So yesterday, in an attempt to pull me out of the glums, my husband surprised me with a one day pass to Comic-Con, which if you are not aware is an event where 125,000 people descend on the city in ill-fitting Transformers costumes and pack the convention center in a celebration of pretty much everything pop culture. It is massive, but getting in these days is like getting a Golden Ticket. So of course I had to go. First, I tried to get into the Game of Thrones panel, since the book's author ... Read more »
Heart Pet Day
I don't think it's the most politic of things to say, but sometimes we play favorites in life. I'd like to think I'm above that, but I'm so totally not. Emmett was my favorite dog. I love all of my pets, past and present, with all of my heart, but the bond we had was something special. It is the kind of understanding that is impossible to explain unless you've experienced it, and I say it as someone who's had pets all her life. I get all of my pets inside and out. But this one got me, and ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: I’m Ready for my Close Up
She's getting to be as much of a ham as Brody. ... Read more »
What dreams may come
I love watching my dogs dream. They twitch, sometimes making little running motions with their feet, and Brody in particular makes a noise just like one of the Three Stooges- "whoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoop," a sound never heard when he's actually awake. I've always wondered what they dream about. Do their brains use the time to work out subconscious fears like we do? What can they be all that worried about anyway? They have it pretty easy. Are their dreams populated with the surreal workings of ... Read more »
Heart Pet Day is July 21
I bet you didn't know that, did you? That's because I just made it up. It's the two year anniversary of the day my own heart pet passed on, but I've found that the best salve to a broken heart is to commiserate with others who understand that loss. There is sadness, but also joy, in hearing about the bonds you all have shared with those you loved as well. I really loved putting together the video last year of everyone's heart pets, and I'll make sure I re-post that on Thursday. But I'd like ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: On the Go Kits from VPI
Congratulations to our winners: Quinn, Pamela J, Shelly, Elizabeth and the Lab Crew, and Oralia! For going on a year now, I've been suspicious that Kekoa might have Cushing's disease. Her symptoms have waxed and waned, certain bloodwork values have gone up and down, but I haven't quite been able to pin it down. Have I tested her? Oh yes, I have, over and over. And ACTH stimulation tests, if you haven't had the pleasure, don't come cheap- even to us vet types. The tests for Cushings ... Read more »
The Sixth Sense
We all have heard the amazing stories: a dog who can sense when an epileptic seizure is about to take place, some disturbance in the electromagentic field or something that alerts the dog to an impending event. Or maybe those pets who sensed an earthquake or tsunami was bearing down, and ran for higher ground long before the people figured out what was coming. Or Oscar the cat, the gentle hospice feline who had a way of knowing when a person was about to pass on, and always managed to find ... Read more »
Much love to tech support
You know how every year, at the Oscars, they host the Technical Awards at some crummy second rate venue in downtown LA and they get a B-list celebrity to come host it? Those people work their butts off to make the movies look good but all they get in return is some lame hotel dinner and maybe a 30 second clip shown at the Oscar telecast. Tech support never gets any love. Sometimes I feel a little bit of similar guilt about the tech support here at pawcurious. It's just a party of one- my ... Read more »
The true hero of the story: a Pet Doctor Barbie Post
A couple times a year, I take a stroll through Toys R Us to see if there is a new Pet Vet Barbie being inflicted upon the masses. There's a cat vet one, which I bought just because she has a slide on the exam table and that alone was worth the price- I mean, what cat doesn't love going down a slide at the vet clinic?- but that's not what really got me excited. The Barbie I had to grab was the Fashionista Barbie. Those babies have moveable joints. MOVEABLE JOINTS! Now, why fashionistas need ... Read more »
Guest post: One is the loneliest number
My mother-in-law is a cat person. She loves the dogs too, don't get me wrong, but some people are dog people and some people are cat people, and she is a cat person through and through. Her most recent cat passed away a couple of years ago, and I'll be the first to admit I am surprised she is still cat-less. I think the urge is calling to her, though. There have been hints dropped and a wayward cat dish randomly winding up in the living room and suggestions of visits to the local cat rescue. ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Iams Sensitive Naturals and Simple and Natural
Congratulations to our winner, Elena! I hope your pet loves the food! I spend a lot of time reading pet food labels. I usually have to shoo off at least three well meaning but unhelpful store employees every time I'm at the store. Sometimes I'm reading to make sure it's a good choice for Brody and Koa, and sometimes I just pick up a bag of cheapie food to remind myself of the crummy stuff that's out there. I know I'm not alone in this- it seems like every time I go into the store, from a ... Read more »
Baking With Brody: The Puppy Cuppy
I am, to put it mildly, really into cupcakes. I think they are amazing. Adorable, teeny tiny little bites of cake heaven in a portable handheld form. When cupcakes started coming back into fashion a couple of years ago, I sighed, knowing my waistline was doomed. In their sugary clutches, I am powerless. I've sampled some of the wares from local cupcakeries, most recently the Sprinkles that opened up about a half an hour from my house- which is a relatively safe distance. This week, I ... Read more »
Wherever I may roam
The fourth of July was lovely. And thank goodness for that, because the fifth was pretty brutal, as it has remained since then. Humid, sticky, 100 degrees plus, the sort of weather that leaves you glued to the couch by your own sweat, unable to get up even if you wanted to, which you don't. Brody goes outside long enough to jump in the pool, then hightails it back into the house to allow it all to evaporate in a nice sauna-dog-smell combo. I used to call this "Hawaii hot." But now, now I call ... Read more »
It’s better in pairs
Today I saw a bumper sticker that gave me a good laugh: Discover Wildlife- Raise Twins. I couldn't imagine. My two kiddos are 20 months apart and that is zoo enough for me. Two at the exact same age would probably be more than my rickety knees and/or delicate psyche could handle. Pets, though, are another story. As much as I look on in horrified fascination at people with 4,5,6 kids and wonder how the heck they stay sane and solvent, I could very easily imagine myself waking up to four ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: eek
Good think Brody was not along on this particular walk. I've treated a lot of weird things in my day, but "jellyfish ingestion" would be a new one even to me. ... Read more »
Behold the power of the internet
I've spent a lot of time rubbing my temples in frustration at the things people pull off the internet and read as gospel- everything from "How To Assemble a Home Bloat Kit at Home Depot" to "Drug Dosing for your Cat" including, of all things, deadly Tylenol. The DIY instructions out there run the gamut from the harmless-but-useless to the downright killer. On the flip side, the internet can also be an absolute godsend. I say this not only as a medical professional, but as a patient and a ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Wellness Cat food!
Today, while we're all digesting the remnants of our Independence Day feasts, I have for you a special giveaway for the kitty in your life. I have to swear you all to secrecy that you won't share the details with Apollo, for if he knows what I had to give away instead of sharing with his sad food-allergic self I'm sure I'd be finding more than a few slimy furballs on my pillow. I have a special place in my heart for the Wellness brand. When my dear old hound Nuke developed a nasty splenic ... Read more »
Happy Fourth!
Give me your burgers, your corn, Your soggy shortcakes yearning to be eaten, The yummy refuse of your grill galore. Send these, the castoff, crumbs and chips to me, I lift my mouth unto the golden bowl! A very joyous Independence Day from Lady Liberty and...er....Lady Liberty. ... Read more »
