Yesterday we visited the second of the four villages along the Amazon river basin on our trip, a small town called Tamanco. We rose early, having planned to go do some sloth viewing at 6 am. Of course it had been pouring rain since midnight and was continuing to pour as we got up, so no sloths for us. Instead, we sat around in the common area and hatched up a plan to borrow the resident dogs of the ExplorNapo lodge for some much-needed care. Paco, an older male, and Lola, a 12 week old female ... Read more »
Medicine Man
When I was 7, I was stung by a honeybee while floating in the pool in the backyard. My grandmother, ever resourceful, put a poultice on my back to draw out the venom. She had a home cure for everything, which seemed quaint at the time before I appreciated just how much she knew: honey tea for sore throats, orange juice for a cold. Before we took the knowledge away from people and sequestered it behind white coats and books, everyone knew how to minister to their health. Here in the river ... Read more »
ExplorNapo: Medicine Begins Here Part 1
I'm posting a bit out of order here, but with the wifi all over the place it's easiest for me to just do it this way. So while I may not be able to post about the first week in Iquitos for a bit, you all can at least get a feel for where the AmazonCares team is here for week two. After the first week of what can only be explained as pure unadulterated good hard work, we were all more than happy to head down to the dock of the Explorama Lodge and head down the Amazon for our two days of rest ... Read more »
Guest post: 5 Reasons to love a kitty with the wobbles
Today I'm happy to feature a guest post from Amanda Maurer, discussing one of my favorite topics: the joys of adopting a special needs pet. Cerebellar hypoplasia is a common condition that- well, wait, I'll just let her tell you. Enjoy! Special needs pet owners view their pets as just that: special. They're an extraordinary group of pets that are often overlooked because they're different and consquently may have more needs than "normies." But here's a secret: They make great pets -- ... Read more »
I’m Still Alive
The internet access here has been spotty at best. I don’t want to spend too much time in a vain attempt to upload pictures that aren’t going to actually make it online, so I’m going to save the main portion of the narrative for when I get back. I could easily write an entire book about the experience but I'm too interested in experiencing it to sit down and write for hours while I'm here, so forgive me for just throwing crumbs at you for now. I have a few photos up on the Flickr account, but ... Read more »
Giveaway: Paco Collars + Fetching Tags = Match made in heaven
Contest is now closed! Winner will be announced on or before 4/30! In honor of my Very Special Trip, I'm soooo excited to have a Very Special Giveaway this week courtesy of two fantastic companies that have joined forces: Paco Collars and Fetching Tags! If you're familiar with either company, you know that both are handmade products with a high level of artistry and craftsmanship. This collar is seriously the bee's knees. Today's giveaway reminds me of nothing more than that most wonderful ... Read more »
Easter Bunny Tales
I'm very excited to share with you all a Very Special Guest Post by a veterinarian who knows much more about rabbits than I do: exotics veterinarian Dr. Baebler! Like many vets, I'll grudgingly treat these little guys, but I know less about them than I wish I did. So without further ado, here's some Easter advice from our buddy Dr B! With Easter just around the corner, ‘tis the season for cute little bunnies, chicks, and ducklings to start appearing in pet stores and farm & feed ... Read more »
I am Capuchin
I spend a lot of time eavesdropping on the conversations of the other parents in my kids' classes. I try to participate when I have something pertinent to add, but the conversations are often about things I don't have much to say about: tanning jeans PTA meetings All three topics about which I quickly find myself in over my head. So I mostly listen, and nod at what seems like appropriate intervals. This week, the topic was Spring Break. Some parents are working, and the kids will ... Read more »
What, me worry?
Several years ago, while I was wistfully speaking about all the places in the world I'd like to someday see, my husband looked at me over the top of his computer and said these words: "I'm not doing an overseas flight with you unless you get some Xanax." I was terribly offended, of course. I mean, come on. Sure, I get a little tense when I'm worried about making a flight on time- who isn't? But given the state of TSA lines these days, I think I'm justified. Overall I'm a pretty good ... Read more »
At the mercy of your trustworthiness, Doc
Last week, the weather spit out a surprise 100 degree scorcher sandwiched between two gloomy overcast 60 degree-ers. It was on this blistering Thursday that I realized our air conditioner wasn't working. So I waited the three days until the AC guy was available to come out, because of course everyone in the county came to the same broken AC realization on the same day, and let him poke around the unit while I sat in the living room with no idea what he was doing. He came in 40 minutes later, ... Read more »
Giveaway: Aussan Natural Pet Care
When I was three, my mother learned the hard way that her kid had sensitive skin. They were out of our regular laundry detergent at the store, so she brought home some Tide, that chemical cornucopia in the blaring orange box. She did 5 loads of laundry and bundled me into my winter snowsuit. 5 minutes later, she found me wiggling on the floor like a caterpillar trying to escape the chrysalis. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "ITCHY!!" I wailed. So she unwrapped me like a teeny angry mummy, ... Read more »
What’s Eating Dr. V?
My children are a little bit jealous that I'm going on an adventure to the Amazon without them. Totally understandable. To mitigate this somewhat, I've recruited both sets of grandparents and set in motion Spoil-a-palooza, which I have a feeling will be far preferable to them than anything I could come up with. Grandparents sure do know how to show grandkids a good time. Once I got that under control, they became very interested in hearing what I would be doing in Peru. "Working with ... Read more »
Happy Fools Day and Happy Birthday to a little someone special :)
I love April Fool's Day. I'm terrible at pranks, though. I'm the person who can't make it through the first two lines of a joke without dissolving into peals of laughter, ruining the timing and the whole thing. I'm the one hovering behind you as you're about to sit on a whoopie cushion choking down chuckles loud enough to make it pathetically apparent something's up. In short, I'm a terrible comedian. After several years of decreasingly original attempts to fool my husband into thinking I've ... Read more »
Too old to adopt?
In Englewood, Florida 81 year old Ward Twining was feeling the loss of his companion chihuahua to cancer. As many of us do, he felt it was time to take another pet into his heart, so he applied to adopt two 11 month old chihuahuas from a local rescue. The dogs were ready to go, and so was Twining- until the rescue learned of his age. He was informed that the rescue did not adopt young animals to older people, and that was that. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Housemates
Well, I think I've established that I am incapable of doing a Wordless Wednesday without words. Can I just call it Wordy Wednesday and be done with it? Our home is at an age where everything is falling apart at regular intervals. Some pipe or another bursts in a 12 month cycle. Last year's was one in the slab. This year, the burst pipe was in a less critical area but the paint is looking tatty aand in need of some touchups. While we're at it, we decided to replace the nasty 80's teal trim ... Read more »
The Litterbox Chronicles, Part 3: A Nightmare on V Street
Apollo is 13 years old now. He had never marked the house as a kitten, not with the introduction of a new dog, or even a new cat to the home. When I moved after vet school, he would very occasionally mark, but only when my mother-in-law brought a package over that must have smelled like one of the cats in her household. No big deal. It wasn't until we moved into our current home that his marking behavior picked up significantly. I've ruled out medical problems for him- multiple times, so I'm ... Read more »
Smartypants Showdown
Brody is many things. Beautiful, yes. Feisty, without a doubt. Fun? Every day. Loving? Like a Care Bear. He is all that and more. Smart, though? Well, I don't know that I would put him on the Lassie end of the spectrum. He was more refractory to training than any dog I've had save Nuke, the elderly agoraphobic irradiated coonhound. It took me 6 months to get him reliably housetrained, despite following my trainer's guidelines to a T. He just didn't seem all that concerned with doing things ... Read more »
The Parent Trap
The message board title plaintively screamed to be clicked: "I'm breaking up with my boyfriend and I don't know what to do!" It was in the "pets" section, which I found rather perplexing. After clicking on the link, she went on to explain that although she could care less about the demise of her relationship, she was having major misgivings about losing the companionship of her ex's labrador, Moe. It comes up more often than one might think. There was a divorce case here in San Diego that ... Read more »
