When I was 7, I was stung by a honeybee while floating in the pool in the backyard. My grandmother, ever resourceful, put a poultice on my back to draw out the venom. She had a home cure for everything, which seemed quaint at the time before I appreciated just how much she knew: honey tea for sore throats, orange juice for a cold. Before we took the knowledge away from people and sequestered it behind white coats and books, everyone knew how to minister to their health. Here in the river ... Read more »
Be The Change
I have a match, who’s got the lighter fluid?
Pardon me a moment of exceptional sentimentality here, but I can't help it. I'm getting a little Linda Richman as we speak. From something that began as a flurry of e-mails amongst a couple of the Be the Change pals on Sunday, Paws for Japan evolved into a event with over 150 blogs, countless Facebook posts and Tweets, and untold participation- with only 3 days notice. It's like we posted a "hey, we're having a little cookout at the bay, BYOB" to the community wall at the library and the ... Read more »
Dr. V’s Kiss My Blarney Garage Sale!
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a traditional Irish blessing that seems particularly apropos: We're on this Earth together, And if we would be brothers, Fight not just on your own behalf But for the sake of others. I don't have awesome products to sell like the people in the previous post, so I had to resort to badgering other people to help me out to come up with some offerings. All proceeds benefit World Vets, of course. ... Read more »
Pet Etailers Giving Back: Shop Here!
Despite giving everyone about 2 days' notice, so many of you came through and offered to host giveaways, donate proceeds to World Vets, and all around be amazing in support of Paws for Japan and animal relief. Thank you all. These are all the giveaways and donations I was made aware of by e-mail as of the 16th, but if I missed any or if you know of other ones, please add them in to the comment section! I know there are some auctions and other giveaways going on today...very exciting day! I ... Read more »
Paws for Japan: Why Animal Rescues Matter
As the world watches the horror in Japan worsen from day to day, and scores of people flee from the devastated island, a small but dedicated group of heroes are leaving safety behind and heading into the maelstrom. Among them, people whose sole purpose is to rescue the animal victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Much has been made of this video making the rounds. In it, a news crew comes upon a sad sight that is being replayed all over the country. Those animals are alive now, thanks to ... Read more »
Adopt the Internet Day: Love = win
In honor of Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day, we are featuring Adoption Success Stories here at Pawcurious, starring the wonderful pets sent in by you, the readers. This is Part 3 of 3. Gilbert: So Happy Together, from Julie It was so hard to find my favorite picture - he is so photogenic and happy, even when I force him into a hot dog or banana costume! But this one really shows his personality and was taken by a friend at the dog park. I adopted Gilbert 8 1/2 years ago. I found him on the ... Read more »
Adopt the Internet: More fun than a barrel of winning
In honor of Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day, we are featuring Adoption Success Stories here at Pawcurious, starring the wonderful pets sent in by you, the readers. This is Part 2 of 3. Pewter, Cheddar and Shorty: Amy prefers to let the pictures speak for themselves ... Read more »
Adopt the Internet: I adopt, therefore I win
In honor of Petfinder's Adopt the Internet Day, we are featuring Adoption Success Stories here at Pawcurious, starring the wonderful pets sent in by you, the readers. This is Part 1 of 3. From reader Jessica: This is my newly adopted cat, Tom. He's absolutely wonderful! When we went to the rescue foundation, my roommates and I all felt the urge to take every single kitten and puppy home, but we knew that we had to choose just one. Tom was the quite one of the bunch, not running around like a ... Read more »
Adopt the Internet Day: One Dog
You all remember Wall-E, right? The little guy who was euthanized not once but twice, and still found himself alive at the end of the day? Adorable, isn't he? "The litter was so sick," the shelter said, despite the fact that he was fine the next day. 3,000 people have applied to adopt him, a dog who was no different from any other healthy dog at the shelter except for this one simple fact: He got lucky. ... Read more »
Paws for Japan
Like many of you, I have been glued to the television this weekend in horror at the disaster that has befallen the residents of Japan. At times like these, our daily concerns about Little League games, the price of gas, or frustrations about the stupid little things evaporate as we take a look around at all the things we are fortunate enough to have- loved ones, security, safety- and imagine them all swept away in the blink of an eye. We will donate, as always, to the usual organizations ... Read more »
Adopt the Internet= Winning
I don't know what is going on with Charlie Sheen, nor do I want to know. Whatever the problem is, I wish only that he would withdraw from the public eye and deal with it. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the plan. I can't open my news websites or turn on the TV or listen to the radio without being subjected to the latest soundbite and there is no end in sight. Fortunately, I have a solution. In honor of Petfinder.com's 15th anniversary, they are designating March 15th as "Adopt the ... Read more »
Peru-curious
I'm not a big New Years Resolution maker, because I'm way too annoyed when I can't make them happen. So the ones that I do make, I like to really commit to. One of my few steadfast resolutions for 2011, along with "walk Brody more" and "avoid PTA meetings" was "do at least one volunteer veterinary trip." There are no shortage of opportunities for veterinary professionals and animal lovers- World Vets, South Pacific Animal Welfare, HSTJ just to name a few. It is an incredible experience to ... Read more »
Blog the Change: Pets for Patriots
Pets are good for the soul. We all know that. They can help reduce stress, give you a shoulder to lean on, and never interrupt you when you are sharing a story. I've recently had the pleasure of getting to know Beth Zimmerman, founder of Pets For Patriots. She envisioned Pets for Patriots as a way to unite two important needs: helping veterans enjoy the joys of pet ownership and helping harder to place pets find loving homes. Pets for Patriots helps unite service members and veterans ... Read more »
Pets and arthritis
A while back, I was invited by Petfinder to write a guest post on arthritis in pets. I happily accepted- even though I tend to the more chatty around here, I can write something useful when necessary. Jane just let me know the post is live today! How to help pets with arthritis stay comfortable during cold winter months This makes me feel better about the fact that I did not write a single medical post during the blogathon. :) ... Read more »
After the marathon
There's no real primer out there for how to recover after a blogathon, so I looked up the next best thing. I don't know if an actual marathon is the best analogy, because after I ran Rock and Roll in 2001 I hobbled home, hung my shoes up and swore NEVER AGAIN. But much of it is still applicable: rest, take it easy, don't jump right on into another race, etc. But then I saw this: The Day After the Race Post race depression is quite common. You usually feel a real "high" after finishing ... Read more »
Epilogue: The quiet heroes
When I was at the telethon yesterday, I asked Mike Arms how he was doing. "I just got back from Prague," he said, "where I was asked to give a keynote address to an international assembly of animal rescuers from 50 countries." He told me he doesn't write his remarks ahead of time. I guess that is something you just learn how to do over time. If I got up there I would have just stammered for a few minutes and then resorted to knock knock jokes. But I digress. I asked him what he said, and ... Read more »
Down to the wire: This experience in interpretive blogging
Tired ... Read more »
Final Biscuits by Lambchop Giveaway!
This is your last chance to earn some delicious, yummy Biscuits By Lambchop! Biscuits by Lambchop™ dog treats are free of gluten, soy, corn, rice, dairy, eggs, nuts, animal proteins and preservatives and are low in fat, sodium and phosphorus to accommodate the needs of dogs who have these restrictions in their diet, such as those with some types of kidney, liver and pancreas problems. Please check out this wonderful post from our friends at Dogster about how dogs help people with ... Read more »
