Hi, I'm Ron and I'll be your guest blogger today. For those of you who know Monique, you know that she cannot suppress a smile when she see's animals of different species bonding, seemingly enjoying each others company and just getting along. No judgments, just acceptance. And I know there are millions of others out there who also enjoy seeing animals being buddies. Today I saw a video on CNN about a dog and a goat that are best friends. Now Bishop, (AKA goatboy) our oldest rescue English Bulldog believes he is a goat or perhaps is simply channeling his inner goatness when he climbs on tables (notice the proud somewhat smug look on his face) or kitchen islands. But to my knowledge, he does not consort with Goats. On a side note, I can also state that Bishop only climbs the island when I am home.If Monique is home, neither of us dare climb the island. You may also note that, although Bishop may be happily snoozing on the island in the picture below, the white meatloaf known as Big Tuna, standing on the floor, is not.

I too am fascinated by these relationships and wonder what needs are being met, if any. Sure, I'm mindful that the dog would probably eat the goat in other circumstances. Or as Woody Allen stated in one of his proverbs: The lion and the calf shall lie down together, but the calf won't get much sleep." Ah, the Woodman. Understood. But it still charges my batteries when I see these unlikely goombahs spending time together.

If you are interested in these uplifting stories, I'd recommend picking up a copy of "Unlikely friendships - 47 remarkable stories from the animal kingdom" by Jennifer S. Holland. The book profiles strange couplings such as "the monkeys and the capybaras", the Orangutan babies and the Tiger cubs and of course, my personal favorite, Owen and Mzee, the Tortoise and the Hippo. How strange are these couples? More so than Felix and Oscar but with just as much love I suspect.  I find myself wondering if humans will ever get to this point, to simply leave all the noise behind and simply accept.
Perhaps one day.
Who knows why these animals form these bonds or even why people form the strong bonds that they do with their dogs and cats. People look at my bulldogs and see two fat, flatulent dogs that resemble large meat loaves. I proudly look at my two bulldogs and see two fat flatulent bullies that resemble large meat loaves. But I love them dearly! So if you find yourself in a special relationship, be it two legged or four, don't take it for granted, don't question why there is a bond. Just acceptance and bask in it and consider yourself lucky.

Keep your pets healthy and safe and Keep Wagging everybody!
At least I think that is how Monique signs off.
Ron

Dogs are remarkable creatures who can teach us a great deal about living an honorable life. That is if we actually take the time to observe them. Not sure if everyone caught this video that was on ABC News but it is worth watching the synergy between these two dogs waiting for a forever home. I'm feeling the love.

Watch and enjoy! Keep Wagging everyone!

Monique

I happened to overhear a client who expressed her concern over her dogs diet. Specifically that the dog in question was eating too many "green" things. She was under the impression that too much food outside of their regular (i.e. manufactured) The good news is, just like humans, their is no harm in your dog eating green foods. The exceptions are Onions, Garlic and grapes. In fact, the more they gnosh on from your garden (I repeat: No Onions!) the better. Beans, peppers (not hot), tomatoes, these are all okay. In fact, this is part of their natural diet unless I missed the class in which they discussed the wild dogs of Borneo roaming the grassy savannahs, rummaging for wild growing cans of Science diet chicken and rice formula. In fact, if you watch the video below, you will see the white meat loaf known as Big Tuna, my English Bulldog, sampling items from our garden. She's a good eater.

There is still debate if dogs are canivores or omnivores but I'm not going to discuss that here. You can read an interesting article on diets for dogs on dogfoodadvisor.com.  Take a moment to check out their site. They have a wonderful breadth of information on various diets (such as raw dog food diests, wet dog food, dry dog food) and updates on dog food recalls. they also have a very cool dog food calculator so you can gauge how much dog food your four legged family member should be receiving!

Stay healthy everyone and Keep Wagging!

Monique
NosePrints.ent

Plant toxicity -

I was recently at a T shirt shop reviewin the artwork for our newest Keep Wagging T-shirt design when the owner of the company told me a story about his dogs. One that I hate hearing because I hear it fairly frequently. He had two dogs, both of which ingested seeds from a small Cycad (related to Palm trees). I was somewhat familiar with the plant because it is used often in landscaping because of its unique look.

The plant is commonly referred to as a "Cardboard plant" or "cardboard palm" and looks fairly benign. However, when the plant has seeds, many animals will gnaw on the corn cob like structure that houses the bright red (first warning sign) seeds. The owner told me that his two dogs had gotten one of the corn cobs and chewed on it. One dog swallowed the seeds while the other dog (the "chewer" as he said) actually chewed on them before swallowing. Unfortunately the dog that chewed them died later that evening while the other dog managed to pass the seeds and survived.

I had never heard of this toxic plant so I did a little research. You can take a look at the wonderful ASPCA website to not only learn about this plant but all others. I'd encourage you to familiarize yourself with the local plants to possibly avoid this scenario. You can also find out more at the Florida Palm Tree site.

The cardboard palm is toxic to horses, dogs and cats and the seeds really do some terrible damage to the GI tract and liver before ultimately leading to the animals death.

And remember that if your dog is vomiting, drooling or showing other signs that it may have ingested something toxic, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 88-426-4435 for guidance. And the quicker you can get your pet to a 24 hour emergency pet clinic, the better.

Keep your pets safe, healthy and Keep Wagging!

Monique