It seems hard to believe that a pet – that lovable cat or man’s best friend – could be a drag on the Earth’s ecosystem. But it’s true, according to True Scientist.

That’s right – Fido and Fluffy just might rival a Toyota Land Cruiser when it comes to being a ecological burden, according to two authors of a book called “Time to Eat the Dog”, in which they suggest: “As well as guzzling resources, cats and dogs devastate wildlife populations, spread disease and add to pollution. It is time to take eco-stock of our pets.”

See how your pet compares with this graphical presentation of your pet’s foot, er, pawprint.

And tell us what you think – are pets as bad as the average SUV when it comes to destroying the Earth?

In case you missed it, the Weekender recently endorsed Jake the Dog for Sioux City City Council.

You heard that right – a dog. Well not just any dog – but Jake the Dog, who made headlines over the past six months.

How could this happen? Well, no one is really sure. Or at least they aren’t saying.

But Jake has penned his second plea for votes (and support for his canine pals who are still locked up at the Animal Control Center) in a column in last week’s edition. Find his original plea here.

The best part – you can support Jake by buying “Vote Jake” swag – T-shirts, dog bowls, buttons and boxers with the “Vote Jake” slogan on them. The Afternoon Delight team has its eye on that “Vote Jake” thing.

The Internet is filled with many ways to waste 3 minutes and 43 seconds.

Here’s the best way we could find to lose that time. Just click play.

It seems that we’ve been focused too much on Twitter as a networking tool rather than a tool for productive endeavors here at Delight headquarters, which has, sorry to say, been on vacation.

Well, we’re back, and this one is a doozy.

A man has rigged a cat door to tweet (post an update, in Twitter-speak) every time his cats enter or exit the house. The cats are wired with radio frequency devices to track their comings and goings and a picture is taken every time the kitties leave or return from the house. That’s Gus entering the home above.

We are not making this up.

You can follow Gus and Penny, his cats, on Twitter.

Got a great link – feline or otherwise – for Afternoon Delight? Send it here.

By March 21, Sioux City pitbull owners were required by law to register their pets or risk them being taken and destroyed.

We have compiled a searchable list of all licensed pitbulls in the city. You can find it here.

Additionally, you can download the city’s pitbull ordinance here.

A great photo. More by this guy on Flickr.

It seems it was only a matter of time before somebody put a cat into a bong.

So what else can a cat do? Apparently plenty, and here are a few of our favorites.

- This cat vs. printer video below is just one of a whole generation of cat-printer videos. What’s up with that?

- Then again, here is a cat that could have used a hit off of the bong:

- And if you’re just a weird cat butt lover, and can appreciate some humor, try this, or this or even this.

- Finally, just want to look at great pictures of cats – here you go.

Do you have a cat video or photos you’d like to share? Submit them here and we’ll run them in a future edition of Afternoon Delight.

With the uproar this week over a chimp gone bad, we figured there had to be other stories we are missing on this topic.

Here’s a case of a smoking monkey.

Here’s a good reason not to kiss a monkey.

And here’s information on why a chimp is a bad pet.

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