Blogging Paws – Pet Health Blog & Lifestyle Information sponsored by CanaCreek.com Canadian Pet Medication

Why Dogs & Cats Circle?
By Warren F. for CanaCreek

We received an interesting question from one of our readers:
JacobF writes: “Why do cats and dogs circle before bed?”

Good question! As many of you may have noticed that your pet will invariably circle around his or her bed/chosen spot before settling down for some rest. Often if you disturb them midway, they tend to start again or even get a bit testy.

It’s a puzzling habit, and there’s no solid explanation for the behaviour, as it is seen in both domesticated cats and dogs and wild varieties. But there are a few theories as to why your kitty or pooch needs to check things out before bagging some Z’s.

One theory is that before domestication, cats and dogs would check out the immediate area to make sure natural foes like snakes or other deadly insects weren’t lying in wait before they laid down to rest. As it seems to be an instinctual behaviour, this explanation makes a lot of sense. (more…)

Here’s a story brought by one of our specialists, Kimberly, partly in response to requests for more cat stories (this means you Ruby).

This is the story of Dewey, an orange tabby cat. On a cold dark winter night in January 1988, a tiny tabby kitten was deposited into the return box of Spencer, Iowa’s public library. The people of the Spencer library decided to adopt the cat for the library, and a contest was held to name him. The winning submission was “Dewey Readmore Books”, or “Dewey” for short, presumably for the Dewey Decimal cataloging system.

Dewey soon became a fixture at the library and settled into his job of animal good will ambassador and companion. (more…)

The story of a Most Faithful Friend

Hachiko was an Akita dog born in Japan in 1923. An agricultural professor named Hidesaburo Ueno brought the puppy from the countryside to be his pet in Tokyo. Every morning, Hachiko would accompany his master to the train station where the professor would commute to the University of Tokyo. Every evening, Hachiko would wait at the station to greet his master when his train arrived. Hachiko did this everyday until May 1925, when the professor did not return on his usual train one evening. Despite this, Hachiko, continued to go to the train station the everyday at the same time in anticipation of his master’s return, but everyday he would not see his beloved friend. It turned out that the professor had suffered a fatal cerebral hemorrhage while giving a lecture at the University. He would never return again.

Every evening Hachiko would show up just when the professor’s train was due to arrive. Hachiko continued his routine to look for his owner from among the crowd at the train station for nine more years, eagerly waiting for his master until Hachiko’s own death in 1935. Hachiko’s faithfulness has inspired generations of Japanese people, and he is a national symbol of loyalty.

When Hachiko died on March 8th 1935, his body was found near the train station. A post mortem was conducted and they found that dirofilaria worms had infected his heart, Hachiko had suffered and died from heartworm. (more…)