has had it with the horrendous Swarovski pawprint earrings, so we've put together a list of gifts we'd like to get, and give. Buy them for your pet-adjacent friends; recommend them to Hanukkah Harry and Kwanzaa Ken; and for the love of little apples, step away from the handcrafted ceramic "jokes" about cat hair.

Today's gift spotlight is on a handful of science-y or tech-y gifts we like. First up: the Canine Genealogy Kit (SkyMall, $59.95). The results take a few weeks

Read More »from 12 Days of Pet-mas: Science and Tech

Got your heart set on a holiday card featuring your pet and a Santa hat -- or Santa himself -- but not sure where to go? Use our handy list of Kris Kringle photo ops in 25 metro areas around the country. 

(Note: we haven't had our own pets' pictures taken with these Santae, so we can't vouch for whether you should go with these Saints Nick, or others in your area. Some are free; others raise money for local animal shelters and pet alliances. But if you need a quick click to find a Santa pic, we've got 'em. If your favorite Santa isn't on our list, or your area isn't listed, check us twice in the comments!)

Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Charlotte, NC
Chicago area, IL
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Denver area, CO
Detroit area, MI
Houston, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Jacksonville, FL
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Memphis, TN
Milwaukee, WI
Nashville, TN
New York, NY

Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Portland, OR

San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose / Silicon Valley, CA

Seattle, WA
Washington, DC

And don't Read More »from Take your pet to see Santa this weekend!

The results of an AP-Petside poll circulating yesterday found that the average American vet bill tops $500 annually – and much of the coverage seemed to suggest that $505 for a year of vet visits and treatment is a lot of money.

Don't get me wrong; in this economy especially, five Benjamins is a lot of money. But I can't be the only one wondering how these other American pet-owners got away so cheaply; I have two senior pets, each of whom has a senior-wellness check-up twice a year, plus the dental issues and the fancy restricted-diet food and the blah blah blah. (The third cat helps keep costs down by refusing to let me catch her and put her in a carrier. Thanks, Mabel!) Often, I'm lucky to escape with five hundred per visit. Per year…let's just say one of the ancient cats should think about getting a paper route.

The AP-P poll also found that, while the majority of pet owners paid less than the average (around $300 for the year), one in six human companions reported

Read More »from 5 startling stats about vet costs

Need a break from those spreadsheets? About to cry in your cube after a downbeat performance review? Shine Pets can help. Bookmark any or all of these Tumblrs, and the next time you need cheering (or waking) up at work, take a cute break. It's free!

Cats. Where they do not belong.
The exasperated author explains to various cats why they should not sit in luggage, eat turkey, lie on top of gaming consoles, et cetera. Sample quote: "get out of there cat. you are not food. you should not be sitting in the cabinet next to the easy mac. i know you are the same color but that doesn’t mean you should also be up there cat."

Cats doing yoga
Every unsettlingly elastic pose of the sleeping and/or stretching cat, carefully documented. Namaste!

Worldly Cats
My cats haven't gone any further than Jersey; these cats pose in fountains and on steps all over the world.

Stoned Cats
Drugs are illegal and bad. Cats sleeping in guitar cases or sticking their heads into Pop Tarts boxes, meanwhile, are

Read More »from 8 great cat Tumblrs

Today's Fur Your Information questions come from Yahoo! Answers -- and helping us solve a couple of pet mysteries today is Dr. Lori Pasternak, DVM of Richmond, VA. Let's get to it!

Q: My cat frequently climbs on my computer desk; rather than just standing anywhere on the vast space of the desk, he will always go and sit on my thick study book! I noticed cats in general do this a lot; they will sit on the highest point of an area, even if it's only like an inch or something higher. Why do cats do this?

A: Cats like heights because they can get a better view of their surroundings. Being territorial animals, they like to survey their territory once in a while and note the movements of people and other animals in their area. Furthermore, since cats are natural predators, heights give them a good vantage point where they can quietly watch and wait for an opportune time to pounce on their prey. Perching gives cats a feeling of security. They will use every advantage they can get, even

Read More »from Fur Your Information: Why cats perch

My family's Christmas trees looked pretty much the same each year: embarrassing ornaments my brother and I had made as little kids; strings of colored lights; and every single breakable ornament crammed into the very top branches, where naughty cat paws couldn't reach.

If you have a pet and a Christmas tree, chances are you've also got a problem: cats batting low-hanging decorations, dogs chewing on cords or breaking priceless glass globes with their tails, parakeets perching (and then pooping) on the star at the top.

The best way to keep your pets from messing with your tannenbaum, of course, is ban them from the tree area altogether. No pets in the tree room = no pets in, or under, or eating the tree. But excluding furry family members from a holiday tradition is depressing and a hassle, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of broken heirlooms.

If your pet-related tree drama is on the list below, we might have the solution. (We definitely have sympathy.)

My cat is

Read More »from Fur vs. fir: pet-proof your Christmas tree

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2011 National Dog Show Best in ShowThe Wire Fox takes the big prize

The 2011 National Dog Show Presented by Purina Best in Show champion is the Wire Fox Terrier: GCH CH Steele Your Heart. (His friends call him "Eire," pronounced "Ira.")

The Wire Fox shared a category with the Smooth Fox Terrier until 1984, and except for their coats, these terriers are essentially identical – paintings suggest that both coat varieties have existed since the middle of the 18^th century. Playful and friendly with tons of energy, the Wire Fox is eminently trainable (though she's often an escape artist!) and great with kids.

The winner comes from the Terrier Group, of course. The finalists from the other groups:

From the Toy Group, the Affenpinscher: GCH CH Banana Joe V Tani Kazari

From the Hound Group, the Whippet: GCH CH Starline's Chanel

From the Herding Group, the Australian Shepherd: GCH CH Propwash Reckon

From the Non-Sporting

Read More »from 2011 National Dog Show Best in Show!

I had an interesting conversation backstage about the Komondor, who's a member of the Working Group. I got to chatting with a woman, whose dog is in the Sporting Group, about the Komondor's distinctive dreadlockish coat, and how it must be a lot of work. Her dog's beauty regimen is a lot simpler, the woman said -- "trim the ears, trim between the toes, done" -- and she went on to claim that judges grade on a difficulty curve when it comes to grooming. The bigger the job of caring for the dog's coat, the better the breed tends to do in Group judging, in other words.

I have no idea whether that's true, although National Dog Show Presented by Purina co-host David Frei did note in our interview that a groomer can bring a great dog out of a "pile of hair." I can tell you that, while the Komondor's coat might be a pain to maintain, it gets that Rastafarian corded look all on its own. The cords protect the Komondor -- who was himself developed in Hungary centuries ago to protect, rather than

Read More »from 2011 National Dog Show sneak preview: Komondor