Breeds in Need

He’s the number one most popular dog breed in America, his sweet, playful nature and happy-go-lucky athleticism the stuff of legend. And if you’re popular, you haven’t got problems, right? Wrong. Come Christmas, the Labrador - Mr. Popularity himself – will earn a distinction no dog wants. He will officially be a Breed in Need.

In my lifetime, I have been fortunate enough to travel widely, to be educated in different countries, to come into contact with an extremely broad range of people and animals.  And I can safely say I have never known another creature, bipedal or otherwise, capable of the kind of purity of love and loyalty as my Pit Bull Indiana.

One night on a walk along a road near my house, I found a Beagle, trembling, terrified, and clearly lost.

Sheryl Longin remembers the moment she first fell for greyhounds: "It was at an adoption fair, and there was a pile of pillows, with these gorgeous dogs lounging on top of each other. It looked like an opium den - so fabulous."

At race tracks across this country, thousands of young, healthy greyhounds between the ages of 2 and 3 years are destroyed every year.

By now you’ve endured at least one sleepless night as your new puppy adjusts to life without his littermates. To ensure that your newest family member will make the transition to a happy, healthy pet, your next stop should be your veterinarian.