Petside Items: Air travel for pets; to spay or not to spay?

Gardeners beware! If your dog is anything like mine, going outdoors is a heavenly treat. Seems like spring brings about all sorts of good sniffs and songbirds that delight the whiskers on my pet. I've noticed he does an extra amount of ground sniffing -- must be all the new seeds sprouting? But I learned today of some dangers lurking in the weeds. It's called Hogweed, and silly us humans - back in the 1900s we thought it to be pretty and ornamental. It wasn't until AFTER it had been shipped in to America, planted and growing like wildfire, that we discovered it causes life-scarring and painful blisters on contact with skin. I spoke with the Science Policy Director of the Weed Science Society of America (yes, who knew), who recommended that pet owners take the same precautions as they would for poison Ivy. "Our pets are slightly more protected against hogweed than humans, because of their fur," said Lee Van Wychen, " but a pet with a bare spot, an open wound or very short-hair may be just as susceptible to brushing up against the foliage and getting blisters." Traveling may be wonderful for humans, but for pets, riding in the cargo section of the plane leaves a lot to be desired. The folks at Air Canada are trying to [be made to] understand that the way to attract more travelers is to make the ride more comfortable for dogs and cats. I'd like to give credit to Air Canada for upgrading the status of pets under 70lbs to carry-on luggage, but they only did so as a result of law imposed by the Canadian Transportation Agency. I suppose we should be grateful that the situation changed 'by any means necessary,' but I'm not exactly sure why Air Canada management feels compelled to opt for an appeal?. Air Canada may have a challenge ahead in fighting this one. According to a report issued by The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Canada's neighbors (Americans), spent more than $41 billion last year on their pets, and I bet that includes travel carrier bags. On the West Coast, there's a brouhaha over the neuter/spay laws. Bob Barker, the long-time host of the television game show "The Price Is Right," recently spoke out against Concerned Dog Owners of California (CDOC), a non-profit group formed to support responsible dog ownership. Speaking of a ruling Barker stated, "A group calling itself Concerned Dog Owners of California has been created for the express purpose of trying to defeat California assemblyman Lloyd Levine in this campaign [to mandate spaying and neutering]. The CDC maintains they are in fact animal rights supporters and believe in responsible pet ownership. Send us your local pet news at stories@petside.com