Dear Miss Fifi:

My husband and I have recently adopted a new puppy. We are the only human family members—we have another dog and several cats. Ever since the new puppy, our family seems off-balanced ... the cats are terrified of the puppy and our dog is very jealous. What do we do?

- AB

~~~

Dear AB:

Hmmm ... get rid of the cats.

(Psst: that's a bit like asking a dieter if they'd prefer the chocolate or the carrots.)

Oh, what an interesting pair of pooches we find as this week's Pet Photo of the Week winners. Toby, the yellow lab/golden retriever mix, is four months old. Tucker is the black lab and is only three months old. Toby has two cat brothers, and they all live with Allison Miller in Raleigh. Tucker lives with Allison's parents across the street.

"Tucker has started his training to be a 'working dog' for my mother, who has limited movement due to severe arthritis," said Allison. "He will be trained to assist her with things like picking up items off the floor and retrieving items for her."

These pups are active, like Allison—a paramedic and RN with crazy hours (those are her words). "Toby already knows 12 tricks and commands and Tucker is up to eight. I'm doing the initial training with them now," she said, "but later Tucker will have advance training with a specialized trainer."

It sounds like Toby and Tucker have a terrific

Dear Miss Fifi:

I have a Bobtail cat that I caught out in the wild when it was about 10 weeks old. I have had it now at least seven months and it is still scared to death of humans! It only comes out at night when the TV is the only thing on—and to get your hands on her you have to chase her down! I do have two other cats that also live inside with her and she plays with them, but again, only at night. I think she is the strangest cat I have ever had! What can I do to help her not be so scared of the day light and humans?

- Melissa

~~~

Dear Melissa:

Oh, my! At first Miss Fifi thought she read that you'd captured a wild Bobcat.

Good thing my faithful feline assistant, Dilettante Dilly, re-read the question. She thought a bit of research was in order, so she turned to her favorite online resource, Wikipedia. According to them, "Breeders claim that Bobtails are

Some days just don’t go as planned. Take, for example, the devastating news that Miss Fifi just received about her best-most-good-friend, Penelope Buttercup, who passed away this evening around 6:15.

She and her little sister, Maggie May, had been at puppy camp while her humans were on vacation, and when they went to pick her up earlier in the evening, Penelope was not doing well. The vet tried everything possible to save her, but destiny had other plans.

Penelope and I were inseparable our whole lives. And whereas Miss Fifi turned to a professional life of fashion and advice, Penelope remained deeply rooted as a family dog, never happier than when running with her boy or hiking with the whole family. She was proud of the family she cared for, and amazingly, she even loved the cat who lived with them.

Miss Fifi is trying to remember that everything happens for a reason, and that Penelope is in heaven now with all of her family who have passed on … but I’m

Dear Miss Fifi:

What's the deal? It seems like the only animals that are named "Pet of the Week" are dogs and puppies. What do you have against cats - and other kinds of critters? I think this contest is rigged. I know your a dog and all, but how about a little less favoritism?

- Teresa

~~~

Dear Teresa:

Well, Miss Fifi can guarantee you that the contest is most definitely not  rigged. If that were the case, then every week my fellow canines would be the victors. I do find it interesting to see who the community actually votes for, because some weeks I cannot believe who wins. I mean, did you see that one week where the cat was—

... uh, did Miss Fifi say that out loud? Good, bad or indifferent, the weekly winners are really chosen by the voting viewers. So, that being the case, get on the horn to all your friends and tell 'em to vote. This contest is open to the Animal Kingdom, not just the Feline Fiefdom.

Woof!