Pet of the Month: Albi, the Havanese

Cuteness warning: Albi is the most awwed pet since we launched Petzi's social site. Be prepared to have a girly-style OMG attack!  This interview brings some of the wonderful  photos taken by his mommy!

On the fast lane. By Evelyn J.

It wasn't not just his looks that made us look for his owners after choosing him "Pet of the Month". The 10 months-old Albi exhales happiness. We want to jump inside the photo to pet him. Probably that's how he convinced his "mom" Evelyn (someone who was not planning on having a dog at home) to keep him. To know more about Albi, here's David, his dad. As you will read, sounds like behind every happy dog there's always wonderful parents! Enjoy!

Contemplating beauty. By Evelyn J.

How did you find Albi?

We met Albi in our cousin's house in Albany, New York, last October. We quickly fell in love with him. Our relative and her family travel a lot and they were worried about Albi’s well-being. The initial plan was that Albi would stay with our relative’s sister, who also lives in Costa Rica. So, we agreed on bringing Albi with us on our flight back. But, once we landed, we realized we wanted to keep him. This dog is so adorable that we couldn’t let him go! In the end, our cousins agreed to give him away and Albi could stay with us.We were so thrilled we couldn’t believe how lucky we were.

Albi definitely shook my wife's heart. My wife thinks Albi started a new adventure as a Costa Rican, but I think she is the one having the biggest adventure discovering how sweet life can be with a touch of dog paw prints.

Catch me! By Evelyn J.

Relaxing. By Evelyn J.

Tell us more about Havanese dogs, the National dog of Cuba!

Havanese dogs are not common in Costa Rica, so we didn’t know that much about them until we met our pet. 

Over the Internet you find that this breed is a companion dog. They are also known as velcro dogs, because they stick so closely to their owner's side and I can say that this is 100% true. In fact, Albi’s favorite person is my wife, so he is always around her in the house. I am conscious I am his second choice, but once he looks at me with those expressive eyes I can see how much he loves me too. 

Havanese dogs are trainable. We have chosen the clicker training technique to teach Albi different tricks. These dogs are energetic and good at sports, which has translated into a more healthy lifestyle for us because now we can’t afford being lazy.

What is his favorite food and treats?

Albi loves cookie treats a lot! But, he also likes his food and that's something good for us, because we can even use his own food to reward him during the training sessions. He already knows how to sit under “Albi sentado” (Albi seated, in Spanish) order. There is a whole list of tricks we want him to learn, but for now he is being trained to stay down.

Adorable. By Evelyn J.

Part of the things Albi enjoys eating as well, are cauliflower, broccoli and bananas.

What is his best personality trait?

He is definitely a spoiled dog. Petting, hugging and snuggling are for sure the things he enjoys the most.

Is Albi a good friend for other dogs and humans besides you?

Albi loves other dogs. I think he wishes to play with every single dog he finds on the street. He is more selective with humans. They should first earn his trust by petting him, letting him sniff around a bit and then, he is ready to establish a friendship. 

What is his favorite park and getaways? Is he a good car traveler?

Albi really enjoys going out for jogging and walking, so it really does no matter which park you walk him through. As much as the two of us are with him he can be the happiest dog. Car trips are Albi's favorite, for sure! In fact, once he listens to the car keys, he runs next to the car door and as soon as I open the door he jumps in. Feeling the air in his head when the car is moving is one of his favorite things. 

Classic dog. By Evelyn J. 

 Is Albi  a demanding dog?

Oh yes! He lets my wife know whenever he needs a hug, but if he wants to play, I become his favorite person in the world. 

Relaxing (again!). By Evelyn J.

Now, Albi's interview: 

What noise that you most love in your home?

I suspect my parents think that what I like to hear the most is “a comer” just before I can start eating. But they’re wrong ... What I really like is to hear the sound of the car keys and imagine the places where I will be taken! I can't wait to feel the air on my face. There are so many new odors I can smell through the window. It makes me wonder if there are other dogs out there I can play with. When we are out on a trip, that’s my best time ever!

Albi, the fastest! By Evelyn J.

What is the best thing your parents do for you?

Like it's 4:45 am in the morning. Alarm is advising us that it’s a new day. What a short night! While I am still yawning one of my parents shows up next to me and takes me jogging. We go downstairs, I take some water and Yeah! I am excited now and ready to go. Hurry up, I want to go now! Woof woof! 

Once I’m back home, I have to wait at the door because I’m the fastest as usual.

Do you smell everything like every other dog in the world? What would be the best smell ever?

Yes! Specially when I’m in a new place. There are so many odors I have to smell. Also, I like the sweet smell kids have. I love them, somehow, I think kids are like me, or I am like them. I am not quite sure. 

That mostly awww-ed photo at Petzi Social (Photo by Evelyn J.)

When I’m at the park I breathe and I can feel the leaves, oh yeah! What a terrific odor! It was autumn when I left New York, so smelling and playing with leaves brings me many good memories. Good old times! 

Do you like cats?

Cats are interesting creatures, I haven’t socialized much with them. But, I like sniffing around with dogs more.

Treat or food?

Treat! Treat! Treat! 

Getting acquainted. By Evelyn J.

Do you love dogs as much as you love humans?

Every time I meet another dog, it’s bigger than me. So, that scares me a little bit. But once I sniff him out I realize that he is willing to play with me as much as I want to. In the end, I just want to play. 

Family selfie: Evelyn, David and Albi

Air Sign January 21 – February 19

By Pet-o-Sirius*

"Animals are reliable,  many full of love,  true in their affections,  predictable in their actions,  grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”  (by Alfred A. Montapert)

No time for shilly-shallying if you are born under Aquarius. This is the water bearer, referring to your love of people making you the ideal pet.

People want to be loved. You can see it in their eyes when they come home to your wagging tail or fervent leg looping. As long as your dual planets, Saturn and Uranus, the ruby planet, have your back, you will be petted and fed table scraps.

You love to wear turquoise colored collars and gemstones to show your friendliness, blues being the colors that elicit love and affection.

 You are an attractive pet, both honest and loyal and although sometimes you have difficulty expressing emotion, you are in fact sensitive and gentle. On the other hand, you could become strong willed and forceful if you do not get your own way and will want to dictate the brand of your kitty litter, chew stick or fish food.

Sometimes your exhibitionist tendencies are lively, yet appreciated. Your zany fun-making ensures you are good company for your pet parents.

You may not make friends all that easily. You are known to be eccentric.In your heart you believe in the brotherhood of petdom. Do not allow It is understood that you thrive on challenge, perhaps swimming the English channel or leaping the Grand Canyon would be right up your alley.

From January 21 to February 11 you may experience a slump to communications with your humans. Everything will get better soon. You will see. Don’t try to do anything.  Just lie there and scratch unless you are a fish.

 *Our guest writer's work can be seen at http://valeriekent.com

Berkeley Study: Helicopter Parents and Cat Ladies are the best for their pets! (and a little interview with the authors behind it)

By Anna Muggiati

Did you ever think that you were over-protective, anxious and maybe somehow neurotic when taking care of your pets? I did. And I never felt bad about it, as I always felt that my cats are emotionally well nurtured and cared for. According to a study that hit the big news this week, published last Thursday on the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, humans who emphatically love their pets have the same characteristics as overzealous parents.

This is the first U.S. study to encompass the bond between parents and children or between romantic partners with pet owners’ personality types, including if they are a “dog person” or “cat person".
 Mikel Delgado (Doctoral Psychology candidate at UC Berkeley) and Gretchen Reevy (PhD Psychology UC East Bay) surveyed more than 1,000 pet parents in the US, and analyzed some of their personality traits. Nearly 40 percent said they liked dogs and cats equally, while 38 percent identified as dog people and 19 percent as cat people. Just 3 percent declared "neither".

Mikel Delgado's kitties: Clarabelle and Beani

The online questionnaire was based on human and animal attachment. One of them was The Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale and the other about the "Big Five" human personality traits.  Another tool used was the Pet Attachment Questionnaire.

The results pointed out that people who scored high on "anxious attachment" need more  reassurance from the objects of their affection. On the other hand, people who are less affectionate and distant (also known as commitment-phobic) in romantic relationships, are much less needy. Both dog and cat lovers scored low on "avoidant attachment", indicating that both personality types enjoy close relationships with their pets. And that may indicate that the most neurotic and conscientious people are the super good pet parents.

Josie, one of Gretchen Reevy's cats

We asked Mikel Delgado and Gretchen Reevy to answer some questions for us, as we just had to know about their pet-love-life, and here is their mini-interview:

_ What made you choose this field of research? 

Delgado: I used to work in an animal shelter, and I am also a cat behavior consultant, so I have dealt a lot with pets and their owners. I've seen what happens firsthand when the relationship between a pet and their person is fractured, or when people are so attached to their pets they let that relationship impact other parts of their lives.

Reevy: I have always loved animals, especially cats. I don't have the background that Mikel has in terms of working in animal shelters or working as a cat behavior consultant----I have always been an academic----but in time I realized that with my background (PhD in personality psychology) I could do research related to cat welfare. Meeting Mikel helped a lot, since she is an expert on cat behavior. As Mikel and I started to talk about doing research on cats (or cats and other pets), we saw that there hasn't been a lot of research on how individual differences in people (for example, their personality traits) are related to their attachments to their pets, so if we did this research, we could make a contribution.

Another of the Greevy's family cats: Max

_ How the finding of the study could help super pet "parents" to cope better with their separation anxiety?

Delgado: We still need to do more research to know if a high level of attachment really means people take better care of their pets (as in meeting their behavioral needs) - that is something we are working on for a future project. I think it's always great to leave your pet with plenty to do while you are gone (solo play toys and the like) so you don't have to worry too much about them when you are away.

Reevy: This study didn't focus too much on people's characteristics independent of their relationships with pets. In other words, our study doesn't present data that will directly answer this question. Our study was intended to focus more on the welfare of animals than on the welfare of people! But your question is very interesting for future study. It may be the case that people who experience separation anxiety when they leave their pets are anxious in general. If that is the case, the solution is probably not easy....

_ Are you a cat or dog person? ( BTW I am a super anxious cat lady who parents 5 cats and two humans)...

Delgado: Definitely a cat person through and through and always have been :) Although I love animals in general, I definitely feel like I relate to and understand cats better than any other species! I have two kitties, and true to form, I do have some anxious pet-parenting tendencies.

Reevy: I am basically a cat person although I do really like dogs too. While growing up, my family continuously had cats. Three cats lived to be between 12 and 17 years old, and we had those 3 (all three of them, at the same time) from the time I was 6 years old and onward. I have never had a dog. Nowadays I have a husband and two cats, no kids. I consider myself an anxious person, too!!!

_ Are pets benefiting from human loneliness and isolation? Do you see a relationship with more availability of affection from humans to pets due to their psychological profile?

Delgado (and Reevy): Most research suggests that people who are close to their pets are also close to other humans, suggesting pets don't necessarily replace our human relationships, and people who love their pets don't have social deficits. That said, I do think that pets give us lots of physical and emotional rewards (such as the studies that show petting dogs releases oxytocin and can lower heart rate, etc), and I'd much rather come home to a house with cats in it than an empty home!

Petzi Reads: Books for the New Year

By Anna Muggiati


If your New Year's decision includes reading more books, fiction and non-fiction,  here are a few suggestions for pet parents and pet lovers. From funny poems to serious advice on how to deal with pets in the vet office, these are books that I picked for a fresh start on my reading list:

I Could Pee on This is a cute little book, a delight for those who would like to understand the dark and yet cozy humorous personality of cat owners. The poems are written on behalf of cats and show profound knowledge that the author, Francesco Marciuliano, has about the feline nature. As a cat parent I can tell you that there's one in special that made me laugh out loud... Its title is Scratch. That reminds me of my scruffy sofa, destroyed in its first year in the house, and now covered with a non-elegant slipcover to hide the claw-damaged arm. Of course the book is humanized. Or is the human behind it who got "catified"?  Talking about that...

I highly recommend Citizen Canine, by David Grimm (read his interview here) for the opinion-maker pet owner. It is an in-depth analysis that points out new trends in our relationship with cats and dogs. It also brings lots of facts and historical background of how pets became family members and their evolving status in the eyes of the Law. What I really like about it is the research behind it, sharing lots of precious information to be found nowhere else and, of course, brilliant writing.

Another one on my shelf is Harlow & Sage (and Indiana), created by Brittni Vega. It's a beautiful tale of friendship, acceptance and a playful way of using dog-voices as conductors of a lovable tale of real life canine friendship. Impossible not to fall in love with Harlow and friends as her heart seems to be as big as she is!!! Not to mention her admiration for Meryl Streep. The book is illustrated with photos of the beautiful dogs. The beauties already conquered 600 thousand followers at Instagram (due to their irresistible cuteness and warmth), and the loving writing just adds more reasons to be one more of their followers!








A next one on my list is Catification, by Jason Galaxy and Kate Benjamin. The authors explain cats' nature, relating to how their environment should be inside a human house. For most people a house remodel is a cool way of improving life quality, and this book brings cat and people co-habiting to another level. My favorite environment is the one that brings a tree-like-feeling inside the house. Now that we live with 5 cats (Me-WOW!) a "catification" sounds like a possibility. Even before my kitchen's total remodel. That sounds like cats became a priority here...are they already citizens in this household?

Last but not least VET Confidential is a must-have book on your shelf. Written by Dr. Louise Murray, an experienced vet, vice-president of the ASPCA hospital in New York. She shares practical tips of how to take the most from a vet visit and from those feared moments at the ER. It's a good guidance book for the new and old pet owner. In short, it is a sensible way of instructing how to be a responsible parent/owner and enables you to evaluate well what your pet really needs. I will consult it every time I schedule a new appointment for my pets.

Juju really would like to be a kitten-writer(or reader?)!