The Red Dog Inn

NBC reports on Canine Partners, a great program helping Britian’s servicepeople who sustained injuries in combat.  The Red Dog Inn applauds Prince Harry for getting involved with such a worthy cause.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38279498#38263805

What does every home with pets need?  A ROOMBA by iRobot. 

The Pet Series works every bit as well as your upright, but will vacuum your home up to 7 days a week. Yes, you have to clean the bin and brushes more frequently than your upright, but the time savings is appreciated.  Further, you can program it to vacuum when you’re not home.  Imagine, being able to check a chore off your list so you can spend more time with your pets! 

THANKS, iROBOT!

What every pet home needs -- a robot!

PHOTO STOLEN FROM iROBOT.

Cute, but can be really smelly when provoked!

Last night we had a visitor.  Thankfully, neither Butters nor Lula were sprayed, but judging by the smell, somebody got it!  Living where we do, we get all sorts of visitors.  For the most part, the skunks leave things be unless they are threatened.   (They do give warnings by stamping their wee little feet when threatened. Then they raise their tail. This means spray is imminent!)

So, what is it about eau du skunk that makes it stink? There are 7 components to the skunk odor that make it well… stink.  Three are air activated, three are water activated (which is why the smell gets worse with a bath.) the other component, I’m unsure on.

Getting rid of Eau du skunk:

You need to OXIDIZE the chemicals and change them into different chemicals.  How do you do this?  By changing their molecular structure with this handy mixture that you will need to mix each time:

• 1/2 c baking soda
• 1/2 c hydrogen peroxide  (Some folks up the hydrogen peroxide to 1 cup!)
• 2 Tblsp Dawn dishwashing detergent (they use it on wildlife and according to what I heard from Sea World conservationists, it works best.)

Mix these three ingredients into a paste.  Wet your pet (or person) and rub onto your pet AVOIDING EYES AT ALL COSTS!  You can do some damage if the peroxide gets in eyes!

Let it sit for up to 5 minutes.  (You’re oxidizing. But 5 minutes is MAX!!! GOT IT!?)

Then rinse your pet or person and bathe him or her normally.

You need to mix this each time because it oxidizes and expands. It may burst your container if you try to store it. (READ: make a big mess)

NOTE: PEROXIDE is used to bleach hair. YOUR PET OR PERSON MAY BE BLONDER AFTER THIS TREATMENT! But they should smell a darn bit better!

SAVE THE TOMATO JUICE FOR BLOODY MARYS!

The next time someone tells you to bath your skunk victim in tomato juice, toss your head back and laugh at their lack of scientific knowledge. Tomato juice doesn’t eliminate the odor, it just makes a HUGE mess!  Tomato juice doesn’t oxidize the chemical and therefore, doesn’t change the molecular structure. According to the link I’m sharing below, the person who bathes a dog in tomato juice and declares the dog “odor free” is suffering from olafactory fatigue. In other words, the stench of skunk has temporarily numbed their sense of smell.

Source: Get more scientific here: http://www.humboldt.edu/~wfw2/chemofskunkspray.html

Imagine if you walked into your office one morning to find that someone had trashed it overnight. Would you be upset? Angry? These are some of the feelings my friend, TH, a surfer, experienced over Memorial Day weekend.  TH makes his living riding waves. When he showed up at his office he took a few photos of what he saw.

People who’d overnighted at the beach dumped their trash outside their RV. A trashcan was a mere 10 feet away! The beach was littered with trash. 

After watching whale rescue teams cut a giant ball of garbage off a 26 foot baby gray whale, named Lilly, the question I have is this: How can you NOT police your trash?

Lilly died, but her passing won’t be in vain. A local OC woman is planning a memorial of sorts and encouraging folks to be mindful of the oceans. READ MORE HERE:  http://bit.ly/c44NHe

Remember: Your efforts are important because all paths lead to the ocean. Putting your trash in the appropriate bins is important wherever you may be — on the beach, in the parks, on a hike.  Clean up after your dog. Keeping your cigarette butts off the streets will prevent them from getting to the beach!

Regardless of who you are or how important you think you are, make a promise to leave places you visit a little better than you find them. 

Keep our beaches clean; they're counting on us!

Today, I took the dogs with me to the barn.  I have a rule: If I can’t take them with me, I leave them at home with plenty of water and access to shade.  My great neighbors look out after them, too!  Today, I could take them.

Nonetheless, it amazes me that people still take their dogs with them on warm days, park under a tree, roll down windows and think that their dogs are safe! Shockingly, even people who claim to be “animal lovers” are loving their animals to death by continuing this practice. 

• Dogs normal body temp is about 101 degrees F.  At 103 degrees, your dog is in trouble.
• Dogs can suffer heat stroke when temps reach 110 degrees. On a 70 degree day, the inside of your car or truck can reach lethal temperatures within 30 minutes!!!   (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7631)
• In California, leaving your pets unattended in a vehicle is illegal (SB 1806) http://www.theanimalcouncil.com/files/CA_PENAL_CODE_SECTION_597.pdf 

Trees don’t help much and cracked windows don’t either.  Here’s a study that illustrates the point: http://www.mydogiscool.com/x_car_study.php 

While we never expect to be detained in a store or a restaurant, you never know. I never expected to pass out at the grocery store and be taken to the ER! Thankfully, my dogs were at home for that incident.

Can we please agree to leave our pets at home? Work through separation anxiety — your pet’s or yours!  But, if you are going to stop for lunch, stop at a pet friendly place or leave Fido at home!   If you love your pet, don’t put them in the oven — er, your car.

BTW… before summer heats up and power outages start, you may want to invest in a battery-powered fan or two — one for humans, another for dogs.  Check these out: http://www.aftproducts.com/Energy_Efficient_Fans_ff474071d2.dept

I heard an interesting statistic while watching an interview with Prince Lorenzo Borghese, who started Royal Treatment pet products, on KTLA Morning News. He said, “If 25% of the people who bought their pets would have adopted them instead, we would have no more kill shelters.”

Here’s the thing. If purebreds are your thing, there are scads of purebred rescues! Just do a little research. Butters and Lula were adopted through friends who could no longer keep them.  Do I love them any less than I would an animal I paid $500-$1000 for? Not a chance. 

Will you get a perfect pet? Define “perfect”.  You get what you put into your pet.  

Nonetheless, I firmly believe that there are breeds that are made for special people.  There are pitbull people, and great dane people, and yes, basset hound people.  Do your homework, but don’t be afraid to adopt your next pet.

SENDING LOTS OF WARM FUZZY HUGS TO OUR FRIENDS AT DAPHNEYLAND Basset Hound Rescue!  Miss Henrietta whelped 9 basset-mix puppies yesterday.

This recipe is for humans, cause, we have to eat, too!

So, I was watching Food Network and Melissa D’Arabian made Tunisian Meatballs. Well, I thought I’ll bet I could do the same basic thing with chicken. I found that it’s a good recipe to have in your arsenal to use those ground spices and rotate them out of your cupboard.  Truth be told, I didn’t measure, so these amounts are best guesses. I also left the grated ginger out of my version, but it was fine. You’ll need to adjust the cayenne to your taste.  I layered the spices throughout the recipe and just shook the spices into the dish, eyeballing the amounts.  I’m also going to break my recipe giving rule and just list the ingredients in the actions.

If you’re tired of Italian, go south to North Africa for a night by adding this to your International Dishes. The key is the spice mixture.  So here’s my recipe:

RAID YOUR PANTRY AND BLEND THESE TOGETHER IN A BOWL. You’ll use this as a rub on the chicken and to flavor your sauce.

1 Tblsp Cinnamon

1 Tblsp Cumin

1 Tblsp Paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper (Cayenne) (adjust to your liking)

1 Tblsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

1 tsp + of black pepper

(If you have leftovers and need to store this, store in an airtight container)

*****************************************************

Heat a large skillet and add 1-2 tblsp olive oil to it. I used a brush to disperse the oil around the pan.

Season boneless skinless chicken breasts with the rub (I added poultry seasoning, too) with the dry mix and place in pan.

You’re going to just brown both sides of the meat, but not cook all the way through at this point. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce.

Move to a separate plate.

*****************************************************

MAKE YOUR SAUCE

Add a little olive oil to your pan. Saute:

1/2 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger grated (if you must use dried only use 1/2 tsp. Dried tends to be more powerful than fresh.)

When the onions start to soften and look a little carmellized, add some of the  remaining spice mixture (You can reserve some to adjust at the end)

Add 1/2 c white wine

Add 1/2 c. chicken broth or stock

Add 14.5 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes

Lemon zest and juice

Add chicken back to pan. Cover. Let simmer for 5 minutes covered. Then remove lid and let the sauce reduce and get thicker. 

About 2-3 minutes before serving add 1 Tbsp dried parsley; if you’re using fresh, add it at the very end.

WHAT TO SERVE IT WITH: D’Arabian served her dish with couscous laced with chopped dates and glazed carrots.  The same would work here, or I was thinking some sliced cucumber would cut the heat just a bit.