My daughter had her first sleepover this weekend. It was a long time coming. Her very best friend, a girl she has known since kindergarten, is near impossible to arrange any sorts of playdates with. Her mom works full time. Her dad, a retired police sergeant, is busy running the older son around to after school activities but has a rule that the daughter cannot have playdates without her mom or dad there. Given this statute, let's just say I didn't even bother pursuing a sleepover with ... Read more »
The Road to AKC/Eukanuba: Dress for Success
Here's the thing about dog shows: They are a to-do. I'm not the pro source about dog shows, as you know. I'm learning as I go, and the more I learn, the less I know. It's fascinating, the work that goes into becoming a champion, the hours spent grooming and training and driving from place to place and competing in the hunt for titles. But at the end of the day, for me, it boils down to this: people who are really into showing dogs are absolutely, 100% nuts for canines. And that I get. I ... Read more »
Animal Use in Pet Food Research: The Hill’s Approach
One of my primary goals when I am invited to tour a pet food manufacturer is to see their animal welfare policy in action. It's probably one of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to pet foods: do you use animals to test your foods? And how do you use them? There was a time, a little over a decade ago, when animals were used quite a bit by various companies. They were used in various ways, including terminal studies in which the animals were euthanized at the end of the study. ... Read more »
A Very Macabre Christmas to You and Yours
Among the many things I inherited a love of from my mother, such as books and weird medical cases, are Christmas ornaments and crafting. Every Christmas since I was little, we would get an ornament in our stocking, and when I moved out, I took my collection with me. It's a lovely way to have a little nostalgia every December when we set up the tree. I have done the same for my kids, so when they are older they can survey their pile of Tow Mater and Barbie ornaments the way I look over my ... Read more »
Allergies and you
When my husband and I were dating, we took a trip to Vancouver. One of the things you can do there is take a horse drawn carriage ride around the park. "Let's go," I said. "That will be romantic." "Oh, I'm allergic to horses," he said. "Come on," I wheedled. "You can sit in the back. You don't have to go near them. PLEEEASE!" And because he is a good guy, he said OK. About halfway through, I looked over at him, wondering why he was so quiet. "I need to get off," he choked in a high ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Santa’s Little Helper
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Merry Christmas, kids. I poisoned the dogs.
Let me preface this by saying it isn't Christmas in my house until it looks like an elf exploded in the foyer. It doesn't excuse what happened, but it's important to the story. On Saturday, my husband and I went out to dinner while the kids spent the night at the grandparents' house. Before we left, I surveyed the mess that is "middle of Christmas prep" with some trepidation. There was trouble everywhere. Breakable ornaments, garland, boxes piled to the ceiling. Most of it is pretty ... Read more »
Stilettos and Vuvuzelas: The Road to AKC/Eukanuba
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. I felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland while I was there. I had no idea what to expect, my world being that of cages and operating tables. Down the chute I went, past bedazzled leads and ornamental throws covered in Corgis. And there, on the other side of the door, I entered the surreal world of the dog show: Here is the White Queen, windswept and amiable; (This by the way bears a striking resemblance to ... Read more »
Hills Tour Part 1. By-products: What’s in a name?
Last week I had the pleasure of joining some of my favorite pet bloggers out in Topeka to tour the Hill's Pet Nutrition campus. I really enjoy going to these types of events for a lot of reasons: one, I always learn something. Two, it's really helpful from my perspective to get to meet the individuals behind a brand and get a feel for who these people are and how they embody a company's vision. (I own a grand total of two sweaters, by the way, neither of which actually provides any actual ... Read more »
CSI San Diego: The Scapegoat
When I saw the box of popcorn chicken sitting all alone on our still undecorated Christmas tree, I was befuddled. "Is that a KFC Christmas ornament?" I asked. The kids shrugged noncommittally, which I took as an affirmative. How would I know? I haven't eaten there since the Clinton administration. This was Grandparent work, make no mistake. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized that it was not a KFC box-like ornament, but an actual empty box, trash, that one of the kids had stuck ... Read more »
Everyone’s a cynic
"Come to my store!" exalted my daughter, pulling me up the stairs. I obliged, wondering which of my possessions she was going to try to sell back to me this time. That one has always been possessed of an entrepreneurial spirit. " I have bracelets," she said, gesturing to an array of beaded items she had crafted using the bead kit she got for her birthday. "And neck-a-laces," picking up a pair of Mardi Gras beads she inherited at some point. I picked up a bracelet. "How much?" I ... Read more »
Keep off the grass
A couple of months ago, we started having problems with our sprinklers. Because we live in what is basically the desert, this means that within one month most of our backyard was dead. Not that the grass was ever in great shape to start with, I suppose. Anyway, we are slowly trying to put it back together, starting with two little patches of what has been dirt for a very long time but was at one point grass. For now, it is again. "Do NOT," my husband said, "under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES let ... Read more »
Rug Doctor Saves the Day (and a mini giveaway)
Welcome back! Hope everyone here in the States had a lovely Thanksgiving. And in celebration of that and all the work it took the rest of the weekend to put the place back together, a post about cleaning products, something with which all pet owners are all too familiar. I bought my car six years ago. Six years ago, I was obsessed with the idea of a black car with a beige interior. Sleek. Contemporary. Gorgeous. Six years ago, I was also very naive, with a nine month old who had yet to start ... Read more »
Black Friday Wishlist
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and managed to keep the pets away from all the good stuff! :) And now- da da duuuh.... let the holiday insanity commence! You can't pay me to go to the mall today. I don't care how good the sale is, it's not enough for me to deal with the scary elbow-y masses and the disheveled store racks and the fisticuffs in the parking lot. Plus, my sister is out visiting, and she has her shih tzu with her, and I think I need to get some pictures of her dog while ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Happy Thanksgiving!
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My Type: Strong, Silent and Hairy
I went to the gym this morning, although it's not my favorite thing to do, because I know I need to accumulate a little exercise karma in advance of all the pigging out that's going to be happening tomorrow. Such is life. I joined the Y this year, giving up my 24 Hour membership for a variety of reasons: The Y has lots of stuff for kids The 24 Hour has been overrun by Pauly D wannbes who hog all the machines and are generally totally obnoxious If there's one thing the Y has going for ... Read more »
Thanksgiving Food Dos and Don’ts for your pet
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days in the veterinary ER, which should surprise none of you. The very first Thanksgiving I had Emmett, he dug the turkey carcass out of the trash and settled down for a little leftovers. Luckily he left a disgusting trail of grease from the kitchen, across the living room and up the (carpeted) stairs so I managed to find him before he did too much damage, but Thanksgiving is a time of excess and gluttony for all of us, and for pets unaccustomed to the ... Read more »
Thankful: Amazon Kindle Fire Giveaway!
I am super-duper excited for today's giveaway. You see, I've been thinking about all the things I am thankful for, and there's a lot- my family, my health, my dogs. And all of you, because you guys are what makes all this carpal tunnel stuff worthwhile. You put up with zombie apocalypses and cheer me up when even Brody isn't doing the trick. So because I love you all, we decided to give away something super cool right before the holiday season. I don't have one yet, except for the one I'm ... Read more »
