From Austin to Boston dog walk update: Luke and his two Pyrenees closing in on Boston at tail end of 2,300-mile hike

Luke Robinson, 39, and his two Pyrenees companions, Hudson and Murphy, set off from Austin, Texas, in March 2008 to spread awareness that dogs can develop the same cancer as humans. Yesterday, they were in Newtown, CT.

More Austin dogs in the snow

Go Play in the Snow! That's an order!

photo credit: Dogs in the snow in Georgetown!
by dixiengeorgetown
Posted on: Feb 23, 2010 at 9:44 AM CST
kvue.com

Still use snail mail? Share the love of rescueing homeless dogs and cats

With this pane of 10 stamp designs, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter pets.

The pets depicted on the stamps were photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce near her home in New Milford, Connecticut. All had been homeless at one time; all but one had been adopted when they were photographed.

Nature’s Variety Issues Nationwide Recall On Certain Raw Frozen Chicken Diets

Nature’s Variety has recalled their Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet for dogs and cats with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The only products affected are limited to chicken medallions, patties, and chubs with a “Best If Used By” date of 11/10/10. No other Nature’s Variety products are affected.

Best ever on pets lost and found and Katrina

As Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, the mayor issued a last-minute order for everyone to evacuate. In the clamor to get out of the city, many pet owners left their animals with food and water, fully intending to return in a few days. People without the means to leave the city on their own were forced onto busses and barred from bringing the furriest family members along.

The result was that tens of thousands of domesticated pets were left in a devastated city. Those that survived the storm and the floods faced grim odds of surviving the heat without fresh water or enough food to last the weeks or months before their owners were permitted back into the city to rescue them. MINE follows some of the hundreds of volunteers who mobilized in the hours and days after the storm, entering the city and capturing as many stranded pets as they could find. These volunteers often provided life-saving medical care to the injured, dehydrated, and hungry animals. Massive temporary animal shelters sprung up in the suburbs of New Orleans, where the lucky pets who survived waited to be reunited with their owners or adopted out.

It would not be easy or quick, or without ethical quandaries and lawsuits. MINE tracks the stories of several of the rescued pets, their original owners, and their adopted families, raising questions about what constitutes pet “ownership” and how we regard animals as both family members and property.

Happy Mardi Gras

6,161 Austin animals euthanized in 2009: Non-profit wants Austin to be "No Kill" city

From KXAN.com: It's a number that has drawn attention and criticism from Austin Pets Alive!, a local non-profit. APA is now trying to take over the adoption program at Town Lake Animal Center and wants to make Austin a no kill City by 2011.

Happy Valentine's Day from austindogandcat

Before and after pix we love thanks to Blue Dog Rescue

The 19th year of the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon kicks off at 7 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2nd Street and Congress Avenue. Want to participate in the marathon, but don't want to run? (It's sold out anyway.) Hand out water to thirsty runners at the Blue Dog Rescue Water Stop.

Find Love This Valentine's Weekend

If you go for the kind that's independent, a bit snooty and sometimes acts as though he doesn't need you... all you need is a cat to love.

Austin Pet’s Alive! will be with kitties and cats at PetSmart,which will donate $35 to APA! for every cat that gets adopted!

Sat. Feb. 13th 1-6 pm. Petsmart, Ohlen & 183.

Sun. Feb. 14th 1-6 pm. Petsmart , 51st & I-35.

Prissy Pom is Poster Dog for Doing the Right Thing to help Austin people and their pets reunite

Yet another worthy calendar for yet another worthy good cause. Available: here.

Excellent interview with AustinPetFinder.org founder and Austin native, Katherine Holtry from Giving City Austin, The Guide to Doing Good in Austin

The organization was founded last Austin after Holtry rescued a stray kitten from a South Austin strip mall. The wife and mother has been a radio & television personality for over a decade but her true passion is pets. As a child, she was always bringing home stray animals, and even today her household consists of several stray cats and dogs. APF was initiated on Facebook.

Funds raised from calendar sales will help the organization become a non-profit organization.

Cat tale has happy ending in Austin thanks to microchip ID

by Jim Bergamo / KVUE News

If your pets are not micro-chipped, this story might push you to get it on your to-do list. This reunion story spans 3 years and 1,500 miles and was made possible through modern technology.

Enough about that other Super Bowl: Puppy Bowl VI was the real real ruff ruff game

Check out these highlights from last night's Puppy Bowl IV show and the local one here in Austin

Last year's line up was just as cute.


Kitty halftime show was cool with a soundtrack so bad, you are advised to mute the volume.

The behind the scenes story (after a short but cute dog denture commercial).