The American Boston Terrier Rescue of North Texas will host a garage sale on April 5th in Lewisville. All proceeds will benefit the daily care of the rescued Bostons.

Find out the time and location in this posting by Denise Bays.

We’re not all grim and foreboding here at Paws and Effect. Frankly, we like a good stupid pet trick or funny animal video as much as the next four-legged critter.

In fact, if you have a canine that can fetch you a six-pack of beer from the corner store, dances a waltz or is downright silly…post the video on our site and I’ll link to it here.

Pam Martin of Garland plunges straight into the action, with her video of Spy, an eight-year-old Jack Russell Terrier that is learning to skateboard.

Watch the video and then read Pam’s purple prose about her special little pooch.

The birds of White Rock Lake move fast. That’s what I learned when I went on a birding expedition with George Boyd, East Dallas resident and nature photographer, two weeks ago.

A group of eight curious avian watchers showed up at the parking lot near the spillway at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday to trek into the nature preserve for the chance to see the birds that call White Rock Lake home.

We were hoping to eyeball some of the rarer birds such as blue herons, monk parakeets and other winter migrants. What I learned was bird watching is a sport where much patience is required. First, there’s a good chance you won’t find the bird that you’re looking for and second, they can fly away before you have a chance to get your camera trained on them.

For a relaxing Saturday morning, there’s no better way to clear the head than a brisk walk though. And I’m determined to go back with Mr. Boyd and finish documenting the birds of the lake with a short video.

If you have bird watching news that you'd like to share, email it to me or post in the comments section.

Dallas will soon become home to the first ever animal district in the country, according to the SPCA of Texas.

On April 5 from 6 to 8 p.m., the SPCA of Texas and Dallas Animal Services & Adoption Center will celebrate the inauguration of the Dallas Animal District with an event called "An Animal Attraction" at the future home of the SPCA, 2400 Lone Star Drive.

The Dallas Animal District will bring together the DAS and SPCA of Texas, within a mile of each other. Hopefully, other local animal groups will locate to the area.

You can find out more at dallasanimaldistrict.com. 

The powerful healing that a pet can bring to a person's life is an amazing thing.

Claudia Khan with North Texas Samoyed Rescue was kind enough to send a link to the Rainbow Bridge, where people post stories of their pets who have passed away.

One gut wrencher is the story of Don and Lucky, a Samoyed who gave a widower a new lease on life.

Email me with photos or post comments about beloved pets of the past in the comment thread below.

Also, the NTSRI, will host its annual Rescue, Reunion Picnic from 2 to 5 p.m. April 6 at the Stone Tables at White Rock Lake. Everyone who owns a Sammy or is interested in adopting one is invited to come out.

A perfect moment caught in time. Lucinda Mackinnon of Lewisville submitted this photo of the family cat Weasley coming nose to nose with a rat in a tree in their front yard.

What do you think happened next? I'll update as soon as I hear back from the Mackinnon's. 

Allison Wisk, our fearless Park Cities editor, was digging through the Dallas Morning News archives today when she came across "Tales of Real Dogs", a series by the venerable scribe Albert Payson Terhune, that ran in the paper during the late 1920's and early 1930's.

What caught our eye was the March 18, 1928 story of Fellow, a German Shepard who convinces scientists that he has the intelligence of an 8-year-old child. The Detroit police dog was owned by one Jacob herbert, who brought the pooch to Columbia University, where it was studied by a group of scientists within the psychology dept.

Anyone who reads this blog would probably assume that I favor dogs. My last five posts have centered on pooches and I, in fact, have two dogs. A big 100 pound pitbull mix (whose on a diet) and a skinny (and constantly frightened) black and white pitbull/english pointer mix.

Actually, that supposition would be wrong though. Until a couple of years ago I was the proud owner of two cats: Moose, who lived to the ripe age of 17 and Mocjuw, a Korean kitty with a broken tail.

After they passed away, I decided to switch to dogs for a change up. I was volunteering at a shelter and it just seemed the way to go at this stage in my life. 

I've never bought into the argument you have to be an either or animal lover. What do you think?

The Democratic party nomination fight still goes on but here at Paws and Effects we've decided to line up behind Guiness Murphy in his bid for the presidency of the United States.

Guiness, a Great Dane, announced his candidacy on The Doggone Late Show with David Letterdane last month.

His campaign slogan "A brighter future for humans and canines!"

Read more about the big pooch over on the Great Dane Rescue of North Texas blog. 

Everybody has a special milk-bone shaped area in their heart for the first pooch, kitten or cockatiel that they ever owned.

My first diggity dog was Sam, a loveable but troublemaking mutt, that my father brought home with him after work one day when I was five years old.

What I remember best were long summer afternoons that Sam and I spent wondering the woods near my house in Leonard, Oklahoma.

As soon as I came out in the morning, Sam would be waiting, tail wagging, for our next adventure to begin.

Sam earned a reputation around the neighborhood as a thief because at least once a day he would bring goodies that he had taken from our neighbor’s yards and drop it on our front porch.