A Best Friend’s Unconditional Love

longitudes

(I submitted this essay to the NPR series This I Believe several years ago, after our dog Brownie died.  Anyone who’s lost a beloved pet knows how difficult it can be)

I open the front door and step onto the tiled hallway floor.  I grasp the brass doorknob of the coat closet, turn the handle, then reach in and shuffle the hooks on the coat rack.  Before draping my jacket over the wire, I hear a flurry of rapid clicking sounds on the porcelain.  By the time I hang my jacket, he’s lunging at my waist, panting heavily, gaping jowls and eyes afire.

__________________

While he was alive, I never thought of Brownie as being my best friend.  He was the one, more than anyone else, who anticipated my arrival home. Sometimes, instead of accosting me at the coat closet, he’d rush into the den, and I’d hear his big…

View original post 551 more words

Read Full Post »

Why shelter pets need our forever homes

PawPaw

Delilah, my rescue pitty, nursing Pinky, the aptly named staffy I took in after pneumonia and parvo had induced severe malnourishment and stunting (she’s so tiny here!).

One of my first jobs out of vet school was working for a large animal shelter. As vets, our time was split between treating people’s pets just like any standard clinic, and attending to our shelter animals: those brought in as strays; those surrendered by their owners; those seized as victims of animal abuse. It was a great job for a new grad – one benefit of animal neglect is that it affords you the privilege of seeing animals in advanced stages of disease. Something I would never have seen in the pleasantries of a suburban clinic where pets often mean as much to people as members of their own family.

It was my dream to enjoy working there. And I did, in…

View original post 441 more words

Read Full Post »

How pets help with chronic pain

Living with chronic pain would be a lot harder if I didn’t have pets. My two cats are the biggest blessings in my life as I deal with the challenge of a life with chronic pain.

So often with chronic pain we are physically isolated from others. For me, I am rarely able to drive and I often can’t participate in social activities with friends and family. I spend the majority of at home but I am not alone…I have two wonderful cats, Coco and Simon, who take the edge off what could be a very isolated and lonely existence.

Furthermore, with pets, one doesn’t experience the emotional challenges one can experience with friends and family. Often people close to us do not know what to say to those of us dealing with chronic pain or they say or do the “wrong” things. Additionally when we are with them, we…

View original post 110 more words

Read Full Post »

Dog Care Tips

Read Full Post »

Our dog Pringle (died 1st March 2014)

 

 

You stole our hearts

With the love you gave

You loved the rewards

When you had behaved

You was our company

For years of many

You was our best friend

Right to the end

We saw you as family

You always protected us

You never once complained

When you was in pain

We will always miss you so

So sorry to let you go

 

Thomas and Gillian Sims

OUR PET RESCUE DOG

Read Full Post »

Vegetable Gardening Tips Following a Heavy Rainfall

 

Hot temperatures in the summer are notorious for producing strong thunderstorms. These thunderstorms can contain torrential downpours, high winds, and even hail.

All of these ingredients can wreck a vegetable garden in minutes by causing plant damage, soil erosion, plant diseases, and flooding. It can be difficult, maybe even impossible to protect precious vegetables from the wrath of Mother Nature, but here are a few tips for what to do after a heavy thunderstorm.

1. Survey any plant damage. Take a survey of any leaf or stem damage that may have occurred. If there is minimal damage to leaves, you may be able to just remove them. Keep an eye on plants that have received moderate or heavy damage over the next couple days , the plant might be able to recuperate. Try to stake up plants that are now leaning. If the main stem of a plant has snapped then more than likely it is a loss. You can try grafting the stem back together. There is no guarantee the plant will survive, but you can try to salvage it.

 

1. Try to avoid walking right next to the plants while the soil is saturated. During this time plants, and root systems, are very vulnerable to damage from stepping on them. Walking near plants can also cause soil impaction, which can limit root growth. This is not a big concern if you have a well designed raised bed garden where you can reach each plant without stepping near them.

 

1. Check for any exposed roots due to soil erosion. If you find exposed roots, cover them with soil or compost as soon as possible. Do not let the roots dry out – this could be catastrophic to the plant.

• After a very heavy rain you may need to replenish nutrients. Having heavy water runoff can carry nutrients from the soil. Make sure to replenish these nutrients with fish emulsion or an organic all-purpose fertilizer.

 

• During the storm (or soon after) look for areas that may be draining poorly. You do not want areas of long standing water in the vegetable garden. This can be very bad for plants, and could lead to root rot. If you find areas that drain poorly, create ways to get the water to drain away from the vegetable garden. You could implement dry creek beds (rock beds) or use plastic water drains to redirect water from the vegetable garden.

 

• Eliminate possible slug or snail hiding places. Slugs and snails love damp places that have hiding areas. Remove any boards, stones, or other items that are laying around in or around the garden.

 

• Keep an eye on emerging weeds. Weeds love to pop up soon after a storm. The sudden charge of moisture to the soil will encourage weeds to spring up almost overnight. Put down some type of mulch to prevent weeds and to help ease soil erosion.

 

• Empty any containers that have collected water. Overturn any buckets, wheelbarrows,  or pot saucers that contain rainwater. These are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. If you have a rain barrel, you could dump the rainwater in there.

 

• Keep an eye out for fungal or bacterial diseases. Damp, humid conditions are perfect for fungal and bacterial disease development. Diseases, such as powdery mildew, will spread very quickly in these conditions. Treat these diseases as soon as they are noticed. Waiting too long to act can mean serious trouble for your vegetable plants.

If you have more tips on taking care of your vegetable garden after a strong storm, please share them with us

Read Full Post »

March gardening tips

 

            

General tasks and garden maintenance

Frosts can still be a hazard, so keep vulnerable plants protected at night if frost is forecast. March winds are also notorious for their ferocity so check exposed plants are well supported.

Now is the time for a thorough spring clean; weed and dig over your borders incorporating as much organic matter as you can – those chilly   winds will really help to dry out the soil. Mulch bare soil once you have done the work and remove moss and weeds from paths, terraces and   driveways. They may be boring tasks but if you don’t get on top of the garden now (especially the weeds!) it will be a nightmare for the rest   of the season.

Make new beds and borders – mark the shape with sand trickled from a bottle, remove the top layer of growing vegetation and dig the ground   over, incorporating as much organic matter as possible. If you are   making a bed in the lawn, remove the turf and stack it upside down somewhere out of the way – after a year or two it will rot down into fantastic compost. Alternatively chop it up and bury upside down in the planting hole a good spade’s depth down. Beware – if you just dig it in the buried grass will regrow and regrow and regrow and…

Clean and repair your garden tools, book the lawn mower in for a service and check garden furniture for any rot. When it is warm enough, treat sheds, fences and trellis with wood preservative; brushes and rollers are fine for most things, however a sprayer is well worth buying for tricky projects such as woven panels!

 

Read Full Post »