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    Bridget Marquardt

    Bridget Marquardt

  • Hospital Rescues Injured Sea Lions

    The Marine Mammal Center is the largest animal marine mammal rescue hospital in the world. They rescue and treat over 800 sea lions, seals, otters, dolphins, and whales a year. With the help of over 1,100 volunteers the MMC patrols 600 miles of California coastline and assist in rescues of debris entanglements, gunshot victims, and abandoned pups. I recently spent a day with veterinarian, Dr. Bill Van Bonn, to learn about some of these special patients and what goes into caring for them. ...

  • A World-Famous Pet Cemetery

    The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery just north of New York City, has been open since 1896 and is the final resting place for 85,000 animals. Dogs and cats may make up the majority of pets buried here, but the cemetery also has horses, guinea pigs, rabbits, and even a lion cub buried on its grounds.The gravestones -- some funny, some sweet, some sad -- are a reminder of the love between animals and their people. "Only a dog could be so true," reads one; another describes the dog as his owner's "only friend". ...

  • Cesar Millan's Behavior Advice

    Bridget recently sat down with Cesar Millan and got his take on some common dog behavior issues.How important is the right type of exercise? Cesar says walks really are the best exercise: all that chasing a ball may get your dog some physical exercise, but it creates an anxious mind. Get your dog out on a walk and tire his brain out so he's ready to come home and relax.Is it OK to let your dog climb up on your lap? Cesar says it depends on how you do it. If your dog climbs all over you and tries to dominate, you're setting up a situation where your dog is in control. ...

  • Extreme Dog Grooming

    Think dog grooming is just about making dogs look clean and pretty? Think again. We visited this year's Groom Expo in Hershey, PA, where the Creative Grooming competition proved even dogs can get dressed up for Halloween.We saw dogs groomed to look like pandas, robots, muppets, Yoda, a fish, and even an octopus with tiger stripes. The goal here seemed to make a dog look like anything other than a dog.

  • Surfing Dogs

    The surf was up at this year's Surf City Surf Dog Competition, which took place on September 30 in Huntington Beach, California. Dogs of all breeds and all sizes lined up to take on some big waves at the annual contest.It takes a certain kind of dog to stay standing on a surfboard on land, let alone out in the waves....and while they all had different personalities, each dog at this contest had one thing in common: they LOVED the water. ...

  • Cesar Millan's Dog Adoption Tips

    Bridget sat down with dog expert Cesar Millan to get some advice about adopting a great dog. Cesar offered five simple tips to get off on the right foot (or paw) with your new friend:1) Pick a dog with the right energy for youLook for a calm, low-to-medium energy dog. The highest energy dogs can be too much for you to handle in a home and are better suited to police work and search and rescue. Think you can tell the energy of a dog by its breed? Cesar says you can't. He demonstrated with the two dogs (one big, one little, both calm) that he brought with him to our interview. ...

  • Cats, Cats and More Cats!

    Bridget visits this year's Santa Monica Cat Show and gets up close with the contestants. She sees old favorites like Persian, Abyssinian and Siamese cats....but she also gets to meet some newer, lesser-known breeds, like the curly-furred Cornish Rex, the curly-eared American Curl and the chirping Chartreux.And since the cat show isn't just about the cats, we got to hear from their people, too, about why they love their cats.

  • Dealing with a Problem Dog

    A misbehaving dog can be exhausting and frustrating. And since it always helps to understand why your dog may not be on his or her best behavior, we brought back board certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Rachel Malamed to give us some tips on what to do if your dog exhibits "problem behavior".If you're interested in hearing more from Dr. Rachel, you can check out her website here.

  • Working Out with Your Dog

    Exercising can be tough, even for dogs -- but they need to get in shape, too!We got celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson to show us some dog-friendly workouts that will help get both us and our dogs in shape. Gunnar may be known for working with famous humans, but it turns out he's got some tips for getting our dogs involved in our workouts as well.He showed us three exercises that will help get us in shape while letting our dogs play: a squat toss, lateral hops, and a backpedal -- all of them with dog-specific variations. ...

  • The Bug Wrangler

    We recently got up close and personal with some creepy crawlies thanks to Hollywood bug wrangler and entomologist Steven Kutcher. Steven's worked on over one hundred films, TV shows and commercials, including movies like "Arachnophobia" and "The Exorcist II".Steven had some great bug tricks to show us: from a praying mantis that waves, to a bug pulling a cart, and even some lady bugs getting some exercise. And did you know bugs have an artistic side? Steven even paints with bugs by putting paint on their feet. You can check out his bug art website here.

  • What to Do If Your Pet is Choking

    We recently sat down with pet first aid expert Denise Fleck for a quick lesson in how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver on a dog or cat.Everyone knows how easily dogs can choke on bones or toys, so this is an essential thing for any pet owner to know and Denise says she's seen this simple method save lives before.For more information on Denise's Pet First Aid classes, check out her website here.

  • Swimming with Whale Sharks

    Animal Nation recently visited the Georgia Aquarium, where Bridget got to dive with whale sharks. They may be the largest fish in the ocean, but these sharks are gentle giants: filter feeders who rely on plankton and fish eggs to survive.The Georgia Aquarium is the only place in the United States where you can see whale sharks in captivity. They're a part of the aquarium's Ocean Voyager exhibit, a football field-sized, 6. ...

  • Horses Provide Therapy for Special Needs Kids

    We recently visited a clinic for children with developmental disabilities where therapists are using horses to provide occupational and physical therapy. It's called hippotherapy and at McKenna Farms in Dallas, Georgia, the patients range from autistic children to those with physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy.We met one four year-old boy named Noah, whose cerebral palsy prevents him from sitting upright or fully using his hands or legs. ...

  • Dealing with a Problem Cat

    Cats can be challenging to understand, especially when they're misbehaving, so we sat down with veterinarian and animal behavior specialist Dr. Rachel Malamed to get to the bottom of some common cat behavior problems. Her top three? Going to the bathroom outside the litterbox, scratching furniture and fighting with other cats.1. Not Using the LitterboxFor cats who won't use the litterbox, Dr. Rachel says to bear in mind that it may be a medical problem. ...

  • Pet CPR: How to Save Your Pet's Life

    Finding your dog unconscious and not breathing would be a terrifying situation. That's why we brought in pet first aid expert Denise Fleck to show us what we should do if we find ourselves in that situation.Denise demonstrated, step by step, how to perform CPR and rescue breathing -- the same kind we're taught on humans -- on a dog or cat. We learned how to perform mouth-to-snout rescue breaths, how find our pet's pulse at the femoral artery on the inner thigh, where exactly to locate our pet's heart to begin compressions, and how to perform those compressions on both large and small animals. ...

  • The Playboy Mansion Zoo: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour

    Did you know the Playboy Mansion has a zoo? Neither did we, but Bridget did! She took us on a special behind-the-scenes tour of the only private zoo in Los Angeles. From squirrel monkeys to marmosets, and peacocks to toucans, we got up close with the 184 animals that call the zoo home.We even got a chance to sit down with the mansion's most famous resident, Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, to find out about why he started a zoo. Turns out he's loved animals ever since he was a kid. Hef even told us he might have become a zookeeper, if he hadn't started Playboy!

  • The World's Ugliest Dogs? Turns Out They're Cute!

    Animal Nation recently visited the 2012 World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, and while the contestants may have been vying for ugliest in show, all we saw were beautiful dogs. It turns out the world's ugliest dogs were actually really cute!We saw mohawks and mullets, snaggleteeth and curled tongues. Sure, they may have been a little different, but that just made them all that much more adorable.

  • Clinic Helps Injured Dogs Run Again

    Yukon and Darwin are two dogs who were unable to walk a short time ago. Yukon, a wolf hybrid, had his wrist crushed by an elk. After numerous surgeries, his vets were suggesting amputation as the only option. Darwin, a tiny little Yorkie, was attacked by a larger dog and had his front paw amputated. ...

  • Dogs and Cheetahs: Unlikely Friends

    Dogs and cheetahs may seem like an odd pairing, but at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, they're inseparable. We met up with trainer Janet Rose-Hinostroza to meet some cheetahs and to find out about the park's successful dog and cheetah buddy program.

  • Teaching Dogs to Herd

    Think your dog is a natural shepherd? I recently met up with Ted Ondrak of SoCal Herding. He's a real-life shepherd, and when he's not busy competing or working at herding events, he teaches dogs to herd.As it turns out, not every breed of dog is up to the challenge. To make it work, breeds have to be in the herding group, and then the individual dog has to have the instinct to go towards the livestock. If a dog makes it that far, then he or she can be taught how to follow commands and herd.And why do it? Because the dogs love it. ...