1. Brody helped me prepare for my upcoming Mt. Meru hike by dragging me up Cowles Mountain here in San Diego. It's like preparing for a triathlon by dipping your toes in a wading pool, but it's a start. The highest point in San Diego is still 12,000 feet lower than Mt. Meru. 2. Apollo, who has never hiked a day in his life, mocks Brody's expression in the above picture. 3. I took my son to a birthday party I almost forgot to RSVP to and they had a wildlife show! I don't know who ... Read more »
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Eat this, not that: Easter edition
It may not rival Thanksgiving or Halloween in terms of numbers of ER vet visits generated, but Easter still has its share of pet related dangers, especially when you have a dog or cat who is prone to the occasional counter surfing. If you have a pet who never does this, pat yourself on the back. Good work. Now for the rest of you, the best way to manage the weekend is to make a few simple substitutions so that if Fluffy does manage to grab a bite of something when you're not looking, the worst ... Read more »
Cooking with Koa: Easter Eggs
Ah, the humble egg. Rarely does it figure so prominently in our culinary lexicon as it does at Eastertime. And as I'm working on a post about ways to fit the pets into your Sunday celebration, I decided it was only fitting that we do a little egg recipe in today's Cooking with Koa segment. If you're going to have a bunch of people around who are going to try to be feeding your dog any one of a number of wildly inappropriate traditional Easter foods, it's always wise to have a super special ... Read more »
Happy birthday Koa- no joke
Two years ago this February, we took an hour and a half drive north to the Retrievers and Friends rescue to meet a 6 year old black lab named Lucy. She was feisty, glossy, and fun, a slightly older version of Brody. We loved Lucy. But then the rescue volunteer suggested we take a look at another dog, one who didn't photograph quite so well but was kind and sweet and might be a good match for the family. There she stood, with her hangdog face and her defeated posture and her barrel chest and ... Read more »
It’s a black and white world sometimes
We had a full and busy weekend, like, I imagine, most of you. The kids are on a two week spring break, which has both its ups and downs. I'm sure they would be more thrilled if we were going somewhere exciting, but we're not, so they're not as thrilled as, say, their friends who are off to Maui or the like. Such is life for a kid. I've spent most of my spare time this weekend obsessing over black and white photography. I don't know why but I've always loved it. I think it's just so much more ... Read more »
Come Fly the Friendly Skies- as long as you’re not a pit bull
I was quoted yesterday in a Fox News article commenting on the latest crummy decision by United Airlines with regards to dog transport. While I'm happy with the article, I thought it was worth breaking the United policy down in a little more detail because it is confusing. When United merged with Continental, they adopted Continental's PetSafe program, lauded by many for its regard for animal welfare. And on most counts, it's a good program, save the one inexplicable part where they ban nine ... Read more »
Never work with children or dogs. And especially both at once.
My daughter has joined the local youth theater's production of Annie. As a seven year old, one of the youngest in the cast, her role is to stand in the back and look cute. This is good. A good intro to theater. While I was gone, my husband got to attend the parent meeting. We learned that there is no sliding scale of parental volunteer requirements based on the number of lines in the play, so the parent of the silent kid picking his nose in the back has to do just as much as the parent of the ... Read more »
How I learned what kind of dog I am
Like many pet lovers, I waste a lot of time asking myself the question, if I were an animal, what would I be? It's really not as easy a question to answer as one might think. The obvious first answer, of course, is to look to which kinds of animals you own. There's certainly a correlation there, as anyone who has spent time looking at a veterinary exam room can attest to. The short, squat bulldog owners. The wiry, nervous bird owners. The little wrinkly elderly with the little wrinkly ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Royal Canin Doggy Day Spa Pack
I have a giveaway today, which is good because I'm as you can imagine a little off my writing game this week. I've been digesting a lot these past few days. Transitions always do that, don't they? So anyway, today we have a giveaway of *two* Doggy Day Spa packs, courtesy of Royal Canin. The dog pack giveaway is being done in celebration of the release of their new X-small dog food, designed for dogs under 8 pounds. I saw this diet for the first time when it was being premiered at Global Pet ... Read more »
Some things never change, until they do
I'm in Boston for my grandfather's service today. Per his request, it will be a low-key affair. Being the exceptionally organized person that he was, my grandfather had planned 95% of the service himself before he left, leaving envelopes to pay his taxes, money to take the family out to dinner after the burial, and strict instructions that we are to finish off the cognac before we leave. It's a bittersweet time. He was the last of my grandparents, and with him passes an era. Or, as my dad so ... Read more »
