I just got saddled with taking care of a couples 100+ lbs. dog for a day or so while they are away vacationing (until their relative gets here) & it's in a crate/cage. I've never put a dog in one so I'm new to this. After I walk him, I'm supposed to let him eat his food (and drink out of the toilet - gross - but that's what they said to do) & then put him back in his cage. My concern is that it's going to be a good twelve hours or so before I get back to their house again, and he's not going to have any food or water in his cage to tide him over till I get back. Is that normal to leave them in one of those things without anything to eat, drink, or do? I used to have to block my present shelter dog in the kitchen/bathroom/hallway area when I left for work (even tho she was an adult, she wasn't housetrained yet - she is now), but she had food and water dishes, toys, blankets, bones, music to listen to, whatever I could come up with to occupy her mind/time. All this poor guy has is a cage to lay in. Do other people do this too? I'd bring him to my house, but he's a REALLY big boy, he could do some damage to her if they went at it & I don't know if he'd damage my home. Any ideas/thoughts/comments on what to do?

Tigger: My three favorite states thus far - Pennsylvania (obviously), Oregon, and North Carolina - in that order.....but I've yet to see Alaska, I have a feeling that'd be high on my list too :)

anastasia: The link worked - ummmmm, there's no delicate way to say this - we've had snakes as pets in the past (not my choice) & since then I have a REALLY hard time killing anything (bugs included - I usually wait till they're too weak to argue, then put them outdoors to die, or trap em and let nature do it for me). I live in a very rural area where every winter morning before work, not only do you have to clear and warm up the car, but check to make sure nothing living is sleeping either under it or inside the hood, trying to stay warm (er). The one thing I know from living here is give no animal a "food source" and they don't stay. And I guess I'm blessed that as a family, things are kept clean, except my kids rooms, but nobody eats in bedrooms in my house, so, yeah, a mouse or two from time to time is okey.....they've never stayed for long anyway, they'd rather be outdoors

anastasia: As for this coming winter, one or two are welcome to set up camp, but no families, I've learned my lesson well with how quick they take over My kids did more homework that fall than I've ever seen them do, cause I was cleaning, re-organizing, and painting like a mad-woman after I took on the "mouse encampment" that year - never again

anastasia: Ewwww, ewwww, ewwww, no Do they all have a bad prostrate, or urinary tract infection, or what? - LOL - I've never been told that by a Vet & trust me, I've taken just about every pet to one from snake to bunny and babies. I've had rabbits as pets (and they're in the lovely rodent family that has to "poo" like a machine), but one was actually litter-box trained & the other two got to live in the yard (till the neighborhood stray cats called them lunch). You've peeked my curiousity on this one, I've gotta go check it out. I know that male cats that aren't fixed leave urine traces everywhere they go, but I didn't know that rodents did that too.....Thank God I'm a "bleach-freak"

Tigger: I've been to Oregon & Northern Cali - beautiful country

Tigger: Awwwww shucks - I thought I might've found em a home - people are always trying to give me their "exotic" pets, but they are expensive animals to care for, and right now it's just not financially possible. I forgot, your all the way on the other coast anyway

Tigger: Want some pet rats??? I know somebody who is looking for a home for three females (raised together)??? I mices, and rats, and rabbits, but for some reason the "rodent" family can't ever stop that "pooping" thing

Jim Dandy: LMBO - Just watch out for the groundhogs and the possums - they are mean Even the dog knows she's got a better chance with a black bear - but I think that she thinks it's a human of some sort, plus the bear really doesn't seem to care, they just stand there and look at you like "What're you doing here?" - but if I ever saw a mother &/or cub, I'd disappear quick & the dog's on her own with that one

Mousetrap: Not really, truth be told, we've had snakes as pets in my lifetime (not MY pets, but, still...) - I kind of "owe" a debt to "mousekind" & will always, always feel guilty

Jim Dandy: Not necessarily "in" my home...the garage, the yard, or the woodpile outback works for me...but we don't feed anybody...they're on their own for meals It gets so cold in the mountains of PA sometimes, that people have actual heaters in their outdoor dog houses to keep them from freezing, so if they need a warm place to sleep, they're more than welcome to bed-down wherever, as long as they leave no "trace" behind.......sort of like what we do when we go tent camping in their backyard

wetware: ROFLMBO Years ago, my husband and I had a mouse that lived "in" our car for a winter. He/she was such a slob And the kids kept em fed with all their "fast-food" droppings :)

Mousetrap: LMBO

Jim Dandy: We live in the woods, everybody comes to call in the winter months - groundhogs, snakes, possums, skunks, raccoons, rabbits, deer, feral cats that used to be somebody's pets (?) - you name it, we've had it come around, we even get an occasional black bear walking thru looking for food.....but what has always worked is never, ever give them a "food source" - if you feed them, they stay put.....maybe that's why the mice in your home died there, or maybe they were poisoned somehow? The only "wild" animal that I've had to bury because they passed away were three cats that actually froze to death from being left outdoors in sub-freezing temps by humankind - wild animals tend to know how to take care of themselves, I guess

Tuesday: One other thought on the "mouse-in-the-house" problem.......supposedly if you have mice, that means you don't have rats, they don't co-exist, the rats would "off" the mice.......that's what I've been told anyway (by friends who were upset with me for taking out the mouse-encampment)

Jim Dandy: Been there before, we live in the woods, EVERYBODY comes to visit in the wintertime But not everybody can procreate like they can...For some reason some don't procreate tho...my Dad had two that lived under his fridge that never had babies (unlike the rats in the woodpile outback, but the dogs were in charge of them, so they behaved) - I think the trick is to keep an eye on em (but like I said we get everybody come to visit when the weather gets "brrr" cold, including a whole lot of stray cats that people keep leaving to live outdoors like they weren't meant to be pets - that I'll never understand

Jim Dandy: He/she/they must've had a direct-route to the great outdoors last winter.....they'd only be heard when the temps dropped way low (or we got a good bit of snow).....and they definately got out, the maintenance guys (I rent) cleaned out my exhaust fans earlier this summer and I asked em to check.....they didn't find anybody But I've also learned not to leave any food (including pet food) out at night, especially after my "mouse encampment" experience

Tuesday: The battery-operated one I had REALLY worked, we stopped counting the deceased after a week, it worked so well. And no poison. I think the brand name was "Victor"(?) - it was a black box, 6"x4", and it even had a light that let you know when you got one. Best part was only a couple seconds and that was it, no noise, no long-term suffering - other than the "humane" ones, it was the best we could do

Mousetrap: I still feel really, really bad about taking out the mices that year And I do try my best not to bother them, as long as they don't bother me - I had a mouse that lived (presumably all by themselves) in my kitchen exhaust fan all thru the winter last year, and it was okey by me, I just couldn't use the fan & in turn, they didn't poo in my stuff and went back outdoors when the spring came And they are more than welcome back this winter (on the same terms, of course)

Tuesday: As much as I hate to kill things, sometimes you have no choice. I had a small mouse-in-the-house problem that turned into an all-out "mouse encampment" a few years ago (we live in the woods). I tried the "humane" traps (they LOVE peanut butter, btw) but eventually had to take em out one-by-one (they say rabbits multiply - ha-ha). I found a battery-operated trap that you put food in and when the mouse entered it, they were zapped in seconds. Cruel, I know, but they went quickly, no screeching, no lingering, no long-term suffering. The problem with poisoning something is that it doesn't die right away & suffers (same with those awful glue things). This trap was really, really quick, they died instantly. I apologize to all mouse-loving people reading this, I love em too, but when it got to a point where they were pooping in my clothes in my drawers, enough was enough...

I don't necessarily think it's true - California is one of the MOST difficult states in the Union to own and/or harbor an "exotic" pet in. And if it is true, eventually some kind-hearted soul will report it (especially if it's kept outdoors) - I would in a heartbeat A chimp isn't a "pet", it's a wild animal, which belongs in it's natural habitat, or if not there, then in a zoo where it can be cared for properly, something your average person is not equipped to do.

wetware: LOL - And this is why I'm not a cat person A dog will go lay down when you tell it to, or be easily bribed with a nice long walk, a treat or two, or a tennis ball. Cats seem to be always thinking, thinking, thinking...I watched a friends cat for five months one time, and even tho I was allergic to it, and he had a great bed to sleep in, every morning I'd wake up with a cat on my face. It was as if he knew that was the one way to get me. He was also the only animal that scared my dog at the time, if another dog tried to eat out of the dog's dish, it was a fight to the death, but that cat just did whatever he wanted...again, as if that cat just knew he had the upperhand...Cats are too smart for me

Jim Dandy: Your obviously feeling insulted. The SPCA that I volunteered at put down over 40,000 animals a year at the time that I was there, so I saw a whole lot of abused/neglected/and just not properly cared-for animals, I guess that makes me a bit jaded, but I don't think it necessarily makes me wrong. I apologize, your entitled to your opinion, as I am to mine.

Jim Dandy: Sorry, but that statement in itself says it all....."Cats" (or ANY animal) should never, ever be "tossed", anywhere, at any time.....You could cause an animal to have heart failure doing that, nevermind damaging them psychologically.....there's a "trust" that an animal should be able to have in a human, I've been with my present shelter-dog for over three years and she STILL doesn't trust me.....probably because of what another human has already done to her in the past.....it just worries me that you (or anybody else that has a pet) would find that funny - I don't "get" it, I truly don't, I think it's abuse In my mind, if you wouldn't do whatever to a child, then you shouldn't do whatever to an animal, pets are like small children that never grow up & except for some teeth and some claws, they are defenseless against whatever a human wants to do to them...I wonder if any of those cats used for "entertainment" in that video were forever damaged because of "tossing" them - I don't see a "pet" as my child, I see a "pet" as a beautiful animal entrusted to my care & if I don't have it in me to do right by them, then maybe I shouldn't call them "mine". But, just like my kids, money has nothing to do with it, it's all about them knowing that they can always trust me to do right by them

wetware: LMBO - I should say that my one bathroom has an actual "walk-in" shower, so other than slinking his roly-poly-fat-self over the lip at the bottom, he was home-free (he was in a shelter for over two years & boy did he fatten himself up when we bought him home with us). First thing in the morn, when I went to brush my teeth, he'd climb his old-as-dirt-big-self up into the sink and lay there belly-up to get petted. But he would shower with you, ferrets (even fixed) get stinky after a couple weeks, and I think the "bath" thing, even holding onto him in the sink, scared the heck outta him. Also, we kept his nails cut short - have fun with those claws (ha-ha)

wetware: I had a ferret (a lot like a cat, but more attention-hungry, like a dog) who used to play in the tub (or sink, or a bucket) with a little bit of water, and occasionally walk right into the shower with you, but never, ever did he want to be submerged, and he never was, we'd just soap him up in the shower (keeping his head dry, and hold him close to rinse him off). I guess I always thought that's how a cat would like to be bathed, if they had to be.

anastasia: As much as the "average homebuddy" dog loves to please a human being, I can just imagine how much a dog that's being put through actual "training" must want to make you proud. I think it's a great life to give a dog, it gives them purpose and accomplishment. I had a neighbor once who was an undercover narcotics cop with a canine partner. No one (and I do mean no one) could go near his beautiful dog, but the way he trusted that man was an amazing thing to see. I used to tell my neighbor that nothing ever better happen to him, or that dog would be heartbroken, and I believe it would've been. Go You for having the patience, perseverance, and understanding to get Damien to trust you SO much that he would follow you blindly It took me three months just to get mine to come swim with me, this summer I've been trying to get her in a canoe, but I think she somehow knows that the water that far out there is way too deep for her liking

Jim Dandy: I had a dog for over twenty years who LOVED water, he even went out past the breakers in the ocean with me (WAY too deep to stand) but NEVER, EVER, was he picked up and thrown into any body of water, I respected him more than that - you really don't seem to think that a small, defenseless cat has the right to feel safe in it's surroundings - sorry, but I don't "get" pet-owners like you.....

Jim Dandy: One question - did those cats that they were tossing into a swimming pool have claws? Doubt it. Like I said, try doing that to a dog and see what happens - right is right, and wrong is wrong

Jim Dandy: With all due respect.........you don't KNOW that.........it wasn't you, in the body of a small animal, that was thrown into a huge body of water.........it was (and always will be) abuse, just because the cat can't tell you it's scared, worried, frightened, or terrorized, doesn't make it so....try to do that with a dog, you'll only do it once, the second time, they'll bite you, guaranteed - my dog would, without a doubt, and you'd deserve to get bit

Jim Dandy: Totally sucks that SNL didn't have a problem doing that to animals - cats are creatures that feel pain, angst, terror, etc. just like we do. I spent a couple years volunteering at a city SPCA, and most every animal - be it dog, cat, bird, ferret, snake, rat - were not there because they were dearly loved and well-treated. The only pets I've ever (and will ever have) had were from shelters because of what those poor things probably went thru at the hands of humankind. I just don't think a higher power put them on this earth for our amusement &/or entertainment

Rose: I didn't watch it either......the guy that did that to those cats should come back as a "mistreated" cat in his next life and see how it feels to be terrorized like that

Jim Dandy: By "girls" I'm guessing here that you mean cats, not children? I think what people like anastasia do with their animals is amazing - to be able to train an animal humanely and lovingly to learn SO much (and I know that dogs love to be useful, and admired for it). But to randomly throw an unwilling animal into a scary situation to fend for themselves? A person wouldn't (shouldn't) do that to their child, why would anyone do that to an animal? I see it as abuse ...

Jim Dandy: Ummmmm, I've never had a cat for a pet (unless a pack of neighborhood strays that came to get fed, along with the birds and the squirrels, count) but I've had a few doggies in my lifetime, and throwing them in a pool seems kind of cruel Even my present doggie, who's not too fond of water, will go swimming in creeks, lakes, and the ocean with me.....but it's always been her choice.....what does that do for a cat's "well-being"? I think it's abusive

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20070803/i/r2667453953.jpg?x=227&y=345&sig=46bZX2filrsTWR7xZ.dKEw--

*** HOW gorgeous :)

I just heard on the news that Vick is facing up to six years in prison and a $350,000 fine if convicted.....................

Jim Dandy: There's a huge difference between being charged with misdemeanors and/or being charged with a felony crime in the US. A misdemeanor means you pay some fines and get slapped on the wrist, maybe, with a strict judge, a bit of probation - basically, your free. A felony is a whole different world. There are statutes set in our courts for each crime that judges are supposed (ha-ha) to go by. But, as wetware said, money talks, and Michael Vick is not only a VERY talented and admired NFL Quarterback but he's worth millions upon millions, endorsements or not. We shall see.....maybe, just maybe, they'll nail him

anastasia: Sadly I don't think much is going to happen to Michael Vick (or the other defendants), as Emma said, it's only animal abuse and cruelty, and our standards of punishment aren't strict enough where that's concerned.....Anyone know if there are any actual felony charges pending, or is it all just misdemeanors?

heavenlyemma: I'm on my third shelter dog (and I'm her thirteenth home, how crazy is THAT?!), I've had three shelter bunnies at different times, two shelter snakes, and an incredibly beautiful and loving shelter ferrett ... I almost took home a fox once, too, but was afraid of him, so I chickened out Wish people would stop wanting puppies and kittens and go get those sitting in a cage just waiting for someone to love them

heavenlyemma: They need to hit him BIG in the wallet, or give him incredible amounts of Humane Society Community Work.....I volunteered at an animal shelter in my neighborhood years ago & it changed me for life. After REALLY seeing just how many "pets" they put down every day of the year, I will NEVER, EVER have a pet that is anything but a mutt, or unwanted, or abandoned in my lifetime again - until people stop seeing pets as "owned" and/or "disposable", things can't change.....When a "shelter" doggie, kitty, ferrett, bunny, snake, whatever, comes home with you, you have just saved a life & even if they can't say how much it means to them to be rescued, somebody upstairs is smiling down on you *My pitch for Animal Rescue Shelters everywhere - Bless Them For All They Do*

anastasia: All the millions of dollars that man has made, all that talent he has.......and THIS is what he does with it (and his time).......Vick NEEDS to be severly punished for this, WAY too many people accept this as a "sport" and need to realize what it REALLY is - nothing but animal cruelty at it's worst

Lambyless: That's one brave kitty

Lambyless: And why not the cat?

Lambyless: Now THAT's awesome, my dog doesn't eat red meat much (but neither do we), she'll eat pretty much any veggie you give her (and some fruits - not citrus), but she's got a real thing for poultry and fish

"Snoopy": What kind of dog was "Nipper"?

ScarletRose: Ice cream and cheese sticks are both VERY high in fat and calories, just like humans, animals can become overweight and obese - dogs don't need high-fat foods, they need high-protein foods to build muscle, not fat

Jim Dandy: Other than the bellyache, he was probably in glorious doggie-euphoria What dog doesn't "dream" of eating the WHOLE turkey, instead of just scraps, I know mine would give it a go if given the chance?!

My doggie is allergic to EVERYTHING this time of year, literally. I use a vinegar and water spray for her belly and paws to keep the yeast from spreading (works pretty well, but she spends alot of time in creeks, woods, etc.) & I'm looking for something that I can use for itching other than Benadryl. Something homeopathic possibly, seems like all I do is use steroid cremes on her (her ears, her eyes) - anybody know of anything that might help that isn't medicated? I'm stumped & feel like all I'm doing is drugging her.....