Baby otters: Cutest things of all time

This might be the cutest thing ever. Forget kittens and puppies, baby otters are the pet of the future. Unfortunately, according to Yahoo! Answers (which may or may not be accurate) having an otter as a pet is illegal in the United States unless you've gone through two years of otter school. Also, apparently otters bite, spray and are nocturnal. So unless you don't mind being bitten, smelling like...

The Sims Pet Stories

Based on The Sims 2 Pets, the top-selling expansion pack to The Sims 2, The Sims Pet Stories is the second release in the new product line called The Sims Stories. Train, play with, and care for your Sims cats and dogs, and do your best to keep them happy. Count on many unexpected twists and turns in this easy-to-play, laptop-friendly version of The Sims. Choose from two different stories in the directed Story mode, taking on a variety of challenges as you compete in a local pet show and learn that even pets have their own personalities. Unlock rewards as you achieve set goals for your Sims and their pets. In open-ended Freeplay mode, create your Sims and their pets, design their homes, and teach your pets tricks. You decide how their stories unfold.

Pet Pages

I have always had dogs in my life, but my little Rat Terrier 'Terry' has taught me so much. Maybe it is because dogs work in and on all twelve dimensions, while we are still trying to accept the seven within our understanding. Through Terry I have truly come to understand the meaning of unconditional love and how that is a gift of the Divine.

We all love those dear fur people we call pets. I have my special stories about the animals in my life and how they helped me understand myself better or taught me something I was overlooking and I'm certain each of you has a story that relates to the spirituality of the animals in your life.

Submission Guidelines
If you have a story you would like to share with our visitors, please send your story via email to info@shirleymaclaine.com with the topic area as the subject, e.g. "Re Pet Stories."

About every two weeks a story will be chosen and posted on the website under the Featured Story within the related section of the website.

The stories that are chosen will carry your name as the author, unless you choose to remain anonymous.

Each story should be no longer than 1000 words.

Pictures may be sent as email attachments.

If your story is selected, I would like to send you a thank you, so please be certain to include your mailing address. Your address will not be posted on the site and will only be for my use.

Titan the Great Dane named world’s tallest dog

LOS ANGELES - The Guinness Book of World Records officially says an ailing 4-year-old Great Dane named Titan from San Diego is the world's tallest dog.

Owner Diana Taylor says Titan is blind, deaf, epileptic and undergoes acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments every three weeks.

He is also a gentle soul who is often mistaken by young children as a horse.

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The announcement came during a ceremony Thursday.

Taylor says Titan stands 42.25 inches from floor to shoulder, weighs 190 pounds and doesn't stand on his hind legs because it isn't good for him.

Titan took over the title from Gibson, a 7-year-old harlequin Great Dane from Grass Valley who died earlier this year after battling bone cancer

Heartworms Alert - Know the warning signs to save your dog's health!

Has your pet recently been coughing, eating less, or being more lethargic than usual? If so, it is possible that your pet is infected with heartworms and may need immediate help and attention. Heartworms may infect a host for up to 2 years before any signs or symptoms are visible, and often when they are diagnosed it may be too late for some pets.

Heartworms are an infectious parasitic transmitted by mosquitoes that invades major organs in dogs and cats like the lungs, pulmonary arteries and heart. Heartworms grow and multiply within the pet body and can survive for up to 5 years. Heartworms cause damage and block smaller arterial vessels in your pets key organs leading to organ damage and a multitude of health complications.

The symptoms of a heartworm infestation are often difficult to recognize or may be overlooked or discounted as merely flu or cough-like symptoms. Coughing, weigh loss, lethargy, rapid heart beat, poor coat condition, diarrhea and loss of appetite are common symptoms. Treatment to rid a pet of adult heartworms is a costly vet procedure and involves exposing your pet to arsenic poisoning treatments to kill the adult heartworms - a procedure that can be fatal for aged pets or ones in deteriorating physical condition.

The best approach to dealing with the risk of heartworms is through and active prevention program. Prevention is the key to controlling and avoiding the health problems associated with these highly contagious and common parasites. A simple oral medication administered once a month is all it takes to protect your pets from the damaging effects of heartworm infestation.

Several heartworm medications are now available on the marketplace to provide preventative protection against heartworm infections. These medications do have risks and side effects so it is important that you read about them carefully. Regular prevention can be achieved by administering 1 pill per month - a small price to pay for your pets comfort and health, and a great hedge against expensive vet visits.

Marine bends rules to save dog found in Iraq

You couldn’t find a more contented dog than the mutt sprawled on the couch in the TODAY studio, his head resting on his master’s thigh, a loving hand petting around his abbreviated ears.

But if those ears — cut off near the dog’s skull — give the impression that there’s more to this scene than just the timeless bond between a man and a dog, you’d be right. They are the source of his name — Nubs — as well as a reminder of the war-torn land he came from: Iraq.

The man petting him Monday while he talked to TODAY’s Meredith Vieira in New York is a Marine pilot, Maj. Brian Dennis, who met Nubs in October 2007 while on duty at a border fort in Iraq. There are a lot of wild dogs in Iraq, running in packs and hanging out around forts