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The Leader of the Pack Speaks
Dearest readers, As we head into summer, I am so happy to see things opening up in our world with most of us finding a new normal in our daily lives. It has been a very rough year and a half for everyone, and it feels good to see things moving in a forward motion...
Pet Health: Aquamation – An Environmentally Friendly Alternative to Flame Cremation or Burial
Story and photos by Dr. Kellie Barrett, Kindred Spirits Pet Services Unfortunately, all pets eventually pass away and families are faced with the decision of what to do with their beloved companion’s body. Until recently, pet owners have been limited to burying their...
Training: Summer Fun For Your Dog! How to Burn Energy On Hot Day
Story and photos by Jeremy Brown, The Complete Canine One challenge we all experience during the summer is how to burn enough energy as the temperature rises. Walks are spread out further between and many canines become destructive as they’re bored and have pent up...
Flying High!
Story and photos by Nancy Schuessler Several times a year, Al Johnson boards his blue and white Cessna airplane and flies from Marana Regional Airport to Deming, New Mexico and back. His cargo? A homeless dog. His mission? To help it find a family. “It starts with a...
Southern Arizona Animal Food Bank: A Lifeline During Hard Times
Story by Bonnie Craig Photos Courtesy of Donna DeConcini As we are all aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on lives worldwide. In addition to direct health repercussions, people are facing financial struggles on an astronomical...
WOOFstock Cover Dog Contest Winners 2021
Story by Rebecca West Photos courtesy of dog parents Another year has passed and another WOOFstock cover dog photo contest has taken place. This year, our three winners couldn’t look any less alike, but together they share some amazingly...
Urgent Plea from Desert Labrador Retriever Rescue
Story by Judy Warnock Photos by Mary Ducharme We are looking for a very special home for our boy Dawson! Dawson is like a flower bud. He will blossom in due time, but you cannot force it. You have to have patience, and when it happens, you...
The Benefits of Dogs for kids
The bond between canines and humans is well established. Dogs are our best buds, faithful companions, and loyal protectors. They bring us joy, make us laugh, and ease our sorrows. They’re even responsible for the increased longevity of us upright bipeds and recognized...
Finding Gobi: The Story of How a Runner and a Stray Dog Brought the World Together
Story by Bella Wexler - Photos Courtesy of Finding Gobi The sand dunes Dion tread in Northern China’s Gobi Desert were barely wide enough to accommodate his own two feet, let alone the four paws that trailed behind him. It didn’t help that the scruffy little dog to...
Welcome, Zelda!
Story and photos by Emily Dieckman After years of writing for the Tucson Dog, staff writer gets dog of her own, and finds joy and connection during the pandemic. My boyfriend and I have been talking about getting a dog since before we moved in together 3.5 years ago....
Dylan Capshaw: A Journey to Improve the Animal/Human Condition
Story by Rebecca West Photos by Jason McCoy For much of the U.S., watching an impending storm raging through the South or barreling up the Eastern Seaboard is a dissociative experience. There’s a certain amount of head-shaking as to why people...
Holiday Cover Dog Contest Winners
Story by Rebeca West Here they are, the fabulous winners of our 2nd Annual Holiday Cover Dog Contest! This year’s participation level was phenomenal, with 50 contestants entered, and we couldn’t have been more excited with the amazing turnout and fantastic images...
Online Learning’s Newest Additions
Story by Bella Wexler Any student or teacher who started classes again this Fall would agree, school looks quite different than it has in the past. With so many districts using some form of online learning, we’ve gotten used to our bedrooms becoming our classrooms....
Urgent: Norville Needs a Home A Plea from Desert Labador Retriever Rescue
Hello, friends, We need a very special home for our boy Norville—he has been through so much and just wants to live his life as a loved and cherished member of a family. We are looking for an adults-only home where Norville will be the ONLY pet (for a unique...
Cody’s Friends In Need of Holiday Donations
Story by Rebecca West Photos by Amber Allen A constant convoy of food banks, rescue groups, and people in need — not to mention burning through as many as 8,000 1-gallon baggies for packaging pet food each month — is pretty much the norm for Cody’s Friends these days....
How Our Community Fosters Love
Story by Bella Wexler Photos by Candice Eaton It’s not easy to open your home to a stranger, especially during a global pandemic. But these days, many are finding it harder to resist—at least when those strangers walk in on four legs with wagging tails and soulful,...
True or False, Is Animal Fostering for You?
Story by Rebecca West Photos by Candice Eaton Have you considered animal fostering but you’re not quite sure if it’s suitable for your particular circumstances? There are a lot of inaccuracies and misconceptions when it comes to the subject, so we’ve put together a...
Fostering: Volunteers Saving Lives
Story by Brian Pettepiece Photos by Stacy Vandyke It’s an unfortunate reality that there are a lot of homeless dogs out there. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the work of local volunteers, dogs in need of homes all around Tucson are getting the break they...
Pima Animal Care Center: Changing the Face of Animal Shelters
Story by Rebecca WestPhotos by Candice Eaton What does it take to reinvent the wheel? The wheel, of course, in this case, is the standard model for animal shelters. Set back in 1869, the very first official animal shelter in the country was formed by the Women’s SPCA...
Maggie and Dahlia: Training Together
Story by Bella Wexler Photos courtesy of Maggie Aladdin is a Disney story beloved by many, including local high school student Maggie Behzadi. Knowing that Dahlia is the name of Jasmine’s loyal friend and servant in the tale, finding a dog at Pima Animal Care Center...
From ‘Scaredy Cat’ to Queen of the House
An FIV-positive cat makes a transformation and finds her forever home after 1,405 days in the shelter. Story by Emily Dieckman Photos Courtesy of The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter Amid the coronavirus pandemic of the last few months, many people have expressed feeling...
Third Grade Students for Four Legged Friends
Story by Bella Wexler, Photos by Julie Farbarik At Catalina Foothills School District’s Canyon View Elementary, the love for animals runs deep. This is proven by the school’s third grade students both within and beyond the classroom. On March 10, they filed into their...
Pilots to the Rescue: When Pets Fly
Story by Bella Wexler, Photos by “The Dogist” None have the privilege of choosing the circumstances into which they are born. Oftentimes, animals bear the brunt end of this reality, especially when they are born with severe medical conditions or are being housed in an...
Author Garth Stein Shares Wisdom at the HSSA 2019 Annual Impact Report Lunch
Story by Bonnie Craig, Photos by Candice Eaton “Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature.” So begins the poignant, emotional roller coaster that is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. These words come from the narrator of the...
The Coronavirus & U.S. Pets: How COVID-19 is Rallying Animal Rescues & Vets
Story by Rebecca West There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and much of it is scary. But if you look hard enough, there is positive news out there to share, like a recent story from the Good News Network regarding the uptick in animal fostering via...
Kitty Korner: The Reality of Owning Exotic Cats
Story and Photos by Rebecca West For a lot of folks, the idea of owning an exotic feline rather than an ordinary house cat is hugely appealing. The call of the wild may not extend to the depths displayed in the recent Netflix hit “Tiger King,” but owning an exotic on...
Pima County Sheriff’s Therapy Dogs Making a Difference in our Community
Story by Brian Pettepiece Photos by Candice Eaton and Brian Pettepiece Dogs bring joy into our lives simply by being themselves. With their consistently positive demeanor and undeterred happiness they can easily cheer us up when we’re feeling down or when we need a...
Must Love Animals & Exercise: Comforting Goat Yoga
Story and photos by Rebecca West Into physical fitness and new experiences? Ready to try something completely different that involves hanging with the furry bleating set, complete with scraggly beards and cloven hooves? (Sound of brakes screeching) Err, wait. Say...
The Animal League of Green Valley, Passing the Torch
Story by Bella Wexler - Photos by Georgia Puttock It was during the 1980s that Margaret Roesch noticed a need in the community of Green Valley for an animal rescue. She worked with hospice patients whose primary concern was not their own futures, but the futures of...
Kitty Korner: Paying it Forward with Professor X
Story by Emily Dieckman, Photos Courtesy Clara Lee Arnold In the wake of her husband’s passing, longtime animal welfare advocate finds joy in providing pet therapy with her cat. Clara Lee Arnold and her certified therapy cat, Professor X, both have an aura of...
Training: Dog Parks and Socialization
Story by Jeremy Brown, The Complete Canine In theory, the dog park can be a great place to bring our canine friends for many reasons, such as socialization and exercise. In fact, in larger cities it is the only time that some dogs get off the leash, chase a ball, and...
…And the Winner of the Woofstock 2019 Cover Dog Contest is… Sebastian!
Story by Bonnie Craig. Photos courtesy Amy Boice The Tucson Dog Magazine is proud to announce the winner of our latest cover dog contest! With so many amazing entrants it was not an easy choice, but our qualified panel of judges deliberated over the Most Creative...
15 Successful Years and Counting: Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary
Story by Callie Monte Photos by Amanda Palko Located in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains in Tubac, Arizona, Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary is home to about 60 horses and a handful of burros when operating at full capacity. They provide a safe haven and...
Come Cuddle with Cats!
Tucson’s first cat lounge has three stories, 20 cats and enough joy to turn even the worst day around. Story and photos by Emily Dieckman For devoted cat lovers, a three-story building where nearly two dozen cats roam freely through a yoga studio, a movie-viewing room...
In the Doghouse with Fig: “Don’t let us spend Valentine’s Day alone!”
Story and Photos by Rebecca West What if you had a business and you needed to promote your oldest product or least-selected service in order to move them off the shelf? What lengths would you go to, to make that happen? Would you step into a kennel or other enclosed...
Happy Endings
624 Days in the Shelter and 1 Perfect Home: Local dog finds forever family after nearly two years at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Story by Emily Dieckman Photos courtesy of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona Sometimes good things take time. Even the...