Good morning, it’s Wednesday.
Having dogs has truly transformed my life. As a recovering cat person, I can honestly say that I did not really understand unconditional love until I got a dog. (Sorry, feline-owning friends).
The worst thing about dogs is not the fact that you have to pick up their poop, or the walks in the rain, or the smelly breath, or the raids on the garbage can/sock/drawer/laundry basket. It is that they do not outlive us. The mere thought of losing one of my furry threesome can send me into a very dark place for a prolonged period of time.
I have always been something of a helicopter pet parent, but when it comes to my senior dog, who is going on 11 years old, I am downright hyper vigilant. He sneezes and I have to talk myself out of rushing him to the vet. Anything that I can possibly do to prolong his life – and yes, I did briefly consider cloning, but it is cost prohibitive – I am up for.
According to my vet, the best thing one can do to prolong the life of a dog and/or cat and protect their health is keep them at a healthy weight. This is particularly difficult for my senior dog, who never met anything edible – literally anything – that he didn’t like. Food is his love language, and I want him to feel as loved as humanly – caninely? – possible.
Keeping your dog lean can add as much as two years to their life. Two WHOLE YEARS!! Think of all the cuddles, pets, ball tosses, and adorably unforgettable moments that adds up to be!
According to a range of studies, an estimated 56 percent of the 87.3 million to 90 million pet dogs living in up to 71 million households are either overweight or obese. What does that mean? Unfortunately, that can vary based on breed, sex, age, whether the dog has been spayed or neutered, etc.
Generally speaking, though, you can give your dog a simple weight heck by giving them a so-called “healthy hug” to see if you can easily feel their ribs. If the ribs are sticking out, the dog is too thin, if you can’t find them at all, it’s time for a diet/exercise regimen.
You should also look down onto your dog and be able to see a discernible waist – they should look like an hourglass and not a sausage, basically. From the side, you should be able to see a difference between the stomach and the ribs – again an indent is deal, not one long barrel.
The best way to keep your dog on the lean side is to feed them less, and, generally speaking, to stay away from people food. I know some people cook their dogs’ food and/or do a raw food diet. I tried that and my Doodles – a breed known for its sensitive stomach – did not dig it at all. I do give them a probiotic (a little yogurt will do the trick, too), and chicken and rice if they have upset tummies.
The other key is to make sure your dog gets enough exercise. How much is “enough” again depends on temperament, age and breed. And dogs also need mental stimulation. Leaving your dog alone and toyless for hours on end is not beneficial to their overall wellness.
Today is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day, which I plan on observing by – what else? – taking the dogs for a walk. (It also falls during World Pet Obesity Awareness Month, which I admittedly did not know even existed until today).
It will be cloudy and on the warm side today – though not as warm as yesterday – with highs in the high 60s.
In the headlines…
A federal judge on Tuesday again blocked President Trump’s attempt to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, ensuring the outlets will have access to the complex as their legal quest to overturn the ban continues.
Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that the three news outlets had made strong arguments that the White House’s action had violated their First Amendment rights and their rights to due process.
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, once a top Trump campaign surrogate, has resigned at the behest of the White House amid a misconduct probe.
The rise and fall of Guilfoyle, 57, was not a surprise at the White House, where many saw her as a flamboyant party girl with questionable judgment.
“Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of a lifetime,” Guilfoyle said Tuesday in a post on X announcing her resignation.
With Republicans’ political fortunes declining, Trump has stepped up his Oprah-style handouts to voters in an effort to eke out any last votes he might be able to find for endangered Republicans.
Hillary Clinton has rarely been far from the spotlight since her 2016 presidential bid. She has written best-selling books, taught at Columbia and even tried her hand on Broadway as a producer for the Tony Award-winning musical “Suffs.” Her next act? Podcaster.
Pope Leo, 71, was diagnosed with lung cancer on Tuesday, and a lower lobe of his right lung was removed during surgery, the Vatican said in a statement.
The pontiff was in the operating room for about 3 hours, the statement said. The surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes. “The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the statement said.
In its statement, the Vatican did not disclose what stage the cancer was in or whether the cancer may have spread. It also did not detail what further procedures the pope may have to undergo.
For a pope who appeared to have time on his side, cancer has raised questions about his longevity and brought a new urgency to his plans for the Church.
The federal investigation that prompted the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. residence reportedly centers on claims that she or her late father may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship.
Omar’s staff appears to have helped get her birthdate changed in public records once the Minnesota Democrat was elected to Congress in 2018, a switch that has since spurred frenzied accusations that she misrepresented her age to secure US citizenship.
Cornell University suspended parties at fraternity houses until next year and is giving state police a role in investigating reports of sexual assault on campus in the school’s latest response to outrage over its handling of a gang rape allegation.
The university announced the changes as it tried to reassure students, faculty and alumni that it is addressing the ongoing crisis set off several weeks ago by the lawsuit filed by a former undergraduate, known as Jane Doe.
“The fact that Jane Doe experienced what she experienced at Cornell is something that I am personally sorry for,” the university’s president, Dr. Michael Kotlikoff said. “And I think this entire campus is sorry that occurred.”
Trump on Tuesday demanded that New York Attorney General Letitia James be removed from an investigation into the alleged rape at Cornell University, calling the state’s top prosecutor a “disgusting cop” with “zero credibility.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman sparred over immigration policy, Trump and who deserves blame for the rising cost of living during a 60-minute debate last night.
During the debate, Blakeman accused Hochul of failing to act as a trustee at Cornell University — as the local District Attorney dropped the case over horrific sexual assault allegations.
The two contenders for governor of New York clashed over issues that include data centers and immigration in a debate that reflected the contentious nature of their contest.
Hochul spent much of the hour-long forum knocking Blakeman for his deeply polarizing political ally while the GOP nominee largely fixated on attacking her record.
A Super PAC backing Blakeman and bankrolled by Knicks owner James Dolan is set to spend big in the race for attorney general in support of Democratic incumbent AG Tish James’ GOP challenger Saritha Komatireddy.
Dolan is urging New York’s business elite to abandon Hochul, highlighting her support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and is spending millions to back her opponent, Blakeman.
Dolan said there is “widespread agreement”i n the business community that Mamdani is “bad for the city” because “we all know that his plans to raise taxes are disastrous for our economy.”
It’s the latest instance of Dolan infusing his personal politics into the beloved team – and it immediately provoked the ire of the Knicks faithful in deep-blue New York City.
Mamdani and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin have reached a deal to abolish the city’s horse carriage industry by June 2028 — a critical breakthrough in a decadeslong, politically fraught effort to ban the tourist attraction.
Menin said she’s scheduling a full Council vote on the measure for Oct. 22. The legislation has already secured formal support from more than half of the Council’s 51 members, meaning it’s on a glidepath to becoming law now that Mamdani is supporting it.
In response to news of the deal, TWU President John Samuelsen, whose New York members are mostly subway, bus and railway workers, blasted the finalized version of the bill for giving “no meaningful economic relief for workers.”
Mamdani rejected calls from his political base to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch after federal immigration agents shot a man in the neck last week, injuring him, saying he has “no plans” to replace her.
“The reason that I made the decision to have Jessica Tisch as the police commissioner was because of her record of uprooting corruption from the upper echelons of the NYPD,” the mayor added.
Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff and several other wealthy property owners are getting an expensive surprise courtesy of Mamdani’s new pied-à-terre tax.
In a recent interview in his Lower Manhattan office, NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, a Democrat, said he and his investment team had decided not to purchase bonds from the state of Israel – a reversal from what he pledged on the campaign trail last year.
The legal fight over the first-ever two-year rent freeze grew heated as the city’s top attorney threatened to call his adversary ex-First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to the witness stand, and Mastro asked the judge to grant him more access to city officials’ phones.
Liberal City Councilman Chi Ossé was caught-on-video recklessly riding a Citi Bike in the wrong direction down a busy Manhattan street while carelessly breaking traffic laws and blowing through red lights.
NYC Criminal court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny, who pulled out a pistol in court to “deceive” a testifying police officer, was admonished by a state judicial ethics commission for his “little experiment.”
A decade of disruptions for commuters who use the Port Authority’s Midtown Bus Terminal is set to begin tomorrow, as the next phase of major construction on a $11 billion rebuild of the dilapidated, 75-year-old facility used by 200,000 daily bus riders begins.
Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy took aim at local delegates to the state Legislature for failing to shield the county from the costly municipal ramifications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald J. Trump signed last year.
Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford is cooling on a proposal he previously said he was “adamant” about passing, which would empower the City Council to handle decisions about demolitions in Saratoga Springs’ architectural district.
Local attorneys Barrett Mack and Kelly Mikullitz have been longtime legal “adversaries,” representing clients who have faced off against one another in Capital Region divorce cases for years. Now they have united in a new firm called Mack & Mikullitz, P.C.
Vandals damaged a transportation company’s fleet of buses, leaving behind a trail of broken windows, punctured tires and city school administrators suddenly scrambling to get students to school after returning from the Columbus Day weekend.
The Town of Niskayuna’s tentative budget initially called for a 19.46% increase in the General Fund tax levy. Now, the supervisor says the combined increase for the General and Highway funds is down to 12% as the town continues working on its budget.
Breeze Airways will start offering a direct flight to Myrtle Beach from Albany on Mondays and Fridays starting May 28, 2027.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
