OK, maybe Jon Farleigh only managed to get the back of my eyeball (when I accidentally sucked his tongue up my nose, as he and Dewi tried to lick my face off!). Nevertheless, that's what I get for lying flat on my back to get these pictures of me for the "Meet the Bloggers" hop sweeping through pet blog-land this week (2013).
OK, if I was truly, fully participating in the blog hop, I'd answer a handful of set questions about myself--like what's my favorite book, movie, food, actor, extracurricular activities, and whether or not I'm happy with the way I turned out in life (or something like that). But, I'm only half-participating, so I'm just gonna answer these three questions that I made up by myself:
1. If you had to transform into a fruit or vegetable, what would you choose to be?
A strawberry, because they wear their seeds on the outside.
2. If you could choose one other breed of animal to have as a pet (hypothetically, of course), what would it be?
A cow, and I would call her Sugar Plum, milk her and churn my own butter.
3. What is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?
In July of the summer between 4th and 5th grade, I laughed so hard I peed my pants sitting in a restaurant booth with my three younger* siblings. Specifically, on a family vacation in rural Pennsylvania, having lunch in a Friendly's restaurant full of older couples eating in complete, dreadful silence. Yeah, silence, until someone (not to be named) farted like a trumpet off a vinyl booth seat and I laughed so hard I slid under the table, cried in silent, side-splitting agony, and undammed a warm, yellow river all over myself. But the worst** was having to do the shimmy of shame (my brother playing wingman behind me with a strategically placed tray) to get out the front door. Damn vinyl seats.
Anything else you all want to know?
* I was 10 and was the oldest (and presumably, most mature) one at the table. Let that sink in a minute. (The 70's were the BEST, if you were a kid, y'all!)
** Actually, the worst might have been having to change into an outfit that was not a handmade, matching set to my two younger sisters'. (Think The Sound of Music, VonTrapp family matching outfits, except not made from expensive drapes, but inexpensive, terry cloth beach towels.)
Hi, there. I assume that if you're here, you've found a live tick on your pet, need to get it the heck off, and don't have a lot of time to shoot the breeze. So with respect to you, I'll keep this intro short. I appreciate your choosing to spend the next few simultaneously gross and good-humored minutes with me and my pets (as I realize you had pages of other choices in your "how to remove a tick from my pet" search results).
P.S. If you don't need to get a tick off your pet today, that's wonderful. You are welcome to remain; however, please be courteous to those who are on the verge of a full-on, spider-phobic breakdown and hold to the rear of the viewing area. Also, while humor is encouraged, please refrain from laughing AT other, more nervous participants.
I really really really really hate pulling ticks off my pets. And I really really really really hate that the grass in the field next to our yard is taller than all of them.
And, he's in!
This post is sponsored by BRAVECTO® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about BRAVECTO. But we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Intervet Inc., nor Merck & Co Inc., are responsible for the content of this article and have not written, reviewed, or edited it in any fashion. For more information about BRAVECTO please click here.
HOW TO REMOVE A LIVE, EMBEDDED TICK FROM YOUR PET (with humor)
Before you start:
I am not a vet; however, I do have experience with successfully removing live ticks myself (vs. watching my husband do it), during the summer of 2013*. And by success, I mean they came off still alive, in one piece, did not jump on me, or bite me in the process, and I did not sustain mental or emotional trauma. If you have health-related questions beyond the scope of this blog post, please consult your pet's veterinarian.
Get a latex glove (or a plastic grocery/sandwich/storage bag, if you don't have a glove) to keep from having to touch the nasty bug while you're removing it. Get some tweezers or one of those tick removing tools (I don't have one, but my vet sells them), and if you plan on saving the tick for your vet, a small jar filled with alcohol and a lid. If you don't plan on saving the tick, you can still kill it in the alcohol (after you get it off your pet). If you don't want to kill the tick with alcohol, alternately, you can wrap it up in some scotch tape (ew), or my favorite, flush it down the toilet.
Take your pet into a well-lit, small room, like the bathroom, and close the door. You need to be able to contain your pet and easily see the tick you are removing. It's also a good idea not to remove a tick over carpet (in case you drop it, which you won't). OH, and having a toilet nearby is a plus. In case you need to throw up flush the tick (as I mentioned previously) afterward.
Remember, removing a tick the correct way, in tact, is NOT physically painful (for the pet, probably the tick, nor you). You will not hurt your pet! (I have no idea whether ticks feel pain, but even if they do, you still have to do this.)
Engorged ticks look (and feel) like giant skin tags or moles shaped like whole corn kernels**. Do not squeeze them! The germs (disease causing bacteria) they transmit can be forced into your pet, or, if the tick is already off your pet, all over YOU.
* 2013 was the year I (literally) drove up on baby Bobby Flay O'Fish (my ginger tabby cat, though, a nameless waif at the time) in the middle of a busy intersection. After miraculously capturing him in a Shoney's parking lot and getting him home, several days later (when he allowed me to handle him), I discovered several (3-5) engorged ticks on his tiny orange body. My husband was at work. What other option did I have but to free him of those vampires? The directions on Google worked like a charm! I did it for Bobby!
** Not responsible for future corn aversions.
* I'm just saying mind-reading is not something one learns in vet school, so for the love of your pet's health, don't expect your vet to be a mind-reader. IF, on the off chance your vet says or does something in response to the thing you were thinking, but never said out loud, and it seems freaky to you, it is still 99.9999999999....9999999% NOT mind-reading; that is called a coincidence**.
This post is sponsored by BRAVECTO® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about BRAVECTO. But we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Intervet Inc., nor Merck & Co Inc., are responsible for the content of this article and have not written, reviewed, or edited it in any fashion. For more information about BRAVECTO please click here.
** There was a freaky coincidence with Lele's (my foster chihuahua) shelter vet and her flea/tick preventative. I'll tell you about it in a bit.
I'VE USED A FLEABAG-LOAD OF COMMERCIAL FLEA AND TICK PREVENTION PRODUCTS ON MY PETS, BUT RARELY HAVE I ASKED MY VET ENOUGH (OR ANY) QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM FIRST.
The vet's exam room, waiting...
I can't even say why, for sure. But in reflection, perhaps it was a mix of 1) not wanting to sound dumb, 2) accepting that whatever product the vet suggests first is best, or (in most cases, at least in the last few years, as FDA restrictions have loosened) 3) I'd already purchased a product at the store, over the counter or online (and I didn't even bring up flea/tick prevention during routine checkups).
I hate fleas. But then again, who doesn't, so let's move on.
In 1994, newly married (but before human kids) and with our four pets (three cats and a dog), I experienced the worst indoor bug incident of my entire life: near death by fleas. OK, maybe death wasn't so near as eventual, but still. The fleas were EVERYWHERE, and in legions (Lord of the Rings legions, y'all). Pinhead sized demons, they were, and out for a blood meal (x 184,277, give or take).
So, being superior beings, my husband and I annihilated them. It was horrible.
It was HORRIBLE. I've heard this story before.
This post is sponsored by BRAVECTO® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about BRAVECTO. But we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Intervet Inc., nor Merck & Co Inc., are responsible for the content of this article and have not written, reviewed, or edited it in any fashion. For more information about BRAVECTO please click here.
Let me back up for a bit.
HOW TO GET A FLEA INFESTATION IF YOU HAVE PETS
Reminder: This was 1994 (pets didn't have modern conveniences as they do today, nor did humans have as much information available about external parasites).
The cats were indoors only (apartment life) until the one day I got the bright idea to take Buster (my squishy brown tabby cat) out on a leash. To avoid dragging him down the sidewalk, I carried him into the yard and placed him on the grass. About 15 minutes later, he stood up, took a few steps toward a bush and sat down again. This went on for several days, until eventually, I surrendered and plopped down in the grass beside him. And though I can't remember what we talked about, I'm sure it was life-altering (Buster was my soul cat for 16 years).
Did you know she had a soul cat for 16 years?
Anyway, since we hadn't really done anything but sit in the front yard, Buster's occasional but lusty scratching never fazed me. Cats itch sometimes; no big deal (plus he was wearing a flea collar, so there was that).
Two months (and a pet-sitter; my husband and I both had jobs that required weekly out-of-town commutes) later...
I am one of those people who has a hard time killing things, even spiders (so I capture and release them, if I can). But there are a few creatures on this planet that--no matter how I've tried, even researching their value in the food chain--I would like to see eradicated from existence. At the top of that list? Ticks and fleas. This post is sponsored by BRAVECTO® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about BRAVECTO. But we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Neither Intervet Inc., nor Merck & Co Inc., are responsible for the content of this article and have not written, reviewed, or edited it in any fashion. For more information about BRAVECTO please click here.
Dewi (also a natural resource) enjoys "protected" status no matter how far he strays from the sign. Fleas and ticks take notice.
True story: A couple weeks ago my neighbor called to see whether my husband or I had experience with big black snakes in our yard. As in, there was one coiled up warming itself on the neighbor's back deck, and they needed someone to come over there ASAP and get it the heck off. (And now you know why I needed to preface this paragraph with "true story.")
Well, being the animal nut lover I am, and having had experience collecting slimy critters, like toads, slugs and tadpoles, and handling live snakes on field trips to the science museum, for example, as a kid, with a surge of giddiness, I declared, "I'm not afraid of black snakes; I'll be right over!"
Three minutes later, armed with the walking stick my 12-year-old son made out of a tree branch and my husband (who was being overly protective), I'd made my way through the overgrown lot between our houses. Looking up the steps to their back deck, I hadn't felt that big an adrenaline rush in a really long time.
You know what would ruin this picture? Gross fleas and ticks parasite-ing on my sweet, handsome boy!
3rd Prize: Winner’s choice of (1) Sleepypod Harness OR (1) Sleepypod Carrier ($69.99 – $189.99 value).
Y'all, I'd LOVE someone to give me an Amazon shopping spree and I know you would, too! And I know your PET(s) would LOVE for you to hook them up with that ball launcher (OMD, my Dewi would be in heaven), or cushy Sleepypod carrier (and all the kitties said, "ahhhh")!
YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN ON ALL 10 PARTICIPATING BLOGS!
Yep! To increase your odds, simply visit all the blogs (linked above) and enter (but hurry, the entry forms will all close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, May 3)!
One "finalist" will be selected from each blog!
All of the finalists' names will go into a drawing, and three winners will be randomly selected to receive the prizes listed above.
This is great news! That's because even if one of the 10 blogs has 438 x more entries than another, EACH BLOG will still get one finalist in the drawing! (FYI: The finalist from MY blog, in my previous big, pet blogger holiday giveaway, won 3rd prize in the drawing!) So, tell me, if you won the $300-Amazon card GRAND prize, what's the thing your pet would LOVE for you to spend it on the most?(Mine would vote food, paws DOWN!)
Hold that thought! You'll get to write it in comments (for your one mandatory giveaway entry, using the widget at the bottom of the post), but first...
THESE SPRING BABIES!
Bonus CATS!
Gratuitous butt shot. Yay!
Are we there yet?
TIME TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
Remember, once you get into the Gleam widget, there will be several ways to get an entry.THE BLOG COMMENT ENTRY IS MANDATORY!Don't forget to leave one! I check!
Did you enter? Yay! I hope you win! Don't forget you can enter at the other nine blogs (linked at the top of the post) to increase your chances! I'll post all three winners' names on the Facebook page and Twitter on May 4!
Good luck!
No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents age 18 and older, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from April 27 through May 3, 2016 at 11:59pm EST. Three (3) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Twitter and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Gleam's Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion. Each participating blogger paid an entry fee which will be used to fund the grand prize. The items in the 2nd and 3rd place prize packages were generously donated by the participating brands. Please be sure to visit their websites to see all the amazing pet products they have to offer.
Get good pictures, they said. Show the pet actually eating the food, they said.
Well, this is Maddox and he ate the food (beef stew), OK? He ate it all before I could get the shot.
As far as I'm concerned, the cat food review portion of this blog post is finished.
I mean, what more could I say that Maddox's tongue hasn't already?
Fine. I'll say a few more things about the food. And then I'm changing the subject to hero pets. Don't go anywhere.
Almost five years ago to this day, on a snowy January evening, with two bright eyed and bushy tailed (literally) barely one-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and a blog that was less than a month old, I sat down at my desk and wrote a blog post titled "Chicken Soup for the Dog Mom's Soul." It was a recipe for the pot of homemade chicken soup I'd made for the humans' dinner that night. (Yes, a recipe. I predicted it would be my last, and I was right. But that's not the point.) What all five of the people who read the post didn't know was that the title was no accident. (And, frankly, it had nothing to do with the popular book series.) I used that title because I'd just fed the dogs a dish each of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (the name has been simplified since then to Chicken Soup for the Soul® Brand Pet Food) and I was so pleased with myself (for feeding them a food that felt good to MY soul), that I wanted to pay the feeling forward.
They ate like this at every meal from puppies. I have no idea why, nor do I remember when they decided it was easier to stand.
I think you'll agree: there's almost no better feeling in the world than (after doing tons of research on a million different pet foods, and finding one that doesn't break the budget) feeding one's pet a natural, USA-made wholesome food (with ingredients that sound delicious enough for a human to eat, like real meats, fruits, vegetables and herbs) that they love as much as they thrive on.
What I REALLY wanted to say - those five years ago - was that I'd finally found a dog food that was on par with how crazy I was about my precious dogs. (I didn't want to start a pet food debate, though, so I settled for a chicken soup recipe. The difference now is that I have five years of experience and well, this isn't a debate blog any more than it is a recipe blog.☺)
I should also mention that about a year after I started feeding Chicken Soup food to the dogs, I put all the cats on it too. Though for the last couple years, all my pets have been on a rotation diet, Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food is still very much a part of it, and I can't wait to try the brand new grain free varieties (for both dogs and cats)! (Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post, where I talk about the new grain-free and limited ingredient varieties a bit more.)
Now, for all those Hero Pets...
I need to tell you I had a bit of trouble at first with this portion of the exercise (telling you about the Chicken Soup for the Soul "Show Us Your Hero" (pet) contest that could land you a spot on the brand's Hidden Heroes show during the CBS Saturday morning lineup, or in an upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul book). It was the definition of "hero" (a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. dictionary.com) that tripped me up. According to that definition, only a select few pets - who found themselves in (usually) extreme situations, requiring animal heroics - would qualify as heroes. But, even more fundamentally, we're talking pets, not people. How does one define heroics when it comes to companion animals (who lack the ability to choose)?
Then I looked at the definition of "pet" (any domesticated or tamed animal that is kept as a companion and cared for affectionately. dictionary.com).
And there it was. A PET is an animal kept as a companion (vs. captive) and "cared for affectionately." Cared for affectionately - by humans. Affectionately. Now, knowing that we humans don't typically go around caring affectionately for just anyone, what does that tell you about pets? (Think hard. Not a trick question.)
OK, time's up. IT TELLS YOU (and me) THAT PETS ARE FLIPPING AWESOME! ALL OF THEM!
And you know what? Who cares about the human definition for "hero,"ALL pets are heroes, because they don't know anything but awesomeness! They don't choose to be, they just are!
So, what's YOUR hero pet's unique story (remember, every moment matters)? What makes you want to care for him or her affectionately?
Tell (or show in a video) it to Chicken Soup for the Soul (and/or in comments, if you feel like it; we all LOVE a pet hero story)!
Included is 10-year-old Oreo the Cardigan Welsh Corgi (pictured below), whose human mom and dad, Beth and Bill Cole, take him to help local fourth graders (he's a "Ruff Reader") with HABIT (Human Animal Bond in Tennessee), an outreach program of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. According to Ruth Sapp, the coordinator of the program where he volunteers, Oreo "made his first therapy visit on 4/21/2011 at Halls Elementary School in Knoxville, TN."
The kicker? Oreo, who suffers from PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), is blind! The first blind dog to serve in the program. Now if that isn't a testament to the awesomeness of pets, I don't know what is! (And, might I add, a testament to the awesomeness of Oreo's human mom and dad!)
Oreo, a hero to fourth graders in Knoxville, TN!
Psst! You still here? Cool! Maddox has another face for you...
He reeeeeealy likes the stuff, OK?! The goober makes me LAUGH! (Another hero!)☺
Hi, y'all! If you're here, that means you got through Thanksgiving dinner without exploding! Yay! It also means you want to...
Look at my adorable pictures (goofy corgis and cats - how could it get any better?) and/or
Get your bum entered in the Deck the Howls Holiday Giveaway...because (as you can see in the image) there are over $300 in prizes to be won!
Note: Although #2 is not contingent upon #1, we strongly hope that you won't close your eyes and scroll past the pictures to get to the entry form way at the bottom. Also, your bum/butt/bottom really isn't entering the giveaway. Your whole person is.
OK, ready to look at the pictures? Yay! Oh, but you might want to rub some cocoa butter or anti-aging cream on your cheeks first, so your smile doesn't engrave a permanent crease in them. ☺
But not yet! I need to tell you more about the giveaway!
First, I'm not in this alone! I've collaborated with these nine other rockstar pet bloggers so that we could make the prizes HUGE!
3rd Prize: Gift Basket of Stella & Chewy's, fish oil by Bonnie & Clyde, and a bottle of Full Bucket daily canine powder.
Y'all, I'd LOVE someone to give me an Amazon shopping spree and I know you would too! And I know your PET(s) would LOVE for you to hook them up with that Bonnie & Clyde gift basket! (Yes, as a matter of fact, they did all call me and tell me so. #notreally #stilltrue)
YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN ON ALL 10 PARTICIPATING BLOGS!
Yep! To increase your odds, simply visit all the blogs (linked above) and enter (but hurry, the entry forms will all close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 3)!
One "finalist" will be selected from each blog!
All of the finalists' names will go into a drawing, and three winners will be randomly selected to receive the prizes listed above.
This is great news! That's because even if one of the 10 blogs has 578 x more entries than another, EACH BLOG will still get one finalist in the drawing! So, tell me, if you won the $200-Amazon card GRAND prize, what one PET-RELATED item would you want the most?(I'd put it toward a new vacuum, I think.)
Hold that thought! You'll get to write it in comments (for your one mandatory giveaway entry, using the widget at the bottom of the post), but first...
PICTURES! ☺
Would you tell me if I had a piece of mulch stuck to my nose?
You know, that giveaway entry form is getting cold.
What?? Oh hey, whatever, boys!
TIME TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
Remember, once you get into the Gleam widget, there will be several ways to get an entry.THE BLOG COMMENT ENTRY IS MANDATORY!Don't forget to leave one! I check!
Did you enter? Yay! I hope you win! Don't forget you can enter at the other nine blogs (linked at the top of the post) to increase your chances! I'll post all three winners' names on the Facebook page and Twitter on December 4!
Good luck!
No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents age 18 and older, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from November 27 through December 3, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. Three (3) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Gleam's Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion.
Each participating blogger paid an entry fee which will be used to fund the gift card prizes. The items in the third place prize package were donated by the participating brands.
