View From The Pugh

(New Mexico News Connection) -- Whether your pet is shy or outgoing, keeping them happy and healthy during the busy holidays can be a challenge.

Your curious cat might view a tree adorned with ornaments as a new toy, so make sure it's securely anchored. Dogs, on the other hand, like to chew on things and won't know seasonal plants such as evergreens and poinsettias are toxic.

Desiree Cawley, marketing manager for One Albuquerque Animal Welfare, said if guests are coming or parties planned, it's best to prepare much like pet owners do for the Fourth of July.

"Keep them in a bedroom, give them their favorite toy, have a TV going, so it muffles the sounds outside, so then they're not feeling overwhelmed when you have a lot of people in your house that they don't know," Cawley suggested.

Through Dec. 31, Albuquerque's Operation Silent Night is collecting financial donations along with small toys for cats and dogs including treats, beds, brushes, collars and other items for pets waiting to be adopted at the city's Animal Welfare Shelters.

In addition to taking it easy on scraps from the table, Cawley reminds pet owners to be mindful of what gifts are under the Christmas tree, especially if there is no indication as to what's inside.

"They may be cookies, they may be candy," Cawley pointed out. "And of course, dogs have a good sniffer, and so they might think that would be a good present to open for themselves."

Cawley also noted pets appreciate sticking to their routine as much as possible.

"And so when it gets changed, you have to be a little more understanding," Cawley urged. "Reassure them that everything is OK, and maybe love them a little extra."

If your pet will be boarded for the holidays, Cawley emphasized they might be overwhelmed by all the different smells in a kennel, and recommends bringing an item for them to snuggle.

"Make sure you give them the dog's blanket, favorite toy, their bed," Cawley recommended. "So they have that sense of smell, so if they have something like a security blanket kind of thing, would be ideal."

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(Northern Rockies News Service) -- The holiday season is approaching, and one way to boost this time of year could be with a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended everyone ages 18 and up who has received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines should get a booster shot. The shot is recommended at least six months after the initial round.

The CDC said mixing and matching the vaccine brands is fine.

Lupe Wissel, state director of AARP Idaho, said getting boosted is important for the season.

"We want to make sure that we're able to get together with families and enjoy the holiday," Wissel observed. "But we have to remember how important it is to stay safe and keep our loved ones safe, especially the older population."

The CDC also recommends people get a booster of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at least two months after their initial shot. Wissel urged people to talk to their primary-care doctor about setting up an appointment. They also are being offered at certain retail pharmacies.

Wissel noted getting vaccinated also has added benefits with the emergence of the latest variant of COVID-19, known as omicron.

"We don't know what the new variant is going to bring. We just don't," Wissel acknowledged. "But the more we protect ourselves, the better we all are."

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children ages five and up. Wissel added getting eligible children vaccinated could provide important protection for the older population.

About half of eligible Idahoans are vaccinated, including three-quarters of those 65 or older. About 18% of Idahoans 18 and older have received a booster shot.

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(Wyoming News Service) -- Wyoming and other western states are projected to see multiple years in a row without any snow as soon as 35 years out if efforts to rein in fossil-fuel emissions fail to meet global targets, according to a new report.

Almost 75% of water use in western states comes from snowpack.

Matt Rice, southwest regional director for the group American Rivers, said the report should be a red flag for water managers and policymakers to make plans now for a future with a lot less water.

"How do we build resilience in this new more arid future for the West?" Rice questioned. "It's important to make sure that we have the ability to keep water in rivers, to dedicate water to the environment, for fish, for wildlife."

Rising temperatures already have cut snowpack by 20% below 1950s levels, and researchers project by century's end, the vast majority of years -- up to 94% -- will see little or zero snowfall. Loss of snow will not just close ski resorts. Scientists already have linked vanishing snowfall to more frequent and catastrophic wildfires.

The first sector likely to see water restrictions will be agriculture.

Rice said investments are needed to help farmers and ranchers retool for more efficient irrigation and conservation, because no one wants to see a mass dry-up on lands across the West.

"And it's not like when you remove water that land comes back with native grasses and plants and shrubs," Rice cautioned. "This is oftentimes land that has been irrigated for 100-plus years, and to take water off of it, it creates a kind of 'deathscape.'"

Recommendations for adaptation include monitoring weather patterns to avoid flooding by capturing increasingly intense, if less frequent, downpours to refill aquifers. While conflicts over water rights have a long history in western states, Rice noted the issue traditionally has cut across political boundaries.

"As scarcity increases, my fear is that it will digress into a partisan issue, or rural versus urban, when it comes to water," Rice stressed. "These challenges are so significant that we can't afford not to all be in this together."

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How a professional Grinch destroyed a home, a mom who stole her daughter's identity to date younger guys in college and a substitute teacher who got kicked out of school for singing Britney Spears' "Toxic" in front of a class.

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Laura Kessel, Craig Shoup and Chris Pugh discuss Seinfeld's "The Apartment."

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Chris Pugh and Laura Kessel discuss Frasier’s “South Tango in South Seattle.”

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Joe Castle, Craig Shoup and Chris Pugh discuss former Boston mobster Mark Silverman rating seven Irish mob scenes in movies and television for realism, such as "The Departed" and "The Town." 

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In Ohio, 277,000 children are estimated to be at risk of falling below the poverty line, unless the U.S. Senate acts to extend the Child Tax Credit before leaving for the holidays.

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Craig Shoup and Chris Pugh talk about Disney’s fight with YouTube, playing video games with his kid and a new way to share pictures at home

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Possible COVID-19 spikes worry rural America; Virginia updates its health plan with babies and moms in mind; midwives and doulas eye funding in Build Back Better; and the rural workforce shrinks.

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