Brody's dog bed was turning into a sad and sorry thing, a tattered vestige that much like Linus's blanket, he didn't want to part with despite its obvious state of despair. I'd try to hide it, and he would go drag it out of the closet and back to the bedroom. Every time I thought about throwing it out, he'd follow me with such a concerned look that I couldn't bring myself to toss it, despite it being a bed only in the most academic of senses by this point. So when PetDreams.com, a ... Read more »
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Oath in Action: The Horses of Tir Na Nog
Saturday, 5:20 am. The alarm buzzes and I bash at it in irritation. At this early hour I'm rethinking my enthusiasm for volunteering for the American Veterinary Medical Foundation Oath in Action Project. I have to be dressed and downtown by 7 am for registration, then it's off to either the Chula Vista Animal Shelter for a cleanup or the Horses of Tir Na Nog for a day of fence painting. "I could have slept in another hour," I mutter to no one in particular as they are all sleeping. "I could ... Read more »
Next medal event: Freestyle Dogvertising and the ASPCA 100K Challenge
When the Escondido Humane Society asked me if I would pick a pet to champion in support of their running in the ASPCA $100K challenge, of course I said, "Yes!" This week, I took a drive up to the shelter to get a special tour, and decide who of all the deserving pets there I was going to mentor. When I got there, touring this wonderful facility that is bursting with about 700 animals (it was built to house maybe 3-400), I talked with their PR Director Katie Woolsey about lots of things. I ... Read more »
SQUIRREL! Or, close enough
When you're a dog, there are certain things you learn to do early in life. Like ask to go outside. This is something every dog does differently. Some jump insistently at the door jamb, scratching at the glass. Others have learned to ring a bell. Some, like Koa, wait until they are positively bursting at the seams, sit silently for 30 seconds and, if no one comes in that time frame, go and pee on the floor. Dogs like Brody are stoic, waiting patiently but insistently at the door and nudging ... Read more »
We love food allergies! Come to the party!
OK, I guess that is probably overstating things to say I love food allergies. I don't love diseases. But I love talking about food allergies, for reasons not known even to me. I just think it's fascinating stuff and there is still so much we are trying to figure out. As many of you know, Apollo has food allergies. He had a late onset in life, at 7 years of age; he had been on fairly consistent diet ingredients most of his life. He had shown some symptoms of dietary intolerances before he ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Goo Gut Rescue!
I think many of you will remember the post and giveaway we did a few months back with Healthy Goo, a product designed to help pets with allergic disease. The response was great and it's clear there is a huge need for more options for people to manage their pet's allergic disease. With their success, the people at Goo are busily developing new products to help pets live long and well. I'm happy today to have another giveaway and share a little about the latest product, Goo Gut ... Read more »
Bad houseguests
We had a lovely time on our vacation, and by all accounts the pets had a lovely vacation from us. Apollo, who had the run of the place while we were gone, has most of his fur back from the chicken incident- no opportunities to sneak people food when there were no people, of course, and the dogs had a blast at Grandma's, where they were spoiled, treated, and brushed into oblivion. Even Koa had to work to muster up some enthusiasm when we returned. For the most part, they were good, was the ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Aloha
Confession: I'm on vacation this week. A real, honest to goodness, pack up the family and go somewhere really fun vacation, which we haven't done in a while so was very needed. I thought I would be using this time to stir my creative juices and knock out the rest of the Mt. Meru posts, boom-boom-boom, but the only thing I can bring myself to stir is the ice in my mojito. Can you blame me? I do so love the beach. If you get up early, before the 5,000 other people on vacation here get down ... Read more »
V versus the Volcano- Mt. Meru Part 1
Three years ago, when my youngest was still a baby and I was just starting out writing the blog, if you had told me I would be writing about climbing a 15,000 foot volcano I'd have laughed, and laughed some more. That's just crazy talk, I'd have told you. It was as much as I could muster to take a walk around the neighborhood with the dogs and the double stroller. Life was busy, and I had a lot of priorities, none of which were me. That was around the time Emmett and Mulan died within six ... Read more »
Going rate for the blond one: 20 cows, plus shillings.
This post is part of a series documenting a trip undertaken by a team of volunteers with World Vets who traveled to Arusha, Tanzania in June 2012 to provide veterinary care for the under (or should be say un-) served donkey population. For the full series of posts covering World Vets, please click here. I think genuine smiles are much more interesting than canned ones. You can tell. You can always tell. And as much as posed photos work in certain circumstances, I tried to avoid overly ... Read more »
