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Pet care tips for Valentine’s Day & all year long

By Gary Bogue
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 7:05 am in Cats, Pets, Pets & Poisons, Pets in Danger, Poison, Poisonous plants, dogs

Jasmine the cat by Bogue
kit7

From time-to-time I get news releases sent to me that are filled with handy information that should be useful to pet owners and others. If you have a pet living with your family, I think you’ll find the information below to be very helpful. /Gary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Pet Poison Helpline has compiled a list of 14 ways pet owners can shower their pets with love and affection – not only on Valentine’s Day – but year round. From making sure pets stay fit, to keeping poisonous items out of reach, the following tips will ensure pets stay healthy and happy and will (hopefully) be around for many Valentine’s Days to come.
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Brown pelican crisis pushes wildlife groups to breaking point

By Gary Bogue
Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 7:31 am in International Bird rescue research Center, Pelicans

Brown pelicans at IBRRC. Photo by IBRRC
Pelicans-storms-2010-group-aviary ibrrc

Our friends at International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield have a problem: Too many brown pelicans. IBRRC and three other wildlife rescue centers in Southern California have taken in nearly 500 of the giant starving and wet birds since Jan. 1.  Pelicans take up an enormous amount of care and space and eat huge quantities of fish daily. The end result is the centers have run out of space and funds to care for the birds. They are VERY concerned that they may have to temporarily stop taking in these birds because off their dwindling resources (space, funds).

These organizations need our help in the form of cash donations to help them care for these distressed birds … and they particularly need financial support from the state (Dept. of Fish and Game) and Federal (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) authorities who are ultimately responsible for the pelicans.

Please do what you can to help. Thanks. /Gary

Here is a news release I received from IBRRC on Friday:
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Brutal rattlesnake roundups have got to stop

By Gary Bogue
Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 7:02 am in Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake orgy? Photo by Flickr user Finious Fingers used under a Creative Commons License.
rattler orgy finious fingers

The Feb. 4 issue of the weekly e-newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity has a piece on something that has been bothering me since I was a kid: Rattlesnake Roundups.

I like snakes and used to collect them in my childhood days, before I realized they should be left free in the wild. I was horrified to learn about these Rattlesnake Roundups, where the beautiful reptiles were collected in huge numbers, and killed so their meat and skins could be sold. Disgusting.

Fortunately, the Center for Biological Diversity is trying to put an end to it. You can see what they have to say about it below. /Gary
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Hummingbirds fill their nests with fairy tale fillings

By Gary Bogue
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 6:52 am in hummingbirds

Hummingbird nest by Ben Phipps, Benicia, California
hum nest ben phipps benicia

Hi Gary,  enjoy your column very much.
I’ve been feeding my “Hummers” in the backyard for most of the 25 years that I’ve lived here in Benicia.  Always thought that they must have had many nests over the years but never had a clue where to look until just last week.

I saw a Hummingbird fly into and disappear in our Jacaranda tree.  After much looking, I found the Hummingbird sitting on, and protecting as I found out, a beautiful, tiny nest.
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Ex-SF Mayor Willie Brown advises 49ers to hire Michael Vick. OOPS!

By Gary Bogue
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 10:34 am in Michael Vick

Michael Vick & Bella’s revenge. Photo by Flickr user nineball2727 used under a Creative Commons License.
vick nineball2727

Willie Brown — ex-San Francisco Mayor, former California Assembly Speaker and present columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle — wrote the following in his column while I was on vacation in Panama these last couple of weeks:

“Memo to the 49ers: Hire Michael Vick.
“One, you need a quarterback. Two, he would increase ticket sales instantly.

“As for the firestorm that would erupt over Vick’s conviction for dogfighting, I say, do what they did in Philadelphia. Ride it out.”

Photo by Flickr user irina slutsky used under a Creative Commons License.
willie brown irina slutsky

Willie Brown is EXTREMELY knowledgeable when it comes to ANYTHING that has to do with politics. But he has a LOT to learn about the animal welfare community in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I’d be shocked if the 49ers even considered hiring Vick, but I’ve been shocked before. If they do hire Vick, keep your head down. Film (or is that flim-flam?) at 11:00. /Gary

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Lindsay Wildlife Museum presents: A Wild Night at the Museum!

By Gary Bogue
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 12:31 pm in Lindsay Wildlife Museum

(I’m off on vacation in Panama until Feb. 2. I’ll see you then with photos and stories from the rain forest! /Gary)

The Lindsay Wildlife Museum presents a Wild Night at the Museum! It is a wildly fun family oriented event to benefit the museum, 6-9:30 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the museum, 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek.

Admission is $50 per adult which includes one child. Additional children under 18 are $10 each. To purchase tickets online go to http://www.wildlife-museum.org/wildnight

The wildly fun evening will feature lots of family activities: Food, beer and wine tasting, Peter Gros from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom with live animals like a Serval and Ringtail Lemur, raffles with great prizes, Animal Ambassadors and a Tae Kwon Do demonstration.

Wild Night at the Museum supports the museum’s programs in education and wildlife rehabilitation. Lindsay Wildlife Museum is a 501(c-3) organization (Federal Tax ID #94-6104179).

Join them for Wild Night at the Museum on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.!

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Wild birds: Fast food stop!

By Gary Bogue
Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 7:35 am in Birds

Photo by Camille Sobalvarro, Brentwood, CA
wingstop camille sobalvarro

Gary:
I thought you’d appreciate the humor in this photo I shot in Brentwood, CA, on Friday!
Camille Sobalvarro, Brentwood, CA

Camille:
Kind of says it all, doesn’t it? Great photo! Funny. Thanks for sharing it. /Gary

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Turkey Vultures: Mother Nature’s scavengers

By Gary Bogue
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am in Opossums, Turkey vultures

Photo by Debbie Ojeda, Pinole, CA
vulture debbie ojeda

Debbie Ojeda of Pinole, CA, took this photograph of a turkey vulture feeding on a dead opossum on Henry Drive in Pinole.

I’m always on the lookout for interesting color photos of wild creatures doing their thing. You can e-mail me your photos in .JPG format to gbogue@bayareanewsgroup.com. Please include your full name and the city where you live so I can give you credit for taking the photo if I use it. Also please include comments in your e-mail saying it’s OK for me to use your photo(s) in my blog.

Thanks! /Gary

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Earthquake video: Did this dog ‘feel’ a 6.5 earthquake coming?

By Gary Bogue
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 6:40 am in Earthquakes, dogs

This video is footage from the security camera at the Times-Standard newspaper in Eureka, CA, taken just before and after the  6.5 earthquake hit in Humboldt County off the California coastline on Jan. 9. It shows a reporter’s dog, Sophie, sitting near his desk.

This note came with the video I found on YouTube: “My dog Sophie sensed the 6.5 earthquake early at the Times-Standard newspaper in Eureka, CA.”

Visit http://www.times-standard.com for full coverage of the earthquake.

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Endangered species: Bad year for Florida panthers & manatees

By Gary Bogue
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 6:48 am in Endangered species, Florida panther, Manatee

Everglades. Photo by Flickr user Stig Nygaard used under a Creative Commons License
flapanther stig nygaard

More from the Jan. 7 edition of the weekly e-newsletter of the Center for Biological Diversity:

On New Year’s Eve, a three-month-old Florida panther kitten was tragically hit and killed by a car in Naples, Florida, bringing the number of 2009 panther road kills to 17 — the highest number ever recorded — while total 2009 panther deaths reached 24.
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