I miss Oprah’s favorite things show. That was the best show ever, and also how I ended up with a pile of things I never knew I HAD TO HAVE until Oprah said I had to have them. That is how I wound up with a quilted pink Burberry jacket six years ago, and I don’t even like pink.
Anyway. Giving stuff away is fun.
I spent all day yesterday sorting through the giveaways to pick winners, and to make my life easier I’m listing them all here:
Biscuits by Lambchop giveaway: Susan Montgomery
Iams Gift Packs: Jason and Michelle Spayde
Scent of the Missing: Catherine, Karen B and julie in chicago
Lickety Stix: Quinn and Esther
Calming Collar: BBQduck
6 Packs 9 Lives: Emily E
If you’re a winner you should be getting an e-mail from me this morning, but if for some reason you don’t have anything by noon shoot me a line through the contact page with your shipping address and I’ll get your prizes to you!
I have another giveaway for you all that I’ll have up some time this week. I’m super excited for it because it’s something really cool and I don’t have one, but I decided to give one away as a thank you to all of you for your support the last three years. And NO, it’s not a Boston terrier. Stay tuned.
Normally when I do these blogathons, I park myself on the couch with a pile of chocolate and a liter of coffee and just go for it. But this year, this year I decided to be ambitious. I will do my blogathon on location, I thought. Let’s make it NUTS.
The week before, I drove out to the Lions, Tigers and Bears sanctuary to verify they had working wifi. It was slow, but not too slow. Good enough for the blogathon, I figured. My friend Star and I hatched plans. We’ll camp out in the bear sanctuary! We’ll bring night vision goggles and do live updates from the lion cages like we’re Anderson Cooper!
Um, yeah.
That was before we had the Storm of the Year. And while those of you who deal with inclement weather on a regular basis may laugh, we got a month’s worth of rain in one day here in San Diego, one day of horrific weather that none of us know how to deal with, sandwiched in between two more typical sunny beautiful days. And it was into this storm that I drove, with totally inappropriate clothing and a non-waterproof camera. DA DA DUMMMMM…
I was standing in the tiger enclosure while we were shooting the catnip videos in a sweatshirt, umbrella on the ground due to lack of space and hands, getting pounded by freezing rain while trying to protect the camera from the rain. My fingers went numb. The spectators were popsicles. The cats ran and hid. By the time 4 o’clock hit and we were ready to shoot the crossbow videos, it was dark out and the hills were flooded.
The rain continued to pelt us. The satellite on which the wifi relied was shrouded in rainclouds. And at 6 pm, the internet went out and refused to come back. I tried to post a few times from the phone, but who can do a blogathon from an iphone? I tried to tether the wifi to my phone, but I don’t even know what that even means, so that was out. Going outside in that weather was useless, and even if I did, with no wifi I couldn’t upload any pictures. My blogpocalypse was getting blogpocalypsed for real. So meta.
So at 7:30, I hiked back out to my car in the absolute pitch black with nothing but a lantern for the treacherous drive back to my house. It took me a while to find it. I have a black car and it was parked somewhere in a big meadow. I was swinging the lantern back and forth, trying to find my car in the rain in a muddy field, and all I could think was, this really is the apocalypse. I’m going to die.
I drove back home through the mountain pass, hoping against hope to avoid hail. I made it to my exit 45 minutes later, and saw this:
Road closed. Another 15 minute detour, on the phone with my husband giving him instructions to get such-and-such guest post published so I wouldn’t miss the hourly benchmarks. By this point I was convinced my blogpocalypse was just me being prophetic. Driving, flooding, lost connections, drama, police…talk about setting the mood.
I finally made it back home and busted through as much as I could overnight to get posts up with our functional home wifi, so that at 6 I could get BACK in the car and drive BACK to the sanctuary just in case the weather improved. I had no idea if the wifi would be working again or not, so I had to have backup posts ready to go in case.
I got back to the sanctuary and it was beautiful out. Of course it was. This was my attempt at ”zombie shadow looming over an abandoned something-or-other.” It was the most ominous I could get by that point, being exhausted and all. It would have been much funnier with the crossbow.
But at least the cats came out! I got to spend the morning doing all the stuff I was planning on doing the night before, like getting to feed the lions. Who, by the way, are very loud when they rumble.
And Conga the leopard, who spent the night before sulking over the rain, was out and ready to visit.
yum yum yum she said, right before dripping chicken juice into my eyeball.
What you don’t hear is me screaming, “I’m infected now!” Salmonella, right in the eye.
So rest assured, I worked for every dollar you all so generously donated. And it was totally worth it. Because those cats eat a TON of chicken, and Bobbi just got back from Wyoming with someone’s pet bobcat, and Natasha the tiger had surgery for uterine cancer last week.
My husband’s only comment was this: We spend two weeks in Africa and you come closer to death here at home trying to do something with your blog. SO TRUE.
Though I am perilously close to feeling like one. Yeegads. When I am not so sleep deprived and my fingers are no longer curved into arthritic claws from typing a month’s worth of posts in one day, I will give you the behind the scenes look at a blogathon that, for all intents and purposes, really did end up feeling like a real life apocalypse. There were cops and power outages and insanity and late night evacuations and everything. But it all worked out in the end, and we raised $1240 for Lions, Tigers and Bears so all’s well that ends well!
The best part of it was all of you, hanging tough. And the amazing people who also came on board to do their own insane blogathons- they rocked it! A HUGE thank you to:
The Blogpocalypse Survival Team
Dr. Finch: Who was a tireless cheerleader, organizer, and brought in her entire family to participate!
My Brown Newfies: Who did a fantastic job in her first blogathon supporting the Columbus Zoo;
Dawg Business: rocking out a great post about the real dangers to dogs aside from zombies;
BZTAT: Who did a draw-a-thon, which is crazy to me because she doesn’t have the luxury of guest posts or anything. It’s all her. Bids are still open on her drawings- go check them out! I am of course bidding on the ZOMBIE VET AND GOLDEN duo.
and Kol’s Notes, who did an incredible bang-up job on their very first blogathon and knocked it out of the park with a zombie extravaganza! What a show! Great work!
The Pawcurious Support Team
I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who sponsored giveaways and wrote guest posts for me during the blogathon- it means so much to have that extra help. THANK YOU to Star, Malice and Bobbi at LTB; Dr. Mahaney, Romeo the Cat,Generation Vet, PetSafe, KnobNotes, Biscuits By Lambchop, Calming Collars, Iams, and Pudgy and Pals! And of course, everyone who helped with a generous donation and comments during the blogpocalypse!
The sun rises over a new landscape. Dusty, quiet, ravaged. Cleansed, if you will.
Not much left by way or man nor beast.
Under the cover of darkness, Amanda Brown slipped into her Hummer while Dr. V covered her escape and made a run for Los Angeles, where she found Dr. Patrick Mahaney under the Hollywood sign at dawn. They lived and shopped happily ever after.
They never did find that blond vet or her cute little red dog, but it’s said that she strode out into the maelstrom with her crossbow muttering something about “If you want something done right….Dangit Brody!”
Rumor had it she may be hiding in the hills, perhaps scavenging berries and picking off wild turkeys. One can only hope she didn’t become one of the undead, because veterinarians know too much about death. They know how to cheat it , too. The search and rescue fund will continue here:
It’s too soon to give up hope. She did say she was scrappy.
I love these sweet black bears. Liberty, Blossom and Delilah rock. We fed them some zombie bits this morning.
And Liberty likes zombie fingers. Mmmm!
Ugh, that bit was a tad bit rotten.
Cower before me, flesh eater! I’m a BEAR! Rawr! (And yet so cuddly)
As you can see, the bears are currently living in fairly small enclosures while they are waiting for their big awesome 3 acre habitat to be completed. First priority is the dental work for Blossom and Delilah, who have a decade’s worth of neglected teeth to take care of, then their habitat. And you guys are helping them get closer to getting there! THANK YOU! Can we get over the 1K mark in this last hour?
I thought I would tempt you with some more Africa pictures. Wildlife is beautiful no matter where it lives.
The wild carnivores are surprisingly lackadaisiacal. I have video of me 10 feet from him in a Land Cruiser a little panicked he might try to pounce.
Did I tell you about the time the elephant almost took out the tour guide? No? Well I might… if I survive. I’m feeling a little peckish this morning. I had to cover Amanda Brown’s escape and I think a zombie peacock pecked me.
But if I die, at least I can say I’ve seen one of these in the wild. Seriously, all head and no butt. SO CUTE.
Zombie viruses can only be killed by charitable donations. I may survive yet. YOU ALL ROCK!
Annette Frey from Biscuits by Lambchop has been there for me from the very beginning, always the first to offer generous giveaways of her awesome Biscuits by Lambchop each and every time I have a harebrained scheme like, say, this blogathon. She is a great friend and she also happens to make a great product for sensitive dogs- which by the way are quite delicious- so check them out!
Biscuits by Lambchop is giving away a set of 4oz. Choppers & Starlets dog biscuits!
Leave a comment and tell us why you want to win. Get an extra entry if you leave a comment on their Facebook page!
Like all animals, dogs who bite zombies do not turn into zombie-dogs, but instead contract a fast-moving fatal infection and will rapidly die. Thus it is important to train dogs being used against zombies never to bite them. Instead, they’re trained to circle around and pounce on the zombie’s back, pushing with their forelegs between the shoulder blades, to knock the zombie down.
As in all fictional zombie stories, I guess this one is up to me. Brody was out all night playing catch with the zombies. I can’t tell whether or not he got bit. He seems his usual happy goofy self, at least so far….
But what will happen between now and noon?
How will this story end?
Will Brody be fine? Or will he turn into CraZy Undead Zombie Dog?
Only you can determine the outcome:
I do hope you’ll help me with my fundraising goals. It would be such a bummer to have to write my dog into a zombie.
Want to help more? For every badge that gets posted to Facebook this week, Iams will donate 15 meals to homeless pets in need! Click here for details and go to “post to wall”.
To enter, I need a comment with you telling me how your cat got his or her name. Because I am that curious.
by Dr. V | Sunday | November 13, 2011 | Comments are off for this post
Hey, if the stores are closed and the zombies have shut down the Target, you won’t have access to kibble. Do you know how to cook a healthy meal for your pet? Here’s a great dog-friendly breakfast recipe courtesy of Tasha Ardalan at Foxy Treats:
1 large buttercup squash
5-6 eggs
1/4c broccoli florettes
2tsp nutmeg (Dr V note: there are some reports of nutmeg causing toxicity; you may want to substitute another dog-friendly spice like a small amount of cinnamon)
shredded cheese, any kind
Cut off the stem of the buttercup so that it sits flat when upside down. Cut a hole around the blossom end of the squash (where it starts to look like a turban). Remove the cap and scoop out all of the seeds and “innards, ” leaving just the “meat” of the squash. Par-bake the squash for 30min at 350ºF. Whisk eggs and nutmeg together. While the squash is hot, fill cavity with broccoli and pour eggs into the buttercup. Top with shredded cheese. Replace the cap and bake an additional 25min. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Slice into wedges.
For more about how to cook for your dog- an AMAZING and EXHAUSTIVELY researched magazine article in Good Dog Magazine, check it out here!
The Lions of Lions, Tigers and Bears are hungry. Hungry for zombie flesh. Luckily for us we managed to take a few out overnight and we’ll be feeding them when it’s light out and safe to go back outside.
Yesterday, we primed them with a little chicken and catnip. In a pumpkin, because it’s festive.
Lions, Tigers and Bears goes through chicken shipments by the hundreds of pounds. With 13 cats and 3 bears, that’s a lot of mouths to feed. But hoo boy, look how happy it makes them:
That’s Bakari, Jillian and Suri eyeing me like I’m dim sum.
That’s right, people taste bad- and don’t you forget it!
Please help Bobbi and Lions Tigers and Bears with their amazing work helping these animals live healthy happy lives! Every dollar is vital to their medical care and expenses.
There seems to be some confusion as to whether or not zombies will attack pets or other animals. When I assigned my staff this research project, it appeared at first that pets are not typically the targets of zombie attacks.
I’ve come to learn that this isn’t entirely true. Some zombies attack pets and some do not. According to The U.S. Zombie Tactical Squad, here are the different types of zombies and whether or not they are interested in eating pets.
Zombies that Will Attack Animals:
Nuclear Fallout Zombies
Viral Zombies
Bacterial Zombies
Voodoo Zombies
Zombies that Will Only Attack Humans
Chemical Zombies
Niño-Zombies
Techno-Zombies
Other Miscellaneous
In my opinion, it’s probably best to be prepared all the way around. And so, I give you Romeo the Cat’s Guide to Preparing for and Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.
Stockpile your food before the zombie attack happens. If you can set aside a little bit of kibble every day, you may be able to build yourself a nice little stash of food in case you must stay inside because of a zombie attack and/or if your staff has already been eaten by zombies.
Use your skills. Luckily, zombies can’t climb. But cats can. In case of a zombie attack, get high, baby, and stay there!
If you happen to find yourself outside and there are zombies about, you can probably outrun them for a while. When you do take cover, get your furry butt to a Petco, Target or somewhere that sells cat food. You don’t want to hole yourself up in a Macy’s; that would be foolish.
Stay out of the windows. I know it’s hard not to hang out in the windowsill and observe everything going on outside but don’t draw attention to your bad self.
You know what they say about curiosity killing the cat? This couldn’t be truer during a zombie attack. Keep a low profile.
Make yourself useful. If your staff is still human, offer your best comforting skills. Purring, head butts and snuggling go a long way in making yourself indispensible to humans who are freaking out. If your staff has been eaten or zombiefied, team up with the human who takes charge. They could end up as the new world’s warlord and you need to align with the top dude.
This one is for you more dim-witted kitties out there…..don’t bite the zombies!
Keep your mouse-catching skills sharp. Many of us house cats have gotten “soft.” Tap into your instincts and practice catching prey well in advance of an apocalypse. If you survive and your humans don’t, there won’t be anyone to open cat food cans. Just sayin’.
Use the buddy system but limit your numbers. It’s useful to hang with one or two other cats but no one’s safe when there’s dozens of you together, roaming the streets. Choose a few smart cats and stick together.
Watch the tail, yo. While it’s true that you can most likely outrun a zombie, if you don’t have much of a head start, those grabby zombies might catch a hold of your tail and then you’re done.
Kitty friends, any other advice to offer up to your fellow felines?
Stay tuned.
