Kobe, a Golden Retriever, has been a therapy dog at a special-needs school his whole life; he first visited the school when he was four months old. The day before his 11th birthday, he was the guest of honor at a special retirement/birthday party:

Sniff. Good dog, Kobe.

Today and tomorrow, nearly everything sold online at Dogstuff.com is on sale for 20% to 50% off. You can buy toys, clothes, gifts, ornaments, cards, stationery, supplies, art, and more during our biggest sale of the year.

And every purchase at Dogstuff.com, even during a sale, creates a donation to rescue through our Rescue First program. So stock up on your favorites, and help more dogs and cats find forever homes.

Frederick the red dachshund invites you to visit him at the Dogstuff website

It’s that time again! For a limited time (through the end of January), nearly everything on the Dogstuff website — over 20,000 items — is on sale for 20% to 50% off. If the manufacturer will let us, we’ve discounted it: gifts, Christmas ornaments and cards, collars, leads and supplies, unique dog toys, art, dogstuff for kids, and more.

We have lots of some items and very few of others, so act quickly to get a deal on your favorite dogstuff and catstuff in our biggest sale of the year. And as always, every online purchase, even during a sale, generates a donation to pet rescue through our Rescue First program.

Not sure where to start? We’ve included a few of our best-selling items below. From all of us at Dogstuff, thank you for being our customer, and here’s to a dogtastic 2012.

Uggie poses with the Golden Globe award he shares with the cast of The Artist

The canine co-star of The Artist is all the rage these days. The Examiner has more photos from Uggie’s time at the Golden Globes, and here’s a video of his visit to The Guardian:

It’s a good time to be Uggie. I wonder how he’ll do at the Oscars?

Great news from Los Angeles — in a partnership with Pet Connections Inc., a retail pet store is no longer selling dogs from puppy mills, and will instead be offering shelter dogs and cats for adoption.

Here’s a video from KABC, which covered the story:

A pilot program has already been run; it was so popular that in March, the Barkworks chain will be transforming one of its stores into an adoption center. If all goes well there, it will convert the rest of its stores too.

“I just think it gives us a great opportunity to help the county and the city of L.A. and surrounding areas diminish the amount of dogs that are euthanized every year,” said Barkworks General Manager Darren Letterman.

Let’s hope this idea spreads across the country and leads to forever homes for many more dogs (and cats!).

Queen Sheba with John Green

John Green rescued Queen Sheba, as his family calls her, from a high-kill shelter after learning she’d been “passed over quite a few times” for adoption. Now the royally-named canine has returned the favor.

When John started having chest pains, Queen Sheba sensed something was wrong. She went to John’s father, who was asleep in another room, and licked his hand until he woke up and drove John to the hospital.

John Aleshire of the Indianapolis Humane Society said, “Quite frankly, I think that John is probably [still] here because of Sheba.”

Good dog, your majesty!

Jerry Van Amerongen, creator of Ballard Street (which you can find at gocomics.com), has clearly had some experience with dogs.

Angel's loyalty -- and microchip -- helped a little girl go home (Photo credit: aikenstandard.com)

Here’s a twist on the usual microchip success story. That’s Angel in the photo. He or she — the article doesn’t say — was found with a 3-year-old girl who was wandering through a neighborhood, lost and crying.

After a concerned neighbor notified police, they tried to help the little girl find her home, but she couldn’t tell them where she lived. Then one of the officers noticed that Angel was wearing microchip and registration tags.

Thanks to the microchip information, the officers were able to locate the little girl’s home and deliver her there safely. She had somehow unlocked a door while her parents slept and slipped outside to take Angel for a walk, and then was unable to find her way back.

A police spokesman said Angel was “very protective” of the girl and “didn’t want to leave her side” throughout the process of getting her back home. Good dog, Angel!

Alex Knode with Rachel, the family's Chesapeake Bay retriever (Photo credit: Knode family via MSNBC)

A new study shows that dogs can read our facial expressions and body language to guess what we’re thinking — on a level previously only confirmed in 6-month-old babies.

Dogs were shown a video of a woman. Sometimes she would stare straight at a dog and call out the dog, and then turn her head to look at an object to one side. Most of the dogs responded to this by following the woman’s gaze. When they were shown a video of the women simply turning her head, the dogs didn’t follow suit. (The article doesn’t make it clear whether the woman in the videos called the dogs by name, or just gave them a general verbal greeting.)

Researcher Jozsef Topal thinks this ability has been bred into dogs, or evolved in them, over their long association with humans. Dog trainer Deleta Jones has another theory.

“Dogs normally speak through body language and facial expression. It’s more natural to them. If you’ve ever watched dogs at a dog park, you’ve seen it. Within 30 seconds of the time they enter the park a huge amount of information has passed back and forth between the new dog and the ones already in the park. They’re exchanging looks, observing eyes and body posture. In seconds they know who is dominant and who is submissive.”

In this view, babies are using skills common to every social animal until they develop language, while dogs continue to rely on largely non-verbal cues. However they do it, though, dog owners won’t be surprised by the news.

Photo credit: Sh4rp_i at Flickr

The FDA has announced recalls of two dog foods that contain excessive amounts of aflatoxin, a toxic mold:

ARROWBRAND 21% Dog Chunks SKU #807 40 lb. bag

ARROWBRAND Super Proeaux Dog Food SKU #812 40 lb. bag

ARROWBRAND Professional Formula Dog Food SKU #814 50 lb. bag

The recall only applies to the above products with the following Packaging Date Codes Lot numbers 4K0341 through 4K0365 and 04K1001 through 4K1325. They were sold primarily in Louisiana and Texas, but if you have these foods check the codes on the bag regardless. You should return affected products – whether in opened or unopened packages – to their place of purchase for a full refund. For more information, contact 800-256-2769 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Also, Petrus Feed and Seed Stores, Inc. has announced a voluntary recall of its dry dog food – 21% Protein Dog Food in 40 lb Petrus Feed bags. The recall only applies 21% Dog Food, packaged in 40 lb Petrus Feed bags with the following packaging date codes (lot numbers): 4K1011 through 4K1335. Again, return affected products – whether in opened or unopened packages – to their place of purchase for a full refund. For more information, contact 318-443-2259, Monday – Friday, 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM and Saturday, 7:30 AM – 1:00 PM.

Finally, MSNBC reports that the FDA received over 350 reports of dog illness or death from eating chicken treats (also sold as chicken jerky, chicken tenders, or chicken strips) made in China. Be extremely cautious feeding your dog any chicken products that come from China. If you and your vet believe your dog has become ill from eating any pet food, you can make a safety report at this link.

From everyone at Dogstuff, we wish you — and all the animals in your life — a safe, healthy, and happy new year.

This Christmas card is just one of thousands of gifts on sale

Christmas may be over, but the specials aren’t! All of our Christmas items — ornaments, cards, stockings, stocking stuffers, and much more — are on sale for 25% off.

If you’d like to get a head start on next year’s decorations and gifts, now’s the time. But hurry — the sale only runs through December 31st!

From all of us at Dogstuff, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

When, and how, did wolves

Photo credit: Fremlin at Flickr

evolve into dogs?

Image credit: exfordy at Flickr

The currently prevailing theory on the first question is that dogs originated in East Asia and then spread throughout the rest of the world.

However, some new fossil evidence, discussed in this article, suggests that dogs may have evolved from wolves on multiple occasions and in different locations throughout history, with some lineages surviving and others not.

The article also disputes the common theory that humans essentially engineered the first dogs for their own purposes, as companions or hunting dogs. Instead, it says, some wolves evolved into dogs over time because their association with humans was biologically advantageous. Once the initial changes had taken place humans then furthered the process through selective breeding.

I’m sure theories will continue to adjust to new data as it’s uncovered. In the meantime, however they came to be, dog lovers everywhere are thankful for them.

Image credit: Soggydan at Flickr

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Petunia with Frankie Pruitt

We told you about Petunia, the pit bull mix who was found eight years after she vanished from her home in Virginia, all the way across the country in California. Well, the Washington Post has done a follow-up story on Petunia’s homecoming (there’s a photo gallery at the link).

Now comes word that Waylon, a young tabby who disappeared from his new home in Florida after being adopted from a shelter there, has also been found — in Colorado, 2,000 miles away.

Waylon in Colorado, far from his Florida home

How these animals made their cross-country treks, nobody knows. But thanks to their microchips, Petunia is back with her family, and Waylon will soon be home with his. More and more owners are microchipping their pets, and Petunia, Waylon, and their families couldn’t be happier.

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With slo-mo video. And music:

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for adorable puppies demolishing packages.