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Baby Macaw Gets Bottle Fed!

PetSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:30:32 -0700

Mmmm, there's something utterly heartwarming about baby animals getting fed . . . and this bird looks to be enjoying that meal as well. Check out more pictures to learn all about the species both in the wild and in captivity.

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Bust a Move: Can Your Pets Dance?

PetSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:00:59 -0700

I don't normally listen to NPR, but I caught a story the other day about animals that dance and just couldn't turn it off. In conjunction with the radio program, they put together a video on their website where I could see some of the animals that were featured on the show. One of the amazing dancing animals was a white cockatoo named Snowball. Unable to tear myself away from Snowball's smooth moves, I searched and found tons of videos of him on YouTube, including an appearance on David Letterman, and a hilarious Japanese game show. Snowball sure gets around! Check him out in action below, and then tell me: Do your pets dance?

Birds (Not) Behaving Badly

PetSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:05:01 -0700

No birds were harmed in the shooting of these pictures – after all, they're the well-trained professionals of Bird Island in Shenyang, China. The parrots, cockatoos, and other fluttering fellas perform heroic sport feats. From bowling and bicycling to weight lifting and tightrope walking, it's all there. If you've got a pet bird at home – maybe a non-Wordy Birdy – do you think your pal would perform this way . . . for lots of treats, of course?

See more pictures of crazy bird tricks when you read more.

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Pet Pic of the Day: Scarlet Upside Down

PetSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:30:02 -0700

See? You don't have to be a dog or cat to be the Pet Pic of the Day! Take our friend Scarlet, for example. She's an African Grey Parrot who loves to hang upside down - she's quite the acrobat!

Congrats to Scarlet and mizteriuz for being chosen as our Pet Pic of the Day! Don't forget to submit your favorite photos to our Pet Pics group - you could see your furry or feathered friends on the pages of PetSugar!

Hello, I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura . . . Now Take Me Home!

PetSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:30:40 -0700

Forget "ringing" like a cell phone - this bird has even more amazing things come out of his mouth. When the African grey parrot was found and rescued two weeks ago in Nagareyama, Japan, the officials promptly brought him into the police station and were about to start the interrogation process. Turns out this bird was just not talking . . . hey, maybe he was waiting for his lawyer! What happened next? Find out when you read more.

After leaving the parrot in this ~~cell~~ cage for a night, they transferred it to a nearby vet hospital hoping they could care for the bird and begin searching for clues about his family. Suddenly the parrot became a regular chatterbox, telling the veterinarian "I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," and provided his full home address - even street number! - and sang songs to entertain the hospital staff. In a totally happy ending, the address checked out, and the wordy birdy was returned to the Nakamuras! The family began teaching Yosuke his name and address about two years ago - makes a lot of sense when birds don't often have ID tags or microchips standardly embedded!

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The Scoop: Come Quick . . . The Bird Is Ringing!

PetSugar — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:00:58 -0800

Now sometimes I jump when my own phone rings, but imagine jumping when you hear your phone ring, only to realize that it never rang at all! This bird, Billy, is the culprit behind that very scenario with his owner, Stuart McNae, both seen here. The Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot is able to perfectly learn and mimic ringtones . . . so perfectly, in fact, that his owner has had to change the mobile phone's sound five times already! To make matters worse, Billy also likes to wait until Stuart leaves the room to copy the sound, and even imitates laughter when he dashes back to answer. The bird has already learned the Nokia theme, Lou Bega’s Mambo Number 5, the BBC Match of the Day tune, Soul Limbo by Booker T and the MGs and Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry . . . I can't think of trickier tones to test such a qualified creature with, can you?

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Is There a Dark, Manipulative Side to "Cute"?: In the LINK of an Eye

PetSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:00:17 -0800

Does our culture's cuteness obsession have a dark side? - TrèsSugar
Great tips to train a parrot - Paw Nation
Kritter Kondo brings the indoors out with safe play spaces for teensy furballs - Haute or Not?
Generous couple opens Rolling Dog Ranch as a haven for disabled animals - People Pets
Francesca and Sharkey scare off Frenchie impostors - The Daily Wag
Cute kitty eats from chopsticks - Urlesque
In a lifetime, dogs cost more than cats - Love Meow

Source: Flickr User Martin Pettitt

"Swine Flu" From a Vet's Perspective: In the LINK of an Eye!

PetSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:20:22 -0700

“Swine influenza” from a vet’s perspective (now, can we all stop blaming the pigs?) – Dolittler
Will Bo Obama be as rambunctious as his big brother Solo? – Paw Nation
What do you know about hairballs? – Wag Reflex
Mummified puppy found in an Egyptian tomb – Discovery News
Precautions to help prevent dog bites – Dogster
Happy Birthday, Chanel . . . the world's oldest dog, not the designer – Celebrity Dog Watcher
Francesca and Sharkey check out Parrots and Company – The Daily Wag
What does motherly love mean for pets? – PetMD
Platform C tower lets kitty sit pretty up high – moderncat

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Interview With the Referee of Puppy Bowl V (Part II)

PetSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:15:01 -0800

We already learned a bit of background on the pups and the referee in Part I, now let's hear more about the action, including this year's "streaker" (!) on the field, in the interview below.
PetSugar: What do you say to yourself when you get up that morning?
Ref: I look myself in the mirror for a long time, in the eye, and I say: 'This is your calling, this is what you're meant to do.' It's what I'm born into, my destiny.

PetSugar: Do you have any secret weapons on hand in case things get a little hairy?
Ref: Just experience and I consult the Puppy Bowl referee guidebook. I like to keep a little peanut butter behind the ears sometimes, but otherwise it's just my strong bond with the dogs and they know who's boss when I'm out there.

PetSugar: How many pups play at a time?
Ref: There are 10 to 12 dogs out there but we do have substitutions. You'll see that on the field, if a puppy's acting up and has too many penalties or is being a dirty dog, I have to eject him from the game. We give everyone a fair shot and I tell you, the puppies we have this year are some of the cutest but also you'll see there's so much action, touchdowns being scored, tackles, it's an exciting year for Puppy Bowl.

PetSugar: Which penalty do you see most and how do you keep order?
Ref: There's two: The first is unnecessary ruffness (r-u-f-f, of course) and then the other one is a personal foul. As you can imagine, there are a lot of foul things on that field with puppies. But I throw my yellow flag on it – it's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.

Learn about the special guest performer before Puppy Bowl V, kitty halftime, and this year's "streaker" (!) when you read more.

PetSugar: Is there anything surprising lined up?
Ref: We're bringing out all the stops this year. But, even though we try to keep the show G-rated (and, as the ref, I try to obviously keep control of the game), one of the puppies got extra frisky. He went down into its birthday suit and we have a streaker, a Chinese Crested. I don't know what he was trying to prove but once I saw it on the field, I chased it around, covered it up and I made sure we retained order on the field.

PetSugar: You've convinced me, but can you sum up why our readers should tune in?
Ref: Well, we clear out the puppies to set up the halftime show. We bring in the kittens and it's 15 minutes of adorableness so, if you're not a puppy person (which I can't imagine you not being), then you have a chance to see these cute little kittens doing their thing. And if you're not a dog person or a cat person, you have Pepper the parrot singing the most beautiful rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" that you'll ever hear – it'll bring a tear to your eye, you'll see. Also this year, if you've missed Puppy Bowls I-IV, if you're living under a rock, this one is celebrating the fifth anniversary with Hall of Fame moments from the first four. So that's even more reason to watch because you can see the best, cutest, friskiest moments form the first four all in one amazing sitting at Feb.1 at 3 p.m..

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Franklin: Pet of the Day

PetSugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:00:15 -0700

This kissing cutie is Franklin. The special birdie is an Alexandrine Parakeet, a green parrot known for its chattering, mimicking abilities. The proud pet of lola555, she says he's a sweet and happy bird with an awesome, affectionate personality. In addition to singing and talking up a storm at home, her pet loves snacking on dried and fresh fruit, nuts, veggies, and peanut butter! Oh yeah, and he's kissy tweety, too – see him show his love (and more) when you read more.

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