Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Furry Scurry this weekend!

We're participating in the exciting Furry Scurry event this weekend, here in Denver. Yay! By "we" I mean myself (Yvonne), Tom, Miah, Chloe, and Snotface the Ferrett's Mom, Stephanie. (You know Snotface - he's Twiggy's friend.)

Furry-Scurry is a great resource for the Dumb Friends League. We found out about it via Bissell, as we're part of their Pack of Pet Lovers. I wrote about that a few weeks ago. Bissell also sponsored BlogPaws - and gave away some outstanding prizes!

Coyotes and Greyhounds

If you read the NY Times this week you may have seen a piece about hunting Coyotes with Greyhounds. The article was in the Sports section of the paper. If this is a sport, where I can find the "Dog Fighting" results for the week? I'm being facetious of course,  but it makes my blood boil to read about this kind of nonsense. 

You can read the article yourself if you have the stomach for it. I prefer to come down on the side of Judy Paulson of Greyhound Companions of New Mexico. She calls a spade a spade when she points out that many Greyhounds end up getting injured or worse in this so called sport. Not to mention the poor Coyotes.

The Grumpy Old Lady Gets Her Point Across

Ok, I'm a cat and as a cat, I don't need anybody. I can be as I am all by myself. But...but...but... I have not figured out how to open the cat food cans, yet. In fact, I have no desire to know how to open the cat food cans. That's what Mom and Tom are for. Seriously. It's their job.

How, I ask you, can they do their job if they are not here? When are they going to go through appropriate channels (mine) and ASK first, before they head off to who knows where?

A Hairy Dilemma

I'm kind of a frustrated neat freak. One source of my frustration is that I'm married to an artist with an artist's mentality. Part of her creative process is to leave stuff all over the house. I've learned to deal with that, she compensates for this short coming in many other ways.

Another source of mess anxiety is none other than Miles. He sheds all over everything.

Scratchings and Sniffings Out Loud: How Much Do I Feed My Dog or Cat?

In this week's Scratchings and Sniffings Out Loud we learn about diet amounts - how much food should we be feeding our dog or cat? The amount on pet food lables is just a guideline. Dr. Larry and Dr. Grace help us understand the pets' needs according to size and activity. It's definitely comparable to how we feed ourselves - sometimes less is more.

Dr. Larry did a post about Ideal Body Condition just the other day, which plays into this podcast. He also shared the Purina Ideal Body Condition chart with folks, and I hope you'll hop over to that page, today, too. But, first listen up...

Real Life Body Condition Scoring

We've got a pod cast coming up this weekend about dog's nutritional needs based on size and breed. It's a really important topic when it comes to maintaining health and the subject of Ideal Body Condition will come up.

I'm sure Yvonne will link to the chart that illustrates what that is suppose to look like.

I wanted to give you a real life preview first. And of course my example relies on none other than Miles; the wonder dog.

PetSmart® Gives Back at BlogPaws™

I'm so behind in my posting about BlogPaws, I meant to write this post last week, so forgive me if I go on and on. You can also read lots of info about BlogPaws at the many blogs all over the net, but especially at DogTipper where Paris and John have a widget that lets bloggers add their post to the list.

Today I'd like to finally write about PetSmart. PetSmart came on board as the Cat's Meow late in the planning, but they were so supportive and helpful, we owe them a shout out. A big Woofy Woo! if you will. Holly and Michelle and Jennifer were more than eager to participate. When we discovered we needed more dog beds for the hotel, they didn't hesitate to send 20 good sized dog beds along - so our visiting doggies had comfy places to sleep.

Check it out on this post "My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much." As blogger, Michelle Maskaly, says, "It's the gift that keeps on giving." ALL those dog beds went to the shelter after the conference!

The Huemul Deer of Patagonia

Chris and I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Patagonia in Southern Chile. (this picture is from a previous camping trip, but it works here, too; Chris is the one being carried, just so you know)

We went there to trek the Aysen Glacier Trail with an adventure travel outfit owned by the son of some friends of ours, here in New Mexico. It was a wonderful experience and we were lucky enough to spot a group of highly endangered Huemul deer. Despite gracing the official seal of Chile there are only a few thousand Huemul left and fewer than three percent of the Chilean population has ever seen one in the wild. 

Guess we were lucky on that front, but we did have to hike three days into one of the most remote places on earth and cross the Neff Glacier to get to some prime Huemul habitat.

The Grumpy Old Lady Approves

Ok, sometimes I can't be grumpy. Sometimes I have to say Mom and Tom get things right. As Romeo says, "giving back" is the best part of BlogPaws. (yes, I finally figgered it out - BlogPaws is all about pets! who can argue with dat?)

When Mom and Tom were away last weekend, I got a little lonely, but now I know why and I approve! My Mom brought me home from a shelter a loonnggg time ago, cause I wanted to adopt her. She couldn't resist me! (back when I was a kitty I was even more adorable, and I always got my own way then, too!)

Well, yesterday, the BlogPaws team - lots and lots of bloggers! - did a Be the Change fund raiser on their blogs.

It's Be the Change Day - Join Us in Helping Shelters

Today is Be the Change day in the blogosphere. We pet people are all writing blog posts about Be the Change, to help raise funds for Pets Without Parents, and/or any deserving shelter you recommend. I've found a few great blog posts on the topic, and I thought I'd share.

Over on BlogPaws, I did a post on Peace for Pets, helping hospice patients keep their pets at home with them.

Others are jumping enthusiastically on the Be the Change band wagon - because it's really and truly up to us, isn't it? I hope you'll read these blog posts, maybe comment, and then go write one of your own. We need all the voices we can get singing the praises of Be the Change!