“THQ Announces Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 - DailyGame.net” plus 2 more |
- THQ Announces Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 - DailyGame.net
- Changes in medicine, mindsets spurring acceptance of disabled pets - Hamilton Spectator
- Thai temple offers Buddhist funerals for pets - Reuters
| THQ Announces Fantastic Pets for Xbox 360 - DailyGame.net Posted: 21 Oct 2010 01:10 PM PDT 10/21/10"Fantastic Pets offers an incredibly high level of interactivity, creativity and originality," said Martin Good, Executive Vice President, THQ Kids, Family, Casual Games, and Global Online Services. "As you discover your pet's personality and become enmeshed within the world, Fantastic Pets becomes more like a personalized adventure and less like a game." About Fantastic Pets Fantastic Pets brings a world of adventure into the living room. Players start with four domestic animals - dog, cat, horse and lizard - that can be morphed into imaginative creations from mystical unicorns to ferocious dragons. Kinect for Xbox 360 technology enables players to step inside the world and onto the screen where they can play and care for their pets. Voice recognition allows players to command their pet throughout mini-games and Talent Shows to reach the professional ranks of a Pet Trainer. Players can unlock news items and activities, in addition to taking pictures of themselves and their pet to share with family and friends. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Changes in medicine, mindsets spurring acceptance of disabled pets - Hamilton Spectator Posted: 21 Oct 2010 03:23 AM PDT RALEIGH, N.C. When Beverly Tucker's dog Tobi ruptured a disc in his back, the veterinarian gave her a stark choice: expensive surgery with little chance of success, or euthanasia. Like a growing number of pet owners, Tucker opted for a third choice thanks to medical advances and shifting attitudes about animal care. She bought a wheeled cart specially fitted for Tobi's hind legs, restoring mobility to her paralyzed pooch. "I would never have my dog put down," Tucker said. "Our option was the wheels, and we're going strong ever since." Pets with disabilities ranging from spinal injuries to deafness still struggle more than healthy counterparts, but their futures are no longer as grim as before. An industry catering to owners of disabled pets has sprung up, offering everything from carts to chiropractors specializing in canine spines. Even in an economic slump, people are willing to pamper their pets. "The pet business has evolved greatly, especially over the last five years," said Leslie May, founder of industry consultant Pawsible Marketing. "When people think of pets as family members, they look for resources to meet their pets' needs." Animal health specialists, rescue volunteers and medical supply makers all say they've seen a growing willingness to adopt or care for pets with ailments that once would have met with certain euthanization. Dianne Dunning, director of the Animal Welfare, Ethics and Public Policy Program at N.C. State University, said that shift has shadowed breakthroughs in veterinary medicine. "You're seeing in many cases now that pets are equivalent in status to children within a family," she said. It was much different 21 years ago, when Buddha, a doberman owned by Ed and Leslie Grinnell, awoke one morning unable to use her hind legs. There were no online support groups, no doggy physical therapists. The only options offered by the vet were $5,000 back surgery with a 50-50 shot at recovery — or immediate euthanasia. Ed Grinnell put his skills to work as a mechanical engineer and designed a wheeled cart for Buddha, who lived three more years. Ten years later, vets were referring so many people to the Grinnells that they went into canine cart manufacturing full-time. Since 1999, Eddie's Wheels has expanded to 14 workers at their facility in Shelburne Falls, Mass., and now ships its carts worldwide. Mary Dow, a volunteer with Independent Animal Rescue in Durham, rescued a cat named Daisy and paid $2,300 for surgery on its broken leg. She raised more than $1,800 to offset the tab. "It's not necessarily a foregone conclusion that all people shy away from disabled animals," she said. "We've found homes for quite a few who would have been euthanized." That second chance isn't just for the animals, Leslie Grinnell said, but for humans who stand to learn a lot from their disabled pets. "These animals don't feel sorry for themselves one little bit," she said. "They really have a lot to teach us." The Associated Press This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Thai temple offers Buddhist funerals for pets - Reuters Posted: 15 Oct 2010 06:43 AM PDT  Jiraporn Wongwanna, 35, and her father scatter the ashes of their 14-year-old dog Bai Teuy, a poodle-terrier cross, into Chao Phraya river during its Buddhist funeral in Bangkok July 1, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom BANGKOK | BANGKOK (Reuters) - An orange-robed monk chanted as a teary-eyed, black-clad family prayed quietly in front of a crematorium. A normal Buddhist funeral service in Thailand except for one thing -- the deceased was canine. Bereaved pet lovers in Bangkok come to Klong Toey Nai temple by the Chao Phraya river to mark the passing of their animal friends with full funeral rites which begin with short prayers by monks, a two-hour cremation, and a trip down the river to spread the ashes. "She is part of our family. In life, we took her to a grooming salon and a swimming pool. In death, we want to give her the best too," said Jiraporn Wongwanna, 35, who just lost her 14-year-old terrier-poodle mix, Bai Toey, to liver failure. In a crowded capital of 15 million people with few owning enough land for burial, many people are opting for cremation for their departed pets, said Sampao Yampradit, a 79-year-old animal lover and undertaker who has performed the service for pets for more than 7 years. The temple started to cremate stray dogs and cats nearly a decade ago, before they began offering funeral services for pets. Now they perform five to 15 funerals a day. While most are dogs and cats, the pets have included turtles, fish, rabbits and monkeys. "It's a Buddhist belief that cremation sends you forward into the next life while a burial might not do that," Sampao said, dropping chips of fragrant wood and flowers into the incinerator. Jiraporn, her father, and two cousins attended the ceremony, watching Bai Toey's furry body gently pushed into the pyre. The cost of a cremation is 1,800 baht, including the boat service to spread the ashes. Cremation of dogs heavier than 20 kg (44 lb) costs 2,000 baht and those who want a gold-plated wooden coffin will have to pay another 3,000 baht. "People are willing to pay for it. It's a good way to say goodbye," Sampao said. The temple in the capital, which has an estimated 800,000 or more homeless dogs, also offers free services for those who bring in strays but cannot afford to pay. The monk chanted, asking Jiraporn and her family to repeat after him: "This life cycle is completed. We pray that Bai Toey be born in the next life blessed with prosperity and good health, in a better form, like one of a human." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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