Just in time for Passover, lots of religious pet news! This week we learned that Pope Benedict XVI's loves cats -- he even has an authorized biography written by a furry friend named Chico who was his neighbor in Germany. The book is called “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat" (as told to journalist Jeanne Perego).

As for Jewish furballs, a recent article at Petside.com suggests that Passover is the perfect time to have your pets keep kosher too. While the dogs at my seder (there were four!) seemed to enjoy a stray matzoh ball, the article doesn't offer much insight into KforP pet food. It does, however, provide some helpful hints for keeping Fido kosher the rest of the year:

The companies that now provide kosher kibble adhere to the strict separation of meat and dairy to qualify the food as kosher for animals. This does not make the pet food kosher for human consumption, and in a kosher household, the animal’s dish would have to be washed in a bathroom or laundry room sink, separate from the kosher supplies in the kitchen.

Of course, there are no Jewish laws stating that pets must keep kosher, but for pet owners, it can be a way to ensure that beloved dogs and cats are getting high quality food. In no time at all, they'll be ready for their Bark Mitzvahs.

We all get attached to our dogs, but is there really any good reason to clone them? For one California woman whose life was saved by her now-deceased pit bull, the answer is an emphatic "yes." Bernann McKunney has submitted an order to a South Korean biotech company to have her dead dog "Booger" resurrected. It'll be the first commercially cloned dog, but not the first commercially cloned pet: A Texas woman paid $50,000 in 2004 to have a kitten cloned from her adored cat.

Cesar & Scarlet: you make me feel so calm submissiveLife-saving pooch or not, there's really no excuse for cloning dogs and cats in a world where so many homeless pets are euthanized annually. I balk at the thought of the $150,000 McKunney is blowing on this, when she could donate that money to an animal shelter and adopt a dog in need.

Meanwhile, everybody's favorite Dog Whisperer, Cesar Milan, has launched a branded merchandise line "comprised of primarily organic, environmentally-friendly and stringently-tested dog products for all breeds and sizes." I'll bet he'd say spending $150,000 to clone your deceased dog means that you're in need of some serious "rules, boundaries, and limitations."

Cute: or not?In other animal news, the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency have finally agreed to explore and share new technologies that will ultimately phase out animal testing. Among other things, computers and robots will take the place of rodents and primates.

Speaking of animals, check out the totally awesome Continuum of Cute, an interactive, "inter-species beauty contest" which "investigates both our individual and collective sense of the 'cute.'"

And finally, this little guy wants to help you clean your computer screen, and he's really, really good at it.

Related: Hey Fatty, Your Dog is Fat Too

Too Many Treats: too few walks. sound familiar?As Americans get fatter and fatter, their pets are expanding with them: an estimated 50 percent of America's total pet population is apparently dangerously overweight. Unsurprisingly, many pet owners are dealing with their furry friends' fatness much in the same way they deal with their own: diet pills or, in the case of Slentrol, liquid prescription weight-loss meds.

If, like me, you think that giving an otherwise healthy dog weight-loss meds sounds dim-witted and lazy, then perhaps you'll be more enthused about this novel idea: exercise videos for dogs and cats. Yup: if you log on to PetFit.com, you'll find tips and videos demonstrating workouts like "Fetch Races" and "Light Cardio," which involves jumping "an invisible rope while holding flashlights in your hands." Your fat cat will frantically chase the light beam while you get your heart rate up. Hell, it sounds entertaining--advertise it as a show and charge for tickets.

I was just reading about a local event of blessing pets called a "Bark Mitzvah" and scooped some fun Jewcy-ness for us to shower on our darling animal companions.

Bark Miztvah: Cute but oy.

Some people do individual Bark Mitzvot for various reasons, and some folks really, really have a Bark Mitzvah, or a Meow Mitzvah, but that's a bit of a different post. Diana Guerrero's Blessing of the Animals covers some pet spirituality "with such chapters as “Rites of Paw-sage: Muzzle Tov,” about 'bark' and other mitzvahs" (but also not overlooking heavier topics like illness and loss-- btw, here Rabbi Goldwasser offers up some suggested text for pet burial.). The Rabbis of Boca Raton Theological Seminary compiled a more lighthearted How to Raise a Jewish Dog for your reading pleasure, as well.

You could, I suppose, style your pet in this pet kippot, this pet kippot, "Pisher", "Shana Punim" and "Yenta" doggie t-shirts, "You had me at Shalom" doggie t-shirts, Kosher Hot Dog shirts, chai maintenence collars, and, pets probably want a little bling, too. Maybe this bling. Small Dog World sells all sorts of find little doggy Judaica like really, really tiny doggy tallis and kippot, treats, and very tiny Magen David tennis balls. If you're really into dressing your pet, this chanukiot dreidel hat might be a nice start (hi, my cat would claw my face off if I tried to put that on him!). Of course, you could dress your pet in a matzoh-print pet sweater, too, if that's your bag. Oy. Uh, hit YouTube for a sec and see some folks having a lot of fun dolling up their pets here, here and pets howling along to a bracha. Oy.

Meow, meow!: The cat's outta the, uh, box of Streit's.

Here's what Star-K Kosher certification has to say about kosher pet food, fyi. If you want to make sure, Kosher Pets has all sorts of resources, including kosher dog food and treats, kosher cat treats, a downloadable Passover feeding guide and a special holiday section. Evanger's has all sorts of reading, resources and products for pets (my kitty looooves their canned cat food). And, for Pesach, hit Kosher Pets or this joint that offers up Kosher for Passover cat food. Of course, if you feel like you need to go all out, the chef at Club-Beverly Hills will whip up kosher for your pet. Doggies might dig these little dreidel treats, these Chanukah bones, or cute Chanukah treats. Of course, you'll need to keep your pet treats in a cute container like this, perhaps give your pets some kasher-assurance with this food bowl, or this one.

As for playtime, the possibilities are endless with options like Shmutz the Octopus, Lox the Fish, pet dreidels, Schlep the Camel, pet gelt, squeaky Mensches, rattley-squeaky Chanukah bear, catnip matzah ball toys, squeaky matzah balls, and other goodies from Chewish toys. Or, you can, uh, send your pet this kosher dog gift basket or this one.

Okay, just one more picture: They're too cute!

Of course, for those of us with pets who love them to bits, we can show our pet pride in our own Judaica like this kitty chanukiot, weiner-dog chanukiot, well, all sorts of animal-themed chanukiot, doggie mezuzah cases, kitty mezuzah cases, really, and, sometimes, your Judaica purchases can even go to pet-related causes.

A Pit Mix: Could you say no to this face?A few years back, I found a dog.  It’s a long story, but to cut it short—I “rescued” a dog that turned out to need serious medical care.  I might not have been so generous about things, but Kareem (a pitt mix; I live in a neighborhood where every dog is a pit mix) was the sweetest creature that ever lived. 

Several thousand dollars later, Kareem died. It was pretty awful.

The result? I developed a newfound commitment to animals. I joined a fostercare/rescue group, took in lots of orphans on a temporary basis, and started combing the streets around mine for animals in need.  

About six months later I was losing my mind.  I’d thrown away furniture and carpets (incontinent cat), gone into debt, and run myself ragged.  So I talked to my rabbi.  I asked him about what kind of obligation Judaism requires us to have regarding our pets and other animals.  It took him a long time to answer.  

Finally, he explained several things to me.

1. We are supposed to be good to animals.
2. We are NOT supposed to let our care of animals get in the way of more important responsibilities (family, Torah, helping people)
3. There is a difference between helping an animal who comes to you in need (say, a dog who stumbles starving into your yard), and seeking out animals who might need your help. (This applies, I think, to non-dog situations as well)

Which was helpful for me at the time.  It eased my guilt.  I kept feeding the dog that lived in my hedge, and found homes for my foster pets, but I stopped cruising for new hard luck cases, and I stopped volunteering with the rescue group (which WAS making it hard to take care of other obligations).

But now I’m thinking about Kareem, and I’m remembering the things the rabbi said, and I’m turning to you for assistance. Two kinds of help.

First, I wonder if anyone can offer text support for what the rabbi told me.  I’m especially interested in #3.  I want to know if anyone can show me where Judaism draws a distinction between the need we stumble over in the world, and the need that’s out there in the dark, unbeknownst to us.

And second, I want to ask what other people think of this in general.  Both #2 and #3 seem to have a pretty huge range of interpretations in our world today.  

#2 is hard for me because there’s such an array of family dynamics.  What does it mean to “take care of” your family?  I mean, is helping animals (not to mention other kinds of charity) supposed to come AFTER feeding your baby?  No!  But what about setting up college funds?  Buying your son a new car when he turns 16?  Purchasing a vacation home?

And #3 is just tricky in general, since we live in a world that we all KNOW is chock full of need. Starving kids and stray animals and so on. Do I need to wait for hungry kids to come into my yard, asking for bread, before I send a few bucks to Feed the Children?  Or is a TV commercial enough?

What say you?