Slideshow | Pets in the Path of Hurricane Isaac

As Hurricane Isaac winds down and moves inland it leaves behind a path of flooded terrain and a million homes in Louisiana and Mississippi without power. My heart goes out to the residents of the Gulf Coast who had to endure yet another pummeling by Mother Nature exactly 7 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Pets in the Path of Isaac from nancy-dogtime

 

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the SPCA of Texas has a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Lousiana SPCA and the Humane Society in Gulfport, Mississippi that provides for mutual assistance in the case of disasters such as Isaac. The two groups transferred a combined 181 pets (60 dogs + 121 cats) to the Texas shelter while the ASPCA delivered 27 dogs to the Humane Society of Broward County in Florida prior to Hurricane Isaac making landfall.

I send a big "Woof!" of thanks to our southern shelters and rescuers for taking care of all our furry (and not so furry) friends!

^{Bo Obama Dog Blog sources: My SanAntonio.com}

Bo dishes on his diet and shares primo Poodle work-out video

Have you ever had a parent totally embarrass you in public? Multiply that by about a billion and you'll have a clue as to how I'm feeling this week. 

Monday, Dad popped into the East Room to congratulate the winners of Mom's first ever healthy recipe contest at the Kids' State Dinner and just had to go and spill the beans on my diet (mmm, some red beans and rice sound mighty tasty).

Way to go Daddy-O...I thought my caloric cutback was a matter of national security and therefore top secret. Next thing I know, the Net is bubbling with news of my ample anatomy, referring to my fan-flippin-tastic physique as "pudgy," "plump," and even "portly." Step back Jack!

I confess there was an instance when I was chasing my squirrel buddy on the South Lawn and my derrière got wedged between two closely set trees. That's when I knew it was time to seek guidance from my personal Yoda of physical fitness, Mama Obama.

Mama-O taught me about the health risks a few extra pounds can cause (arthritis, heart disease, diabetes), and the importance of striking a balance between diet and exercise. I thought there was just more of me to love!

Here are some of the tips I picked-up...

Exercise

Exercising can be fun! And dig this, you're not only burning calories every time you play fetch with your human, you're also releasing endorphins that make you feel happy and calm. Now keep this tip on the QT - playing with you is also good for your humans!

More great ways to exercise are: swimming, running, tug-of-war, Frisbee, flyball, hiking, and soccer. 

Now this is my kind of exercise class! Check-out the poodlicious vixens in this work-out video. Rrrrruff!

 

Eat smarter

These tips are tough but we can do it gang!

• Bark a polite "No thank you!" when your human offers you table scraps
• Encourage your peeps to replace those beef jerky treats with some nice carrots, broccoli, peas, asparagus, or ice cubes with bits of fruit in them (I know, I know...)
• Substitute that second helping of kibble with some dog/human cuddle time

Hang in there my fine furry friends, before you know it you'll have regained the figure of your youth and have that dog park dolly (or dude) panting like a dog.

^{Bo Obama Dog Blog sources: DogTime.com}

Can your pet read minds? Try the psychic pet test!

As far back as the Ancient Sumerians, animals have successfully predicted everything from battle victors to changes in the weather.

I think I posses a little ESP. Take for example the time I was sitting on the south lawn envisioning a plump, friendly, little squirrel, scampering to and fro in front of me. Within about 5 minutes there he was, Tooturm, my best (middle-class) squirrel buddy ever, chattering like a monkey about losing most of his nuts to taxes if Pop isn't re-elected!

Psychic Animal Celebrities

Paul- psychic octopus, who correctly predicted Spain's World Cup victory  

Jim the Wonder Dog - predicted 7 Kentucky Derby winners and a World Series

Oscar the Death Cat - correctly predicted the deaths of 25 nursing home patients

Punxsutawney Phil - the groundhog who (every February 2nd), predicts when winter will come to an end

Take the Psychic Pet Test

 

The imagined walk (or food) test

Dog - when your dog is sound asleep, and you have a friend stationed near him, take his leash into another room and imagine the two of you on an incredibly joyous walk. Imagine everything you would see, smell and hear on this walk and repeat over and over in your mind, "Walk, walk, walk!" After a few minutes, have your friend gently wake your dog.

If your dog comes running to where you are there is a strong possibility that he or she can read your mind!

Cat - same exercise but replace the leash with her food bowl. Now imagine filling the bowl with tuna while experiencing the texture, taste and smell of this irresistible delicacy and focus on the word, "Tuna, tuna, tuna!"

If your cat comes to you, it's highly likely he or she picked-up on your telepathic tunalicious wave lengths!

^{Bo Obama Dog Blog Sources: Psychic & Mediums Network: Your psychic pets; Enzinemark.com: Greatest psychic animals}

Bo shares very cool "Great Day at the Dog Park" video!

Man, am I jealous! I found this video on the Net and have watched it 36 times. Every time I pretend that it's me behind the camera, sniffing butts, chasing tail, and just plain palling around with my canine compadres at the dog park. Life is good!

 

I'm gonna ask my peeps to check-out this GoPro HD HERO2® camera. Imagine the hysterical, oh yeh, and historical moments I could capture during daily rounds of my big White House and that other building, the one with the upside down dog bowl on top. I could have my own reality TV show! I could call it, "Undercover Bo: Primo scoop on political poop."

Maybe one day I'll get to experience the thrill of hanging with my dawgs at an off-leash dog park where I can show-off my moves and try out my best pick-up lines on the lovely ladies, like this one: "Hey good lookin', let's head-on back to my place where we can chew on my favorite liver flavored Romney squeaky toy!"

^{Bo Obama's Dog Blog sources: GoPro.com}