Being an animal lover comes with its share of stigmas and stereotypes. Perhaps there is some truth to the idea that we are more likely than our un-petted counterparts to have some stray cat hair on our clothes, for example, but to assume said clothes are more schlumpy than those of your average person is just not right. I prefer to think of it as fashion-forward: cruelty free fur. It's a revolution, actually. I would say my time in the frumpy world of yoga tracksuits had more to do with two ... Read more »
Archives for 2010
Howliday Gift Guide: Reading by the Fire (and giveaway!)
The Howliday Gift Guide Week continues with Book Day! As you're lounging by the fireplace with your cocoa and your furball, you might be looking for some reading material to pass the hours in the dark December nights. Fortunately I've got you covered: ... Read more »
Got Recipes?
OK, so I got a bee in my bonnet to collect recipes for dog and cat treats. Why not? It will be fun. Then we can do an old-fashioned recipe exchange, kind of like those cookbooks we used to do when we were in elementary school and it would be "Mrs. Jones' Famous Peach Cobbler" featuring canned peaches, marshmallows and graham crackers. I think my mother still has a couple of those cookbooks falling apart in the pantry. If you have a treat, cookie or dish recipe you'd like to include, you can ... Read more »
Howliday Week: Joy Pet Products Goose Down Coat Giveaway!
Think of this as the furry version of Oprah's Favorite Things, except with you all in your living room instead of in the studio, and me only giving away a few things instead of one to every reader. And we haven't all had our hair and makeup done. And we're not in Chicago. OK, it's not anything like Oprah's Favorite Things but it's still going to be a fun, fun week because I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS and therefore I dedicate the next month to merriment, festivities and gifts! This week is the ... Read more »
Happy Day!
I hope everyone is as happy and as stuffed as we are! I'll be out watching Harry Potter and giving the dogs a post-Thanksgiving Furmination, so I'll catch up with you all on Monday. In the meantime, get ready- next week is going to be exciting! Debuting Monday and continuing for the week is the Pawcurious Holiday Gift Guide 2010, featuring reviews, a giveaway a day, and the debut of the 2011 Pawcurious Calendar! ... Read more »
The fish curse continues, sorta
I went to feed the new betta tonight and I couldn't find him in the tank. I fully admit that I cursed like a sailor as I peered around the tank (at least the kids weren't around to hear it.) Then, I spotted him- chilling in the little filter: you know, the little box that hangs off the back of the tank? How the HECK did he get in there? The only thing I can possibly fathom is that he got sucked up the tube that pulls water into the filter. He seems like he would be too big for it, but ... Read more »
The Pawcurean Presents: Turbacon
As we're winging our way to the Thanksgiving holiday (get it? winging?) I decided to dedicate some thought to what I would include on the holiday menu for the pets. It's only fair, right? I'm going to spend all of Thursday and most of the week leading up to it in the kitchen preparing a feast the likes of which this kitchen sees only once a year, and the most the pets can usually look forward to is a sliver of turkey expertly slid under the table by Grandma (then Grandpa, then the other set ... Read more »
Give thanks
I was recently asked, "What are you grateful for?" Well shoot, what am I not grateful for? I am blessed with a healthy family and people and pets who love me. The rest is gravy (to start throwing in Thanksgiving puns.) But I think the question was more specific to veterinary stuff, so let me start with telling a story: When one of my dogs was diagnosed with melanoma, I did what any good general practitioner would do and bundled her off in the car to the specialist. In our area, we are ... Read more »
Nulo Challenge: Final Weigh In
Wow, 90 days flies when you're having fun! Kekoa is wrapping up her 90 days on the Nulo challenge, and boy has it been eventful. We survived a long road trip, a cancer diagnosis, envying a younger brother with a better metabolism, and a few too many fingers sneaking treats in when the taskmaster wasn't watching. Despite this, she continued to progress over the course of the challenge, and at her final weigh in Koa is now 73 pounds! That puts her total weight loss at 6 pounds for the 90 days! ... Read more »
Giveaway: Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Kisses
And the lucky winner chosen by random.org is Dana and her lucky pup Gucci! Congratulations! Have you ever tried those freeze dried apple thingies they have at Costco? They don't look like much, I'll give them that. When my friend pressed them into my hand with the confidence of one who was introducing me to the wonders of crack, I wasn't too impressed. "Why are you giving me astronaut food?" I asked her, proud of my impromptu 80's reference. So not appetizing (yet strangely alluring. I ... Read more »
12 Days of Petmas Signups!
Signups are now open for the 2011 12 Days of Petmas Viewer Participation Carol! Here's the deal: You sign up to play and are assigned a number 1-12. You are responsible for taking a picture with that number as your theme, using the 12 Days of Christmas carol as a sort-of inspiration. If you want to see what people did last year, here's the link. (I probably won't be doing a collage a day this time around as it took FOR-EVER, but I will have one at the end.) The picture needs to be ... Read more »
Can see this coming from a mile away
Tonight I attended an orientation for new Girl Scout troop leaders. I thought it would involve some construction paper ideas, handing me a pile of beanies and wishing me luck. Oh no. Oh NO. Starting a Girl Scout troop is like applying to vet school. There's reference checks, medical histories, asking for when I got my last tetanus shot...it's nuts. And the cookies. Oh, the cookies. Mandatory cookie training is December 11th. I'll let that sink in: mandatory cookie training. What have I ... Read more »
And now a word to our sponsors:
Two words, actually: THANK YOU! World's Best Cat Litter gamely sponsored what I imagine is going to be the one post people remember a year from now. Thank you, Drew and the whole WBCL team! An 'Above and Beyond' thank you goes to Jen Cleere at Fetching Tags for not only donating multiple tags to my blogathon, AND a guest post, she then ran her own blogathon while giving away oodles of tags on her own site! She was like the Ultra Blogathoner! ... Read more »
Pets and arthritis
A while back, I was invited by Petfinder to write a guest post on arthritis in pets. I happily accepted- even though I tend to the more chatty around here, I can write something useful when necessary. Jane just let me know the post is live today! How to help pets with arthritis stay comfortable during cold winter months This makes me feel better about the fact that I did not write a single medical post during the blogathon. :) ... Read more »
After the marathon
There's no real primer out there for how to recover after a blogathon, so I looked up the next best thing. I don't know if an actual marathon is the best analogy, because after I ran Rock and Roll in 2001 I hobbled home, hung my shoes up and swore NEVER AGAIN. But much of it is still applicable: rest, take it easy, don't jump right on into another race, etc. But then I saw this: The Day After the Race Post race depression is quite common. You usually feel a real "high" after finishing ... Read more »
Epilogue: The quiet heroes
When I was at the telethon yesterday, I asked Mike Arms how he was doing. "I just got back from Prague," he said, "where I was asked to give a keynote address to an international assembly of animal rescuers from 50 countries." He told me he doesn't write his remarks ahead of time. I guess that is something you just learn how to do over time. If I got up there I would have just stammered for a few minutes and then resorted to knock knock jokes. But I digress. I asked him what he said, and ... Read more »
Down to the wire: This experience in interpretive blogging
Tired ... Read more »
Final Biscuits by Lambchop Giveaway!
This is your last chance to earn some delicious, yummy Biscuits By Lambchop! Biscuits by Lambchop™ dog treats are free of gluten, soy, corn, rice, dairy, eggs, nuts, animal proteins and preservatives and are low in fat, sodium and phosphorus to accommodate the needs of dogs who have these restrictions in their diet, such as those with some types of kidney, liver and pancreas problems. Please check out this wonderful post from our friends at Dogster about how dogs help people with ... Read more »