Welcome back. My last little blog took forever to write as Russell's family are in Chicago for the holidays. So many distractions, lots of good company and food. And what is with this celebration centered around a huge cooked bird? I mean I'm all for poultry but this thing was HUGE! I thought Chicago pigeons were big. Humans!
Let's talk toys for a moment or two. I think one of the biggest requests we get at Zane + Zara's is for an indestructible toy. Well, I can tell you, after all this time watching in awe as Zara rips to shreds any and all toys, you'll probably not find one. Yes, they come in varying degrees of toughness but indestructibility is a tough find. My suggestion to all of you out there is this: rethink how you are using toys. Giving us a soft, chewy toy that even squeaks and then expecting us to not rip it apart just goes against every instinct we have. The "shrinks" call it a prey instinct and all dogs and cats have it. Our ancestors did not run around the kitchen island, looking like fools waiting to be fed. They went out and hunted for dinner. And that drive to hunt propels us today. OK, me not so much, I'm very content to have my food brought to me. Zara, on the other hand, is a hunter to the bone. What a maniac! Every squirrel is a potential meal and every other dog is a competitor. Talk about a girl who doesn't like to share. Russell and John are very nice about making sure we each get the same things but I'll be damned if Zara doesn't hoard every bone and good toy. Yeah, the crappy stuff she'll let me have but the cool things she pretty much keeps to herself. Bitch. If she waives one of those deer antlers in my face one more time I think I'll call the ASPCA.
Back to the subject of the day: Our prey instinct drives us to kill. So what you really need to do is stop trying to find an indestructible toy and start playing with us. Take that toy and toss it for us. We'll chase it like it's...well, it's dinner. You can even show us how to get the hang of bringing it back to you. Personally, I think that's a bit below me but, hey, they don't call 'em "retrievers" for nothing. My motto is, "you throw it, you chase it."And once everyone is good and tuckered out, take the toy and put it away. If you are going to be so kind as to give us something to chew on then make it something made to be chewed on. There is a whole host of things out there just begging to be gnawed on. Look for labels like: Kong, Nylabone or our current favorite: Otis and Claude products. If it has to be something soft try items by Tuffy or Mighty. Mighty toys even come in different levels of durability 1-10. Though, again, even a level 10 is no match for Zara. (I think I caught her chewing on one of the car tires once.) Or do something really great and make it something natural. We have these amazing smoked bones at Zane + Zara's. I'm talking natural, Omaha, Nebraska, smoked bones. And sizes for the tiny or the huge. Granted the display looks like a scene from CSI but...I'm drooling on the keyboard. Or if you're worried about stains on your carpet of possible stomach upset go for a deer antler. Now we're talking a tough toy. It took Zara a good two months to chew her last antler down to a size where John and Russell took it away. They are so good. And don't forget Bully Sticks or Flossies. Yes they can get a little gross but they are delicious.
That's about it. If you're looking for a little holiday treat for your furry friend come on in to Zane + Zara's. (This is the shilling part.) Toy Island is in the back and there is lots of great stuff to chose from. Just don't hold something up and ask is it tough enough for your dog. If you have to ask the question, you already have your answer. If you just throw a stuffed toy on the ground and leave us alone with it you're going to come back to just what you deserve: and empty husk, stuffing all over the place and a missing squeaker causing a bowel obstruction. Good times for all.
And let's not forget about cats. Personally, I've never seen one but I do know that John and Russell often talk about getting a "store" cat. I decided to do some research. While cats do have a bit of an imperious reputation, most of them do love their toys. And there is the whole catnip thing. Humans are wrestling with whether to legalize marijuana yet they'll happily get their cats loaded on catnip. They even put it in their toys. I think it's because they're to lazy to mix them drinks but who am I to judge. John and Russell have dedicated the entire right/western side of the store to cats. Cat toys are colorful, fanciful, stuffed with cat crack or not. Come in and take a look. Your kitty needs a little fun too.
Have fun folks. This holiday season only comes around once a year and your pets deserve to be in on the celebrations.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Toys and Other Healthcare Subjects
OK, I know, seemingly unrelated subjects but it's Christmas and the Senate it now embroiled in a political pissing contest over healthcare. These are subjects that are near and dear to my heart: toys and healthcare. Both things to chew on. LOL.
I am a lucky dog. Russell and John provide me with insurance. I know, dog insurance, it's not part of the big healthcare debate but work with me here. My owners are well off. They are able to provide myself and Zara health insurance. Many dogs are not in the same boat. Some have owners who have lost their jobs, some are owned by the newly underemployed. And believe it or not some are simply street dogs living on their wits alone, shunned by society and spoken about in the most negative of terms. These dogs are the forgotten majority. Every little sneeze or ache is a source of worry. "Can I stay out of the vet's office this time?" What a wretched way to live life. All worry and no joy. I could not be any luckier. I am truly blessed.
Humans, as I understand it, are going through the same thing. The majority have insurance but many, some 40 million souls, have none. How, with all that this nation stands for, is it that so many are left to struggle, just waiting for the next shoe to drop? For the next health disaster. For the next vet visit that you can't afford. Many talk of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness being guaranteed by the Constitution. That there is no guarantee of healthcare. But, hey, isn't "life" in there. Shouldn't there be some assumption of what "life" includes. There are programs for food stamps so you can eat, rental assistance so you can keep a roof over your head, even bus and train discounts so you can get around town. Why isn't there help to keep you healthy? I mean, am I the only one who sees how basic of a problem you have here?
Oh, I hear some of you, "everyone has access to healthcare in the US. All you have to do is go to the emergency room." Yes, and I'm going to sit here and pretend you're not all idiots. Statements like this one are always spewed by those who haven't actually seen an emergency room bill. John's last emergency room bill, and there were many of them in 2008, was at least $5000.00. That's an expensive visit if you only have the flu. Let alone the fact that it pretty much clogs up the system for real emergencies. I've heard that it is so bad that they actually have persons to triage the emergency room. On top of all of the other expenses generated by an emergency room they have people who talk to you and decide where in the grand scheme of things you fall. "You we will see soon, you will wait until the calendar changes." Who thinks this is a good idea? Really, who? The waste of this one resource is frightening.
Then you get the, "What am I going to lose in the bargain," people. For God's sake isn't this just the height of hypocrisy? I mean here we are a good, God fearing people hell bent to force our moral standards on the rest of the world and we would first look at what we had to lose instead of what the other person had to gain. Has anyone ever read the Ten Commandments lately? This just makes me want to crap myself. How dare you set foot in a house of worship and then come out of it more worried about yourself than others. I want to send Zara out to bit you in your private parts! Should you be worried about your insurance benefits? Yes, absolutely. But you should be at LEAST as concerned about your fellow man. (Or is it fellow dog? I keep forgetting who I talking too.)
Now here's a part that I really don't understand. "I've worked hard for my benefits, why should someone else get them for free?" My opinion is that everyone should get them for free. No where else in the developed or even the developing world are your health care benefits tied to your choice of career or employer but the US. Health care is just a given. Just like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; you get healthcare. Why is this a bad idea? Yes, your taxes are going to be higher. But you get what you pay for. And think of the benefits: far less utilization of emergency room services, the ability to offer everyone preventative care, etc. And yes, I fully understand that those who don't work would be getting the same benefits as those who were working but isn't this a good thing? Wouldn't it be nice to know if, God forbid, you lost your job, you would still have your health insurance? And wouldn't it be a good thing to know that your fellow man was being taken care of also? Isn't that the moral way to think?
I am a firm believer in socialized medicine. If I had my way, I would insure everyone and it would be one massive, government run organization. Yeah, probably not an idea that would fly in the US. But to tell the truth I don't know how else to do it. Private enterprise is great at competing but when it comes to treating everyone as equals...not so good. The truth is, our free enterprise system is designed to treat everyone as unequals. You can shop at Walmart or Bloomingdales. You can drive a Chevrolet or a Cadillac. You can live in a small house or a mansion. We are a society of unequals. But healthcare is a different subject. Everyone needs their health. But I do see room, even in health care, for competition. The government should offer the basics and competition should offer the upgrades. Do you want only private hospital rooms? How about no co-pays? Maybe expanded dental or vision care? All of these things could be packaged and sold.
OK, that's my rant for today. You humans are just out of your minds. Stop just saying no for the sake of saying no. Put it out there that health care is a right and work until you get it done. My God you travel back and forth into space but you can't insure everyone? Idiots!
I am a lucky dog. Russell and John provide me with insurance. I know, dog insurance, it's not part of the big healthcare debate but work with me here. My owners are well off. They are able to provide myself and Zara health insurance. Many dogs are not in the same boat. Some have owners who have lost their jobs, some are owned by the newly underemployed. And believe it or not some are simply street dogs living on their wits alone, shunned by society and spoken about in the most negative of terms. These dogs are the forgotten majority. Every little sneeze or ache is a source of worry. "Can I stay out of the vet's office this time?" What a wretched way to live life. All worry and no joy. I could not be any luckier. I am truly blessed.
Humans, as I understand it, are going through the same thing. The majority have insurance but many, some 40 million souls, have none. How, with all that this nation stands for, is it that so many are left to struggle, just waiting for the next shoe to drop? For the next health disaster. For the next vet visit that you can't afford. Many talk of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness being guaranteed by the Constitution. That there is no guarantee of healthcare. But, hey, isn't "life" in there. Shouldn't there be some assumption of what "life" includes. There are programs for food stamps so you can eat, rental assistance so you can keep a roof over your head, even bus and train discounts so you can get around town. Why isn't there help to keep you healthy? I mean, am I the only one who sees how basic of a problem you have here?
Oh, I hear some of you, "everyone has access to healthcare in the US. All you have to do is go to the emergency room." Yes, and I'm going to sit here and pretend you're not all idiots. Statements like this one are always spewed by those who haven't actually seen an emergency room bill. John's last emergency room bill, and there were many of them in 2008, was at least $5000.00. That's an expensive visit if you only have the flu. Let alone the fact that it pretty much clogs up the system for real emergencies. I've heard that it is so bad that they actually have persons to triage the emergency room. On top of all of the other expenses generated by an emergency room they have people who talk to you and decide where in the grand scheme of things you fall. "You we will see soon, you will wait until the calendar changes." Who thinks this is a good idea? Really, who? The waste of this one resource is frightening.
Then you get the, "What am I going to lose in the bargain," people. For God's sake isn't this just the height of hypocrisy? I mean here we are a good, God fearing people hell bent to force our moral standards on the rest of the world and we would first look at what we had to lose instead of what the other person had to gain. Has anyone ever read the Ten Commandments lately? This just makes me want to crap myself. How dare you set foot in a house of worship and then come out of it more worried about yourself than others. I want to send Zara out to bit you in your private parts! Should you be worried about your insurance benefits? Yes, absolutely. But you should be at LEAST as concerned about your fellow man. (Or is it fellow dog? I keep forgetting who I talking too.)
Now here's a part that I really don't understand. "I've worked hard for my benefits, why should someone else get them for free?" My opinion is that everyone should get them for free. No where else in the developed or even the developing world are your health care benefits tied to your choice of career or employer but the US. Health care is just a given. Just like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; you get healthcare. Why is this a bad idea? Yes, your taxes are going to be higher. But you get what you pay for. And think of the benefits: far less utilization of emergency room services, the ability to offer everyone preventative care, etc. And yes, I fully understand that those who don't work would be getting the same benefits as those who were working but isn't this a good thing? Wouldn't it be nice to know if, God forbid, you lost your job, you would still have your health insurance? And wouldn't it be a good thing to know that your fellow man was being taken care of also? Isn't that the moral way to think?
I am a firm believer in socialized medicine. If I had my way, I would insure everyone and it would be one massive, government run organization. Yeah, probably not an idea that would fly in the US. But to tell the truth I don't know how else to do it. Private enterprise is great at competing but when it comes to treating everyone as equals...not so good. The truth is, our free enterprise system is designed to treat everyone as unequals. You can shop at Walmart or Bloomingdales. You can drive a Chevrolet or a Cadillac. You can live in a small house or a mansion. We are a society of unequals. But healthcare is a different subject. Everyone needs their health. But I do see room, even in health care, for competition. The government should offer the basics and competition should offer the upgrades. Do you want only private hospital rooms? How about no co-pays? Maybe expanded dental or vision care? All of these things could be packaged and sold.
OK, that's my rant for today. You humans are just out of your minds. Stop just saying no for the sake of saying no. Put it out there that health care is a right and work until you get it done. My God you travel back and forth into space but you can't insure everyone? Idiots!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Humans just don't read.
OK, sometimes I just can't take it. Guy came into the shop yesterday and needed some food for his dog. Great, food we have. And good food too. Not that dreck you find in the big box stores. (Big box. I hate that term. Like I can't name names.) But good quality foods. The gentleman says that his dog is on a prescription diet and he needs something low protein. OK, I swallow hard on that one and walk with him to the food aisle. We pick out a small bag of Wellness, look at the protein content, chat a little and he goes on his merry way.
Now I am not one to push my opinion on someone so I didn't tell him that the food he is feeding his dog is crap but the first thing I did was pop open my lap top.
Brewers Rice, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Threonine, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, Magnesium Oxide, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
This is the ingredients list for the food he's currently feeding his dog. Granted, at 14% it is low in protein compared to a standard dog food. But if you get past that fact, the stuff is pretty frightening. Look at the first few ingredients: rice, PORK FAT, dried egg product (if you fed me that I'd pee on you in your sleep) flaxseed, corn gluten meal, chicken liver FLAVOR (who said that was a good idea?!?!) and powered cellulose. Honestly, I know that when they were putting this food together all of this probably came out of the committee looking and sounding pretty good. "Look, we now can offer a low protein food." But really people this is really nasty stuff when your looking at the needs of an animal who's traditional diet was game meat. (OK, maybe there was some chicken coup raiding but a group of us could take down a deer. For some of us it would have to be a slow, sick deer but that's beyond the point. Could you just see a pack of ferrel Pugs?!?!) I just don't get it. Do any of you out there read labels? Do any of you ever think to question our doctors? "Hey, why is it a good thing for the second ingredient in my dog's food to be PORK FAT? Why do you want me to feed my dog, not corn which is a problem to start with, but corn gluten meal? Why do you want me to feed my dog rice? Rice is the first ingredient in this food. My dog is a carnivore. Somewhere there should be meat in his/her diet...DON'T YA' THINK! "
But hey, I'm not a doctor. I'm just someone who has a little store in Roscoe Village. My education was not funded by a huge corporation that just happens to make dog and cat food. I simply take the time to pick up packages and read labels. READ LABELS PEOPLE!!! Sit down and ask questions. I dare all of you, ask the question, "Just why is this food prescription? What drugs does it contain? Honestly, are there little ground up percodans in this kibble?" Or is it just marketing gone amok. You can only get this through your vet, therefore it is prescription. Such a load of crap. Maybe you could go out and get a second opinion. Stop spending a fortune to feed us, your best buddies, crap. Hell, the whole dog and cat food thing is pretty dicey the least you can do is feed us the good stuff.
Like I said, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a dog. If you're sick or broken, I'm going to be of little use except for sympathy. I will never question you doctor or the choices you make. These are personal decisions between you, the vet and your best buddy. What I am doing is telling you it's your responsibility to ask questions. It's your responsibility to read labels Your choice in foods for your family is an investment in their futures. Think Read Ask and Act.
Zane
Now I am not one to push my opinion on someone so I didn't tell him that the food he is feeding his dog is crap but the first thing I did was pop open my lap top.
Brewers Rice, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Threonine, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, Magnesium Oxide, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
This is the ingredients list for the food he's currently feeding his dog. Granted, at 14% it is low in protein compared to a standard dog food. But if you get past that fact, the stuff is pretty frightening. Look at the first few ingredients: rice, PORK FAT, dried egg product (if you fed me that I'd pee on you in your sleep) flaxseed, corn gluten meal, chicken liver FLAVOR (who said that was a good idea?!?!) and powered cellulose. Honestly, I know that when they were putting this food together all of this probably came out of the committee looking and sounding pretty good. "Look, we now can offer a low protein food." But really people this is really nasty stuff when your looking at the needs of an animal who's traditional diet was game meat. (OK, maybe there was some chicken coup raiding but a group of us could take down a deer. For some of us it would have to be a slow, sick deer but that's beyond the point. Could you just see a pack of ferrel Pugs?!?!) I just don't get it. Do any of you out there read labels? Do any of you ever think to question our doctors? "Hey, why is it a good thing for the second ingredient in my dog's food to be PORK FAT? Why do you want me to feed my dog, not corn which is a problem to start with, but corn gluten meal? Why do you want me to feed my dog rice? Rice is the first ingredient in this food. My dog is a carnivore. Somewhere there should be meat in his/her diet...DON'T YA' THINK! "
But hey, I'm not a doctor. I'm just someone who has a little store in Roscoe Village. My education was not funded by a huge corporation that just happens to make dog and cat food. I simply take the time to pick up packages and read labels. READ LABELS PEOPLE!!! Sit down and ask questions. I dare all of you, ask the question, "Just why is this food prescription? What drugs does it contain? Honestly, are there little ground up percodans in this kibble?" Or is it just marketing gone amok. You can only get this through your vet, therefore it is prescription. Such a load of crap. Maybe you could go out and get a second opinion. Stop spending a fortune to feed us, your best buddies, crap. Hell, the whole dog and cat food thing is pretty dicey the least you can do is feed us the good stuff.
Like I said, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a dog. If you're sick or broken, I'm going to be of little use except for sympathy. I will never question you doctor or the choices you make. These are personal decisions between you, the vet and your best buddy. What I am doing is telling you it's your responsibility to ask questions. It's your responsibility to read labels Your choice in foods for your family is an investment in their futures. Think Read Ask and Act.
Zane
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