This Drive-Thru Has Gone To The Dogs
Amanda Brown - Bane & Vader's Doggie Drive-Thru

Amanda Brown opened a drive-thru fast food restaurant for dogs ONLY, where your dog can get the popular Bow Wow Bowl with their choice of protein, vegetables or grains in an edible bowl. Bane and Vader's opened their flagship store in Easton Pennsylvania and Amanda has plans to franchise.

The drive-thru is an American tradition and a part of our every day lives. Nowadays you can do your banking, pick up your dry cleaning, drop off a prescription and grab an espresso - all without getting out of your car. Not to mention the fast food, drive-thru window. We've all gone through them and when you have your dog with you, they smell the food and they want it! You really don't want to share that food with them; it's bad enough for you and you shouldn't be eating it, so you shouldn't feed it to your pet.

The idea to start a doggie drive-thru came to Amanda about a year and a half ago when she read an article stating that fast food has literally gone to the dogs. It mentioned that there were a high percentage of people that go through a drive-thru and add an item for the dog or even go through just for their dog. Amanda felt that if that was the case, why not do something that is fun and healthy for the dogs. Bane and Vader's Doggie Drive-Thru is going well after only being open for about three months. But don't plan on filling your belly there - this drive-thru is just for the dogs!

Amanda Brown has partnered with Fresh Pet, who makes all fresh, meats, fruits and vegetables for dogs. You get to create a custom bowl by picking your protein, favorite vegetables, grains if you'd like, and a scoop of any of their extras. Their Bow Wow Bowl is sure to have your pup waggin' for more.

Their base consists of different options, which are grain, grain-free and raw. After picking your base, you can then add two toppings. These toppings include fresh fruit like strawberries and watermelon, with the vegetables including things like sweet potatoes and carrots.

For those who feed their dogs a dry kibble or canned food diet, Bane & Vader's may seem like an unnecessary luxury. However, more and more pup parents are opting to feed whole-food and home-cooked diets, which can be quite expensive and time consuming to prepare.

The Bow Wow Bowls offer a healthy alternative for busy dog owners to feed a balanced meal on-the-go. You can also think of it as a great way to give your canine pal a special treat from time to time.

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Cats Keep NY Shops Lively
Tamar Arslanian, Shop Cats of New York

Do you know of a business that has a token cat? If you do, you'll certainly appreciate the "Shop Cats" in Tamar Arslanian's new book. She features, in both picture and the written word, the most notable shop cats in New York stores. Take for instance the wine store cat that has his own chiropractor, or the cat that is a mascot at a dog boutique, or the occult shop cat that totes a magic wand in her mouth.

Shop Cats of New York covers legends inside New York institutions like the Algonquin Hotel, Bleecker Street Records, Kings County Distillery and many more. From the amusing to the benevolent, this book uncovers these 40 cats' different personalities and the shops they deem home.

Tamar came up with the idea for this book because there are a couple of shop cats in her own neighborhood. And since Tama is a cat blogger, her friends would also share with her stores that they had found in the area with a shop cat.

Before writing her book, Tamar wanted to know if there was a book out there like this. While she found articles about these cats, and older books that referred to them as working cats, there was nothing about these shop cats that just sort of hung out.

Most of these cats are mascots for the stores. Tamar states that these cats aren't the best mousers and really don't "work," but some of them still have titles like "customer therapist," "assistant buyer," and even "head social media."

Tamar mentions one bookstore cat named Tiny and when people come to the store with their dogs, they tell the bookstore people not to worry, their dog likes cats. However, they are then told that Tiny does not like dogs and will stalk them. While Tiny is not a working cat, there was one episode when Tiny took things into his own hands. The store occasionally has story time where children are present during a reading. The bookstore people didn't realize that the person telling the story had planned a little surprise at the end of the reading. It seems they brought in a live chicken and had it hidden in their coat the whole time. Of course the kids were thrilled, but so was Tiny, and the chicken was whisked away in the nick of time! Good thing, or these kids might have need post-traumatic stress counseling!

Tamar believes that when people see cats in shops, it give it a little more dimensionality and makes you think about the manager and the people working there as being more loving and caring. Tamar doesn't know whether or not this is all true, but the people she's met at these shops were very warm and they loved their animals. It just gives a nice warm feeling to the business and makes you want to frequent it, as opposed to a similar shop that doesn't have a shop cat. These cats are also a great way to start a conversation, especially in a city like New York, where it's not always easy.

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How To Achieve Litter Box Success - Dr. Debbie

It's important to realize not all cases of inappropriate elimination are a "behavior" problem. In confirmed behavioral driven house soiling cases, 20% of the cats also had a contributing medical condition at the time. So even if it sounds like a behavioral problem, see your veterinarian to ensure your cat isn't the 1 in 5 that has discomfort, infection, or other health problems influencing her litter box use.

Drawing Kitty To The "Right" Spot
Check the condition of the box - is it urine stained on the bottom? Throw it out and get a new one. Keep the box clean by scooping twice daily and by performing a complete litter change out twice a week for non-clumping litter or every 2-3 weeks for clumping varieties.

To entice kitty back to the litter box try a litter box attractant like the herbal-based cat litter additive called "Cat Attract."

Multi-cat homes or those with outdoor cats nearby should use pheromone (scent hormone) products to ease social stress and facilitate litter box harmony.

Kitty Eliminates Near, But Not Quite In The Litter Box
Your kitty is telling you that she understands what you want her to do, but something isn't quite right in the litter box environment. First start with providing a larger box, even if this means buying a plastic under bed storage box for this purpose. Look for one sized 18 x 36 inches in size.

Remove any litter box covers. Revisit the traffic flow in the litter box area. Ensure the box is in a quiet, low traffic area. Keep the box unquestionably clean.

Is Your Cat Urinating In Tubs Or Sinks?
Chances are your cat has urinary tract inflammation or infection. The cool surfaces provide relief to the inflammation or discomfort of a medical condition. See your veterinarian for a urine evaluation and treatment since environmental changes alone will not stop the behavior.

To preventing further episodes, decrease access to tubs and sinks, close doors to bathrooms, or fill the bottom of sinks and tubs with a small amount of water.

Kitty Eliminates On Throw Rugs And Won't Use Litter Box
Your cat has already made a litter preference. Perhaps the texture of carpet is more appealing than the litter used. Provide a litter box smorgasbord. This is when you provide multiple litter pans at the same time, each with different litter varieties such as clay, clumping, and natural pine litter. Be sure to include one litter box with sections of throw rugs or carpet remnants lining the bottom. During this time, remove all throw rugs from the house or block kitty's access to those areas.

If kitty demonstrates a litter preference, switch her litter boxes to that style of litter.

If kitty chooses the rug-lined box, then continue providing carpet lined litter boxes to establish a good pattern of repeated box use. Gradually start sprinkling small amounts of cat litter in the box on top of carpet surface. With time, many cats can be retrained to accept the box as the carpet is phased out and just litter remains.

Prevent Returning To Scene Of Crime
Clean all house soiling accident sites with an enzyme based pet cleanser. The enzymes break down the chemical component of the odors, and do more than just cover up with scents. Do not use ammonia based cleansers on accident areas - doing so is counterproductive. (Remember that urine contains ammonia products.)

Cats dislike eating in areas that they eliminate, so place food and water bowls in the site of the accidents, or try placing pieces of aluminum foil in areas to deter kitty's use.

Citrus scents are offensive to cats and can be an effective cat deterrent. Use citrus or potpourri scented air fresheners in the area. If your cat is eliminating in house plants, place lemon or orange peels in the pot to make the area less attractive. And of course, make sure you aren't using citrus scented cleaners on the litter pan!

To keep your kitty away from areas she continues to eliminate on, use double sided sticky tape or turn plastic carpet runners upside down. Another option is to invest in motion-activated devices that spritz out citronella or puffs of air when the electronic eye picks up motion in the off-limits area.

The Tough Reality
For some cats, environmental changes aren't enough and drug therapy may be a necessary tool. But remember that behavioral medications aren't a shortcut - drug therapy must be used with veterinary monitoring and in conjunction with environmental changes.

Want to hear some bad news? In households struggling with many years of feline house soiling, it may be necessary to discard urine marked furniture, change out carpet, carpet pads, and treat sub-flooring to effectively remove scent triggers for future elimination issues. It may sound extreme, but it can be important step to achieve faithful feline litter box success.

Featured veterinarian known as "Dr. Debbie" on national pet radio program, Animal Radio. Ebook author of "Yorkshire Terriers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Pugs: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Mini Schnauzers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; and "Shih Tzu: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend."

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5 New Year's Resolutions For The Pet World
Robert Semrow, Listomania

Another year has ended and as we begin the next one, promises of change and doing better are bouncing through our minds. So, I thought I'd give you a gentle reminder that your pets need you to include a few resolutions for 2017 as well.

#1 - Get your pet's identification microchips and paperwork updated. I know we've all promised this before, so stop what you are doing and as a famous sports philosopher says, "Just Do It For The Sake Of Your Pets." If your pet isn't already microchipped, what are you waiting for? Please don't tell me your pets can't get out or lost, because they can and if it happens, your best chance at being reunited with them is by having them microchipped. If you do have them microchipped, update their information and make sure that your local shelters have microchip readers that would read the chip. Verify it's working, it's accurate and that the information on file will bring them home to you.

#2 - Time. Resolution number 2 is so simple that if you don't do it, you will be cone of shamed by your pets at some point. Spend some extra time learning about your pet each day. I don't mean sipping tea and discussing your favorite books, though I have found that Zoey has great taste in books. What I mean is, actually get to know your pet by really studying their body and noting changes that may not have been there the last time you really looked. It is so important to know your pet with a nose to tail check weekly, if not daily.

#3 - Learn something to improve your pet's lives. Learn something this year with them or for them. Maybe you will learn a new sport or activity that you can do together. Or maybe you will take the time to learn more about what benefits your pet, what harms your pet or what you can do to enhance their lives. There is a lot of great information out there to help you achieve improvement.

#4 - Help your pet be healthier this year. From nutrition to play to mental stimulation, fill 2017 with a healthy outlook and activities to give them a healthy change that is sustainable and makes a difference.

#5 - Begin a daily or weekly journal. It only takes about15 minutes to do daily. What did you and your pet do today? What was their health like? What special moment occurred that you would cherish?

I use my personal pet journal to communicate with my pet care team. I'm able to give them updates on their health, their care and what is happening normally and out of the normal. Something I learned last year when Sugar passed was that I would also look back fondly and treasure these notes about my soul dog and our other pets.

Do you have New Years Pet Resolutions? Share them with us on our Animal Radio Facebook Page.

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Tails Inc. Pet National Events for January 2016
Janice Gork, Tails Pet Media Group, Inc.

Passionate about rescue and adoption, Tails Pet Media Group, Inc. was founded in 2000 by Janice Brown. What started as a magazine, is now a mission! Tailsinc.com is an interactive website and online community committed to connecting the animal welfare community with the general pet-loving population. Tails Inc. features expert knowledge, advice, pet product reviews, local resource guides, community event news and monthly contests, in order to promote and encourage people to live responsibly with their pets.

Here is a list of upcoming January Events around the Country:

WHAT: 14th Annual Polar Bear Plunge - join surprise celebrity plungers!
WHO: Humane Society of Washington County
WHEN: Saturday, January 14 - Noon
WHERE: Greenbrier State Park, 21843 National Pike, Boonsboro, MD
COST: Donations encouraged; incentives the more you raise!
INFO: Visit Website

WHAT: Critter Cinema: Calling all animal-loving, pizza & popcorn-eating, movie-watching kids ages 5-10! End the week by getting cozy with kitties & puppies, enjoying a special movie. Kids are encouraged to bring a sleeping bag, pillow and PJs.
WHO: Louisiana SPCA
WHEN: Sat, Jan 14, 6 - 9:30 p.m
WHERE: Louisiana SPCA, 1700 Mardi Gras Blvd., New Orleans
COST: $35 per child
INFO: Pre-registration required. Visit Website

WHAT: 8th Annual Shelter Shiver: Take a dip in Lake Michigan to show your support for the animals! Shiver Swim (full plunge) - Chicken Dip (ankle deep stroll) - I'll Meet You at the Meltdown (virtual participant) After the plunge, prizes will be awarded in the warmth of Joe's Bar located at 940 W. Weed Street in Chicago. Complimentary appetizers and juice / sodas will be served along with drink specials for all participants.
WHO: ALIVE Rescue
WHEN: Sun, January 22, 10am-12:30pm
WHERE: North Avenue Beach, 1600 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL
COST: $25 registration fee includes - ALIVE Bags full of goodies and coupons as well as a special gift noting you "survived" the Shelter Shiver
INFO: Visit Website

Want to list your event for free? Click here. Please note that non-profit events (fundraisers, adoption events, etc.) will be listed for free and for-profit events will incur a fee. Please email the advertising team if you wish to advertise your for-profit event in their directory.

Tails has local focus, but national reach - with magazines in 10 different cities across the United States, and 150,000 issues printed per month, 12 times a year, and an ever-increasing audience of over 1 million people. Pet lovers can pick up their free magazine at pet-related businesses and vet offices, grocery stores, health clubs, bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, park districts, and other "mainstream" locations. Currently they are in over 10,000 individual locations.

To find out where you can get a copy of your own, send an email to locations.

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Animal Radio News - Lori Brooks

Will There Be An Animal In the White House?
A philanthropist wants to do something to make the Trump White House more like those in the past - she wants Donald Trump to have a presidential pet. Every previous president in the past 150 years has had pets in the White House. Some of those pets have been dogs, cats, parrots, sheep, horses, bear cubs, a pygmy hippo and an alligator. John Quincy Adams let an alligator live in a White House bathroom. President Obama didn't have any pets when he was elected, but changed that by bringing home Bo (a gift from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy) and later, Sunny. Both are Portuguese water dogs. At a recent gala, which raised money to benefit the American Humane Association, the very wealthy Lois Pope, who is also the widow of National Enquirer founder Generoso Pope, announced that she was giving "Patton," a ten-week-old golden retriever/poodle mix puppy to the Trumps. She left them with a certificate for the pup, who is the descendant of military service dogs and named after Gen. George Patton, a favorite of Trump's. Pope made the announcement saying, "From President Washington to President Obama, the White House has always been home to our four-legged friends and we look forward to Patton upholding this long-standing American tradition to have a 'First Dog' there." Pope said the president-elect was given a certificate formally presenting the dog to him. Sadly, we haven't officially heard that the Trump family will be adopting Patton, but we will keep you posted.

Clothes Wearing Alligator Gets Pardoned
Following months of negotiations with Florida state officials, Mary Thorn has been given a permit that will allow her to keep her pet alligator, Rambo, who she says is fully trained and not a "normal" gator. Last March, Thorn was told she would have to find another home for Rambo when state officials said he'd grown too big to remain at her home in Lakeland where he is known for sporting fun outfits and riding ATVs. Since she adopted Rambo more than 10 years ago, he has grown to be over 6 feet long and a newly added permit stipulation requires gators that size to live on properties with around three acres of open space. Before Rambo was rescued by Thorn, he lived in a crowded tank in a dark closet with four other alligators. Those living conditions made them ultra-sensitive to light and skittish around other animals. When Thorn rescued and brought the five gators home, she tried leaving them outside, but they couldn't handle the sun and began to die. Rambo was the only one who survived. Now, the gator is dressed in clothing to protect him from the sun and she mostly keeps him indoors. The state wildlife commission ended up issuing Thorn a personal pet license allowing her to keep Rambo, but it does not allow Rambo to be out in public for classes or even charity events.

Goat In a Duck Suit - No Joke!
Polly the rescue goat suffers from anxiety, just like some humans do, but she deals with it by wearing a duck suit, a costume that makes her feel secure. After Goats of Anarchy rescued little Polly, a New Jersey-based rescue organization that cares for neurologically challenged baby goats; she was diagnosed with mental anxiety. Since the feeling of being swaddled in a blanket usually comforted Polly, her caregiver figured a costume would be no different. That's when she started treating Polly's anxiety attacks by zipping her up in the cozy little duck pajama suit. Though Leanna has received some online criticism from viewers believing that the suit would cause anxiety rather than cure it, the goat expert insists that Polly is a special case with special needs. You can see her adorable photos and follow her happy adventures on the Goats of Anarchy Instagram and Twitter pages.

Stealing Your Pet's Pain Killers
Stealing from a sick animal may seem a low way to get a drug fix, but it happens frequently. Opioid abuse is rampant and a survey from Baylor College of Medicine reveals a surprising number of pet owners steal their pets' medications, especially painkillers and namely the drug Tramadol. With many vets reporting they've witnessed owners trying to get medication for themselves rather than their pets, the American Veterinary Medical Association has issued a statement suggesting that vets give only a limited number of refills for prescription pain medication. Because of opioid abuse, New Hampshire now requires veterinarians to check pet owners' names and their pets against a database of opioid prescriptions tracked by the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Then they'll have to check the names two more times that year, in case someone develops an addiction.

Children's Feelings When Pets Die Are Mostly Ignored
Given the relatively short life span of many pets, it's not unusual for children to witness the realities of life played out before their own eyes with their pets. However, how children understand death in those moments, as well as the ideas, feelings and responses they have when their pets die, are largely ignored topics according to new research. A professor of Animal Behavior, Dr. Joshua Russell, says children often see themselves as the center of their pets' affections, describing their pets as siblings or best friends. It turns out that children have a distinct sense of fairness or UN-fairness of whether or not an animal lived until an appropriate age. Russell interviewed kids between 6 and 13 years old and found they felt a short lifespan is normal for hamsters and fish, but they had trouble accepting early deaths for dogs, cats and rabbits. Children, whose pets lived the extent of their potential lifetimes, or beyond, expressed acceptance upon their deaths. And, conversely, children whose pets died unexpectedly, described it as emotionally and morally unfair and had a much more difficult time reconciling the loss.

App Automatically Replaces Trump Pictures With Kittens
Hopefully we all have found our sense of humor again after the election of 2016. If you are an animal lover, you should find this pretty amusing too. Google now has an extension or app for its Chrome browser, called Make America Kittens Again. It replaces pictures of president elect Donald Trump with pictures of adorable kittens.

NEWS UPDATE brought to you by Fear Free. "Take the 'pet' out of 'petrified'" and get pets back for veterinary visits by promoting considerate approach and gentle control techniques used in calming environments.

Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#892)