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Trips to various veterinarian, doctors and dentists offices would be a lot more fun if there was a friendly canine waiting for you at the desk to give you your receipt. Now that’s what we call stellar customer service! Woof!

Six out of every 10 Americans consume vitamins or supplements 
every day, and spend anywhere from $11 billion to $20 billion annually. Vitamins are big business, and you may be surprised to learn that Americans also spend more than $600 million a year for pet vitamins and supplements, so says the APPA’s 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey.

Vitamins and Health
For those who haven’t cracked a biology book since high school, we spoke 
with Dr. Roger Kendall, Vice President of Research and Development at the Foodscience Corporation, for a quick refresher on the role of vitamins in nutrition.

Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that enter the body as food, combine 
with other substances to create energy and build tissues. Enzymes produced 
from the various vitamins found in food facilitate those chemical reactions. 
The body is reliant on food, as it cannot produce its own vitamins.

There are two groups of essential vitamins, each classified according 
to the manner in which they dissolve. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) 
dissolve in fat before they are absorbed in the blood stream and stored in the liver.

Water-soluble vitamins (B and C) on the other hand dissolve in water—they are 
not stored and are eliminated through urine. Water-soluble vitamins are easily destroyed 
or washed out during food storage or preparation, especially by heat and light.

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I don’t know about you, but this sums up my dog perfectly.

Käthe Walton has spent time in the production departments of many television shows including ER, The West Wing, Early Edition, and Showtime’s new hit Shameless. Yet, if you ask her about her greatest accomplishment, she will not want to talk about any of that—she’ll tell you about Grizzly, her wonderful rescue dog.

Walton met a woman with BARK Chicago, and was put on the group’s contact list. “[BARK] is one of these groups that do these mass email blasts, and some of them have animals at rural shelters that do not have the means or the funds to have a shelter event,” says Walton. “Grizzly was one of those in the email blasts.”

Grizzly was a “unique-looking” Norwegian Elkhound mix who was good with cats and other dogs, which was perfect for Walton because she already four cats, but really wanted to foster a dog.

“I view it as if I was pulling this dog off the street myself,” says Walton. “When we first got her she was an incredible mess.”

Walton first met Grizzly in the back of a shelter van that transferred the pets to their new homes. Walton described the van as being filled with animals in crates from front to back and top to bottom—and Grizzly was somewhere in there.

“When we got her out of the crate, she smelled so bad. My husband could not even be in the same room,” says Walton. “The first thing I did was call a groomer.”

Grizzly’s fur was so matted and caked in filth, the groomers had to shave her fur off save for her face and her tail. “I called the groomer an hour after I dropped her off and the groomer said they were still picking ticks off of her.”

Grizzly was found running around with a St. Bernard and also had a one-inch stick stuck into her armpit. She was also suffering against a severe bout of tapeworm that could not be killed with normal medicine, an intense urinary tract infection, and Grizzly was not spayed either.

“You get this animal and you look at her and say, ‘Oh my God!’” says Walton. “She was pretty shut down, just wanted to sleep, and didn’t know how to respond to normal dog things.”

Walton says that you could toss a treat right in front of Grizzly’s face and she would not even move. She also had trouble with stairs, which was a problem considering Walton lived on the third floor of a walkup apartment building.

Walton knew that she did not have an easy road in front of her. “I just started training her to get her attention,” says Walton. “She responded very well to positive reinforcement, and once she got over her ailments she was great with cats and other people, she was not destructive at all, and she was totally housebroken—this is such a wonderful dog!”

Walton knows how lucky she got after hearing countless stories from her friends about dogs getting into the garbage, tearing clothes apart, running away, and not listening.

“With Grizzly, it is like there is this kind of connection that everybody fills,” says Walton. “She sort of breaks down a lot of barriers and stereotypes—the person you wouldn’t think cares about a dog is the one the approaches you and talks you for a while.”

Walton, who has fostered animals throughout her life, hopes that if people take anything away from her story, it is that rescuing a dog can be the most rewarding experience of your life.

“Here is a dog that through absolutely no fault of her own was going to die,” says Walton. “I love the fact that she came from such a bad place, but has proven that these dogs are really worth saving.”

You can read more about Grizzly and Käthe at their blog here.

Niche dating sites help pet people find their match
By Brendan Quealy

There was a time when using a computer to find a date was looked down upon. Internet dating was seen as a tool reserved exclusively for the sad, awkward, and lonely. Today, it is an integral part of mainstream culture that millions of people have bought into, both literally and figuratively. Statistics show that 20 percent of new relationships begin with online banter on sites like eHarmony, Chemistry.com, and Match.com.

Piggy-backing on the success of those sites, other online social scenes have popped up, targeting niche audiences. There are countless destinations like Geek2Geek (gk2gk.com) for those embracing the nerd culture, VeggieDate (VeggieDate.org), for the vegetarian crowd, and MillionaireMatch (MillionaireMatch.com), for those with busting bank accounts. Luckily, single animal-lovers can find a plethora of sites geared towards people with pets—from PetPeopleMeet.com and DateMyPet.com to MustLovePets.com and Wagger.com.

A simple Google search for “dating sites for pet lovers” produces nearly a quarter of a million results. Of course, not all of these results direct you to a dating site—and not all of those dating sites are legitimate—but the first couple of pages will give you close to a dozen virtual avenues towards finding a relationship with another pet lover. Granted, many mainstream dating sites have sections where you can talk about your pets—and they often suggest other people that like animals or have the same pets as you—but these sites don’t make matches based specifically on your love for animals.

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Looking to break through that case of the Monday’s? Feeling weighed down a bit this morning? Well, this adorable video is sure to perk you right up. This pooch may have cats crawling all over him, but he doesn’t seem to mind as they curl up for a nice nap. Wouldn’t we all like to be so relaxed right now?

With Valentine’s Day only a few weeks away it’s time to start thinking about what to get your beloved four-legged pals. Show your pup how much you adore them by giving him or her some yummy treats! Check out some of our favorite tasty treats that will surely bet a hit with your furry Valentines:

For the Health Conscious Dog
Whole Life Pet Products Freeze Dried Treats
Whole Life Pet Products has created the first and only USDA Certified Organic Freeze Dried Chicken Treat. It starts with a USDA Certified Organic skinless, boneless chicken breast, carefully sliced into strips, then freeze dried fresh without the use of chemicals, additives or preservatives. The result is a pure, healthy daily snack that you’ll feel good about giving to your favorite pup. Other flavors include beef, turkey, salmon, cod and venison. Treats are made in the USA and from human-grade ingredients. www.wholelifepet.com

For the Dog on the Go
Lickety Stik
Lickety Stik is a new, innovative way to provide a healthy, all-natural snack for your dog. It is a liquid pet treat-to-go in a special container with a roller-ball top that delivers just the right amount of delicious taste your dog will love! Only 1 calorie for every 10 licks makes Lickety Stik also a great option for dogs who are trying to loose some extra pounds. Flavors include Savory Chicken, Braised Liver and Smoky Bacon. www.licketystik.com

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Photo Credit: New York Post

The pain of having to put his healthy Pit Bull mix to sleep was simply too much to bear for a soap-opera actor in New York.

Heartbroken, Nick Santino took his own life last Wednesday after taking his dog Rocco to the vet and having him euthanized as a result of pressure from his neighbors complaining about his dog.

In 2010 his building put a Pit Bull ban into place. The ban didn’t apply to Pit Bulls already in the building, but friends and neighbors said Santino began to be harassed.

According to the New York Post, “People were complaining about his dog,” said neighbor Kevan Cleary, 63, an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. “It was open season on him.”

Rocco couldn’t ride in the main elevators and wasn’t allowed to be left in the apartment alone for more than nine hours.

Santino was then threatened with a $250 fine for having a barking dog, neighbors said.

“The dog was not a barker, but somebody complained that the dog would bark,” Cleary said.

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Photo credit: Hembree Family / Vetstreet.com

Many TAILS readers know first-hand that rescue dogs are a breed of their own. Their overwhelming love, grace and loyalty is second to none. It is as if they are paying it forward for the second chance at life they were granted.

This is most definitely the case when it comes to a rescued Belgian Malinois named Juno who has enthusiastically taken up the job of providing love, joy, assistance and comfort to a dying boy.

When four-year-old Lucas Hembree was diagnosed with a terminal illness that will prevent him from ever reaching his sixteenth birthday, his parents Chester and Jennifer were determined to give their beloved child as much joy and life experiences as they could during his precious, fleeting moments here on earth.

According to MSNBC.com, Lucas suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, an inherited, metabolic disease caused by the absence or malfunctioning of an enzyme needed to break down long sugar molecules. As the disease progresses, children lose the ability to speak, walk and eat. The disease also causes severe neurological damage that leads to aggressive behavior, hyperactivity and seizures.

Lucas’ father Chester started looking into therapy dogs when the disease began to take a toll on his son’s joints. He knew his family couldn’t afford the $15,000 price tag that comes along with a service dog, so he began looking in another direction.

Prayer and persistence led Chester to Juno after seeing a posting on a rescue site.

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Beautiful Day at the Dog Park from Kelsey Wynns on Vimeo.

This great video shows what it is like for your dog when you and your four-legged pal get out to the dog park. The incredible clarity and quality of this video makes it worth watching, and the use of slow-mo is a lot of fun as well.

Enjoy!