December 2009

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Well, looky there… who are those familiar-lookin’ faces on the new packaging for Barkwheats organic dog biscuits? Why, it’s our old pals, those colorful, winsome Folk Dogs, by Abby McMillen.

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Barkwheats are grain-free, buckwheat dog treats made from 100% natural, organic, fair-trade ingredients. In fact, all of Barkwheats’ ingredients but their ginger are locally grown by chemical-free, family-owned farms in Maine. This eco-conscious company (the first B Corporation in the pet industry) even purchases wind energy and uses recycled and 100% biodegradable packaging. True, your dogs probably won’t care about most of that stuff. But if you like supporting responsible companies, go buy ‘em some Barkwheats.

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Barkwheats is offering 10% off all orders through January 7th — see their site for coupon code!

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One Monday in late November, about a week before we moved, I literally spent all day on the phone setting up the utilities at our new place and changing my mailing address for credit card accounts, bank accounts, magazine subscriptions, insurance companies, yadda, yadda, yadda. Yet here we are, close to a month later, and my pups are still walking around with ID tags with our old address on them. Shameful.

I have a good excuse: I haven’t changed my cell phone number yet, so the phone number on the tags is still valid. Once I get a new local phone number, though, I’m pretty sure I’m ordering them both new Red Dingo tags. They’re super preshy and way durable — Dottie’s got one, and if you know Dottie, the fact that it’s still in one piece, much less still shiny and new-looking, is beyond impressive.

And hey, lucky me — Red Dingo’s just released a bevy of new designs.

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Fetch these and other new tags at Red Dingo or Krazy For Pets.

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If your dogs could talk, what would they say?

I think Mingus would tell me he wants the Furcedes dog bed from Haute Diggity Dog.

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I haven’t the heart to tell him I can’t afford a $250 dog bed, no matter how “frickin’ awesome” it is… so I’ll just tell him he’s too big for it. That’ll make him feel good.

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Doug Solomon’s dog drawings are a little bit irreverent and completely awesome.

View his website here, and also check out his Etsy shop (search for “dog”).

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The vet/client relationship is an interesting one: we trust our vets with the health of our beloved pets, inviting them to participate intimately in our lives and in some of the most difficult and painful decisions we have to make — yet, at the same time, we often see them as merely providing a service, like the guy who changes the oil in our car, perhaps grumbling and complaining about their charges or policies.

We expect a lot of veterinarians, and we easily forget that 1) they’re human and 2) they love dogs, too.

Pawcurious, a hilarious and touching blog written by San Diego’s Dr. Jessica V, chronicles the daily adventures and struggles of a practicing small-animal vet — from the teeth-gritting to the the tear-jerking to the LOL-inducing. Dr. V brings humor, perspective, honesty, and human-ness to topics such as difficult clients, tough medical decisions, hilarious office adventures, her personal loss of a beloved pet, and the joys of raising a puppy. (I almost put “joys” in quotation marks there.)

Dr. V’s candid and personal revelations will delight you, move you, and perhaps cause you to reflect on the relationship you share with your own vet. Go ahead and give it a look.

(And yes, that’s Pet Doctor Barbie you see in that photo.)

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Here’s a classic from Will Ferrell.

Disclaimer: phetched.com does not endorse Mr. Sturdevant’s methods.

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Best wishes for peace, love, and joy this Christmas from the (mostly naughty) phetched.com crew.

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The photo essay “Abused No More: Rehabilitated Attack Dogs” by David Harry Stewart for Time brought me to tears. Its subjects are rescued and rehabilitated fighting dogs that have gotten a second chance at life and happiness.

Read their stories and see the photos here.

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As you may know, we moved a couple weeks ago. I learned several valuable things in the process, to include:

1. One of the circles of hell surely involves telephone communication with the cable company.

2. Never, ever move less than three weeks before Christmas.

3. We have entirely too much dog stuff.

Moving forced us to pare down and purge a lot, which is good. But let’s not kid ourselves here: cutting down on dog stuff really isn’t an option. Maybe, then, for Christmas someone is getting me the Pet Pouch from KangaRoom.

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It’s got a spot for grooming tools, treats, poop bags, leashes and other stuff, and is super portable.

Fetch yours here.

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We got a ton of snow last week here in Asheville (in an event that was fondly dubbed on Twitter #avlsnOMG), and Mingus and Dottie were, natch, in heaven. You know what happens to dogs that spend a lot of time roughhousing out in the snow, though? They stink. Giving these beasts a full-on bath during #avlsnOMG wasn’t very feasible, though, as it would be all of, what, like 10 minutes before they’d be right back out in the snow again.

Enter dry dog shampoo. I need this stuff.

You don’t use water. So it’s not a B-A-T-H. You just sprinkle it on and rub it in, and it absorbs grease and dirt and leaves your pup smelling yummy. Brilliant.

Creature Comfort, an Etsy shop based in Milwaukee (where they know all about snow-smelly dogs, I’m sure), offers handmade dry dog shampoo in two yummy formulas, Miss Dandy (lavender vanilla) and Mr. Puppernickel (citrus clove).

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I like these ’cause the ingredient lists are comprised of all natural stuff: cloves, orange peels, lavender, vanilla bean, oatmeal, corn meal. Sounds like a breakfast muffin.

Fetch Miss Dandy and Mr. Puppernickel here (free shipping throughout the month of December, and 10% to Etsy for Animals!).

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