Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I have not yet attempted to fly with Frankie. He’s not wild about vehicles with motors and he’s diabetic. Just thinking about dealing with his travel stress while having to go through airport security with his needles and Vetsulin, which requires…
How Do You Know When “It’s Time”?
I was planning to report on the excellent Nestle-Purina Webinar on pet aging that I participated in on Thursday, but don’t yet have the details fact-checked. In the meantime, there’s a related topic — related not only to pet aging but to the recent rancorous discussions about human health care, especially the bogus “Death Panels”…
The New Dog Age Calculator
I considered calling this post, “Ahead of the curve, behind in work.” Or maybe, “Promotions, shameful and shameless.” That is, after my last post, on keeping old dogs healthy and happy, I was planning to move on to new and cheerier topics — including the announcement of a new contest that I’m co-hosting with DogJaunt.com…
Keeping Old Dogs the Best Dogs
In line with my last two “things you really don’t want to think about” posts, covering the necessity of making your last wishes for your pet known in case you get put out of commission temporarily or permanently, I figured I’d go for the depression trifecta and write about dog aging. Just kidding — about…
Where there’s a will… Assigning pet care, 2
You might consider your pets “fur children,” but if you’re incapacitated or you die, the law will beg to differ. With actual children, the urgency of ensuring a smooth handover to a designated guardian is always recognized. Pets, in contrast, are considered property. But your dog can’t wait in a safety deposit box for a…
In Sickness and…Worse: Assigning Pet Care, I
Sad but true: Our pets usually depart the world before we do. That’s why we spin comforting visions of their afterlife such as the Rainbow Bridge. But sometimes the situation is reversed. And it’s even sadder if a pet is left without provisions for care. We need to plan for that possibility, and we need…
The Rainbow Bridge: What’s in it for shelter dogs?
Don’t worry: Frankie is fine. Yes, the pet sitter from hell got me nervous about his insulin intake, and Frankie was a bit subdued for a few days after I returned from my trip to Portland, but now he’s back to his stroppy terrier self. No, the reason I started thinking about pet afterlife is…
And the winner of the FURminator contest is…
It was hairy for a bit at contest headquarters. Although I had several excellent early entries, for a while they stopped coming and I worried that the pool of choices was slim. But a push during the last days garnered a number of premier options. This made my decision a good deal more difficult, which…
Petsitting & Philosophy 101
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I never really understood that exercise in basic philosophy — of course it does, I scoffed — until I found myself thinking along similar lines: If a pet sitter is taking good care of your…
How hairy is your dog? Win a FURminator contest
The unsolicited — and wildly enthusiastic — endorsements that I got for the FURminator de-shedding tool in the comments section of several of my grooming posts caught the attention of the folks at the company that manufacturers it. They offered me one of their new, deluxe models, with a sleek ergonomic handle design and FURejector…