Extraordinary Pets

Your Monday Smile

2012-02-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

LOVE it!

**If you like what you read here make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Join me in welcoming Bella

2012-02-08T08:30:00.001-07:00

That's right, we added a new member to our family, Bella a 6 week-old kitten.

We used to be a two-cat household, but after a tragic accident (dog attack) took our cat Paris from us a little more than 16 months ago, we were left with just one cat, Aedan. Although we understand that no pet could ever replace another we decided that it was time to get another cat.

We love her to pieces already and named her Bella because she is so beautiful. She is getting along with our other kids quite well. In fact, she is very curious and loves to pounce of them, so I am sure I will have some stories to tell very soon.

**If you like what your read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Your Monday Smile

2012-02-06T08:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday everyone.

Cat Name Ideas

2012-02-03T08:30:00.001-07:00

To piggy-back off of yesterday's post, I wanted to provide you guys with a list of cat names as well.

So here it goes...

Here are some of my favorite cat names:

Eden
Aedan
Paris
Fluffy
Felix
Tom
Tiger
Mousie
Sox

Crazy old-lady cat names:

Tummy sticks
Mr. Tiddybomboms
Winky Woozerton
Admiral Snuggles
Bojangles
Professor Cuddles
Mr. Wiskerson
Colonel Meowington

Cat names I hate:

Pussy Wussy - umm no!
Snugglepuss
Smelly Cat

Which cat name is your favorite? Are there any that you find ridiculous?

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Dog Name Ideas

2012-02-02T08:30:00.001-07:00

Looking for the perfect name for your dog or puppy? You may already have a name picked out, or you might be waiting to meet this new addition before you give it a name. Either way I can understand the importance of choosing the right name for your dog.

Really there isn't any science behind it, I say go with your gut and you'll know what name to choose. I tend to pick dog names that are quintessential dog names, which is why I named my first dog Sparky, but you may want to pick a name that means something, that is funny, or even serious.

So, to aide you in your quest for the perfect dog name, I put together a few lists for you.

Here are some of my favorite dog names:

Sparky
Lily
Brinkley
Fido
Bruiser
Daisy
Lassie
Spike

Funny dog names:

Beast
Boozer
Buckshot
Cat
Kitty
Fleabag
Critter
Roadkill
Killer
Shredder
Sickem
Slobber
Tater
Twinkie

And then you have the type of names that I like the least, they are what I like to call 'serious dog names.' Frankly I think it is weird when your dog has the same name a person would have. I explain a little further below.

Serious dog names:
*All names that are people names such as Peter, Emily, John, etc.

Mr. Winkles - or any name that starts with a Mr. or Mrs. for that matter.
Mozart- Names of famous composers

Which dog name is your favorite? Which one just seems ridiculous?

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Your Monday Smile

2012-01-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Do You Have a Snapping Turtle Problem?

2012-01-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

Do you live in Kentucky? If so then make sure you call on The Turtleman, Kentucky's best kept secret.

Who is he you ask, Ernie Brown Jr., otherwise known as The Turtleman, Kentucky's most famous animal wrangler. He is known for catching one of the south's most pesky critters, the Snapping Turtle.

Adam and I recently came across his TV show on Animal Planet called "Call of the Wildman," and were blown away by his insanity and his passion for catching Snapping Turtles. Have you seen it?

During every episode (we have watched several by the way) he puts his own health at risk (and limbs for that matter) because he doesn't believe in harming Snapping Turtles, so he catches them with his bare hands.The show is nuts!

Here is the rundown of what happens during a typical episode. The Turtleman is alerted that a local resident has a Snapping Turtle problem, for example the ducks that swim in their pond have been eaten or found dead. So what does The Turtleman do, he jumps in his pickup and goes to wherever the pond is and he dives in head first - clothes on and all!

Then he scours the water for any sign of bubbles (from the turtle). Once the bubbles are found, the chase begins and he doesn't give up until he pulls the Snapping Turtle out of the water by their tail. It is only then that victory has been made and his 'rebel Indian yell' can be heard, usually followed by his catch phrase "live action."

Now I know what you're thinking...this seems insane right? Well I encourage you to watch The Turtleman in action for yourself. I will let you be the judge of whether you think he is a complete nut, or not. But one thing is for sure, his show is really freaking entertaining.

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Cat Litter Box Problems?

2012-01-26T08:30:00.001-07:00

Cats are way easier than dogs! I mean, from the moment you bring them home they are already potty trained. However, unlike most dogs, cats are finicky and well...very stubborn.

A cat that once was potty trained, will suddenly start having 'accidents' all over the house. Has this happened to you? Yes you say (what cat owner hasn't had this problem?). Well this post is for you!

Here are some tips to hopefully stop those unpleasant potty mishaps.

Make sure your cat is either spayed or neutered (sorry but I had to go there, it's called 'marking').
Is your litter box clean? Every two weeks is just not enough!
If you own multiple cats, make sure each cat has their own box (this shouldn't surprise you that cats don't like to share).
Did you recently change the litter? Cats are particular, they like what they like (enough said). You might have to try several different litter brands before your cats' problem stops.
Don't feed your cat in the same room as their box. Do you like to eat where you relieve yourself?
Make sure their litter box is in a quiet place where they won't be bothered when doing their business.
Give your cat some attention. Believe it or not cats are spiteful. Don't cross them, or they will pee on your rug.

If none of those tricks work, then it might be time to start thinking more seriously. Your cat might have a health issue. I would suggest taking them into to see their vet.

I listed all my tricks to change cat litter box problems, do you have any you would like to share?

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Do Your Doggies Have The Winter Blues?

2012-01-24T14:41:00.002-07:00

If your dogs are anything like my dogs, they have the blues right now - the winter blues. Although they love the snow, they aren't able to play outside as much as they do in the summer months. And lets be honest the walks around the block are much less and the visits to the park are nonexistent.

So how do I keep their spirits up when it is snowing and they can't go and play outside? Well I do several things:

I give them toys! We like to give them toys we can play tug-o-war with.
Treats. They love raw hides, so I make sure to keep plenty in the house.
Games. No matter what size your apartment or home is, there is always a room that you can play fetch in. Try it, your dog will love it.
Attention. Most importantly, your dog won't mind being stuck inside if you are giving them lots of attention. Try it, a little attention goes a long way.

What are some of the things you like to do to keep your dog entertained during the Winter months?

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Sparky Was Attacked

2011-10-21T12:21:00.004-06:00

Wow, what a busy week! Sadly this post is about Sparky being attacked by the neighbors German Shepherd.

Last Tuesday night we were letting the dogs roam in and out of the house using their doggy door (like we usually do) when we heard a loud yelp from one of our dogs. Running to see what happened, we noticed Sparky laying on our front door rug and our neighbor in our backyard.

Turns out that the neighbors dog had broken through our wood slated fence and attacked Sparky.

We rushed him to our emergency vet, where he underwent surgery on his abdomen. He had to stay two nights and his recovery was slow at first, but once we brought him home he did much better.
I am happy to announce he is doing really well now and back to his chipper self. We sure love him!

The whole situation was insane and we still can't believe it happened to us and that we could have lost our precious baby. One thing is for sure - we are never letting that happen again!

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this post.

More Dog Grooming

2011-09-16T09:43:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it has already been eight weeks since the dogs had their hair cut. Wow, how time flies. Luckily, our groomer provides free in-between dog grooming of their legs and face.

If you live in Utah, I would recommend that you take your dogs to All Pet Grooming in Bountiful. They are fabulous and priced really reasonably.

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

So Super Mad! Leave the Professionals to Breeding

2011-09-07T12:14:00.006-06:00

I have to rant for a minute and I hope you all won't mind and that I don't offend anyone, but here it goes. A girl in my office announced today that her sister's Boxer that she studded out had puppies. Sounds normal enough...right?

Then she started talking about how "she hopes the mom had enough puppies to cover all the costs and so that her sister makes some money."

In fact, she even said that her sister is planning on studding out her dog again soon. None of these puppies have a home! This makes me so mad!

Here are some statistics about Boxer's and why it makes me so mad:

More than 4 million dogs are euthanized each year because there is an overpopulation of dogs.
In fact, hundreds die everyday!
A very high percentage of these dogs are Boxers
For every puppy born three die in a shelter
etc
etc

Now don't get me wrong I think breeding is necessary, but only for those who have a breeder's license. So for those of you who want to make money, want to show the miracle of birth to your children, or want a puppy so that it will be just like its parent - GET A LIFE a spay and neuter! Stop breeding your dogs!!! And this goes for cats too!

Sorry, but it had to be said.

What do you think of unauthorized dog and cat breeding?

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Orangutan (Roscoe) and Dog Make Friends

2011-08-26T08:30:00.000-06:00

Adam forwarded me this email about an orangutan in Northern California and his friendship with a dog and I had to share it with you guys. This is a true story about friendship.

WARNING: You might cry.

Feeding Guinea Pigs

2011-08-25T08:30:00.003-06:00

In addition to the daily amount of pellets and Timothy Hay, guinea pigs also need to be fed fresh fruit and vegetables.

My sister (the person who gave us our guinea pigs) is really good at making sure her guinea pigs get fresh fruit and veggies every day. She has taught me about some fun treats to feed to your guinea pigs that I wanted to share with you.

Strawberries - they love them!
Carrots
Bananas
Red Bell Peppers
And Grapes!

Other blog posts that might interest you:
Teddy Roosevelt Chaucer

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Camping With a Dog

2011-08-24T08:30:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we went camping with our three dogs and our family. We had a blast and so did the dogs! Camping is a great way to bond with your dogs. There is so much to do for you and your dogs to do, but it always helps to be as prepared possible.

We have taken our dogs camping before and have learned a few tips along the way that I wanted to share with you guys.

Before heading out camping we make sure our dogs have recently been shaved. This helps keep out the weed firs and also helps them to keep cool. One year we took them with long fur and it was a mess!
Bring some sort of dog bed for them to hang out on and get out of the dirt.
Make sure you have enough food and cold water to keep them hydrated and fed.
Bring glow stick necklaces. I wish I had taken a picture, but these are really nice. Tie them around your dogs neck at night and you can always know where they are!
If they have a kennel, bring it. Dogs actually love their kennel - it is their 'den.' We found it helpful to let them chill out in there for an hour or two to get away and have a nice nap.

Below are a few pictures from our trip. You will see that my nieces were very sweet to make them cute doggie necklaces out of grass.

A picture of my sister's dog Daisy. She loved the dog bed we brought.

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Dog Supplies

2011-08-23T11:36:00.002-06:00

For those of you who know me, know that I am very frugal. So you will understand my excitement when we took a trip to Dollar Tree and they had an incredible deal on dog leashes and toys - a $1 each!!! SCORE.

The leashes are really high quality ones and bonus, the dogs really needed new ones. Thanks Dollar Tree!

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Another Vampire Attack

2011-08-19T08:30:00.001-06:00

But this time it was by a real life vampire!!! I thought this was animal related enough to post, don't you think?

Ha ha, no but really this 19-year-old man was arrested because he broke into a woman's apartment and tried to suck her blood. He claimed he was a 300 year-old vampire that needed to be fed.

Crazy! Makes you wonder...are vampires real? Hurry, someone throw him into the sun and see if he explodes, or shines like diamonds (thanks Stephenie Meyer!).

See the full msnbc story here: 'Vampire' arrest sparks discussion on pop culture.

**If you like what you read here, make sure you share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Groomed Dogs

2011-08-18T08:30:00.007-06:00

Follow-up: our dogs got groomed over the weekend and as expected, they look and smell wonderful. Just thought I would share.

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

My 30-Day Challenge Recap

2011-08-15T08:30:00.001-06:00

Okay all, I want to recap my 30-Day Challenge with you. For the most part I think I did pretty well. When I first set out to complete this challenge I knew it would be tough, and man o man was I right.

I am positive I saw 31 different animal species during July, but it was hard to see a new one everyday.

Some of the animal highlights were:

Ducks at Silver Lake

A Ball Python at Petsmart

A Dragon Fly outside my work
Overall, I saw new animal species for 18 of the 31 days, but there were many days I saw multiple species, that I couldn't count.

What do you think? Do I do well, or does it seem like I completely failed? How could I make it more successful next time?

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Dog Grooming This Weekend

2011-08-13T08:30:00.002-06:00

We are taking a break from dog grooming and letting the professionals do their magic. About twice a year we send our dogs to the professional dog groomer. They are able to do things that we just aren't (anal gland cleaning - no thanks!). And in between, we do touch-up grooming ourselves to save money.

As you can see below, our dog Lily is looking a little shaggy. We think it is time to get them all groomed.

We just love it when our dogs come home from the groomer; they smell so clean. It just makes it so fun to snuggle them. What do you like about getting your dog/dogs groomed?

Other Blog Posts that Might Interest You:

Dog Grooming

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

First Vampire Bat Bite Death in U.S.

2011-08-12T12:00:00.004-06:00

I just saw this article on msnbc and had to post about it. As a little kid I heard about vampire bats, but always thought they weren't real. When I was in high school I found out they really were real.

And now a vampire bat has actually killed someone and the United States has had it's first Vampire Bat bite death. Read the full story here.

(Photo courtesy of msnbc)

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Dog Sitting

2011-08-11T08:30:00.003-06:00

I had a great time watching my sisters pets last week. I watched her two dogs, two guinea pigs, a rabbit and a Love Bird.

Do you ever get to do any dog sitting? What about animal sitting? Do you have any fun stories to share?

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

What did you think of Shark Week?

2011-08-08T08:30:00.001-06:00

I want to know what you thought of this season's Shark Week?

Which show did you like the best. Please leave your comments in the comments section below.

Other Shark Week blog posts that might interest you:
Fun Shark Facts
10 Reasons Why Bear Week Would Be Better than Shark Week
Great White Invasion Review

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Shark City Review

2011-08-06T08:30:00.005-06:00

Last night I watched "Shark City" on the Discovery Channel. I have to say that "Shark City' was most original of their seven shows they aired this season. In fact, it is probably the most original show ever on Shark Week.

"Shark City" is a hilarious introduction to sharks and the 'cities' that they live in. Most people believe sharks to be solitary creatures, but in many parts of the world, like the Bahamas, sharks live and feed with other sharks.

The show featuring Adam Samberg allows us a rare look into a sharks daily life and helps the viewer to get to know the sharks individually because each shark is given a name, such as 'Big Mama,' 'Harry' and 'Lloyd.'

I really enjoyed the interpretation of a shark's daily life and the names each shark was given. Adam and I were laughing the entire time. If you DVR anything this week, make sure you record this and watch it this weekend.

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.

Fun Shark Facts - Did You Know?

2011-08-05T08:30:00.002-06:00

I put together a list of fun shark facts. Have a look and let me know if any of the shark facts shock you!

There are more than 400 different kinds of sharks.
You are 1,000 times more likely to drown in the sea than you are to be bitten by a shark.
Sharks are more related to fishes like the stingray than they are barracuda.
A shark can hear a fish in the water from more than a mile away.
Sharks can smell one drop of blood in a million drops of water.
Scientists can determine the age of a shark by counting the rings that form on its vertebra, much as you can count the rings on a tree to tell its age.
Sharks’ wounds heal quickly and they rarely get tumors.
The Dermal denticles that covers Shark skin is so tough and hard that before the invention of sandpaper, shark skin was used to polish wood.
Shark teeth have been used as weapons and tools for many centuries.
Eating Shark flesh is forbidden in both the Solomon and Fiji islands.
About 100 people in the world are bitten by sharks each year. Of these, five to ten die.
The chance of being killed by a shark is one in 300 million. The chance of being killed by airplane parts falling from the sky is one in 10 million.

**If you like what you read here, make sure to share it with your friends by "liking" this blog post.