Pets

Do a quick Google Image search of “emotional support animals,” and you’ll see various photos of animals on planes or in airports dressed in vests denoting their purpose. Under the Air Carrier Access Act, passengers needing to travel with an emotional support animal can do so with some basic documentation. 

There are limitations. 

Here’s a sobering statistic from the animal advocacy nonprofit Red Rover: Only 10% of domestic violence shelters accept pets. That means many people fleeing abuse find themselves giving up animals with whom they’ve formed meaningful bonds. And sometimes, those animals themselves are at risk of experiencing abusive behavior. 

Such was the case for Jill and her 10 year old lab-mix named Scarlet. Like Jill, Scarlet is also a domestic violence survivor of the same situation. 

Missouri is home to 22 of the 100 puppy mills on the Humane Society of the United States’ most recent list of known problem dealers, topping the list for the seventh year in a row. Released last week, the “Horrible Hundred” report highlights animal-welfare issues including high puppy death rates, underweight dogs, neglected health needs and other problems.

On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air, guest host Sharon Stevens discussed the topic with Sarah Javier, president and executive director of the Animal Protective Association of Missouri, and John Goodwin, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States’ Stop Puppy Mills Campaign.

Pet owners should take caution when purchasing canned food for their animals, a study from the University of Missouri-Columbia warns. 

Most canned foods are lined with a resin that contains BPA, or Bisphenol-A, an industrial chemical that can seep into the food contents. Research in recent years has suggested it could interfere with brain development, particularly for infants and children. However, there are few studies on pets' exposure to BPA.

Scientists at Mizzou led an experiment where they fed canned food to two groups of dogs that normally eat dry food from a bag. One group was fed canned food advertised as being BPA-free and another group received canned food without that label. Blood and fecal samples revealed that after two weeks, BPA concentrations rose threefold for both groups.

There’s a doggone good reason to watch TV on Super Bowl Sunday, even if you’re not a football fan — or still bitter about the Rams.

St. Louis may not have a home team anymore, but we do have a dog in this fight -- an actual dog, from Wentzville, who’ll take the field in the Animal Planet channel’s annual “Puppy Bowl” on Sunday afternoon.

OK, we get it: publishing a video starring the cats of St. Louis Public Radio employees is completely self-indulgent. But with the Contemporary Art Museum offering its Internet Cat Video Festival July 9-10, we figured we’d better pounce on the chance.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 5, 2013 - Careful on that kitten or puppy for Christmas

While the idea of giving your children that long beg-for pet may create images of Christmas bliss, think first.

Pets take time. Do you have it?

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: July 18, 2008 - Winston the Boxer lives a pretty good life. He has his own room. He only drinks chilled Dasani water. "He won't eat until the food is warmed ahead of time," says Gregg Miller of Oak Grove, Mo. "He's such a demanding little thing."

But like many pet owners around the country, Miller says, "Nothing is too good for my dog."