When I say "Cat Lady," what do you picture? Or this? The old tropes die hard. And while those types of cat ladies are still out there, I'm sure, those of you who have been paying attention are probably realizing there is a new breed of cat lady out there. The Kate Benjamins and the Dorian Wagners and the Taylor Swifts, the crazy (and cool) cat ladies of the world. Though Jackson Galaxy may arguably be the most likely spokesperson for "Cat People Don't Look Like What You Thought ... Read more »
Reviews
Safe and styling travel: The Auto treat featuring Sleepypod Clickit and PeaceLovePaws!
It's summer- heck, the fourth of July is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, and you know what that means. Traffic. Sitting on the road. Making sure your pet doesn't get carsick. That sort of thing. Carsickness aside, the biggest risk to pets with travel is the danger of an unsecured pet- for the pet himself, and for you. Unsecured, a pet is a projectile during an accident, and even in minor crashes there is a very high rate of injury when pets escape and run into traffic. Even a ... Read more »
Live from Vegas: Pet Products You’ve Got To See
FTC Disclosure: featured products provided review product and/or compensation for inclusion in the Product Spotlight. If you’ve ever been to a trade show, you know how easy it is to get overwhelmed. A pet show like SuperZoo is an utter cacophony of sounds, sights, and row after row of many things that all look the same after an hour: treats and collars, treats and collars, rinse, repeat. It’s hard for products to stand out in a crowd like that, but when Dr. Andy Roark and I hit the ... Read more »
My husband and Her: A neato love story
I have no one to blame but myself, of course, for the events that have transpired since Christmas. I was the one who brought her in, invited her to come into our home and get to know the place. My husband said it was the only thing he wanted this year, so I went with it, albeit with some trepidation. You should have seen his face when he realized what I had done. "Wow!" he said. "Finally!" The children looked on in confusion. Brody ran away. Only Penelope, the newest addition to the fold, ... Read more »
Summer Reading List, Vet Version
It says right there on my FAQ that I don't do book reviews. Not because I don't like doing it, but because approximately two seconds after the review book arrives I start to get emails: "didyougetitdidyoulikeitwhensthereview" from the publishing house interns whose job it is to do things like that. Which is completely fine, except for the fact that I don't read very quickly and I just couldn't handle the pressure. I will do book reviews, just as long as no one cares when I get around to it. ... Read more »
Next Step Baby Monitors: Exonerating pets since 2012
It's been a long time since I've needed a baby monitor. Not that long, mind you, but long enough that technology has apparently been soaring by me in leaps and bounds since the year I slept with static-y radio by my side. When I was asked by Next Step Baby monitors if I wanted to review their cameras to see what my dogs were up to while I was gone, I agreed, because oddly enough- and this never ever happens- my husband had JUST SAID "We really need a baby monitor or something to figure out ... Read more »
I’ve dreamed of this geeky day ever since I was twelve…
I knew we were in for a long morning when I saw Elvis's name on the schedule. A fearsome and mighty miniature pinscher who thought he was a Great White, Elvis held the reigning title of 'most challenging dog to vaccinate' I had ever seen. He had the unique ability to turn himself into a Tasmanian Devil on demand, a whirling, 360 degree tornado of teeth, claws, and anal gland secretions. And today he was coming in for a cough- one of the first signs of heart disease in dogs. The ECG is one of ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Designer dog beds from PetDreams.com!
Brody's dog bed was turning into a sad and sorry thing, a tattered vestige that much like Linus's blanket, he didn't want to part with despite its obvious state of despair. I'd try to hide it, and he would go drag it out of the closet and back to the bedroom. Every time I thought about throwing it out, he'd follow me with such a concerned look that I couldn't bring myself to toss it, despite it being a bed only in the most academic of senses by this point. So when PetDreams.com, a ... Read more »
Product Review: Kurgo Wander Pack
As you may recall, I spent a good portion of last week curled up in a ball in my bedroom, drowning my sorrows with cough syrup and muddling through a bizarre sequence of subsequent side effects that gave my malarone experience a run for the money. Note to self: I am, apparently, highly sensitive to all medications. That is what I get for trying the Tim Taylor "MOAR POWER" approach to pharmaceuticals and gulping down an extra strength extended release tablet of guafensin and dextromethorphan ... Read more »
Global Pet Expo: A few of my favorite things, part 1
I stayed at Global for two out of its three day run, figuring hey, that would be plenty of time to plumb its depths. Yes, well, not so much. It took at least ten minutes just to walk from one side to the other; we're talking 2,452 booths here. And me (yet again) without a good pair of flats. But at least I did bring a fairly decent pair of heels; the stilettos never made it out of the suitcase, sadly. With that many products to check out, I know for a fact I missed more than a few, which of ... Read more »
We Love Pet Products: Caroline and the Barnacle
You all know Caroline Golon, right? She runs the amazing rescue site Romeo the Cat and the wonderful cat resource site The Happy Litterbox and the pet PR site HighPaw and she was one of the co-founder of BlogPaws and she's a great mom to her adorable kiddos and a bunch of other things that, taken in total, make me realize how inadequate my contributions to society have been. Anyway, I make it a goal to surround myself with incredible people like her because I always learn a ton from them- ... Read more »
Fashion Xanax
If I seem a little stressed in the next couple of months, I have a good excuse: we are going to try and sell our house. I say "try", because this is one of those housing markets when upon saying "I'm going to put my house on the market" the universal response is, "Well, good luck with that." We're staying in the area- after seeing all those pictures from Colorado this weekend I think it's safe to say I am actually quite content here in San Diego, thanks- and the decision is one that has more ... Read more »
Giveaway Tuesday: Moda Pet Sunflower bowl!
You know by now how I feel about cutesy pet stuff, right? I mean, it has its place, but as far as my own tastes go I'm constantly on the lookout for something that falls on the sleeker end of things. (This from the person who bought a dinosaur barrette from Anthropologie, so take it with a grain of salt.) But I digress. When it comes to pets, function still has to have a place over form, or you end up like me with a nice wooden bowl holder that is chomped to bits within a few weeks. ... Read more »
Rug Doctor Saves the Day (and a mini giveaway)
Welcome back! Hope everyone here in the States had a lovely Thanksgiving. And in celebration of that and all the work it took the rest of the weekend to put the place back together, a post about cleaning products, something with which all pet owners are all too familiar. I bought my car six years ago. Six years ago, I was obsessed with the idea of a black car with a beige interior. Sleek. Contemporary. Gorgeous. Six years ago, I was also very naive, with a nine month old who had yet to start ... Read more »
Product Review: Tagg, the Pet Tracker
There are few things worse than that sinking feeling of looking around for your pet, and realizing he or she is gone. Not just hiding, but gone. Perhaps you're like my neighbor, whose tricky latch on the side fence meant that whenever the gardener didn't pull it shut all the way, the labs would push it open and go for a run. Or you have one of those dogs who likes to dig, dig, dig, right under the fence and out onto the street. Or you're just unlucky, like a client of ours whose dog Tinker ... Read more »
Tagg the Pet Tracker Unboxing
My husband insisted we make an unboxing video for the Tagg the Pet Tracker we received to review this week. Unboxing videos are definitely a guy thing. "What do I do?" I asked. "I haven't gotten to review it yet." "You don't review it," he said. "You just take it out of the box and explain what you see." It makes no sense to me, but I'd watch people unboxing Louboutins all day so I suppose you like what you like. Anyway, I actually have an actual review of the Tagg coming up, but if ... Read more »
SuperZoo Product Picks!
I've spent the last 4 days in Vegas, feverishly taking notes on what's up and coming in pet products at the annual SuperZoo pet retailer convention. The expo floor was this massive labyrinth of pet foods, toys, grooming supplies, software, treats...you get the picture. Every time I thought I covered the floor there was some alley or other that I had missed and more goodies to check out. Cat scratching posts from Imperial Cat. I love cardboard scratchers- I think cats really do prefer them. I ... Read more »
Litter Robot Review
There are litterboxes, and then there are litterboxes. The kind that make you stop in your tracks and say, "Wow. I can't believe I am so impressed by a cat toilet." Since the first time I stood mesmerized watching a Litter Robot in action, I've been coveting one. And because I am lucky, Litter Robot recently sent me one of these mysterious little devices to try out for myself. For such a complicated looking device, it's actually ridiculously easy to put together. Stick the tray in the ... Read more »
