The Frankie Diaries, 9/18: The Physics of Dog Pee

I am just in from the backyard, where I took the second of the three pictures that accompany this post. I don’t usually take my camera along on these occasions, but I do spend a lot of time these days watching Frankie pee. That’s in addition to collecting his urine, which I test for blood…

Portuguese Water Dogs & Pit Bulls: The Politics of the President’s Pets

Anything that President Obama does is news, which goes with the Leader of the Free World territory. And when the President does something warm and fuzzy, like getting a pet for his family — as opposed, say, to making recess appointments of agency heads —  more sections of the blogosphere than just the usual political…

The Frankie Diaries, 8/23: The Three Faces of Frankie

4:15pm I come home from Trader Joe’s to find a message on my phone from my vet’s office. My heart stops for a moment, even after I realize that, since I haven’t brought Frankie in for any tests and he is sitting right in front of me, it can’t be dire news about his health.…

Why I Dislike Senior Dog Month (But Love My Senior Dog, Frankie)

I returned to dog blogging on August 1, a date I chose because I had stopped posting here exactly a year earlier and I like symmetry (and maybe I have a touch of OCD). When I discovered, after the fact, that BlogPaws had designated August Senior Pets Month, I was thrilled. I was planning to…

Pet Travel Challenges: Car Rides & Leaping Cacti

Frankie and I are headed to Scottsdale today to meet one of my newfound relatives, and I’m a little nervous. To put it mildly. Not about meeting my relative, Elaine. We’ve already chatted on the phone, and I’m sure that’ll go swimmingly. No, I’m nervous about traveling with Frankie. The last time I tried a…

I’m My Dog’s Seeing-Eye Person

Frankie’s eyesight is failing, though I’m not sure to what extent. Although they’re not completely obscured, his lenses look cloudy. I’ve also noticed that Frankie is hesitant to jump off things as low as the mattress on the floor where we sleep. (Yes, when he had back problems years ago, I opted to put my…

What Your Choice of Dog Breed Says About You

I found the studies in this sponsored post, written on behalf of Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance, very interesting. Although the conclusions don’t apply to mixed breeds, I was nevertheless happy to read what was said about the personality and brainpower of owners of small dogs. Who knew that Sir Isaac Newton had a Pomeranian? However, I…

The Dogs of War: Sergeant Stubby

In the “Devil Dog” sidebar of my post about BSL last week, I alluded to the fact that Sergeant Stubby, a pit bull mix, was the most decorated dog in military history. This being Memorial Day, it seemed fitting to devote a post to him. I’d read a little about Stubby before, but until I…

Diseases of the Dog’s Anal Area

Let’s face it: Dog owners spend a lot of time discussing dog butts and what emerges from them. Puppy bums lend themselves to lots of joking. But this article, adapted from one I wrote for Your Dog, the Tufts University veterinary school newsletter, deals with some medical problems that are no laughing matter. That doesn’t…

If a dog barks in the blogosphere….

If a dog barks in the blogosphere and no one hears him, did he make a sound? Not writing regularly about Frankie feels odd, especially since I’ve been having continuing problems with his insulin and I’ve been crazy worried. But without real solutions except tweaking the dose continually — it needs to be low enough…