This blog full of furry fun is as simple as it gets and a pleasure to peruse. I spent nearly half an hour and was totally lost in picture after picture available in monthly glances, 3 in a row, from the archives on the top right.

The first picture was posted on March 29th of this year and while I certainly didn’t count every picture in the archives, I believe Michael when he says they post a new adorable kitten every single day.

So far, here’s my own personal favorite photo:

But it’s actually hard to choose a favorite. I also enjoyed this adorable kitten picture and would have to say it’s my second-most-favorite on the site. And this mom and baby cat pic gave me major warm fuzzies.

This photo blog is so simple that it’s sincerely a pleasure to visit when you’re in the mood for cute cats. I love the newspapery feel of the heading as well:

Be sure to visit The Daily Kitten to kitty up your Google homepage, receive their free daily email (or RSS feed), enjoy random acts of kittenness, use their widgetbox on your own website, or maybe even submit a kitten pic of your own.

Or just start each day with an adorable kitten picture (or two or three).

I’m finally getting a chance to review (in much more detail) some of the blogs left in the comments of my Featured Pets Blogs page! I’ve decided to simply start with the first comment and work my way down the list as time permits. It takes us a long time to review a pets blog because we don’t just glance at it, we read the very first post and work our way through to the most recent update.

I got lucky with the 1st comment I reviewed because it’s actually quite entertaining and I read the entire thing in one sitting early this morning. The Otis & Buka Blog chronicles the lives of, well, Otis and Buka, as well as Suzie and Jay (aka the Dog Rescuers) who once lived in an apartment in Jersey city until Benedict Buka and Otis formed an alliance with roaches that finally drove their owners to move to a virtual dog haven:

Buka and Otis arranged a deal with the head roach and granted them safe passage and probably even food if they terrorized us into fleeing. They told them our weaknesses, plotted against us in our time of need. We were duped. Out smarted by two seemingly dumb dogs who now live in the lap of canine luxury. They are never without a human to nap upon, a yard to run in, grass to chew, toys to shred, sticks to rearrange, and dog friends.

Suzie does all MOST of the writing, which figures, and while some posts are extremely short, all of them are entertaining or informative. The immediate family antics of Buka and Otis are sometimes enhanced by the larger, extended family of cousin dogs, which includes all 7 dogs in Suzie’s “small little sphere.” The other dogs in the family pack include Livvy, Wheezy, Elston, Ziggy, and Sammy… with Otis and Buka rounding out the 7.

This pets blog is relatively new, with the first post going back to February of this year where we learn one simple fact - that Otis and Buka rule, at least in Suzie’s world. That’s like the world’s shortest post I think. Jesus wept. is the English language’s shortest sentence and Otis and Buka rule. is the worlds shortest blog posting. Somehow it works and makes total sense as you continue reading through the rest of the blog posts. It is filed under the category “truisms” which I also find amusing.

Both Otis and Buka were rescued from shelters and now live the life of Riley with Jay and Suzie. Otis has got a great bio and I’d love to learn more about how they happened on Buka (not to mention where they came up with the name Buka)…

Otis

Otis is lovingly referred to as the king of the fatheads. You can see why. To learn more about him, Meet Otis, King of the Fatheads. It’s one of the best and most complete pet bios I’ve ever seen.
Apparently Otis also suffers (or causes suffrage) from some pretty intense gas and likes to sleep on furniture - which sounds like a dangerous combination to me (so Jay and Suzie must really love him).

Buka

It seems they had Buka first (or maybe Jay did) but she doesn’t have a revealing bio like Otis does. What’s most interesting is that they’ve had a DNA test done to see exactly what breeds make up the beauty of Buka. Turns out she’s part chow and schnauzer with pinches of lab and petit basset griffon thrown in (which I’d never even heard of before). I also had no idea you could get a DNA test done to find out what your mutt is made of.

More about the Blog…

Jay and Suzie have recently started a bit of advertising on the blog and are donating a portion of the money they receive from that to the Liberty Humane Society.

The newest feature of the Otis and Buka Blog is called Pit of the Week. To learn more about why Suzie has started the feature - you’ll just have to read Rescue Me, Dog Nab It! I’ll bet George appreciates the fact that Suzie, and Otis, like to peruse the pets of PetFinder. For a glimpse into the world of Otis and Buka, here’s a snippet from the lastest posting where Suzie and Otis are featuring the Pit of the Week…

George came to my attention when scrolling through PetFinder and being drawn in by his coy come hither eyes. Additionally, he is grayish, which as far as I am concerned is the new black. Otis disagrees with me on this one, but he can’t type, so I win.

I highly recommend The Otis & Buka Blog for quick, entertaining glimpses into the lives of a couple of lucky dogs (and their owners).

And thanks to Jay for recommending that I take a look at their dog blog!

If you’re not familiar with Tim’s writing, you’re missing out! I know, I was missing out before he kindly left me a comment on this blog, pointing me to one of his recent columns, the London Broil story.

Tim’s not only a syndicated humor columnist, but a freelance writer, an actor, and an animal advocate who lives in Greater Binghamton, New York.

“Lost Journal” is his syndicated, weekly newspaper column in which he chooses a day from his past and writes about it as though it was today. He’s also an avid animal-lover and helps Project P.A.W. (Protectors of Animal Welfare) a non-profit animal shelter in Binghamton, NY. He designed and maintains their website.

So while his column isn’t just about pets, his site is quite blog-like (it IS a journal after all). Here is a list of my favorite pet-related columns he’s written:

• Yes, But When Will the Caged Bird Sing?
• London Broil is Falling Down
• Up on the Woof
• Beware the Aquarium of Doom
• Cats vs. Dogs: the Great Debate

And here are two of my favorite non-pet-related columns he’s written:

• Register Online as an Unemployed Lion Tamer
• Lament on a Lost Tooth

Enjoy!

I find some of her work is extremely beautiful…
For example, one of my favorite pen & inks is this cat at play. I’m posting it here linked to her proper shopping page because this tiny little image does not do it justice (nor should it)! You can order an original limited edition or a print (and elect to have them sent either framed or unframed).

So why am I including her in a blog about Pet’s Blogs you ask?

Well, she also pens one of the finer pets blogs out there on the Internet. It’s easy to recognize the inspiration for her fine feline finesse with pen and ink when you take a peek at her 3WiseCats blog…

3WiseCats is more than a blog, it’s a site devoted really to both animal rescue and the art she’s created. There’s also a studio blog, but the blog I’m featuring is, of course, the blog surrounding the 3WiseCats (& Company).

3WiseCats is nothing new - the blog has been around since January of 2006, born out of a five-year-old Christmas card antic Lisa managed to persuade Andrew to agree to. Here’s how Lisa describes it, looking back on the origination of the 3WiseCats back in 2001:

Later in the year, we decided to make joint holiday cards. After a few minutes of brainstorming, we came up with actually dressing up the pussies. What would be the theme? We thought of everything (Santa & his elves, etc) but the fact that there were three (3) of them: Eros, Bacchus, & Cheshire, it made sense to keep in theme of the 3 Wise Men.

Hence, the 3WiseCats was born.

Looking at the blog logo and this photo included in that January 2005 post, it must have been some Christmas card.

And it seems they didn’t stop there. Holiday 2002 unveiled the Eros, Cheshire, & the Baby Bacchus nativity scene. They’ve since adopted 2 more cats - Pip & Chardonnay - and so became 3WiseCats & Company.

If you visit the blog, don’t expect it to be updated on a consistently regular schedule. Seriously, how in the world would Lisa and Andrew ever find the time with everything else they do? It’s amazing to think they manage photos and scribbles (even though they haven’t yet purchased that belt-camera).

You can, however, count on the3WiseCats blog being a consistently great read. I’ve read most of the blog in two or three sittings and check back periodically to see if there’s anything new.

You can also expect a good sense of humor, wonderful photos, and a casual and entertaining writing style. Some of my favorite blog posts include Bacchus: You Had Me at Meow and the most recent Urban Cat Walk.

Oh, and if you’re not particularly into cat art, check out Lisa’s Petpourrie Collection which features her same simple, strong and elegant lines to create a designer original bunny, canary, ferret, goldfish, hamster, horse, snake and turtle.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy this pets blog and repeatedly visit it is the awesome header image, where her two Saint Bernards are prominently featured. That’s Brutus there on the left, and his litter mate, Rufus, on the right. What’s even more impressive is that Lora does the artwork herself and you get to see more of her talent inside the blog postings!

This pets blog has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, so I thought it would be appropriate to have it be my first ever FEATURED PETS BLOG!


So, first things first…

How do I know which Saint Bernard is which?

Simple! I’ve looked at all the marvelous pictures Lora has on her site and I’ve read a lot of posts about her daily adventures. I do tend to focus on the Saints (as she lovingly refers to her boys) but I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because my husband’s favorite childhood pet was a female Saint Bernard named Sam…

If you’d like to see the difference between the two for yourself, visit Lora’s Saints page for photos complete with names. And, as not to totally ignore her four other canine companions, visit her Labs page for photos of Zeus, Hera, Apollo, and Eris. What cool names, huh?! My guess is someone at Lora’s house is really into Greek Mythology or perhaps just decided to aptly name the labs after Greek Gods and Goddesses.

What You Can Find at Lora’s Pets Blog…

The archives over at It’s The Dogs’ Life date back to January of 2007, when she first introduced her pack to the world at large. Since then she’s been putting up pictures of the gang and her canine cookbook recipes, which include treats like Brutus Buckets and Zeusicles. Strangely enough, I also love all of the collar posts. There’s lots of those because Lora’s a collaraholic. That’s right - she’s in love with fancy posh dog collars (her words, not mine)!

Me? I love cool dog collars and admit I’ve spent my share of money purchasing them when we really, really didn’t need another one. So lately I live vicariously through Lora’s many splendid collars finds since she always talks about them and then shows them off in photos. If I wanted to find a unique new collar, Lora’s blog is the first place I’d check to see the latest and greatest. If I sold dog collars, I’d be sending her a sample (or six) right away.

What I’d Like to See…

There are lots of great links, plenty of helpful advice, and wonderful pictures to see. I do wish there were categories or a tag cloud or something that would pull the related previous posts together other than in the archive. But I always look forward to the newest pictures, a peek at more of Lora’s computer artwork and, now, more videos of the dogs.

Latest & Greatest…

I popped on over to It’s The Dogs’ Life today to see what Lora’s been up to recently since I am writing this post and plan on publishing it later today. To my surprise and excitement there was a video of clips featuring the dogs playing around outside. SWEET! I love pictures so moving pictures is great. I’m not so sure she’ll actually usurp Spielberg, but she certainly made my day. Want to see? Watch Who Let The Dogs Out.

She’s also added what I can only guess is a new WordPress plugin that makes her pictures even easier to enjoy. You can see how it works on the Whiskey Keg pictures (don’t worry, I’ll tell you about those next).

Summary…

Lora and her house-full of slobbering hounds keeps me captivated. I like seeing the latest fashions and photos and find Wordless Wednesdays to be my favorite day of the week to visit. I always scroll back to see any Wednesdays I may have missed since my last visit. If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, be sure to stop in and enjoy a tiny piece of Lora’s world. How could you not respect someone with four large and two extra-large dogs around the house. Literally, who would dare NOT to respect her with all those guardians.

I was going to include my favorite pic of the Bernard boys, but I honestly couldn’t decide which to feature. So instead I’m recommending that you go look for yourself because there are just too many to choose from (like the recent whiskey keg barrel pictures and this really nice picture of the two dogs together).

Brutus and his brother Rufus came to me as fosters. They are litter mates and needed to be kept together. I figured the chances of adopting out over 3oo pounds of dogs (2 of them) and keeping them together was going to be very hard so I just kept them myself. I love my big galloots. -Lora, It’s The Dogs’ Life