California Condor photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Scott Frier
Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council Help Extend Lead-Ammunition Ban to Protect Iconic Birds
LOS ANGELES — A settlement announced today between environmentalists and the State of California will strengthen protections for California condors by placing limits on the use of ammunition containing lead throughout the species’ range. Read the rest of this entry »
Dr. Barry Kipperman, DVM, DACVIM, from VetCare Emergency & Specialist Care Center, Dublin, Calif., sent me some important information about your pets.
Dear Gary:
This is a wonderful time of year during which we give thanks for our blessings and spend time with our friends and family. This usually means travel, and that means your pets are either traveling with you or are being cared for by a neighbor, friend, or family member.
Mourning dove into window by Tony Martarella, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Dear Gary:
About a week ago I was standing in my bedroom when I heard a thump on the window. The shade was partially down so I didn’t see what caused the noise. When I looked out I saw a bird lying on the sidewalk below. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a You-Tube link to a video called, “An Engineer’s Guide to Cats.” Reader Mike Shatto e-mailed this to me and says “It is a subtle riot. Enjoy.”
** I’m taking my annual Thanksgiving Week vacation from Nov. 24-28 and I hope this hilarious video will help keep you amused until I return on Monday, Dec. 1. You have a Happy Thanksgiving yourself! /Gary
Dr. Brisbin, DVM, gives Jasmine a checkup at Benicia Cat Clinic
Mike Markarian’s blog — Animals & Politics — on Tuesday (Nov. 18) was about the vet services tax that’s being proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Yes, I didn’t know about this, either.
Markarian is the president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, a non-profit that lobbies for animal welfare legislation and works to elect humane-minded candidates to public office.
If you’re like me and VERY concerned about this, please read on and find out all you can about the “Pet Tax” that Arnold is proposing so you can see what you can do about it. Do you want your vet bill to be considered as “nonessential or luxury services” and be taxed accordingly every time you have to take your pet to the hospital? I hope not.
What follows is an excerpt from Michael Markarian’s blog of Nov. 18. A link follows that so you can click on it and read the rest of his enlightening (and concerned) comments. Read the rest of this entry »
Acorn woodpecker by Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Emeryville, CA — Experts with Audubon California today expressed surprise and disappointment that two homeowners associations in Rossmoor have obtained permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill up to 50 acorn woodpeckers that are drilling holes in homes to store food. Read the rest of this entry »
Acorn woodpecker by Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Dear Gary:
I love your column and hope you are still coming to Rossmoor on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, your column and the paper in general has touted “Rossmoor” as the evil hunters of the Woodpeckers. Let me explain that the community of Rossmoor is made up of different areas that have control over the actions in their “Mutual.” Read the rest of this entry »
Acorn Woodpecker S.O.S. art by Kat Mulkey, Lafayette
If you haven’t been following my daily columns about Walnut Creek’s Rossmoor Retirement Community vs. the acorn woodpeckers, you can catch yourself up here on my Friday (Nov. 14) and Sunday (Nov. 16) columns: http://www.contracostatimes.com/garybogue
Basically, a family of acorn woodpeckers have been pecking holes in the upper reaches of a couple of the retirement community’s resident buildings. Rossmoor has obtained a depredation permit from the feds which allows them to shoot 50 acorn woodpeckers. Read the rest of this entry »
Scrabble dog photo by Bob Carlton, Walnut Creek, Calif.
Dear Gary:
OK, we’re not going to take a chess-playing cat lying down. Here’s our dog, Duffy, playing Scrabble with our son Craig and myself back in 1974. He didn’t win too often because his vocabulary was somewhat limited (ride, walk, out, etc.). He did know the word “squirrel” but he couldn’t spell it. Bob Carlton, Walnut Creek
