Nathan Yager was turning 10, and he eagerly reminded his parents that they'd said the family could get a dog when he reached that age. The family's younger son, Luke, was enthusiastic, too. The whole family logged onto Petfinder to search.

"We discovered a wonderful rescue agency called A Tail to Tell," Mary Yager says. "The group specializes in freeing dogs from the horrors of life in a puppy mill." The rescue is located in Mt. Gretna, PA. The Yagers filled out an application and went to meet Kaleb, an American Eskimo Dog.

It was a match.

"Nothing compares to the greeting we get each morning, or when we come home from running errands," Mary says of the "perfect" dog. "He has never had an accident, chewed or been aggressive." But there was one thing: The family felt he needed a doggy friend.

"Once again we turned to Petfinder.com," Mary says. They found Lulu, "who was surrendered by an owner who had kept her in a cage for most of her life." She was listed by All Things Pawssible Animal Rescue in Downingtown, PA.

The results are in, and 9-month-old Sheltie/Shepherd mix Francis is the winner of Fuzzy Nation's Super Model Photo Contest! The puppy has become a local celebrity of sorts, and the face of pet adoption for Jackson, MS.

Francis was found on the side of the road in the middle of winter. He had been abandoned in a cardboard box, dehydrated and freezing. He was taken to Community Animal Rescue and Adoption (CARA) in Jackson, where he remained in a coma for four days. He was so malnourished that when he woke up, he couldn't eat by himself or even walk.

After weeks of dedication from the CARA staff, Francis was adopted by Harriet Scott of Ridgeland, MS.

"He was named after St. Francis of Assisi," Harriet told local paper The Clarion-Ledger of Francis. "It took a lot of prayer and a lot of love to pull him through."

After Harriet adopted him, she created a Facebook group for Francis that quickly gained more than 800 members. It was these dedicated supporters who helped Francis clinch the first-place spot in the Fuzzy Nation contest, with more than 8,000 votes.

By winning first place, Francis earned a $10,000 grant from the Petfinder.com Foundation for CARA. On Saturday, Francis and Harriet presented the check to CARA at the group's "Dog Days" fundraising event. There were more than 200 people in attendance, and by all accounts it was a joyful celebration for CARA. Francis even got some good face time with his fans. Read an article from the Clarion-Ledger about the event.

I've long had a disaster plan that includes my pets; after all, I'm a born-and-raised New Yorker who was here for 9/11 and the blackout of 2003. But when Hurricane Irene struck, I realized my plan had a gaping hole in it: What if I'm not around during the disaster?

This weekend I was in Tysons Corner, VA, for the BlogPaws pet-bloggers conference. At the time, the worst of Irene was supposed to hit around there, so I didn't think twice about leaving my pets behind in my family's capable hands.

But then Mayor Bloomberg ordered an evacuation of lower Manhattan. Was my neighborhood next? And, if so, would my family be able to get themselves and our pets out without my help? No.

I raced back to New York and got home just before Irene hit. Thankfully, leaking windows and fallen tree branches were the worst damage we saw. But the whole thing made me all too aware of what could have happened if I hadn't have been home to help.

Count this as a lesson learned: From now on, any time I go away for a few days without my pets, I'll be sure to take some precautions. After the jump: Things to consider before you next leave town.

Here's another great lost-pet reunion story from our partner, HomeAgain. 

As Hurricane Irene threatens the Northeast, we want all of you who are within the storm's path to be prepared to keep all family members safe.

Visit our Disaster Preparedness and Pets to find disaster preparedness tips in English and Spanish, downloadable disaster preparedness kit checklists for many pet species, and information on evacuating.

Here are a few important things you can do now to be prepared:

1. Make sure all cats and dogs are wearing securely fastened collars with up-to-date identification.
   
   
2. If you must or are planning to evacuate, remember that some community shelters may not accept pets. Check beforehand, and then look into other arrangements as soon as possible, such as having your pet stay with a friend, family member or reputable kennel. Also have pet carriers on-hand and in an accessible place near the front door.
   
   
3. Contact your local animal shelter, elected official or emergency management office to inquire what pet disaster plans are in place.
   
   
4. Assemble a pet disaster kit including your pet's medical records, medications, name and number of veterinarian, a first aid kit, collars and leashes, food, water, bowls and a manual can opener, cat litter and pan and a photo of your pet.
   
   
5. Make sure you have an appropriately-sized crate or carrier for each animal. Pets will be more welcome in an emergency sheltering situation if they are contained. Ask friends, relatives or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your animals temporarily.
   
   
6. Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to check policies on accepting pets and ask about restrictions on numbers, size and species. Ask if "no pet" policies could be waived in an emergency.
   
   
7. Bring pets inside well in advance of the hurricane so you don't have to search for them if you have to evacuate. As the hurricane approaches, call ahead to confirm your emergency shelter arrangements.

After the jump: Links to our disaster-preparedness content.

It's Take Your Cat the Vet Week, and all week we've been urging cat parents to schedule checkups for their pets. Cats' illnesses can have subtle symptoms, so if you wait until your cat is sick to take him to the vet, it might be too late.

We asked our Facebook fans, "Has your vet ever found an illness or issue with your cat during a routine wellness exam?" Here are some of your answers.

Cardiomyopathy: The most common form of heart disease and sudden death in indoor cats, cardiomyopathy has few visible symptoms. But Judi H.'s vet heard something during her cat's checkup. "My vet found a heart murmur when my cat was 7 that wasn't there when she was 6," Judi says. "It turned out to be cardiomyopathy, which we treated and she lived to be 16. Even if your cats are inside, they should go to the vet every year. Mine are only inside, but if my vet hadn't found that murmur, my cat would have been dead by the age of 8."

At the funeral of slain officer Jon Tumilson in Iowa earlier this week, his dog Hawkeye walked up to his casket, laid down beside it and would not leave his late master's side.

Our friends at Animal Planet's Daily Treat blog report on the heartbreaking story:

Navy SEAL U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was among the 30 American troops killed August 6 when Taliban insurgents downed their Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. At his funeral in Iowa, his dog Hawkeye paid his last respects by walking up to the casket, laying down in front of it, and heaving a sigh.

[Tumilson's cousin Lisa] Pembleton wrote on Facebook that Hawkeye was Tumilson's loyal pet who wouldn't leave his master's side during the funeral in Rockford, Iowa.

Steve Dale is the host of the nationally syndicated radio shows Steve Dale's Pet World and The Pet Minute with Steve Dale. His column, My Pet World, is carried in more than 100 newspapers nationwide and his new column, The CATalyst (in which this post originally appeared), just debuted. Steve also serves on the board of directors for the American Humane Association.

Dogs are more than twice as likely to visit the veterinarian than cats are. Here are some reasons why.

What can cat parents do? Familiarize cats early and regularly with cat carriers, take cats to the vet for routine care and learn to recognize subtle signs of cat illness. In honor of Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, here are some subtle signs of illness to look out for:

Changes in interactions: A previously clingy cat acting uncharacteristically aloof, or an independent cat transforming into "Velcro kitty" are examples.

Changes in activity: A decrease or increase in activity, and change in the cat's daily routine are red flags -- of arthritis, for example, which is far more common in cats than previously thought. So a cat who jumps on furniture less often is a potential sign.

Steve Dale is the host of the nationally syndicated radio shows Steve Dale's Pet World and The Pet Minute with Steve Dale. His column, My Pet World, is carried in more than 100 newspapers nationwide and his new column The CATalyst (in which this post originally appeared) just debuted. Steve also serves on the board of directors for the American Humane Association.

Petfinder has proclaimed Aug. 22-28 Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, and I'm hugely supportive.

Dogs are more than twice as likely to visit the veterinarian than cats. Why is that? What the heck is going on?

Here are some answers:

• Veterinary visits are on the decline overall -- for dogs and even more so for cats. Sadly, as a result, our pets have begun to pay the price with an increase in preventable illnesses. According to the recently released Banfield Pet Hospital 2011 Report, since 2006 there's been a 10% rise in dental disease in cats; although still uncommon, there's a 27% increase in whipworm and a 12% hike in roundworm in cats (both worms can be transmitted to people); diabetes in cats went up 16%.

"Must love cats" was a requirement for any dog that Vanessa and J.R. Van Noy of Highland, NY, adopted. Vanessa had never had a dog before, but the couple had an older cat. They also had a large house and yard, and J.R. was eager to add a dog to the family mix.

They started searching on Petfinder. "We narrowed our search down to Pit Bulls," Vanessa says. "We knew that the breed was in so much need for families." They came across Animal Farm Foundation in Bangall, NY, and "set up a meet-and-greet with some potential housemates."

The first dog they met was Patton. "He barreled into the room like a tornado on fire," Vanessa says. "He leaped right on top of us both and immediately started licking our faces and climbing on our laps."