At times it seems that we are a species possessed of apparently tiny memory as well as very little interest in the past. Here’s a case in point. Say the word “Tesla”, especially here in the Bay Area, and you’ll soon find yourself in a conversation about innovation and...

Following last week’s story of my first pet, Spot, did you know that fish are the most popular pets in America? 14.5 million households have tanks containing 160 million finny friends. The highly profitable aquarium industry ($300 million/year) creates much animal...

Outside of work, I’ve lived with literally hundreds of animals, but all of that since leaving home at age 16. I spent childhood begging, unsuccessfully, for a pet. Rather than a pet-less childhood, however, it’s more accurate to say there were no pet-able pets. There...

Our little Lola, the world’s best dog (my column, my rules) never meets anyone who is not her instant best friend, and most of those best friends burst into a spontaneous “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets…” upon learning her name. And that, in turn, quite frequently...

Love or hate him, among those traits which make Donald Trump unique is that he is the first president in a century to live without a dog in the White House. This realization made me turn to the “dog quotient” of those now attempting to take Mr. Trump’s place in...

Summer has just begun but weather doesn’t pay close attention to the calendar, especially not here in the Bay Area. Let’s talk hot weather and pets! Prior to coming to PHS/SPCA I spent 7 years at Arizona Humane Society, so when I hear people complain about the heat I...

For months now, our little Lola (the world’s most adorable puppy) (my column, my rules) has been entertaining us with super-excited mad dashes around furniture, racing from room to backyard to room, wearing a big ear-to-ear grin as she banks the turns, typically...

Admitting my dislike of this coming weekend’s holiday is not a political statement. Nope. It is entirely a pro-animal statement based on the obvious fact that this is going to be a lousy weekend for animals in America. Sure, I’m a child of the 1960s: I don’t think of...

Whenever I write about dogs, someone accuses me of dismissing cats. Whenever I write about cats, I get accused of ignoring dogs. Folks, it’s hard to cover both animals in 350 words, much less the rest of the species we care about. But to appease the critics, let’s...

My dad, a man of many “unique” theories, would on occasion tell me that the reason dogs lick is because they need salt. This announcement, as I recall, always came out of the blue, relevant to nothing, and ignored the fact that we did not have a dog. Since you’re not...

Last column noted 9,400,000 reptiles are pets in U.S. households. Here are some other unexpected numbers. The most popular pet? Fish! Close to 160 million individual finny friends swim in 14.5 million homes, and the aquarium industry is worth $300 million per year....

To avoid being accused of speciesism, let’s follow last two weeks’ “why dogs dig” and “are cats social?” columns with one about our legless friends. Why would anyone want to live with snakes?, a question I get asked with surprising frequency, often by adolescent boys’...

In the common clichés, dogs are fawning creatures needing constant social interaction while cats are independent and aloof. The most generous thing one can say about both characterizations is that they are gross generalizations not supported when one observes many...

Why do dogs dig? Great question but we can’t go to the source: the dogs aren’t talking. On the other hand, our species won’t stop talking, which means we’re left with many self-proclaimed experts’ theories. One popular theory, dogs lacking certain key minerals in...

From Sheila C.: “I received, as a present, an Amaryllis.  As an indoor cat owner, I always check on plants and I was pretty sure I was right.  Yes, there it was, number 3 on my list of poisonous plants to cats.” While eating or even just chewing on any plant may...