Happy Valentine's Day!!!

My friend + I are exhausted from making our wish list! Please help if you can :)

ANIMAL SUPPLIES:
Dog/Cat food (wet/dry/treats)
Pillow cases, sheets, towels & small blankets
Paper plates/bowls (for feeding animals)
“PUR” brand water filters for pitchers
Grooming tools, esp. the Furminator
Dog toys (Kongs, Nyla bones, tennis balls, etc.)
Cat toys (catnip, cat dancers, balls, etc.)
Distilled water (unopened -- for use in surgery)
Jars of Baby food (chicken or beef for very ill animals)
Cat trees (in good condition)
Cat litter & Kitty Litter Pans
Newspapers
Dog crates
Pet carriers

GENERAL SUPPLIES:
Laundry detergent (liquid Tide, etc. – we do ten loads of laundry a day in our hospital alone!)
Envelopes (regular and padded)
Office supplies (pens, markers, post-its, staplers, scissors, rubber bands, paper clips, etc.)
Radios (to play classical music for the animals)
New flashlights (remember the blackout??)
Batteries (D’s, AA’s, AAA’s, etc.)
Energy efficient light bulbs
Xerox paper (multi-purpose)
Tape (Scotch & clear packing)
Folders (manila, clear plastic and assorted)
Paper towels (can’t get enough of them!)
Sponges
Can openers
Liquid hand soap/sanitizer
Garbage bags (large black heavy duty)
Powdered dishwasher detergent
(great for scrubbing floors!)

Staying Warm the Humane Way

I understand why people used to wear fur coats. If you wanted to stay warm, there weren’t many alternatives to fur before the invention of Gore-Tex, polypropylene and all the other materials listed on the tag of your fancy new ski parka (which looks great, by the way). You humans aren’t very good at making your own fur, so you had to use ours. But now that you have your Gore-Tex and all the rest, do you really need any more of our fur? If we’re going to be fair about this, humans owe animals some high-tech jackets for all the years we’ve furnished you with your winter clothing. (I look good in earth tones, hint hint.)

Want another reason not to wear fur? Makers of fur clothing costing less than $150 do not need to specify what type of fur they are using. Frequently, that cheap fur comes from China, and we all know how China treats their dogs and cats. Gulp.

Foal me once…

The birth of a happy, healthy baby is always good news, and if that baby belongs to a friend, it’s an occasion to break out the champagne, which I was ready to do recently for my pal, but then I heard the details. I had almost popped the cork when he off-handedly mentioned his new baby girl just happened to weigh SEVENTY-SEVEN POUNDS!
I’m not one to judge others; people come in all shapes and sizes. But a seventy-seven pound baby?

I didn’t want to be rude, and subjects don’t come any touchier than a man’s children, so I smiled politely at my friend, all the while trying to imagine what kind of monster had been hatched in his household. And what about his poor wife!

I was picturing double-reinforced strollers, triple-girded cribs and buckets of baby formula when my friend asked if I wanted to see a photograph. I tried to think of a courteous way to decline, to no avail. As he casually pulled the photo from his wallet, I braced myself for the ogre-like creature I was expecting.
What did I see? A horse! His horse had given birth. He tricked me! I’m not upset, though; it’s a beautiful, appropriately-sized horse, and he has promised me a ride once she’s trained.

Baby Abra with her friend Jenna

Free Willis!

Whenever I go for a ride, I make sure that I’m never left alone in our van. Like most dogs, I enjoy the occasional car trip, but I refuse to be left to roast in the back seat. With the windows up and the air off, the inside of a car becomes unbearable within a few short minutes. There is no way I would ever let someone lock me in a car alone; it’s deadly!

Imagine yourself a prisoner in your own car, while the temperature rises with each passing second. Sitting there, forlorn, only a couple empty soda cans and some fast food wrappers for companionship, you wait in vain for someone to rescue you. Doesn’t sound like much fun does it?

Many dogs die every summer locked in parked cars. Just in the last couple of weeks, seven show dogs died when their handler left them in a van overnight, despite leaving six electric fans on and a door and windows open. Cracking a window is not enough and neither is a fan or a bowl of water. It is never safe to leave your dog alone in a car! If you don’t think you can take your dog with you when you arrive at your destination and you don’t have somebody who can wait with your dog while the car is parked, then don’t take your dog. I don’t mean to berate anybody, but I cannot overstate the misery a dog endures baking in the hot sun. Take me to the park, the beach or a friend’s house, but if you’re going to your accountant’s office, the mall or anywhere else dogs aren’t allowed, unless someone can stay with me at all times, I’ll stay home, thank you.

I'm Off to See "The Wiz"

Being small, if there’s a show I want to see, I have to reserve a seat right in front of the stage or I won’t be able to see anything except for someone’s haircut. Forget about a tall guy or a lady with a big hat blocking my view; I can barely see over the back of the seat! I’m afraid it’s the front row or nothing for me.


“The Wiz” is in town with a talented cast, which includes my good friend, Nigel, in the role of Toto. I mentioned my predicament to Nigel, and he said he had the exact same problem! Instead of having me lug a booster seat to the theater, he kindly invited me to attend a dress rehearsal. So I had the theater all to myself with an unobstructed view of the action and no wags making comments or incessantly clearing their throats. And it was a fantastic show! Thank you, Nigel!

Summer Reading

We all have a stack of books at home we’ve been meaning to read. It sits in a corner, or by the bed, taunting us, a totem pole of intellectual lethargy. We’d love to sit and read all day long, but who has the time?

My stack was getting too big to be ignored, so a few days ago, I decided to do something about it. I grabbed the first volume off the top of the pile and dug in. I’m glad I did because it happened to be “Pretty Pet-Friendly” by my good friend Julia Szabo! I attended Julia’s book-release party about a month ago, but my busy schedule kept me from actually reading the book!

If you have a pet and 'nice things,' then you need this book. I’ve already started redecorating my digs according to Julia’s advice. The place is looking better, already.