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Click here to read a blog started by a pet parent who writes that her dog that was severely injured while playing with a dog toy.

The toy was a red rubber ball with a bell inside. The dog, a handsome boy named Chai, chewed a hole in the ball, and a vacuum effect sucked his tongue inside the toy.

His tongue swelled and the ball had to be cut off by a vet. It did so much damage the dog had to have his tongue amputated.

According to the blog, the vet said a second hole in the ball would have allowed air to pass through the toy while the dog played and prevented the vacuum. This event has caused Chai a great deal of pain and created some very hefty vet bills for his family.

I don't really want to get too deep into what seems to be brewing into a legal battle, and I am certainly not in the position to cast blame on anyone. But it is probably a good idea to examine all of your dog toys, no matter what company made it or sold it, for this potential hazard.

And I know we are gulity of letting our pooches have almost unlimited access to their toys, but it is probably prudent to supervise them when playing with chewy things. Remember we watched Dexter throw up pieces of a rubber chicken for days.

Better safe than sorry.

The Roanoke Valley SPCA Adoption and Education Center will change its operating hours beginning Sunday, Sept.7.

The adoption center will open Tuesday through Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and will stay open until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, until 7 p.m. on Friday, and until 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The center will be closed on Mondays.

The new hours are intended to make it more convenient for families in search of a new pet. To see pictures and descriptions of the pets currently available for adoption, including the lovely Gigi pictured here, click here. You can also sign up for e-mail alerts when new pets become available.

Vaccinations, spaying or neutering and a microchip are included in the adoption fee.

Like many millions of other fans, I cheered for swimmer Michael Phelps as he made Olympic history last week. And if he wasn't loveable enough, he's also crazy about his dog. Here's a pre-Olympic promo spot he did for NBC featuring his pooch, Herman. Enjoy the closing ceremonies.

Prize winner Cali inspects the new FURminator and other goodies that were awarded to her pet mom, longtime blog reader Kim. Click here to read Kim's, and kitty FURminator Laura's, comments about the grooming tools.

Next on the list of pet tools to try is the Peticure, the motorized pet nail filing gadget. You may have seen commercials for it on Animal Planet. It basically rounds off and smoothes the tips of the dog's or cat's nails without clipping, thus risking a painful cut of the quick where the nerves reside.

If you have ever accidentally cut the nail quick on a dog or cat, you know how much it hurts him or her and how much blood seeps out. Nasty business.

After seeing it advertised, we were a little skeptical if it would actually work. Wouldn't professional groomers use it if really did a good job without risk to the pet?

My hubby saw a morning show news spot that said the tool does what it is supposed to do, although some pets are a little skittish of the humming sound it makes. So we ordered one that I hope arrives today or tomorrow.

I will be sure to let you know how it works for my pack of pooches. If any of you have one of these gadgets, post a comment and let us know what you think.

If you are planning to drive through California with your pooch, maybe to attend the OTHER Dog Show mentioned in today's earlier blog post, you should plan to bring the pet carrier.

The California state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would make it illegal for drivers to have a live pet on their laps.

Presumably dead pets would not be prohibited. Gross and weird perhaps, but legal.

Assembly Member Bill Maze pushed the bill through, calling it a safety issue.

"If you have an animal that gets in your face or gets tangled up in your steering wheel while you're driving, you can't properly control (the car)," he told the Sacramento Bee earlier this year.

All jokes aside, it is hard to argue with that.

The bill passed on a 21-17 vote. According to an Associated Press report, the bill will land on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk after some minor changes are worked out.

No word on whether the Governator plans to sign it.

California legislators have already banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving in an attempt to limit driver distractions.

Fines for possession of a critter in behind the wheel would start at $35.

We've seen the purebreds work it in the show ring for years. Now it's the mutts and rescued pooches of Northern California's turn to compete for a Best in Show title.

The third annual Bay Area Pet Fair and Adoptathon, scheduled for Sept. 6 and 7, includes the OTHER Dog Show, a friendly gathering of both adoptable and adopted animals, "from cast-off purebreds to hands-down mutts," according to a press release from the event's producers.

No pedigrees needed, muddy bloodlines are perfectly acceptable.

Instead of the traditional dog show categories of hunting, hound, terrier and toy, OTHER Show entrants compete in classes including "Ultimate Lap Dog" and "Super-est Underdog."

Diversity is encouraged in the "Coolest Non-Dog" class for adoptable cats, rabbits, rats, birds and various other furry and feathered critters.

All class winners will compete for the title of "Best in Show", which includes a trophy and other prizes.

"Our mission with The OTHER Dog Show is to demonstrate that all our pets are winners in our hearts," event producer Sandy Lurins is quoted in the news release. "Show dogs have their own type of event, and now family dogs have one, too."

The two-day event included demonstrations, performances and expert presentations, including The Muttley Crew, a canine entertainment team with skills like flyball, agility, and the ever-popular disc catching (tell me who doesn't love Frisbee dogs?) and multiple agencies with adoptable pets.

How great would it be to have an event like that here in the Roanoke Valley? I have an 80-pound lap pooch that would love to compete.

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ You've heard of man bites dog. What about, dog saves cats?

A two-year-old dog that had been turned over to the Nevada Humane Society's shelter in Reno is being credited with rescuing six abandoned kittens.

Shelter Director Diane Blankenburg says it happened Monday while the two-year-old Boxer/Pit Bull mix named Angel was on a walk with a pair of volunteers, Frank Gomez and his 9-year-old stepson, Joel Fontes.

They were walking on the hot day with temperatures in the 90s when the dog became obsessed with something in the bushes. When she refused to move on, Gomez investigated and discovered a box full of 3-week-old orange tabby kittens that were frightened and hungry.

One of the abandoned kittens escaped before shelter staff were summoned to the scene, but Angel tracked it down and Gomez handed it over to safety.

One of the first questions you ask yourself when you are thinking about adding a pet to your family is will your work or travel schedule prevent you from being a good pet parent.

If the honest answer is yes, then you forego canine companionship, right.

Well, maybe not.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, pet-sharing is becoming an attractive option for many time-strapped humans who crave the companionship of a dog but can't fulfill all the daily responsibilities of pet care.

Options for pet-sharing range from shared custody of a dog with a neighbor. Doggy love, and expenses like vet bills and monthly meds, are shared between the families that care for the pooch.

For the traveler who yearns for more than a chocolate on the pillow at night, Fairmont hotels in Quebec City, Boston and Vancouver are keeping dogs-in-residence that will accompany guests on walks.

Some animal shelters will let people take dogs out for a day as a way to relieve stress for the pooch and the person.

But then there is the seedier side of the equation: For those who have real commitment issues that span beyond dating, there are pooches-for-hire, call-girl canines, rent-a-pets, if you will.

And that's seems to be where animal welfare proponents and even legislators draw the line.

Flexpetz, a company based in Montana that operated locations in New York, London, San Diego and Los Angeles, allowed $100-per-month members to lease a pet for $45 a day.

When the company announced plans to open a branch in Boston, State Rep. Paul Frost introduced a bill to ban pet rentals in Massachusetts.

FlexPetz has since suspended operations in the U.S. and London, presumably until they can get a better understanding on how anti-pet leasing legislation will affect growth for their company.

Uh, I think an outright ban on the service you provide pretty much halts legal operation of your business, but hey, I'm no MBA.

What do you think? Is it emotionally harmful for dogs to be treated like rental property? Is there anything wrong with shared custody of a pet, as long as the pet is loved and cared for with all custodians?

To read the WSJ article and see the video of a former FlexPetz pooch and his rental family, click here.

Scientists in Britain believe a recent experiment shows that dogs will mimic the most contagious of human behaviors: Yawning.

A team of researchers from Birkbeck College at the University of London reported that 21 of 29 dogs yawned when a human yawned in front of them, a behavior previously believed to belong solely to humans and their primate cousins.

The research indicates that domestic dogs are capable of empathizing with people.

"Dogs have a very special capacity to read human communication. They respond when we point and when we signal," Dr. Atsushi Senju, one of the Birkbeck researchers, told BBC News.

This is one of those controlled experiments that supports a common experience. I think most people who have a strong bond with a canine would confirm that dogs are very empathetic to emotions.

I just hope that over the next 15,000 years of living with people, we share only the best of our human traits with pooches. Maybe we can elevate our existence up to their level.

To read the BBC news story, click here.

(Photo from BBC News)

Let’s continue the conversation about the dog park location in Highland Park

Two readers left comments last week indicating they were less than thrilled with the chosen location, while one commenter was enthusiastic about the site.

The Roanoke Times published a commentary in Sunday’s newspaper by Old Southwest-area resident Claire English, who is not in favor of turning the proposed one-acre site behind the stage in Highland into a fenced dog park.

I respect English’s point of view and she made some reasonable points about what could be issues once a public dog park is opened, including “…dogs that attack other dogs, people who can't discipline their animals, folks who develop a strange blindness when their dog makes a mess, and those who decide they are in charge and have to run the dog park their way.”

Indeed, when a small space of public land is fenced off and dedicated as a safe play area for pooches, owners will have to be hyper-vigilant in monitoring their dog’s behavior and mutt mitts are a must.

But the possibility of irresponsible behavior and conflict exists in any public-gathering space. It will take watchful eyes of responsible dog owners to make the park successful.

I have seen some really ugly behavior from people in public parks, particularly at softball diamonds, and that does not and should not prevent us from having them.

Other cities have enjoyed success with dog parks. Click here to read about a dog park in Richmond, IN., a city about half the size of Roanoke, which is expanding after its first successful year.

I do agree with English that a single acre may be too small, but the city has to start somewhere.

Change is always upsetting to those who like things they way they are, or the way they remember them to be. That should not prevent progress.

Share your thoughts here, readers.