This week has been a roller coaster of dog news. Technology failed and left some pups going hungry, poo bags got hilariously political and we’ve felt our hearts both buoyed and broken.
1. Internet Killed The Automatic Feeder
Source
The Smartfeeder from Petnet is supposed to feed your dog when you’re out of the house; at the touch of a smartphone button or automatically on a schedule. However, this week the servers responsible for these automatic feedings failed and as a result Petnet sent out a message saying, “Please ensure that your pets have been fed manually until we have resolved this issue.”
It goes without saying that technology cannot replace human interaction nor are humans infallible. That said, you should never leave your home alone for more than four hours. Do find a local dog sitter to take care of your pooch if you will be away for long periods of time.
2. It’s All So Poolitical!
We came across these hilarious poo bags online and couldn’t keep all this goodness to ourselves. Full credit goes to the one and only Dog Milk blog for brightening our day and yours by proxy. Dog Milk is where you go if you have a passion for design and a love for dogs. The Democraps and Repooblicans may well be far across the pond from us but we can’t pretend they don’t affect us. We expect these amusing bags encourage everyone to always pick up their pup’s poops.
3. But First, Let Me Take A Selfie
You can now train your dog to take a selfie all on his own. All you need is a cigar box, a web cam, a big button and an Arduino Yún board (read: magic board) to make this happen. You can watch the whole video here to coo at your screen and at how sweet the protagonist is. As wonderful as this all is, let us just say that if your dog is home alone long enough for you to require selfie updates, you might want to look into putting him or her into doggy day care. Human interaction is so important for your dog’s happiness and social development. Furthermore, your sitter can take all the pics you could possible want.
4. Hank & Francis Opened Hearts And Eyes
Source
These two are Hank and Francis, just two of many dogs affected by breed specific legislation which dictates their very short lived fate. Hank is reported to be a Staffy / Labrador cross but solely because of his appearance he was seized by the council for assessment. Shortly thereafter over 100,000 people signed a petition for his freedom. The council has since found that he does not pose a danger to the public and although he is a Pitbull type dog, he should be receive and exemption from the dangerous dog breed legislation. No doubt the public outcry for Hank helped his case.
The same cannot be said for Francis who was due to be put down on the 26th of July under the Dangerous Docs Act. Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is now calling for this legislation to be reviewed as it should target irresponsible owners instead of being applied to entire breeds.
There are, of course, some dangerous dogs on our streets but for a quarter of a century this legislation has condemned too many innocent dogs to be put to sleep whilst systematically failing to reduce dog attacks in our communities.
– CLAIRE HORTON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE