Go already!

There’s a For Better or Worse cartoon on my fridge. It’s from the early days of the strip, showing Elly shivering in her bathrobe in the cold as their new puppy wanders around sniffing at leaves, ignoring his mission. Finally she yells at him in frustration: “GO ALREADY!” That scene has been repeated...

The dog walking myth

There is a myth about dog-walking. Want some exercise? Get a dog! You’ll be walking them every day, year-round. Cardio workout guaranteed! Not! First of all, walking a dog is bit like walking a two-year-old. I like a nice brisk blood-moving, muscle stretching walk. Two-year-olds like to stomp in every...

Put the budgie down

I’ve never lived with parakeets before, so fostering two parakeets this summer has a new experience. I’ve found them to be quite low maintenance, and rather soothing – most of the time. One of my favorite Monty Python skits features two “ladies” discussing how best to “put one’s budgie down”...

Fostering Fitzi the Ferret

My ideal pet situation would involve a cat. Maybe two. They are easily litter trained, never bark, entertain themselves for long periods of time without human intervention, cuddle nicely when needed, rarely if ever eat shoes, and their favorite food is generally available at the grocery store. So why am I...