#FindTesla

I understand all too well how hard it is to find a lost dog in Los Angeles, I also understand the turmoil that goes along with that.  So I feel for Alex Berg who has launched a social media campaign to find his missing dog.  The full story from LAist is below.

Losing a dog in a city the size of Los Angeles can certainly feel like a lonely proposition.

There is too much ground to cover, too many shelters to follow up with, and too many major streets for a dog to cross. But for Alex Berg, new Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy theater in Hollywood, there's never been a bigger sense of community than when his dog Tesla went missing last week. Thanks to a core group of friends, volunteers and total strangers, one man's campaign to find his dog has gone viral.

The pup in question is Tesla, a medium-sized white poodle mix with big floppy ears and a shy personality. Last week, while Berg was briefly back east for the holidays, Tesla slipped through the fingers of a dog walker and bolted from his Silver Lake apartment. Almost immediately, a social campaign emerged.

"I emailed a few dozen friends of mine to let them know what had happened, and they all picked up the charge right away", says Berg during a phone call, while searching the Franklin Hills on foot. "From the beginning, the response has been overwhelming". What followed has been nothing short of a social media success story, albeit one that still awaits its Hollywood ending. Those hardy friends that Berg had emailed set about contacting shelters and organizing eager volunteers and friends-of-friends to conduct round-the-clock searches for Tesla.

As the hours between Tesla's last sighting grew, so to did the response. Working with a local print shop on Hillhurst in Los Feliz, hundreds of fliers were printed and posted anywhere that Tesla might have reason to roam. By the second day, the hashtag #FindTesla had sprung up, providing a unified mobile location for anyone looking to help out in the search - and for entrepreneurial twitter users to push out to local celebrities to help raise awareness.

In the five days since the #FindTesla campaign has sprouted up online, retweets have come from online personalities like Rich Eisen, Jeff Garlin, Ryan Adams, Taran Killam and Turtle from "Entourage." The team was even mentioned on KOST last night, with the Dido song "Thank You" dedicated to their cause.

Now, Berg's same Silver Lake apartment serves as the 24/7 command center for all things #FindTesla, with running maps that aggregate the latest in over a dozen confirmed Tesla sightings and current search locations for all active volunteers. A 'Dawnguard' has sprung up with early morning searchers poking around neighborhoods in the early dawn hours, since this is statistically the best time to find a missing dog.

Organizers at HQ are coordinating those in the streets to maximize surface area and canvas underserved locations. So far, the number of volunteers has crested well over 100, with people offering anything from 30 minutes to full days in support of the #FindTesla movement. The team has been so successful, they've even helped to reunited a different lost poodle named Snow with their owners. Yet Tesla remains at large.

As the days go on, dedication and determination for the #FindTesla campaign remain crucial. Tesla herself is microchipped and wearing a collar, but her shy nature makes her wary of strangers - even those carrying dog treats and bacon, as most volunteers have come to do. If you'd like to join the #FindTesla campaign, head to the hashtag on twitter for information on fliers, where to head next, and what else can be done. To reach Alex Berg directly, follow him at @ActuallyBerg. Any help is appreciated, so that everyone can work together to make Los Angeles feel just a little bit smaller for one scared poodle mix named Tesla.

Happy New Year

Today is the last blog for me for the Year, so I want to take a moment to reflect on this past year.  This year, like every year had a lot of ups and downs in pet news.  Some stories made us cry, others laugh or smile and there were those that got us mad or fired up to do something.  I'm sure the year ahead has the same to offer us.  But the one thing that remained constant for me, is that each story made me so happy to have my dog in my life.  A theme that seems to never get old.

As I prepare to go on a trip away from my beloved pup and into the cold, I can't help but think of everything Neville has given to me and my boyfriend.  Yesterday as we watched him try to open his presents and then play with his toys, we talked about how much he means to us and how rich he has made our lives.  I can't imagine my world without him. 

Neville is the one that makes us laugh in the moments we forget to with his silliness and puppy-like behavior.  He is the one to comfort us in the moments of sorrow, with a sweet lick on the cheek or just sitting there looking at us with empathy and kindness.  Neville is also the one that teaches us patience, as we walk on the street and his fear gets the best of him, we have to remember he can't help it and try to be strong to get him through it.  But most of all, Neville is the one that never lets us forget how to love.  As much as we have taught him, he has taught us.

I wish for every dog to find a forever home with people that love them unconditionally and accept them for who they are... and know who they are. 

As we travel into 2013, I hope we all can continue to work together to end dog fighting, puppy mills, and any form of cruelty to animals and I also hope we can continue to find homes for the unlucky pooches in shelters and rescues. 

Remember New Year's Eve can be a little scary for your dogs, so be sure to think about them when you make your plans.

Hold your pups tight and don't forget to do something special with them.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

 
Merry Christmas from Bark & Clark, may you enjoy your friends & family today, both 2 & 4 legged!  Be sure to do something special with your dog.

Peace, Love and Joy to you all.

Merry Christmas Eve

Today is your last chance to finish your shopping, wrapping and anything else you need to make your Christmas a good one.  Some of you may start your gift giving tonight, so I want to make sure to give you some last minute tips to make sure your dog has fun but stays out of trouble.

One of the cutest things I've seen is a dog tearing into a wrapped package to discover their present.  The most frustrating thing I have seen is to come home and find one of my wrapped packages for  a friend or family member unwrapped by the dog!  But to the dog, what is the difference?  There really isn't one, except that one is meant for them, the other for someone else, but how would they know that?  This is a line that gets blurred all the time, then the dog is punished for doing what on other occasions they have been rewarded for.

If you want your dog to participate in the unwrapping fun, teach them a command to go with it.  This is no guarantee that they later won't unwrap things on their own, but it is a start.  All you need to do is take a wrapped box, get your dog to start tugging on it and name the command and treat.  I would make the command simple, like "unwrap".  Each time the dog tugs at the wrapping paper to get it off the box, say "unwrap" and treat.  Then have fun during the festivities and show off a new trick!

If you think this is a bad idea for your dog, simply keep them away from the presents and do not allow them to get involved in opening them.  They can be near you, just not participating.  This might be a good time for them to be on their bed with a Christmas bone or frozen Kong.

When it comes to your dogs gifts, remember they are not human, they may not react to a new collar or leash the way we would to new clothes.  But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to smell it and investigate it a little before it goes on. 

Also, if you are getting your dog a bunch of treats and bones, you may want to slowly give these out over the next few days.  Or just have them sample one of each treat and choose one bone for the evening.  Giving them a bunch of treats and bones can cause an upset stomach and will make for a very long night.

If your dog should eat something that is toxic be sure to contact the ASPCA poison control at (888) 426-4435.  

I hope you all have a great Christmas Eve!  Do something special with your pooch today.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts for Your Pets

If your holiday season has been as busy as mine, you may have found little to no time for gift shopping, especially for your pets.  It is a good thing there are some great deals for he remainder of the shopping days.

If you are wondering what to get them, toys and treats you can never go with!  But if your dog likes clothes there is always apparel and accessories (like a bow tie).  And for your cat, they can never get enough scratching posts or pads and climbing towers.  Or a new bed is always nice.

Now for where the deals are!

Pussy & Pooch are having their 12 Days of Twinkle right now!  Today it is 15% off of all treats & toys, over the weekend it is 15% off of all apparel & accessories and on the 24th (Monday, the last shopping day) there are store wide last minute deals!  I will be there for that.

Both Petco and Petsmart are having in store and online deals throughout Christmas.  If you can't find what you need from Pussy & Pooch that is another good option.

The main thing you need to give to your pets for Christmas is a lot of love.  Remember this time of year how many dogs are at shelters or rescues with no one but volunteers to love them.  Some will never find a forever home and some will only have to spend a few days there.  So if you have time, drop off some treats or food at a local shelter or rescue or participate in one of the many food drives for homeless or shelter pets.  (I know Pussy & Pooch has a box set up and Rosemont Pet Hospital has a drive for  homeless pets).

Whatever you do this weekend, make sure to take time to do something special with your dog.

Tragedy for Miley Cyrus' Family of Dogs

No matter if you like her or not, this is something as dog lovers and owners we can at least sympathize with the pop star on, Miley Cyrus' Yorkie was killed by her English Bulldog.  Absolutely sad.  The story is below, brought to us by Dogster.

When Miley Cyrus' dog died last Tuesday, she was devastated. Lila, a 2-year-old Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier cross, was one of the singer's many dogs. She tweeted, "Can't think of one good reason to get out of bed today ... For everyone asking ... I have never been so hurt in my life. My heart has never been so broken ... Lila my sweet baby girl has passed away."
She took solace in her other dogs: Ziggy, Floyd, Happy, and Mary Jane. She also often cares for her sister's Yorkie, Penny Lane.

On Sunday, she dedicated her spot on VH1's Diva concert series to Lila, according to the Daily Mail. She tweeted after the show, "Feeling connected to my baby girl Lila after tonight. I know she's up in doggy heaven proud of her mommy for staying strong." For the record, she performed Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell."

(Miley and Lila.) 

But one question remained: How did the dog die? An answer finally arrived via Miley's mother's blog Off the Record, in which Tish Cyrus keeps fans abreast of her famous family's doings.

She writes, "The way that Lila was taken from her was beyond terrible. Sometimes things happen that we just can't understand. Miley still isn't ready to talk about it, but I thought you guys should know what happened."

"For some unknown reason, Ziggy ... grabbed Lila. Not really sure if she was playing or what? She grabbed her in just the wrong spot and Lila didn't survive." 

It appears that Ziggy, Miley's English Bulldog, fatally attacked the much smaller dog. We don't have details, but it seems to be another sad case of a "big dog-little dog" altercation, which are very common, according to our resident vet, Dr. Eric Barchas. 

"A 'dustup' between a very large dog and a very small dog never ends well for the small dog," he writes in a recent Ask a Vet column. "These fights are common enough that they have their own veterinary acronym: BDLD (short for 'big dog-little dog')." 

"Most injuries to the little dog in a BDLD fall into two groups -- those sustained during the bite, and those sustained during the shake."

Tish stresses in her blog post that nobody thought Ziggy was a mean dog. After the attack, Miley took the dog to Spot rescue, Tish continues, where staffers were able to rehome the dog with someone who had no children or other pets, just in case the attack wasn't "a fluke."
In relaying the news, Tish ends up writing a fitting tribute to the bond between a dog and her human: 

"Miley loved Lila more than anyone can imagine. I know some people were saying it's JUST a dog, but to Miley she was so much more. In Miley's life, as you can imagine, its hard to let many people into your tight circle of family and friends. Any time that Miley is sad or having a hard day, Lila was her angel, the one that always loved her unconditionally no matter what was going on in her life at that time. She would always just curl up in bed with Lila for a few hours and then everything would always feel better! She always made me feel better, too."

As for Miley, she's spending quality time with her other dogs. On Monday, she tweeted a photo of herself and Floyd, an Alaskan Klee Kai. 

(Miley and Floyd)

Holiday Time With Your Dog

Last night I was at the Pussy & Pooch Holiday Mutt Mingle and 5 year anniversary party.  As I watched all the dogs spin around the store, take pictures with Santa and get treats every chance they could, I started thinking how great this is for them.  But usually our holiday parties are not this dog friendly.   Which leads me to what I want to talk about today, making the holidays safe for your pet.

By now you probably already have your tree up if you are going to do one.  There are some important things to remember about the tree, first and foremost, it smells like the wild!  This is going to peak the interest of both dogs and cats, so be sure it is as secure as possible so it is not easily tipped over.  Also, if you know your cat will try to climb in, wrap the tree skirt up the trunk as high as possible.

The decorations on the tree as well as all around the house look a lot like toys to dogs and cats.  Especially cats for the tree decorations, just hanging there waiting to be slapped by a paw.  Try to make sure anything that is at your pet's level are shatter-proof or simply not glass.  Also, keep all of the small figurines and other small decorations or choking hazards up high so there is no chance of your dog getting them.  Your cat has the ability to jump, so be sure to find places they are not likely to go.  If you think your dog or cat has eaten a decoration you believe to be harmful, call your vet or emergency vet ASAP.

Having guests in our house can do the most damage to our pets.  No matter if you are having parties or having family or friends from out of town stay with you, make sure your everyone understands your rules for your pets.  This applies more to dogs that cats.  Many people do not understand how important your dog's diet can be, they may think they are being nice by giving your pooch some table scraps or nibbles from the appetizer tray.  The truth is, besides the obvious that there are certain foods your dog should not or can not eat, this may upset their stomach.

Beyond feeding your dog things they should not have, guests sometimes do not know the basic rules of the house.  So not to confuse your dog, make sure your guests know that you don't allow your dog on the couch or in the bed and they don't know shake, so please stop asking.  Or whatever the rules are.   You want your dog to be happy, and having the rules change suddenly, will not make them happy.

With Christmas around the corner and New Year's too, you may be hosting a large get together.  Make sure you think about your dog and what they are comfortable with.  If they are not good with a lot of people, be sure to create a safe space for them to hang out away from all the people.  If you think it will be crowded and you have a small dog, attach a bell or something that will be noted, you wouldn't want your K-9 friend to be stepped on.

You may be out for the holidays.  So if you won't be home, keep track of the time, your dog still has needs and will need to get out to do their business.  If you can't, hire a dog walker for the day or night.  Or if you are taking your dog to a friend or family member's house, make sure they get along with any other pets in the house and bring a bed, towel or blanket so your dog has their own spot and will feel more comfortable.

These simple tips can make your pets very happy over the holidays.