Party with the Dogs on Friday

How many times do you get a chance to take your dog to a party?

Delaware Humane Association's Patrick Carroll reminds us about its Home for the Holidays Party from 6-9 p.m. Friday at the shelter, 701 A St. in Wilmington. The donation is $15 per person, which includes two drinks and appetizers (yum). We know the weather is supposed to be nasty, but Patrick promises the tent will be cozy -- away from the wind and the rain -- and you can't beat the cause.

The good folks at the humane association also will have a silent auction and you can meet adoptable dogs and cats. Plus, you can get a professional photo of your dog -- or you and your dog -- taken. The $20 fee cover a 5x7 of the best shot, 4x6 of all shots and the negatives of all photos. I see many cute moments.

And, don't forget, the humane association's Pet Photos with Santa event from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, also at the shelter. Dogs, cats and children welcome. Same charge for the photo shoot. For more info, call 571-0111.

A Penguin Goes Shopping

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Get a load of what he "buys," and how he can't even wait to get home before he indulges. Love the backpack.

Only in America: A Pug Imitates a Blender

My husband Brad -- another pug lover -- found this one on YouTube. The moral: If dogs could only speak our language, we could find out why they do these crazy things.

Needed: Temporary Foster Homes for Sick Cats

Jane Pierantozzi of Faithful Friends sent out word this afternoon that the Wilmington shelter needs temporary foster homes -- about 10 days -- for a few cats hit hard by an upper respiratory virus.

"They really need a foster home, someone's bathroom or laundry room and someone to give them extra care," Jane says. The no-kill shelter will provide a vaporizer, antibiotics and special food instructions.

If you can foster a cat or kitten -- like Princess and Honey above -- please contact Jim Crowe, Faithful Friends' cat coordinator, at 593-0153 or Eileen at 293-0165.

Holiday Loofa Toys

Multipet offers plenty of holiday variations on its popular Loofa Dog series.

PetSmart has them shaped as reindeer ($4.99-$6.99). Concord Pet has a Santa variation ($4.99 for the small) -- in green or tan -- with a Santa hat and black boots with the red and white trim. Very cute.

Get your pooch into the holiday spirit. And make them happy -- Loofa Dogs are almost universally loved. (Love that TV commercial where the owner replaces the grimey, torn Loofa Dog that the pooch drags around. He loves the new one just the same.)

A 'Harry Potter' Tease

The trailer for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- in theaters July 13 -- is being shown before "Happy Feet." Both are Warner Bros. movies. Again, the hot rumor is that the final book will be released 7/7/07 -- just before the movie for Book No. 5. I'm having a tough time keeping them straight. Heaven forbid they change actors before the movie series end!

How About Some Zen Puppy Treats?

These were the wildest dog treats I've seen in a while. Zen Puppy. Peace looked to be the fast-selling flavor/variety at Concord Pet, and is billed "for wild, crazy, unruly dogs." Zen Puppy ($5.99) also comes in Beauty, Energy, Agile and Smarty varieties.

The number of treats recommended per day is based on the dog's size: 2 for those 10 pounds and less; 3 for 11-25 pounds; 4 for 26-50 pounds; 5 for 51-75; and 6 for 76 pounds and more. Do not feed more than eight treats per day, and despite the name, the treats are only for adult dogs.

And wait until you hear what's in them: oat straw, linden flower, soy lecithin, Hungarian chamomile flower extract (yum!), alfalfa, garlic and lots of veggie pomaces. They do smell pretty good.

The Power of the Penguin: The Epilogue

Saw "Happy Feet," the animated tale about a penguin who can dance, but can't sing -- a major character flaw in penguin land -- on Sunday. Here's what I learned:

* Savion Glover is a genius. The way the animators channeled his tap dancing into the movements of the main character, Mumble, was amazing. You have to see it.
* Brittany Murphy was a surprise, displaying a poignant singing voice as Mumble's love interest Gloria.
* The movie has an eclectic mix to its soundtrack, including Prince's "Kiss," sung by Nicole Kidman, "Boogie Wonderland" and "Somebody to Love."
* Little kids (5 and younger) will enjoy the beginning of the movie, but will be lost when the older Mumble emerges and ventures out on a scary quest. Probably better-suited for slightly older kids.
* Animated penguins can beat Bond. "Happy Feet" took in $42.3 million during the weekend -- almost $2 million more than the 007 movie "Casino Royale."
* Robin Williams can always make us laugh.
* Kids need to learn that humans' actions are connected to what happens to the environment and to the animals with which we share the planet.
* Little kids love to dance. (Several were dancing at their seats and in the aisles as the credits rolled.)

Check out the Chesapeake Pet Parade Video

Jeffrey shot this video from the Chesapeake City Pet Parade on Saturday. It's cool how the dogs love the camera. And check out what a big hit those cute Chihauhaus were after the parade!

Thanks, Jeffrey!

Cutest Pet Photo Ever?

The Chihuahuas are Kato and Bitsy (although I don't know which is which) who were riding in the Santa Paws sleigh Saturday in the Chesapeake City Pet Parade. (You'll find more photos from the parade by Chuck McGowen in a photo gallery near the bottom of the Pets Web page.)

Kato and Bitsy were two of 10 animals entered in the parade by Karen Sanders and Jay Benton.

These Cats Rock!

Cat listening to house music (above) ...
One listening to hip-hop ...
A metal fan ...
Grooving to Stevie Wonder ...
A gangsta rap fan ...

And a techno wild child!

You know what this means: Those singing and dancing penguins in "Happy Feet" have nothing on cats that rock. Enjoy!

Speaking of Holiday Events ...

Faithful Friends volunteers and adopters and friends -- human and furry -- will be marching in the Greenville Christmas Parade, starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. The half-mile parade route starts at Twin Lakes Brewery on Del. 52., northwest of Wilmington.

If you and your dog would like to march along, the folks at Faithful Friends ask that you start lining up at noon at Twin Lakes. Be festive -- dress for the holidays. Put on your pooch's favorite cool-weather or holiday sweater, scarf or fancy collar. And be sure your dog will do well around a crowd and other dogs.

Joining Faithful Friends in the parade will be the Stanton Middle School Band, an Elsmere fire truck, Santa in a horse-drawn carriage and the New Castle County mounted patrol.

The parade is expected to end about 1:45 p.m. From 2-4 p.m. at Twin Lakes, there will be free carriage rides, and photos with Santa for dogs or children -- or both, I assume, if requested. The cost is $20 for a 5x7 portrait and 40 percent of the proceeds will go to help homeless animals at Faithful Friends.

Good deal, good cause, good time.

Order Flowers, Help the Humane Association

Found this in the Delaware Humane Association newsletter:

Order flowers from Boyd's Flowers in Wilmington, and each time you do, the shop will donate $2 to the humane association. You need to let the person taking the order know you want the $2 donated under this program.

You can order in person at 2013 Pennsylvania Ave.; by phone -- 421-2900 or (800) 222-2693; or visit its Web site at www.boydsflowers.com

Santa's Furry Little Helper

The cutest thing I've seen so far this holiday season is this Santa Coat.

The washable red polar fleece with white plush trim coat comes with a hood. Green embroidery on the back says, "Merry X-mas." The medium -- for dogs 9-11 inches collar to tail -- is $54.99 at funstufffordogs.com. The small -- 6.5 to 9 inches -- is $49.99.

Pets on Parade in Chesapeake City

If you want to see well-dressed pets, spend quality time with Santa, and enjoy a fabulous small-town atmosphere, save time Saturday morning to attend the Chesapeake City Merchant's Association's Pet Parade.

All pets are welcome. And we mean all. Last year, the parade lineup included 60 dogs, two goats, one (very brave) cat and a pony. Who knows what might show up this year.

Lineup for the parade starts at 10 a.m., with the parade beginning at 11 a.m. It starts under the bridge near the elementary school. And they give out prizes -- lots of them. For the best dresssed pet, most creative, judges' choice and most holiday spirit. (The photo is of Winston, an English bulldog owned by Carrie Sherwood of Middletown, who was named best-dressed last year.) Prizes will be given out in Pell Gardens where animal organizations and vendors will have displays until 2 p.m.

Bring your camera and have your pet's picture taken with Santa after the parade. If you are interested in participating in the parade or your organization would like a table, contact Natalie Gentry at (410) 885-2330.

The Power of the Penguin

And you thought "March of the Penguins" was big. "Happy Feet," an animated story about a young penguin with a gift and his unusual adventures in his Antartica home, is already huge and it doesn't open until Friday.

"Happy Feet" is on cereal boxes, candy packages, slippers -- there were coupons on the floor at the movie theater last night (I think that was viral marketing) -- and you can even build your own stuffed toy penguin at the Build-a-Bear Workshop store in Christiana Mall, complete with blinking red heart.

Elijah Wood provides the voice for Mumble, the little penguin who can dance but just can't carry a tune -- a major character flaw in penguin land. Others lending their voices include Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

The Power of the Penguin -- Part II

OK, I just can't resist another "Happy Feet" trailer on an icky, rainy day. That's Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" playing.

I'm going to borrow a kid to see it with me.

A Deer in Target: A Cautionary Tale

You've probably seen this video of an 8-point buck who got into a Target store in Des Moines earlier this week. That deer scrambled into the store for the same reason that you have bunnies in your back yard, the occasional snake in your house or geese on your development's pond: They have fewer and fewer places to go.

We build and build and build, and then wonder why a deer would run into a brightly lit store with bargains at the end of every aisle. Trust me, the deer wanted no part of the store, its slippery floors and all of those shoppers. It was just wanted to get out.

The deer was herded out through a fire exit. He appeared to be unharmed.

Here's to the Pet Revolution in Delaware

Hope you had a chance to read robin brown's report in Saturday's News Journal on the pet revolution going on in Delaware. It was fascinating to see Delaware on the cusp of going from a state that has used euthanasia for animal control to one that uses spay/neuter.

Delaware wants to copy what happened in New Hampshire. That state invested $900,000 for sterilization and education, which helped to cut pet deaths by 75 percent in five years -- that's 75 percent in five years. To pay for the spay/neuter program in Delaware, state lawmakers put in $250,000 and authorized collecting $3 from you each time your dog or cat goes to the vet for a rabies shot. Your vet is required to collect the surcharge.

The premise is simple: Control the pet population -- using spay/neuter -- before cats and dogs breed and you can make a dent in the homeless population. Just how big of a problem is it here? Consider these numbers:

2002: 22,165 dogs and cats were received at Delaware's primary animal facilities; 12,659 were euthanized
2003: Of 24,510 received, 13,653 were euthanized
2004: Of 21,254 received, 13,067 were euthanized
2005: Of 21,062 received, 13,583 were euthanized

In four years, the state of Delaware euthanized 52,962 dogs and cats.

Back to the New Hampshire model. In addition to sparing thousands of animals' lives, the widespread spay/neuter approach there has helped save the state's taxpayers $2.5 million a year in shelter costs. That is the ultimate definition of a win-win.

Cats Do the Craziest Things

Make sure you stay with it until you see the bear and the cat. It is worth all of the extra chuckles until you get there.

Not Your Typical Adoptee

Oscar needs a home. A home with someone special.

The 3-year-old neutered stray ended up at the Faithful Friends shelter after being plucked from the Kent County SPCA. "He doesn't look as pretty as the others," says Jane Pierantozzi, executive director of the Wilmington no-kill shelter. "He has a special look."

Oscar has a broken jaw, his tongue hangs out and he doesn't have all of his teeth, Pierantozzi says. (No one knows how his jaw was broken, but the vet says it isn't causing him any pain and it would be difficult to repair.)

This terrier mix is a lap dog, Pierantozzi says, who is looking for that right home. If you're interested, call Faithful Friends, 12 Germay Drive, at 427-8514.

A Heavy Metal Kitty

Got to love a head-banging cat. Does your cat do any tricks? Send the video to me at jfredel@delawareonline.com and I'l get it up on this blog.