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July 31, 2006
Parrots call their baby chicks by name, German experts say
Hamburg - In a discovery that is likely to rekindle the debate about language in the animal kingdom, researchers in Germany have discovered that some parrots appear to give their offspring individual names.
Animal behavioural scientists at the University of Hamburg say that spectacled parrotlets use a distinctive call for each of their chicks, with no two chicks being given the same 'name' call.
The small South American parrots also apparently have name calls for their mates.
'The birds very definitely use a particular call exclusively with a particular bird and never for any other bird,' says Dr. Rolf Wanker, head of the Hamburg University Zoological Institute's behavioural research laboratory.
Wanker and his team have spent years assessing video and audio recordings of parrot chatter and squawking.
'What is not yet clear, however, is whether these calls can be equated with what we would call names such as Hans or Fritz or whether they could be more generic labels such as 'my baby' or 'my mate',' he adds...
'For that reason we prefer to refer to these calls as labels or name equivalents,'
The studies were inspired by observations in the spectacled parrotlet's natural habitat in Colombia. There, researchers from Hamburg noted that individual parrots seemed to respond to specific calls that other parrots in the same flock ignored.
'A mother bird had the uncanny ability to utter a cry that would result in her chick returning to the nest immediately amidst the cacophany of the other parrots all around,' Wanker recalls.
'It was obvious that the baby knew it was being called,' he says.
At the Hamburg lab, studies showed that these name equivalents are fractional cries lasting between 90 and 120 milliseconds.
The cry is distinctive enough to provide acoustic clues as to the identity of the individual uttering the call and also to the identity of the intended recipient bird.
'A mother bird uses a different call for her baby from the one she uses for her mate, and they respond with calls that correspondent to her identity,' he says.
Similar findings have been achieved with certain primates and with dolphins. Many years ago, British TV science producer David Attenborough showed that macaque monkeys use distinctive alarm calls to alert other monkeys to danger.
Macaques will use one call to identify a panther, thus telling other monkeys to climb up a tree. But they will use a different call to identify a python, thus ensuring that all the monkeys climb down a tree that has a snake lurking in its branches.
The Attenborough findings are of interest because they involve primates in the wild that have had little or no contact with humans.
That contrasts with studies involving chimpanzees and gorillas in captivity in America over the past four decades which have produced startling but highly controversial evidence that primates can learn and use deaf human sign language.
Other studies have determined that birds develop regional 'accents' and 'dialects' depending on their location. Sparrows in the eastern United States, for example, are known to have subtly different chirps from their cousins on the west coast.
The German findings are the first involving parrots. The spectacled parrotlet is among the smallest parrots, only slightly larger than budgerigars. The bright green birds with a distinctive yellow ring around their eyes live in eastern Panama and northern Colombia.
In the Hamburg study, parent birds and their chicks were placed in separate cages within earshot of each other but out of view of each other.
The birds' calls to each other were recorded and later played back to the individual birds to ascertain their response. The findings demonstrated that name-specific calls were used by each bird.
Wanker shies away from calling this labelling behaviour any form of language, noting that it has yet to be proved conclusively whether humans are the only animals capable of abstract linguistic structures.
He also notes that a fierce debate has been raging for decades among ornithologists and linguists over whether songbirds might be using a form of language. But he points out that, in the avian world, parrots are a special case.
'Parrots are unique among avians,' he says. 'They are the primates of the avian world and are very highly developed creatures with complex social systems and prodigious cognitive skills.'
The Hamburg research group plans to expand its study to include macaws at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg.
Posted by sue at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2006
sleepy kitty
Watch more funny videos at FunnyJunk.com
Posted by sue at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2006
Incredible journey of refugee parrots
Two parrots owned by 15-year-old Tamil refugee Bhovana Nishanthini Lombert mean absolutely everything to her.
So devoted is the teenager to her feathered friends that she was willing to take them and nothing else in the arduous journey by sea from war-torn Sri Lanka to a refugee camp in the south of India.
The birds remained on her shoulders throughout the voyage.
"I love these birds as much as I love my three brothers and parents - they are part of our family"
Bhovana
Bhovana is one of about 4,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who have fled their homes in the north of Sri Lanka because of the increasing number of skirmishes between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels.
The refugees travel across the 30km (18-mile) stretch of sea that separates Sri Lanka from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, crammed into small fishing vessels.
Sometimes there is no room to sit down - let alone carry a pair of parrots - with as many as 20 people standing huddled over their meagre belongings...
On her arrival in India, Bhovana - like other refugees - underwent tough questioning by Indian security agencies.
But Bhovana's entry procedure provided welcome relief in what sometimes can be a tense and bad-tempered bureaucratic exercise.
"The sight of Bhovana with two parrots sitting on her shoulders eased the tension and brought an instant smile all around, including the police," a local journalist told the BBC.
A police official - known only as Radha - who registered Bhovana's family as refugees vividly recalls the arrival of the winged visitors in her office.
"The parrots were so cute and so friendly with the girl," she said.
"It was such a pleasant experience to watch them play. We all liked them."
However, the police had a problem.
How do they register these two winged visitors to meet the exacting standards of Indian immigration law?
After much deliberation, a senior official in the station recalled an earlier incident in which a refugee brought in a Pomeranian dog.
It was classified by the authorities as an "accompanying canine".
Using the same logic, the two parrots were classed as "accompanying warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates".
In other words, the two parrots were officially recorded as part of Bhovana's family.
"Compared to other pet animals like dogs and cats, we consider parrots as safe and easy to maintain," Radha explained.
"So our security personnel, who are mainly worried about possible infiltration into India by Tamil Tiger rebels, were happy to allow the parrots to stay in the refugee camp.
The teenager herself says that she is devoted to her pets and will never be separated from them.
"I love these birds as much as I love my three brothers and parents. They are part of our family," she said.
Posted by sue at 11:31 AM | Comments (1)
July 26, 2006
Nobody Ever Told Me...
~It's been a long parrot kinda week..~
A Poem
by Lori Zywiciel
I had hints, I had advice, I had cautions, but nobody told me how
owning birds would completely take over my life.
Nobody told me I'd become a bird store junky, standing at the
checkout counter in bliss until half way home and then wondering
just how long it would be before the Visa came in or husband
asked for the check book to balance the account.
Nobody told me my husband would say, "I think you ought to stay
away from the bird store. You seem to have lost all control".
Hmmmm ... Me? How did this happen?
Nobody told me when I saw a particular cage for $595.00 I might
think wow that IS a good deal. Or when someone mentioned a
$4,000.00 cage I could see the reason some people might need a
cage like that.
Nobody told me that I would be up at 7:00am on Sunday morning
peeling yams and apples to cook so they would be added into a
corn meal and wheat cereal mash.
Nobody told me I wouldn't mind when feeding that mash to my bird
he would head shake his head with that mixture flying in every
direction, on to my carpet, on to my clothes, on to my face.
Nobody told me how much money I would spend on food, how much of
it I would buy and just how little my birds would like any of it.
Nobody mentioned that once you own birds you need an extra
freezer in the garage.
Nobody told me that I would spend an hour standing with my hand
on a tree branch watching for hawks so my bird could hang out in
the sun and chew new buds.
Nobody told me I would be on the computer at all hours talking
and reading about birds.
Nobody told me I would make friends I will never see and that I
would worry about them and theirs as if family.
Nobody told me I would check my son's bed for old or damaged
stuffed animals to give to the bird like that stuffed cat. He
never really liked it and it is missing a leg anyway.
Nobody told me I would do two extra loads of laundry a week with
bird towels and sheets. Nobody told me every morning I would put
a sheet over my covers, litter my bed with weird wooden things,
stuffed animals, leather pieces, apple slices and peanuts.
Nobody told me just how much he would squawk. Nobody told me I
would come to hear differences in the tone and shrillness. Nobody
told me I not only could tell the difference but would learn when
to respond or that my husband would say it's okay, this is his
good morning happy time he will settle down.
Nobody could have known that my husband would say, so he squawks
it is less and less the kids will deal with it.
Nobody told me I could play with him like I do. That he would
chase me and I would chase him. That he would be just as
exuberant as a puppy.
Nobody told me my husband would rather snuggle with the bird in
the morning than make his bagel.
Nobody told my husband would make an extra half a bagel to share
with the birds.
Nobody could have convinced me that this same husband would agree
to shower with the birds in the bathroom (for the steam) and then
without urging, could be heard to play peek-a-boo while drying
off.
Nobody told me how much I would sing out loud. Nobody could have
guessed those songs would be golden oldies like You Are My
Sunshine or songs from musicals.
Nobody told how excited I would get to come home after 6 hrs. and
see seed thrown all over the place. Yea! He ate while I was gone.
Nobody told me that I would not resent vacuuming twice a day to
clean up the mess he made while eating alone. Nobody told me how
my heart would tighten when I got home today after being gone for
six hours and took my squawking baby out.
Nobody told me how I would feel when sooo tired I put out a sheet
on the floor, put toys all over, grabbed a pillow for me, lay
down and my birdy only wanted to snuggle with me.
Nobody told me how it would feel to have a little bird body
across your chest and neck, little head on your cheek. I was not
told how soft his kisses would be or how warm his face was as he
fell asleep on my cheek cooing softly.
Nobody told me how long I would lay there awake so he could
sleep.
Everybody told me I would love him. Nobody could tell me how
much.
Copyright © 2000 Lori Zywiciel. All rights reserved.
Email: zywiciel@earthlink.net
Posted by sue at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2006
Pets Trapped in Lebanon
At this very moment, brave men and women are risking their lives to help feed and transport hundreds of dogs and cats trapped in animal shelters being destroyed by the bombing in Lebanon.
More than 130 dogs and 100 cats in BETA’s Beirut shelters are now in constant danger.
Since its beginning, Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA) has been at the forefront of the battle to ensure animals are respected and cared for in Lebanon. BETA has rescued over 500 stray and abused cats and dogs, founded Lebanon's first cat and dog shelters, and spayed/neutered almost half of its rescued animals.
But BETA’s three separate shelters, which care for more than 130 dogs and 100 cats, are in constant danger. The dog shelter is located on the border of Dahye, a suburb where many of the attacks are taking place, and trips to the cat shelters take brave volunteers through a large part of Beirut. Just a few nights ago, a bomb fell 400 meters from the shelter, leaving many of the dogs visibly suffering due to the ongoing noise and near destruction.
Help us raise the funds needed to move these pets to safety
The necessary goods to care for these animals are becoming more difficult to find, and what is available is now becoming more expensive due to their scarcity. Because of a severe shortage of medication, the medication needed for these dogs and cats is becoming extremely costly.
BETA plans to take on the extremely dangerous task of moving the animals trapped in the shelters to an old farm in a safer area. But small constructions around the farm are also needed to fix the fencing, barns and doors, as well as to purchase several small generators.
The U.N. has said at least a half-million people have been displaced in Lebanon. Many if not all of the evacuees are being told they cannot take their pets with them. We already know from Katrina the additional tragedy such a situation can cause for those who have already lost everything. BETA is taking on as many abandoned pets as they possibly can but the situation promises to get much worse as the war continues.
BETA and the animals in its care urgently need your help. With the country shut down, all of BETA’s in-country fundraising projects have come to a stop. IFAW is preparing a financial grant up to $20,000 to help transport the animals, pay for food, medication and shelter. But I need your help to make this incredible effort possible.
Let’s make sure these brave individuals are not risking their lives for these animals in vain.
Posted by sue at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2006
A sad day...
Dear Friends of Nature's Corner Magazine,
This weekend we lost one of our own flock. Dear wild Caught Tico, who's picture was entered under 2 categories of the Photo Contest, left us to fly free at Rainbow Bridge.
Tico, a classic silly Timneh!
Tico was a wild caught Timneh. He had two homes, before he came to find his forever friend and home with *J*.
The relationship between human and companion parrot, may be hard for non bird folks to understand. What other pet, literally tells you what it wants? Or how it feels.. or that it loves you?
A house is very quiet, after a companion parrot leaves. The silence can be deafening..
Fly free sweet Tico!
RAINBOW BRIDGE FOR BIRDS
Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When a bird dies that has been especially close to someone here, that companion goes to Rainbow Bridge. At Rainbow Bridge there are meadows and hills and beautiful trees of all kinds where all our special friends can fly and climb, hang and flap, hop and run, jump and play, squawk and squeal and sing together. There is plenty of good food, including grapes and peanuts, ice cream and cheese and spaghetti, and especially lots of pizza. There is crystal clear water in brooks, and springs are filled with water as well as every kind of delicious fresh fruit juice. One warm spring even runs full of the coffee they can now drink their fill of without hearing a single no-no. There is lots of glorious sunshine, and sweet warm rain when they want it, and our friends are warm and comfortable and totally at peace.
All the birds who had been ill or old are restored to health and vigor and to their natural incredible beauty. Their feathers shine, their wings feathers are whole, and their eyes gleam once again with vitality. Those who were hurt or maimed or ignored or broken-hearted are made whole and strong and free of fear again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days gone by.
The birds are happy and content..... except for one small thing -- they each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind when the bird returned home. Still they all fly and play happily and safely and noisily together - even the grouchiest greys and orneriest senegals, the tiniest finches and the grandest macaws.
But the day comes for each bird when he suddenly stops and looks far into the distance. His body freezes and his bright eyes are intent as he watches and listens in silence. Suddenly he begins to fly from the group, soaring over the green grass, his wings flapping harder and harder!!!
You have been spotted, and he shrieks to you and then calls your name and his own and cries again and again and as he rushes toward you. When you and your bird finally meet, you cling to each other in joyous reunion, knowing you will never be parted again. Your face and your fingers - and even your toes - and covered with beak nibbles and soft ecstatic kisses. Your hair is preened by that special beak, and his head bends under your fingers to invite your touch. Your hands again find their way under beloved wings, to caress the downy softness beneath. You look once more into the trusting eyes of your companion-- so long gone from your physical life on earth, but never for an instant absent from your heart.
Your tears of joy are gently brushed away by those beloved wings... and feeling immersed once more in total contentment and love, you and your beloved companion cross Rainbow Bridge together."
Posted by sue at 10:44 AM | Comments (2)
July 21, 2006
Bad-Tempered Parrot Leaves a Bloody Clue
LONDON —
An ill-tempered parrot left English police a vital clue to the thief who took the bird from a pet shop. Tristand Maidment, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a macaw named Mickey from a pet shop in Frome, southwestern England, last month.
Maidment said he couldn't remember being bitten by the parrot, but the wound left a trail of blood, which allowed police to make a DNA match to the suspect.
Mickey's owner, Angus Hart, said the parrot was notoriously bad tempered and about 50 years old.
Maidment also admitted charges of burglary and animal cruelty, and an unrelated count of theft. He was ordered to be held in custody pending a court appearance on Aug. 3.
Mickey had not been found by Monday, officials said. Police believe Maidment sold the bird to someone else in the region.
Posted by sue at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2006
Black cat brings therapy of love
The black cat with the yellow eyes lies cuddled close to the woman who once disdained cats, all cats.
She used to barricade her door when she would visit her daughter, who had one.
Yet, here in her hospital bed, Dorothy Grobman has mellowed. The black cat with the yellow eyes won her over.
She pets him with her mottled hand, then jokes, "I wish I had someone to pet me."
For the first time in her 86 years, Dorothy Grobman has responded positively to a cat, a particular and uncanny killer-cat named Baldwin.
Baldwin looks at Dorothy and winks one of his yellow eyes, then gives her hand little cat-kisses.
He's flirting.
Baldwin the therapy cat curls up next to Alive Hospice patient Becky Goldstein, who strokes his thick, black fur while owner/trainer Nan Shinn chats with her. Baldwin provides pet therapy to patients here once a week.
Baldwin has been a pet therapist at The Residence at Alive Hospice for three years, an unusual "calling" for a cat. He's actually the only feline therapist the facility has, compared to eight canines (who don't count if you're Baldwin).
Baldwin comes to "work" every Tuesday for three hours, sometimes on weekends and always on holidays. In Baldwin's world, Nan Shinn chauffeurs him here...
Shinn is known as the woman who bought her cat a condo. Her cat Emily, that is. Emily lives in the condo, which Shinn uses as a second home; Baldwin and her other two cats live in Shinn's other home, where Baldwin pesters his housemates and throws tantrums until he gets his way.
"At home he's the cat who does what he wants because he knows he can get away with it," Shinn says. "But at 'work,' he's the perfect gentleman."
Nan Shinn practiced pet therapy before it was vogue.
As a young girl she used to go on rounds with her dad, a doctor. She had a dog then, and she knew instinctively that her dog would make some of her father's patients more comfortable.
She began smuggling her dog into convalescent homes with her father's blessings, even though pets then were outlawed in medical facilities.
She's been volunteering her pet therapy ever since.
When she married Kim Shinn she still believed in the health benefits pets could offer people.
Kim was the one who found Baldwin, a kitten sick and abandoned on the Baldwin Trail when the couple was living in Jacksonville, Fla.
After much medical treatment, the 1-pound kitten grew into the cat that loves frail people.
Soon after the couple moved to Nashville four years ago, Nan volunteered Baldwin at Alive Hospice.
The facility didn't accept cats in its pet therapy program then, but when they met Baldwin the staff had a change of heart.
"Cats are very calming to sick people," says Pam Brown, the vice president for community development at Alive Hospice. Brown has seen the effects on residents after they've had a 15-minute love fest with Baldwin. Some nod off to sleep; others want to talk about the unusual visit.
When Shinn knocks on a resident's room at The Residence at Alive Hospice, she has Baldwin in a baby sling around her neck.
She leans in and asks the resident and their family members if they like cats and their company.
She's had only one resident to refuse a quarter-hour with Baldwin, and that resident was terrified of cats, especially black cats.
Others have been so receptive to the tom that they've asked that a picture of Baldwin be placed in their casket when they die.
Baldwin has even been to the funeral of one person he closely bonded with. He actively mourned another resident after the resident died. He was so fond of her that he would hardly enter The Residence. Once in, he would cower down in the baby sling whenever Shinn got close to the woman's room.
"I thought I was going to have to retire him," Shinn says. "For weeks and weeks, he mourned."
One day, Shinn says, Baldwin unexpectedly took up with another resident. When that resident died, Shinn and Baldwin went to the viewing. The woman's daughter welcomed Baldwin and sang the cat's virtues, how he needed her mother as much as her mother needed him.
"My mom saved Baldwin's career. . . . He met her and began his therapy again," she told all the bereaved gathered at the funeral home.
Nan Shinn believes Baldwin senses a resident's love for him or for someone like him.
Becky Goldstein lies in bed at The Residence. Her room resembles a photo gallery. Most of the pictures are of Stella, Goldstein's tabby.
This day is a special day — Goldstein's 62nd birthday.
Baldwin seems to know this, giving her more than his normal share of cat-kisses.
He seems to sense something more profound: Becky Goldstein's frailty. He reluctantly allows Nan Shinn to pick him up from his friend's bed when she grows too tired to visit any longer. Baldwin doesn't take his yellow eyes off his very pale friend as Shinn carries him out of the room.
If Baldwin could talk, his owner thinks he would be telling her that he doesn't want to find an empty bed in Room 141 next Tuesday.
He's had too many goodbyes.
Nan and Baldwin ready for their ride home. Baldwin curls up in his pet taxi for the trip. He's tired; Nan Shinn is tired, too.
She has multiple sclerosis, but she so believes in the good deeds that Baldwin does for the residents that she pushes a few steps more, out the door and to her car.
She turns on the air conditioning in her SUV.
Because of his caring heart, Shinn says, the cat with the yellow eyes deserves a cool ride home.
And the right to rule the roost there. •
Posted by sue at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
It's a dog's life
Pet products range from practical to just plain fun
Given the choice of Cindy Crawford, Brad Pitt and the family dog, 57 percent of pet owners would prefer to be trapped on a desert island with the canine.
The American Animal Hospital Association recently conducted the survey, and when the amount of money people spend on their pets is figured in, the results are no surprise.
According to the Association of Pet Products Manufacturers, nearly $36 billion was spent in 2005 to keep Fido in the latest fashions. The bulk of the money was delegated to necessities such as food, vet care and the actual purchase of the pet. But critter keepers are said to spend on average $70 a year on treats and $45 a year on toys. Rutherford Countians are no exception.
Sam the Maltese is pretty in pink dressed in coordinating tennis dress, shoes, collar and hat and resting inside a pet stroller from Petland.
"We started out as a small pet store but grew into a big box store out of necessity," said Kristie McKinnon, manager of Pet Supermarket in Smyrna. "The love of their pets comes from people's hearts and people are choosing pets over having kids. They just provide a lot of comfort for people, and for them their pets are their kids."
The local popularity of pets and their coordinating products is immediately evident with a quick trip to area pet stores. The aisles are flooded with people gazing at shelves lined with everything from baby carriages for the furry, four-legged kind to breed-specific dog food.
"Royal Canin has done a lot of research in the development of their pet food," said Vicky Jones, who co-owns Petland in Murfreesboro with her husband, Bob Hyde. The couple, both veterinarians, re-opened the store in March, and sales have exceeded their expectations. "Geared to be breed-specific, there are foods for Chihuahuas, (Yorkshire terriers), shih tzus and others. Royal Canin is really giving Science Diet a run for its money."
Among the summer necessities, flea prevention is also a high-ranking sales product. The majority of area pet stores carry a variety of flea agents, including powders, shampoos, collars and drops. In addition to those, Petland also stocks lines of the professional flea preventatives Frontline, Frontline plus, Advantage, Advantix and Capstar.
But more fun can be had in area pet stores than designer dog food and fancy flea drops. Toys of all colors, shapes, sizes and textures are on the market to please pets of all preferences. Some toys squeak, some rattle, and others emulate animal sounds, and if they make noise, they all have a market...
"Plush is big," said Jeff Rumrill, manager at PetSmart in Murfreesboro. "Loofa dog, otherwise known as Bobo from the commercial, comes in several different sizes and colors. We can't keep them on the shelves. Most dogs love plush toys because they can eventually be destroyed. Dogs like that they can eventually get to the squeaker. It's a game for them."
Pet owners who don't want to purchase playthings that will surely be destroyed should look to the Holee-Roller line of toys, said Jones.
"Nothing is indestructible, but these are built to be," she explained.
The Holee-Rollers are made of a sturdy rubber material and the line boasts disks, balls and toys that house treats to keep dogs busy.
Kongs are still popular, too, and additional toys have been added to accommodate younger dogs. Traditional Kongs are still red, with the junior Kongs colored pink and blue.
"Kongs are geared to the aggressive chewing dog," Rumrill said.
"You can put peanut butter inside the Kong and it keeps the dog busy," Jones explained.
Kong isn't the only company that has developed a line of toys just for puppies. Chilly bones are made out of a heavy-duty canvas. Puppy owners are advised to soak them in water and store them in the freezer.
"It's like a teething ring," Jones said. "It's very soothing. So when the puppy is teething he's chewing that and not your furniture."
Petstages is a company completely geared to developing products for young pups.
It's a product with a purpose," Jones said. "They are bright colors, and just like baby toys are aimed at stimulating the baby, these toys are aimed at stimulating the puppy. It's a great way to do a gift. If you know people who are getting a puppy, make them a basket."
If you're a dog, the answer is just about anywhere.
Oftentimes it's easy to see where the family pet likes to potty, based on the brown spots in the yard. However, with Green ums, a new product, dead grass is a thing of the past.
"Green ums is a natural supplement given to dogs to neutralize their urine," Jones said. "It saves your yard and your neighbor's yard."
Then there's the Pee Post, which Jones described as a near necessity.
"It helps housebreak the dog," she said. "It's a yellow, scented stake and you stick it in the ground where you want the puppy to go. It teaches them to go there and nowhere else."
For the poop that has to be scooped, Jones suggested Bottoms Up pet waste bags. The roll attaches to the leash and is at hand when needed.
"If people buy a $2,000 Yorkshire terrier, they want to dress it in something cute," said Jones.
Local pet stores carry everything from formal frilly dresses and matching shoes to casual polo shirts and bathrobes for man's best friend. In Smyrna, however, it's the pajamas they can't keep in stock.
"We used to just carry clothes at Halloween," said McKinnon. "But now it's year-round. People love the pajamas and leashes that coordinate with the clothes."
Rumrill said pet clothes are all the rage at PetSmart, as well, and he explained why.
"A lot of people come in with their little Paris Hilton pocket dog and they want to get it all dolled up just like she does," he said.
Store owners agree, this trendy pet bag phenomenon is also due to Paris Hilton.
"Pet carriers are huge," Jones explained. "Everyone wants a little Paris Hilton bag."
The bags come in a variety of sizes, fabrics, styles and colors. They often have mesh on the front or sides, and are trimmed in bright colors or animal print fabric. After the enclosure is secured with a zipper, Fido can go anywhere mom goes in the comfort of his own oversized doggie purse.
After a long day at the store beefing up the wardrobe, any canine would be dog tired when it gets home. For those paws who just can't take a step farther, extravagant pet beds are just another creature comfort.
Ranging in price from $20 to more than $100, there's one for almost every taste and budget.
Faux fur, paisley velvet, plaid with a wooden frame, shaped like a recliner, pleather with faux sheep skin, then just average cotton, today's cozy hide-a-ways are designed to be anything but "an ugly dog bed," Jones said.
Loungers in all sizes are popular at PetSmart, added the manager.
"The sides wrap around the dog," he explained. "And they come in different colors and fabric."
Posted by sue at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2006
A hard lesson learned..weaning babies and chilly night air, do not mix!!
As I was making my coffee this morning, kids still all asleep, I did not hear my good morning chirps from Skye. I went to her cage, and said where are you miss Skye?
Nothing... I found her on the bottom of the cage, perched on her bunny lovie. Not a peep. I went to get her, and she was SO COLD... not moving.. eyes slits..OMG.
I am not good in bad situations, I get thru them and do as I should, but I of course broke down in tears. I held her and cupped her in my hands and blew hot breath on her.. nothing.. I made some warm formula, I could not pry her beak open..but she was still with us.
So limp, feet all curled up and pulled into her body. I called Hubby who was half way into work and told him he had to come home. I couldn't handle this alone..
Scott did get home, I was frantically searching all my email for Suz our breeders phone number. Scott said, we should wake Meaghan so she can be with Skye, while she is still with us.
Oh God.. Left messages for Suz at her home and on her cell.. Meaghan and I are both in tears.. we are trying desperately to warm her up. I cranked up the brooder. Suz called.
I weighed Skye, she was down a couple of grams.. she's weaning... that's OK says Suz..
It's been so damn hot here, never thought about temp for her overnight. The heat broke yesterday, but still very warm.. Meaghan has been shutting the slider door at night, I let the dog out late, left the slider open..Suz told me that at this age, they still have trouble regulating their body temps.. she said if I could get her warm, and get some pedialyte into her, we had a chance. She said sometimes they come back, but sometimes.. they don't. Oh God...
Scott left and got that..Meaghan was doing a wonderful job of holding Skye in her hands inside her sweatshirt..tears streaming down her face.. "please don't leave me Skye" over and over.. I got the pedialyte warmed and gave her some, Suz said try to get in a couple of drops, every ten minutes. I went to give it to Skye, and she started bobbing and wanting to feed. Back on the phone to Suz, she said that was a good sign, and to give her a small formula feeding with the pedialyte. She ate like a champ. I took a bowl and a baby blanket, and warmed them in the microwave.. they were so chilly compared to the feel of the brooder, and I wanted the heat to warm Skye, not the other stuff!
I mixed some formula and pedialyte.. Skye took it all in very well. Gave her just a small feeding. She was hungry a good sign. and the warm food inside could only help now..
It's been 3 hours now.. and Skye is still with us. She is making noise, and has tried to get out from under the blanket pouch and up to perch on the side of the bowl. When we check on her, she tilts her head to let us scritch her neck..
I just pulled her out of the brooder to give her another feeding. She flapped her wings and ate like a champ. It's like it never happened.
From so very cold, and so close to death, to acting like nothing ever happened.. never give up!
We will be keeping her in the brooder for a couple of days. It's warmer out of the brooder than in right now.. but it's all about a constant and consistant tempurature.
Posted by sue at 12:05 PM | Comments (1)
July 12, 2006
Bird sale for rescue helicopter
BIRD lovers gathered in the hundreds for the Inverell bird sale at the Town Hall on Sunday to raise money for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Inverell support group.
And the president of the Inverell support group Frances germany-Medway said bookings have already poured in for next year's sale with sellers saying how pleased they were with the organisation of the sale.
She said the Town Hall was filled to capacity with more than 600 people there, including buyers and sellers.
"When the doors opened at 10am about 200 people, mostly buyers were queuing outside the hall," Mrs Germany-Medway said.
"We are now in search of a larger venue as the Town Hall will not be big enough next year.
"We knew it could be good, we knew it should be good, but we didn't know it would be quite the rating success that it was."
Although a final figure of the amount raised for the support group has not been determined, the group should have an idea of the amount in the coming days.
Many people took advantage of the catering service and the cost of birds varied in price from $5 to $9000.
"The most expensive was from the parrot family," Mrs Germany-Medway said.
She added that buses came in from visiting aviculture clubs and they also visited local aviaries.
Buyers travelled from as far as Townsville, Orange, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and sellers came from throughout the North West and from well into Queensland.
"We were thrilled," she said. "It was certainly a very successful day for the helicopter."
Posted by sue at 12:18 PM | Comments (2)
July 11, 2006
Soar the skies
With Tilly the golden eagle, and findout how mini cameras are helping scientists unlock the secrets of flight!
an awesome project viewable over at animal planet.
grab you cup of coffee and click around, facinating!
Posted by sue at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)
July 10, 2006
Saving the Baby Blues
In October 2003 Parrots International joined and filmed a day in the life of Projecto Arara Azul in the Pantanal of Brazil....the Hyacinth Macaw Conservation Team. Following a rainy, stormy night we found two hapless Hyacinth Macaw chicks drowning in their nest.
This video documents how Parrots International and Projecto Arara Azul rescued the chicks, saved their nest, and allowed the parent Hyacinths to raise and fledge the chicks into the wild.
Click for Video
Posted by sue at 12:13 PM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2006
Mouse plays leap frog to escape Indian floods
There's nothing like a friend to help you out when times are tough... And this mouse found himself an unlikely ally when floodwaters devastated parts of northern India.
He hitched a ride to safety on the back of a friendly frog which ferried him back to the bank when the mouse was swept into a swollen river near Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.
Leap Frog Anyone?!
The incident came as torrential monsoon rains and lightning storms lashed much of northern India and killed at least 13 people, raising the death toll to more than 200 from weeks of downpours.
Police spokesman Surendra Srivastava said 13 people have died in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest and most populous state, which has been hardest hit. Most were killed in lightning strikes, he added.
At least 76 people have died in Uttar Pradesh since the monsoon rains began at the start of June, with the other deaths in various places across the country.
In India's capital, New Delhi, heavy rain and wind caused traffic jams on some waterlogged main roads. Uprooted trees and stalled cars snarled traffic as commuters headed to work.
Floods, collapsed houses and lighting routinely kill hundreds of people during India's annual June-September monsoon season.
Posted by sue at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2006
Crow Believed to Be Oldest in World Dies
BEARSVILLE, N.Y. -- There's no way to prove Tata was the world's oldest crow when he died Sunday at age 59. But an expert on crows says it's possible.
Tata's tale began in 1947 when a thunderstorm blew the fledgling out of his nest in a Long Island cemetery, a mishap that likely led to his long life. Injured and unable to fly, the bird was scooped up by a cemetery caretaker and brought to a local family with a reputation for taking care of animals, Tata's most recent owner, Kristine Flones, told the Daily Freeman of Kingston.
"He was never able to fly, so he became their family pet," said Flones, a wildlife rehabilitator in the Woodstock, N.Y., hamlet of Bearsville, 95 miles north of New York City.
The Manetta family took care of Tata for more than half a century but gave the bird to Flones in 2001 because of their own health problems.
Blinded by cataracts and 54 years old when she got him, Tata was still a wonderful pet, Flones said.
"When you came around him, his energy was very beautiful," she told the newspaper. "It was as if he were exuding or giving off a loving energy."
"It's an incredibly old bird," said Kevin McGowan, an ornithologist at Cornell University who has studied crows for more than 20 years. "They don't live that old in the wild."
McGowan said the oldest living crow he has documented in the wild is a bird he banded as a fledgling and has tracked for 15 years. There is an unsubstantiated claim of a 29- or 30-year-old crow in the wild, but he knows of no older crows, tame or otherwise.
While claims of animal longevity are tough to verify, McGowan said, "This one sounded pretty reasonable to me."
In an environment without predators, communicable disease or the likelihood of a fatal accident, a crow could grow as old as Tata, he said.
Flones said Tata was still active and alert in his later years, to the point each spring that he called out from inside the house to crows outside, often loudly and beginning at 5 a.m.
Posted by sue at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2006
how about our own intelligence?
Todays Moment of Zen.. and no, the circles are not moving.
Posted by sue at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)