Pawcurious: With Veterinarian and Author Dr. V

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Jonesing

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My Dyson is in the shop. This is a bad thing.

Dyson loveMy Dyson is one of those things I never knew I would love so much until it was in my hot little hands. Who knew a vacuum cleaner could inspire such passion? Such undying devotion? Only someone with multiple animals can appreciate the depths to which one can bond to a good vacuum cleaner.

So when something went clank and it stopped performing its wondrous miracles as official tumbleweed remover, I found myself looking up repair places faster than you can say “this sucks.” ha! And off I went to the shop with the Dyson tucked into the backseat like a sorry little ambulance ride.

“My Dyson is broken,” I said breathlessly to the shop owner. “I have a big hairy Golden at home so please fix it as soon as possible.” He shrugged.

It’s been three long and lonely days now, and I’m starting to get antsy. Running after hairballs with a broom is decidedly unrewarding, as is trying to stay on top of this hot mess with a handheld.

I’d write it a country song full of longing and woe, but I don’t like country music, so I’ll just have to leave it at pestering the repair shop for an estimate so we be joyfully reunited.

It’s just one of the many things I never knew I would love so much (Furminator, no-stink collars) until I had it. And now I can’t live without it. What’s your Can’t Live Without it pet item?

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  1. We’ve found that the really cheap Bissell vaccum works almost as well, if not just as well as our animal dyson did. Might get you through this trying time 🙂

  2. I share your passion for the Dyson…. Hope yours gets all better and comes home soon!

    • Same here! Luckily, I have a repair shop near me that fixed mine the same day when I had trouble with mine.

  4. LOVE my Dyson, and with two dogs (one a husky) I couldn’t live without it!

  5. Mom says her “can’t live without pet item” is….ME! (No big surprise there. ;)) But she says she’s quite anxious to have the bucks to buy a Dyson, MOSTLY based on the glowing reports from Dr. V! 🙂

  6. I knew we’d love our Furminator (it’s actually an off-brand, I don’t recall the name but the tag line is “You’ve got to be shedding me!”), but my husband was in awe. We try to nip the fur-wads in the bud with it, but sometimes it gets away from us. Maybe we should look into a Dyson, since Dust-Busting our tumbleweeds is so tiresome. (And the cats don’t like it when we use it on them….)

  7. I LOVE my Dyson. It’s both amazing and disgusting to see how much crud it gets out of everything. I read all the online reviews before putting up the cash to get one, all the while thinking, “These people are a little crazy – it’s a VACUUM” and now I’m one of them!

    The other pet product I never in a million years thought I would sing praises for is cat litter, specifically, World’s Best Cat Litter. I never bought it because I thought the name was a little egotistical – really? The best in the WORLD? Then one of my cats started “thinking outside the box” and we had the obligatory litter smorgasboard. In desperation, I decided put WBCL to the test and there really is truth in advertising! The smell is practically non-existent, the clumps don’t cement themselves to the side or bottom of the box like they do with clay, it’s easier to scoop than pine pellets AND it’s people, pet and environmentally friendly!

  9. My DVM degree 😉 Without it I could NEVER afford all the weird stuff my pets come down with…

  10. I love my swiffer vac. It ther perfect thing inbetween large cleaning jobs and grabs the cat hair and hair balls like crazy!

  11. My Kirby vacuum cleaner. Worth every $$! When the starter went out a few months ago I thought I was gonna drown in dog hair until it was fixed. I have a Golden and a Lab/Mastiff mix as well as a cat. The fur in this place is always flying! And you are right, brooms just don’t cut it when trying to chase down those rolling balls of fluff. The other thing I can’t live without are my Clorox wipes. One in every room that has a sink, cause the kids are just as messy (if not more) than the animals.

  12. I can’t live without the bissel spot bot…it has saved our carpets many times over with fosters and their many accidents

  13. I can’t live without the Bissell Little Green Machine. But I have to. I borrow it about once a month (Or whenever there’s an explosive accident) from my in-laws and give the living room carpet a thorough clean. It is amazing at sucking up pet mess.

    I’m also growing fonder of my between-Bissell Doggie Doo Doo stain remover by EarthPawz, and I’d love to get some Furminators (One long-haired dog, one thick-haired dog, one fluffy cat, one short-haired cat, and two kittens).

  14. With two Tervs, a long haired cat, a short haired cat who sheds more than the ling haired and two long haired people, we couldn’t live without our Dysons. We have the animal AND the hand held, which works great on kitty towers.

  15. Yep, I have to agree – I can’t live without our dyson – it makes SUCH a difference! Oh, and paper towels. We’re lost without them. Barf patrol! 🙂

  16. We have two Riccar vac’s. One is a small one that has a shoulder strap-good for small areas. The other is a Riccar upright. The vac we had before was a Miele. The vac store didn’t carry Dysons because their techs were not certified Dyson repair people. The Riccars are nice, but we’d definitely get a Miele next time. Quieter, takes up less room in a closet and easy to maneuver. Oh and the retractable cord is wonderful!