And The Lucky Winner Of "All Dogs Go To Kevin" Is...!

Written by a really cool veterinarian, Dr. Jessica Vogelsang.  Her current practice offers in-home hospice care for dogs and cats.

We were honored to have the opportunity to do this giveaway, and we hope our lucky winner enjoys this book as much as we did! If you're disappointed that you didn't win, you can always purchase the book here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-dogs-go-to-kevin-jessica-vogelsang/1120686202?ean=9781455554935 

As usual, we left Rafflecopter do the honors of choosing the winner and their random pick is Jennifer Dace. Let's all put our paws together in a round of applause for Jennifer! A hearty "Thank You" to all who took the time to enter—we appreciate your support!

P.S. Look for another fun giveaway coming very soon!

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Holiday Pet Safety Tips

Is Santa here yet?

We know there's lots of ideas out there for keeping your pets safe during the hubbub of the holidays, but these tips from the veterinarian for Halo, Purely for Pets, Dr. Donna Spector, are particularly detailed, yet easy to understand...and to immediately put into practice.

Toxic plants include Poinsettias, Mistletoe and even Lillies—so keep out of your pets' reach...somehow. If you have a live tree, prevent your pets from lapping up that tree water or ingesting needles by putting a playpen around the tree (we're guessing this won't work for cats!). You should also secure your tree to the wall or ceiling in case your pooch or kitty tangles with an ornament. And of course, no tinsel!

Because Parental Unit's home includes both me and the cat, she only decorates her mantle, where neither of us can reach, and hangs ornaments from doorknobs—so unfortunately, her holiday decorating has become half-hearted, at best.

After a read-through of these strategies for pet proofing your home for the holidays, can you think of any other pet safety tips you'd like to add? We'd love to hear them!




Meanwhile, a gentle reminder that our giveaway of one hardback copy of "All Dogs Go To Kevin, Everything Three Dogs Taught Me (That I Didn't Learn In Veterinary School), by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, ends tonight at midnight, so hurry on over and enter—and give a shout-out to your friends, too!

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"All Dogs Go To Kevin": Review And Giveaway!

We couldn't be more excited to have this opportunity to tell you a little about a wonderful book: All Dogs Go To Kevin,  Everything Three Dogs Taught Me (That I Didn't Learn In Veterinary School), by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, and to give away a copy to one lucky reader. Please know that we have received one hardback copy of this book and one to give away to our winner. We have not been otherwise compensated for writing this post, and rest assured our opinions about All Dogs Go To Kevin have not been swayed by two free copies!

                  See how to enter at the end of this post! 

Parental Unit was lucky enough to chat with the author, Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, on a shuttle from the airport to a BlogPaws Conference a few years ago. She remembers that "Dr. V", (a nickname that her clients who couldn't pronounce "Vogelsang", gave her) was friendly, super smart and funny, qualities that shine through in this charming and witty memoir. O.K. Parental Unit thinks this book is more than "witty"—it's fits into her "wildly funny" category—Dr. V.'s self-depreciating humor coupled with hilarious descriptions of, well, just about everything, make all of her stories a joy to read. How many women do you know compare their dog (who had just emerged from eating a box of powdered sugar) to "Al Pacino after a coke binge in Scarface"? I thought so.

                Here's a picture of Dr. V. and canine friend.

 Dr. V., her husband, their two young children and a series of goofy, lovable dogs let us into their world and demonstrate the importance of family and friends—including the canine variety—in enriching our lives. But you'll also learn about what it takes to get through veterinary school and to practice veterinary medicine in a clinic setting, including the array of clients, both lovable and...well, not so lovable, whose pets she tends with great care.

Dr. V. is also a superb writer, by the way, who's easy-going style draws you right into the action. When she learned that her dog, Emmett, had lymphoma, she stated simply: "We teach our dogs to "stay", but they never do."

Parental Unit particularly loves Dr. V.'s poignant epilogue, where she vows to honor her dogs, past and present by "...striving just a little more to live like they did: with joy, unabashed and open, reminding myself and others that our flaws do not make us less, but ever more worthy of being loved just the way we are." We can learn so much from our pets, and All Dogs Go To Kevin helps show us the joy they bring to our lives, and how we can make sure we give them joy in return.

Dr Vogelsang's current veterinary practice provides in-home hospice care for dogs and cats. She's also  founder of the website Pawcurious.com, and we can't recommend it highly enough. We're thrilled to bring you the opportunity to win a copy of All Dogs Go To Kevin, by entering the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

Potential winner limited to the continental United States. Void where prohibited. 

                                 Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Dogs + Pumpkin = A Happy Thanksgiving For All!

Did you say pumpkin, Parental Unit? With Thanksgiving just days away here in the U.S., we're all going a little pumpkin crazy!

   
Both my personal cook Parental Unit and I love pumpkin, but neither of us learned until recently how good it is for dogs. Earlier this year, I had some, ahem, digestive troubles and nothing worked, including a special bland diet or withholding food for 24 hours. I thought I'd have to pay a visit to the vet and take antibiotics, but just a few tablespoons of plain pumpkin saved the day!

There are many ways pumpkin can benefit your dogs' health, including the aforementioned digestive troubles (it works like a miracle for both diarrhea and constipation), and even weight loss—you can feed your pooch a bit less of his or her regular food and substitute a tablespoon or so of pumpkin—the fiber helps keep Rover full.

It's important to use pure, cooked pureed pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie mix, or at the other end of the spectrum, raw pumpkin straight from the, well, pumpkin. In addition to adding plain pumpkin to your dog's diet as a food topper, you can also add it to homemade treats. There are seemingly endless dog biscuit receipes that include pumpkin, but here's one from Rachel Ray that's nice and simple, and something a bit different from the Maryland SPCA that sounds delicious to us. And check out this entire Pinterest  Board full of pumpkin dog treat recipes!

 Keep in mind that Parental Unit has never made me homemade dog biscuits, so she can't vouch for any of these recipes. She vows to try at least once, though, and you'll be the second to see her handiwork (after my taste test!).

How many of you have fed your dog this beautiful orange fruit, either plain or disguised in a biscuit? Please let us know!

P.S. In the next day or so, we'll be bringing you a very special book review and giveaway: Dr. Jessica Vogelsang's charming and witty memoir, "All Dogs Go To Kevin. Everything Three dogs Taught Me (That I Didn't Learn In Veterinary School)" Hint: We loved it!

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Pets Help Us Through The Best And Worst Of Times

We're thrilled to tip you off to one of our upcoming giveaways: The just released book, "All Dogs Go to Kevin" by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang, who's current veterinary practice as director of Paws into Grace, specializes in home hospice care and euthanasia for terminally ill pets.

Although Parental Unit hasn't yet read this book, she's heard it's gotten rave reviews and can't wait to dive in. She had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Vogelsang at one of the BlogPaws conferences, and is in awe of her work. We can't help but believe that her very specialized practice is a natural outgrowth of our society's changing view of animals and their place in our families. A positive and progressive evolution, we say!

This recent AP article gives you a glimpse into her life and a bit of a preview of the book. Enjoy and keep a lookout for our review and giveaway!

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