sound glitch and pet freeze

Since the 1.4.7 update (possibly the 1.4.6), my sounds are slightly messed up. The pickaxe sound is nerfed, the "pock" sound when I pick up an item also. Other sounds are completely fine (water, hitting dirt block). Also my dogs and cats are frozen in the sitting position and will meow/bark, but will not move. This happens in all worlds, including ones not used since 1.2.5.

I have the latest Mt. Lion 1.8.2, I switched back to Java 6, I'm on an intel i5 macbook, I have uninstalled, reinstalled, force updated numerous times. It's very frustrating - since late last year, the sounds have sounded "mushy", is the best way to describe it. And yes, I have deleted and installed the /resources file.

Thanks in advance for your help.