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It’s 4th of July weekend, and that means it’s time for a public service announcement:

Do not bring your dog to fireworks displays. Do not leave your dog out in the yard this weekend, especially at night.

Your dog doesn’t need to come with you to stand on hot pavement and watch chaotic parades or be terrified by noisy pyrotechnics. As far as the average dog is concerned, America’s independence is a terrifying affair.

This weekend, animal shelters across the country will be filled with dogs who ran off during 4th of July celebrations. Don’t let one of them be yours. It’s just not worth it.

If you really want to include your dog, bring him a doggie bag from the cookout, but leave him home, safely tucked away indoors.

One more thing … With summer here, I feel the need to add the obligatory hot car warning.

This is seriously the most preventable cause of death in dogs: Don’t leave your dog in the car. Not even “for a few minutes.” This time of year, your car is an oven on wheels, and I’ve already started to see way too many articles about dogs dying in cars. And if you see a dog roasting in a parking lot, don’t hesitate to alert the store management and/or the police.

Have a safe weekend!

Photo credit: Tony the Misfit

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a bizarre animal news link roundup. Believe me, it’s not for lack of material, just lack of time.

Sometimes, when I read my news feed, I have to double-check to make sure I didn’t accidentally click over to Publisher’s Marketplace; that I’m reading actual headlines and not loglines for upcoming novels. Because really, humanity? Are we serious?

Here’s a sampling of what I mean:

In the genre of Paranormal Cruelty …

Monkey Accused of Being a Witch Killed in South Africa (via This Dish Is Veg)

A monkey that wandered into a settlement west of Johannesburg was pelted with stones, shot at by police and then set on fire while people chanted “kill that witch!” Apparently the witchcraft accusations grew from claims that the monkey could talk … too bad he wasn’t given a chance to speak up in his own defense. Nor did the mob listen to the voice of reason (and compassion) from their fellow humans who tried to stop the witchhunt. Read the rest of this entry »

• a) I spend most of my time with them these days.
• b) They have incredible heart and personality.
• c) They’re accused by the media of being dangerous.
• d) All of the above.

For the record, the last option is correct, but if you guessed “c” or “d,” then you probably saw the Wall Street Journal piece: Darkness Too Visible: Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?

There have been many great responses to that absurd article. You can find a lot of them linked on this School Library Journal blog. You should also check out the inspiring #YAsaves hashtag on Twitter.

There’s plenty that I could write and rant about this, but it’s been pretty well covered by many other wise authors, librarians and readers. I’ll at least briefly explain the original question of what YA books and pit bulls have in common. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple weeks ago, chaos ensued in England when a white tiger was spotted on the loose. According to the BBC: “Officers were deployed and a helicopter was scrambled with specialist thermal imaging cameras over the field … Animal specialists at nearby Marwell Zoo were enlisted by police to offer advice and were prepared to send a team with tranquiliser darts to overcome the tiger.” People at the surrounding golf course and cricket grounds were escorted to safety.

And it’s a good thing, because you never know when a stuffed animal might attack an innocent bystander.

That’s right, it was a plush tiger. Hampshire’s Finest figured this out when the draft from the police helicopter caused the toy to roll over. (No! Don’t fall for it! The vicious beast just wants you to believe that all it wants is a belly rub and then … yeah.)

Don’t get complacent just because you live in the U.S. The threat is on our side of the pond, too.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, I was at Book Expo America, where I got to meet tons of authors, see my indescribably awesome agent, Barbara Poelle, and bring home a stack of books that you’ll want to add to your reading list:

At the top of the stack (literally and figuratively) is THE NIGHT CIRCUS, by Erin Morgenstern.

I’m not just excited about this debut novel because the line was insanely/impressively long. Or because they gave out chocolate with the signed books (although that’s always a plus). Here’s the teaser from the website:

Read the rest of this entry »

World Turtle Day is May 23rd.

No, not this Turtle:

(She’d like it to be all about her but, let’s face it, every day is Turtle Day in her world.)

We’re talking about this kind of turtle:

Turtles have been around for about 200 million years, but thanks to habitat loss, pollution (I’m looking at you, BP), the pet trade, and the exotic food industry, turtles are disappearing from the wild. Sadly, a shell isn’t enough to protect these guys, so American Tortoise Rescue created World Turtle Day over a decade ago.

How can you help? American Tortoise Rescue offers these tips:
Read the rest of this entry »

For a fictional dose of animals fighting back, check out the trailer (below) for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Looks like a fun anti-animal-research/science-gone-too-far twist on a classic movie franchise. And the icing: No actual animals were used in the movie.

On a related note: This week is World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week. No, I’m not advocating that you all organize a mass break-in to free animals from labs, as tempting as that may be. But I am advocating for everyone to take a minute to speak up for animals in labs.

Congress was kind enough to reintroduce the Great Ape Protection Act just in time for liberation week (though I’m guessing they didn’t plan it that way). This bill would ban the use of chimpanzees in invasive experiments, bringing the U.S. up to speed with every other developed nation in the world. Seriously, we’re the only ones left who still think it’s okay to torture our closest primate relatives in labs, even though the test results rarely do humans any good. That’s not okay.

(And we need this bill to stop the Planet of the Apes from becoming a reality! Didn’t you see the trailer?)

Take action to support the Great Ape Protection Act.

From ABC News 10: “A drunk Sacramento man tried attacking his pet pit bull with a hammer Saturday, but smashed his friend’s face instead … The pit bull was found in better shape than Saunders’ friend, sustaining only a minor cut.”

Okay, Saunders obviously deserves the “mayhem, felony assualt, and animal cruelty” charges that were thrown at him. But I’m going to give the friend this week’s Dogs Who Are Smarter Than Their Owners award. If you think it’s amusing to sit around and watch as your drunk friend pummels his dog and then goes to get a hammer for a better beating, you deserve to be on the receiving end of the blow.

Yesterday, something awesome happened. Over 150 blogs banded together for Paws for Japan and raised more than $30,000 for World Vets, a US-based organization that’s already on the ground in Japan, working with local animal welfare groups to pick up the pieces, reunite people and their pets, and save lives in the wake of the tsunami.

The Be the Change for Pets crew pulled this virtual fundraiser together in just three days. Pet bloggers rock. (Join them … Donate Now)

Unless you’ve had your head shoved in quicksand for the past seven years or so, then you know that disasters don’t just hit humans, but animals, too. And there are a number of reasons why animal rescue is so important after a disaster.

Let’s start with basic compassion. We all know animals can suffer. And they don’t have the benefit of cell phones or Facebook or CNN to explain to them why the hell their world just fell apart. They need our help. Read the rest of this entry »