I had no idea it was National Cat Guy Week. I knew it was Pet Dental Health Awareness Month and For the Love of God Please Don't Get Me a Vermont Teddy Bear Week (I made that up, but I think it could catch on), but it's also Black History Month, American Heart Month, National Grapefruit Month, and National Snack Food Month. Needless to say with the plethora of festivities and momentous occasions one can celebrate this week it can be hard to pick, but when I saw this great brainchild of the ... Read more »
Talking Chomp
As you may or may not know, February is National Pet Dental Health Month. This is the month we beg and plead owners to do just one little trick- flip your pet's lip up and check out those back molars, where the worst tartar tends to hang out. Confronted with the yellow, malodorous reality of what's really going on behind those fuzzy jowls, most people are quick to realize that canine and feline dental disease is more widespread than they realized. Virbac has a very nice visual of the ... Read more »
So Cal sledding
While so many are digging themselves out from snowdrifts the likes of which have never been seen, we're hanging out, like we always are, in the 75 degree weather. Don't get me wrong, there's not much to complain about when you can get out and enjoy the outdoors almost 365 days a year, but there are certain things I miss about not having a winter. Ice skating, for one. My children have learned to improvise with a pair of socks and the hardwood floor. Add a strong Golden with a hardcore tug ... Read more »
Have Blendtec, will veg
I have decided, after a bit of time off the wagon, that I again need to re-commit to a vegetarian diet. I did it once for a year, felt great, then got lazy, overcompensated with pasta and unhealthy stuff, and just decided to throw in the towel. But I didn't feel good about it. I did it for health, yes, but also because I wanted to make a more conscientious choice about what I eat. I wanted to avoid contributing to factory farming and the multitude of ills it visits upon the world. Finding ... Read more »
The Well Groomed Dog: Molly Mutt Clean and the Dyson Groom Reviews!
Last week Brody descended into that category known as "ripe". You know, when you go to pet your dog, then your hand comes up in a cloud of dog essence and you have to use your foot to keep him off the bed because you don't want that stank hanging around. That kind of ripe. The timing worked well since I had a couple of items I've been waiting to try out for just such a stinky occasion: Dog shampoo from the Molly Mutt Clean line, and the new Dyson Groom vacuum grooming attachment. Wash by ... Read more »
I want a happy litterbox! Please?
When I was in veterinary school, I rotated through the behavior service. It's an elective, and interestingly enough not a particularly popular one; more's the pity for that. What percentage of relinquishments come on the tail end of a behavior issue that wasn't properly handled? (Answer: A whole lot.) Vets tend to avoid behavior stuff for a multitude of reasons: It's time consuming to work through a behavioral issue. It's complicated. Changing behavior isn't nearly as simple as ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: uh oh
This can't end well. ... Read more »
Holy cannoli spicy guacamole
To steal my 4 year old son's favorite saying. It's been TWO YEARS since I started this blog! Two years since my inaugural post about the dog who pulled my shirt down in front of the surly bulldog owner, and it's been downhill ever since. Lots of things have changed, the passages of life we all deal with when we have animal companions, hellos and goodbyes and the like. Even those things that remain the same have evolved over time, my children growing up and teaching me about myself, the ... Read more »
Everyone Loves Pets
Some people take their kids to church on Sundays. Others take them to monster truck rallies. Me, I take my kids to as many animal related things as I can find. Sure, we try to fit in some culture here and there, and should they express an interest in attending a sporting event I'm sure we my husband will be happy to take them. But for now while they are young and subject to my whims, we do what I want, so we went to the San Diego Pet Expo this weekend. It was a fun place for the animal ... Read more »
Oh great, it’s you
I began my Sunday with a lovely walk through Balboa Park with Brody, my friend Star, and two of her gorgeous birds: a macaw and an African gray parrot. Brody was his usual "OH HI WOW I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE WORLD AND MEET YOU ALL" self, even at 8 in the morning, so Star suggested Brody take a jog around the dog park area before the walk to get out some of his exuberance. We headed down there and found the dog area surprisingly busy for 8 am, but the crowd was fairly sedate. I did say, ... Read more »
There are some angry people out there
As I get older, I am slowly coming to realize that all those mealy sounding platitudes and nuggets of wisdom from old people you conveniently ignored for the first three decades of your life are entirely correct. Number one: Whatever it is, it's probably not worth getting that worked up over. I get worked up more than I care to admit. For this reason I am grateful for my husband, who instead of feeding into my anxious energy tends to say something to make me feel like an idiot for being so ... Read more »
6 easy dog yoga poses (that you’re probably already doing)
Ever since I saw the local Doga group dog yoga session here in San Diego, I've been fascinated by the idea of dogs and yoga. Heck, even Bo the Presidential dog's gotten in on the act. Now, I watched that Bo video as well as the video of the San Diego 'doga' session, and I can't for the life of me figure out how the heck they got that many dogs to hold that still. I guess having a group of 15 pound dogs helps. In the spirit of adventure, I tried some of the stuff they recommended in that ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: BAD
I LOVE Shel Silverstein. ... Read more »
The Dog Ate My Fashion Sense
Oh, there were so many choices here, so many hideous items out there for us pet lovers. Where did we go wrong? Are we forever doomed to the land of fanciful vests and fanny packs, or is there still hope for redemption? The good news is everyone recognized "ugh" when they saw it, so I say yes, we should not despair. It took me some time to whittle down the choices, but I think it was worth the wait. So without further ado, I present to you in no particular order the finalists in the Inaugural ... Read more »
Airlines, young pets and the travel conundrum
This recent post over at Petopia about the tragic death of a young kitten who was being transported from Utah to Connecticut really made me sad. And then it made me angry. Here is the gist of things: A family purchased a hairless Sphynx from a breeder. On January 22, the breeder put the 11 week old kitten on a Delta flight from Utah to Connecticut. The plane landed in 7 degree weather, sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour, and, sadly, the cat died. This was totally preventable. TOTALLY. ... Read more »
Oh no! Furry fleabag causes plague! etc etc
An upcoming article in Emerging Infectious Diseases is already raising hackles and stimulating a great deal of debate by suggesting sleeping with your pets in the bed can be risky. The authors, one of whom I remember from Davis as a great zoonotics expert with a vast and horrifying litany of case studies, reviewed past medical literature to come up with examples of human infections that most likely originated from the pet. Before we get into anything else, it's worth noting this fundamental ... Read more »
Bayers of the Lost Bark
My front yard is currently in a tremendous state of disrepair, due to a nasty trio of invasive ficus trees, an endangered water main and a threatening note from the homeowners association about the one brick that was out of place. It looked a bit like an archaeologic dig once the landscaper went after it with a mini excavator. Hey, that almost reminds me of something..... da da da da, da da dum.... ... Read more »
I slack therefore I am.
A few things: 1. You all have sent in some truly horrible fashion. Thank you for this. It's amazing. Submission deadline is tomorrow but it will probably take me the weekend to actually go through it all, so I'll announce the winner next week (if I can pick one, if not I'll make you all vote). If I wore it all at once I would look just like Helena Bonham Carter at the Golden Globes. Delightful. 2. Remember the AKC Eukanuba show I was fortunate enough to attend in December? It's airing ... Read more »
