I found myself in the grocery store this morning, in need of some bananas for the kids. I grabbed a bunch, as well as a few other items. As I meandered through the aisles, a display of Hostess cakes caught my eye. I stopped and looked at them. Just looked, mind you. They are mesmerizing, the massive array of choices, the neon pink nasty coconut Snowballs and the traffic cone orange cupcakes and the DingDongs that taste like they were dipped in wax lips. They aren't that good, truth be ... Read more »
Daily Life
Jiminy Brody
I had the nicest day yesterday. For a while, at least. I decided to go for a walk down by the water with the Brodester. It was overcast, not yet full of summer crowds, and perfect. "Oh ho!" I said to myself. "Since I'm here I might as well pop on over to the most amazing farm stand in the world." It's a little hole in the wall that you have to know about in order to find, but its small size belies what lies within. I'm not kidding when I say this place has magic produce. Alice Waters ... Read more »
Power to the Kitties
It's June, and that marks National Adopt A Cat Month. Every month is a good month to adopt a cat, I say, but with June marking the height of the infamous 'kitten season' there really is no better time to go down to your local shelter or humane society and bring home a little fuzzball of your own. Be sure to check out the link above for the American Humane Association's Top Ten Checklist for bringing home a new cat. Speaking of stuff to check out, here is a little video from the CATalyst ... Read more »
Weekend Recap: By Brody
5 am: Rise and Shine! There's a balloon in the living room I need to bark at! 7 am: Seriously, these people are lagging. GET UP! GEEEEET UP! I will BREATHE HEAVILY IN YOUR FACE UNTIL YOU WAKE UP AND FEED ME 8 am: The neighbors are moving away?? This is distressing. I really really like talking to their 2 labradors every morning at 6. Oh well, better go stare at the movers and growl out the window. 8:30: food food food yaay it's food food food 10 am: What is this birthday party ... Read more »
Everything I know about kids I learned from puppy class
I was talking with one of the other school moms this morning, and we were both singing the praises of our intrepid Girl Scout troop leader. She is like this dervish of glitter and badges and healthy snacks and perfectly organized Excel lists and always has every activity immaculately planned, plus she loves rescue dogs to boot. I mean, could we get any luckier? I am co-leader, I guess you could say Vice Leader, and much like the Vice President I don't do much. I offer moral support and ... Read more »
CSI: Hands Off (a Pet Doctor Barbie post)
The other day, my daughter was invited to a birthday party and told to bring a favorite doll. She brought down one of her special amputee Barbies, the arm neatly chewed off below the elbow. "Aw honey," I said, "Do you want to pick a doll that has all her limbs?" She looked at me askance. "ALL of my dollies are like this." She said this without a hint of regret or remorse. "That's just what happens when Brody shares." I guess when all you've known is a pet serial doll killer, it doesn't ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Cheese!
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In Defense of (some) Breeders
I've been following Dog Time's multi part series about No-Kill with interest. Fascinating stuff. Then I saw yesterday's piece: "There are no responsible breeders." I read it, waiting for the twist, waiting for some clarification on the idea, and then I got to the end and realized that the author meant it, as is, in all sincerity. Even responsible breeders who genuinely love and want the best for their animals you ask? I know this statement will raise some hackles, but it needs to be ... Read more »
The long slow descent down the totem pole
I loved this recent post over at PetMd by Dr. Khuly talking about the association between becoming a new parent and having your pet pack on the pounds. I think anyone who has had a new baby as well as a pet can relate. Sure, everyone tells themselves, "Oh no! I know other people put their pets on the back burner but not me! I'm going to carry my kid around in a papoose and just go out with a jogging stroller every day at 5 am and we'll be just fine!" And yes, some people actually do that, and ... Read more »
Jonesing
My Dyson is in the shop. This is a bad thing. My Dyson is one of those things I never knew I would love so much until it was in my hot little hands. Who knew a vacuum cleaner could inspire such passion? Such undying devotion? Only someone with multiple animals can appreciate the depths to which one can bond to a good vacuum cleaner. So when something went clank and it stopped performing its wondrous miracles as official tumbleweed remover, I found myself looking up repair places faster ... Read more »
Me and my solitude
I found myself in the strange position this week of wanting to go running. As in, I actually missed running. And that is weird because I kind of hated it, so I thought. I stopped running some time ago after some nagging injuries, and just found other things to take its place. I was fine with that. Brody and I go for lots of walks in the neighborhood, because that is what you do when you have a crazy dog. We like those well enough. But I missed running, with loud music drowning out the ... Read more »
Behind the Paw: the promised post
So, I asked and you guys answered: yes, you want to hear what Iams has to say about the "Iams Cruelty" PETA video fiasco from 2003. OK. You got it. I had to recruit Brody to sit with me for moral support, though. It became quickly apparent after trying to present it in a coherent manner that the intricacies and nuances of something as complex as animal research protocols are not something that can be presented in one post. So I am going to break it down in a few pieces to make it a little ... Read more »
Happy Memorial Day!
Today I learned that a mere 30 minute drive from my house is the only private war memorial devoted to canine heroes, at the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. The Department of Defense is doggedly (sorry) opposed to official recognition of canine veterans, according to US War Dogs Association Head Ron Aiello, out of concern that it would detract from the accomplishments of the human honorees. I fully admit I am not an expert on military life. I have not served in the military or lived with a ... Read more »
A snapshot of surgery
We were a pretty tech-heavy crew in Peru with the April Amazon Cares trip. One of the items I packed was a Flip camera, which unfortunately chose to poop out entirely about one week into the trip. For the first half, though, it was a cool camera to have since I could set it up on a tripod and just film a half hour of activity. I put together about 40 minutes of footage from 2 clinics the first week in Iquitos. I then sped up the footage so you can see all of this in two minutes' worth of ... Read more »
Unwelcome to the club
This week, I heard that a friend and very devoted Golden mom got some really crummy news about the love of her life. I thought I had it bad- I was pretty mad at the universe that Emmett got lymphoma when he was only 7. Teva is only FOUR. Ugh. That is the roll of the die we take when we invite a pet into our lives, especially one like a Golden who is unfortunately genetically more susceptible to certain cancers. That doesn't make it suck any less. I spent a lot of time dissecting my ... Read more »
Sam’s Club Pet-Tastic Savings Photo Contest AND giveaway here!
Winner of the pawcurious giveaway is: the Cat Guy! And the Twitter contest is still pending. :D OK, here is the first of several awesome Brody B-day Giveaways we have lined up for the week. It's an extravaganza! Note: there are TWO separate contests here: the Twitter contest and the giveaway here on the blog. Sam's Club Twitter Photo Contest Sam's Club is hosting a "Pet-Tastic Savings Giveaway" photo contest on Twitter. In celebration of the money saved at Sam's Club, they are asking ... Read more »
Let’s Go Surfin Now
When I was eight years old, we moved from Massachusetts to San Clemente, California. If you don't know San Clemente, it is pretty much archetypal beach bum heaven. Perpetual sun, wide sandy beaches, and the smell of the salty ocean air at every turn. I hated it. Me, with my East Coast sensibility and hatred of the feeling of sand in between my toes, wanted nothing to do with the SoCal beach scene and couldn't wait to escape from lala land back to the land of autumn leaves, icy roads, and ... Read more »
As fate would have it
(As you can see, I'm still turning out posts related to the Amazon Cares trip as I get the chance. It's something I could go on about for ages, in so many different ways.) One of the things that will strike you the most when you are in a third world country is the sheer number of street animals. We're not used to it here. Here, they are picked up, and placed out of sight and out of mind, until of course we either rehome them or kill them. That is how it works here. In other places like ... Read more »
