911? There’s a Dog in My Fridge and He Won’t Come Out!

Aww, the poor little guy looks kinda scared. Good thing there wasn't much food in the fridge (or maybe not so good thing, as far as the dog was concerned). (Photo: Yuma Fire Department, via the Yuma Sun)

A Yuma, Ariz. family had an unexpected visitor when they opened their door and a little black terrier darted into their house. The surprised family said the dog kept snapping at them, so they opened the fridge to get something to lure him back outside.

But when they opened the refrigerator, the little dog jumped in, crouched down, and refused to come out. He did not chill out, though, and kept snapping at people. Firefighters arrived at the scene, put on protective gear, and endured the dog’s teeth enough to get him out of the appliance and into a carrier.

He was soon reunited with his owner, who had reported him missing.

And that, my Dogster friends, is your Weird Wednesday story.

(Source: AP, via SF Gate)

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New reviews: Too late for Christmas, but there’s always New Year’s

December 24, 2010

Our new product section is humming along nicely, and I know review coordinator Ericka Basile has quite a few more reviews in the pipeline, including another popular review where the PetConnection team each takes one of a class of products — like time it was vacs — and tries it out for a compare-contrast with others. Phyllis DeGioia is taking over coordinating book reviews, so we’ll have a lot more of them. And even though we had to say good-bye to our DogCars.com website in 2010, we’re hitting the accelerator pedal again on vehicle reviews, which will now be in our general reviews section.

Here’s what’s over there now:

Jill Fisher Gibbs reviews MuttMops:

MuttMops are sturdy fleece toys that captivate and entertain.  They come in six different flavors, er, colors, including Wintergreen, which I kind of expected would smell like Lifesavers, but it didn’t. Bright color, though, which is helpful to spot in the snow.

Isabeau, one of my two Flat-Coated Retrievers, wanted it right out of the envelope, and she got it. Took off running, she did, which is a positive review from her.

These toys are 11 inches in diameter and are made with a 100 percent polyester fringe around a solid rubber ring that creates a very floppy toy.  Floppy toys make for the best “toss into the air and catch” fun.

Henry, my Golden Retriever, seemed to have the most fun with it.  Running, tossing, catching, running, tossing and catching.

Next up: Ericka Basile with Ramps4Paws, reviewed with assistance of Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida:

I asked Dennis Guyitt, with Golden Retriever Rescue of Southwest Florida, to bring a few dogs to my house so we could test out the ramp on larger and senior dogs. My 9-pound Chihuahua, Roxi, was miffed, but she is recovering from the hit to her small-dog ego.

[...]

You’ll see in the video  how well-designed the ramp is. It comes in a carrying case, weighs about 15 pounds, and rolls out to make a ramp almost anywhere. We tested the large version.

Amber, 8, and Wiley, 2, were our canine testers. In the video you will see I chose to leave in the first attempts the dogs made at using the ramp (even the FAIL), because I want to show real-world trial and error of using a ramp for the first time. It only took two tries and six liver treats to teach these  beauties how to use the Ramp4Paws.

Ericka gives cat-owners some love with her other two reviews: One for the Magneticat toy and and then with reviews of some lovely beds.

Click over to our product reviews section and check them all out. You can also find out how to get a product to us for review, and what happens to products after we review them.

Big thanks to Ericka for her work on the product reviews. You’ll be seeing a lot more of them in 2011, now that we have our own section for them.

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He’s baaaack! There’s light in Archer’s eyes again

Our Pet Connection’s Dr. Becker and Dr. Johnson and Archer’s veterinarians, Dr. Paul Richieri and Dr. Mary Gibbs, all told me that Archer’s recovery would take time. As in lots of time. Dr, Becker specifically said months. Not a particularly patient person, I didn’t want to hear that. But since I couldn’t find my magic wand, I grudgingly accepted it.

After the first week and a half of extremely rapid recovery, things did seem to slow down. Paul and I both sighed — a lot– and steeled ourselves for a long, slow but what we hoped would be complete recovery.

Archer didn’t listen to his veterinarians. He would stay at an even keel for a few days and then make a leap in recovery. A few even days and another leap.

This past Saturday I took him with me to the Kindred Spirits training yard. We had several classes, and I had Bashir and Sisko with me to work, but I thought maybe Archer was going a little cabin-crazy so I brought him. I figured if he got tired I could put him in the office and let him sleep.

Yeah, right.

He was thrilled to be back to work. He volunteered to demo exercises. And I mean that; he volunteered. He left the area in the middle of the yard where the dogs can relax between exercises and he placed himself in a pretty sit in front of the trainer who was explaining the exercises being taught. He made it very clear he was ready to work. Good boy, Archer!

After classes, he played with the other dogs, he went to people for petting, and was just plain Archer. He was back!

Now granted, he doesn’t have much stamina, and when we got home he was out like a light. But that day at the yard showed how much progress he has made.

At home he has been playing, tossing balls at us,  soliciting play from Sisko and Bashir, and he’s back to following me around the house. Most importantly: The light is back in his eyes!

He’s also putting some weight back on — he lost 10 pounds (off a 50-pound dog!) — and he enjoys the multiple small meals he’s getting. He’s blowing coat but the coat is looking healthier. Amazing how quickly the coat can change when a dog is sick.

This was a very scary thing; we were so very close to losing Archer. But I’m thrilled he’s back. And Paul is even happier. We aren’t asking Archer to do his regular service dog work yet– other than a trip to Starbucks and back — but I think Paul will have his working partner back real soon.

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