Could hardly watch the video because it brought back some hairy memories from earlier this summer. I was walking my little lurcher when he came upon a stack of concrete blocks and stuck his nose in to investigate. He immediately did the Teaberry shuffle five feet backward through the air and ropes of thick mucous and froth flew from his mouth. He was stung on his upper lip and we flew to the vet as fast as my little red toaster car would move for emergency treatment. Iv steroids and two weeks on prednisone and a little bit of scorch on the plastic card. Found a hornet nest nearby and just one sting was enough to set off a really severe reaction.

I understand that the 'mandatory' veterinary care appears adequate, but these are minimum standards and it doesn't address the breeding, raising and training conditions of these dogs prior to the "race". Dogs die during the race. It is estimated as many as 147 have died since it's inception. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 5th Avenue Mall (Simon Property Group), Hills Brothers Brand (Nestle), Rite Aid, Carr-Gottstein Foods (Safeway), Maxwell House Brand (Kraft Foods), IDEXX, True Value Hardware, Yupo Corporation, Interbake Foods, Sears, Seagrams, and BP Amoco, NUTRO PET PRODUCTS, Tyson Foods, Hormel, Avis, H.J. Heinz and Ralston Purina, Eddie Bauer, Lands End, Hain-Celestial, Cabela's, Sherwin-Williams, Tropicana (Pepsico), Pizza Hut (Tricon Global Restaurants), Costco, Suiza Foods, Pfizer, Bausch & Lomb, Bank of America, Bank of America, Farmers Insurance, Jimmy Dean Food Company, and Pharmacia & Upjohn, and Brown-Forman have all withdrawn sponsorships. This is from an aspca website: "However, there are some facts that never get out to the public concerning this "race". Nobody hears about the animals that die every year. They don't know the conditions these dogs are raised in. Nobody hears about "culling" a practice in which unwanted puppies and older/slower dogs are killed because they aren't useful in making money for the musher. First of all, the Iditarod is not recreation mushing. Recreational mushing is for fun and exercise and takes the dog's best interests into consideration. Siberian Huskies and mixes love to run and pull. Done in the right way, it is not harmful to the dog, but taking it to an extreme kills and brutalizes the dogs. The Iditarod race isn't anything like the 1925 Anchorage to Nome run to deliver diptheria serum which it's supposed to "honor". The serum run was to save lives. This race does nothing but provide "entertainment" and make money for a lot of people, from the mushers to the tourist-related businesses. During the 1925 serum run, the serum was actually moved by train for over half the distance and then by dogs, but in relays with only a few dogs going more than a 100 mile stretch. The Iditarod runs the dogs 1,150 miles in a time of between 9 and 14 days over land that is way more grueling and harsh than what was run for the serum delivery. Many of the mushers who participate in this brutal race raise their dogs in conditions not unlike what we see in typical "puppy mills". The dogs live in poor conditions and aren't given the human contact that they should have. They spend their entire lives outsides, tied on short metal chains, usually no longer than 3 or 4 feet, attached to stakes. Sometimes a hundred puppies are born in a year, yet some kennels only have around 100 dogs total. Where do the ones who don't "make the cut" as a top sled dog go? Some may be sold, but there is a well-accepted practice called "culling" -- unwanted dogs are killed, as well as older and/or slower dogs. Proponents claim that the information on some websites opposed to the race are exaggerated. Possible. But writers from USA Today Sports and Fox, among many others, have gone on the record and spoken out about the conditions and the race documenting deaths and abuse. If you aren't familiar with many of the facts that the public doesn't hear about the Iditarod, or the race in general, visit The Sled Dog Action Coalition Support their work to protect the sled dogs from this horrendous abuse and death." http://www.hillsidespca.com/iditarod.htm I'm just sayin'... Google "iditarod humane" below. There's always 2 sides to a story: Here is a link that might be useful: Iditarod Humane?

Aw, Annie, here ya' go... it's two months old, though. He's not on to spaghetti yet (as I'm sure you figured). He LOVES squash, though. He likes everything he's tried except banana. At mealtimes, he sits between bites with his mouth open like a baby bird and he cries if we're too slow with the spoon! :) ~Amanda Here is a link that might be useful: 6 month old eating rice cereal

He's just adorable. That is why I don't eat meat anymore. I don't see a difference between a pig and a dog. Donna