Recently in Just for fun Category

I will not play tug-of-war with Dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.

I'll remember that the garbage collector is NOT stealing our stuff.

I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.

I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.

I must shake the rainwater out of my fur BEFORE entering the house.

I will not eat the cats' food, before or after they eat it.

I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to throw up.

I will not throw up in the car.

I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, etc.

I will not lick my human's face after eating animal poop.

"Kitty box crunchies" are not food.

I will not eat any more socks and then redeposit them in the backyard after processing.

The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.

I will not wake Mommy up by sticking my cold, wet nose on her bottom end.

I will not chew my human's toothbrush and not tell them.

I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.

When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside.

We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on TV.

I will not steal my Mom's underwear and dance all over the backyard with it.

The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are Mom and Dad's laps.

My head does not belong in the refrigerator.

I will not bite the officer's hand when he reaches in for Mom's driver's license and car registration.

Sent in by Puppy Tails-Jorvik a pet boutique, 292 Dew Drop Road, York Township

According to Men's Health magazine, the following are the best cities for dogs:

1. Colorado Springs
2. Portland, Oregon
3. Albuquerque, New Mexico
4. Tucson, Arizona
5. Seattle, Washington
6. Denver, Colorado
7. Austin, Texas
8. San Francisco, California
9. Tampa, Florida
10. Sacramento, California

The three worst cities? Jacksonville, Florida; Washington, D.C.; and Detroit, Michigan.

-- Based on calculations of dog parks, shelters, dog ownership and veterinarians

To find out more, visit http://www.menshealth.com/dogs.

From petloverstips.com:

This all natural dog biscuit recipe is simple to make, and can even be put together by kids and adults.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

¼ cup of carrots

3 cups of finely chopped parsley

¼ cup of finely grated cheese. Make sure that the dog likes the kind of cheese you use to ensure that he gets the tastes he wants. Typically, Parmesan or mozzarella cheese is best to use.

2¾ cups flour

2 tablespoons olive oil to the ingredients

2 teaspoons baking powder to give the biscuit a little "rise" when they're baked

2 teaspoons bran to make it extra healthy

½ cup water, and don't add it until all of the ingredients have been blended together.

Slowly add the water until there's a moist texture. Knead the dough to uniform rill using rolling pin. Cut in fun shapes.

On a slightly greased baking sheet, place the cut dough and bake 20 to 30 minutes.

Every shelter is full - we are lost, but not found,

Our numbers are hung on our cages so bare,

We hope every minute that someone will care,

They'll come to adopt us and give us a chance!

 Here, Fluffy and Garfield - come play with your new catnip mouse.

But now we sit here and think of the days...

We were treated so fondly -- we had cute, baby ways,

Every shelter is full -- we are lost, but not found,

Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,

We hope every minute that someone will care,

They'll come to adopt us and give us the call,

"Come here, Max and Sparkie -- come fetch your new ball!

Sent in from a reader:

A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwest town he planned to visit on his vacation.

He wrote: I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed and very well behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"

An immediate reply came from the hotel owner, who wrote:

SIR: "I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes, silverware or pictures off the walls. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too."

by Janine Allen

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.

I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.

I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the overworked shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

Billy the boxer has become the constant companion of a 12-day-old baby goat named Lilly. He sleeps with the goat, washes her and protects her from any dangers at Pennywell Farm Wildlife Centre at Buckfastleigh -- near Totnes, Devon, in England.

Billy and Lilly have formed a close bond. The kid was abandoned by her mother when she was only a few hours old, and was adopted by paternal Billy when his owner, Elizabeth Tozer, began hand-raisng the goat.

The unusual bond has continued to develop, and the pair are now inseparable.

Elizabeth said: 'Lilly follows Billy around, which is really quite amusing to watch; and Billy sleeps with the goat and cleans her mouth after she feeds.'

A friend sent me this in an e-mail. My cats follow this description of a cats' duties pretty well -- especiall the "no closed doors" part.

BATHROOMS --Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

DOORS - Do not allow any closed doors...in any room. To get the door opened, it's not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an outside door opened, stand half-way in & out & think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.

CHAIRS AND RUGS - If you have to throw up get to a white chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up while barfing so it's as long as a human's bare foot.

HAMPERING - If one of your humans is engaged in any activity, and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called helping, otherwise known as hampering. Following are the rules for hampering: When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.

For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book--unless you can lie across the book itself. When human is working at computer, jump up on desk, walk across keyboard, bat at mouse pointer on screen, and then lay in human's lap across arms, hampering typing in progress.

WALKING - As often as possible, dart quickly & as close as possible in front of the human, especially on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark & when they first get up in the morning. This will help them practice their co-ordination skills.

BEDTIME - Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.

LITTER BOX - When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.

HIDING - Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you and do NOT come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love & kisses, and you probably will get a treat.

ONE LAST THOUGHT- Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, then turn around and present your butt to them...humans love this, so do it often!

From Cute.com:

Barack Obama promised his daughters a new puppy. What kind of puppy do you think the Obama family should adopt?

What do you think they should they name it?

Share your thoughts at inyork.com/exchange in the "Just for Fun" section.

Photos from Cute.com

I received this in an e-mail today; I'm not sure where it originated.

If I didn't have a dog or cat:

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

When we were there, Diesel was the only bulldog; but we were told there had been another bulldog there earlier. There were also German shepherds, a Great Pyrenees, a Newfoundland, a miniature bull terrier ( I didn't even know there was a miniature version of those), a Bernese Mountain Dog, at least one beagle, lots of beautiful pit bulls and many other dogs.

The dogs all seemed to be enjoying themselves, sniffing each other and making friends, and getting lots of attention from the people there.

There was a hula-hoop competition (not what you're thinking -- it was more like musical chairs), and for $1, you could let your dogs try weight-pulling or the agility course.

Sam took Diesel through the agility course, with help from a trainer. Although Diesel seemed less than thrilled, he did do pretty good with the teeter-totter. He didn't know what to make of the poles, and REALLY didn't like the blue tunnel.

From the Associated Press:

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. -- The owners of Yoda -- a cat with four ears -- could use a couple extra hands to answer their telephones.

Ted and Valerie Rock said they've been inundated with television offers and media inquiries since their son posted a photo of their smoke-colored cat on a Web site. That turned the four-eared feline from a suburban animal oddity into an instant Internet celebrity.

The Rocks, from the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, have fielded calls from "Good Morning America," "Fox News" and "The Tyra Banks Show." The cat's photo has graced the London Guardian and a British tabloid. The Daily Mail said if Batman had a cat, it would be Yoda.

"It's amazing," Ted Rock said. "For the past few days, our phone has just been ringing off the hook."

Yoda's extra ears give him a hint of a devilish appearance. The Rocks said they found him in 2006 while watching a Chicago Bears game at a Blue Island bar.

Some in the bar were passing the then-eight-week old kitten around, making fun of his extra set of ears, mocking his appearance and calling him names such as "Devil Cat" and "Beelzebub."

It wasn't quite love at first sight, but the Rocks felt sorry for the cat and offered to adopt the kitten from the bar's owner, who kept the animal caged atop the bar for his customers' amusement.

Animal rescue is deeply rewarding yet extremely difficult work. To survive in this realm, one must find healthy ways to cope with the emotional challenges. Here are 10 points to ponder.

1. You can't save them all.
Even if you spent every hour of every day working to save animals, you still wouldn't be able to save them all. Take comfort in knowing that you are not alone in your efforts.

2. Work smarter, not harder.
Manage your rescue efforts like a business. Organize tasks to make the best use of time. For example, time spent recruiting more volunteers may make more sense in the long run than trying to do more yourself. If you find yourself pulled in many directions, you might be more effective if you focus on one rescue facility, one geographic locale, or one species or breed.

From The Associated Press:

Three tiger cubs at a Kansas zoo are getting some maternal care from an unlikely source -- Isabella the golden retriever.

The tiger cubs were born Sunday at Safari Zoological Park but their mother soon stopped caring for them. Isabella had just weaned her own puppies and was able to step in.

Zoo owner Tom Harvey says, "The timing couldn't have been any better."

He says it's unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. Isabella licks, cleans and feeds the cubs just like her own puppies.

Safari Zoological Park specializes in endangered species. It has leopards, lions, baboons, ring-tailed lemurs, bears and other animals.

View related videos on YouTube.

Source unknown (sent in by a reader):

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of. He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

By Connie Bloom, Akron Beacon Journal:

If your border collie is sipping lattes instead of herding sheep, look no further than the "Working Dogs Book Store" for online help.

The Web site at http://www.workingdogs.com/books.htm is a handsome and exhaustive resource for owners of working dogs in particular, but also couch-dwelling fluff balls.

It offers a constellation of books and videos on topics such as behavior, breeding, business, dog law, agility, genetics, first aid, grief, philosophy, spirituality, nutrition and much more.

More than 50 titles are devoted to agility alone.

You can click and buy at deeply discounted prices, the site says, with processing and delivery via other established online retailers, including Amazon.com.

We priced two volumes. "Building, Buying and Operating a Boarding Kennel" by James Krack was priced at $42 at Working Dog and $78 on Amazon.com. "Animals As Teachers and Healers: True Stories and Reflections,' was $9.60 on Working Dog and $12 at Amazon.

Pets, no matter how big or small, are precious. They bring companionship, protection and fun to our lives. But, vet visits and obedience issues can be a pain in the neck sometimes.

Share what nobody told you about being a pet owner with us in 100 words or less.

Submissions can be sent to York Daily Record/ Sunday News, c/o Erin McCracken, 1891 Loucks Road, York PA 17408; or e-mailed to emccracken@ydr.com.

Include your name, your pets' names, ages, where you live, a daytime phone number and a photo of you an your pet.

Deadline is July 18.

Leash Luggage keeps everything you need while walking your dog in one convenient and organized place. T

Leash Luggage holds and dispenses doggy bags for easy cleanup; it has a pocket for treats, a special key holder and a place for your ID; and it attaches to any style of leash.

Leash Luggage is available in several different styles and colors. Check them out at www.leashluggage.com.

The Bella Lucca Collection offers designer clothing tailored for the sophisticated dog.

From luxurious outerwear to delightful walking harnesses and carriers, each piece in this collection packs high style and attention to detail.

Looking for a spring trenchcoat, or a colorful quilted carrier tote bag? The Bella Lucca Collection has it!

To view the entire collection, visit www.bellaluccacollection.com.

From FunStuffForDogs.com:

Every vote counts, and even pets are getting into the Presidential election debate this year, with new political pet bandanas from FunStuffForDogs.com.

The bandanas are made in USA, and come in red or blue. They include full lining, ribbon trim, snap closure and a charm that says "United We Stand."

Politically correct and party approved, these bandanas are embroidered with the word "Republican" or "Democrat." Each features an outline of the USA with the word "Vote" in the center.

Earlier in the year, the company conducted a Pet Primary. It asked its customers whom they would rather see in the White House next January: Seamus, the Clintons' Chocolate Lab; John McCain's English Springer Spaniel, Sam, and mutt, Coco; or no dog (Obama). Nearly half of respondents -- 47% -- said they'd like to see Seamus be the First Dog.

Check your pet's horoscope online at Petside.com's Daily Petscope.