Pop Art Pet Unleashed

July 4th is next weekend and it can be a very stressful time for pets. We found a variety of great tips from experts on about how to prepare your dogs and cats for the upcoming noisy festivities, including exposing them to loud cd’s with thunder or fireworks noises for several days prior:

The Fourth of July is next weekend, bringing with it sparklers, Roman candles and loud fireworks. Several fireworks and pet companies are encouraging people to prepare their pets for the loud noises.

Phantom Fireworks, based in Youngstown, Ohio, advises that pets might experience stress and anxiety when they hear the bangs and whistles of fireworks.

Janet Tobiassen Crosby, a doctor of veterinary medicine and writer for the Veterinary Medicine Guide, said pets are at risk when they hear loud fireworks and become upset.

“Animals that are frightened or stressed can hurt themselves and possibly escape if left alone,” Crosby said. “And the results can be fatal. Frightened animals running loose are in great danger of being hit by a car.”

Fireworks.com advises people to consider moving their pets inside when setting off fireworks. 

British Web site Canine Concepts suggests pet owners desensitize pets to loud noises by playing a compact disc with thunder or fireworks noises for several days leading up to the holiday. While the CD plays, the owners can distract their pets by playing with them, training them or giving them a chew toy.

If a pet becomes stressed, Canine Concepts recommends not comforting the animal, because that can encourage unwanted behavior it exhibits while stressed. The Web site www.canineconcepts.co.uk offers more information.

Phantom Fireworks has created a K-9 Calming Vest for the Fourth of July holiday. The vest fits snugly around a dog to give the animal a feeling of safety and security.

The vest comes in different sizes and retails for $36. The product is sold at fireworks.com and in Phantom Fireworks.

The company also suggests feeding pets an hour before fireworks begin going off and feeding animals snacks while explosions are happening, as well as using music or the television to drown out the sound and playing with the pets.
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Whatever you think will work best for your animals, we encourage you to consider their concerns before you plan to celebrate with your patriotic pet!

We are never afraid to pressure our clients into taking new, better photos of their pet for their custom pet portrait. Sometimes they get frustrated, which is understandable since dogs and cats make really lousy models. But we always tell them, “The better the photo the better the portrait.”

We explain it is not for our benefit, it is for theirs. After all they have purchased a significant, sentimental piece of art that they are going to have forever.

As an example of what our artist can achieve with a really high quality photo check out Toby. Current client, Cathy, had really great photos of Toby for his Pop Art Pet portrait. Click on the thumbnail below to see a larger version – the original was actually huge, which is also a huge help to us.

The lighting is great, the photo is perfectly focused, and so detailed you can see individual hairs. And take a look at the excellent results our artist achieved as a result.

Look how much detail we were able to maintain?

Click here to see all of Toby’s proofs.

So, if you order one of our custom portraits of your pet and we ask you to please try to take better pictures, please don’t take it personally. We just want every portrait we do, to be the best it can be, and to do that we need the best possible photos. Besides, as we always point out, its never a bad thing to have more pictures of your pet!

Did you know that most every Major League Baseball team offers events for you to take your dog to the ballpark? Now you can share America’s Favorite Pasttime with your favorite four-legged friend! What better way to spend a summer day with your dog?

They give them a variety of different names like, Atlanta Braves Bark in the Park on Sept. 6th; St. Louis Cardinals Pooches in the Ballpark; and San Francisco Giants Dog Days of Summer. Several other cities have home teams that simply host “Dog Day” or “Pup Night.”

Then there’s Petco Park, home of the Padres in San Diego where they host Adoption Sundays! At Sunday home games all summer they showcase local shelters and the pets they have available for adoption. What a great idea! Go Padres!

So if you’re a baseball fan, or just a fan of doing stuff with your dog, you should check your favorite team’s website for dog-friendly games near you.

Who looks out for soldiers’ pets when their work carries them away from home to look out for us?  We found this article in the Denver section of examiner.com about a wonderful volunteer organization called GASP that does just that:

The men and women of the U.S. military are often forced to rely on family or friends to care for their pets while they are away fulfilling their patriotic duty.  For someone without loved ones willing or able to help, or when even the best laid plans go awry, dropping off his beloved pet before leaving for war has often been the only alternative for some soldiers.

For more info: If you are a soldier in need of a foster home for your pet, or if you would like to donate or volunteer your time to help soldiers’ pets, you can obtain more information about Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet at guardianangelsforsoldierspet.org.
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If you’d like to find out how you can help with a donation or by volunteering as a foster family for a soldier’s pet, please visit GASP’s website.

We have been ashamedly absent from the blogosphere for quite some time now. Sorry about that, but you know sometimes you just need a break!

Anyway we’re back with a ‘Did You Know?’ feature on a little-known section of our own website..

Did you know that the best way to see what Pop Art Pet can do with your pet’s photos is to visit our Before And After Gallery?

This section of the site shows off a varied selection of our custom pet portraits from photo to finish. When you initially visit the page you’ll see the finished artwork, but by mousing over the image you can see the original pet photo we had to work with to create it.

After

Before

After

Before

The complete gallery includes examples of our Pet Pop Art, our Comic Style and our Traditional Style pet portraits to give a unique perspective on all your options for your custom pet portrait.

But now that we think about it, perhaps it should be called the “After & Before Gallery.”

The ASPCA has the answer for concerned pet parents:

Don’t worry! The recent, rapid outbreak of the H1N1 virus, previously known as swine flu, appears to present little risk of infecting our furry friends. In the past few weeks, only humans have been affected by the new virus, and it’s still unknown how the virus will impact other species.

“Currently there’s no data demonstrating any risk of dogs and cats contracting this strain of the virus,” says Dr. Louise Murray, Director of Medicine at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Hospital in New York City. “However, owners of pet pigs, as well as farmers, should monitor their animals’ health more closely and take steps to limit transmission from humans to pigs and vice versa.”

If you do count a pet pig as your animal companion, please consult with your veterinarian about a Type A influenza vaccine, which is available and recommended for all healthy swine.

Dr. Miranda Spindel, Director of ASPCA Veterinary Outreach, adds: “Swine influenza or swine flu is one of the leading causes of respiratory disease in swine throughout the world. Like most influenza A viruses, swine flu generally causes high levels of illness in pigs, but fatalities are uncommon.”

For the latest information about the outbreak and your pet’s health, please visit the Center for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu). If you suspect your pet is ill or if he exhibits any sudden changes in behavior, please contact your veterinarian immediately.

Pet Airways, the airline that will fly pets ONLY will be ready to taxi down the runway in July. That means dogs of any size can now ride in the cabin, not in cargo! Here’s the complete story from news.com.:

A US company has launched the world’s first pets-only airline dedicated to animal-friendly travel.

Pet Airways will cater for people who loathe the idea of their pets being stored in the cargo hold area during a flight by offering their pet-only service.  From July the new airline will fly dogs and cats in the main cabin of a turbo-prop Beech 1900 passenger plane which has furnishings such as the seats and bins removed, with animals placed in their private pet carriers and locked into a restraint system.

The plane can hold up to 50 dogs or cats. A pet attendant checks on the animals and makes sure they have regular toilet breaks during the flight.

“Pet Airways is the world’s first airline exclusively dedicated to the safe and comfortable transportation of pets,” the company’s website says.

“With Pet Airways, your pet will be safe and comfortable flying in the main cabin – not in cargo.”

Pet Airways will fly to 42 US cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington. Fares start from $149.
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Hmmm.. I wonder if they’ll show in-flight movies?

We found this nearly unbelievable story on Yahoo News. You have to read it to believe it:

A pet dog that fell overboard in rough seas off Australia has been reunited with its owners after surviving alone on an island for four months, reports said.

Sophie Tucker, apparently named after a late US entertainer, fell overboard as Jan Griffith and her family sailed through choppy waters off the northeast Queensland coast in November.

The dog was believed to have drowned and Griffith said the family was devastated.

But out of sight of the family, Sophie Tucker was swimming doggedly and finally made it to St Bees Island, five nautical miles away, and began the sort of life popularised by the TV reality show “Survivor.”

She was returned to her family last week when Griffith contacted rangers who had captured a dog that had been living off feral goats on the largely uninhabited island, in the faint hope it might be their long-lost pet.

When the Griffiths met the rangers’ boat bringing the dog to the mainland they found that it was indeed Sophie Tucker on board.

“We called the dog and she started whimpering and banging the cage and they let her out and she just about flattened us,” Griffith told the national AAP news agency.

“She wriggled around like a mad thing.”

Griffith said that when the dog was first spotted on the island she had been in poor condition.

“And then all of a sudden she started to look good and it was when the rangers had found baby goat carcasses so she’d started eating baby goats,” she said.

Sophie Tucker, a member of the Australian cattle dog breed, had been quick to readjust to the comforts of home, complete with airconditioning, Griffiths said.

“She surprised us all. She was a house dog and look what she’s done, she’s swum over five nautical miles, she’s managed to live off the land all on her own,” Griffiths said.

“We wish she could talk, we truly do.”
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We’re not so sure they would like to hear what Sophie would have to say to them if she could talk!

We found this story on Yahoo about service animals remarkable. (just click the image below to view the video)

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Last year we told you about a new product called Zoombak – a GPS locater for your dog, which we thought was pretty ingenius.

Interestingly, almost exactly one year later MSNBC has reported on the same item. They have an evaluation from a family who loves it for their three year old pup and is considering it for their soon-to-be-teenage daughter. They also included an evaluation from a therapist who says, “she’s concerned that parents who use such a device for their children are taking the easy way out.”

Hence the title of the article, GPS: Good For Pets, Questionable for Kids

The Zoombak costs about $200 plus a $15 monthly monitoring fee.

We’re just proud that we scooped MSNBC by a whole year!