As a pair of pardoned turkeys wing their way from Washington to Disneyland on Thursday, a solitary tom will be pacing his cage at Centennial Farm.

The brown and white feathered Costa Mesa resident lives a life of relative leisure. From his ample one-room studio cage, he snacks from a bowl of feed while his juicy sidekicks — two Peking ducks and a goose — quack and honk in stereo nearby.

The 1-year-old gobbler, like President Obama’s feathered friends Courage and Carolina, also has been spared the holiday carving knife. The 20-pound bird instead will serve as an educational aide, so to speak, at the farm.

What this turkey really needs, however, is a name. We believe The Register’s readers can do better than “tom,” so for the next 24 hours, we’ll take your suggestions.

Leave your name suggestion in the comment field below. Be nice! We reserve the right to chop your nasty, crude or inappropriate names like an ill-fated turkey neck.

On Thanksgiving Day we’ll vote on three to four turkey-worthy names chosen by yours truly. Don’t forget to check back while you snack on a wing or breast slathered in gravy. (For the record, the pets editor eats neither feathered nor furred creatures.)

The person who submits the winning name gets braggin’ rights … and maybe some tasty leftovers.

Watch a preview of the White House turkey pardon.

Turkey tidbits:

• The tom at Centennial Farm is caged to prevent him from flying away. While large domesticated turkeys are generally unable to fly, smaller, lighter domesticated turkeys known as heritage turkeys and wild turkeys can fly.
• The name given to a group of turkeys is a rafter, although they are sometimes incorrectly referred to as a gobble or flock.
• Turkeys have a distinctive fleshy wattle that hangs from the underside of the beak, and a fleshy protuberance that hangs from the top of its beak called a snood.
• The average lifespan for a domesticated turkey is 10 years.
• Despite the name, turkeys have no direct relation to the country of Turkey and are native to North America.
• Hens are harvested (slaughtered) at about 14 weeks and toms at about 18 weeks.

Read more about turkeys and controversy in Orange County:

Group protests turkeys at Disneyland

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We can just smell the holiday season … how about you?

The pets of Orange County are being stuffed into their holiday finest, and sometimes that doesn’t mean sweaters or hats.

Today Pet Tales debuts its first Holiday Fashion Throwdown. Readers are encouraged to vote for their favorite look. Play nice, people! We reserve the right to throw you in the Dog House…

Meet Clyde and Buddy Holiday, two O.C. pups from opposite sides of the fashion spectrum. Their owners write:

Clyde lives in Foothill Ranch. He’s wearing a Body Glove’s dog rash guard. What he wants for Christmas:  A surfboard. – Jason Jepson

This is Buddy the RatDog from Costa Mesa. Buddy is a 4-and-a-half year-old, mix-breed Chihuahua. He is the proud owner of his human friends, Lindsey and Matt, and of course the Grandpa — his favorite human friend and frequent “Buddy-sitter”. Buddy is wearing his Santa Buddy outfit for the holidays as he delivers the holiday presents. For the holidays Buddy would like to be with anyone who will let him sit on their laps — and preferably even lick their noses for a special “treat.” — Lindsey

Be sure to register your vote!
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Join the Holiday Fashion Throwdown. Send us your critters in their best holiday wear. We’ll post your photos here at Pet Tales daily. Readers can vote for favorites and top pets get to share bragging rights.

E-mail your pet photos to sgowen@ocregister.com. Be sure to include in your message:

• Pet’s name and city of residence;
• What he/she is wearing;
• What he/she wants for the holidays.

Be sure to check back at Pet Tales daily!

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The proposed rule would amend the FDA’s animal food regulations to add a new paragraph detailing how the common names of FDA-certified color additives used in animal foods, including animal feed and pet food, should be declared in the ingredient list. The proposed rule also suggests appropriate terminology for declaring certification-exempt color additives on the animal food labels.

The agency is accepting public comment on the proposal until Feb. 22.

Nutritionists and many veterinarians often recommend pet owners avoid food with color additives, as some animals can show adverse reactions to such ingredients.

You can read more about pets and food dye in Ann Martin’s book “Food Pets Die For.”

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It was Wednesday last week and Melanie Breuchert and her 2-year-old daughter were taking a walk through their neighborhood on Balboa Peninsula. They saw a small dog trotting down the sidewalk, past the Old Spaghetti Factory. Melanie quietly wondered if the animal had gotten free from a nearby house.

The situation quickly took a gut-wrenching turn as the dog hopped off the sidewalk and headed onto car-choked Newport Boulevard.

Melanie saw her neighbor, Charlie Fox, and screamed, “Charlie, get the dog!”

Charlie did just that — he jumped into traffic, weaving around cars as the dog dodged him at every opportunity.

Pedestrians stepped in to signal cars as everyone stopped for a second or two to watch man and dog dart across the street.

Charlie pinned a screeching dog, filthy and scared, to the pavement. He got a good grip and jumped out of harm’s way.

Melanie says of that moment:

“I realized that this dog wasn’t normal; it was ruined, discolored, covered in feces, lacking hair in the second half of its distorted body.  My heart was absolutely overwhelmed with the devastation at hand.  I felt broken myself when I saw that this dog was absolutely abused, used, and discarded.  My spirit hurt for this dog.”

She and Charlie turned to Dr. Donald Earl of the Lido Animal Hospital for help. The veterinarian and his staff quickly got to work and assessed the damage.

Dr. Earl believes the dog was used as a breeding bitch. Scared, hungry and abused, the animal likely was dumped.

(The top photo of Faith was taken after she was groomed; below that is how she arrived at the hospital.)

“She’s probably 7 to 9 years old, but she looks 17,” he told Pet Tales.

The staff named the small poodle Faith and says she has responded well to treatment and is already jumping into their arms for affection and food.

Dr. Earl says Faith can be adopted in a few weeks, after she heals from her injuries and grows even more accustomed to people and affection.

As for Melanie, she’s hailing her neighbors as heroes:

“In such a hopeless situation heroes emerged.  Our community stepped up, from my neighbor Charlie to the pedestrians jumping into the street, to super hero Dr. Earl and his staff who ran out to save this dog, show her mercy, love her, and invest in her.  Devastating ruins can be rebuilt, reversed, resurrected, saved.  This is a time of Thanksgiving.  I am so moved and will always give thanks for the heroes in my community!”

If you are interested in adopting Faith or other pets Dr. Earl helps at the Pup Squad Rescue (seen below), contact the Lido Animal Hospital at 949-933-1581 or e-mail lidovet@aol.com.

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Dear Marie, I am planning on having family over to my house for Thanksgiving and I am terrified. My four-year-old neutered cat has recently taken to peeing outside the litter box and the house smells horrible.

I would be extremely embarrassed to entertain under these conditions. I’ve tried cleaning some areas that I’ve been able to locate with dish detergent, but now those spots just smell like dish detergent mixed with urine.

To make matters worse, I can’t find most of the spots where my cat is peeing. I can smell it, but my nose just can’t pinpoint where it is coming from. I have to do something about this before Thanksgiving. I can’t afford to rip the carpet out, but if I have to, I’ll get a loan and do it rather than having people over with this awful stench in the house.

Please, please help me. Thank you – Jackie

Dear Jackie,

I understand completely where you are coming from and this is certainly a stressful situation. But take a deep breath (through your mouth, not your nose!) and let me outline what you need to do.

First, please take your kitty to the veterinarian. In many cases when cats begin to urinate outside of their litter boxes, it means there is an underlying heath issue. If you can rule out a health problem, then it’s time to examine the behavioral side of the predicament and then we’ll focus on clean-up.

Many cat owners find that if they trace back the timeline to the point where their pets began to exhibit inappropriate urination, that there was a coincidental event that prevented their cat from having access to its litter box, or there was a significant or traumatic event that occurred in the household.

If it was a significant or traumatic event of some kind (introduction of a new pet, family member, new furniture delivered, etc.), then you just need to provide your cat with a little extra stability for a short while. Sometimes keeping your cat in a safe and familiar room for a week or two is all it takes to press the feline reset button. Provide a litter box, food and water, and hang out in the room with your kitty as much as possible. There should be plenty of sunshine, and even soft, classical music playing on a radio.

If for some reason your cat’s access to the litter box was restricted, for example, if your litter box is in the bathroom and somebody closed the bathroom door, or your cat was closed off in a room without a litter box, then your cat may have had no other choice than to find another spot to relieve itself. Once that happens, then your cat will believe it is OK to use that spot because his sense of smell will tell him that it is OK.

Unfortunately, our highly inadequate human noses can never pinpoint where the smell of urine originates from. This is where you need to pretend that you are a CSI. Purchase a small black-light and use it after dark in every room of your house. Voila, cat urine stains will glow!

As you’ve discovered, you should not use household cleaners to get rid of odors. If anything, they amplify the smell and make it that much more attractive to your cat. Instead, use an enzymatic cleaner designed specifically for the task. Every pet supply store has gallons of this stuff, in a variety of brand names, stocked and ready on their shelves. You are definitely not the first person who has had this trouble.

Finally, make sure you clean your cat’s litter box regularly. Cats are very sanitary animals. They don’t want to step in soiled litter, would you? So if you are thinking you just don’t have time, and it can last another day or two, just remember how much more effort is involved in cleaning up accidents on the carpet. If you have a fastidious cat, it’s much better just to keep the box as pristine as possible. Good luck.

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Recent columns by Marie:

Recent animal news:

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Consumer Reports has done the obligatory seasonal shopping survey, asking consumers if they plan to cut back this year. The results found that among folks considering trimming their holiday spending, women were more likely to cut back on giving to their spouse than to the family pet.

Twenty-two percent of women who expected to reduce holiday spending said they’d be spending less on their spouses. That compares with 14 percent planning to trim the fat on Fido’s bones.

Men, on the other hand, were more even-handed; about the same percentage were willing to cut back on their significant other (17 percent) as on their pet (19 percent).

Perhaps women favor their pets in gift-giving because a cat won’t sigh heavily and roll its eyes after getting slippers instead of a GPS.

For those of us pet owners looking to cut back a teensy-weensy bit on pet care, read Consumer Reports Money Adviser’s advice on pet expenditures.
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The temptation to share our Thanksgiving meal with the family pets is almost always too hard to resist.  Before you go handing over the pie and table scraps to the dog, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals offers some sensible tips pet owners should consider before handing over the pumpkin pie:

Talkin’ Turkey
If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s boneless and well-cooked. Don’t offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria.

Sage advice
Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish, but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.
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No bread dough
Don’t spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal’s body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.

Don’t let them eat cake
If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.

Too much of a good thing
A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don’t allow your pets to overindulge, as they could wind up with a case of stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse — an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In fact, it’s best keep pets on their regular diets during the holidays.

A feast fit for a Kong
While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer them rawhide strips, Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner — perhaps with a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables (try sweet potato or green beans) and dribbles of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.

Join the fun: We want photos of your pets dressed for the holidays! Submit a photo and brag to all your friends …

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The holiday sweaters are upon us. Expect to see grown men and women sporting garish concoctions of red, white, and green anytime now.

We’d rather not see the sweaters at all, but if they’re as stylish as the one seen on Wolf, above, then we’ll give you a free pass.

Wolf is a Havanese (the national dog of Cuba) and is owned by siblings Evan, 10,  and *Alana, 14, Mouchard of Irvine. The pup is sporting a stylish sweater by Lands End (and a puppy cut).

(*Alana weighs in to correct her father, ahem, an editor here at The Register. She’s 15, folks. Journalists, for the record, stink at math … )

Pet owners, we want pictures of your critters in their best holiday wear. We’ll post your photos here at Pet Tales daily. Readers can vote for favorites and top pets get to share bragging rights.

E-mail your pet photos to sgowen@ocregister.com. Be sure to include in your message:

• Pet’s name and city of residence;
• What he/she is wearing;
• What he/she wants for the holidays.

Be sure to check back at Pet Tales daily!

Follow @sammigo on Twitter | Become a fan of Pet Tales on Facebook
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E-mail your pet photos to sgowen@ocregister.com

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Two weeks ago, Fly and I competed in our second nose work trial. The trial, held at a school in San Pedro, featured some challenging hides of the oils the dogs have to find with their noses.

I’m amazed how far Fly has come in less than a year. I’d say he’s a natural at this sport, but really, all dogs are naturals at it. Nose work simply lets dogs take advantage of what they are so good at: finding things with those amazing noses of theirs.

Who hasn’t played hide and seek with their dog, just on a whim? Look Fido, here’s your favorite toy. Now I’m going to hide it behind the sofa. Find it! And, amazingly, Fido does. Does he see you hide the toy? Maybe. But is he using his eyes to find it? Nope. It’s that nose. That nose knows where everything is.

I’ve had Fly in agility classes since he was 8 months old. I have struggled for the six-plus years since to get him to enjoy this sport that I love so much.

I took classes with many really good instructors, seminars from many others, until finally landing with an instructor who teaches a system that allows me to make agility black and white for Fly.

That helped. Clear cues with straightforward meanings and easy-to-understand body language on my part helped him focus. Still, almost anything could take him out of the game. “Almost anything” being defined as a leaf falling from a tree, the merest possibility that someone just might have dropped a treat on the ground, a dog barking a quarter of a mile away …

Then, last January, I signed up for a nose work seminar and watched Fly enter his element. He wasn’t just interested; he was jazzed, over-the-top excited, absolutely in love with the idea of finding a treat-filled toy in a box and then getting to eat the food. What more could any dog want?

So of course we signed up for classes, and in June we entered our first trial. I had no idea how Fly would do. At agility trials, he spends more time exploring the corners of the agility ring than on the equipment. What would he do at a nose work trial? Would he start sniffing, ignoring me like he did at agility trials, and have to be carried out of the competition area?

I needn’t have worried. He knew the game and wasted little time sniffing out the birch scent he was tasked with finding. We got a perfect score of 100 and earned our Nose Work 1 title, making Fly officially Fly, NW1.

We didn’t quite get our NW2 title two weeks ago, though we came oh so close – within one point. We missed finding the odor in one room, where the scent was flowing in such a way that Fly couldn’t pinpoint the actual source. That’s the dog’s task: Find the odor’s source. Fly came close but wasn’t quite there.

But that didn’t matter. We had so much fun, and I learned so much about how Fly communicates with me from that trial. As is the case with any sport, every time I participate in nose work, I learn something. And that’s the point. The titles are nice, and I have no doubt that we will get our NW2 at our next trial. But the real fun is working with my dog, having fun, learning from one another.

The bottom line, as nose work founder Ron Gaunt is so fond of saying, is to “Trust your dog.” The dogs know what they’re doing; all we have to do is watch and learn from them.

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Recent columns by Maryanne Dell:

Post from: Pet Tales

It’s not everyday you sit among former gang members — their hands tattooed in blue ink — and some happy mutts.

But so it was Friday at Juvenile Hall in Orange.

Three last-chance mutts from the Orange County Animal Care shelter graduated with honors after completing a 12-week training program at the facility.

You could say that Gizmo, Biscuit and Scout had a lot in common with the teens that trained them. All had behavioral issues and struggled with boundaries. Biscuit was out of control, Gizmo was a bit lazy, and Scout had a serious case of wanderlust.

With a lot of help from Janette Thomas, the executive director of Another Chance for Love and a dog trainer extraordinaire, the wards and the dogs learned about love, patience and empathy.

Read more: Three mutts ‘paroled’ to new homes

Top photo: Juvenile Hall was home to Biscuit, a terrier-mix, over the past 12 weeks. A group of teen wards cared for and trained three dogs and helped prepare the dogs for new homes.

Left photo: Gizmo, a Pekinese, gets a hug from a trainer on the dog’s graduation day at Juvenile Hall in Orange.

See more photos by Register photographer Cindy Yamanaka.

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