New study reveals: Want healthier kids? Get a dog!

Finally, the weight kids need to tip the "Please can we get a pet?" scales in their favor!

A study published by the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics followed 397 kids up to the age of one and found that those who lived in households with dogs suffered from 44% fewer ear infections, 31% fewer respiratory tract infections, and needed antibiotics less often than kids who were "dogless."

And what about those fuzzy furballs of the feline persuation? Cats also help strengthen kids' immune systems while providing hours of entertainment and purr-ific snuggle-fests. Cat owners are also 40% less likely to die from heart attacks.

Here's another bit of kibble to help flavor your winning "get a dog" argument - Research out of the University of California, San Francisco found that children in homes that have both dust and dogs are less likely to develop "respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of potentially severe cold-like illnesses." So, Mom...adopt a shelter puppy, dust less, and have healthier kids! It's a win-win-win proposition!

Now's the time, kids! Lure mom and pop over to the PC by telling them that you've just solved a math problem that has stumped mathematicians for years, then pull-up the Adoptable Animal Finder, and present them with the photo of the local shelter dog or cat that is sure to make your happy house a very happy home, and start your pitch!

Best of luck mi sin piel amigos!

^{Bo Obama's Dog Blog sources: ABC News, Huffington Post}

100% of homeless pets don't pay taxes. Who worries about them?

A video of Dad's political opponent, Mitt Romney, (secretly recorded at a high-brow fund raising event) surfaced on MotherJones.com yesterday and caught the GOP's Presidential Candidate making some "off the cuff" comments including the revelation that it is not his job to worry about 47% of Americans because they don't pay taxes; believe they are victims; will never take responsibility for their own lives and; expect the government to take care of them. Say what?!

And where does that leave our non-tax-paying homeless pet population? Who will worry about them?

I'm proud (and relieved) to say that I personally know plenty of folks who not only take responsibility for their own lives, they are also willing to take responsibility for those of us who cannot speak or help ourselves.

These unsung heroes do worry about my displaced cousins. They worry they won't be able to find them homes or that they're so damaged from abuse that they may not be able to save them. They cry themselves to sleep at night thinking about the dogs and cats who are curling up alone in cages and those pets whose euthanasia they tearfully assisted with that day.

These noble crusaders take on the burden that many other humans won't, for fear that working around these precious pets would cause their hearts to literally break into two, but who are eternally grateful to those who step up to the plate and do what they cannot.

I thank all of you for the often thankless jobs you do, from sweeping the shelter floors to cleaning out the cages; answering the phones to walking the dogs; stroking the cats to talking to your frightened charges in hopes of calming them and assuring them that there is love for them in this world.

DogTime.com recently accepted nominations for an Unsung Hero Award to honor one of these selfless heroes. They received hundreds of nominations, heart-wrenching stories about shelter and rescue volunteers who give of their time when they have none to spare; forgo a salary when they are barely making it; endure incredible amounts of pain from physical ailments that should keep them bed-ridden, but whose passion and love for our abandoned pets pulls them out of bed every morning with the hope that maybe today their contributions will help one more homeless pet find a home.

I want to invite you to join pet lovers from around the world in a celebration of pet bloggers and animal shelter/rescue volunteers at the 2012 Petties Award Ceremony on Friday, October 12th. You can join the festivities at petties.dogtime.com where pet bloggers from 10 categories will be announced along with the winner of the Unsung Hero Award.

The Petties is the largest annual pet blog awards program on the Internet, with nearly 10,000 nominations and $30,000 in awards.

Dog coat plays Papa Obama's DNC acceptance speech

Talk about awesome! This dog coat by TheWoofer.com can play anything, including the fantisimo acceptance speech Pops made at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina this month.

Hey, maybe dogs don't have the right to vote yet, but we all know dogs have a considerable amount of influence over their humans. Let's keep that little tidbit on the downlow, folks.

I've just gotta get one of these!

 

I'm sending some primo First Puppy love out to Matthew Baron, who says:

"He (President Obama) said that the campaign can seem small. Well I made the campaign seem very small in this Philadelphia dog park. People were laughing and making comments about the election. I sparked interest and laughs. That is want I want to bring to the people with The Woofer. Clothes for dogs that let you play the music you want to hear."

Keep on spreadin' Big O's words to all creatures big and small! You rock Matthew!

^{Bo Obama Dog Blog source: YouTube}

How the Republican Elephant and Democratic Donkey were born

I've often wondered how we ended up with the donkey and elephant as the mascots for our Democratic and Republican parties.

Why a pachyderm and an oft maligned member of the horse family? Why not a dog and cat, or Mickey and Donald, or a mongoose and cobra? I just had to know!

I soon learned that it didn't take an act of Congress to set these two party symbols in stone, nope, just one creative Harper's Weekly cartoonist by the name of Thomas Nast .

Nast first featured a donkey (in a cartoon) in 1870 in Harper's Weekly. The donkey represented the Copperhead Press whom Nast saw as Northern Democrats who were anti-union and racist. The donkey is kicking a lion that represents President Lincoln's deceased Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton.

We first saw the Republican elephant in 1874 in Nast's cartoon "Third Term Panic." The elephant bears the title of "Republican Vote" and, frightened by a donkey cloaked in lion's skin, he stumbles toward a pit labeled "Inflation" and "Chaos."

Democrats boast that the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans tout the elephant as strong and dignified.

At a rally in Virginia on November 4, 1960, JFK said, "You have seen these elephants at the circus, with their heads full of ivory, thick skins, long memory, no vision, & when they move around the circus ring, they grab the tail of the elephant in front of them."

Thomas Nast was one of the most influential cartoonist's in American history. Nast played a part in creating the images of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus that we're familiar with today. Nast was a Republican before the parties shifted their philosophies.

The German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist passed away in 1902 at the age of 62.

Fascinating stuff to a trivia buff like me!

^{Bo Obama Dog Blog sources: FactMonster.com, HowStuffWorks.com, Wikipedia.org}

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}

The Petties | Vote for 2012's Best Pet Blogs & Shelter Volunteer of the Year!

The Petties Awards Ceremony | September 7th @ 3 pm PST

Any tom, duck, or herring can jump on the Net and start a pet blog, but it takes an exceptional type of mortal to accurately and entertainingly scribe the scoop on me and my pals.

Thank heavens DogTime recognizes the level of talent and devotion required for this worthy endeavor and gives us all an opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of our preeminent critter columnists by way of their Petties Pet Blog Awards.

And the nominees for the 2012 Petties are...

 

Also known as the "Oscars of the pet blog community," this year's Petties' winners will receive a "Petties" statuette along with a $1,000 donation to the non-profit animal shelter or rescue of their choice! Voting closes Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

And dig this! DogTime Media has added a Shelter/Rescue Volunteer of the Year Award this year! Finally, a chance to spread a whole lot of love to one of many mortals who work tirelessly on behalf of homeless and abused pets  The winner will receive a "Petties" statuette and a $10,000 donation to the shelter or rescue of their choice. Nominations are now open!

Take a minute and scurry up to the Petties' page to vote for your favorite blogger and to nominate an unsung hero. Then, on Friday, September 7th, at 3 p.m. PST, grab your favorite (pet-safe) cinematic snacks, gather your wanna-be-wildebeests together, and tune in to the 2012 Petties broadcast online at http://petties.dogtime.com!

White House Celebrates Supreme Court's ObamaCare Decision!

There's a lot of hootin', hollerin', and fist bumpin' going on here at the big, white, house thanks to the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold Dad's Affordable Care Act.

I sure am proud of big BO today. I always knew Dad was on the right track but having the highest court in the land put their stamp of approval on Obamacare sure is nice.

I'd like to give a big bark out to Chief Justice Roberts for his bipartisan vote. You rock, sir!

I'm sending a special message skyward to my godfather, Senator Ted Kennedy - Congratulations Pops! We finally did it!! P.S. How's the sailing up there? I bet it's awesome!

Thanks Dad for your wisdom, perserverance, and for keeping our country's best interests your top priority. Next step, vet care for all pets! Now wouldn't that be something?

 

Nobody does a victory dance quite like you Big Dawg!