Fleas stink. No doubt about it. They make your pet miserable, you miserable, they carry parasites, and they're gross. Worse still, once they take up residence in your home, they can be very difficult to get rid of. Why is that? ... Read more »
Blog
Product Review: World’s Best Cat Litter
I have to admit, I don't spend a great deal of time thinking about cat litter. Some of this is by design- when I was pregnant in 2004, I told my husband he had to change the cat litter because otherwise MY ENTIRE PREGNANCY WAS AT RISK (which, by the way, is not entirely true- one needs to take precautions, true, but changing litter during pregnancy isn't an automatic Toxoplasmosis infection.) Anyway, I left out that last part because I was happy to have an excuse to hand over litter duties, ... Read more »
Mea culpa
You know I don't write on the weekends very often, but given my post on Friday I wanted to make sure to come back and give credit where credit is due. We just got back from Circus Vargas with 2 tired and happy kids. I can't believe how much the show has changed from what I remember! It was more like Cirque du Soleil than the old school three-ring circus, with aerialists, trapeze artists, and unique acts from different corners of the world. Plus popcorn. I didn't miss the animals (obviously) ... Read more »
Picture of the Week
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a puppy slumbered very cutely. He dreams of being a shar-pei. ... Read more »
All the World’s a Circus
“To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad.” -Jack Handy In my post about the Sea World tragedy last week, I mentioned how my friends have pretty much stopped inviting me on any Sea World trips. At least when I decline, I'm nice about it. However, I neglected to mention the e-mail response I sent to the well meaning woman in my mom's group who suggested ... Read more »
You have to hope things happen for a reason
1 month into my career as a vet, a client walked into an exam room with Mulan and tried to get me to euthanize her because she was allergic to fleas. At the time, I thought that sort of thing happened all the time, someone showing up in your hospital with your very favorite breed of pet, needing to give them up. It never happened to me again. I have to believe our paths were meant to cross (especially since my not-so-sentimental colleague at the time might very well have obliged her ... Read more »
Appearance is everything
After Emmett died, some of the hardest times for me were the quiet nights when my husband was out of town on business. Besides the companionship (yes, that was the only time he was allowed on the bed), I missed the comfort of having a fluffy, well-attuned barking machine keeping a keen eye and ear out for me 24/7. ... Read more »
Bad for me, good for you
My childhood dog was a Lhasa Apso named Taffy. For the first 8 months of life on the East Coast, she was an adorable ragamuffin of flopsy adorableness. Then- we moved to California. In the warm Southern California climate, flea season is year round. And over the next few months, Taffy became Scrappy. Her long lustrous fur fell out, to be replaced with that hyperlichenified elephant skin indicative of massive irritation. Her skin was one raw welt. The only way to keep her comfortable was to ... Read more »
Weekend in pictures
Kekoa is perpetually smiling. She is a happy girl. ... Read more »
Picture of the Week
Tech support has decided we need a Picture of the Week. My husband promises he will produce one, each and every week. I told him in no uncertain terms that this was a Big Commitment and made him swear on his camera honor that he would keep it up. "Well, you can contribute too," he said. "But I don't want to," I said. "This is your idea and my only good pictures are ones I got because I was lucky. I can't produce good photos under pressure." Then I told him this was a good way to force ... Read more »
