Obama Disappoints

We here at BaxterBoo are disappointed. After the newly minted President-elect's first press conference in November, we caught a serious case of Hopenchange fever when he spent a considerable amount of time emphasizing how important the presidential puppy would be once the First Fam moved into the White House. Earlier, during the election night speech, he even told his daughters that they "have earned the new puppy that will be going with us to the White House."

Here it is, two months after Obama was elected, 10 days after he's moved in, and still no first dog. There's been hemming and hawing over the fact that one of the first daughters has allergies. There was talk of Portuguese Water Dogs and Labradoodles.

Is he waffling on a campaign pledge?

Next thing you know, he'll be backing out on other pre-inauguration promises. Oh, wait...

Apparently, the surgery was just carried out for research purposes. It was done two years ago, and only just now announced as a means of drumming up publicity for the hospital in China. The donor dog was killed as part of the process.

The chief plastic surgeon at the hospital "is now hoping to attract rich westerners for face change surgery."

Disgusting.

So says an MSNBC investigation.

I happen to run an e-commerce store. This means I buy inventory at wholesale inventory. Pet Stores are often tempted to treat their "inventory" as if they're just that. I'm sure there's tremendous pressure to cut costs, and creating your own inventory as cheaply as possible has a nice sound to it. That is, if you're a cold-hearted automaton accountant who only cares about moolah.

These are dogs, Petland, not just SKU's.

It happened with Finding Nemo, and could happen with Disney's upcoming movie, Bolt. All that added exposure and anthropomorphised cuteness makes for one must-have pet.

The movie's American White Shepherd hero, Bolt, is a dog who stars in his own TV show. To all his co-stars, it's just fiction. To Bolt, it's reality. He really believe he's a superhero dog, and he really believes that the girl who stars with him has been abducted by the bad guys. Here's the preview...

So far, it looks like it'll be a good flick. I'm pretty tired of 3D talking animal movies, which have been beaten to death (the movies, not the animals). Most critics, however, are saying that Bolt is a giant leap forward for Disney Animation (as opposed to Pixar, which has been cranking out most of Disney's recent hits).

It looks like American White Shepherd breeders can rejoice in the movie's power to persuade people to take a look at their breed of choice. However, here's where it gets dicey. Once breeds become popular, unscrupulous breeders often seek to cash in at the expense of the dog breed itself.

Golden Retreivers are currently one of the most popular breeds in the world, and have suffered for it. They're prone to certain genetic disorders that come as a result of breeders going for quick money and not being careful in how they produce puppies. Golden Retreivers are a favorite of abusive puppy mills because of how lucrative sales of the breed have become.

Here's hoping that the movie rocks. More importantly, here's hoping that American White Shepherd breeders can handle their newfound popularity responsibly.

Meet Tinks. That's not just Tink's fur that makes him look poofy. Tink weighs over 25 pounds.

Apparently, Tink gained all that weight by cruising the town as a stray and mooching several meals a day from an assortment of kindly neighbors. Now all the poor cat can do is sleep, since he can barely move.

Enter "Pet Fit Club," an effort put together by the UK's PDSA charity. Several program members, Tinks included, are trying to shed a grand total of more than 165 pounds in a competition to see who is the feline world's Biggest Loser.

I'm sure the fitness club endorsements are going to come rolling in any time now. With a Richard Simmons show to follow.