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When your pet is sick, you visit the vet, and when your pet needs exercise, you go to the park, but where do you go when your pet needs spiritual enrichment? A Buddhist temple, of course. On July 26, a collection of sacred Buddhist relics is coming to the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute, and animals are encouraged to share in the karmic riches. Continue reading
With the growing popularity of urban farming come some concerns. What do you do with your chickens once they stop laying eggs? Last February, the city of Eugene adopted a new backyard farming ordinance allowing urban farmers to keep up to six chickens in their backyard, as well as other smaller barnyard animals. Lately, stories of chickens abandoned by overwhelmed urban farmers have been piling up in the national media, but Eugenean chickens can be reassured: It’s still a non-issue in this area. Continue reading
Gazing into the distance like a sea captain through citrine eyes, crouched confidently atop Nate McClain’s head, is Chester, a 9-month-old ring-tailed lemur. McClain, owner of Zany Zoo, a pet store and sanctuary in Eugene, doesn’t bat an eye. He prefers this relative calm to Chester’s more rambunctious hijinks. McClain, who keeps several Patagonian maras (something between a rabbit and a kangaroo), says, “If he gets free, he goes right for one, hops on its back and holds on — 8 seconds on a bucking bronco.” Continue reading
The word pet has meant “a domesticated, fondled young animal,” “a spoiled child,” “offense at being slighted” or, a personal favorite, “breaking wind, fart,” according to philologist Leo Spitzer, who once wrote an entire essay on the etymology of the word. Continue reading
Cutest Ruby Best Dressed Winston Churchill and Bartholomew all dressed for the Sabbath Ugliest No name submitted Honorable Mention Amy the Angry Reindeer Continue reading
Moving to the rhythm of musical composition is as intrinsic to most as breathing. We humans just can’t resist tapping our toes, drumming our fingers, flailing our arms and swaying our hips, and while we’ve all experienced moments of solitary dance that must remain exclusively behind closed doors, in public it still takes two to do-si-do. “Why not tango?” you ask. Well, some folks have partners that aren’t quite capable of showcasing their gancho. These are the people that dance with dogs. Continue reading
If you’re the type of animal lover that doesn’t want to really “pet” your pet, if you’re allergic to felines, disliking of dogs or repulsed by reptilians, then fish are the way to go. And what better way to experience your fishy friends than in a natural setting, like an outdoor pond? Continue reading
Urban homesteading, backyard farming — call it what you will, the movement for self sufficiency and sustainable living is booming. In Eugene neighborhoods from the South Hills to the Whiteaker it seems like every other house sports a chicken coop or custom greenhouse. Soon, the most dedicated local homesteaders may be able to join ranks of urban farming trailblazers elsewhere who are exploring a new way of bringing the farm to the city: raising miniature goats. Continue reading
It happens every summer. Someone makes a quick trip to the mall and leaves her dog in the car “just for a couple minutes.” But the lines get long, the minutes drag on and before long that car sitting in the sun has gotten unbearably hot. A Stanford University study shows that on a 72-degree day a car can heat up to 116 degrees in only an hour. Every summer dogs and even cats get heatstroke, and some die. Continue reading
Eugene Weekly’s Pets 2009 Thinking About Getting a Pet? Adopt. Continue reading