Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Vaccine Insights

Here's informative videos presented by Dr. Patricia Jordan on the safety of vaccines.




Monday, August 22, 2011

Favorite Pet Products

Over the last nine years of being a professional pet sitter, I have seen and tried all kinds of pet products. I get the benefit of trying products out without having to buy them since chances are,  I probably have or have had a client who had one, whatever it may be. I have come across many wonderful and helpful products and would like to share my favorites with you. My intention is to share a different favorite pet product each month.
This month's favorite is Fool-A-Bug Pet Bowls. Feeding feral cats outside or any pet outside for that matter, can be a problem because of ants. I have had the problem of ants getting into the pet bowls inside the house as well. So how do you keep those pesky ants out of the bowls? The Fool-A-Bug Bowl is the solution!  The design is very simple. It has little legs on the bottom that keeps the bowl off the ground just enough to keep the ants from crawling in. Though I've only found them in one size (large), you can put a smaller bowl inside of it. Best of all, they now have them in stainless steel. (Stainless steel is easier to keep clean and doesn't harbor bacteria like plastic, or leach toxic chemicals. Some cats are allergic to plastic too.)


I have tried the bug-proof bowls that have a mote around them but the problem with those is you have to keep filling the mote with water and the water gets all yucky.  The Fool-A-Bug Bowls work great! You can find them at Amazon.com, Walmart, Academy and many on-line stores. You may have to do some searching to find the stainless steel as most places stock the plastic.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

August Birthdays

Einstein turns 15!
We're celebrating two of our dogs' birthdays this month. Our oldest, Einstein is 15!!! He recently had his wellness exam and is very healthy for an old guy. Except for some arthritis and loss of hearing he still runs and plays with the other dogs. Of course having three other dogs helps keep him very active!


We adopted Einstein when he was 4-1/2 years old. He has certainly lived up to his name; he is so smart and the most loyal dog I've ever had. He is dedicated to knowing where I am at all times. My little protector. He loves cats and other dogs. He has the most calm demeanor around other animals and they usually take to him right away.  He's like the wise, old, calm one. He is quite a character. We hope to have him around for more years to come.


Ellie turns 13!


Our Miss Ellie turns 13 years old. We adopted Ellie from a shelter when she was 2 to 3 years old. Also known as "Wiggle-Butt" (as most Australian Shepherds are, due to their absence of a tail), she loves everybody and everything! Especially food! 


Ellie has been through a lot in the last four years. She had surgery on her elbows, two surgeries to remove tumors and most recently she had a tumor and her spleen removed. She's back to feeling her old self again and is doing very well. She just got her wellness exam and except for some arthritis she is very healthy for an old gal.


To celebrate their birthdays I made them a cream cheese dog birthday cake made with all organic ingredients including cream cheese, applesauce, honey and wheat germ. Yum! They loved it! So did Duke and Cali (our other two dogs), who were happy to share in the celebration!

Friday, August 12, 2011

What Flea & Tick Products Are Safest?


The NRDC (of which I proudly support) has a great guide for what flea and tick products are the safest. Check out their GreenPaws Flea and Tick Products Directory. They also have a handy printable pocket guide


Read about what the NRDC is doing about the health hazards from flea and tick products and also about what you can do to protect your families and pets.