Tips for Keeping Dogs Safe During Fireworks Celebrations

 

July 3, 2019.

More pets go missing during holidays with fireworks than any other time. In the United States alone, July 5th is the busiest day of the year for animal shelters taking in lost pets. The second busiest is Halloween, when firecrackers and fireworks are lit.

Many dogs that would otherwise be calm run away from home because of the noise and lights of fireworks celebrations. Whether it’s Independence Day, Halloween or a neighborhood celebration, nights filled with fire crackers and fireworks that can frighten pets. Some dogs react to fireworks much like they would react to a thunderstorm and will panic and act irrationally

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'A Dog's Life: Why Are So Many People Cruel To Their Dogs?'

I am a longtime fan of the writer, Gene Weingarten, but I missed this article when it first was published. It's a hard read but an important one. This piece has stuck to me like no other. - Cali

Via The Washington Post

By Gene Weingarten 

Photographs by Michael S. Williamson

November 8, 2021

From the front, the one-story clapboard house looks dingy and dilapidated, and the lawn is cluttered with crap. The backyard makes the front look like Versailles.

The wooden stairs from the back door to the yard are rotted through and have collapsed. In the grass is a rusted-out 1990s-era Camaro. There are tangles of scrap metal, discarded car parts, a sodden mattress, corroded appliances, a deceased push mower, a toolshed boarded up with plywood. There are ripe piles of garbage and moldering pits of ashes where trash and food scraps have been burned. As a portrait of desperation, destitution and decay, the tableau is almost literary. Faulkner’s Snopeses, meet Steinbeck’s Joads.

No person lives in this house, which is in rural northern North Carolina, a financially annihilated area where many people are living thin. Let’s call it No-No Land. The house has been abandoned since January, when the owner, an elderly man, died of covid-19. We are here in late July. The squalor seems lifeless, but, terribly, it isn’t.

You hear the three dogs baying before you see them, and then you see them and recoil. Each is tethered to a metal cable, which is tethered to its own primitive wooden doghouse. Each animal has only a few dozen square feet within which to move. The dogs can see and hear the others, but it is a tantalizing cruelty — they are so far apart they cannot touch or play. Neighbors never stop by. These three females have been alone outside, imprisoned apart in the same spots in this rotting place, day and night, for six months. Today it is 85 in the shade. They are panting. To Faulkner and Steinbeck you might have to add some Dante.

When the owner died, the house and animals were inherited by his daughter, who lives in another state. She has a relative who is supposed to stop in every once in a while to replenish the dogs’ food and water, but his visits appear to be intermittent and momentary. For reasons that defy common sense and decency, the daughter has chosen this heartless system rather than adopt the dogs herself or surrender them to someone who will care for them.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals knows about this place, and, with the grudging consent of the new owner, the animal rights organization sends a team of field workers to visit from time to time. They clean and refill the bowls and distribute flea meds and chew toys and straw for bedding and skritches under the neck, but they can’t alleviate the big problem, and they can’t come here often. Their headquarters are in Norfolk, 100 miles away, and they have hundreds of other mistreated animals to check in on, and new ones to find. And now the conditions here have deteriorated to this.

Read the full article here.

Hound Gets Caught Breaking All Her Friends Out Of Daycare | The Dodo

Every friend group needs one criminal mastermind 😂 

Chloe Joy was already a “known offender” at Hounds Hideaway, but this time she took the whole class with her and led everyone straight to the snacks!

Published by The Dodo

24th October 2026

Dog trains owner to do tasks when she rings bell

 

Published by GeoBeats Animals
25th October 2026

Service Dogs Help With Disabilities You Can't Always See | The Dodo

Not all disabilities are visible, and that's why service dogs like hers matter so much.
Jay shared why having her service dog by her side is essential to her health and everyday life.
Her story is an important reminder that just because you can't see someone's disability doesn't mean they don't need support or that their service dog is any less essential. 

He even charges a "quesito tax" 🧀 

Sammy refuses to miss out on anything his family does, whether it's a workout, a beach day or a little adventure. 

Mike started carrying Sammy around in a backpack so his little sidekick could come everywhere with him.

Published by The Dodo

24th October 2026

Wolf Awareness Week 2026

Via The Natural History Museum (UK):

From tiny Chihuahuas to huge Saint Bernards, dogs come in all shapes and sizes! But they didn’t always lie on our sofas and wear Christmas jumpers.

In fact, it’s hard to believe that the ancestors of our beloved pooches were wild animals – wolves. So how did wolves end up living in our houses?

The domestication of wolves took place over a long period of time. Ancient bones roughly 15,000 years old of dogs that we’d recognise today have been discovered in various locations. Although the exact location of where domestication first took place remains unclear, research shows that the earliest dogs migrated across the world alongside humans.

The processes and reasons behind wolf domestication are still being investigated. One of the most popular theories is that they domesticated themselves. This is called self-domestication.

She wasn't expecting to rescue a dog that morning

 

Published by GeoBeats Animals
20th October 2026

Girlfriend Surprises Boyfriend With A Puppy For Valentine's Day | The Dodo

Rachel surprised Connor with a puppy named Jupiter for Valentine's Day, but the surprises didn't stop there! Jupiter's sister joined the family just a few weeks later, making their household twice as adorable.

 

Imagine coming home to nine senior dogs every single day 🥹💛
Steve has nine senior dogs and a whole farm full of animals, but his favourite part of the day might just be coming home.

Published by The Dodo
19th October 2026

Special Rescue Dog Has Very Special Love Language For Her Kittens | The Dodo

The tiny love nibbles — reserved for her favourite kittens — are impossible to resist.

Published by The Dodo

17th October 2026

Tiny dog takes protecting her territory way too seriously

 

Published by GeoBeats Animals
16th October 2026

Abandoned Puppy Followed Us Home And We Let Him In

 

PawMeow

Mar 19, 2021 Mar 19, 2021

Mar 19, 2021

Abandoned Puppy Followed Us Home And We Let Him In In Bulgaria a lot of people abandon puppies and kittens on the streets. And all those animals need help. This isn't the first abandoned puppy we meet and sadly it won't be the last. We will help him find adopters and loving home.

https://www.youtube.com/@PawMeow

How to Help Dogs with Thunderstorm Anxiety (Storm Phobia)

 

June 30, 2018

If your dog is anxious during a thunderstorm, he/she is likely suffering from storm phobia. Dogs with thunder anxiety will often display unwanted and destructive behaviors during a storm, and in serious cases, dogs can harm themselves.

This article will provide tips for reducing thunderstorm anxiety in dogs. These tips can also apply to dogs frightened by fireworks.

Behaviorists are not sure what part of the storm frightens dogs most. Some dogs seem to sense a storm before it even happens, perhaps due to the sudden drop in air pressure or the electrical charge in the air. Others react to lightning, wind, and heavy rain and not thunder sounds.

Some breeds may be predisposed to fearing storms. Working and sporting breeds such as Border Collies, German Shepherds, Beagles and Basset Hounds, appear to be more likely to develop a storm phobia than other breeds. This could be because these dogs are genetically bred to react quickly to stimuli. Therefore, storms and loud noises over-stimulate their senses.

Wikimedia

Storm phobias are also more likely to develop in shelter and rescue dogs. This may be due to the fact that rescue animals have suffered abuse or trauma in their pasts, or because they may not have been well socialized and exposed early on to a wide variety of sights and sounds.

The absence of early-life experiences and exposures to stimuli can make dogs more anxious and prone to all kinds of phobias.

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Perfect Homemade Dog Biscuits

 

November 27, 2017

This article was submitted to DogHeirs by Ally FurAnimals

Like many of you, I’ve been looking for ways to save money without compromising my dog’s healthy diet. I decided to try making homemade treats, and I am SO glad I did! It is wonderful to only have to go to your freezer when the pups run out of cookies rather than the pet store…after checking your account balance first, lol!

Here is a very healthy and DELICIOUS recipe for cookies for your furbabies. I have sampled these treats with many ‘picky’ eaters and it’s a hit every single time, everyone asks for this recipe! All it takes is a few hours on a weekend day to make enough for a couple months! (This time of the year, I like to make REALLY big batches to last all summer to avoid turning the oven on when it’s hot out)

Leave out what your dog(s) will go through in a week or two and freeze the rest for later. Have fun!!

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Big Bullmastiff Is Hilariously Clueless That He’s Too Big To Be A Lap Dog

 

September 28, 2026

Meech weighs 160 pounds, but apparently nobody has told him he’s too big to be a lap dog.

The enormous Bullmastiff loves nothing more than climbing onto his favorite people, cuddling close and carrying around the same sweet habits he had as a puppy. His owner, Dorit, knows that his size can be intimidating to strangers, but spend a little time with Meech and his gentle personality quickly becomes impossible to miss.

Despite his powerful build, Meech is sweet, docile and happiest when he’s close to the people he loves. He also seems completely unaware that 160 pounds is a little too much for a lap.

And then there’s the other side of Meech—the part that makes his imposing appearance even harder to take seriously.

This giant dog can be surprisingly nervous around perfectly harmless household objects. Toothbrushes and massage tools, for example, can leave him looking downright suspicious. He has also held onto one adorable puppy habit. Meech loves to suckle on his stuffed toys, settling down with them as though he’s still the little puppy Dorit brought home. And apparently, being 160 pounds doesn’t mean he has outgrown pajamas, either.

To Dorit, those quirks are part of what makes Meech so special. She considers him her best friend and says he has genuinely changed her life, bringing her affection, comfort and companionship every day.

https://www.dogheirs.com/

Photographer’s Striking Portraits of Black Dogs Aim to Thwart Black Dog Syndrome.

 

October 21, 2019

Photographer Fred Levy took a photo series he calls Black Dogs Project after a conversation he had about how homeless black dogs have a harder time getting adopted than other dogs. The phenomenon is often referred to as “Black Dog Syndrome” or “Big Black Dog Syndrome” among animal rescuers.

Denver is a therapy dog and was a first responder for the Boston Marathon bombings. Fred Levy

Black dogs appear to be adopted at a much lower rate than other homeless dogs. Although there is no scientific study that proves there is, in fact, such a stigma, animal shelters notice potential adopters often overlook black dogs – especially the bigger, mixed breeds in favor of other fur-colored ones.

So Levy wanted to highlight black dogs by taking high-quality images to bring attention to the issue and show the dogs in all their glory.

Fred Levy

The phenomenon is often referred to as “Black Dog Syndrome” among animal rescuers. Black dogs appear to be adopted at a much lower rate than other homeless dogs. Although there is no scientific study that proves there is, in fact, such a stigma, animal shelters notice potential adopters often overlook black dogs.

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