Photo left over from my various workings on the calendar:
(You have to read this line in the Dug from Up voice) I shared because I love you.
I want to do a gift guide! Gift guides sound like so much fun! I’ve never done one before but I figure featuring a variety of items from stocking stuffers to ridiculously extravagant would be a blast.
As it stands Brody is still eating out of an old metal dish my boss gave to me from her backyard (I can’t bring myself to let him use Emmett’s old bowl, am I a freak or what?) and sleeping in his crate. He’s worked his rear off being the face of this blog the last half of the year so I think he deserves something nice from Santa. And Apollo too for putting up with him.
I’ll accept submissions for pet gift ideas for one week at drv@pawcurious.com. Please note: the submissions should be for products, not retailer websites, though if you are a retailer and have a favorite item to submit I would be happy to link you as a source to obtain the item if it makes the guide. I’m also happy to host any giveaways for readers.
Send your favorite cool pet product ideas in- I’m always interested in products that are eco-friendly and/or benefit rescue!- and I’ll be trolling the net as well. I promise, no stuffed excrement toys.
I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it, since my technician warned me it would happen, but it still caught me off guard when a client pulled a picture of her toddler out of her purse and asked me if said toddler was allergic to her dog.
I peered at the picture of her daughter. It was a photo of a typical looking girl, no eyes swollen shut, nothing out of the ordinary. “Well,” I said hesitantly, “You need to ask your pediatrician.” She looked blankly at me. “If it’s a concern for you, there are tests that can be done.”
“Oh, it’s not a concern for me,” she said breezily. “My dad is convinced that she’s allergic to the dog and I need to get rid of it.”
“Based on what?” I asked.
“Pictures,” she said. “My husband wants me to get rid of the dog too, because it peed on his chair.”
I’m not even sure where to start with this one. “Well, your dog had a urinary tract infection, which we treated, and you said the dog isn’t urinating in the house anymore.” She nodded. “Is your daughter exhibiting any signs of allergies?” Shake. “Have you even spoken with your pediatrician?” Another shake.
“Can I get the name of some rescues?” was her next question. I told her I might know someone who would adopt her dog, since she was a really sweet and adorable pup. “Oh no,” she said emphatically. “I love my dog. I’d be heartbroken to get rid of her.” She clutched the dog to her chest, dog peering out at me from the depth of her owner’s bosom with a “I have no idea what’s going on either” expression.
I paused, lost in the Lewis-Carroll-esque meanderings of this conversation. “So, what exactly can I do for you today?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “But I wanted the number of that dog rescue. And some Advantage.” Pause. “I just know my dad and my husband are hassling me and I really wanted to know if you thought my daughter looked allergic in her picture.” I looked again, to humor her, and just because she seemed to expect me to say something I added unhelpfully, “Cute kid.”
I assured her I had absolutely no clue about whether or not the child in the photo was allergic to the dog in the room. Truth be told I think the dog is the least of the problems in this picture, but that’s just me.
I have never seen I Am Legend, and based on the comments I got multiple times in the last entry- I never will. 
I thought that with age and wisdom we were supposed to become more jaded, more distinctly un-sentimental. In some aspects, this is true. For example, I can’t watch one of those Disney princess movies without wanting to gag- I mean really, Prince Charming is kind of skeevy when you think about it: stalking women and throwing shoes at them, hints of necrophilia and the like. I look at my little scrapbook pile of love notes from high school and want to laugh and/or cry at my naive oversimplification of pretty much everything.
But in one of those odd juxtapositions that make up life, as my romantic notions slowly morphed under the weight of reality of life into something a little more muted and stable, I’ve become ridiculously oversentimental when it comes to my kids (both human and furry.) I oooh and aaah over Golden Retriever socks. I want to save Brody’s first baby tooth, meticulously plucked off the floor by my three year old with the pride of a palaeontologist finding a new T Rex bone. And I can’t watch the movies.
I’ve never been good at watching those kind of movies to begin with.
Old Yeller? Never seen it. Where the Red Fern Grows? Should be illegal to show in schools. Those are understandable, though. But the rest of it? Lady and the Tramp- can’t deal with the shelter dogs. All Dogs Go to Heaven ruined my eighth grade year. I just made it through Up- barely- simultaneously laughing at how perfectly Doug encapsulated Golden Retrieverdom and crying at how much he reminded me of Mulan.
If anything, I’ve gotten worse about this stuff, not better, as I get older. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s that while the reality of most human relationships are much more complicated than they seem as a kid, our relationships with our pets are just as genuine and uncomplicated at 35 as they are at 5. It is comfortingly simple in its straightforward nature. When a dog looks up at you with those big eyes and gives you an “I love you” lick, it means exactly that.
My nostalgia over that innocent type of relationship is what leaves me a sobbing heap when I find myself emotionally exploited, over and over and over, by family movies, author memoirs (what is it with the latest trend of authors making the requisite pet memoir?), and toilet paper commercials. I am consoled in my misery by my technician Amy, who confided in me today that Hotel for Dogs left her a weeping mess. Guess I’m not alone in this.
One of my blogathon sponsors was Annette at Biscuits By Lambchop, who provided 5 prizes for donors. Their specialty is a treat that is gluten free, animal protein free, and low fat, low sodium, and low phosphorous- making them a good choice for dogs who are unable to eat many of the treats on the market.
Along with my stack of prizes, she was kind enough to include samples for Brody. She told me I should try them too. I kind of raised my eyebrow at this- I mean, I’m kind of dog fooded out at the moment- but as soon as I opened the first bag and got a whiff of banana cookie, I couldn’t help but take a bite. And a nibble. And another bite to be sure. They really are tasty (and honestly, had she named them “low gluten healthy people snacks” they would have been just as believable.)
Now Brody, on the other hand- he doesn’t do the vegetarian thing. He likes meat. Liver bits are his treat of choice. I was admittedly unsure as to how such a carnivore-friendly pup would respond to these apple and banana biscuits. So for posterity, here are the results:
