It’s that time of year again. Every summer, usually mid-sizzle, I write an article about my first Frenchie, Marcel, and his accidental death in a swimming pool.

I really don’t need to say much beyond the basic fact of his death (at a barbecue with over ten people in attendance, poolside) to hammer home the point that dogs die in pools every day—even when people are watching, playing with them,...

In a country in which supposedly 93 percent of pet owners describe their pets as members of the family, where 70 percent of its pet-owning citizens sleep with their dogs and 78 percent with their cats, in which almost three out of four married pet owners claim to greet their pet before their spouse at the end of a long day, I say…where’s the humanity?

No, I’m not complaining about the high...

With today’s post Dolittler turns 1,000!—measured in posts, that is. Considering that my average post is about 600 words long that’s 600,000 words, all submitted in your honor, my Dear Readers.

To celebrate this milestone I’d like to thank my most influential readers, supporters and other helpers-along-the-way:

PetConnection: No single entity has contributed to the success of Dolittler as...

I’m hitting the stacks of my local library tomorrow in the hopes of uncovering some new gems in the genre I call “pet-lit.” In the past, I’ve explained that I can’t get enough of great pet-lit…perhaps because there ain’t much of it out there.

The White Fangs and Black Beautys of the past are exactly that…way in the past. Why is it we can’t find great new pet-lit now that books are so...

OK so this is not my normal gig. But I’ve agreed to do it…and I’ll damn well going to have fun doing it.

Tonight at 9 (EST) I’ll be making myself available on the PetHobbyist chatroom for a community grilling. And you're all invited (you don't have to become a member).

No, it’s probably not like that. Not an ‘attack the vet’ thing, but a slightly intimidating adventure nonetheless—not least...

This is the time of year when pet sitters begin keeping multiple-daily vigils on increasingly large groups of pets. And for that—not to mention their newfound professionalism in the 21st century—I thank them.

The family away to Argentina for the month…

The kids at camp and the adults in the Keys…

Without pet sitters most pet owners in my area (South Florida) would suffer the heat, humidity, fleas...

One of my family members owns a small building with several apartment units just one block off one of the busiest roads in South Florida. He’s got a feral cat problem—dead kittens in the roadway, smelly toms around the pool area and children chasing potentially aggressive cats.

It’s bad for everyone, he believes: the cats and the humans. Most of the neighbors are complaining about the sudden...

1-Thou shalt follow the directions the veterinarian has offered and indicate thy unwillingness or inability to do so (when applicable).

2-Thou shalt not commit the sin of silence. Asking questions will get thee further than speechlessness.

3-Thou shalt research thy pet’s condition upon its discovery. 

4-Thou shalt not call the veterinary staff with absurd questions or demands to speak to the...

Less than six weeks after their arrival my two gorgeous guinea pigs are happy as clams—well, almost. A lot has happened since I last wrote of them.

For starters, Orange had a crisis. This pig never acted quite right and a week after living in our home she began to lose her balance, her eyes started to seek two separate points low down and away from one another (ventrolateral strabismus), and...

Here’s a light topic to follow a tough week’s woe-is-me stress-fest: Shoes in veterinary practice.

I confess: I love shoes. No, not in the Sex in the City kind of way where shoes are an antidote to lovelessness and the sedative of choice for our collectively obnoxious, whining femininity. (Can you tell I’m not a fan?)

But I still love shoes in a way that I’ll agree has its feminine side (if...