Let pets wag tails for party of choice

What kind of political animal is living under your roof (and we don’t mean the human kind)? Is your dog a Repuppycan or a Doggy Democrat? Is your cat a Democat or a Republikitten?

Let them proclaim their affiliation with the help of My Dog Votes and Political Party Pets, online companies that sell all sorts of clothing and accessories for your campaigning pet companions.

Political Party Pets (politicalpartypets.com) has dog and cat bowls with party symbols for $29.95 and $34.95. The T-shirts for dogs range from $14.95 to $17.95. That site also has a political blog and a place you can vote for candidates. Among the choices: Howl for Hillary, Bark for Barack, Ruff for Rudy, Mew for McCain, Hiss for Huckabee.

Both companies say their goal is to get out the vote, and at My Dog Votes (mydogvotes.com) you can get lawn signs, buttons and T-shirts that say “Help Lick Voter Apathy” and “Vote Dog Friendly.”

Save some cash when traveling with, without pets

According to some surveys, a quarter of all dog owners won’t travel overnight if hotels and resorts won’t allow pets, says Kari Miller of Fetch! Pet Care.

To help make it easier for pet owners to travel, Fetch! has teamed up with AAA, the auto travel organization, to offer petcare discounts in Northern California, Nevada and Utah through the California State Automobile Association.

When AAA members show their membership card, they can get discounts that include an initial $20-off coupon and 10 percent discount thereafter from Fetch! Pet Care. They can use it either when they leave their pets at home with a sitter, or take the pooch with them and need a sitter at their travel destination.

There are no such contracts in Colorado, according to AAA. But pet-care service companies sometimes will honor AAA card discounts, so be sure to ask about it.

Fetch! has sitters in Denver, Littleton and Golden, according to a fetchpetcare.com. Colorado Springs is expected to become part of the Fetch! network in February, a spokeswoman said. For more information go to aaa.com or fetchpetcare.com.

Group bands together to save feral cats

Texas A&M University has started a program to get feral cats spayed and neutered. The Aggie Feral Cat Alliance, made up of veterinary students and volunteers, recovers, feeds and monitors the wild animals. They provide help to about 20 to 30 feral cats each year, and some are eventually adopted, says Margaret Slater, a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Many college campuses have a feral cat problem because students abandon the animals.

For more information on feral cats, go to www.cvm.tamu.edu/afcat.