To steal my 4 year old son's favorite saying. It's been TWO YEARS since I started this blog! Two years since my inaugural post about the dog who pulled my shirt down in front of the surly bulldog owner, and it's been downhill ever since. Lots of things have changed, the passages of life we all deal with when we have animal companions, hellos and goodbyes and the like. Even those things that remain the same have evolved over time, my children growing up and teaching me about myself, the ... Read more »
Daily Life
Everyone Loves Pets
Some people take their kids to church on Sundays. Others take them to monster truck rallies. Me, I take my kids to as many animal related things as I can find. Sure, we try to fit in some culture here and there, and should they express an interest in attending a sporting event I'm sure we my husband will be happy to take them. But for now while they are young and subject to my whims, we do what I want, so we went to the San Diego Pet Expo this weekend. It was a fun place for the animal ... Read more »
Oh great, it’s you
I began my Sunday with a lovely walk through Balboa Park with Brody, my friend Star, and two of her gorgeous birds: a macaw and an African gray parrot. Brody was his usual "OH HI WOW I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE WORLD AND MEET YOU ALL" self, even at 8 in the morning, so Star suggested Brody take a jog around the dog park area before the walk to get out some of his exuberance. We headed down there and found the dog area surprisingly busy for 8 am, but the crowd was fairly sedate. I did say, ... Read more »
There are some angry people out there
As I get older, I am slowly coming to realize that all those mealy sounding platitudes and nuggets of wisdom from old people you conveniently ignored for the first three decades of your life are entirely correct. Number one: Whatever it is, it's probably not worth getting that worked up over. I get worked up more than I care to admit. For this reason I am grateful for my husband, who instead of feeding into my anxious energy tends to say something to make me feel like an idiot for being so ... Read more »
6 easy dog yoga poses (that you’re probably already doing)
Ever since I saw the local Doga group dog yoga session here in San Diego, I've been fascinated by the idea of dogs and yoga. Heck, even Bo the Presidential dog's gotten in on the act. Now, I watched that Bo video as well as the video of the San Diego 'doga' session, and I can't for the life of me figure out how the heck they got that many dogs to hold that still. I guess having a group of 15 pound dogs helps. In the spirit of adventure, I tried some of the stuff they recommended in that ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: BAD
I LOVE Shel Silverstein. ... Read more »
The Dog Ate My Fashion Sense
Oh, there were so many choices here, so many hideous items out there for us pet lovers. Where did we go wrong? Are we forever doomed to the land of fanciful vests and fanny packs, or is there still hope for redemption? The good news is everyone recognized "ugh" when they saw it, so I say yes, we should not despair. It took me some time to whittle down the choices, but I think it was worth the wait. So without further ado, I present to you in no particular order the finalists in the Inaugural ... Read more »
Airlines, young pets and the travel conundrum
This recent post over at Petopia about the tragic death of a young kitten who was being transported from Utah to Connecticut really made me sad. And then it made me angry. Here is the gist of things: A family purchased a hairless Sphynx from a breeder. On January 22, the breeder put the 11 week old kitten on a Delta flight from Utah to Connecticut. The plane landed in 7 degree weather, sat on the tarmac for nearly an hour, and, sadly, the cat died. This was totally preventable. TOTALLY. ... Read more »
Oh no! Furry fleabag causes plague! etc etc
An upcoming article in Emerging Infectious Diseases is already raising hackles and stimulating a great deal of debate by suggesting sleeping with your pets in the bed can be risky. The authors, one of whom I remember from Davis as a great zoonotics expert with a vast and horrifying litany of case studies, reviewed past medical literature to come up with examples of human infections that most likely originated from the pet. Before we get into anything else, it's worth noting this fundamental ... Read more »
I slack therefore I am.
A few things: 1. You all have sent in some truly horrible fashion. Thank you for this. It's amazing. Submission deadline is tomorrow but it will probably take me the weekend to actually go through it all, so I'll announce the winner next week (if I can pick one, if not I'll make you all vote). If I wore it all at once I would look just like Helena Bonham Carter at the Golden Globes. Delightful. 2. Remember the AKC Eukanuba show I was fortunate enough to attend in December? It's airing ... Read more »
Life as a pillow
The news is filled to the brim with stories of pets who show us each and every day the extent of their loyalty, of their dedication to being there for us. I can only aspire to be deserving of it. Brody is almost 2 now, and probably similar in age to Emmett when I adopted him. He's still got lots of goofy puppy in him, but he is slowly maturing into an intuitive and loving dog. I need to remind myself whenever I start to make comparisons that Emmett introduced himself to my 5 foot tall mother ... Read more »
You Will Love Me
Since we had the day off yesterday, I schlepped the kids to our local Safari Park for a little walk on the wild side. If you know anything about San Diego, you've probably heard about the World Famous San Diego Zoo (and that is how it refers to itself, the World Famous San Diego Zoo- there's confidence!) but you might not have heard about its wallflower sibling, the San Diego Wild Animal Park/Safari Park/whatever it's being called these days. Aside from its location in an often sweltering ... Read more »
I Have a Dream Too
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr day, I just re-read the "I Have a Dream" speech. 48 years ago, which seems hard to believe, and although I was born after this time and I hear it only in echoes, it still resonates with me. We all have dreams, for ourselves, for our families, for the future of the world. As we choose our path, or maybe sometimes it's partly chosen for us, the seeds of those dreams are planted and take root in our soul. They are what stirs us, what drives our longing, what ... 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 »
Ironic Non Fashion Update with Prizes!
So the submissions I've gotten so far have been exceptional, but there are not enough yet to make a real contest. Many of you have written to me that you have dog socks and are therefore too chagrined to participate, to which I answer: I have THREE pairs of dog socks. It's OK. Fashion is subjective, right? Unless it's a dog fleece caftan. Those are the items I'm looking for. The worst of the worst. So let's sweeten the deal: To the finder of the next sequin dog vest, I offer you the choice of ... Read more »
Carnivore schmarnivore
By all accounts cats are carnivores. They need meat, and lots of it. Meat meat meat, flesh, protein, wet and messy and slimy. I made the decision years ago to move my cats to canned food, so Apollo feasts on canned vension on a daily basis. You'd think he would be happy with this biologically appropriate arrangement. I thought cats were supposed to be finicky. This is why I find his vulture-like scavenging so perplexing. While Apollo will occasionally pluck a wayward piece of chicken off the ... Read more »
Style Report: It’s ON like Donkey Kong
A couple of months ago, I was at a party when a complete stranger ran up to me, embraced me like an old friend, and said, "ANTHRO!" I startled, thinking for a moment she said "ANTHRAX!" but then I realized she was referring to Anthropologie, the store where I bought the dress. That was my introduction into The Madness. I didn't realize Anthropologie was not a store but a sisterhood, whose induction requires only the purchase of an overpriced but adorable piece of clothing, and then they ... Read more »
The Pet Blogger Challenge: State of the Pawion
Under the wire as usual, I forgot about the Pet Blogger Challenge from Will My Dog Hate Me and Go Pet Friendly until today when all the posts started showing up! I call this "stream of consciousness blogging." 1. When did you begin your blog? February 2, 2009. Shoot, our anniversary is coming up! I better plan something! Got any ideas? 2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog? I've been blogging on LiveJournal for years, so this was just a logical next step. I was kind ... Read more »
