There it was this ugly wart-like tumor growing out of our dog, Duncan. I was very scared and my mind raced directly to how was I going to tell the kids. I had the growth sent out by my vet to the Michigan State Veternarian School to have it analyzed to see if it was cancerous. It turned out to be a benign growth that is somewhat common to retrievers. In a recent front page article in the Grand Rapids Press entitled “Is the cure for cancer found in canines?” http://tinyurl.com/y83838x, dogs and dogs with cancerous tumors and cancer-causing genes were helping with cancer research by providing research material for the scientist at Van Andel institute. Some of the scientist were studying hemangiosarcoma, a cancer to the blood vessels in Clumber Spaniels. This research helps both man and animals. If your dog has cancer and you would like to donate the DNA please contact Dr. Roe Froman. Our dear canines once again, give back to us so much, hopefully through research we can give back to them as well.

The miracle of birth–check out these Chinese Crested born today. Cindy, from Cindy’s Chihuahua’s sent me these pictures and I just had to share. Chinese Crested come in two distinct varieties, the hairless and the powder puff. Hairless Cresteds only have hair on their feet head and tails while powder puffs have a long soft coat. These dogs are good for allergy sufferers, especially the hairless, but they may need coats and sweaters in cooler climates. These dogs originated in Africa and were picked up by Chinese merchant ships. To learn more about this unique breed please visit one of the best breed info sites www.dogbreedinfo.com If interested in purchasing please contact Cindy, www.cindyschihuahuas.com.

Ok the Chihuahua as a retirement gift went over…a cliff. I know, I know, you should (almost) never give a pet as a gift unless it is for sure wanted by the recipient. What was said, or not, doesn’t matter; the dog was not wanted. Luckily the parties had a contingency plan that my sister would take the new Chihuahua so that her Lola would have company. The new Chihuahua, Chica, is a fabulous deer headed Chihuahua dog, gorgeous with an even better personality. The two dogs are buds. The Retiree got a camera and other “stuff” and it was all good peeps.

Picked Cocoa up from his dog kennel, which happens to be his vet’s. He stunk. Not just the, smells like someone else’s perfume, more like….has he just rolled in his own dog poop. This annoyed me greatly to say the least. I ran him home and dumped him right into a bath and I was forced to use what I had on hand to shampoo him, which was very lucky in my case, it was a sample of NuHemp’s Botanical Omega EAZZ dog shampoo. The shampoo had a light fragrance and a nice lather. His coat turned out soft and there was no flaking. I was very pleased with this product and the other samples from the NuHemp line. My friends at Pet Supplies Plus (www. petsuppliesplus.com)had given me samples of the shampoo, dog treats, and Omega Sauce. Cocoa really enjoyed the crunchy peanut butter maple flavored (a Canadian company eh?) treats. I was surprised by this because they looked so dry and brittle, but he loved them and he wolfed down his food when I added the NuHemp Omega Sauce. So maybe if you invested in a huge amount of dog food that your dog is turning up his nose at, try squirting on a big of the sauce…it was a hit! I do not know about the many benefits of hemp for people and animals so I turned to NuHemp.com to learn more about the products. If you have a Pet Supplies Plus please look there for these organic products or try the NuHemp website, www.nuhemp.com.

Pet guests for dinner, ya know, grandma’s bichon, your sister’s poodle yapping about your house peeing, barfing and pooping on your carpet. What kind of pet host are you? Do you throw yourself on the floor with every accident or do you casually clean? We are in the age where some people do not want to leave their pets alone for hours (does anyone remember the 70s? No doggy day care) Over the holidays many people with pets are faced with this quandry, either kennel, take’m or stay home. How can we be better pet host? Certainly tolerance could be the key, but maybe honesty too. On the flip side what kind of pet guest do you bring to the table? A licker, a humper, a pooper/peer? We also need to be honest with ourselves about our dog’s behavior at someone’s house. I see a new business opportunity: Holiday Pet Sitters