Would You Spend $40 to Put Yourself In Your Pet’s Shoes?

Cat and dog owners perplexed about their pet’s behavior can have their questions answered by local experts for $40. (Durham blogger Toastie may want to take advantage, check out this video of his cat).

North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is hosting a workshop called “Living in Harmony with Your Pets: Behavior Principles for Pet Owners” from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 9, according to one of the more amusing news releases I’ve read today.

Using case examples and videos, Drs. Barbara Sherman and Margaret Gruen will help owners see the world from their pets’ perspective in order to prevent and manage common behavior problems in the home. Five separate sessions will focus on behavior issues involving puppies, kittens, dogs, cats, and children and pets. The workshop will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

I’d love to go to find out why my cat Mogwai licks her front paws incessantly and only wants to be pet while laying on my bed … but it’s not quite in my budget right now. Besides, I already had her analyzed by an “animal communicator” a few months ago during a pet fair in Bluffton, SC, and the woman concluded there was nothing wrong with her. (My cat is named Mogwai after the cuddly, furry creatures that turn into “Gremlins”).

But if you’re interested in finding out about your pet’s quirks via this seminar, click here for more information on how to register. In the meantime, tell me about some of the weird things your pets do.

Who Doesn’t Look for Their Lost Dog? At least 30 Locals, Apparently

If your dog is missing, you should look for it.

No-duh, right? Wrong, apparently.

For some reason, a Wake County animal shelter is seeing an influx of lost dogs, and no one appears to be claiming them. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a news release today urging “Pet Owners to Search for the Lost Dogs.” SPCA officials suspect that up to 30 of the 73 dogs currently in its lost and found pet center have owners who just haven’t found them.

“It would be tragic for these dogs not to be reunited with their owners just because the owner didn’t know where to look,” said spokeswoman Mondy Lamb. The shelter takes in stray animals found outside the Raleigh, Cary and Garner areas, according to the news release. She speculates that the influx might be the result of dog owners being out-of-town for the holidays and their dogs got out. Now, she guesses, they don’t know where to look or haven’t done a thorough search

So what should you do if your pet goes missing? Fill out a lost animal report online. Then go to the lost and found pet center to look for your lost pup anytime between 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Have you ever lost a pet? If so, did you find it or was it lost forever?

Drinking with Dinosaurs

If you want to see some Dinosaurs next week, head over to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The museum is sponsoring a free showing of the 1960-flick “Dinosaurs” at 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Click here for more details.

The featured movie is being aired as part of the museum’s First Friday event, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m. At the Jan. 4 event, visitors can check out the museum’s latest exhibit, “Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries” for a discounted $5 admission. You can buy beer and wine at the museum’s cafe and listen to the sounds of The Scarlet Divide, a local band that will perform at 6 p.m. Check out the band’s sound on its MySpace page.

I Took My Friend’s Dog to an Orphanage

I found another cool Raleigh park this weekend. It’s called Fred Fletcher Park, and I caught it out of the corner of my eye while driving downtown on Glenwood Avenue.

I spent the last few days dog sitting my co-worker’s Golden Retriever, so I took him to check it out with me. The park sits on the former campus of the Methodist Home for Children, according to the city of Raleigh’s Web site.

The park features the Borden Building, which was built in 1900 and provided quarters to the orphanage’s superintendent before later housing hundreds of children. The city bought the house and park in 1982, according to its Web site, and renovated the building in 1992. Apparently it’s now offered to the public for weddings, conferences and other meetings.

We didn’t know all that while we were running through the park, though it did seem to sit on a campus-like setting. Are their any parks in your neighborhood worth checking out?

Don’t Let A Pet Turtle Give You the Runs

When I was five, I woke up on Christmas morning and found two parakeets in a cage waiting for me and my brother. Santa left them the night before, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I truly believed Santa managed to carry the birds (soon named Jimmy and Peepers) down our chimney.

I’m not sure how common it is to give your kids pets for Christmas. But apparently it happens often enough for the North Carolina Division of Public Health to be concerned. Health officials are warning parents not to give their kiddies pet turtles for Christmas because of the risk of contracting the intestinal infection Salmonellosis, which is caused by the Salmonella bacteria. Turtles have prompted recent outbreaks in children living in Burke, Lincoln, Union and Montgomery counties.

In case you didn’t know (who knew?), Salmonella is a naturally occurring bacteria in turtles and other reptiles and turtles who are contaminated with it don’t appear to be sick, according to a news release health officials sent this morning. Not only that, but technically it’s illegal to buy turtles with shells smaller than four inches in diameter. The Federal Drug Administration banned such transaction in 1975 after Salmonella was linked to the handling of small turtles.

And if you just can’t resist playing with a turtle, health officials advise to always wash your hands afterward. As for my Christmas parakeets, they died not long after we got them. Not sure how, but they both died on the same day. We buried them in the backyard of our Chicago neighborhood.

Meet My New Friend

I made a new friend during my lunch break today. He (I guess it could be a she, I didn’t look under the tail to see) lives outside my apartment complex and is the sweetest kitty I’ve met in a long time.

I just hope there are no gaps in my neighbor’s chicken coop, otherwise I have a feeling this sweetie will be pilfering poultry.

Are there any animals that don’t belong to you roaming your neighborhood?