How To Be A Good Vet Client

February 13, 2013June 5, 2013

How To Be A Good Vet Client

xoJane has practical advice on how to How Not To Be A Dick At The Vet Hospital. Both of Claire Lower’s parents are vets and she’s heard lots of stories about difficult owners. Her father says, “Not all pet owners are crazy, but all crazy people have pets.” Your pets will be better off if you’re not one of those crazy people!

Claire’s mom has also written a piece on her own blog on being a good vet client. I was really struck by this piece of advice:

Be upfront with the doctor. If you only have $250 to spend let them know. The worst feeling is running blood tests and X-rays then finding out there is no more money to treat the pet. I have a saying.. “X-rays are not therapeutic”

Don’t let your embarrassment hurt your pet. Speak up and tell your vet what’s going on. Your pets are counting on you!

October 26, 2012June 5, 2013

DIY: Jack-O-Lantern Designs—Cats, Rabbits, Dogs, Ferrets, Rats, Mice, Fish & Reptiles

I’m a big dork about Halloween. I really love it! Here’s a repost of a big collections of patterns you can use to make a jack-o-lantern for almost any pet.

I love carving something different each year on our pumpkins and, though I’m very fond of cats, I thought other pets should be represented too. Here are a variety of patterns for a bunch of different animals that should make some pretty nifty jack-o-lanterns. And, yes there are more cats. Just click on an image for a larger version to print or download.

And don’t miss these cat stencils and these dog breed stencils. Or you can make a stencil from your own photos of your pets.

Have a fun Halloween and keep your furred & feathered friends safe!

Cats

Rabbit

Dogs

Ferret

Rats

Mice

Birds

Fish

Reptile

July 18, 2012

Pet Food Recall: AquaMax, LabDiet & Mazuri

This is a big recall—over 110 varieties of food from AquaMax, LabDiet, & Mazurie. Boo! Many of the varieties included won’t affect you, unless you literally have a zoo. But, buried in there are foods for fish, birds, guinea pigs, mice, reptiles, etc. I don’t want to list just the foods I think might affect you, in case there is one for exotic pets that I’m not as familiar with. So take a good look at the list!

The recall is due to elevated vitamin D levels which can harm or even kill animals and fish if fed for extended periods. Signs your pet has been effected are lack of interest in eating, weight loss and joint stiffness.

Please note this food was widely distributed.

U.S. nationwide
Bahamas
Cambodia
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chile
China
Curaçao
Guam
Japan
Mexico
Puerto Rico
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
United Kingdom

April 9, 2012April 9, 2012

News Bites: Diamond Dog Food, Wardley Tropical Flake Fish Food, Chicken Jerky Pt.II

Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice is being recalled due to possible salmonella contamination. Salmonella is dangerous for people and dogs. The affected product is Diamond Naturals Lamb & Rice:

6lb, DLR0101D3XALW, Best Before 04 Jan 2013
20lb, DLR0101C31XAG, Best Before 03 Jan 2013
40lb, DLR0101C31XMF, Best Before 03 Jan 2013
40lb, DLR0101C31XAG, Best Before 03 Jan 2013
40lb, DLR0101D32XMS, Best Before 04 Jan 2013

What you need to know about Salmonella

Salmonella can cause serious illness in cats and dogs and cross-contamination to humans is possible resulting in serious illness.

Here is good information on the symptoms & treatment of salmonellosis in dogs & cats.
The FDA has information on safe pet food handling to prevent food born illnesses like salmonella.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has a very informative page on salmonellosis in humans.

If you have any product being recalled, stop feeding it to your dog and discard it. For further information or to obtain a product refund, call Diamond Foods at 800-442-0402 or visit www.diamondpet.com.

Hartz is recalling Wardley Advanced Nutrition Perfect Protein Tropical Flake Fish Food also due to possible salmonella contamination. The affected products is:

1oz. containers, UPC Code 0-43324-00591-7

lot PP34911
lot PP34912
lot PP35011
lot PP35012

What you need to know about Salmonella

Salmonella can cause serious illness in humans. I couldn’t find anything on whether fish can get salmonellosis.

The FDA has information on safe pet food handling to prevent food born illnesses like salmonella.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has a very informative page on salmonellosis in humans.

If you have product included in the recall, stop feeding it to your fish and discard it. Consumers can contact Hartz at 1-800-275-1414 (24 hours/day 7 days/week) with any questions they may have and to obtain reimbursement for purchased product.

FDA inspectors are visiting plants in China the produce chicken jerky looking for links to the over 600 chicken jerky related illnesses & deaths reported to the FDA by pet owners and veterinarians. A concrete reason for the illnesses & deaths hasn’t so far been discovered, but 3 brands have been implicated according to internal FDA documents. The FDA has yet to an announce a recall.

Those brands are:

Waggin’ Train chicken jerky treats or tenders made by Nestle Purina PetCare
Canyon Creek Ranch chicken jerky treats or tenders made by Nestle Purina PetCare
Milo’s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats made by the Del Monte Corp

October 27, 2011June 5, 2013

DIY: Silhouette Pet Portraits Round-Up

(via SilhouetteArt)

A reader asked about tutorials for making silhouette pet portraits, so here you go! You can do this for any pet, so don’t limit yourself to cats and dogs. A budgie portrait would be really cute!

The video shows 2 techniques—a higher tech version that uses Adobe Illustrator & a robot cutter and lower tech version that uses tracing paper.

Here’s a second tutorial on how to make another version of a silhouette plaque. Just use your pet’s portrait instead.

More ideas on ways to use pet silhouettes from Martha Stewart. I think the suggestion to have a custom rubber stamp made of your pet’s silhouette is a great idea. It would also make a nice gift for a pet lover.