Awesome pawsome

Pet lovers have a lot to look forward to as the annual Pedigree & Whiskas Pet Show is all set to leave its paw marks in the city


DUBAI WILL once again be hosting the 20th annual Pedigree & Whiskas Pet Show on February 16th — an event that has easily become the region's most festive day for dog and cat lovers alike.

More than 30,000 visitors and 1,000 dogs are expected to attend the event, hosted by Nad Al Sheba Racing Club, in a day full of entertainment and fun for the entire family.

The Pet Show offers a complete line up of activities and competitions such as Pedigree classes as well as a fun obstacle course for the four-legged friends.

In these highly competitive events, dogs will be vying for prizes in categories such as Best In Show, Best Puppy In Show, and Crossbreed Best In Show.

As intelligence and discipline is tested, one of the most popular segments of competition will prove to be Dog Most Like Owner. In personality as well as appearance, judges will have the task of choosing Dubai’s greatest duo.

As in previous shows, there will a Kids Zone full of recreational games, demonstrations, and a Craft Village with stalls selling a multitude of goods promoting animal care. Children are encouraged to attend the event and learn all about how to maintain a happy and healthy pet.

Due to popular demand in recent years, there has been a refocus on cat care in the Whiskas Tent that will be set up displaying several rare cat species as well as other informative activities. Cat owners are discouraged from bringing their felines to the show due to safety concerns, but those who are willing will have the opportunity to make an adoption.

"The Pedigree and Whiskas Pet Show aims to raise the awareness levels of responsible pet ownership and educate people on the joys of animal companionship, all in a setting that is fun and interactive for the whole family," said Maya Theodory, pet care manager at Mars, the show's sponsors.

While the event is free of charge, patrons who choose to enter their dogs in competition will be charged a nominal fee of Dh30.

Proceeds from the event will benefit charities such as K9 Friends and Feline Friends, whose purpose is to shed light on proper pet care as well as to find adequate homes for Dubai’s growing orphaned pet population.

K9 and Friends currently have 122 dogs in need of a proper home, most of whom were rescued after they were abandoned. The charity stresses the importance of saving these dogs — animals they say bring companionship and love to people all over the region.

It is important to note that the Pet Show is not aimed solely at pet owners, rather it encourages all pet lovers to join in on the activities in support of a worthy cause. For individuals who love dogs but simply lack the resources and space to own and maintain one, a programme has been designed to give participants the opportunity to spend time with a dog once a week. Sponsor-a-walk will have booths set up throughout the arena for anyone who is eager to join.

As excitement grows in anticipation of the 20th anniversary of the Dubai Pet Show, event organiser Maya Theodory is amazed by its remarkable evolution.

"It shows how much Dubai is changing and how much enthusiasm there really is for pets in the Middle East," she says.

EVENT DETAILS

Event: The 20th annual Pedigree & Whiskas Dubai Pet show

Date: Saturday, February 16

Time: 8am - 6pm

Venue: Nad Al Sheba Racing Club

Entry: free; Dh30 registration fee for competitions

Pets allowed: Dogs (No Cats)

For more information go to www.dubaipetshow.com

Hairy Hamish goes from hamster wheel to cinema reel after in his own Great Escape

WHEN five-year-old Sarah Stokes smuggled Hamish the hamster to the cinema, little did she know he’d end up starring in his own Great Escape.
Excited by the screening of Alvin & the Chipmunks, the restless rodent jumped out of his owner’s bag and disappeared beneath the hundreds of seats in the darkened cinema.
The Pangbourne schoolgirl was so worried about telling anyone about returning hamster-less after Hamish’s illicit trip out that it was not until three days later that mum Holly Stokes realised he was not in his cage.
It was only after a top-to-bottom hunt through the house that young Sarah plucked up the courage to own up to smuggling Hamish to the movies.
After a flurry of phone calls to the Showcase cinema in Winnersh, staff found Hamish scurrying beneath the screen.
Mrs Stokes said: "We all thought he had escaped from his cage and was lost in the house but a few days later Sarah admitted she had taken him out for an adventure.
"Sarah's done a few things before but nothing to rival this."
She added: "Someone told me they have rat poison in places like the cinema so I thought he would have been dead but it seems they were animal lovers there."
Igor Geyer, duty manager at the Showcase, said: "I thought it was quite fun to find the hamster.I picked him up and put him in a box with plenty of paper to make him feel safe and comfortable.
"It was quite nice to have him as a pet for a short while but I'm glad we were able to unite the little girl with her hamster."
Hamish is now safely locked in his cage at hom.
"He's absolutely fine," said Holly.
"But Sarah is under threat of death from Rachel if she ever touches him again."

Art Review: 'Urban Living' gadgets electrify

By Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wood Street Galleries continues to be the top local spot to see artists who are working in innovative ways with current technology.

Curator Murray Horne -- past presenter of such headline-grabbing notables as Stelarc in a Web-fed performance and Eduardo Kac of fluorescent green rabbit fame -- batches five works under the title "Urban Living," a show inspired by the increasing numbers of Downtown residents who may be looking for "options for shaping their domestic and social lives."

Whether Golden Triangle homesteaders embrace the options exhibited or run for the nearest Ethan Allen store will probably depend upon their comfort level with wires and blinking lights. But don't underestimate the appeal of electronic gadgets: Witness the demand for Sony's robotic dog Aibo (which means "pal" in Japanese and is an acronym for Artificial Intelligence roBOt) when it was released in 1999.

The seven robotic dogs of French artist France Cadet's "Dog [Lab] 01," while sharing Aibo's animal aspects, have critical baggage that the latter doesn't harbor.

Cadet has altered the physical look and programming of her "dogs" to make commentary on actual biotechnology experiments being carried out in the scientific community. In Plexiglas pens lined with artificial grass, they move about, tilt heads, bend, stare with lighted eyes and emit barks or other sounds. Each comes with a chart detailing "genetic origin" and "characteristics" that explain pedigree and research application.

The genetic origin of the hybrid, whiskered "Copycat," for example, is 50 percent dog and 50 percent cat. Characteristically, this "new species combines the independence and cleanliness of a cat" with "the affectionate and playful nature of a dog" to create the perfect pet.

More controversial is "Dolly" -- whose mooing, horns and black spots on white hide emphasize the 15 percent cow in this mix that also fictively includes 50 percent dog, 30 percent ewe and 5 percent sheep. She's suffering from BSE, or Mad Cow Disease, and periodically her knees buckle and she falls over with a thump and whines before eventually righting herself. A study of Dolly's genetic makeup, Cadet proposes, could lead to the prevention of the DNA deterioration and side effects associated with cloning, such as susceptibility to Mad Cow, premature aging and the like.

Among the others, the two human ears on the back of "Flying Pig" reference Stelarc's implantation of a third ear onto his arm and "GFP Puppy" draws on the green fluorescent jellyfish protein Kac placed in his bunny (though this phosphorescent-coated specimen lacks the vivid glow).

Cadet's "dogs" have succeeded in generating reaction and discussion, raising awareness of the "brave new world" potential of transgenic manipulations but also the wrath of the British National Farmers Union, which felt the Mad Cow piece was insensitive to their grief.

For those who don't warm up to a plastic dog clunking about the house, perhaps an elf in a potted plant would appeal.

The twittering coming from five trees, some in leaf and some in bud, sounds like a flock of birds settling in for the night. But it's actually coming from small, solar-powered, "electronic life forms" (elfs) by Pascal Glissmann and Martina Hofflin that are placed amongst the branches.

Here, surely, the disjunct between man and machine is readily drawn. But, amazingly, these little packages of circuity have their own charm, illustrating how certain signals elicit deeply programmed responses in our own species.

Other works are Information Lab's sparkling "Cell Phone Disco" (bring your cell phone to light up these walls) and Roman Kirschner's mysterious "Root," an effervescing tank resembling a cross between a block of amber and a dim pond interior. It produces sound generated by the interaction between flowing electricity and crystal growth. Sabrina Raaf's smart "Translator II: Grower" is a small "rover vehicle" that paints rows of grass upon the wall, its lushness and height proportional to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by visitors.

While such work has its problems -- batteries run down, switches break, a sensor that responds well in its original environment is sluggish in a less controlled space -- it's important to remember that the field is relatively new and that tweaks are part of the territory. As with experimental video of the 1960s, which has evolved to include sophisticated and arresting work, the future of electronic art is wide open and full of promise.

"Urban Living" continues through April 5 at 601 Wood St., Downtown. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is free; 412-471-5605 or woodstreetgalleries.org.

Counting update



At the end of her Artist of the Year exhibition at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Delanie Jenkins' hair count was 14,264 strands totaling 131,0131/8 inches (10,918 feet, 3,639 yards, 2.07 miles). Jenkins had been "splitting and counting hairs" in performance during the run of her show. Having counted 11,280 strands totaling 105,3737/8 inches previous to opening day, she completed tallying the first of three ponytails clipped from her head "at the very last moment" of the final day. Jenkins plans to continue the count as part of a workshop she's conducting at Hendrix College in Arkansas this month, and with the help of interns in Pittsburgh after that.

Post-Gazette art critic Mary Thomas may be reached at mthomas@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1925.
First published on February 6, 2008 at 12:00 am

Puppy Mills Busted Here, There, And Everywhere, And What You Can Do

You need do no more than search the words "puppy mill" in the news to find that they are still very much in existence. Puppy mills (also called puppy farms) are large-scale dog breeding facilities that operate under breeding conditions below what are considered humane. Without going into detail on the sad things that occur in these mills, it should be enough for you to know that puppy farms result in serious health issues, temperament problems, and inbreeding defects.

With up to 25% of the homeless and available animals in shelters being purebred, it raises the question: why do so many people, including celebs that we look up to in other respects, go to substandard breeders for their pets?

The first step in everyone helping these animals is to make sure that if you are looking for a pet, you should always consult with the local animal shelters in your area, and/or classified listings of homeless pets from a trusted source (we suggest PetFinder.com).

There's a list we published previously of other How To Make A Difference actions on this topic, but here is a new one for you if you've already considered all of the others.

We cannot urge you enough: please help these puppies all over the world by making a decision to make a difference. Here's to the day when no results came up on that search.

Getting serious about pampering pooches

From finance to Fido, Elena Gretch's foray into the world of pet care is unconventional.

Her prelude to launching her own pet training company, It's a Dog's Life, involved a hard and fast eight years working at the New York Stock Exchange trading derivatives. Then in 2005, six months after she and her husband became first-time pet owners, the 32-year-old discovered a new professional calling - to be a stay-at-home mom for her Portuguese water dog and dive into the $40 billion pet care industry.

"We had this hard-core New York City life. With our schedules it was impossible to service all the needs we had. Having a dog was the first time I had perspective of my lifestyle and it inspired us to work for animals," Gretch said.
She initially started the business with the simple premise of offering a dog walking service.

Conveniently, she was able to grow her client base out of her Greenwich Village apartment, where there are numerous pet residents. "But then I set out to become more educated and studied dog training and animal behavior," Gretch said.

In 2006, she became a certified pet dog trainer - one of just 18 in Manhattan, she said. Today, It's a Dog's Life (itsadogslifeny.com) has evolved, offering private dog walking, exercise sessions and overnight care for the city's dogs and cats. Gretch and her nine trained staff members now service some 75 clients in various neighborhoods. Private dog walking runs $38 an hour, while a one-hour training session costs $85.

Gretch said she charges slightly higher rates than the average dog walker because of the level of personalized attention and employee expertise. Pet owners in New York are also more accustomed to spending big bucks on their animals these days. Through her own studies, Gretch discovered that the average pet owner in Manhattan spends $7,000 a year on pet services.

The number one training lesson for a young New York City dog? Social skills, Gretch said.

For new puppy owners, Gretch recommends they take their pups outside to become familiar with the air and to meet children and other dogs. She understands this is a modern approach and not one traditional pet experts may suggest.

"Veterinarians will say not to take out dogs until they have all their shots," Gretch said. "But the amount of sociability that's given up in the formative years can really hurt them in the long run."

Lucky charmer scampers in

Around this time every year, a certain animal zodiac sign gets the spotlight. This year is no different: Ladies and gentlemen, we present the Rat.
THE cunning rat, as folklore tells it, made it to become the first animal of the Chinese horoscope by piggy backing on another animal’s efforts.
What happened was the legendary Jade Emperor invited 12 animals to participate in a race across a river to determine their positions on the Chinese calendar.However, the rat used brain rather than brawn – he hitched a ride on what it perceived was the mightiest swimmer. Just before the buffalo reached the other bank, the rat jumped off the buffalo’s back and crossed the finish line ahead of the poor puffing beast.
An interesting footnote here, according to chineseastrologyonline.com, is that the cat was one of the original 12 participants. So why is it missing from the Chinese calendar? Well, that ratty fellow told the cat that the race would be held at another time. When the cat failed to show up for the race, the Jade Emperor sent his official to earth to grab the first animal that he saw – which happened to be a pig being carried to market by a farmer. When the cat eventually realised that it had been tricked out of celestial fame, it swore to go rat hunting forever....
This story also reflects the luck of people born in the Year of the Rat. Dr Christopher Lau, an expert lecturer/author from Global Fengshui Net Sdn Bhd, who accurately predicted that our stock market would hit record highs in 2007, says that a rat has “selfless people” around him to help his career along. Does that sound like the buffalo?
The rat is regarded as a symbol of good luck and wealth in China and Japan. According to chinese.astrology.com, it is respected for its quick wits, stylishness and charming exterior.
“However, behind that sweet smile, a rat is a keen and unapologetic promoter of its own agenda,” notes the website. Ahem... that seems like how that rodent got first place in the Chinese calendar!
Monetary greed can become a problem if the rat isn’t careful. But if it often hoards, a rat can also be very generous to those in their pack, namely friends and family members who have proven their loyalty. It can also be quick-tempered and sharp-tongued, something that people will quickly learn to love or hate.
The rat’s keen mind always seeks out new knowledge, to be stored away for future use. If boredom sets in the rat is no fun at all, but then again, it usually knows how to keep itself entertained.
The website adds, “A valuable lesson for the rat is to learn to consider others above themselves, at least sometimes. (In doing so), the rat might well find true happiness.”

Global Fengshui’s Lau has similar views. A rat is sociable, makes friends easily and is highly persistent. However, for the coming year, he is advised to “be sincere” in everything he does so that it will be reciprocated.
Now, doesn’t this all sound exactly like Templeton, the rat in the movie Charlotte’s Web, whose mean spirit is in sharp contrast to Wilbur, the piglet with the heart of gold? Yet, in the end, the rat overcomes his own selfishness for the greater happiness of all.
A fascinating piece of Chinese folklore involving the creature is the “Rats’ Wedding Day”. In his book, Rat, Kwok Man-ho recounts that once upon a time in China, on a peaceful night at the Wah Chiu family home, the father suddenly heard strange noises coming from a room that had been locked for years. When he peered in, he saw an amazing sight – a traditional marriage procession of rats, dressed in fine robes.
A few days later, a Taoist priest came by and told the father that the house had an evil spirit and needed to be cleansed. When the priest was done, he told the father that he must leave out food and drink to thank the household god. However, the father ignored the priest’s advice and the very next day, the house was overrun by rats, driving the family out.
In another book, Chinese Creeds and Customs, by V.R. Burkhardt, it is added that the 19th day of the first month of the lunar calendar is thus observed in some Chinese households as the “Rats’ Wedding Day”. Everyone goes to bed early so as not to disturb the revels of their four-footed tenants. An offering is put out to induce the more benevolent rodents to exercise restraint over their more unruly brothers, and to moderate their appetites during the year.
If a very large rat takes up residence in a house, it is treated as an honoured guest, for this is the Money Rat which will attract wealth, more than compensating for his board and lodging.
Paintings of a rat’s wedding procession were traditionally hung up at home during Chinese New Year, notes the book, Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. These would often feature a charming rat bride and groom accompanied by musicians, lantern-bearers, gong-beaters and palanquin carriers. If the rat’s wedding went undisturbed, it was believed that the grateful rats would leave the humans alone for the rest of the year.
What about rats in real life? Are they in any way associated with their Chinese horoscope characteristics?
Take “single-minded get-ahead instincts”. The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is, according to the BBC website, the “most widespread terrestrial mammal” on earth. They originated in the grasslands of China, spread to Europe and eventually, via ships, to the Americas. They are now so common that they are found everywhere from sewers, to laboratories and even homes, where they are kept as pets!
Then there is the Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat (Rattus exulans). This fellow is incapable of swimming long distances yet it managed to spread from its home in South-East Asia to as far as Hawaii, Fiji and even Easter Island. They accomplished this by hitching rides, no, not on the back of cosmic Chinese buffaloes, but inside the paddle-driven canoes of Polynesians as they migrated eastwards.
While the celestial rat constantly seeks out knowledge to chew on, the earthly rat incessantly seeks out food. Polynesian rats are omnivorous, eating insects, centipedes, spiders, worms, snails, fruit, seeds, leaves, roots and sometimes even lizards and birds. They are considered as pests in this region, as they feed on sugar cane, coconuts, cocoa and other crops.
The global “success story” of the rats has been due to their extraordinary ability to adapt to different environments, and by riding on hard-working “buffaloes” – humans who conquered the earth while throwing away everything from caveman food scraps to half-eaten mee goreng.
Rats aren't just good at going forth and multiplying. They are really clever – just as the Chinese horoscope make them out to be.
Lab rats, for example, have proved valuable in psychological studies of learning and other mental processes. The researchers, Foote, Allison and Jonathon, noted last year in the journal Current Biology that rats actually possess “metacognition”, a mental ability previously only found in humans and some primates.
For animals, metacognition is a quantum leap in intellectual capabilities as it involves “thinking about thinking”. This means developing a plan before action (“What should I do?”), monitoring the plan during execution (“Am I on the right track?) and even evaluating the plan after (“How can I improve?”).
So the rat is clever. In fact, it has been brilliant in seeking out profitable alliances. But perhaps it’s not all selfishness? After all, thousands of rats have “sacrificed” their lives for medical research. As for live rats, the Chinese horoscope does point out that it is generous to its friends. And that’s precisely why rat lovers think that it makes an ideal pet.
“Rats are extremely social! What does this mean for you? Love, love, and more love! They will absolutely beg to be with you. The more time you spend with them, the closer your bond will grow with them. You will be showered with affection!” advocates the website, rattyrat.com
And due to their intelligence, they can be taught tricks and they love games. They are also adorable in riding on your shoulder, grooming you, yawning, hopping around, playing tag and more.
What about that plague stuff? And their reputation as vermin?
After all, in the West, the rat is reviled as a filthy disease carrier, the worst of which was the bubonic plague or Black Death which wiped out some 50 million Europeans in the 14th century. An anti-rat bias has entered the English language. For example, a high-powered lawyer might be “ratted upon” by his own brother about allegedly buying houses and handphones for judges. And people watching the whole proceedings may even “smell a rat”.
Despite all that, it's not really the critters' fault. For one, the poor rats were merely unwitting carriers of plague-causing fleas, and they themselves also succumbed to the disease. Secondly, who asked us humans to leave all that food lying around? Besides, they can be domesticated, litter trained and end up as extremely clean animals, grooming themselves more frequently than cats.
“Rats love to please. They can easily learn your schedule. Many people feel their personality is like that of a dog, and many people refer to their rats as pocket puppies,” enthuses rattyrat.com

140 Vendors Gather For LP Arts & Crafts Country Fair

Barbara Shrewsbury, right, says Red, 3, a 42-pound part-Chow, is personable and playful. He's been neutered and has had his shots. Haley Sterling and the Key Club are volunteers at the Humane Society, washing and walking dogs and cats several times a week.

LAKE PLACID — Downtown was crowded, usually so for a Saturday morning. Going west on Interlake, half the parking spaces were filled for a few blocks, but closer to Main Avenue, they were all full and people were walking toward DeVane Circle.
It's the Lake Placid Arts and Crafts Country Fair, and by 9 a.m., thousands were already gathered to check out the Panama hats, jewelry, wooden parrots on perches, and wooden walking sticks with birds for handles.
At the west side of the traffic circle, the Highlands County Cattlewomen were serving beef sandwiches and potato salad, the Lutherans were heating brats and kraut, the Rotary Club was frying burgers and chicken, and Venus United Methodist Church was serving turkey wraps and meatball subs.
A few tents away, Norman and Pat Barker were selling handmade quilts. Where are they made? The Barkers live in Etowah, in Southeastern Tennessee, where quilting is a tradition, she explained. Other quilters are from neighboring northern Alabama and western Georgia.
Most of the quilts – kings and queens – are in the $300 range, baby quilts are $100, and there are also twins, fulls and odd sizes.
Ironically, as she was talking. "Rocky Top" started playing, and Pat Barker couldn't help but comment on what has become an anthem for her home.
The music was coming from the Caladium Cloggers, one of two groups of square dancers who must get aerobic during their 30-minute shows. These women don't politely glow, they sweat thunderously, like the men, but it's because their tapping footwork with those white loafers was fast. Way faster than the average dancer could keep up with. That's why the crowd was clapping during the performance, and applauding afterward.
How Much Is That Doggie?
Walk past the Humane Society tent. That's Red who was greeting fair-goers.Red was literally Barbara Shrewsbury's pet project on Saturday.
"Red's been with us for over a year," said the president of the board for the south Sebring animal rescuers.
"It breaks my heart because he's such a good dog. They just don't know his potential," she said. A 3-year-old part-Chow and maybe part Labrador, Red is one of four dogs and two cats the Humane Society brought to the fair this year, hoping – sometimes against hope – for adoptions.
So, what about Red?"He's very intelligent," Shrewsbury said, knowing this may be Red's big chance to find that great home with loving owners. "He was well trained. He knows how to walk on a leash. He knows how to sit and heel. He does well with other dogs. He's very playful. He'll fetch anything. He loves to cuddle, and he's a good kisser."
A good kisser. An important quality to mention. Surely, someone's going to find that vital in a canine companion.
For more information, call 655-1522.
Also on the bill are the Mountain Dew Cloggers, Grace Harmony gospel music, and the German band Woodhaven Music Makers, talks by state troopers, wildlife from Vanishing Species and facepainting by Toby's Clowns. The entertainment closes at 4 p.m.

Coping with the growing stray animal problem

It's tough not knowing where your next meal is coming from...but still better than being picked up by the animal control warden..... (File photo by Vince Rosati)
If the fact that 71% of the pets received by the Joplin Humane Society are eventually euthanized or that the number of stray pets through the years is trending upwards along with your tax dollars, then you as a Joplin citizen would be pleased that a newly revised chapter of the animal code is now in force.
Effective January 1, 2008 changes were made to Chapter 18 - Animals of the Joplin City Code by an ordinance passed by the city council last November. Statistics are revealing that of the 4557 animals in the care of the Joplin Humane Society in 2006, only 12 percent were reclaimed and 14 percent adopted.
While the overall theme of the revisions was to reduce the number of animals brought to the Joplin Humane Society, Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department, said that other changes redefined what was considered a "potentially dangerous" animal.
As an example, Pekarek spoke of someone who was afraid to mow the last three to four feet of her yard because it was near a fence in which a neighbor's dog leaned and snarled. He said that "acts aggressive" has been watered down to include "causes fear." The new language, he said, helps the court deal with problems occuring in one's own backyard.
The January 2008 edition of "The Joplin Citizen" had rather strong language about "stray cats not to be fed," but Pekarek qualified the warning. While the revision is aimed at the one person feeding 15-30 cats and causing a nuisance in a neighborhood, anyone feeding one stray cat whose breeding may be controlled, that is not a risk of disease or injury and does not cause a neighbor to complain, is not subject to the code.
Changes aimed to reduce the animal population that will hit pet owners' pocketbooks include an increase in the annual license fee for dogs or cats not altered from $5.00 per animal to $20.00. In addition, owners retrieving their pets from the care of the Joplin Humane Society will be paying an increased fee of 45-cents to $4.70 daily for normal care or 50-cents to $6.00 for quarantined care. The increase, according to Pekarek, was to allow daily charges to be set based on changes in the consumer price index.
Most revisions attempting to reduce the number of animals that potentially could run at large require citizen complaints for enforcement. New regulations state that each residential household would be limited to one litter of cats or dogs per year and any young produced in a household already containing the allowed maximum of four cats and/or dogs must be found new owners before the eleventh week...but not on public or private property without appropriate permission.
A new section has been added dealing with outdoor cats. "Any cat allowed to be in the outdoors and unsupervised for any period of time [as if cats allow supervision when outdoors] shall [not must?] be spayed or neutered," section 18-96 states...unless "a licensed veterinarian states in writing that the animal is unfit to undergo the required surgical procedure due to an extreme health condition" [but then why would the cat be allowed to wander?].
Hikers, especially those who use the Campbell Parkway paths, might be disappointed to find out that a pooper scooper section has not be added by the council. Pre-existing language may be found regarding the disposal of litter and droppings from animals like chickens but pet owners who walk their dogs along hiking paths still are not required to remove their dogs' poop. [See an article posted here.]
The changes so far have not been posted on the city's website. However, those interested in becoming acquainted with the code now or when the changes are made should go here.