Friday, February 29, 2008

We've had some tough news in the animal world this week, with the Bush administration pushing through legislation that would de-list the gray wolf as a species protected under the endangered species act. Eleven conservation groups plan to challenge that division in court; I know we'll all be throwing our full support behind them. You can read more about this soon on our Web site or at Defenders of Wildlife; our March updates will be coming soon, including the introduction of a new columnist, aptly named "Wolf."


On a more close-to-home note, a friend of ours had a real scare this week when her cat, Lilla, had to be rushed to the vet. Lilla was once featured when someone sent in an Honorable Mention photo of her for our site, and she is currently in our Photo Archives. It turned out that Lilla had very large bladder stones and needed emergency surgery a day later; thankfully, the last word is that Lilla is doing just fine and will be home today. Our friend wrote a poignant essay on the experience, which we'll be posting on our Cats. vs. Dogs page with our March updates. In this case, it's really not Cats vs. Dogs that she's writing about, it's just her love for cats, and her little girl in particular. We all wish Lilla well!

As I write our cats are lounging on the radiators, trying to soak up all the heat they can get during yet another cold, snowy day in Massachusetts. It's Leap Day, but they are considering it just like any other day -- a chance to lie around, have a sauna, maybe wrestle with a toy or two, and demand meals when required.

We're really in need of more photo and essay submissions for our site; March marks the one-year anniversary date of Paws and although our visitor rates are up, we're clearly not prompting enough participation from the outside world. We'd love to have more people on our email list and more submissions to our contests. It's just our way of sharing a love for animals and spreading the word about important issues when they come up.

Have a great Leap Day!

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