Part handbag, part animal (and I do mean, Animal… Do you recall the crazy-wild drummer from the Muppets Show? Like that) — here’s an accessory with a difference.

“Feathers” — This Bag that Bites will be a natural fit to perch off of your shoulder! Faux fur that has the appearance of an olive-colored finch will create a buzz wherever you two will go. Warm golden hand-painted eyes keep this sweet bag soulful, while the fat purple tongue will make sure that you give the right message whenever you need.

The best feature?
The tongue has a zipper in it, to be your secret change purse!

Unique, handmade, and hungry Bags That Bite are the handmade creations of Justine Pallace. She’s actually a jeweller by training and trade, but finds both “satisfaction and fun” in making these cuddlesome monsters. Justine lives and crafts in Rochester, New York, but you can find her furry character handbags at BagsThatBite.etsy.com… if you dare!

H/T to WordVixen and her Hand Crafted Bags and Purses obsession for sharing this great furry find.

Trophy hunting goes guilt-free, green-ish and animal-friendly, when it’s a whimsical Cardboard Safari.

Cardboard Safari is a tiny little company located in Charlottesville Virginia. Drawing inspiration from nature and through the use of sustainable materials, Chris Jessee and Luis Rodrigalvarez strive to design fun and fascinating products for your enjoyment.

Precision laser-cut cardboard puzzles of deer, moose and rhinoceros heads? Why not!

First there’s the fun of assembly (remember those balsa wood dinosaur puzzles that used to be all the rage?) and then there’s the fun of display. Classic in the traditional Kraft-paper brown, true, but my fingers just itch to decoupage a moose head with handmade rag paper and a few tiny deer-fly images from a vintage science text…

[via designspotter]

Feeling rejected?
Here’s a rabbit who shares your pain.

From Beautiful Pillows The Misfits collection, this cuddly bunny is done up in all wool felt with cartoon-like character in its top-stitched detail.

The same delightfully down-at-mouth spirit is also available as a cat, dog, whale, or chicken pillow companion.

Furniture for kids… or ride-on toys?

Danish design firm bObles does geometric animal forms in child-safe firm foam, suitable for children’s furniture but “designed for creative play” in happy colours and friendly sturdy shapes to climb and roll and romp all over.

Easy to see how those Romping Animals give free rein to a child’s imagination… they should be made in adult size, too!

[via coochicoos]

The busy holiday season is the worst possible time to bring a new pup into the home, but it is a good time to plan for future pet ownership. Look at your home, your family, your lifestyle at its most stressful and try to envision how Rover might fit in. It’s a reality check that has saved many a cute pup from a trip to the animal shelter and perhaps euthanasia.

While you’re planning for a pup, Paw-Rescue.org is an excellent resource on Assessing Dogs at Shelters and Rescues, and has a lot to teach anyone thinking of adopting a dog — whether that adoption is from a shelter or rescue group, or through a reputable breeder. Some of the topics covered include:

• How to Assess Shelter Dogs
• What Testing Involves
• Questionable Temperaments ? Adapting to New Homes
• Young Puppy Temperament Assessment

This site is packed with sensible advice and some good solid basic information about what you can realistically expect from a shelter or rescue dog. For example:

Many dogs that are given up to animal shelters have never received training or guidance. Some never had the opportunity of a caring owner. Or the owner cared, but was ignorant about proper training and care of dogs, or had received misguided information. In any case, a multitude of given-up dogs are dismissed as ‘problem animals’ … when in reality, the problems can be corrected and avoided by applying current knowledge about canine care and management.

and

Responsiveness indicates that the puppy is probably pretty adaptive and has great ability to bond. A pup who seems very nervous or fearful may not be a good choice for a home with children or with a lot of activity. However, he may respond very well to gentle and consistent training suited to his personality. A dog who tends to be aloof even when faced with stimuli may be of an independent temperament, and might be stubborn when it comes time for training, but that’s not always the case. Again, keep in mind that these are generalizations, and puppy adopter will be in the key position to shape the pup’s behavior.

Paws-Rescue also gives you a select list of links to other topknotch resources, including Evaluating Temperament in a Potential Rescue Dog by M. Shirley Chong. See also Choosing the Right Dog from Canis Major — because you can never have too much information, when it comes to adding that “fur kid” to your family!

A rumour has been making the rounds of pet owners lately. A widely-forwarded email message is causing alarm by claiming that Swiffer Wet Jet harms dogs because of an ingredient that is “one molecule away” from being anti-freeze.

This email is known to be a hoax — so there’s no need to worry, if you own a dog or cat and use this product at home. The manufacturer has posted a rebuttal on the Q&A section of their website. As well, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has issued the following statement in response to the Wet Jet rumour:

Veterinary toxicologists at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center have reviewed the claim described in a widely distributed email alleging a relationship between the use of Swiffer Wet Jet and liver failure in a dog. The email alleges that exposure to the ingredients in Swiffer Wet Jet caused a dog’s death.

The Swiffer Wet Jet system contains water (90-100%), propylene glycol n-propyl ether or propylene glycol n-butyl ether and isopropyl alcohol (1-4%). These ingredients are safe to use around pets when used according to label directions and would not cause liver damage at product concentrations. Propylene glycol n-butyl/propyl ether differs significantly from ethylene glycol, the potentially toxic ingredient present in most antifreeze products. Ethylene glycol is frequently implicated in causing renal failure in dogs following antifreeze ingestion. Propylene glycol n-propyl ether and propylene glycol n-butyl ether are very safe ingredients at levels used in cleaning products and do not cause kidney or liver failure.

Note that the product description for Swiffer Wet Jet Starter Kit does advise that you should “Keep out of reach of toddlers and pets to avoid accidental ingestion.” But of course, that applies to most of our household cleaning products — just good common sense!

In the various pet-owners groups where I hang out, a common topic of discussion is dangerous plants, and whether a favorite garden plant might be harmful to dogs, cats, horses, or other pets and domesticated animals who might wander up and start munching away.

What common wild and garden plants can harm your pets?

And what part(s) of those toxic plants would be harmful to the animals we love:

• Roots?
• Shoots?
• Leaves?
• Berries?
• Stems?
• Flowers?
• or all of the above?

Who knew that horses shouldn’t eat chives – or red maple leaves?

Horses are poisoned sporadically in the northeastern United States after they ingest red maple leaves. Signs of toxicity are similar to those seen with the Brassica anemia factor after animals ingest plants of the genus Brassica (such as canola, kale, cabbage).

Now we’ve got every hardy herbaceous plant known to eastern Canada and New England growing around this place, I think — no poison ivy, though, happily! — but I don’t spend a whole lot of time obsessing about whether our domestic dogs are going to start snacking on the Aconitum. Still, handy to have a searchable database of poisonous plants at my fingertips, courtesy of the Government of Canada, and a whole bookshelf of reliable field guides and reference books!