pet connection

For the three months, we’ve quietly been working behind the scenes on a pretty big Web project: Developing a complete and completely searchable archive of years of pet-care articles. This has been a dream of mine for a long time, but I didn’t have the technical skills and time to develop a searchable database myself, or the money to have someone else do it.

When Dr. Marty Becker and I wrote our first two books together (”Why Do Cats …?/”Why Do Dogs ..?”), we knew we had something good going. We loved working together and we never fought about anything. So we joined forces officially, with him dropping his Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy) newspaper column to join me at the world’s biggest and best provider of syndicated content, the Universal Press Syndicate. (Not to mention the nicest: I love the folks there, especially my gifted, long-time editor, Greg Melvin.) Dr. Becker brought with him behaviorists Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp, and I dragged the incomparable Christie Keith along with me — a kind of pet-care Brady Bunch, if you will. (We’ll have more top pet-care experts joining us soon, too!)

Dr. Becker and I merged forces on Jan. 1, 2007, and we’ve never looked back.

But what about those articles? I still dreamed of making them available to people who needed help — and not just the advice, but also things like Christie’s transcripts of interviews with important people in the animal world. A few months ago, Dr. Becker was kidding me about what I wanted for my 50th birthday, and I told him: A searchable database! He thought I was kidding, but … it’s really what I wanted most.

So now we have one.

We have a lot of companies asking to buy sponsorship banners on PetConnection.com and DogCars.com, but we turn most of them down. For one thing, we don’t want to clutter up our site with a ton of little junky ads. And for another, we’re not about to be giving space to puppy-mill retail sites or outfits pitching snake oil to desperate pet-lovers. So we’ve entered into sponsorship agreements with a handful of companies we respect, and made sure those companies understand that they are not buying us or our content — they get a banner to reach our readers.

One of those companies we decided to work with was Pfizer, and when we asked them to underwrite the development of the searchable archives, they eagerly agreed. Our Black Dog Web team drew up the prototypes and the behind the scenes interface, and we hired top pet-care editor Phyllis DeGioia to handle the difficult task of editing and inputting thousands of articles.

She’s about halfway through that job, with more than 2,000 articles in the database, so we’ve launched it to see how it works as she continues to add another couple thousand more.

Check it out and let us know what you think. You can get to the article search from the Pet Connection home page or from any Pet Connection page by clicking on “Article Search” in the top navigation.

We’re considering this a “soft-roll” beta version and will continue to tweak it until it’s exactly best for helping the most people and pets. And if you don’t find something you need an answer to, let us know. That probably means we need to do an article on it for our newspaper feature. Or maybe it means Phyllis hasn’t gotten to it yet!

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Did you miss Dr. Becker?

Last week he was all over the media. We now have all the links so you can watch online

ABC News Now:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4517525
Pudgy Pooch? Best Doggie Diets!
Learn how to alter your dog’s diet to get your overweight pet back in shape.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4517547
Fido Fitness Unleashed!
Help your dog put their best paw forward with the latest walking accessories.

XM radio 155:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4480429

Good Morning America video:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4480189

Good Morning America article:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmazingAnimals/story?id=4475252&page=1

For the rest of the week, you can watch the clips from “The Martha Stewart Show.” Go here, click on March 24 and then go to the second set of videos on the right — “Pet Emergencies” and “Giving Medicine to Pets.”

Dr. Marty Becker — a/k/a my Dad — went to the Big Apple last week to do television and radio. If you missed his appearances on “Good Morning America” and GMA on XM radio (Channel 155) ,you can go to ABCNews.com and take a look or listen. “On Good Morning America” he profiled some of the top new pet products from the Global Pet Expo and was his usual corny self; for example, when profiling a bird stroller (which contained a crow by the way … where was the live bird?) he pretended to be a New York City pigeon elbowing another bird in the wing to draw his attention to a feathered friend traveling not via wing or foot, but in a pimped out bird mobile! I hear you groaning, can you imagine having lived under his wing for 22 years hearing crap like that (no pun intended)!

After GMA, Dr. Daddy — a/k/a “America’s Veterinarian”– taped two segments for ABCNews.com — one on pet obesity, the other on new equipment to make walking dogs safe and easy — and these will show up on ABCNews.com this week. Then it was time for a quick car ride about 10 blocks south to tape two segments for “The Martha Stewart Show.” These two segments, one on tips to give pets meds, the other on household products your veterinarian may ask you to use in an emergency, will air on the Monday, March 24. (Check your local listings for air times.)

If you’ve ever given your own cat a pill in the privacy and sanctity of your own kitchen, imagine Dad’s task for the “tips on giving pets meds” segment, of taking a strange cat, adding in new smells, a dog, dozens of staffers, cameras, microphones, rehearsals, a live studio audience, then meeting up with Martha to do the segment live. If this sounds like a recipe for disaster, it almost was. (more…)

I’ll link to the video when it’s up, but for now, Here’s the story that goes with Dr. Becker’s “GMA” appearance. About now, he should be in the studios of “The Martha Stewart Show,” taping two segments for later. Dr. Becker’s doing more media today, too, but I just can’t keep up with it all!

The “GMA” piece was based on our top picks from Global Pet Expo. And predicatably, there are people complaining in the comments about other people spending money on pets “when there’s so much wrong in the world.” I always wonder about these people … do they have a nicer house than they need? A nicer car? Nicer clothes? Hmmmm … if they’re not going to sell all that and start donating it all to the poor, then they really ought to keep their noses out other people’s lives.

Sheesh. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could just mind what they’re doing with their own lives, instead of paying so much attention condemning others?

Update: The video is up on the “Good Morning America” Web site. Click here or on the picture to see it.

Gina has asked me to keep track on my dad, Dr. Marty Becker. She says she can’t do it — it’s too hard! So I called home and got the low-down on his upcoming appearances on “The Martha Stewart Show” and “Good Morning America.”

The “Good Morning America” appearance is March 19 (this Wednesday), showing his top pics for new pet products from Global Pet Expo. It’s a fun mix of the practical — such as the soft Elizabethan collar for post-op pets — and the just plan fun, such as a microwavable cake for dogs. Gina has posted previously on this, I know.

After “GMA,” he’ll be taping two segments with Martha, the first of which is tentatively scheduled to air on March 24. In that one, he’ll be addressing the critical issue of home health care for your pet, and what steps to take to save your pet in an emergency.

He’s going to stress that being prepared for accidents and emergencies can save your pet’s life. Even though most people should take their pet immediately to their vet in the event of an illness or accident, sometimes help cannot be reached in time. He’ll be talking about life-saving measures you can take while en-route to the veterinary facility. Also: Common household items that your vet may ask you to use in the event of an emergency.

And what about giving medicine to pets? That’s the subject of the other “Martha” segment. A recent marketing study revealed that only 10 percent of cat owners and 30 percents of dog owners succeed in medicating their pets correctly. Watch to see the tricks and tips of getting the medicine in your pet instead of on you.

Wow! My first blog post. I promise it won’t be my last. I grew up a veterinarian’s daughter and have spent my whole life around animals. I’ve picked up some tips myself, and I’ll be sharing them, along with some observations on people and pets.

New vaccines, new ways of vaccinating, tests to unscramble the genetic mystery of your mutt: All these and more hit the market in 2007, and on “Good Morning America” Thursday,  the PetConnection’s Dr. Marty Becker will showcase them all. The pet-care segment usually runs towards the end of the show, and listen for him on ABC radio as well.  (The segment should be available on the GMA Web site a little after the show runs.)

Dr. Becker just marked his 10th year as the “Good Morning America” veterinarian — and his first as my writing partner on the Pet Connection syndicated pet-care feature. (We’ve worked together a little longer on our series of books, and have known each other for years.)

Happy Anniversary, Dr. B!

And speaking of our syndicated pet-care page: This week’s is now online. Read about getting your scratch-first-and-ask-questions-later cat to settle down, how to house-train a parrot, what risks second-hand smoke presents to your pets, and how to get your dog to stop pulling on the leash. It’s all here.