I've been following Dog Time's multi part series about No-Kill with interest. Fascinating stuff. Then I saw yesterday's piece: "There are no responsible breeders." I read it, waiting for the twist, waiting for some clarification on the idea, and then I got to the end and realized that the author meant it, as is, in all sincerity. Even responsible breeders who genuinely love and want the best for their animals you ask? I know this statement will raise some hackles, but it needs to be ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Premier Pet Products!
Congratulations to the winners: Steph B, Elizabeth, and Kathy! Despite having been around for over a decade, I am still astounded by the number of people who refer to a Gentle Leader as a muzzle. It doesn't matter that it's pink, covered in flowers, and about a centimeter wide around the muzzle of a fluffy Golden Retriever, there's still always that person who kind of edges sideways and scooches by with an apologetic "I don't want to get bit." I use it as an opportunity to teach people, of ... Read more »
The long slow descent down the totem pole
I loved this recent post over at PetMd by Dr. Khuly talking about the association between becoming a new parent and having your pet pack on the pounds. I think anyone who has had a new baby as well as a pet can relate. Sure, everyone tells themselves, "Oh no! I know other people put their pets on the back burner but not me! I'm going to carry my kid around in a papoose and just go out with a jogging stroller every day at 5 am and we'll be just fine!" And yes, some people actually do that, and ... Read more »
Jonesing
My Dyson is in the shop. This is a bad thing. My 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 ... Read more »
Me and my solitude
I found myself in the strange position this week of wanting to go running. As in, I actually missed running. And that is weird because I kind of hated it, so I thought. I stopped running some time ago after some nagging injuries, and just found other things to take its place. I was fine with that. Brody and I go for lots of walks in the neighborhood, because that is what you do when you have a crazy dog. We like those well enough. But I missed running, with loud music drowning out the ... Read more »
A look inside a research facility AND a giveaway
One of the main reasons Iams invited a group of pet bloggers to Dayton for Behind the Paw was to show off the Pet Health and Nutrition Center in Lewisburg, Ohio. Before I get into what we saw at the facility, I wanted to give you a little background into the wild and wooly topic of animal research. Background It is obviously a controversial topic. An institution who is going to use animals for research purposes needs to have a clear justification as to the benefit of the research as well as ... Read more »
Behind the Paw: the promised post
So, I asked and you guys answered: yes, you want to hear what Iams has to say about the "Iams Cruelty" PETA video fiasco from 2003. OK. You got it. I had to recruit Brody to sit with me for moral support, though. It became quickly apparent after trying to present it in a coherent manner that the intricacies and nuances of something as complex as animal research protocols are not something that can be presented in one post. So I am going to break it down in a few pieces to make it a little ... Read more »
Happy Memorial Day!
Today I learned that a mere 30 minute drive from my house is the only private war memorial devoted to canine heroes, at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. The Department of Defense is doggedly (sorry) opposed to official recognition of canine veterans, according to US War Dogs Association Head Ron Aiello, out of concern that it would detract from the accomplishments of the human honorees. I fully admit I am not an expert on military life. I have not served in the military or lived with a ... Read more »
A snapshot of surgery
We were a pretty tech-heavy crew in Peru with the April Amazon Cares trip. One of the items I packed was a Flip camera, which unfortunately chose to poop out entirely about one week into the trip. For the first half, though, it was a cool camera to have since I could set it up on a tripod and just film a half hour of activity. I put together about 40 minutes of footage from 2 clinics the first week in Iquitos. I then sped up the footage so you can see all of this in two minutes' worth of ... Read more »
Behind the Paw: Part Uno
As you all know, last week I spent a couple of days in Dayton, Ohio attending the second Behind the Paw Summit at the invitation of Iams/Eukanuba. When I wasn't leaving computers on buses or throwing gutterballs in a sad attempt to unconvincingly demonstrate my bowling prowess, I actually did learn a lot about the pet food manufacturing process. I'm always a little leery of doing trips like this, because I have two competing agendas when writing about them: mine and theirs. My agenda, of ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday
A beautiful statue calling to the skies on the banks of the Amazon. ... Read more »
Unwelcome to the club
This week, I heard that a friend and very devoted Golden mom got some really crummy news about the love of her life. I thought I had it bad- I was pretty mad at the universe that Emmett got lymphoma when he was only 7. Teva is only FOUR. Ugh. That is the roll of the die we take when we invite a pet into our lives, especially one like a Golden who is unfortunately genetically more susceptible to certain cancers. That doesn't make it suck any less. I spent a lot of time dissecting my ... Read more »
Sam’s Club Pet-Tastic Savings Photo Contest AND giveaway here!
Winner of the pawcurious giveaway is: the Cat Guy! And the Twitter contest is still pending. :D OK, here is the first of several awesome Brody B-day Giveaways we have lined up for the week. It's an extravaganza! Note: there are TWO separate contests here: the Twitter contest and the giveaway here on the blog. Sam's Club Twitter Photo Contest Sam's Club is hosting a "Pet-Tastic Savings Giveaway" photo contest on Twitter. In celebration of the money saved at Sam's Club, they are asking ... Read more »
Let’s Go Surfin Now
When I was eight years old, we moved from Massachusetts to San Clemente, California. If you don't know San Clemente, it is pretty much archetypal beach bum heaven. Perpetual sun, wide sandy beaches, and the smell of the salty ocean air at every turn. I hated it. Me, with my East Coast sensibility and hatred of the feeling of sand in between my toes, wanted nothing to do with the SoCal beach scene and couldn't wait to escape from lala land back to the land of autumn leaves, icy roads, and ... Read more »
As fate would have it
(As you can see, I'm still turning out posts related to the Amazon Cares trip as I get the chance. It's something I could go on about for ages, in so many different ways.) One of the things that will strike you the most when you are in a third world country is the sheer number of street animals. We're not used to it here. Here, they are picked up, and placed out of sight and out of mind, until of course we either rehome them or kill them. That is how it works here. In other places like ... Read more »
How do you pick a vet?
What a deceptively simple-sounding question. I got an e-mail the other day from a friend asking me if I knew any good vets in her area for her new puppy. I responded with the name of a vet I knew in the area, a vet who practices good medicine and knows his stuff. Had she not had me to ask, how would she choose? I doubt she'd pick up a Yellow Pages. Maybe Google the vets in the area, check out Yelp reviews, go from there? Look for a clinic with a Facebook account or website to check them ... Read more »
Wordy Wednesday- oops
I had about 4 hours to kill at the Dayton airport yesterday, which I had planned to spend writing a post for today. Unfortunately about 2 seconds after the shuttle dropped us off I realized that in my reverie I left my laptop on the bus. Then Chad, one of the fantastic Paine PR team members, realized his Blackberry was also on the shuttle. Susi, my fellow blogger over at KnobNotes who did not leave anything on the shuttle, was kind enough to capture this dramatic footage of us bemoaning our ... Read more »
The Grotesquerie
One of my favorite parts of going to Peru was wandering through all the little markets in Iquitos and Lima. It was exactly how you might imagine it: a small, dusty storefront. A man sitting lazily behind the counter with a cigarette watching soccer as you wander to the back of the store. The back, seeming to stretch out before you as if by magic, revealing oddities and strange items choking under a layer of dust. I felt like Indy in search of ancient artifacts. They had a knife that I would ... Read more »
