Articles: human animal bond

Mirtazapine is an antidepressant when used in people, and it turns out that this drug also possesses appetite-stimulating properties. And someone, somewhere then had an “Ah Ha moment” wondering if the drug would work as an appetite stimulant in cats, and to be delivered as a transdermal rather than a pill. Brilliant! Cats can be famously finicky…

The Animal Rescue Foundation Pets and Vets Program is quite incredible really. Taking homeless dogs and training them appropriately – with additional training from a veteran in need of a service dog for PTSD. That dog is paired with the veteran, which not only finds that pup an important home but also makes more space…

Flying with comfort animals/service animals has become very complicated in recent years. In part, because some abuse the system. However, in my view, the airlines themselves are also responsible as are ignorant pet caretakers. Delta Airlines said Monday that it will ban all emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours and will ban…

Returning from Thailand, on my Steve Dale’s Pet World WGN Radio radio show, HEAR how it was to visit Kanta Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. I offer tips on visiting elephant sanctuaries in Thailand, and describe a bit about how they’re not all the same. In Thailand, those who work with elephants and training elephants consider that…

Keeping pets safe in winter can be a challenge. Some dogs delight romping in the snow and appear as impervious to frigid temperatures as snow is to polar bears. Malamutes, Great Pyrenees, Huskies and many other large dogs seem friskier in weather that chills us to the bone. On the other paw, Toy Poodles and…

Imagine, your best friend was Lucille Ball. I happened to Lucy a bit, and I so knew how much she loved animals. Actress Paula Stewart wrote a book about her bestie called “Lucy Loved Me,” and I talk with Paula on my national Steve Dale’s Pet World radio show. Lucy was if nothing else loyal…

If an image tells a thousand words – this one is it as Sully Bush mourns. THIS is the human-animal bond. President George Herbert Walker Bush’s service dog, Sully, lays by his companion’s casket. Sully doesn’t know or care that Bush 41 was a good President or not, or what his legacy will be. Dogs…

It’s astounding what dogs can do. Ajax is the only dog that is training for finding kea birds. The kea is an endangered flightless parrot species only found on New Zealand’s South Island. And researchers need to keep tabs on how many there and where they area. And Ajax is the nation’s official and the…

The 2018 American College of Veterinary Behavior Symposium of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists was held in Denver in July, just prior to the Convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association. This is where much of the latest research in veterinary behavior is first revealed. One of the most fascinating presentations was from ethologist…

Unlike some actors, Lucille Ball never minded working with animals, as long as the laughs still came And Lucy especially loved dogs. Just before her “I Love Lucy” days Lucy and Desi lived on a farm (outside Los Angeles) where they had a cow who was more like a rooster. I don’t recall the cow’s…