H1N1 identified in dogs
I was just about to post this when I saw our reader, Snoopys friend, had beaten me to it. News is coming out of China that H1N1, the “swine flu” virus, has been identified in two dogs in Beijing. From China Daily: Health experts in China have assured pet-lovers they need

Saving animals from the grassroots up
Despite being one of the most progressive cities in America politically, Austin’s animal control policies and programs were anything but. In 2004, almost 13,000 animals died at its Town Lake Animal Center, more than half the animals that came in its doors. And in the years that followed, Austin’s kill rate continued to increase, despite the fact that its intake stayed around

Quick clicks, good reading: The Sunday wrap-up
In no particular order … O, Canada! What a horrid mess at the Toronto Humane Society, an organization that apparently went off the rails long ago. The place was raided, officials arrested, financial records being demanded, and the mummified remains of a cat in a trap caught and never removed from the ceiling were discovered: “It sent chills down my spine,” said Kevin Strooband, lead investigator from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “I don’t know what is going on here, but it seems like a house of horrors.”

Catnip: a new use for a food dehydrator
I have a food dehydrator and find that it’s wonderful for drying excess food from my garden — fruits and veggies. I also use it to dry other plants, especially herbs. I inherited my green thumb (and love of animals) from my Grandma. She always had a huge garden that included herbs of many kinds. She used to hang herbs in the garage — roots up and flowers down was her mantra to us kids. Grandma, who was of Lakota Indian heritage, used herbs in cooking but also as medicines. She also didn’t believe in waste so everything was cooked, cured, canned, dried, or frozen.

Be thankful for old, pet-loving friends
Every Thanksgiving, in my family, we say what we are grateful for this year. Sometimes it’s simple, and sometime it’s more complex: I’m grateful that our family is together today and that we’re all doing well, I’m grateful for my new horse (that would be my sister’s), I’m grateful I have health insurance even though it’s expensive, grateful I made a new friend, that kind of thin