Pets

PUPPY LOVE

It’s canines on parade at msg

Are Your Pets Safe on The Fourth of July?

Fido and his furry friends don't like fireworks. Turns out, most pets find the flaming, colorful noisemakers completely terrifying. We had heard that animals didn't seem to like all of the ruckus of fourth of July celebrations, but it turns out that city pets risk injury -- so much so that the phe ... More >>

Would You Ever Spend $60k On Legal Fees To Win Custody Of A Dog?

We wrote a blog post yesterday about a man who's spent more than $60,000 on legal fees in his effort to win custody of a dog from his ex-girlfriend. As we noted yesterday, dropping that much coin on a canine-custody case is insane because, well, it's a fucking dog.The media's eaten the story up, tho ... More >>

Georgina Bloomberg, Amanda Hearst Save Puppies

The Humane Society of the United States and Jones County, North Carolina busted a supposed puppy mill on Wednesday -- and New York's own Georgina Bloomberg and Amanda Hearst were on the scene to help. The shakedown saved at least 80 puppies and maybe one pregnant calico cat from unsanitary living c ... More >>

Meet the Norwegian Lundehund: The Six Toe-Minimum 'Puffin Dog' That's One of Westminster's Newest Additions

Peter Rousseau​In case you don't happen to be as dog-obsessed as the rest of the Internet or haven't heard about the recent advertising controversy, we're here to tell you that Monday marks the start of this year's Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. An additional six breeds have been made elig ... More >>

Things We Learned at the Third Annual 'Meet the Breeds'

On Sunday, Rosie and I headed over to the Javits Center to check out the much-anticipated Meet the Breeds, the "world's largest gathering of dogs and cats," hosted by the American Kennel Club and The International Cat Association. We were promised 200 different breeds, animal agility competitions, l ... More >>

The AKC Names Brooklyn the 'Dachshund' of Neighborhoods

Brooklyn plus bun.​As they gear up for their big Meet the Breeds event on November 19th and 20th at the Javits Center, the American Kennel Club and the International Cat Association have been doing some thinking about what breeds "match" which of New York City's neighborhoods. Jessica Rice of ... More >>

Bulldogs Don't Fly Commercial

You might think a bulldog has the best life ever, being adorable and frequently stopped on streets to be gazed at and pet by adoring masses, and also getting its poop picked up by its owner whenever necessary, and not even having to work a 9 to 5 or 8 to 10 job...a bulldog is in the business of simp ... More >>

In New York, Your Cat Will Help You Find Love

​Imagine our surprise when, last night, we were just poking around in Craigslist Missed Connections -- not for ourselves, mind you, for a friend -- and we discovered not one, not two, but a veritable plethora of possible connections related to cats. Cat fashions, cat food buying, cat litter bu ... More >>

Bulldog Desires New Location for Kiddie Pool

Happy Monday! Remember how hot it was this weekend? Gus the bulldog certainly does. He wanted to bring his pool inside, which seems only reasonable, given the circumstances. Gus the bulldog is not to be trifled with. Enjoy today's 79 degrees. It'll hit 90 tomorrow. [JDoll / @thisisjendoll]

Daniel Lacin Shoots Neighbor's Pit Bulls With Paintball Gun When They Won't Stop Barking

​Adorable animals in trouble! The New York Post reports that Daniel Lacin, "an uptight Swiss man" who lives in Brooklyn, became so irritated by his neighbor's dogs' nonstop barking (perhaps this is why he's uptight?) that he shot them with a paintball gun. Their owner, Peter Wojcik, was allege ... More >>

Pet Cemetery Told: No More Humans!

The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, the nation's oldest and largest final resting place for furry friends, which we profiled in a 2009 Voice cover story on the pet death business, has been told to stop burying humans with their beloved pets. The Post reports that the state Division of Cemeteries has told H ... More >>

Carla Hall Wants to Sell You Cat Food

Fancy Feast Elegant Medley - last seen 'round these parts pushing "Florentine-style" cat food on Our Man Sietsema - has enlisted Carla Hall to do its bidding.

Pet Massages Are Bullshit, New York Times Reports

​That pet massaging craze you've been hearing so much about simply doesn't exist outside of a tiny, sad sliver of people with nothing better to do, the New York Times reports in the Thursday style section, providing quantitative evidence that such an act barely ever happens, alongside expert c ... More >>

Little Dogs Must Not Be Trusted

​New York's most vicious dogs are, in this order, the pit bull, the Rottweiler, the Shih Tzu, the Chihuahua, and the standard poodle. Pit bulls bit 815 people last year, which, reports the New York Post, was apparently a "record" year for dog bites. Pit bulls, yeah, we get it, but why are litt ... More >>

A Morning With Schmitty the Weather Dog

Meteorologist Ron Trotta and Schmitty the Weather Dog​It's a cliché to refer to the Christopher Guest mockumentary when talking about dog shows and dog lovers, but there was a point Monday morning after Meteorologist Ron Trotta put miniature sunglasses on Schmitty, his weather-predicting York ... More >>

Cats: Less Graceful Than You'd Think

Lunch break! Here's a great slow-motion video of a kitten being surprisingly awkward (and unsurprisingly cute) in pursuit of a cat-toy. Next time your cat looks all aloof and whatever you can remind him or her that he/she is not all that. Of course, your cat won't actually care what you have to say. ... More >>

Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino Is The Savviest Crazy Cat Lady Of All Time, And We've Got The Stats To Prove It

Bethany Cosentino and her alleged muse​You can summarize Best Coast's roughly 1,040,000 Google-search results in just seven words: "boy," "love," "summer," "weed," "cat," "cat," and "cat." This is remarkable because a) frontwoman Bethany Cosentino has been anointed indie-rock's first ever "cra ... More >>

BOW-WOW-WOW

Honoring man’s best friend

Pet Birthday Parties Are Becoming Popular

ZUMA PressIt's a puppy party​It's official: dogs are the new children. It's no longer enough to feed one's pet homemade food or to take them to posh doggie day care. Now expensive dog birthday parties (complete with dog-friendly birthday cake) at bars and restaurants are becoming all the rag ... More >>

Some Americans Love Their Cats More Than Their Husbands

​According to a recent AP-Petside.com poll, given the choice of "pet or paramour," most Americans who own pets would choose their "spouse or significant other," but there is an actual a percentage of people -- 14 to be exact -- who would pick their dog or cat or goldfish or ferret instead. Whe ... More >>

Long Island Mother and Daughter Apprehended as Squalid, Awful Animal Torturers

Inside their home. (via Wayne Carrington/NYP)​In what sounds like an ideal Hoarders episode (just look at the picture of inside their house!), a mother and daughter on Long Island have been arrested on animal cruelty charges after police found 15 injured pets in their home -- and the remains o ... More >>

Nearly Half of Americans Think Their Pets Are Psychic

Skip, to the rescue!​Sure, we've been known to post videos and pictures of cute animals in order to pep up your day or even our own. But today it's all come full circle, and now the pets are actually saving our asses. According to a recent AP- Petside.com poll, 43% of American pet owners belie ... More >>

East Village Dog Owners Have Become Knife-Wielding Vigilantes

​A rash of pit bull attacks on both dogs and humans at Tompkins Square Park has forced some East Village dog owners to take matters into their own hands, carrying "knives and other weapons" when they visit the dog run now, reports DNA Info. "Other weapons" include a varied assortment of possib ... More >>

Maltese Puppy Named Leonardo DiCaprio Embroiled in Grueling Custody Battle

​A little known rule in the dog code of honor is NEVER loan your dog to another family. Especially if it's cute, white, and fluffy. Because chances are, that family will coopt him as their own and never give him back, and you will become embroiled in a nasty lawsuit and be written about in the ... More >>

Washington Square Park Serial Squirrel Killer Remains at Large

​Squirrels. Yes, they're rodents, but they're also rather cute. And: Not rats. Not that we want to cuddle with them or bring them into our homes. Still, the news that a woman (described as a "willowy brunette" by AnimalTourism.com) is allowing her dogs to kill squirrels in Washington Square Pa ... More >>

Looming Disaster: Ali Koehler, Best Coast's New Drummer, Is Allergic To Cats

​Here's, courtesy the Guardian, is a wildly amusing as-told-to chat with Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino, who remains somewhat of an obsession for us these days, in large part due to her obsessions: namely, her cats. Lots of choice lines here, from "I'd sooner talk about my cats than my music" ... More >>

Could Your Dog Pass a Co-op Board Interview?

​You know how co-op board interviews are this intimidating New York Thing that rich people worry about? Well, it's not just people - we read yesterday that people's dogs are now having to pass these interviews along with their humans. It's true! If you're trying to get into a co-op and your do ... More >>

Where Can I Eat Out With My Dog?

Jacket magazine​Welcome to this week's installment of Ask the Critics. If you have a question you'd like answered in a future column, email us or leave the query in the comments. Today, we deal with a question that always comes up with the advent of warm weather: Which restaurants will allow ... More >>

The American Kennel Club is Going to the Mutts

​As opposed to the "dogs," you see, because the American Kennel Club's notoriously stuffy canine exhibitions are - for the first time in the organization's entire 125-year history of catering to the vicarious dog owners, the obsessive dog owners, and the casually amused - they're finally allow ... More >>

Hey Purina: Push My Buttons, Then Push My Cat's Buttons

​ Mmmm! Yellowfin Tuna Florentine! We've seen how the food industry takes terms like "Tuscan," stomps all over them, and then presents them back to us as their own newfangled flavor.

The Pet-Death Business

All dogs go to heaven. Yours will probably get there in an urn.

Update, And Let's Be Fair About This: Alleged Puppy-Kicking Brooklyn Band Responds To, Strongly Denies Puppy-Kicking Allegations

​So first off, the band accused of kicking a puppy during an early-morning Prospect Park photo shoot has been positively identified: They are Surefire, from Brooklyn. Secondly, they strongly deny having done any such thing. Responding to an email, the band offers the following response; our st ... More >>

NYCHA: Pit Bulls, 26 Other Breeds Prohibited from the Projects

If you live in the projects, starting May 1 there are 27 breeds of dog you will not be permitted to keep in your apartment, per a New York City Housing Authority decree. The local press naturally focuses on the pit bulls, rottweilers, and dobermans excluded by this policy, as these will stir in old ... More >>

DOG DAYS

Take the kids to Harry the Dirty Dog

The Chihuahua of the Soul

The yapping dog that sums up the Mexican experience

Feline Woozy

Your fat, young, docile cat needs to donate some blood

Bark Victory

The Upper West Side goes to the dogs in Cathleen Shine's The New Yorkers

The Conquering Hoard

Sniffing Out Animal Lovers Who Care Too Much

Off the Leash

In the exotic pet universe, it's all about whose is weirder than whose.

Doggie Divas

Harlem gets its first luxury pet shop; Liza celebrates gay pet pride

Go Fetch!

Eco-friendly treats for your animal friends

Letters

Man's Best Defense

Tyler Eison turns pit bull pups into deadly weapons

Petaphilia

The Great American Man-Dog Marriage Panic

Dog Runs

Unleash the Hounds

Kennel Vision

Fur’s Flying

Fans of Forbidden Ferrets Face Future

Technology Goes to the Dogs

Bless the Beasts — And Wire Them?