She has a thoughtful little piece on the Guideposts Web site, on being thankful for what our pets give us:

I’m thankful for the way my dog Kelly greets me at the door, as if my return is the best thing that happened to her all day.

I’m thankful for her soft reddish fur, and I’m especially thankful that she loves me every day.

Although we express our gratitude for our pets by feeding them, loving them and playing with them, Thanksgiving is the perfect time to remind ourselves just how lucky we are.

Rest the rest, and tell us what you’re thankful for about your pets.

And speaking of Thanksgiving, check out the recipe for Turkey and Cranberry Savories from Lucy Postins, the top dog and nutritionist behind The Honest Kitchen pet food company. Several of the PetConnection bloggers use Honest Kitchen, which is why I invited the company on as an advertiser, figuring they’d be a good match with our readers, too. (Lucy was also a fantastic source of “industry insider” information during the pet-food recall.) Visit  their YouTube channel.

But since I’m not quite ready to write about that, I’ll have to send you elsewhere to get your reading fix this morning.

I’ve been thinking about blogging about how the knee-jerk paranoia of the black helicopter crowd has infected otherwise reasonable people when it comes to allegations of neglect and abuse of animals. Yes, some people are wrongly accused of crimes, including those involving animals. But yes, some people actually are either criminally cruel or negligent, or simply in trouble and over their heads due to unforseen circumstances.

The hallmark of a non-crazy person is that we look at each situation and use our intellect and fact-finding skills to form an idea of what happened, and react accordingly, always leaving room for the possibility that new information will change our views.

The hallmark of black helicopter syndrome is that someone explodes into instant action based on the slightest bit of information, making wild allegations with little or no evidence, rationalizing their actions with a reading of the facts that not surprisingly matches his or her pre-existing ideological perspective.

There have been a couple of examples of this recently, and I probably will blog more about them later, but Patrick over at Terrierman’s Daily Dose covered the details of one of them, involving some Basset Hounds in Pennsylvania:

The kerfuffle started when a blog entitled “Never Yet Melted” posted a piece entitled SPCA Outage in Philadelphia.
According to this blog post, a woman had been made a victim of the jack-booted police state. Really? There’s a jack booted police state in Philadelphia? News to me.

The story told is that a dog law was changed in the middle of the night and this poor woman was then raided, without notice, and her dogs scooped up to be rushed away to waiting gas chambers or to be sold to the Arabs … or something.

Hmmm… There was something odd here. You see, for starters this blog does not normally cover dog issues. Nor is it noted for rationale discourse or a careful gathering of facts. In fact, it prides itself as being “Another Right-Wing Web Aggregator and Purveyor of Unpopular Opinions.”

In short, it’s a place that starts and collects conspiracy theories and circulates them back out to the gullible.

Scroll down and look at the badges on the right side of this blog, and what you find is a glad bag of right-wing nuttery. This blog salutes the crackpot Michelle Malkin, and has a picture of Charlton Heston doing his “cold dead body” thing with a flintlock rifle held high over his head.

Now I support the Second Amendment, but I also support all the other parts of the U.S. Constitution. Where was the badge on this blog in support of the First Amendment’s separation of Church and State? Not there. Instead we find a badge that says “Islamaphobic and Proud of It.”

Right. Got it. A paranoid gun nut who thinks hate is humorous.

Shirley Thistlewaite at Yes Biscuit! calls out HSUS and Michael Vick for their recent “secret password required” anti-dogfighting event — no press allowed; Kansas City, Missouri decided to set a dog impound quota for its animal control officers — sheer genius idea for driving up their kill rate. Local bloggers broke the story, and there’s an update and links to follow-up information and sources from Brent Toellner at KC Dog Blog; Dr. Patty Khuly points out there’s nothing “simple” about a “simple” spay; more on the FDA shutdown of the largest manufacturer of generic animal drugs in the US here and here from the VIN News Service.

And you might have missed our own Liz Palika’s hysterical and heartwarming story about her leopard tortoise Pearl yesterday — if you did, check it out now!

What have we missed? Let us know in the comments, and enjoy your Saturday!

***

No-kill flamethrower Nathan Winograd goes through some old boxes and finds a postcard from 1994:

Mr. Winograd:

1) We do not advocate “right to life” for animals.

2) There are always exceptions.

Ingrid Newkirk

More here, on Winograd’s blog.
Winograd said the exceptions Newkirk was referring to was in reference to her point that PETA policy supported the extermination of feral cats.

You just can’t make this stuff up! Points for consistency, if nothing else, from this gang of loons who are now grousing at President Obama for killing a fly but who think it’s just fine to kill more than 90 percent of the pets that come into their care.

Why is anyone still listening to PETA?

***

Yes, VPI is one of our sponsors, but I’d mention this anyway. It’s a nice move:

Due to depleted funds from the increased number of pets helped this fiscal year, the AAHA Foundation had to temporarily suspend grants from the AAHA Helping Pets Fund in April. The generous gift from VPI Pet Insurance [$25, 000]  will enable the AAHA Helping Pets Fund to resume granting funds immediately.

As the benevolent arm of the AAHA Foundation, the Helping Pets Fund helps those in need access quality veterinary care for their sick or injured pets. The Foundation awards grants supporting veterinary care for pets that have been abandoned or whose owners are experiencing financial hardship.

Thanks to the generous support of AAHA members, individuals and corporate donations since its inception in 2005, the AAHA Helping Pets Fund has awarded more than $800,000 in grants to help more than 3,000 pets receive much needed veterinary care.

You can donate, too. Information here.

***

Plea details revealed for Chem Nutra pair linked to pet-food recall: probation and a fine that’s less than a nice new car. VIN News, here. Also from VIN News, Evanger’s says their problem with the FDA is a matter of paperwork, and food irraditation is suspected in neurological problems in Australian cats. … Funny piece on the people you see at a dog show on Frogdog. … Houlie’s husband dishes the dirt on “Did a Cat Shit in Here?” (be sure to read the comments) … Fugly reports on wacky made-up horse registries, just like in dogs! … YesBiscuit! on pet snobbery and the poor. … The UK’s Dogs Trust launches an eZine. …  Wayne Pacelle of the HSUS notes that Gourmet magazine (of all things!) is calling for changes in the food industry with regards to meat.  Michael Pollan  got there first, and so did Slow Food. And so, too, did I.  Compassion, sustainability and support of small family farms: It’s not just for vegans anymore. … I once spent part of a day in the company of a roomful of sun conures. Honestly, I’m surprised I still have my hearing. This are really fun, lively and stunningly beautiful parrots, but I’ll stick with my relatively quiet Caique, thanks. Here’s why, funny story courtesy of Best in Flock. … Saturday addition: Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly on how veterinarians feel about Merial using Cesar Millan as the company pitchman for Frontline. Short take: They’re not happy. … Got anything interesting? Aggravating? Head-exploding? Toss it in the comments.

Just go read ‘em all. And if you only read one other pet-related blog — other than this one, of course!  – it has to be Dolittler.

The independent VIN News Service, the pet project of another of those voices, VIN co-founder Dr. Paul Pion, continues to develop its own niche. Some of the stories are not of huge interest outside the veterinary community, but others are must-reads for all. VNS also covers the ethics issue at the core of Dr. K’s post, and its top-notch staff of medical, science and trade reporters will continue to break open the industry for the public — and veterinarians themselves — to look at more closely.

Of special note to pet-lovers, Timothy Kirn’s piece on interpersonal skills in veterinary medicine:

Many medical professionals once believed that bedside manner and empathy traits were hardwired — clinicians either displayed compassion or they didn’t — and few schools bothered to teach the skills required to comfort and reassure patients.

Now that notion has been turned on its head. During the past few years, the veterinary profession has embraced the idea that clinicians can be taught to become better listeners and more sympathetic, and some say that in veterinary medicine, this type of training is sorely needed.

More here. And when you’re there, add the RSS feed to your reader.

Forced spay-neuter is still in play in many locales, especially California, where a rehashed version of last year’s defeated bill is now in committee. As usual, this isn’t about reducing shelter populations — forced spay-neuter doesn’t do that — but sticking it to poor people and reputable breeders, while inserting the government into a medical decision that should be made on  an individual basis by a pet’s owner with advice of a veterinarian.  Contrary to wide-spread belief, spaying and neutering are not all pro and no con for the animal involved, although the cost-benefit analysis still leans towards altering for most pets when all factors — including convenience for the owner and behavior — are taken into account.

Over on Lassie Get Help, Luisa lays it all out. The AVMA, the ASPCA and the no-kill nation get it that forced spay-neuter kills more pets and drives pet-owners away from care for their animals. Why don’t the spittle-spewing haters of the animal rights movement, who just keep selling this reheated slop to well-meaning pet-lovers, get it? Oh, sorry …: I already answered my own question. It’s about hate, not saving pets.

From Lassie Get Help:

How is it that being a “responsible” pet owner here in California might soon involve mandatory surgery on your pet rather than, you know, actual responsibility? What kind of state mandates removal of your dog’s reproductive parts – then turns around and punishes people for cutting tails off cows?

More here. And by the way, you know how I feel about factory farming (cruel, environmentally devastating and  a health risk for us all). Cows crammed in these big dairies are unhappy enough.  Let them keep their fly-swatters, fergoshsakes. I support SB 135 as I supported Prop. 2. Farming reform is food reform: It tips the scale back to humane, sustainable and regional family farms and lays a strong anti-cruelty foundation that industrial animal agriculture has long needed.

As for forced spay-neuter, if you’re in California call the members of the  Senate Appropriations Committee and tell them why SB 250 is more about animal-rights vendettas than pet-owner responsibility … and won’t solve the problem of helping people and helping pets.

ConsumerAffairs.com is reporting that Greenies chews will soon be available through veterinarians and pet specialty stores only — no general retailers (hat tip to Shirley at Yes, Biscuit!):

“We believe that pet medical professionals at veterinary hospitals and well-trained, knowledgeable staff at pet specialty stores are best equipped to answer pet owners’ questions about our products and to make the right recommendation,” said Carolyn Hanigan, vice president of marketing for Nashville, Tenn.-based NUTRO.

Now, I have long argued that the problem with Greenies was that it was an entity that actually could be identified and sued, as opposed to, say, the distributor of generic imported rawhide. Anything your dog chews has risks and benefits, and we have to be sure we choose an appropriate chew for our dog’s size and chewing style, and monitor our pet’s chewing.  (Irony of ironies: When I read the story on ConsumerAffairs.com, the Google-generated ad pitched Greenies from a catalog company.)

Got something good? Throw it in the comments.

Their topic? Something we all care a great deal about: helping our dogs and cats live as long as possible. They’ll share two secrets that can help our pets just do that, which they’ve dubbed the “Furry Fountain of Youth.”

It’s happening Friday evening, February 13, at 10 PM Eastern Time in the Auditorium chat room on PetHobbyist.com.

You might want to check out the chat right before Gina and Dr. Becker’s; Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D., author of “The Cautious Canine” and “The Other End of the Leash,” will be discussing canine behavior with us at 9 PM Eastern in the Dog Den.

Although I hope you can be there, if you have questions for Gina and Dr. Becker, or for Patricia McConnell, and can’t make the chats — or just want to improve the chances your question will get asked — you can email them to me at phchristy@pethobbyist.com or post them here.

See you at chat!

The diarist writes under the name Deep Harm (and yes, I have a problem with anonymous bloggers) and says the FDA recently announced it was broadening its testing of Chinese imported foods:

FDA does not explain how it “broadened” its domestic and import sampling and testing.  Does that mean broadened to include testing for melamine?  If so, when, exactly, did it begin testing for melamine?  On September 20?  If so, that is hardly a “proactive” response, given that the Chinese crisis had been in the headlines for weeks. FDA’s only action prior to that was to look for the specific brand of Chinese formula first reported as contaminated and to assure Americans that the formula is not sold in the U.S.  Apparently, FDA officials learned nothing from the pet food contamination crisis, where the list of affected products grew weekly.

It’s highly problematic that the FDA is looking only at products that could contain milk-derived ingredients from “Chinese sources.”  That leaves Americans vulnerable to products produced in other countries that may have used Chinese ingredients without declaring them; and there are a mind-boggling number of food products containing “whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, whey powder, lactose powder, and casein.”

Good luck finding any of that out from FDA. I used to say stuff like, “If this was in baby food, they’d be taking it more seriously.” It turns out I was wrong.

The full diary is here, but be warned: it will make your head explode. Although I think it’s worth it to see this diarist suggest that anyone from FDA, USDA and CDC “involved in making the reckless ‘interim’ risk assessment, which clearly was inadequate and not based on sound science, should be fired and forced to return to taxpayers any bonuses they received for work on that project.”

You dreamer, you.

[Update from Gina the early bird: Link fixed. And ... chocolate recalled! Chinese-made chocolate!]

Now, I’ve been writing about pets a long, long time, with my first weekly column first appearing in The Sacramento Bee in 1984 (my “real job” there was as an editor, for 17 years when I left in ‘96 ). I’ve been syndicated with Universal Press for 11 years, with Dr. Becker and I joining forces (his syndicated column and mine, we write together now for Universal) two years ago January. My first book, “Dogs For Dummies,” came out in 1996 (second edition, 2000, and Dr. Becker and I are hoping to join forces on a third edition in the future). Since then, 10 more books, most co-authored with the darling Dr. Becker, with hundreds of thousands sold, an appearance on the New York Times best-seller list, lots of awards, many foreign translations and … this is truly most important to me: Countless pets and people helped!

As excited as I am to see my name in Parade today (and I don’t get excited about this stuff very often anymore), I’m really happy that what we wrote about — saving money on pet-care — may help get people through these hard economic times without giving up their pets. Here’s the link for the information (but I hope you grab the paper, because it looks a lot better in print).

We were limited to 750 words, but you’re not. Got more ideas for saving money on pet-care? Share them here!

But with an election looming, I got to itching to write about it. So I had an idea that was, as blogger Kathy Flake put it, “barking mad.” I decided to start a group blog, short term, to have an outlet for my thoughts on the election. And I decided to invite a a few of the bloggers I most enjoy reading.

And so, Bark Obama! was born.

I’m happy with my decision to keep presidential politics off this blog — the subject really doesn’t fit, and besides, the entire PetConnection team is decidedly not of a single mind on the issues (again, we consider this, as blogger John Scalzi is fond of saying, a feature, not a bug).

Christie, Kim and I are members of the group blog. But here’s the whole list (and we’re still adding to it):

• Patrick Burns, Terrierman’s Daily Dose
• Kathy Flake, WhatDoIKnow
• Christie Keith, Dogged and PetConnection
• Dr. Patty Khuly, Dolittler
• Susan McCullough, The Allie Chronicles
• Luisa Serrano, Lassie Get Help
• Gina Spadafori, PetConnection
• Shirley Thistlethwaite, YesBiscuit! and Everybody Secede Now!
• Kim Campbell Thornton, PetConnection
• Mary Young, PhD, Windfall Ranch

What a line-up, huh? Come over, come over, read and comment. You can even spread the word by picking up a badge for your Web site or blog. And we’ll be selling T-shirts and mugs starting next week to help cover our design and hosting costs, so you might want to check that out. I promise the goodies will be gorgeous, since my friend Jay Gavron of Gotham Park Studios — who designed both the PetConnection and DogCars Web sites — is handling the work.

I’ve put BarkObama! in our blog roll, but this is the only actual post you’ll see mentioning it here. We’ll be blogging here as always, pretty much non-partisan, and barking for Obama there until Nov. 5.

Thought you’d like to know that his segment on foods to beware of is now up on the ABCNews Web site. The piece was shot when he was in New York recently for a “Good Morning America” appearance.

What are the foods to look out for? Avocados and macadamia nuts, to start with. Check out the segment for the rest, and for tips on keeping your pet safe from these hazards.