puppies

This week, someone with more than a thousand Facebook friends sent me a friend request.

I found this odd. Why, if you already have a thousand friends, do you need more? And yet it seems that in some circles, numeric status on Facebook is all that matters these days.

Along those lines, my emotions have been assaulted by two recent stories, both of which demanded that the only way to reach a happy conclusion was to accumulate 1 million Facebook Likes.

In the first, reported by Mashable, a daddy said to his little girls: "No, little girls, you cannot have a puppy. Well, not unless you get yourselves 1 million of those invaluable Facebook Likes."

No, of course I'm not quoting the assiduously caring daddy of the little girls who created that other, now-famous "Twogirlsandapuppy" Facebook page.

But it took the sisters only two days to please daddy. It was all described as a "simple bet," but there's something deeper that the girls will surely learn: life is about virtual popularity. … Read more

We like puppies, and we were prepared to release our inner 12-year-old girl upon downloading Cute Puppy Clock. Unfortunately, though, our plans to squeal and giggle fell flat. Although the program is in fact a clock that involves cute puppies, it has drawbacks that make it hard to recommend, even for puppy-lovers.

There's really not much to Cute Puppy Clock, which is part of the problem. It's a couple of inches tall and features a puppy standing on what looks like a wooden crate. The time is displayed on the crate, 24-hour style, in a goofy font that'… Read more

In a win for animal shelters and dogs in general, puppy mill ads on Facebook are being pulled.

Oodle Classifieds, the company that powers the marketplace section of Facebook, has agreed to stop allowing ads on the popular social-networking site from people who breed dogs and sell them over the Internet, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Many puppies sold online come from breeders that keep dogs caged in unsanitary, overcrowded, and often cruel conditions without adequate veterinary care, food, water or socialization. Puppy mills that sell directly to people are exempt from … Read more

2cute is a free, ad-supported app that lets you browse, download, and share images from the 2cute Web site--images that are empirically very cute (or as the app points out, in Japanese, "kawaii") of puppies, kittens, bunnies, and more. You can browse through large thumbnails of the pictures just by swiping left and right, and you can tap to rate, share, or download a normal or high-resolution version of the photo.

Flipping through the photos on 2cute is fun (with an occasional surprise, like a baby octopus or pygmy marmoset), and this app provides a great and easy … Read more

Everyone has heard of the old trick for getting a young puppy to sleep. Set a ticking clock next to it. The problem is that in the Digital Age, very few people have clocks that tick.

That's why your not-so-sleepy puppy needs its own gadget. Sleepy Bunny is a stuffed bunny toy with a mechanical heart inside.

Puppies have a lot in common with human babies. Trouble sleeping through the night is a frequent issue for the little pooches, especially when they are newly separated from their litter mates. The good news is that you don't have to put them through college when they turn 18.

The removable Puppy Pulse battery-powered heart mimics a real heartbeat. It is designed to reduce separation anxiety and keep sweet little Spot from waking you up with plaintive yips at 3 in the morning.

It can also help you avoid getting into the habit of having your pooch in bed with you. It may be cute when he's little, but eventually Tiny could turn into a 170-pound, bed-hogging Great Dane.

Sleepy Bunny is currently available for preorder from Firebox.com for $26. When your teensy pup grows up to be a big, strong dog, it can use the bunny as a chew toy. Just be sure to pull out the heart for safe keeping.… Read more

I have never been able to understand why people create Facebook pages for their babies and the baby substitutes often referred to as pets.

However, the practice has been given a deep legitimacy by the news--yes, I said news, so pay attention here--that Mark Zuckerberg's sweet and innocent little puppy now has his own Facebook page.

His owner offers on his own Facebook page that his interests are: "Openness, making things that help people connect and share what's important to them, revolutions, information flow, minimalism."

Beast, on the other hand, (oh, didn't I mention that … Read more

Millions of sports fans gathered around the TV yesterday to watch the "Big Game," and it's hard to believe that another Puppy Bowl has come and gone. Just kidding, if there's one thing we learned from Super Bowl XLV, it's that brand endorsements are ruining the illusion for celebrities like Eminem and Kim Kardashian who would have us believe that they drive Chrysler minivans and wear Skechers Shapeups.

We're wrapping up the winners and losers of the Super Bowl on today's episode of The 404 Podcast, and the winner for lowest blow is a tie between Groupon and Christina Aguilera.

Groupon took a page from Kenneth Cole PR (context) and pulled a "too soon" with an ad exploiting the tragedy in Tibet, while Christina Aguilera changed the lyrics to the National Anthem into a song about vampires squeezing juice from citrus fruits.

I'll leave it to Jeff to do his own reaming on the Black Eyed Peas half-time show before we move onto the most important part of the game: the commercials!

We all agree that for better or worse, this year's commercials stood out from years past, and our favorites include Volkswagen's Darth Vader spoof, Chevy's Camaro ad featuring Bumblebee from the "Transformers," and Doritos and Bud Light touched our hearts with animals doing human things.

There were also a ton of movie trailers that blew up our skirt, so tune into today's show to hear more of our thoughts on "Super 8," "Captain America," the Lingerie Bowl, and Angry Birds in real life!

If you haven't yet seen the video of a girl in a red hoodie throwing live puppies into a river, you haven't missed much. Just arrant cruelty delivered with a youthful smile and the question: "Can they swim?"

However, just as with the English lady who threw a cat into a bin for 15 hours, the Web has been like a detective show in constant motion, ruthlessly seeking out the perpetrator in preparation for a conviction.

On Tuesday, members of 4Chan and, it seemed, anyone else with a large conscience and a small amount to do … Read more

We were predisposed to like Cuddly Kitties and Canines before we even opened it; who wouldn't like a screensaver by that name? Unfortunately, although the promised kitties and canines were delivered, there weren't enough of them to make this program worthwhile.

The screensaver installed easily in the typical screensaver fashion, adding itself to the list of available screensavers in our desktop Display Properties. We started the screensaver and at first we were as charmed as we expected to be. Awww, a sleeping puppy surrounded by roses! Awww, a tiny kitten on fancy pink pillow! Awww, another puppy reclining … Read more