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Two-time Olympic medalist Chase Kalisz has a special relationship with his team English BulldogFloyd, who helps him deal with the ups and downs of mental health as a professional athlete. Ahead of Paris 2024, Chase and Floyd have teamed up with Nulo for this Amazing fuel campaign, which highlights the relationship between eight Team USA athletes and their pets.

“The biggest thing Floyd does for me is that it doesn’t matter if I have a good day, a bad day, if I swim well, if I swim bad,” Kalisz tells Daily Paws. “No matter what, I walk through my door, he runs towards me every time, and there’s no better feeling than that in the world. And anyone who has a pet knows how amazing that feeling is. I can just see him and see his excitement and helps me relax, unwind and feel loved.”

Inspiration from Michael Phelps

Kalisz’s passion for English bulldogs stems from childhood, but more specifically, his sibling relationship with Michael Phelps, who is also supposedly pretty good at swimming.

“I grew up training with Michael Phelps when I was very young and he always took his English bulldog Herman to the pool,” Kalisz says.

But Herman didn’t inherit his father’s love of swimming, instead using his training time to get a good nap.

“Herman would slowly walk up to the pool deck in the slowest place he could go, and then he would plop down and sleep by the pool,” Kalisz says. “And then (Phelps) would come out of practice and Herman would be excited and come back.”

Bring Floyd home

Just a handful of years later, Kalisz would become a Bulldog himself by committing to the University of Georgia, home of the Georgia Bulldogs.

“At the time I still wanted a bulldog in my head, and it probably didn’t hurt that I was surrounded by bulldogs and in bulldog land,” Kalisz says.

But Kalisz was patient and waited until he finished school to dive into dog ownership in 2017. Since then, he has been the proud owner of Floyd, a six-year-old English bulldog, who has provided much-needed emotional support to the Olympian during the most stressful and, at times, loneliest years of his life.

“Obviously swimming is not a team sport,” says Kalisz. “My training partners: I really consider them my teammates, but at the end of the day, you have to deal with the blocks and deal with everything on your own. The stress of training, the mental aspect, the competition, it’s all on the line Ye.”

Swimming with Floyd

In addition to regularly relaxing together on the couch, Kalisz has taken Floyd on a couple of aquatic adventures outside the house, including in the pool, just like Phelps and Herman, and at the beach. And it turns out that Floyd may be the most talented swimming bulldog in the history of the breed, showing promise from an early age.

“When Floyd was younger, we had a great daycare in Athens (Georgia),” Kalisz says. “I was there one day, we put him in the training pool and finally he finished I swim all the way. But Floyd hasn’t been much of a swimmer lately, so maybe I’ll get him back in the pool and see where he’s at.”

Paris 2024 Olympics

However, Floyd’s swimming adventures may have to wait until dad returns from the 2024 Summer Olympics. Kalisz is a two-time Olympic medalist, winning silver in 2016 and gold in 2020 in the men’s 400 meter individual medley, and yes he is qualified once again.

And what about Floyd? Well, you can bet he’ll be supporting Dad from afar. “Once I run, it will be with my friends and they will put it in front of the TV,” Kalisz says. “And last time my parents had a party with the NBC cameras, and they got to mention Floyd in the video, so I got to see him briefly.”

But Kalisz won’t feel satisfied until he reunites his favorite pup in person.

“I’m just excited, first of all, to get through the Olympic Games and hopefully represent our country really well and do my best,” Kalisz says. “But I can’t wait to go home. It’s been a really crazy, hectic, very stressful year. I’m really looking forward to going home and spending weeks doing nothing with Floyd and just being with him.”

And make sure you and your dog attend the 2024 Olympics this summer, which begin July 26 in Paris!

While the world’s best human athletes compete at the Paris Summer Olympics, the world’s most impressive doggos are also showing off their talents online. Cleo and Abby, two greyhound sisters, are no exception, and they fight hard in the hope of winning gold.

Abby the borzoi and Cleo, the wind hound, competed in their family’s biannual Noodle Olympics just last week, with both pooches medaling. Watch the TikTok contest uploaded by @cleolonglegs yourself.

The first of the prestigious Noodle Olympics was the High Tippy Tappy event, which involves “careful maneuvering” through various objects. The more accurate the tippy tapies are, the higher the chances of winning gold.

Cleo made it through the course without too much trouble – she definitely got several execution points. Abby had a little more trouble, dropping several objects in her path.

But Abby redeemed herself in event #1. 2, the Gobble Wobble, which instructed both greyhounds to walk down the aisle devouring the treats already placed in the shortest time possible. Abby’s finishing time of 1 minute, 16 seconds beat Cleo’s time of 1 minute, 24 seconds.

Here you go! Cleo won gold in the High Tippy Tappy and Abby won gold in the Gobble Wobble. Both dogs performed very well under close scrutiny and to the high expectations of their fans.

With dedicated training, your dog could rise into the athletic ranks of doggy style. To get started, you could recreate the Noodle Olympics at home or, if you have space, you could build a DIY dog agility course in your backyard. There are many of them benefits for agility trainingincluding curbing boredom and meeting your dog’s exercise needs. Plus, dog sports are adorable!

National Mutt Day, also known as National Mixed Breed Dog Day, may only last 24 hours, but in the Evans family, the Dodger dog is celebrated 365 days a year.

We spoke with actor Chris Evans about National Mutt Day and his beloved “mutt” Dodger, as well as Evans’ ongoing collaboration with Jinx, a dog food brand that offers a “new take on kibble.”

Dodger the Pomeranian?

Evans can hardly believe that Dodger will turn ten by the end of the year; still boasts puppy energy! This may be due to the unique makeup of the Dodger breed, which makes it the perfect dog to celebrate National Mutt Day.

“We did a little DNA swab,” Evans says. “He’s back Laboratory, boxer(pitbull terrier)-AND Pomeranian. I don’t know how the Pomeranian came into the mix. I feel like in all these DNA tests there’s always a little surprise breed!”

Pomeranians are particularly active and are regularly described as a small but powerful breed. Although Dodger is not as small as a purebred Pom, you can easily spot the Pom’s distinctive twinkle in his eyes.

Man’s best friend forever

For Evans, it was love at first sight where Dodger was concerned.

“He was a really amazing dog, really beautiful and sweet and loving,” Evans recalls. So amazing that Evans couldn’t bear the thought of Dodger going home with someone else.

“I haven’t had many moments like this in my life where you just know,” Evans adds. “We were shooting a movie in Savannah, Georgia, and one of the scenes took place in a shelter. I wasn’t planning on adopting a dog that day, but I was still walking up and down the aisles looking at all the treats and I saw it . I knew it, I saw our life together and I thought ‘Well, you’ll come home with me.'”

That fateful day was in 2015, but Evans says Dodger still exceeds all expectations nearly a decade later.

“I don’t know how I’ll ever get another (dog), you know?” says Evans. “It’s one of one.”

A passive partnership

Even though Dodger is currently an only child, Evans has found other ways to improve the lives of other dogs, partnering with dog food brand Jinx for several years now.

“I’m always looking for collaborations and this one just made sense,” says Evans. “Not only am I a dog lover, but the people involved in (Jinx) have a good mission statement and are all dog owners and lovers themselves.”

Evans also made sure to pay homage to his Captain America past by sharing a fitting current Jinx initiative: Through the end of August, the company will donate 5% of every Jinx purchase made at Walmart to United Services Organizations (USO) programs, including the DO use the dog program.

“(Jinx) is not only helping dogs nutritionally, but trying to give back where they can,” Evans says.

And Dodger certainly didn’t have any complaints about his father’s partnership with Jinx. Okay, that might be a bit underrated; Dodger literally comes running at dinner time.

“My God, he knows the sound of the stock market,” Evans laughs.

And, of course, Dodger serves as the unofficial taste tester for all new Jinx recipes, but it was hard to top his all-time favorite: beef jerky.

National Chris and Dodger Bastards Day

In addition to treating Dodger to lots of beef jerky, Evans also shared how else he planned to make him feel extra special on National Mutt Day.

“Maybe a nice long one excursion in the woods,” Evans says. “That’s his favorite thing. Let’s also go to DOG PARKbut I can’t say it out loud because he will sit and expect something. So maybe we’ll stop there too.”

National mutt day is celebrated every two years on July 31 and December 2 and is “focused on embracing, rescuing and celebrating mixed-breed dogs.”

Lystn, LLC. it is voluntarily remembering some lots of ANSWERS Pet Food due to the potential risk of Listeria AND Salmonella, according to the company’s announcement. The voluntary recall includes two dog food recipes with beef and one dog food recipe with chicken, all sold in 4-pound, half-gallon cartons.

If you recently purchased one of these products, check the UPC, lot code, and expiration date to see if your dog’s food is affected.

Information on recalled products

ANSWERS Detailed pet foods™ Beef formula for dogs

• Product code: 856554002102
• Batch code: BUBD 06 MAY 2026
• Expiration date: 06 MAY 2026

ANSWERS Pet Food Pure Beef Formula for Dogs

• Product code: 856554002072
• Batch code: BUBD 31 JANUARY 2026
• Expiration date: 31 JANUARY 2026

ANSWERS Pet Food Simple Chicken Formula for Dogs

• Item code: 856554002065
• Batch code: BUBD 02 JANUARY 2026 and 11 MARCH 2026
• Expiry date: 02 JANUARY 2026 and 11 MARCH 2026

What to do

The FDA recommends that pet parents who have purchased the affected products do the following:

1. Place affected products in a sealed plastic bag using gloves or paper towels.
2. Dispose or destroy contaminated food.
3. Sanitize any surface that has come into contact with contaminated food.

You can also request a refund for any of the affected products by sending a receipt and product images to info@answerspetfood.com

Risks of Listeria and Salmonella

As of September 23, 2024, there are. There have been no illnesses associated with these product batches. However, if your pet has consumed any of the affected products, monitor both your pet and the rest of your household for the following symptoms, which could signify a Listeria OR Salmonella infection.

Listeria

The FDA says so Listeria It rarely causes disease in dogs, but as carriers they can transmit it to humans, who are more likely to be affected.

Symptoms of exposure to Listeria monocytogenes in humans include:

• Fever
• Heachache
• Muscle pain
• Stiff neck
• Nausea
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Confusion
• Loss of balance
• Convulsions

Salmonella

Animals infected by Salmonella may be lethargic and have diarrhea OR bloody diarrhea, a feverOR vomit. If your pet has consumed the affected products and exhibits any of these symptoms, the FDA recommends contacting your veterinarian.

Healthy people they come into contact with Salmonella may present symptoms such as:

• Nausea
• Vomit
• Diarrhea or bloody diarrhea
• Abdominal cramps
• Fever

In rare cases, Salmonella in humans it can cause arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms.

Whatever the forecast, it’s always a good time to remind ourselves how to best prepare our pets for a hurricane. From creating an evacuation plan to stocking necessary supplies, there are several considerations pet owners need to make in the event of a tropical storm.

We spoke with Dwight Alleyne, DVM and an expert in animal care for JustAnswer about what you should know if you and your pet find yourself in the path of a hurricane.

Microchips and vaccinations

You should always have your pets vaccinations updated and microchippedbut it’s even more vital when a hurricane hits, Alleyne says. Why? It is very likely that your pet will have to wade through flood waters that carry diseases, so they will want to be vaccinated against diseases such as parvovirus.

Additionally, you will definitely want your pets to be microchipped in case you get separated. That way, if an animal welfare organization or a kind stranger finds them, the two of you can reunite. By microchipping yours dog OR cat it may cost a few dollars, but reuniting with your lost pet is priceless.

Essential supplies

Whether you’re traveling or sheltering at home, make sure you have all the essentials to ensure you and your pets can be as comfortable as possible wherever you go.

Alleyne says these include:

• A first aid kit for pets
• Food and bottled water for a week
• Anxiety medications for your pet
• A cage or kennel to prevent your pet from escaping
• Flashlights (and batteries)
• Bathroom supplies: waste containers, pee pads, newspapers, poop bags, and cleaning wipes for when your pet needs to go outside but obviously can’t venture outside
• Toys
• Leashes, preferably with reflective material
• Deals with
• Your pets medicine
• Stickers or signs to place on your door or windows to let emergency responders know that you and your pets are inside

Evacuation planning

It is essential to include your pets in any evacuation plan, whether you plan to travel with them or leave them with a trusted caregiver.

Evacuate with your pets

If you bring them with you, make sure they are transported comfortably, Alleyne says. Make sure you have the right kind of carriers for cats and small puppies. Of course, you will also want to bring along your pets’ medications, food, and some toys or valuables so that they feel comfortable when you reach the evacuation destination.

Evacuate without your pets

If you must leave your pets at home, make sure they have a trusted caregiver who can take care of them while you are away. Don’t leave them at home to fend for themselves.

“It’s not safe for your pets to be left behind during a storm,” Alleyne says.

Shelter in place

If you’re sheltering in place, Alleyne recommends spending as much time as possible with your pet during the storm, preferably in an inside room, away from windows. While the storm rages, you’ll want to keep them distracted with food, treats, and free time.

You can’t prepare for everything, but it’s always good to plan and have enough essentials to keep everyone comfortable for at least several days until the storm passes.