Would You Rather Be Bitten by Dracula or a Deadly, Plague-Infected Flea? #12Bravecto

Before you answer that impossible question, did you even know fleas carry PLAGUE? The disease* that wiped out millions of people in the Middle Ages, up to 60% of Europe's entire population, and remains the world's worst pandemic ever?

Y'all! My family came out to Arizona after BlogPaws this summer and we visited the Grand Canyon. As we approached the most visited overlook on the South Rim, THIS warning sign met us (five seconds AFTER I had already seen a tame squirrel on the path). I had not seen the word plague used in an actual present-day warning in my entire life. I didn't even know the plague was still a disease that people got! And to be honest, I wasn't convinced the National Park Service wasn't spreading tall tales just to scare the daylights out of people who ignore "do not feed the wild animals" signs! Until I googled "grand canyon squirrel fleas plague" on my iPhone...

And that the disease remains alive and spreadable in the world, including the United States? And the fleas that carry it can jump off their hosts (frequently rock squirrels) and bite pets and people? And if it's not diagnosed and treated with antibiotics early...well, you know. [insert funeral music 💀]

* The bubonic plague, to be exact. The disease--caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis--led to gangrene (dead, rotting tissue) in human extremities, and was referred to as Black Death.  (source: CDC)

But back to my question...What's it gonna be? Dracula or the flea? (Go ahead and take 10 seconds to think about it...)

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.

The one on the right is a fiend!

EW, look at the flea in that picture! Talk about a blood-sucking monster! SO nasty! The thought of those jumping all over my poor dogs (and/or cats) makes me feel sick to my stomach! (But not as sick as when I looked at this other, much worse, blood- and plague bacteria-filled flea photo from the CDC while researching this post. [retch!])

Where was I? Oh yeah! The "would you rather" question!

But whoops. I might have swayed you with those scary images. So, you know what? Scrub them from your retinas! Check out this comparison chart I made and then answer the question!

How to Inject Humor Into Removing an Embedded Tick From Your Pet #12Bravecto

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.

Veterinarians Can't* Read Minds: Things to Ask About Flea and Tick Prevention #12Bravecto

* 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).

There have been consequences:

My 1994 Flea Infestation From Hell #12Bravecto

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...

To the tick that bit me and died: Good riddance! To the rest: I DARE you to bite my dogs! #12Bravecto

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!

Tacky Cardigan With Words on It: Why Reality TV Sucks for My Cats

Not my reality TV, either. THEIRS!

I don't know how long they sat there and watched that stupid (ugly, nasty...) stink bug the other night, but I KNOW they didn't kill it. Stupid things are too gross even for cats! Corgis, too! ICK!

Do your pets watch "reality" TV? And by that, I mean do they watch creepy bugs in your house, or eat them? Do you hate stink bugs, too? (Fun topic, huh?) ☺

If you'd like me to consider a photo of you pet(s) for a tacky cardigan, just post it to the Facebook page!

Repurposed Tacky Cardigan With Words on It: The Most Dangerous Bug Known to Man

No, y'all, not a scorpion, centipede, fire ant, yellow jacket, black widow nor even a brown recluse. THIS!

Note: Although you might be tempted to provide a handout to the clever mantis (who is fully capable of catching his own food, by the way), you would be better off locking yourself (and all other members of your household) in a metal room (indefinitely). ☺

(The above photo -- that I took in my kitchen with my own camera, and later, "memed" -- originally appeared in a blog post published on August 21, 2012. It was just as tacky then as it is now.)

If you'd like me to consider a photo of your pet(s)/bug for a tacky cardigan, just post it to the Facebook page!

Tacky Cardigan with Words on It (1st Edition) - The Talk

As promised in my last post (about resting), a weekly photo meme...

Disclosures:

<> Just because I wrote it, does not mean it actually happened. 

<> Any resemblance to your own pet is purely coincidental, unless, of course, it is your pet. Which reminds me:

I would love to caption YOUR pet's photo and possibly feature it on the blog! If you're interested, post it on the Facebook page (either in a message or on the wall). I'll let you know in advance (by Facebook message) if your photo is selected!

<> I write tacky captions, because they make me happy. Tacky cardigans (as in sweaters), however, do not. 

Have a far-out, groovy day!
☺☺☺

Panhandling Bug Photo with Horrible Caption

It was yet to be seen whether, in the survival of the fittest, nature would select or reject Marty Mantis.

Photo credit: Moi! (aka yours truly)

If you ask me, praying mantises' gifts are largely underutilized. ;)

Also, I took this photo years ago, but for some reason today, the insect spoke to me. hehe

OK, I'll just be bugging off now!

Classic Cardigan: Jon Farleigh Improvises as a Bumblebee

One year ago almost to the day, in honor of spring, I dressed Jon Farleigh and Dewi up as a bumblebee and butterfly, respectively. It was great fun! (For real.)

And because the same exact flowers and creatures are gracing my garden these days, I though it might be fun to rerun the post in which Jon Farleigh has A LOT to say about his particular "bee" predicament.

So without further ado, from April 26, 2011:

With Captions: The Many Faces of 'Bumblebee' Jon Farleigh

#1
Jon Farleigh immediately regretted having gone
with the spicy burrito from Taco Bell.

#2
"Hey, there; wanna see my stinger?" 

#3
"Ackk ackkk ackk...I gotta stop smokin, man."

#4
 "...la la la la la la la la la la la La...
Figaro Figaro Figaro Figaro FIGARO!!..."

#5
"heh heh...Pull my finger."

#6
Jon Farleigh refused to look at the camera until
his person agreed to refer to him as
"The Harry Hornet."

#7
Jon Farleigh just realized he could have saved 15%
by switching to Geico.

#8
"Psst. I see cat krispies under that rose bush.
Let's eat 'em and then give her a kiss."

#9
"Guess what? I peed in your shoes. Oh, my bad, you don't speak dog." 

Bonus: Double Head-tilt

#10
"Say what? Did she just tell us to do the Macarena?"

Toodles!

***

P.S. On a personal note, you all rock for reading, and in some cases, re-reading this and other posts on my blog. I am humbled, as ever, for the time you invest in me, my pets and this crazy chronicle of mine.

That said, and some of you might have noticed, I'm having some struggles keeping up with (replying to and leaving) comments. (More on this another day.) But anyway, please know that I am thankful for every note you've left and that I haven't forgotten about you (and if you have a blog, I haven't stopped visiting you; I do visit LOTS of you)!

I will return (to comment land), but in the meantime, thanks for not calling me mean, cable-TV words...or rolling my blog in T.P. :)

Jon Farleigh and Dewi on the Big Green Thing (in Spring)

Please note that the most telling thing about this post, aside from the obvious, is that my child and I just spent 30 minutes outside (in full view of passers-by) taking these pictures. I'm pretty sure that makes me a crazy dog lady.

And this just in...while I was out there taking these pictures, I must have picked up a stowaway caterpillar, because just now, as I was typing, a furry caterpillar dropped off my head and landed in my lap. 

And I screamed.

The caterpillar is now outside (but I still feel it crawling on my head).

Okay, here are some pictures of Jon Farleigh and Dewi standing on the big green thing in my yard. 

I call that green metal box the big green thing. The dogs were up there so they couldn't run off.

This photo makes Dewi's head look really big compared to his body. Notice that those last three yellow letters (under JF) spell "POO." I did not notice that until I uploaded the photos. 

Someone must have audibly broken wind here.

I added the pink softball to make the big green thing look more springlike. Darn "POO" messed it all up.

And for this last shot, Middle Child was behind me waving the pink ball in the air. 

Next we helped the dogs down and they went to pee.

The End

P.S. The sunglasses were a bad idea.

***

Hope you had/have a nice day today. :)

Why I Didn't Squash the Creepy Bug in My Kitchen

I didn't squash the bug because I thought Clyde, Junior and Lulu could handle it.*

*I made up those names for effect.

So, the scene more or less went down like this:

Me: What the...? Why are you under my feet?! 

[...thinking, there must be a bug down there.]

Clyde (Dewi) to me: I think there is a bug down there. Want me to check for you?

Clyde: Is that a bug?
Junior (Jon Farleigh): It moves. What's a bug?

[Junior is in deep, deep thought over his next move.]

Meanwhile...

[Lulu is poised for the attack.]

[...while Junior still hasn't budged]
Lulu: HIYA! Take that, you spawn of all that isn't worth eating!

OH.  NO.  YOU.  DIDN'T GET UP IN MY BUSINESS!
I WILL CUT YOU!

[growl] Do I look like I'm playing, you son of a biscuit eater?!

10 seconds later...

Helloooo, down there!

Junior: Wanna play cops and cat burglars?

*****

Next time, I'll squash it. ☺

How do your pets react to bugs in the house?

(No judging. Everyone gets a bug in the house at some point.)