When I was little, there were two things I wanted to be when I grew up, neither of which ironically enough was 'veterinarian.' One was a palaeontologist since I loved dinosaurs so very much. The other was an astronaut. I could stare off into space for hours, transfixed by the infinite nothing stretched out before me. My life is very terrestrial these days, involving neither digging for fossils nor soaring into the clouds, but little things can take me right back to where I was as a kid. When ... Read more »
Daily Life
I had a dog
His name was Nuke. It was short for "Nuclear", on behalf of the UC Davis Department of Radiology who used him on a weekly basis to teach the vet students how to take radiographs. When word got out my sophomore year of school that I was looking for a dog, my friend Dan pulled me aside and told me about this awesome dog he heard about from the head radiology technician, Barb. "Nuke is so great," she said before taking me to meet him. "He's a 10 year old coonhound, and we all just adore ... Read more »
BlogPaws Recap Part 3: Vets and Pet(ties)
One last post to finish recapping BlogPaws for those who were unable to attend. I hope I have impressed upon you the awesomeness of this extravaganza and convinced you that yes, you should so totally 100% go to the next one, which will be in San Diego if I have my way. Note: I have NO idea where it's going to be, that is just wishful thinking so please don't let that become a rumor, ok? If we're starting rumors I say let's go big and say Monaco 2011. Anyway, on the second full day of the ... Read more »
I write, therefore, you eat
It's very interesting to me to see the various ways in which companies are starting to recognize the power of bloggers. We (collective we) have quite a voice, and we aren't afraid to use it. Over and over and over. In fact it's sometimes hard to get us to shut up, but I suppose that is part of our allure. If my experience with the pet blogging community has taught me anything, it's this: the key to a pet blogger's heart is through a pet in need. Eating a Pupperoni on Ustream nearly killed me, ... Read more »
Be the Change Challenge: Adopt a Seriously Adoptable Pet Week
Marketing: The art of making someone want what you have. An old table I couldn't give away on Freecycle becomes a one-of-a-kind rare antique on Craigslist. Suddenly the eyesore I was going to have to pay to get rid of becomes a hot ticket item with 10 inquiries. Of course no one is going to want something if you make it clear from the outset that it's un-wantable. Well, I guess if you can't afford real furniture, maybe you'd like my handoffs... Which leads me to next week's Be the ... Read more »
Hearts and thoughts they fade
While I was cavorting at BlogPaws this weekend, my husband was getting some work done around the house, a task I truly appreciate as I despise housework with the hot flames of a thousand suns. While I would like to think this was because he just loves me that much, the cynic in me also whispered that perhaps he was just buttering me up for the abandonment that comes with the start of the NFL football season. No matter. I am still happy. One of his self-appointed tasks was to hang some ... Read more »
Rules of Engagement: Sit in the back
I'm back from my second BlogPaws conference, exhausted but happy at the prospect of yet another fantastic success. I think everyone had a wonderful time (Kate's attempt to sneak a bottle of wine into the Saturday event and subsequently getting busted by a beverage services manager who takes his job EXTREMELY seriously notwithstanding.) To do the conference justice in one post would be impossible. To do it in three or four would still be paltry. However, if for no reason other than I promised ... Read more »
Sirius Republic: We have a WINNER!
Congratulations to Holly! Ooo – I am in love with the 3/4″ quick release martingale in Hot Pink Polka Dots! Size medium would fit one of mgirl Cardigans perfectly! An yes, I became a facebook fan too! ... Read more »
The Koa Chronicles: calorie counting in the cyber age
Koa lost another half pound this week! This despite a suspect goldfish cracker ingestion (no witnesses, suspects are still at large.) I started her on the Nulo kibble exclusively, but I do feel pretty badly that she is getting that alone while Brody gets chicken parfaits and all sorts of smellier vittles. Fortunately Nulo does have canned food as well, so I'm going to take advantage of their webtools to figure out how much of that she can get a day and work that in to her calorie ration for ... Read more »
Question of the day
"After my dog is euthanized, can you cut off its tail for me to keep?" That was a new one. Resisting the urge to scream in horror and drop the phone, we took a Vulcan-like approach and tried to deduce what, exactly, this person was hoping to accomplish. Perhaps they really were some sort of sicko, in which case I would keep them on the phone long enough to trace the phone number and notify the proper authorities. Or maybe, just maybe, it was a person sick with grief and wanting ... Read more »
Oh waiter…
I have been cooking and baking up a storm this Labor Day weekend. And why not? I got a huge box of produce from my CSA, I had some experiments to conduct with beets (the jury's still out on that one) and some healthy recipes I wanted to test on both kids and pups. I had a big pile of carrots to work with as well, and despite the blistering heat I had a bee in my bonnet to make carrot soup. Don't ask me why. It just sounded good. I have a ragtag collection of pots and pans, one of these, ... Read more »
Making the connection
BlogPaws West is only a week away! I can't believe it's coming up so quickly. I've debated attending conferences like BlogHer or BlogWorld in the past, but they always seemed so far removed from what I do and what I want to accomplish. I don't really pay attention to SEO and Google rank and all that stuff. I just like to write and blab about animals, forget all that technical mumbo jumbo. But BlogPaws- a conference made up of pet bloggers? That's right up my alley. I attended the inaugural ... Read more »
How did a year go by already?
The first day of September is like this abrupt line of demarcation between the lazy days of summer and the impending days of winter. Boom, one day you're floating in the pool and the next day you're panicking about getting Halloween decorations out and ready. How did so much of this year slide by already? I have some very important decisions to make within the next month. Namely: 1. Am I doing another Brody calendar this year? (well, it would be Brody and Koa this time.) 2. What ... Read more »
First impressions die hard
This week marks my daughter's second week of first grade. The first week of first grade was rather tough. They don't post the list of classes until one day before- of course this is done by design, to avoid the principal being hunted down at her home by hordes of "concerned" helicopter parents wanting to discuss the reasoning behind Timmy's classroom assignment. Of course, my daughter was given the one assignment I didn't want her to have- a combination class with a group of first and ... Read more »
Creatures in the Blue Lagoon
In a small lake somewhere close to the Canadian border in the Pacific Northwest, the mallards slumber. Until the loud hairy Goldenbeast arrives, that is. ... Read more »
Tales From the Vet Clinic: Fleased
Thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes yesterday. It was a wonderful day despite dentist, doctor and 100 degree nasty weather. My husband brought home cupcakes, the kids had a great day at school and Brody found, then ate, a whole bag of goldfish crackers. Two out of three ain't bad. I guess he was mad he didn't get a cupcake. It's been a bad year for fleas, even worse than normal. With the long hot days of late summer dragging on with no signs of cooling off, they're not going away ... Read more »
Holidaaaay! Celebrate!!!
Cue the Madonna CDs and bust out the ice cream, because August 26th is our favorite day here at pawcurious. 1. It is National Dog Day, which is awesome because dogs are awesome and deserve a day of acknowledgement. 2. Most importantly, it is my birthday, and even though I'm way past the age where birthdays were fun and well into the stage of "oh no, my age plus one is sounding kind of old right about now," I can't bring myself to be upset about it. For one, It's NATIONAL DOG DAY, for goodness' ... Read more »
Holiday Road- Part One
We survived our 10 day vacation- 5 on the road, 5 at the lake. I'm not sure the proportion of driving to vacation is one I'd consider optimal, but all things said and done I'm really glad we got the chance to make the trip. For all intents and purposes, we covered the entire expanse of the I-5 from Mexico to Canada: 1400 miles and change each way. The dogs look so excited and happy at the start of the trip. To be fair, they always look this way. ... Read more »
