Hearing, vision, smell, taste, touch: When we talk about our pets’ senses, we usually focus on the first four, assuming they are superior to our own, but how valid is that? According to the literature, cats and dogs need to be up close to see clearly what we see from...

Labor Day may mean you get a day off but the big news is that this Friday is National Iguana Awareness Day and it’s time to party! Ok, maybe you’re not such an iguana fan that you plan on a whole day of celebration, but certainly you can spare the 3 minutes it will...

Seems like every month I get asked about pet health insurance: Do I recommend a particular plan? Do I have insurance for my own animals? Will I offer one plan or another through PHS/SPCA? The answer to all three questions is “no.” Opinions certainly vary even among...

Someone just asked me for an old column to help a friend think through the extraordinarily difficult decision of euthanizing a beloved pet who is beginning to show signs of suffering from illness. It’s an odd feeling to be considered a resource on this topic but it’s...

All experts say that Bay Area residents should have a stash of supplies adequate to live completely self-sufficiently (no stores, no power, no nothing) for three days in the case of a major earthquake. Useful, of course, also in case of fire or other disaster, this...

A month away from my 40th anniversary of working with animals, I spoke to a group of eager young people considering their careers when one of them surprised me: “You talk about meaningful, at times extremely difficult, always rewarding work with hundreds of thousands...

We first met Frida, a dog at the very heart of my family for the last 15 years, when she was part of the reason for the watermelon-sized belly on the bedraggled, ready-to-burst pregnant beagle, a stray rescued by PHS/SPCA. Once it became clear that the pregnancy was...

Yeah, sure, you might think the big holiday was a couple of weeks ago but you would be wrong. The 4th of July has its upsides. A long weekend most often celebrated with excessive food and beer, and who doesn’t love that? But today is July 16th and we all know that is...

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that North America was once home to lions, zebra, and other megafauna (mega as in big, fauna as in animals) which led to questions from apparently doubting readers. Come on folks: there were a lot of years after dinosaurs but before the...

The 4th of July is not my favorite. It’s not anything political, but rather the obnoxious, drunken human behavior that somehow got linked with the holiday. So while your neighbor gets his illegal fireworks ready, it’s time for you and me to talk pets. First, the only...

Horses loom so large in America’s mythology, especially here in the west (even in the urban-suburban SF Bay Area west), it’s a bit surprising how little most of us know about their natural place in the environment. To sum it up, while wild horses are a thing of beauty...

Twenty-plus years ago my daughter insisted on bedtime stories about Jasper, my first dog. My father’s day column, I offer her this written version. To begin: I wasn’t allowed pets as a kid, a loss I’ve (over)compensated for, and Jasper was my 21st birthday gift to...

Be prepared to learn new stuff! Pet Sitters International is, I assume, an organization you did not know existed. It is an educational association for professional pet sitters headquartered in King, North Carolina, which represents nearly 7,000 folks who make a living...

Summer’s a few weeks away (June 21) 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...

Without in any way intending to trivialize, it’s important to take a moment this Memorial Day weekend – days set aside to pay tribute to those who’ve lost their lives in defense of our nation – to reflect on the animals who serve and who have died alongside them. I am...