One of the most overlooked areas of pet care is the teeth, and that is a shame because problems in the mouth can lead to much more serious problems that can endanger and shorten the pet's life. Even pet owners who are conscientious in other areas of their pet's health often ignore the dental area. Dogs and cats do not have a high incidence of tooth decay, but by the time they reach their third birthday, 70% of cats and 80% of dogs show signs of gum disease (gingivitis). Symptoms include yellow and brown buildup of tartar along the gumline, red enflamed gums and constant bad breath.

If your indoor-only cat is over-weight, destructive, or aggressive, it may be because he's bored out of his mind. "Indoor-only cats need more stimulation than their indoor/outdoor counterparts," says Ingrid Johnson, a cat behaviorist at The Cat Clinic of Roswell. Without adequate intellectual challenges, indoor-only cats get cranky.

It began as a noble experiment a few years ago, went on to becom a silly fad, and has now grown into a national, and international, craze. The biggest thing in dogs right now is mixed-breed puppies that sell for top dollar, and people are lining up to buy them. Not that there is anything wrong with that. People have been cross-breeding dogs for years to see what the puppies look like, and dogs have been taking matters into their own paws and doing it themselves for even longer. The cock-apoo (a cocker spaniel-poodle mix) and peki-poo (a Pekinese-poodle mix) are both cross-breed dogs that have been popular for a long time. Many people bought them, but not at purebred prices, unless they were nuts.

While working on the previous doodle dog article, we checked to see how much these dogs are selling for locally. The AJC had about a dozen listings for various combinations ranging in price from less than $200 to $1200. At the high end was a litter of maltese-yorkie puppies with an asking price of $1000 for the males and $1200 for the female. In the bargain basement were some Jack Russell- poodle mix puppies for $175. An ad for malti-poo puppies mentioned that they were registered, but didn't say where. Expecting prices to be much higher, we checked the internet to see what it had to offer.

That was eye opening.

The state managed Dog and Cat Sterilization Fund, which was so successful in helping to spay and neuter 19,000 animals before it ran out of money last spring, will begin to subsidize the again soon. New funding will come from the sales of a new specialty auto tag that will become available soon. The new tag takes the place of the previous version of the tag which sold really well when it came out three years ago.

Located only about 20 miles outside the perimeter in southern Henry County, Noah’s Ark is a great place to spend an afternoon. If there is another place like it, it is probably not located this close to a major city. We just had an article about Noah’s Ark in a recent issue, so we won’t repeat that. You can read it here. A sanctuary and home for hundreds of animals of all kinds, from the exotic kind found in foreign lands to those found closer to home, Noah’s Ark gives them a place to live when no one else will.

A lot of Christmas puppies arrived last month, and others, whose new families decided to wait to get them until after the commotion died down, are moving in this month. This is the beginning of what should be a long and happy relationship. To ensure the happy part, the family has the responsibility of teaching the puppy how to be a good dog.

There are 2 areas in which puppies need constant supervision—house training and chewing.

The holidays are a favorite time to acquire a new pet, and a lot of puppies and kittens arrived in new homes at the end of the year. Things are usually a little more hectic that last week of the year, with more activity and visitors coming and going. It can be a little disconcerting to a young animal that has, in many cases, just been taken from its mother.

Now that things have settled down, some time can be spent playing with and training the new kitten.

In each issue we have photos of people and their dogs.
Can you tell who belongs with whom?