News about amazing animals, pet care information, the best ways to spend time with your furry friends, great products for pets and for animal lovers, and much more information for people who love their pets
George Bailey is an 11-year-old Sulcata Tortoise who was saved from an exotic animal rescue in Knoxville.
Born with a metabolic bone disease, George’s bones never fully developed in his back legs, leaving them weak and unable to support his own weight.
He currently weighs close to 70 pounds but may grow to the point at which he weighs 200 pounds.
Jaime Loebener, who cares for the tortoise, said in a press release, “He uses his front legs to pull his way around slowly and clumsily. The bigger he’s gotten, the more difficult this has been for him.”
Since a Sulcata Tortoise can live to be over 100 years old, Loebener knew she needed to find a solution to help George to walk on his own. After searching online she found Walkin’ Pets, a pet mobility company based out of New Hampshire, that had previously built a custom wheelchair for a much smaller tortoise named Scoot Reeves who weighed just a few pounds.
The Walkin’ Pets team designed a custom tortoise wheelchair with a special base featuring a convex support structure to accommodate the natural contour of George’s under shell and a harnessing system designed to expand with George as he grows.
George took to his new wheels right away. You can see him using them in the video below.
Many pet owners don’t just shop for their human family and friends, but the pets they love as well. With that in mind, Wowmypetdidthat.com has compiled a list any pet would be happy to receive:
1) Your dog or cat might not love a bath, but you’ll love being able to dry them off afterwards with a Wooflinen Microfiber Pet Bath Towel. For $17, get a two-pack of this Microfiber pet bath towel, which is ultra-absorbent and double density.
Our own dogs at Wow My Pet Did That have tried this dog biscuits and loved them!
ArcBarks was conceived and developed by The Arc of Greensboro, Inc., an organization of and for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their families. ArcBarks provides vocational training and post-high school options for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Unlike some packaged store treats that make you wonder what exactly your pet is eating, these treats are preservative-free. In fact, the ingredients are oatmeal and flour, freshly ground peanut butter, vegetable oil, fresh water and love!
3) If you are so over cleaning up cat litter that tracks on the floor, this might be a gift for you as well as your cat.
This Iris Top Entry Cat Litterbox, available from Chewy.com for $18.99, will probably also be appreciated by your cat, who gets a little extra privacy.
4) We previously did a post about Bandana Bowl™, which we think it would make a great gift for the dog in your life.
Bandana Bowl™ is a bandana that your dog can wear, but, since it’s made with waterproof material on the inside and water absorbent material on the outside, it can also can be used as a bowl.
And the Bandana Bowl has a third purpose…On extra hot days, before leaving the house you can dip it into water, fill it up with ice and use it as a cooling collar.
The bandana comes in two colors: Blue and red. It’s available in two sizes: Small (dogs up to 25 pounds) and Medium (dogs up to 60 pounds).
5) PetSmart’s Chance & Friends Holiday Philanthropic Collection of stuffed toys is back for 2020.
Shoppers can choose from a plush dog, cat, llama, dinosaur, hedgehog, wolf and unicorn, complete with a squeaker. For each in-store or online purchase, PetSmart will donate 10% to PetSmart Charities. Since the toy drive launched, a total of 1.7 million toys have been donated across North America.
For more information about PetSmart and the Holiday Philanthropic Collection, or to find a local store, please visit www.petsmart.com.
This combination chew snack (a healthy mix with including protein, calcium and fiber) and hideaway is available for $10.99 and will likely provide hours of entertainment for your small pet.
7) Is that reptile in your life hard to find the perfect gift for? We think we might have found the answer!
The 8-feet-long, bendable/twistable lifelike vines are designed to be easy to clean, and are suitable for chameleons, lizards, tree frogs, snakes, gecko and turtles.
8) The weather outside might be frightful, but your bird likely won’t mind if it’s cuddled up inside in a Oncpcare Double Layer Snuggle Bird Hammock available on Amazon.com for $10.99.
It is made of velvet and comes with two hanging hooks. Can also be used for other types of pets, such as sugar gliders.
9) If you’re shopping for a horse, you usually can’t go wrong with treats. And, since these The German Horse Muffin All Natural Horse Treats for $12.36 look good enough for humans to eat, it will probably be a lot of fun giving them to your large, four-legged friend.
Reading Time: < 1minuteAfter seeing an increase in the number of calls from concerned pet owners about potential misuse of common cleaning items, the veterinary toxicology specialists at Pet Poison Helpline put together a brief video highlighting the dangers of using these products, and how to safely protect pets (and family members) during this pandemic.
The video can be viewed below:
About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet.
The staff provides treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species.
Pet Poison’s fee of $59 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the case.
Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/.
Reading Time: 3minutesJust think of all the photos you have clicked of your fluffy or scaly or feathery friend that you have stored away that you aren’t looking at, even though you really do plan to at some point. And that number is growing by the day.
Like most pet owners with a pet photo collection, you probably have shared some photos social media, saved others on your cellphone and computer. Others may be in a shoe box. The list goes on…
So, how can you bring them all together into a collection fairly easily and then what can you do with that collection?
One suggestion is putting all your digital pet photos on a site like Flickr.
Flickr lets you save your photos in one Photostream or into separate albums.
As you accumulate your pet photos in one main place, you’ll likely find it’s fun to go back and see how your pet has changed with time or relive memories that you had forgotten. It’s also nice to have all your pet photos in one place so you don’t have to search your computer, Facebook, email, etc., when trying to find a certain photo you took awhile back.
You can also easily download your photos from Flickr if you want to have a copy somewhere else. You can also email your photos, share them on Facebook, Tumbler, Pinterest and Twitter, and embed them in websites (all we had to do was copy and paste the web address of the photo of our cat, Buffy, to get it to show up directly below).
Another cool feature is the option to set your photos under a number of licenses. The default license is All Rights Reserved, meaning your photo is Copyright Protected, so others can’t use it without your permission (well, they can, but you can sue them). But, you can choose other options, including Public Domain, meaning that essentially anyone can use the photo without your permission for any reason.
Making your photos accessible under Public Domain or for use with Attribution in various forms makes your photos searchable to anyone on Flickr and other photo sites. If you set it to Attribution, this means that someone can use your photo for commercial or noncommercial purposes, but they have to give you credit. (For more on what the other licenses mean, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/)
Instead of a friend of yours stifling a yawn as you attempt to share more pics of your furry friend, someone might be extremely grateful to see the twenty-five pictures of your dog getting a bath, or the dozen shots of your cat watching television, or whatever else you’ve posted. In fact, it might be exactly what they have been searching for.
Your photo(s) could potentially be used by a reporter looking for a photo to go with their article for a newspaper or magazine or website on a pet-related topic, a student working on a report about animals, a non-profit putting together a pamphlet about animal care, someone in need of graphics for a book about pet training, or for other useful purposes.
In return, if you go with the Attribution option, you could have the cool experience of having your name mentioned and photo(s) used in a publication or website.
Finally, Flickr makes it easy to upload photos from a desktop or laptop computer and caption the photos during the process if you choose. If you are uploading to Flickr from an Android, you can download a special app that lets you upload multiple photos at once.
Reading Time: < 1minuteDan’s Dog Walking & Pet Sitting, a dog walking and animal care company, has launched a new podcast, “Let’s Talk About Cool Animals!” on which hosts Daniel Reitman and Mauro Carignano tell stories about cool, heroic and amazing animals throughout history.
The company was founded in 2009 by Reitman. As the company has grown, so has its focus on creating entertaining and educational content for animal lovers everywhere. One of their more well-known pieces of content was a video called “Tennis Balls For Everything,” which has been viewed millions of times worldwide, and which you can watch below:
The first podcast episode was released on May 11 and outlines the story of a World War I carrier pigeon by the name of Cher Ami that was responsible for delivering a message during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918 that ultimately saved the lives of 194 American soldiers.
“We want to bring you guys some interesting stories about amazing animals from history and share them with you,” says Reitman.
Future episodes will include:
Two sled dogs responsible for saving thousands of lives
Barry the St. Bernard who saved over 40 people
Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island Tortoises
Fans of the podcast can contact animals@danspetcare.com to provide ideas for future episodes and general feedback or to share their own cool animal stories.
Reading Time: < 1minuteAn international survey conducted by audio streaming platform Spotify recently revealed that the majority of pet owners sing to and dance with their pets.
In addition, according to the survey, 71% of pet owners play music for their pets, and 8 in 10 believe their pets like music.
These stats are the inspiration behind Spotify’s new “pawfect” playlists, which are created specifically with pets and pet owners in mind.
This includes playlists and a podcast designed to soothe anxiety in pets who are left home alone. Most pet owners believe that music not only relieves their pets’ stress, but can also boost pets’ happiness and keep them company.
The playlists are designed to match different pet personalities with options for not only cats and dogs, but also for iguanas, birds, and hamsters.
Reading Time: < 1minuteIf you have a collection of pet photos but aren’t sure what to do with them, we have another way to put them to great use. Previously we posted about uploading your pet photos to Flickr.
You can also try an online photo collage maker, such as Postermywall.
At Postermywall, you can select from tons of different templates (for ours shown below, we chose a “romantic” style template because it had the option put in a number of photos whereas some templates just had a photo or two in the design). Then you can upload a photo or photos your pet from your computer, or from Google Drive, Dropbox Photos or Facebook.
You can also use the wording and font choices provided with the template or customize it.
We kept the font style, but customized the wording for ours:
After you save your design, you can easily share it via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and a number of other places, along with the option to print from you computer.
And, if you really end up falling in love with what you have created, you can buy prints in a variety of sizes. For example, a 20 by 30″ print on premium quality photo paper with matte finish is $17.95.
You can also order photo cards with envelopes or window clings.
“A Pet Sees You” is a new short film that is described as “highlighting the mental health benefits of pet ownership for the Generation Z population.”
It is actually only about a minute in length, but seems to definitely capture that sense of a dog (or other pet) always being there to provide emotional support, no matter how, well…crappy the rest of life can get.
“A Pet Sees You” shows the challenges of a high-school aged girl who faces the constant pressures of school, having an online presence, anxiety, heavy use of technology, mass shootings, and the desire to change the world.
The actress in the film stars alongside an affectionate and loyal Weimaraner, who also happens to be her best friend behind the scenes, likely making their on-screen connection even more relatable.
You can view it on youtube or below:
A Pet Sees You
“While previous generations have come to understand the positive impact pets can have on their health and well-being, members of Gen Z are tackling entirely new pressures and mental health issues unique to their generation,” said Steve King, CEO of American Pet Products Association. “We’re committed to doing our part to help promote alternative ways pets can help today’s younger generations cope with their struggles, while joining the meaningful, and extremely timely, mental health conversation.”
The American Pet Products Association’s non-profit campaign Pets Add Life (PAL), partnered with Gen Z director, Richelle Chen, to connect with young adults on a relatable and emotional level.
“With the growing support of research showing that pet ownership can positively affect the Gen Z population, the pet care community has a responsibility to be at the forefront of these important discussions,” said King.
According to a recent Wakefield survey of 1,000 Gen Z Americans ages 11-17, nearly 80 percent have a pet in their household. 60 percent have a dog, 36 percent have a cat, 14 percent own fish and 23 percent have a small animal, reptile, bird or horse.
Research from the 2019-2020 APPA National Pet Owners Survey also shows that 66% of Gen Z members identified stress relief and 61% identified reduced levels of anxiety and depression as health benefits of pet ownership, more than any other generation.
In conjunction with “A Pet Sees You,” PAL has provided resources on its website, including links to mental health lifelines and quizzes to help respondents find their perfect pet.
About Pets Add Life Founded by the American Pet Products Association, Pets Add Life (PAL) is a nonprofit campaign dedicated to sharing information about how pet ownership benefits animals and people alike. PAL’s mission is to increase awareness of the bonds and other rewards associated with pets of all types. Primarily through social media with videos, contests and engaging content, PAL spreads the joys of pets and aims to deliver key messages about the human-animal bond, responsible pet ownership, pet acquisition and health benefits of pets.
Los Angeles-based Bow Wow Dog Houses has announced that dog houses are not just for canines with the addition of their Tortoise House.
Tortoises need to burrow in a dark cool place, aside from their own shells. With the addition of the Tortoise House, Bow Wow Dog Houses’ provides an attractive option for families with tortoises who are looking to spruce up their backyard.
Customers can work directly with Bow Wow Dog Houses to create a Tortoise House that fits the needs for their pet. Depending on the tortoise’s temperature preferences, an extra window can be added to create a cross-breeze or an exhaust fan can be included for extra ventilation.
The Tortoise House comes with a ramp to make it easy for the reptile to stroll up to his burrowing spot.
The Tortoise House was built on the platform of Bow Wow’s large dog house with outside measurements of 40” x 40”. The addition of 4-inch legs to the home raises it off the ground. The primary entrance, that includes the ramp, was expanded to a 20-inch width.
There is an insulation option for the floor, walls and roof, which would assist in keeping the temperature moderate and serve as a barrier for controlling heat.
A heater was also added, the same used for Bow Wow’s dog houses.
There is a full size side swinging door for additional access with an option to upgrade to a double door or French doors for the front opening.
“We enjoy working with our customers to design and build the ideal home for their pet,” said Larry Hobbs, President and CEO of Bow Wow Dog Houses. “Customers are often amazed by how much creative input they can have in designing the perfect house for their dog or cat and, now, their tortoise.”
Bow Wow Dog Houses is a product line of parent company Brent-Wood Products, a family-owned and operated company with three generations of woodworking and design experience established in 1963.
Fully constructed in the U.S.A., Bow Wow Dog Houses utilizes premium materials made only from environmentally conscious resources. Bow Wow’s Standard Dog Houses are designed with three components – base, home and roof from eco-friendly wood products. From there, clients have the option to select from a variety of material, stain and paint colors, and numerous design features, some of which can be seen in the video below:
Reading Time: 3minutes3D printing on its own is pretty amazing. Add in pets and the possibilities become extremely interesting.
Here’s a look at some ways 3D printing is being used when it comes to our furry friends:
Lifelike recreations: Some companies are now offering 3D printing of models of pets.
GravityB, a Calgary-based studio, for example, creates figurines from images captured in a scanning booth called “The Coppy Machine.” The machine was actually inspired in part by a dog named Coppy (Copernicus), who was the model for the company’s first successful 3D print. Copernicus has, sadly, since passed away, but, as part of Coppy’s posthumous legacy, figurines are called “Coppies.”
Coppy (Copernicus). Used with permission from GravityB.com website.
Dogs and cat Coppies start at $150. Coppies of people (including families) can be created too, as can figurines of a person with their pet.
3D view of dog Coppy or figurine from GravityB. Photo used with permission from GravityB.com website.
Sample of dog with lifelike 3d figurine. Photo used with permission from GravityB.com website.
A pup admires his likeness, which is a miniature replica right down to his green collar. Photo used with permission from GravityB.com website.
The capture process can be seen in this video from GravityB’s website:
Other companies, such as PetPrints3D, will do 3D printing from photos of pets supplied by a pet owner.
2) Prosthetics:
According to iTech Automation, In 2014, Pawsthetics Animal Prosthetics (a non profit) saw an opportunity to help a dog named Turbo who received a 3D printed cart to gain mobility.
One big benefit of 3D prosthethics is the cost. As explained in the following video, a regular prosthetic leg would cost $1500, but the one used for a rescued puppy was only $50.
The video, from the dodo, also shows other examples of dogs receiving prosthethics, noting that another benefit of prosthethics is comfort. A leg Sometimes a cart with doggie wheelchair might be too hard on an animal’s spine, but the prosthethics are more natural and customizable to the size and shape of the animal.
And, turtles have received new shells via the printing process. One example can be seen in this video from Denver 7.
3) Pet products: According to 3DPRINT.COM, pet products, including toys, hamster wheels, dog bones, scoopers, brushes and bird perches, are all capable of being produced using a 3D printer.
“Even apparel such as dog shoes and ‘cat armor’ can be perfectly tailored to your pet’s size and shape in order to protect them from thorns, weather and other animals.”
