Cell phone cases to sigh for...

Did you know that you can go to Zazzle and make a customized cell phone case featuring your pet?

O.K., maybe you did know. It was news to me, though, which means I spent way too much time checking out these these cool cases.

Not sure I'd ever put my phone down if I was looking into these eyes:

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Or this one:

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Love this one, too!

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How about one with your pet's photo on it?

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Or use your phone to deliver a message just by placing it on the table: 

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Or bring out your pup's inner rebel:

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Sure, they're a little pricier than what you're going to find ready-made, but all the other phones will wish they were as cool as yours!

PPCT's going HollyWOOF!

HollyWOOF swag-bag goodness

With Los Angeles right over the hill, you'd think we'd see our fair share of pet stars here in our fair valley, but no such luck, which is why HollyWOOF is so appealing.

HollyWOOF creates super-swanky gift bags full of some of the coolest pet products around and gives them away to dog-loving celebrities like Kristen Bell, Betty White, Kellan Lutz, Kate Beckinsale, Oprah Winfrey, Kathy Griffin, Katherine Heigl, Mario Lopez,  Olivia Wilde, Justin Timberlake and bunches of other famous-type folks so they can indulge their dogs in a manner befitting their celeb-pet status. And guess what --- the Doodlebug got a few items, too!

We'll be sharing our thoughts about some of these nifty products over the next couple of weeks. Darby can hardly wait to get his teeth into some of the treats (though he has asked to put off the grooming items for as long as possible)!

Happy Monday!

Product review: Darby & the Lickety Stik

My dog is about the simple pleasures in life. Chase a cat, see it run. Bark at the delivery truck, watch it leave. Obey a limited number of basic commands, get something yummy in return. Darby is not a deep-thinking, complex creature, which is one of the reasons I shall never have the pleasure of seeing a Nina Ottosson toy being used in this household. 

I mention this only because we got a sample of the Lickety Stik, a treat that dispenses a chicken-flavored liquid when a dog licks the bottle, which operates on the same theory as your average roll-on deodorant bottle. It's designed to be an all natural treat, packaged in convenient way to carry and low in calories (one calorie per ten licks). 

The scent definitely attracted Darby to come over and see what I had for him, but that's about where the fun ended. He took a couple of licks, then became frustrated that he couldn't bite the roller ball and eat whatever food was attached to the scent. This is not a dog who will work for the promise of something vaguely food-like. He's a put-up-or-shut-up kind of dog, and not being one who embraces a challenge, the Doodlebug quickly lost interest and walked away.

I'm sure there are dogs who might get a charge from a product like this, but the Doodle isn't one of them. If you think yours might be, or if you're looking for a treat that you can use with little caloric build-up, check out Lickety Stik.

FTC Disclosure: I received a sample of this product for review. No other compensation was given, and all opinions are strictly my own.

Dog Signs

Just a few gems I found lounging about on the Internet.

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If you enjoy silliness like this, links to cool blog posts 

and pet fun, join me on Facebook!

Kona's Chips delight the Doodlebug

I have no idea why Darby is such an unrepentant spazz about the delivery trucks that roll through the neighborhood. Most of the time they're bringing something for him. This week, one of their stops included these awesome treats from Kona's Chips for Darby, courtesy of a drawing I won on DogTipper.

Three flavors of chippity goodness for the Doodlebug!

I love that these are made in the USA and that each one of them is exactly what they say they are --- just the meat, with no fillers or preservatives. Though they are dried, the chips are pliant and easy to break into smaller pieces, which helps because more than a few of these "chips" are HUGE!

No, this is not an optical illusion. Some really are this big!

The Doodlebug is not much of a model, especially when food is involved.

"When do I get one?"

"It's not funny to torture the dog
just so you can get a picture..."

"NOMS!!!!!"

Still nomming out.

 

Gone but not forgotten...

Needless to say, Darby loves, loves, loves these treats! Thanks to DogTipper for the great giveaway and to Kona's Chips for making such awesome treats.

Yep, more cats!

Fortunately, only of the wooden variety (for now, heh)!

Yep, even the fake cats get treats around here!

As I've mentioned before, I have a bit of a collection of cat figurines. While the additions to my collection don't come nearly as frequently as they did several years ago, my mother continues to find items that she think are worthy additions while out on her ventures. During my last visit with her, she gifted me with this trio of photograph-holding felines to add to my case.

I'm always grateful for new items to add to the group, and I love that my mom enjoys finding pieces that aren't already represented. It's one of those things she does that reminds me that no matter how often we get together, we're never far from each other's thoughts.

Anyone else have an assortment of pet-themed items? Do friends or family give you gifts that reflect your love of the fur-footed? Please share!

The tale of the portable pet bed

Some time back I won this coolio portable pet bed in a Giveaway hosted by Nanny McFur:

It is undeniably cute and even has a zippered pocket on the outside to stash a leash (or treats, Darby reminds me).

Love the cute design on the outside!

 Alas, there were two concerns. The first is that when the bed is unzipped, the teeth of the zipper are exposed. While I'm sure this wouldn't be an issue for short-haired breeds, Darby's fluff stood a really great chance of getting caught in the teeth. That's not going to work out so swell for anyone if it were to happen while we were sleeping. Animal Planet might want to think about adding a zipper guard to future versions of this to help the hairy ones out.

Don't mind messy me. This is my "post-swim" look.

 The other concern is that, all in all, it's a bit small for the Doodle. Sure, he can seem fairly small to some folks who see him in photos, but he's clocking in at about 40 pounds these days and would have a hard time squishing himself on the bed without flopping off to one side or the other.

So, we've decided the only right and proper thing to do is to donate this bed to Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation as a prize for our next fundraiser. The bed can go to someone whose dog can really use it and supports helping companion animals. We think it's a win-win!

Do you need pet insurance?

Following the death of St. Bosco, I swore I was going to get pet insurance for my next dog. Given the scary sum of money we spent on Bosco trying to determine the cause of his issues, then the costs associated with treating them, I promised myself I wasn't going to put us in that position again. And I meant it, right up until I actually got another dog.

Darby came down with parvo within days of coming home from the shelter. Once we got through that patch, it was time for him to be neutered. Naturally, he was cryptorchid, making a fairly routine surgery a more complicated (and expensive) one.

By this time, not unlike many other pet owners, we figured, "Why bother? What else can go wrong with the little dude?" Here's a free tip from me: Never actually say those words out loud. It's the universe's signal to show you the folly of your nonchalance.

Sure enough, last year he needed knee surgery to pin down a loose kneecap. (That small sound you heard at the end of that sentence was the deflation of our checking account. Knees aren't cheap.) Yep, I was ruing the day I put off getting a policy right about then, and I had no one but myself to blame. I know pet insurance is available, I know bad things sometimes happen to good pets and I know having insurance can mean there is less thing to worry about when they do.

Want to know if pet insurance can help you manage your pet's medical bills? VPI Pet Insurance has developed a pretty cool Cost of Care Planner for dog and cat owners. Just pop in your pet's info (basic stuff - name, age, breed and your zip code) and you'll get a list of some most common ailments veterinarians see for your breed and the approximate cost to treat them.

I plugged in Darby's info to see what would happen. Funny, one of the first items listed was the cost to treat an ear infection. D'oh! I forgot about that trip to the vet last year, the result of one too many headers into the pool. Sadly, the treatment cost listed is just about what I paid for it, too. I dug a little further to see about the monthly premium and, sure enough, even if I'd been paying since the day I got him it would have been less than the one surgery he's already had.

Do yourself a favor and check it out. The wallet you save may be your own.

Pawing through the kitchen

As I've mentioned before, it would be hard to realize what a complete dork I am about pet-themed items by looking at my house. But that doesn't mean I don't have the stray fantasy about turning my little abode into an all-out testament to all that is critter.

Take the kitchen, for example. The sum total of critter cute rests on this spoon rest I acquired several years ago.

Well, that and a couple of cookie jars that have never actually held a (human) cookie. Oh --- and the paper towels that have cats and dogs on them. And the refrigerator magnets. But I digress, because the idea here is that there is not nearly enough in my kitchen to do justice to the world of cool critter-themed kitchenware, and I appear to be blowing that idea to smithereens by continuing to type.

I mean, look at these measuring cups. How are these not part of my household?

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Or these seriously cool salt and pepper shakers from Jonathan Adler: 

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And these measuring spoons might inspire me to use measuring spoons when I cook:

 

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We'll need some pot holders and dish towels for all the great food we'll be making:

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A new cream and sugar server for when we have guests:

  

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And an apron to hide any stray pet hair:

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Did I miss anything?

Oh yeah, it's time to hop, so let's check out some of the other great blogs in the pet blogosphere!

Cat cakes!

Turns out the cats were a bit annoyed that I'd want a dog-themed cake, considering they outnumber him three to one. So, in the interest of fairness to my cats and my cat-loving friends, here are some awesome cat-themed cakes (which I'd also be more than happy get)!

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Cute, but not overdone on the theme.

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Oh man - cuter still!

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Or I could go in this direction...

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Guess I'd have to pick one cat for a cake like this.

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But I can get them all on this one!

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Why choose between cats and dogs? 

If they can live together, they can share a cake, right?

Dream Dog Park unveiled!

Check out this amazing new dog park, unveiled in Johns Creek, Georgia. Local resident Pat McNeely and his Siberian Husky Koda were named Grand Prize Winner in the Beneful® WagWorld® Dream Dog Park Contest, which won their community a $500,000 dog park renovation from the Beneful® brand.

Interested in having a dream dog park in your community? The Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest invites you to get creative! Go to Beneful Dream Dog Park from now through June 21 and answer the question: If you had $500,000 to spend to create the ultimate dream dog park, what would you do? 

Good luck!

Dog cakes!

No, not cakes for dogs...cakes for people that are dog-themed!

As I continue to walk the fine line between between pet enthusiast and just flat-out pet nut, I'm forced to admit that I love, love, love pet-themed items. You wouldn't necessarily know it from looking at my house --- having a spouse guarantees that my pet-nuttiness doesn't creep into every corner (yet), but one thing I've always wanted was a cake that had a pet theme to it. Until I make one of my very own, here are some seriously cute cakes floating around on the Interwebz.

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I like this one because it looks like something I could actually make, given enough time and frosting practice.

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I'd need lots of practice before tackling something like this!

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How cute is this???

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Jeepers! Someone made a Darby cake!

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Or maybe I should start with a paw print and work my way up to the rest of the dog?

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Might need to invite a few friends over to help eat a cake this big!

Have any of you ever made/gotten a pet-themed cake?