That night as we went to bed, Elsa curled up next to Mama and Gryphon and I wanted to stay dry, so we snuggled against Papa. About 11:00 Mama realized that the bed was wet and she uncovered Elsa to take a look. Elsa was lying in a pool of drool (yuck). Her ruff was soaked, her tail was soaked, in fact the tail was so wet, it could be rung out. Mama didn’t like seeing the drool pouring out of the corners of Elsa’s mouth.

She woke Papa up, which took a few minutes because he tries to pretend that he can’t hear anything so he doesn’t have to get up. Then grabbed the laptop to look up what could possibly be wrong with Elsa. It turns out, according to the internet, the most common cause of excessive drooling in dogs, other than being a St. Bernard, is that something, like a stick, is caught in the mouth. With Elsa that could be a distinct possibility, because she does like to pick up sticks and carry them around outside. I choose not to pick up anything nasty like that off the ground.

Mama checked her mouth out, but didn’t find anything, so it was time for the usual call to the vet to see what he had to say. Unfortunately, our vet had his phone on the message machine (something that occurs only a few times a year), so all patients were being referred to the Emergency Animal Hospital, and so Elsa’s first midnight vet run began.

While Mitzi was alive, midnight runs to the vet were not uncommon as she had heart problems in her later years, and Mama said she thought they were done with those for awhile. But, the kid was sick, so something had to be done. The vet couldn’t find anything in her mouth either and recommended a course of antibiotics, nausea medicine and allergy medicine, in addition to an IV to replace the fluids. Plus, he wanted to keep her overnight for observation, give her some X-rays and do some blood work.

Fortunately, Papa decided that Elsa was better off coming home to us, because Gryphon and I would have missed her. The next morning it was off to the vet again to see our regular vet. Elsa was diagnosed with an infection of the salivary glands which was causing the excessive drooling. He put her on a course of antibiotics, and she is now much, much better.

What a confused pup she is . . .first trying to be a Shar Pei, and now a St. Bernard. ‘Til next time, Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix

The post Elsa – the St. Bernard appeared first on Be the Cat.

This story starts with Elsa getting her operation so that Mama and Papa could register her and get her license. Well, apparently Mama thought Elsa already had her rabies, but she didn’t, so she had to go back to the vet to get the rabies shot. Gryphon and I went with because Mama also decided that we all needed baths. So, Papa packed all of us up and carted us off to the vet’s office so Elsa could get her shot and we could all get sweet and clean. Elsa ended up having to have 3 shots because she was due for two others in addition to the rabies.

Anyway, Mama wasn’t feeling all that well and stayed home from work, so when Papa brought us home, she was home too. Elsa was pretty well knocked out from her shots, and Mama kept fussing about her. She thought her nose looked puffy and that something wasn’t quite right. Then she noticed that Elsa was getting dark circles under her eyes and she kept telling Papa that something wasn’t right with her.

Elsa continued to sleep and Mama kept a close watch on her. Papa kept saying that Elsa was fine and he didn’t see anything the matter. Then all of a sudden, Mama scooped her up and wanted to know if she hit her face on the cage because it was definitely swelling.

She then asked for the phone because in front of our very eyes, Elsa was turning from a dachshund puppy into a little Shar Pei. Her face was getting wrinkly and her eyes could barely be seen. After talking to the vet’s office Mama told Papa that they were going back because Elsa was having an allergic reaction to the shots.

Gryphon and I went into the cage and Mama and Papa hurried out of the house with Elsa. I can tell you I was a little nervous. As much as I dislike going to the vet and think that Elsa can be a pain sometimes, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. Neither Gryphon or I have had any problems with getting shots (other than not liking them), so this was a big surprise to everyone. I’ve never seen a reaction like that before.

After they returned, Elsa told me she had to have 2 more shots but she was starting to feel better. She said she really didn’t feel well before going to the vet, and I thought she was being a drama queen. Oh wait, that’s my job.

Anyway, things are now back to normal and Elsa has given up looking like a Shar Pei and returned to looking like a long-haired dachshund (which is a much finer looking dog if you ask me).

All for now. ‘Til next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post Elsa the Shar Pei Puppy appeared first on Be the Cat.

Treat People offers the canine consumer, just that – their selection of treats. The brands that they provide are Pet ‘n Shape, Greenies, BilJac and Newman’s Own. They primarily offer Pet ‘n Shape, which are billed as 100% Natural, Safe, Gluten Free, and Human-Grade. What the heck is human grade and why would I want it? If I want some “human” food, all I have to do is look at my Papa for a period of time and then he feels guilty and shares what he has, so there is nothing special about human grade around my house.

Treat People list their offerings along the side of the page, so you don’t have to hunt through the entire site, just to find their Duck & Sweet Potato (I love these) treats. The give you a run down on why they provide so many products with Chicken and Duck. There is a page explaining why they are promoting the Pet ‘n Shape products, and one of my favorite pages is how they outline all of the uses for the treats, such as mid-afternoon treat, afternoon tea treat, crunchy midnight snack and more. I think that you should get your parents to spend some time perusing that page so that they know all of the times that it is appropriate to give you a treat. Then once you think they have it down, hone your persuasive skills and get them to start following the program.

The next page outlines their ongoing contest to find the most beautiful pet, the cutest, the funniest, and the one who does the best trick in order to get a Pet ‘n Shape treat. I don’t believe that I will be entering the contest, but I’d love to see you all submit your pics and stories.

Now, perk up your ears. . .I have now come to the supreme page for you to focus on ~ the FREE SAMPLE page. When your parents get to that page, start to nuzzle them, and if they don’t get it, whine, and if they still don’t get it. . .bark your head off. Ask them in every possible way to please, please, PLEEAASSSEEE get you a free sample. Otherwise, how are you going to know whether you like the product or not. I love a bargain, and figure that everyone should share in the wealth.

So at the end of the review, I determined that what I thought of at first as a plain little site, is one that is actually beautiful in it’s simplicity. This site is one that offers treats and doesn’t try to mess it up with providing too many services. . . just treats. And for those of you who have a feline friend, they also have some cat treats.

On the 5 paw scale, this site gets:

‘Til next time, Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post Treat People Review appeared first on Be the Cat.

First of all, you have to like a website that calls itself The Poop. I happen to love double entendres. This site has a lot to recommend it, store, blog, pet adoption, recipes and more. While not being a specifically dog-oriented site, dogs are definitely featured. There are nice graphics to help the consumer find the appropriate store for the type of pet that they have. The pet store that is associated with The Poop is PetFoodDirect.com – America’s Pet Store on the Web.

This site really does have a little bit of everything. You can register your pet’s birthday so that on the day, the birthday greeting will be listed, participate in polls, voice your own opinion in the blog, and learn how to make food for your pets (although, as you know, I prefer my food to be prepared already as handmade food just isn’t happening in this household). There are actually links to even more things such as pet news. This is the one negative that I found on this site – there is so much going on, that on the main page it is not all apparently available. You have to go to the store in order to see the link for their pooppourri section which has a cornucopia of information sources.

All in all, a well worthwhile site to visit for pets and their parents.

On my Paw Scale (1 being low/5 being high), this site gets:

‘Til next time, Paws Up!

By the way – how do you like my new signature. I feel that it is much more me, being all sparkly and pink.

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post The Poop Review appeared first on Be the Cat.

The GourmetSleuth.com came up and it has several recipes for dog treats. Actually, dog biscuit treat recipes. My first comment has to be that I am look for treats to eat, not to bake myself. Plus, I am not allowed to work in the kitchen. This site really doesn’t do me any good, because my Papa doesn’t cook and my Mama doesn’t have time and simply won’t do it anyway.

In addition to recipes for dog biscuits, they have some dog food recipes as well. Let’s discuss the dog-likability factor of the page. There is a dog bone graphic at the top and they have books on dog recipes, kits for making dog treats, etc on the side bar, but other than that you wouldn’t know it was a site for dogs looking for treats. All text, no visuals of the treats themselves. No descriptions to capture a dog’s imagination, and frankly from the sound of some of the ingredients, you woulnd’t catch me eating them anyway.

Then there is the final reason why this site will not get a Paws Up recommendation from me. Apparently one of their readers let them know that some of the recipes that they have in their collection have grapes or raisins in them, which can be toxic to us pups. Their response to receiving the information was to post a blurb advising people to be careful that some of the recipes they are linked to could actually cause your dog harm. Did they remove the offending links? No they did not. How can they even hope to retain any measure of dog-friendlieness when they are posting recipes that could kill their supposed canine friends.

All in all this site does not have dogs as its primary focus and should be steered clear of for the best consideration of your pet.

On my Paw Scale (1 being low/5 being high), this site gets:

‘Til next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post Gourmet Sleuth Dog Treats Review appeared first on Be the Cat.

So, next I tried Mama and told her I have a very delicate digestive system and really think that this who pineapple thing won’t be good for me. She told me that we will try it and if it doesn’t work, then we’ll have to try some pills, but she wanted to try the “natural” way first. Whoever said that pineapple was natural for dogs?? I ask you.

So having struck out on both fronts, I believe that pineapple is in my future. I’ll try it, and if it’s not too bad, I’ll eat it to help Elsa stop eating poop. Paws Up!

PS If I don’t like the pineapple, then I’m putting my Paw Down!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post Pineapple & Poop appeared first on Be the Cat.