About Me
I have been an animal health technologist for 15 years and have worked in veterinary clinics in Alberta Canada. A family illness brought me out to the west coast and I have decided to stay here. I was introduced to blogging by a friend of mine and want to share knowledge and stories with others. This page is not intended to diagnose a problem with your pet. It is mainly informational. If you pet is ill please seek the advice of your trusted veterinary team.
Pet Blog 
ashley replied:
Hi Lorraine,
Below you will find a press release regarding a poll FamilyFun.com conducted regarding Halloween costumes. As you can see, 47% responded that they would not be dressing up their pets this year. I thought you’d be interested in checking out the poll since you are a pet enthusiast.
Thanks!
Ashley Aruda
mPRm Public Relations
5670 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 2500
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-933-3399 x. 4226
aaruda@mprm.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PIRATES AND PRINCESSES REIGN SUPREME THIS HOLIDAY — AND FIDO IS MOVING IN ON THE GHOULISH FUN
FamilyFun.com Poll Results Showcase This Year’s Halloween Trends
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Oct. 19, 2006 – What are you going to be for Halloween? Kids and parents across the country ponder this question every year, and with Halloween reflecting the times, there’s always a different answer. So what’s popular this year? If you’re in the majority, a princess or pirate is high on your list, and you may even consider dressing up your pet. FamilyFun.com, the premier online family resource for creative solutions, asked site visitors to help pinpoint this Halloween’s biggest trends, and more than 900 guests chimed in.
“With site traffic at all-time annual highs every October, Halloween is the biggest time of year at FamilyFun.com,” said Emily Smith, vice-president, FamilyFun.com. “We believe every Halloween is unique and we love to see the year’s timeliest trends through the eyes of our guests.”
Specific poll results include:
§ Hottest costumes for boys
1. Pirate 22%
2. Superhero 9%
3. Athlete 6%
4. Cowboy 5%
5. Firefighter 5%
6. Food (i.e. slice of pizza) 5%
§ Hottest costumes for girls
1. Princess 21%
2. Fairy 10%
3. Cheerleader 10%
4. Witch 8%
5. Pirate 6%
6. Angel 5%
§ Hottest costumes for baby/toddler
1. Pumpkin 22%
2. Curious George 11%
3. Elmo 10%
4. Other animal 8%
5. Winnie the Pooh 6%
§ Are you making or buying costumes this year?
1. Make 67%
2. Buy 33%
§ Are you dressing up your pet for Halloween this year?
1. No 47%
2. Yes 30%
3. Don’t have a pet 23%
FamilyFun.com’s annual Halloween Fright Site (www.familyfun.go.com/halloween), one of the most popular areas every year, provides families with “spooktacular” Halloween costumes, crafts and party ideas. Packed with countless do-it-yourself Halloween decoration tips, how-to videos, recipes and last-minute costume ideas, this destination is ideal for creating a fun, memorable Halloween for the entire family.
About FamilyFun.com
Produced by Disney Online, FamilyFun.com is the premier online family resource for creative solutions, combining award-winning content and related community features focused on great ideas, practical advice and fun stuff to do. The site’s popular Solution Centers include: Arts & Crafts, Recipes, Parties, Games, Printables and Travel. Disney Online also produces Disney.com, the leading kids’ and family entertainment destination on the Internet. Disney.com features exciting neighborhoods that live within the gates of Disney’s virtual theme park, housing a variety of wholesome, original content that consistently reflects the magic of Disney. Disney Online is part of the Walt Disney Internet Group, which provides integrated strategic and operational services for The Walt Disney Company’s Internet initiatives.
###
Media Contact:
Ayn Allen
mPRm Public Relations
for FamilyFun.com
(323) 933-3399
aallen@mprm.com
October 20, 2006 at 1:48 am. Permalink.
Bob Bowdon replied:
Hi…
Could someone please contact me regarding a possible link from the PETCO corporate site to yours?
They are looking for content partners.
Regards,
— Bob Bowdon
(201) 239-1270
February 9, 2007 at 7:26 am. Permalink.
Jonathan Teague replied:
Lorraine,
I wanted to inform you of a website, http://www.petsplaces.com. The website is like Myspace, but the profiles are of animals. Users can communicate with other pet owners and search for profiles based on criteria such as breed, gender, and age. Members can be “friends” with other pets and even gain access to discounts on pet products. Below is a recent article that describes the company and its administration that your viewers may find interesting.
Thanks,
Jonathan Teague
“Pet Project” Takes to Internet by Storm
During a meeting with his lawyer last fall, Rob Thayer was struck with what he felt was a unique idea for a web site. As he glanced around the office, his eyes fixed upon a coffee mug which featured a picture of the attorney’s beloved dog. Studying the mug, Thayer, the CEO of NetSky Holdings, an Internet consolidation company that acquires ISPs, web hosting companies and revenue generating websites began to mull over concepts for a potential website geared towards devoted pet lovers when it cane to him: “How about a ‘online community’ style site like MySpace on which users could create profiles for their pets?”.
After meeting with some skepticism, Thayer spent some time working on other internet projects. Later, he returned to his idea of creating a site to bring pet owners together as a community platform. With people becoming more and more concerned with pet care, the idea of a site that would allow its registered members to connect to and build relationships with other pet lovers and would provide users with access to information regarding any aspects of pet care, struck Thayer as an idea that should presently be realized.
“I mentioned my idea to some of my colleagues, and they were as enthusiastic about it as others had previously been skeptical,” Thayer explains.
Carrying out the efforts that Thayer had initiated, one of Thayer’s associates that specialized in programming created the web site PetsPlacess.com. Labeling it as a “community for pets and pet owners”, the site allowed pet owners to create a free personalized page and profile for their pets. Registered users could then have access to the site’s offerings: the ability to upload pictures of pets, to participate in forums, and to access to special offers and coupons.
It did not take long for Thayer’s “pet” idea to catch fire. Despite having no advertising, the site had close to 3,000 members and attracted interest from online advertisers seeking to put up their advertising banners. The site became so popular, in fact, that it became overwhelmed by its own popularity and its founders could no longer afford to commit the time and energy to what began as a hobby. Naturally, Thayer and NetSky were more than excited when they were offered the opportunity to purchase PetsPlaces.
NetSky’s purchase of PetsPlaces comes at a time when online communities are experiencing explosive growth. According to an August 2006 survey, nearly one third of the web’s 170 million users have visited the popular social networking website MySpace alone. Last year, the ten biggest social-networking sites reached a combined unique audience of 68.8 million users, drawing in 45% of active Web users, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
“This is an exciting acquisition for NetSky with tremendous potential,” exclaims Thayer. “We actually purchased the site in its early stages and have been surprised by the growth and enthusiasm of the PetsPlaces members from the beginning. The modern day pet owner treats their cat or dog like a member to the family, and the site provides them with a place to talk and introduce themselves to fellow pet enthusiasts on the Internet!”
“Millions of people now socialize and collaborate on the Internet through various social networking sites that appeal to the general public,” Thayer continued. “I believe that the next step in the evolution of these popular social networking sites will be niche-oriented social networking sites that appeal to a specific subject or interest. PetsPlaces.com is one of these sites. We expect it to become the premier online site for pet owners all over the world to swap photos, post videos and even chat with each other all in one place.”
According to Quantcast, an open internet ratings service that helps advertisers find reports on the audiences of millions of web sites, PetsPlaces’s members tend to be more affluent and more mature than those of established “profile-style” sites such as MySpace. Thayer believes that their advertising will be a “higher sell” and result more ad dollars because of this information.
“Our site attracts a more diverse crowd than traditional online communities such as MySpace advertisers will believe that advertisers will get more ‘bang for their buck’ with our site,” contends Thayer. “We intend to have the first ads up on the site by the first or second week of June.”
Once NetSky has begun its advertising campaign for PetsPlaces, Thayer expects the site’s popularity to skyrocket exponentially.
“We hope to have a million registered users by the end of the year,” he says. “Our goal is to make PetsPlaces the most popular pet-related site on the internet.”
May 14, 2007 at 10:18 pm. Permalink.
Leo replied:
Sorry 😦
May 17, 2007 at 7:45 pm. Permalink.
Giorgos replied:
Sorry 😦
May 20, 2007 at 5:32 am. Permalink.
Gregorios replied:
Cool…
May 22, 2007 at 4:25 pm. Permalink.
Rose replied:
Do you know of any contagious diseases that cause severe dehydration? Please email me if so.
May 28, 2007 at 8:15 pm. Permalink.
Chrysostomos replied:
interesting
June 9, 2007 at 5:30 pm. Permalink.
Athanasios replied:
Interesting…
September 20, 2007 at 9:23 am. Permalink.
Safe Pets replied:
I love your blog. I have been a little confused about whether to dress up my lil Zoe or not.
March 23, 2009 at 11:50 am. Permalink.
marilyn replied:
Hope you succeeded with your goal to make PetsPlaces the most popular pet-related site on the internet. It’s great to read that there are people out there trying to make a difference in the lives of animals…Lord knows where many of those animals would end up without caring human help…If you would like to read about one couples small effort at animal rescue, please check out http://grumpyoldtrucker.com/animal-lovers-unite/
Thank You.
July 17, 2010 at 3:44 am. Permalink.
Reub replied:
hey I hope you are successful in your goal to make petsplaces a populsr pets related site on the web..
January 20, 2011 at 2:16 am. Permalink.
Dana Arena replied:
Hello
I thought you’d be interested to share with your readers a Guideposts
article written by Peggy Frezon about the joys of owning a pet in the
winter.
Frezon highlights 5 ways pets can warm your heart on a cold winter’s day.
http://www.guideposts.org/pets/how-pets-keep-you-warm-winter
Here’s an excerpt:
“ Sometimes when it’s really cold, practically nothing can entice me
outside. But seeing Kelly staring at the door, begging for a walk, is
the push I need. Taking your dog for a stroll is healthy for both of
you!”
Hope you’ll enjoy the article and that you’ll share the link with your
readers. Thanks!
Thank You,
Dana (on behalf of Guideposts)
January 20, 2011 at 5:16 am. Permalink.
Elise replied:
Very interesting blog, will definitely be keeping my eye on it! It’s great that a person with your experience with pets and animals would take the time to write about it. I’m sure you’ve helped many people out already, and will continue to help people with the words you’ve shared on this blog.
November 17, 2012 at 8:24 am. Permalink.
dog christmas sweater pattern replied:
Hello, always i used to check web site posts here
early in the break of day, as i enjoy to learn more and more.
December 29, 2016 at 9:03 am. Permalink.