How Much Would You Pay to Replace Your Dog?

Would you pay $150,000 to duplicate

your dog??

First, who has that kind of cash to just throw around?!

After all, cloned animals or people are not the real thing, no matter how much they look like the source material. Nothing can't replace the original. But even if they were able to clone them complete with memory and personality, aren't there enough amazing dogs in the world to adopt?

Edgar and Nina Otto—Florida   - who have nine other dogs, 10 cats, six sheep and four parrots in West Boca (no kidding)—thought otherwise. That's why they paid that much cash to clone Lancelot—their beloved Labrador—who died from cancer. A company called BioArts International—partnering with South Korean researcher Dr Hwang Woo-suk—created Lancelot Encore, which is the actual name of Lancelot 2.0. 

Or better said, Lancelot 1.0 Remastered.

Woo-suk took the genetic material from the original Lancelot—which was extracted when the couple learnt he had cancer—and replaced the genetic material of an egg from a Korean breed similar to the Labrador. After implanting it into a surrogate mother, the cloned Lancelot was born. After that, he was shipped to Miami International, where he became the first single-birth commercial dog clone ever in the United States, according to his parents.

According to Edgard and Nina, he's exactly like the real thing!

Yorkie Rescue

You have got to love the Internet!

It connects us all together!

25 years ago, it was next to impossible

to reach out to others with similar interests.

I was on FLICKR the other day and discovered

several groups for Yorkies! And all these great photos

shot by Janice from the

NorthEastern Yorkie Rescue / Rescue Me!

They have SO MANY Yorkies that need a

good caring home. Rescue Me is a 501c3 non-profit organization

dedicated to ensuring the safety and well-being of the

Yorkshire Terrier breed. "We are a small group of rescue

buddies who came to know one another through one

common interest - saving the lives of dogs. "

If you are considering a Yorkie, PLEASE

consider a rescue. While it is hard to find a "puppy" to adopt,

there are MANY dogs that are young.

Yorkies can live to be 15 or even 20!

There are nearly 2 dozen ADORABLE Yorkies

waiting right now at this rescue alone.

They primarily adopt to MD, PA, NJ, DE

and parts of NY, CT and VA.

(You can also go to PetFinder and look

browse shelters and rescues by state.)

Visit RESCUE ME!

Visit Janice on YouTube also!

Lots of great videos that will melt your heart!

Chicago Winter Wonderland and Trixie, The Miniature Yorkshire Terrier

HELLO EVERYONE!

As many of you know, I had my 1 year

birthday this past fall. So this was really my first winter
to experience snow in Chicago!

WOW! And did we get the snow!

I love playing in it when it's fluffy and light -

but my dad has a very hard taking my picture...

I don't like to sit still!

I DO like laying in the sun however

and gazing out the window at birds

and squirrels going by!

And I LOVE the beach -

can't wait till it warms up to go to Hollywood Beach!

GABBY - Rescue Yorkie Hits You Tube With A Song!

Tina Ann Byers is proud mom of 4 Yorkie Rescues!

And her baby GABBY (11 months old) now has a song and video

on YOU TUBE!

Baby Gabby, just 2.98 pounds and 11 months old,

was surrendered to Rescue suffering from multiple internal

birth defects. Despite four major surgeries in the last

five months, Gabby still finds Time to Rock in her new

MUSIC VIDEO set to a techno-funk beat! Gabby is Bright

and Beautiful and filled with Love!

Too cute!!

Read more about Tina and her Yorkies!

Neglected Matted Yorkie in the UK

This is SO SAD.

How can anyone, let their dog, get to this state?

The UK SUN reported

THIS neglected Yorkshire terrier had such a matted coat

that it was impossible to tell one end of the dog from the other.

His owner, who treated her pet - called Stumpy -

appallingly for at least six months was jailed for 12

weeks and banned from keeping animals for life.

Annette Antonia, 51, of Brighton, East Sussex,

pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to

the 19-year-old animal at Brighton Magistrates' Court.

Keep your pet combed.

Don't lets mats form, and if they

do, gently remove them before they

become an issue.

ANOTHER Pet Smart Tragedy - Oliver

(Another Pet Smart Tragedy - sent in this week...)

Monday, January 5, 2009

For the Love of Oliver Oggero

Hi my name is Summer, I am 11 years old and this is my story.

On Friday, January 2nd, 2009, my beloved Teacup Poodle Oliver Oggero died.

It all started when we took him into PetSmart at about 2:30 p.m to get him groomed, a lady took him and told me and my family to come back at 7:00. I didn't want to leave him that long but my mother Laura reassured me they were "PROFESSIONALS", we left Oliver and went out to eat.... About 3 hours later they called back and told my mom that Oliver wasn't acting right, so we rushed over.

When we got to the Grooming section of PetSmart I took Oliver and cried my eyes out, the lady who worked there said that everything would be okay, and to drive him right home. She said he was just tired, but I could tell something was wrong because normally he licks my face all over. When we got to the car I told my mom to take him to the vet immediatley because he was not breathing right and he wasn't moving. The first vets office was closed so we took him to the animal hospital on Sterling.

When we took him in, the Doctors said something was seriously wrong. They told us that his gums were pure white, he was missing a tooth, and his lungs were being filled with a bloody fluid, so he couldn't breath. There had been some kind of trama to the chest that had happened within the last few hours, so they took a long tube to help him breath and cough up the blood. I coudn't stand the fact that my little doggy was in pain so I just sat there crying over my cousin, Willie's shoulder.

After we were at the hospital for about an Hour and a Half I went home with my father, Victor.When I finally arrived at my dad's house he got a call from the vet saying that Oliver passed away. We were just getting out of the car when we got the call. So my dad had everyone go inside except me, he sat on the grass and held me. He didnt even have to tell me my dear dog was dead. I cried so much, and so did everyone else.

Apparantley the groomers at PetSmart hurt Oliver's 4 month old body internally, and he was either dropped on the side of the tub or had fallen off the grooming counters or had been squeezed too tight. Oliver died at 7:56 p.m. and I will never forget that.

Oliver died for a reason, and the reason was to help all of the other people pets, I learned very important things from him. I think Oliver knew it was his time to leave because before he went into the Emergency Room he gave me a kiss on my face like he did every day.

I am an 11 year old animal activist, My name is Summer, I hope you tell your people my story and I hope you tell me any of your animal stories so we can all make a difference.

Do Pets Go To Heaven?

A very dear friend of mine sent me a note today,

that made me hold my little Yorkie in my arms and cry...

As many of you are well aware Molly has been struggling with cancer for the last 3 years. This past Friday she took a turn for the worst and now has no use of her hind legs. We took her to our regular vet who referred us to a veterinarian specializing in Neurology. The Neurologist determined a cyst on the spinal column is the reason Molly has no use/feeling of her hind quarters. Given Molly’s age the Vet recommended a noninvasive treatment of oral Prednisone hoping this may reduce inflammation and give her even some temporary use of her hind legs. Unfortunately this hasn’t helped at all.

Kelly and I have made a very difficult decision this morning. Kelly will be bringing Molly home from the hospital tomorrow so she may have one last Christmas with us. We will make Molly as comfortable as possible the next few days (AKA even more spoiling, if possible). On Friday we will say good-bye to our dear friend.

Honestly, the only reason I share this with you is because so many of you have been wonderful with asking about Molly this past year. We knew the inevitable would come. It just doesn’t seem we are ever truly ready to say good-bye to such

a loyal companion as a best friend.

I truly wish each and every one of you a Happy Holiday!

WOW - what a tough decision.

I started doing some research on pets and death,

and found this great book I wanted to share with you.

It covers things like

How to conduct a funeral for your pets-

How To Live With Your Pet FOREVER-

How to comfort children and console friends

over the loss of their pets-

How to make the hard decision and avoid guilt

when having to put an animal to "sleep".

ANAMIGO Photo Conest

Pets & pet lovers unite! Anamigo –

the online community for pets & the people who love them!

And right now, they have a photo contest!

Is your pet cute enough to win you $300?

Enter the Anamigo Pet Photo contest and find out.

Entries that get the most votes will win daily and

weekly cash prizes. You could win:- Daily prize of $25.

(You have 7 days to win!)-

Weekly prize of $125

Get your camera out and email your friends.

Your furry friend could bring you in cash!

Animal Planet Swoops in to Transform Ordinary Dogs in New Series UNDERDOG TO WONDERDOG

(image by Studio Pet)

Every day thousands of dogs are brought to shelters--unkempt, undernourished and unloved. But help is on the way for these poor pups as Animal Planet's doggie Wonder Team comes to the rescue in the new series UNDERDOG TO WONDERDOG. Each episode follows the transformation of one helpless pup as it undergoes a complete metamorphoses, becoming the dog it was always destined to be. Every shelter dog is rescued, groomed, trained and rehabilitated before finally being placed into a loving home - equipped with its very own custom-designed dog house. Watch as the show's host, trainer, groomer and carpenter use their canine expertise to revamp these down-on-their-luck pups beginning

Saturday, January 3, at 8 PM (ET/PT).

"Celebrity makeovers, home makeovers and now finally doggie makeovers," says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet Media. Not only is UNDERDOG TO WONDERDOG the kind of transformational television audiences love, these surprising makeovers truly change the lives of the dogs and their new families."

The series begins with the rescue of a Yorkshire terrier, appropriately named Lucky. After being hit by a car, Lucky badly needed a surgery that her previous owners could not afford. When we first meet her, she is still in the care of a local shelter, shivering and traumatized. UNDERDOG TO WONDERDOG'S premiere episode follows Lucky's journey is followed from that shelter in Brooklyn through her transformation with the Wonder Team. Complete with background stories on these well-deserving families, UNDERDOG TO WONDERDOG shows that sometimes the families need the love of a dog just as much as the dogs need them.

WATCH FOR IT!

A Luxury Dog House With A Mortgage

Darla, Chelsea and Coco Puff share a quaint Victorian-style home.
Their dwelling has a cedar-shake roof, vaulted ceilings and hardwood floors, heating and air conditioning, moldings and casement windows, drapery with valances and fanciful wallpapers.
At this time of year, Christmas music from the RCA Victor radio carries outside to a grassy yard surrounded by a white picket fence.

A sign on the porch reads: "Three spoiled dogs live here."
For Yorkshire terriers Chelsea and Coco Puff and Pomeranian Darla, Mom is Tammy Kassis, 45, a former insurance agent who lives in the Riverside County community of Winchester, east of Los Angeles. To call her an animal lover is an understatement.

"I'm beyond that," she says, later adding with conviction, "My dogs are my life."

Surfing the Internet, she happened upon Alan Mowrer's La Petite Maison, a builder of deluxe custom doghouses.

"I can do any style," says Mowrer, whose repertoire includes French châteaux, Tudor mansions, Swiss chalets and brick Colonial dog houses.

Kassis requested a replica of her own Victorian home. 8 foot by 11 foot.

Kassis guesstimates she has invested nearly $20,000 in construction, transport and equipment if she includes the painting, landscaping, screened doors and windows, mini-blinds and ceiling fans, as well as a yard with artificial turf.

For the holidays, Kassis plans to string white lights around the house and install an artificial tree. Large faux lollipops are staked in the flower bed around the doghouse.

Also, she confides, Santa is planning a big surprise for "the kids."
She has her eye on a small plasma-screen TV.

"They love to watch Animal Planet," Kassis says. "It's their favorite."

From the Los Angeles Times

Yorkies are Our little Babies

PETS OUR ARE CHILDREN

Most humans treat their animals just like

part of the family. In a new book by Stanley Coren,

The Modern Dog: A Joyful Exploration of How We Live with Dogs Today
he talks about how dogs especially have changed us.

Dogs, he writes, made human existence possible, aiding us as we

developed civilization. But dogs have

changed more than our lifestyle -

they've profoundly changed how we see the world. There's no better

example of this than Hurricane Katrina.

Before the disaster, Coren writes, the U.S. Federal Emergency

Management Agency head Michael Brown dismissed questions about

evacuating companion animals, saying, "They are not our concern."

But as New Orleans drowned, a new and different attitude emerged.

The nation watched, horrified, as people died with their pets or battled

the elements trying to save them.

One elderly lady's Yorkshire terrier was taken away by a

soldier as she boarded a rescue helicopter.

"I got nothing and no one," she said, crying.

"He's all I got left!" An officer from the medical corps intervened.
"That's not a dog," he told the soldier. "That's medicine.

Medicine for the mind."

They are our little babies!

How Many Dogs Die at Pet Smart - And What Do You Do If It Happens To You?

Who is afraid to leave their dog somewhere?

You hear horror stories about dogs who die while

in someone's care. A dog died at PetSmart this past summer.

Actually, over the last couple years, several dogs have died at

PetSmart. But I do believe this could happen anywhere.

At any groomer. Or any

kennel. It's scarey leaving your dog anywhere.

I got this note yesterday from a reader....

"I took my Yorkie to the groomer at Petsmart this weekend and returned to the news that my dog had died. The groomers had given him water after being told that they do not feed or water the dogs unless they are boarding overnight. I had only left Carson with the groomer for 1.5hours they were under the impression he was sleep. He was not sick and was in perfect health when I dropped him off.

Please email me with legal information if

anyone can help at bizzie500 @ yahoo.com" -

or feel free to leave comments here on this site.

Winter Clothes For Your Small Dog - Not Just Cute, But Also Practical

Regardless of the size or breed of dog, winters can

be challenging for all pets. Several factors determine how

dogs cope during the winter months.

Most small dogs should wear coats and/or some kind

of footgear, if you can get them to wear them.

We got our dog used to wearing clothes when she

was a baby. So now she doesn't mind a little jacket or sweater

now and then.

Boots, she is still not thrilled with!

She gets cold very easy. So it is for her own good.

If your dog appears to be having difficulty coping with the outdoors

during winter (e.g. shivering, reluctant to go outside, unable

to get around in the snow, wants to go indoors after a short period of

time, etc.), you may have to make some adjustments. For example,

you should make sure that your dog does not stay out too long

when temperatures hit the freezing mark.

Conversely, if your pet spends most of its time indoors during the

winter, it will tend to have a significantly reduced level of activity

and may put on extra weight.

In these cases, it is a good idea to reduce the food intake slightly in order

to compensate for their lowered energy requirements. Indoor pets should

also be encouraged to exercise more frequently.

Phoebe Price and her Yorkie

Who the heck is Phoebe Price, anyway?

This woman could be the new Paris Hilton.

She has become famous for doing nothing. Really. And walks

more red carpets than anyone in Hollywood.

After getting her start as an international actress and model

(in such cities as Capetown. S.A. Athens, Greece and Milan, Italy - allegedly)

Phoebe came to Los Angeles and continues to perfect her craft by studying

with some of the best coaches in acting. She has had a handful

of bit parts, but nothing great.

But she does have a great Yorkie named HENRY.

And her and Henry were seen picking out

pumpkins last week in Beverly Hills.

Happy Birthday to Miss Trixie Lee Deluxe

A couple weeks ago was my first BIRTHDAY!

( I know - I was a little slow getting the photos up!)

The first photo is my baby photo.

The second photo I was 3 months old when I arrived

in Chicago to my new home.

The thrid photo was at my Birthday Party

a couple weeks ago.

I had a big cake cookie

(and like most kids, licked off all the frosting!)

and a little dish of organic puppy ice cream...

which was very cold and very frozen.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

More Halloween Dog Costumes

What will your dog be this year?

Batman? Superman? Cinderella! A Rabbit?

MUSHROOMS CAN KILL YOUR DOG

Many pet owners do not realize that some of the mushrooms that grow in their yard are toxic to dogs. Symptoms of mushroom poisoning can range from mild vomiting and diarrhea to severe digestive problems to complete liver failure.

Dogs who like to "graze" will sometimes eat wild mushrooms along with lawn grasses, leading to mushroom poisoning. Dogs can sometimes become ill by just licking a poisonous mushroom. Also, some dogs, like some people, are allergic to even edible, normally safe mushrooms.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Toxic mushrooms have killed at least one dog in the Charlotte area and have made several others ill, according to local veterinarians, they said this week.

Always watch for mushrooms in areas where you walk your dogs or where they run and play. Be especially cautious of parasol-shaped mushrooms and all small brown mushrooms. Check your yard each morning, especially in damp weather, for new growth before letting your dog outside. Remember that new mushrooms can appear overnight. Whenever you find mushrooms in your yard, dig them up. Smashing or kicking them

spreads the spores and even more will grow.

**MUSHROOM FOLLOW UP **

from a reader...

Last week my 10 month old puppy was neutered after he came home he seemed fine. The next day after we played in the yard for an hour or so, we came in and he had some loose stool. About an hour later he was vomiting what to me looked like mucus and he had major diarrhea, when I called the vet office the receptionist said"just clean him up a bit but to not touch the neutered area or get it wet. He will be fine in the morning.".

The next morning with my children upstairs, I came down to what I would never in a million year thought could have happen. My 12lb puppy laid lifeless with not blood but a foul smelling fluid all over the kitchen, floor and walls. I called the vets office again not knowing what to do but it was too late. I wanted to share this story with you, because the vet is telling me that he this was caused by a lawn mushroom in my yard.

I am not really convinced but after your story realized it may be possible. I am on a mission to resolve what really did this to him. I know I do have mushrooms in my yard,

however never realized how toxic they can be for dogs.

Annie

United Yorkie Rescue

United Yorkie Rescue, Inc. was founded on August 5, 2002,

by a group of loyal and hard-working rescue friends.

"We consolidated our efforts and talents to form a family dedicated to the rescue and well-being of the Yorkshire Terrier. We have pledged to rescue as many Yorkies and Yorkie mixes in need as is logistically and physically possible. In addition, we are devoted to providing love, nourishment, rehabilitation, socialization, and "pawsome" forever homes!!"

Halloween Dog Costumes

HALLOWEEN is just a few weeks away!

Have you chosen that perfect costume

for your dog??