Allergies To Pets And How To Deal With It.

Tolerance - that is the key when a pet owner is dealing with the allergies to their pets. They bring us such joy, but also require a lot of maintenance. i.e. vet care, grooming(if required), bathing(smooth coats), ears cleaned out, attention, exercise, and the most important of all - "TIME."

I found out that 15% of our population is allergic to dogs or cats. And, surprisingly, it is estimated 1/3 of Americans that are allergic to cats, have at least one in the household anyway. It just goes to show just how much some people love their pets. I found another study of 341 adults, allergic to cats or dogs, advised by their personal physicians to get rid of their pets, only 1 out of 5 did. And, another shocking fact: 122 of the people got another pet after a previous pet had died.

Pet companionship, as far as I am concerned, far outweighs the drawbacks of pet allergies for quite a few pet owners. I call those people that are willing to be uncomfortable and take medicine for their allergies, and keep their pets, true animal lovers. They put the animal before themselves to give an animal a safe home and love. Contrary to popular belief, there are no "non-allergenic" breed of dog or cat. Shockingly, even the hairless breeds of both species can be highly allergenic.

Hog-Dog Fighting.

This is something I had never heard of. It boggles my mind what some people think is a sport.

In a hog-dog fight or "hog-dog rodeo," a trained dog attacks a trapped feral hog who is released into an enclosed pit from which there is no escape. To confer an advantage on the dog, fight organizers will either cut off the hog's tusks or outfit the dog in a Kevlar vest. While the crowd cheers, the dog is timed to see how quickly he can pin down the hog by tearing into the hog's snout, ears and eyes. Although hog-dog fight promoters often bill fights as "family entertainment," this bloodsport is closely connected to other crimes and forms of violence in addition to cruelty to animals.


Public exposure of hog-dog fighting and efforts by our Animal Cruelty and Fighting campaign have helped spur a legislative crackdown on hog-dog fighting. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina have passed laws making hog-dog fighting illegal, alongside the blood sports of cockfighting and dogfighting. And the attorneys general in Texas and Florida have delivered opinions stating that hog-dog fights violate their cruelty laws.