You know this scene from Up. Unless you were living under a rock back in 2009, you found yourself blindsided when you settled into the movie theater expecting some animated shenanigans, only to have your heart ripped, still beating, from your ribcage, stomped on, wrung out, and rubbed in wasabi for good measure before being unceremoniously deposited in your lap to absorb all your tears. All in the first five minutes. I'm sure there were one or two people out there who didn't sob like a ... Read more »
Be The Change
Stop lion to me
When I was in college, a friend of mine decided to get a rabbit. She brought it home, purchased all the necessary bunny-equipment, and then about one week in realized she was living with Bunnicula. Far from being the sweet and docile cat-substitute she was hoping for, this bunny was a real demon. It chewed up the carpet. Every time she picked it up, it pooped all over her. When she opened the cage, it would hiss. No, really, it hissed. This was not a nice bunny. I've never met a rabbit who ... Read more »
Betty White Rocks the Petco Foundation Hope Gala
There are lots of reasons I love living in San Diego. I could go on about it for days- the weather, the pet friendly atmosphere, the tacos... but today, I'm particularly grateful that I live in the same town as the Petco headquarters. For the second year, I was fortunate enough to be extended an invitation to the Petco Foundation Hope Gala. At this weekend's fourth annual gala, the recipient of the Petco Foundation HOPE Award, which celebrates the spirit of hope through a life dedicated to ... Read more »
Unforgettable: The story of Maverick
When you think of a champion show dog, the kind who eventually makes his way to the upper echelons of Westminster, a certain life arc comes to mind. A pampered pooch, born with much pomp and circumstance, raised lovingly by a person ready to groom them from day one for a life in the spotlight. A dog who knows little of pain and neglect, attended to like a celebrity from the get-go. And for the most part, you'd be right. Then again, Maverick isn't like most dogs. Sure, he started life with ... Read more »
Dr V, purveyor of poisonous crafts and ideas
I like spending time with my family. We do crafty things, because they're fun and everyone enjoys them. One of our traditions, started back when my daughter was in kindergarten, is to make little Valentine's Day trinket boxes to send to school on Valentine's Day- a craft I found on the Martha Stewart website and immediately fell in love with. It's a cute craft- you take empty matchboxes, cover them with scrapbook paper and ribbons, and fill them with conversation hearts. It's simple, sweet, and ... Read more »
Meet Joe. And get to know the word Esterilsol
Joe Tosini knows how to command a room. When he shakes your hand with an iron grip and leans in to stare you in the face, you know right away that whatever it is he's about to say, he feels it from his temples to his toes. "I used to be a preacher," he said to me, and I believe it. He has that ability to grab a group of people. I first watched him do it at an ACES session at the Helen Woodward Animal Center, when he was there to tell a group of animal rescue advocates from around the country ... Read more »
A breath of fresh air: World Vets in action
We tend to take for granted all the medicine we have at our fingertips for our pets- ultrasounds, MRIs, surgeons with insane specialties. It's easy to forget sometimes the conditions most of the rest of the world functions in. It's one of the reasons I am in such awe of organizations like World Vets, which sends vets all over the world to not only help animals, but help the vets in other countries learn cutting edge skills. Running a multi-national nonprofit like this presents challenges you ... Read more »
Sunday Shoutouts
It's a week of being thankful, and in that vein I'm reaching back into something I used to do regularly and make a Sunday post highlighting something great from around the web. Today, two large scale projects meant to bring more shelter pets into their forever homes: Home for the Holidays Iams' Home for the Holidays program has just surpassed the 6 million mark for number of pets who have been adopted since the program's inception in 1999. Way to go! They're still working on ... Read more »
It’s National Get a Pal for your Pet Day!
When I was on the Hope Telethon last weekend talking about pet health holiday tips, the reporter asked me (without warning) if I was going to be bringing home another pet from Helen Woodward. And I answered honestly. If it wouldn't cause a major rift in the household, I would. I can manage 4 pets, and we're at 3. If I can't get a Boston, I'm thinking maybe I could just sneak in another cat for Apollo. He's social, he likes friends. He'd like a pal. My husband remains unconvinced, of ... Read more »
Faces of the Flood
It hasn't been in the news nearly enough, but there is a major disaster happening in Thailand right now. 20 of Thailand's 77 provinces have been hit by floods since July, affecting 1/5 of the country's population. In a county whose resources are already stretched thin, imagine the impact of this sort of natural disaster on the street dog population. In Bangkok alone, there are an estimated 60-70,000 stray dogs, and they are suffering greatly. Local organizations such as Soi Dog and Wildlife ... Read more »
YOU get a new car, and YOU get a new car…
I miss Oprah's favorite things show. That was the best show ever, and also how I ended up with a pile of things I never knew I HAD TO HAVE until Oprah said I had to have them. That is how I wound up with a quilted pink Burberry jacket six years ago, and I don't even like pink. Anyway. Giving stuff away is fun. I spent all day yesterday sorting through the giveaways to pick winners, and to make my life easier I'm listing them all here: Biscuits by Lambchop giveaway: Susan ... Read more »
Behind the scenes at a blogathon
Normally when I do these blogathons, I park myself on the couch with a pile of chocolate and a liter of coffee and just go for it. But this year, this year I decided to be ambitious. I will do my blogathon on location, I thought. Let's make it NUTS. The week before, I drove out to the Lions, Tigers and Bears sanctuary to verify they had working wifi. It was slow, but not too slow. Good enough for the blogathon, I figured. My friend Star and I hatched plans. We'll camp out in the bear ... Read more »
I am not a zombie
Though I am perilously close to feeling like one. Yeegads. When I am not so sleep deprived and my fingers are no longer curved into arthritic claws from typing a month's worth of posts in one day, I will give you the behind the scenes look at a blogathon that, for all intents and purposes, really did end up feeling like a real life apocalypse. There were cops and power outages and insanity and late night evacuations and everything. But it all worked out in the end, and we raised $1240 for Lions, ... Read more »
Epilogue
The sun rises over a new landscape. Dusty, quiet, ravaged. Cleansed, if you will. Not much left by way or man nor beast. Under the cover of darkness, Amanda Brown slipped into her Hummer while Dr. V covered her escape and made a run for Los Angeles, where she found Dr. Patrick Mahaney under the Hollywood sign at dawn. They lived and shopped happily ever after. They never did find that blond vet or her cute little red dog, but it's said that she strode out into the maelstrom with her ... Read more »
Meet Your Meat Eaters: The Bears
I love these sweet black bears. Liberty, Blossom and Delilah rock. We fed them some zombie bits this morning. And Liberty likes zombie fingers. Mmmm! Ugh, that bit was a tad bit rotten. Cower before me, flesh eater! I'm a BEAR! Rawr! (And yet so cuddly) As you can see, the bears are currently living in fairly small enclosures while they are waiting for their big awesome 3 acre habitat to be completed. First priority is the dental work for Blossom and Delilah, who have a decade's ... Read more »
I’m feeling faint…pass me the Africa pics
I thought I would tempt you with some more Africa pictures. Wildlife is beautiful no matter where it lives. The wild carnivores are surprisingly lackadaisiacal. I have video of me 10 feet from him in a Land Cruiser a little panicked he might try to pounce. Did I tell you about the time the elephant almost took out the tour guide? No? Well I might... if I survive. I'm feeling a little peckish this morning. I had to cover Amanda Brown's escape and I think a zombie peacock pecked ... Read more »
Giveaway: Biscuits by Lambchop!
Annette Frey from Biscuits by Lambchop has been there for me from the very beginning, always the first to offer generous giveaways of her awesome Biscuits by Lambchop each and every time I have a harebrained scheme like, say, this blogathon. She is a great friend and she also happens to make a great product for sensitive dogs- which by the way are quite delicious- so check them out! Biscuits by Lambchop is giving away a set of 4oz. Choppers & Starlets dog biscuits! Leave a comment and ... Read more »
Brody versus Zombies
Can dogs become zombies? According to World War Z, no: Like all animals, dogs who bite zombies do not turn into zombie-dogs, but instead contract a fast-moving fatal infection and will rapidly die. Thus it is important to train dogs being used against zombies never to bite them. Instead, they're trained to circle around and pounce on the zombie's back, pushing with their forelegs between the shoulder blades, to knock the zombie down. But according to Resident Evil, they ... Read more »
