Archive for the ‘Pet and Vet News’ Category

Tomorrow, March 17, is Paws For Japan – a worldwide community of pet bloggers teaming up with my friends at World Vets to help raise awareness and funds for the animals affected by the multiple disasters in Japan. I blogged about this event on About.com and the support has been fantastic.

This video captures what we are working for in a nutshell:

World Vets was first on the scene, arriving on March 16 (Japan relief status update page) and working closely with local veterinary and animal welfare groups.

To help World Vets,  I have created buttons that are
free to use on your site for Paws for Japan fund raising efforts.

Donations are tax deductible – World Vets is a  501 c 3 nonprofit.

To save: right click on the image(s) you want and link them to the World Vets status page:
http://worldvets.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=203
for full information about the relief efforts and donations.

Alternatively: If you prefer to use ChipIn (PayPal accepted here), visit the official World Vets ChipIn page.

Questions? Feel free to contact me.

This may be a record for the longest between-updates span of time. Hmmm. A dubious honor. But! I have been busy.

I just got back from the most amazing NYC-Westminster trip ever. That in itself took time, plus the pre-trip prep and the post-trip rest.

Now I am back, refreshed and ready to go.

The pets had the family to take care of them, and they did a very admirable job. That said… the pets also looked out for each other. A definite benefit of having multiple pets.

Here is a look at friends Barnie and Quincy

Barnie grooms Quincy, who rarely takes the time for personal grooming.

While Quincy doesn't seem to care about personal grooming, he loves being groomed.

Quincy gets a little indignant at the cessation of grooming.

The next day, everything is back in order.

Quincy communicates his needs.

Friendship is give and take.

Friends… and Family

I have written about my friend Cindy, aka “Peach” before on this blog. Our big event is the Race for a Cure. We moved out to the east coast a bazillion years ago after vet school, she went to Massachusetts and I went to New Jersey. This was our first trip back.

We stayed with my sister. One full week. I hoped everything would go smoothly and the stress of travel (and very little sleep) would not wear us all out. You know… make things lopsided.

But no! It was seriously the Best. Trip. Ever. Laughs and good times.

Things fell into place. We met many people, attended several events, and reunited with old friends.

We even had front row seats to the Big Dog Show. Score!

Nice to sit down after being on our feet for hours.

After a busy and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend, I received this tweet from Dr. Lorie Huston.  This little blog is her “Blog of the Week” – what a pleasant surprise and the nicest write-up ever. I am honored and humbled.

Even Barnie blushed, and he doesn’t blush easily.

I know Dr. Lorie from Twitter, we finally met at Blogpaws Vet Track and, I am thrilled to say, she is a Contributing Writer for my site on About.com. Yay social networking!

I found several fun blogs on Lorie’s “blog hop” at the bottom of her blog post. The Greyhound ones jumped out at me. Check out Who’s Driving? for laugh out loud funny Greyhound pics and captions (funny for everyone, really funny for those of us who live with ‘em) and Terri’s KnitBlog & Greyhounds – knitting, Greyhounds, and chocolate too. Trifecta!

Blogathon 2010 donation badge and info is in the sidebar!→

The simple life

I am thrilled to have the help of my friends during Blogathon 2010. I met my friend Nancy Lapid when she was then the Guide to Celiac Disease at About.com. We bonded over late night cross-country games of Scrabble. (For the record, she beat me 99.9% of the time.) She is now the Managing Editor at Reuters Health and a genius medical writer. She is also on Twitter.

I love senior pets and senior people. My mom is a nurse and for all of my life has worked in geriatric care. I think the companionship that pets offer senior people are invaluable and a great testament to the powers of the human animal bond. As much as I love seniors and their pets, the reality of pet care can be taxing for seniors. Sometimes dangerous. Nancy has some excellent info for caring for seniors who care for pets.

Seniors and Their Pets – Part II

by Nancy Lapid Managing Editor at Reuters Health

Don’t Miss: Seniors and Their Pets Part I

Vet Appointments
Speaking of vets, office visits can be a big obstacle when seniors don’t (or shouldn’t) drive. If you have a pet and know a senior who has one too, why not offer to make appointments for both animals at the same time and give the older person a lift? The older person’s pet is likely to be older too and may need frequent vet visits. I’ve taken my mother-in-law’s cat to the vet, which has also given me a chance to get to know the staff there. When my mother-in-law is alarmed about something, I can call the vet myself and get the full story.

You’ll get lots of karma points for telling your elderly acquaintance to call on you if he or she needs a ride to the vet. But in some areas, there are vets who’ll make house calls. Don’t assume that no one near you will do this – ask around. Some vets will make exceptions for elderly people who live alone. You might be surprised. You can make inquiries even if you live far from the elderly person you care about.

Pets enrich us

Walking the Dogs
Dog-walking is healthy for the dog and the person. But not all seniors are up for a good walk several times every day – so this is an area where friends and neighbors can often help out (to their own benefit as well). It might also be helpful to compile a list of local dog-walking services for yourself or your older acquaintances.

Emergency Care
This applies to everyone with pets, but especially to seniors and people living alone.

Give a house key to someone your pet knows, for emergencies. Make a list of your pet’s foods, medications, favorite blanket etc., vet’s name and phone number, and put the list on your refrigerator. Also include the name and number of the person who has the key to your front door, so any emergency responders can contact that person.

Make sure your elderly relatives and neighbors who have pets have done this, too.

When Family and Friends Aren’t Enough

• Pet Guardians It is the mission of the Pet Guardians to seek homes for pets that belong to patients who are sick or terminally ill. We will do our best to find safe homes for the beloved pets of our clients.
• Humane Society at Lollypop Farm – Senior Citizen Pet Assistance Program Provides financial assistance to seniors on fixed incomes who wish to continue living at home with a pet who is often their sole companion. A Pet Food Bank is maintained and can provide food on an emergency basis.
• Pet Support Services Pet Support Services helps senior citizens and people with special needs to keep and care for their companion and service animals.
• PAWS Provide support to ailing pet owners
• Blessed Bonds Blessed Bonds offers temporary assistance to persons who want to keep their animal companions but are having difficulties that interfere with their ability to meet their pets’ daily needs.

Senior pets love toys too!

Thank you, Nancy for this timely and valuable information helping seniors care for their pets as long as possible.

Blogathon 2010 donation badge and info is in the sidebar!→

While preparing for Blogathon 2010, I reached out to other About.com Guides and glass friends to add in some new perspectives. My friends stepped up and offered guest posts, for which I am very grateful. An hour between posts seems generous. I was even thinking I could do a couple an hour. What was I thinking? I underestimated all of the behind-the-scenes stuff to get done. So … thank you friends!

This post is from Linda Larsen, the About.com Guide to Busy Cooks.
She shares a story about savoring life and a meat loaf recipe for your dogs to savor!

I love all animals. I grew up with a German Shepherd, Schafee, who was beautiful and smart. But now I have cats. And I’ve had cats for 27 years. Unlike the stereotype, when they are loved and given a secure home, their personalities blossom and they become as affectionate and cuddly as the happiest dog. It’s fascinating to watch them turn from little balls of fluff who won’t look you in the eye to beautiful sleek cats who respond to your voice and gaze into your eyes.

The only thing I don’t like about having pets is their short lifespan. It’s just not fair that animals only live a dozen or so years. It’s very hard to forget that fact, and as they age, the specter could hang over me every day. But I don’t let it. Because the only way to live with animals is to appreciate them every single second. When my first cat, Muffin, was 14 she developed breast cancer. Yes, a cat can get that disease. We were lucky – she had a surgical cure. But from that point on, I made a concerted effort to be in the moment with her. I really watched her play, I listened to her purr, I memorized her face and the feel of her soft fur. I concentrated on how she felt in my arms and how beautiful she was trotting down the hallway when I called her, her eyes bright and her tail flying straight up in the air.

And these actions made a difference when she died three years later. I had rich memories. Memories can seem like cold comfort in the first ravages of grief, but they really do help. Knowing that you cherished every second with your pet will help. I’ve been through it six times now. So learn this lesson and apply it to your pets, your family, your friends, your colleagues. Life is precious. Savor every second. No matter what.

Don’t miss the meat loaf recipe

Thank you Linda for this post!

So… eight of us are blogging for charity this weekend, including me. I will be blogging along with DrV and 6 other bloggers in a one-post-an-hour-for-24-hour blogging marathon to raise money for animal charities! My charity is to raise money for a seizure alert dog for a 4 year old epileptic boy. You can read more about Bradyn here.

Now, I am checking out Twitter and the participant’s blogs and whoa – lots of prizes going on. I must have missed a memo. I have some bead prizes, but sadly lacking on sponsor prizes or guest posts. But that is OK. I plan to be here, I plan to post. We’ll have fun.

BUT… a few of you have asked about beads, so I had a thought. If you are the blogging type, and would like to do a guest post, let’s talk. If you have pet products that would be cool sponsor prizes, let’s talk.

The post can be on anything really – something about animals. Or something artsy and… that you love animals. Pet products – we love them all. Game? Email!

The Blogathon is Saturday, November 13th, starting at 11 am PST!

Quincy, my keep-me-up-at-night kitty.

Barnie my quiet kitty, assesses the goods.

Related blogathon info and history from Pawcurious:

• 2010 Blogathon details and a little Blogathon history
• Blogathon 2010 – start your engines!
• Blogathon 2010 – The 8 Blogateers

It’s that time again… Blogathon! It’s this weekend! → Here is the 2010 Blogathon overview from DrV.

The Blogathon is Saturday, November 13th, starting at 11 am PST!

I feel like I am behind and we haven’t even started yet.

Last year I was out of town for the DrV Blogathon, but donated beads and helped behind the scenes. This year, I am here. The family is busy doing stuff, and I have no excuses. I will be blogging along with DrV and 6 other bloggers in a one-post-an-hour-for-24-hour blogging marathon to raise money for animal charities!

This will definitely be a lot more action than this little blog usually sees ….

Here are the beads:

I will be wiring them up with sterling silver, and adding fancy stuff to them. I will be blogging about a bunch of topics, with lots of photos and some video clips.

For the beads…. I will have quiz questions. The answers will be found on my other site: Veterinary Medicine at About.com.

Related blogathon info and history from Pawcurious:

• 2010 Blogathon details and a little Blogathon history
• Blogathon 2010 – start your engines!
• Blogathon 2010 – The 8 Blogateers