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When it comes time for you, er, Santa, to fill your dogs' stockings, parse out the treats evenly and make sure you check each sock twice: The dogs will know they don't get their fair share.

According to a study by researchers at the University of Vienna and reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a dog may stop being such good puppy if he thinks he's not being treated fairly. Scientists believe that dogs show "equity aversion" if they are not fairly rewarded, a trait previously shown only in humans and primates.

The study placed two dogs that were trained to offer their paw on command side-by-side, but rewarded them differently when they performed the task. One dog would get a sausage treat, the other would get bread or nothing at all.

The quality of the treat, sausage verses bread, did not affect the dogs' willingness to perform. But when one got a prize and the other got nothing, things changed quickly. Eventually, the dog on the short end of the deal quit offering his paw.

No treat, no shake, pal.

If I understand this data correctly, I think this means if you lavish all your attention, praise and treats on one dog and ignore your other pooch, don't be surprised if the slighted pup eats your favorite shoes.

And folks, I think dogs intuitively know which pair is your favorite and/or the most expensive in your closet. They will skip the flip-flops and chew the Jimmy Choo's.

Hmm, maybe I can get a grant to prove that theory. I already have three dogs who keep a mental journal of every treat and have an internal stopwatch on the duration of each belly rub the others get.

All I need now is the expensive shoes.

By Tonia Moxley

GLEN LYN -- About 230 police officers and community members honored a fallen Giles County police dog Monday at the church where the dog was killed in a friendly fire incident on Friday.

The officer who shot Carsen, a 3-year-old Belgian malinois, while both were responding to a reported break-in at the Glen Lyn Church of Christ, spoke at the memorial service.

Sgt. Richard Gautier of the Pearisburg Police Department stood before a sea of K-9 officers from across the state and took responsibility for the shooting, saying neither Carsen nor Carsen's handler, Giles County Sgt. Scott Dunn, were to blame.

"He felt like it was the time and the place to do that," Giles County Sheriff Morgan Millirons said of Gautier.

Millirons had withheld the name of the responsible officer, saying that those involved were taking the dog's death very hard.

Read more »

 A co-worker sent me this Associated Press story and I loved it. Hope this gives you ideas for frugal ways to keep your kitties happy this holiday season.

Hard economic times can mean fewer holiday gifts for your pets, too. Fortunately, cats were into recycling and repurposing long before "green" became the latest buzzword.

If you've ever seen your cat walk past a nice stuffed mouse to bat around one of those wire twisty-ties that close a loaf of bread, why not take the hint? Here's what your feline family really wants you to do for the holidays:

·     Get milk! Or juice, as long as it's in a plastic jug. Those little caps make great toys, especially the kind with the tear-off plastic strip.

·      Drink wine to relax. If watching your portfolio crash means you're going through more wine these days, you've also got more corks for your cat to bat around.

·     Wear your wristwatch, even if you can't afford new batteries. On a sunny day, you can get the sun to reflect off it and make a spot of light that your cat will chase around the floor and walls just like a laser pointer, but totally free.

·     Let your hair grow long. You'll save money on haircuts, and once it's long enough for a ponytail, you can share your hair ribbons. Cassandra Zaruba of Westminster, Md., has a cat that loves a particular kind of hair ribbon.

Read more »

My hubby took Stormy to see Santa today while I was working, and he tells me the little dude charmed all the ladies who were assisting the Jolly Old Elf. Since he was a good boy, there will be some goodies in his stocking this year.

This LOLcat helped make my season bright. Good kitten! Have a holly-jolly weekend, readers.

By Steve Blow/Dallas Morning News

Sometimes you find the best stories in your own back yard.

Or, in this case, in your own back parking lot.

More than a year ago, a stray dog took up residence in the parking area behind the newspaper building.

It's so unusual to see a dog running loose in downtown Dallas that the black Labrador retriever mix caught everyone's attention.

But the poor thing was so skittish that you rarely got more than a fleeting glimpse of her as she cowered down and scurried away.

Because no one could get anywhere near her, some kind souls here made do by putting out food and water each day.

Read more »

Earlier this week when I suggested that more pet parents needed to take their kitties to see Santa, I swear this is NOT what I had in mind.

Apparently the owner of a pet bobcat (um, yeah, a BOBCAT, not a cat named Bob) brought him to PetSmart in New Jersey to have his hoiday picture taken. During the photo shoot, the big kitty chomped down on Santa Claus.

Ouch. Way to make it to the naughty list, kitty.

According to a story on the pressofatlanticcity.com Web site, the PetSmart store was hosting the photo event Sunday to benefit a beagle rescue group when a woman walked through the store with an "odd-looking cat." Joan Kerr, president of the rescue group, said she was busy with the dogs up for adoption and did not approach the strange feline, but someone told her it was a bobcat.

"It had absolutely huge paws, like 3 inches around," Kerr is quoted in the report.

Jonathan Bebbington said he was playing Santa Claus and holding pets for pictures, when a woman brought what appeared to be a bobcat or some sort of wildcat-hybrid to him at about 11:30 a.m.

"The poor thing was terrified with the dogs" in the area, but volunteers got the animal on his lap for a picture, Bebbington said. Then the cat got out of control.

"It bit my wrist and my hand several times. It actually drew blood," Bebbington said. "It had very powerful jaws and big teeth."

 Bebbington estimated the cat, named Benny, weighed about 30 pounds, and was "still a kitten." The owner told him Benny would grow to be about 55 pounds.

By time the picture was developed and a volunteer turned to hand it to the owner, the woman and the cat had disappeared, Kerr said.

"Her last words were 'I have a permit and the cat has all his vaccines,'" Kerr said.

The woman told people in the store that she had bought the cat from a breeder in Wyoming for $1,500 and had it shipped to New Jersey, Kerr said.

"I don't want anything to happen to the cat. It's a beautiful animal and was naturally scared," Bebbington said. But he does wish the owner would come forward with the animal's medical records so that he might be spared a series of rabies shots.

PetSmart has offered to pay his medical bills, Bebbington said.

Bebbington said he has played Santa Claus for several years and has never been bitten by a pet before Sunday. The worst thing to happen was that a small dog urinated on him*.

Bebbington is being more compassionate about this incident than I think I would be. I am not sure I would voluntarily hold a predatory, woods-dwelling critter for a flash photo, and I sure would be upset if the little beast bit me and the owner just left without an offer to pay the medical bills and produce the cat's vaccination records.

The report did not indicate if the owner even apolgized for her "cat" taking a bite of Santa. Coal in her stocking this year, for sure.

So, to all you kitty lovers out there who said you wouldn't take your feline for a Santa photo for fear of the ensuing chaos, you now know you were right to follow your instincts. I am pretty sure bobcats eat kitty cats. Benny might have wanted another snack before he left the store.

(Photo from www.pressofatlanticcity.com)

(*Okay, so now I feel a little better that Dexter only peed on Santa's chair, not directly on Santa.)

Yesterday's Happy Wag print column was about gift ideas for pets and pet parents this holiday season.

My boss, Thai, visiting Santa last year.

I recommended the FURminator, which we have discussed at length here at the blog. It's a great tool and we have seen a signigicant reduction in the pounds of hair that embeds our carpets, hardwood floors and furniture at Chez Nelson since we started FURminating our furry ones. Now I deal with managable little dust bunnies instead of big, scary dust bisons.

I also mentioned making homemade treats, which is what I will stuff our dogs' stockings with, and making donations to local animal rescue groups. You can make donations to national groups like the Humane Society of the US or the American SPCA, but I would rather give my money directly to a group in Roanoke that I know is helping pets and families in my community.

And I wrote that giving a live animal as a surprise gift is not a good idea, especially amidst the hubub of the holidays. A pet is such a personal choice, I can't really see making it for someone else by way of a surprise gift; it would be like an arranged marriage or a blind date that lasts for 10 to 20 years.

What are your ideas for holiday gifts for the pets and pet lovers in your life? Do you wrap up presents for your pets, stuff their stockings, or just let them play with the discarded wrapping paper*?

Share your ideas for creative gift giving for critters and the people who love them.

(*Be careful to keep an eye on pooches and kitties playing with ribbon and make sure they don't eat it. Stringy stuff can get wrapped up in the intestines and can cause some serious problems. I had a friend that spent more than $400 on surgery after her kitty ate tinsel off the tree, and that was back in the 1980s. It would probably be thousands of dollars now.)

The hubby and I spent a few hours helping out with Santa photos at PetSmart yesterday. (That's not my hubby in the Santa suit. He would want me to note that.) The photo shoot this past weekend was run by Star City Greyhound Adoptions.

We got to meet some really sweet pups and pet parents, but no one brought any kitties for a photo op with the Jolly Old Elf. What's up with that, cat lovers?

You still have a chance to get your pet photographed with Santa. Bring your pooches and/or kitties to the Valley View or Christiansburg stores on the next two Saturdays or Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to get a color print of your pet with Kris Kringle. The photos are $10.95, only $9.95 with a PetPerks discount card, and $5 goes directly to a local animal welfare group.

Facebook status line from a friend of mine this morning and the ensuing comments over the next half hour from me and two other social-network friends:

Friend A thinks the cats have reached a new low.

Me: Cats don't have an answer for "how low can you go?" It's a feline thing, you understand.

Friend B: Are they using the carpeting like TP?

Me: My cat does the butt scoot across the floor. Gross.

Friend A: They treated the gift wrap storage bin as their new litterbox.

Friend C: Wow. That's a new one. Both of them? Like, in tandem? Bad kitties! I hope mine doesn't get any ideas.

Me: They left you little gifts they made themselves. They just lacked the opposable thumbs it takes to use the wrapping paper. Don't be such a Scrooge.