Amy Shojai's Blog, page 100
June 13, 2014
Doggy Sunburn, Bug Bites and Hot Spots First Aid Tips
Doggy Sunburn, Bug Bites and Hot Spots First Aid Tips
Magic loves games of hose-tag! Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
School’s out! Dog playtime is here with sunburn, bug bites and hot spots on the menu! Dogs want to play games and have a wonderful time during vacation, just as much as you do. Of course, they don’t always look before they leap, and can get into trouble. Not every “boo-boo” requires a vet visit but you need to know the difference–and what you can do–to keep your dog healthy, happy and ready for more fun. Today’s post offers some help and how to deal with common “ouchies.” Scroll down for first aid help.
I also have some fun UPDATES on the writing front:
My HIDE AND SEEK Blog Tour continues to garner great reviews–now 21 starred reviews!
“Hide and Seek is a story full of surprises and I’m looking forward to spending much more time with this little family in the next book and all that will follow.” Read the rest of the glowing review here.
“Hide And Seek” is very exciting and quite a page-turner. I am looking forward to the next book in the series…” Read the rest of the review here.
“…a story of nonstop action and unbelievable plot changes…” The rest of the review is here.
You can follow along with the next stops on the tour, posted at my website.
Also, I just turned in the manuscript for my next nonfiction pet book–here’s the COVER REVEAL! Now, it’s back to fictioning, and moving forward with my next thriller SHOW AND TELL.
BUG BITES AND STINGS
Magic has had his share of stings. He’s allergic, and develops hives that turn him into an itchy checkerboard dog. Puppies have great fun chasing butterflies and other fun bugs. For the most part, these are harmless games, but when a wasp or fire ant is involved, your baby dog could end up with a painful bite or sting or even an allergic reaction. Read this article to know the signs and what you can do.
Seren follows those puddles of sunshine. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
SUNBURN SOLUTION
Sun worship isn’t reserved for cats. Many pups love dozing under the bright rays, or playing for hours in the sun. Light colored pups, though, can get burned. Relieve the burn with these home remedies.
HOT SPOTS
A single bug bite or other irritation could be the start of a hot spot–a painful bacterial skin infection that may seem overwhelming. Thank goodness, Magic hasn’t had to deal with hot spots! But if your dog is prone to these sores, home treatments help you get ahead of the burn and stop the infection from spreading. Learn more here.
Finally, just for fun–something that I found to be very inspiring this week. Enjoy!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
June 5, 2014
Adopt A Shelter Cat Month
Spring has sprung, and the birds and bees (and other critters) celebrate this time of year in typical creative fashion. It’s a national epidemic and North Texas isn’t immune. Area shelters overflow especially with kittens this time of year. My Karma-Kitten is a product of this “littering” problem, and I’m sure you’ve seen other needy waifs around town. June is the purr-fect time to celebrate national Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month.
YOU SEXY KITTEN!
Boy or girl? Fluffy longhaired or short-and-svelte coat? Does color matter? What about age? Today there are cats available to suit every taste and circumstance.
While kittens can be non-stop fun, they’re also works-in-progress–and you cannot accurately predict adult temperament. Most kittens love to lap-sit, but many outgrow this behavior. So if you want a lifelong feline lap-snuggler, choose an adult cat with an established personality so you know what you’re getting. You’ll already know that the cat likes or dislikes dogs, other cats, children, lap-sitting, and playing.
Short fur sheds just as much as the long fluffy kind, but won’t tangle or require as much care on your part. Those longhaired beauties like Persians need combing every single day.
All kinds of speculation abound regarding behaviors associated with coat color or pattern. None of it has been proven one way or another. However, it is a cat “rule” that dark fur lands on light-colored clothing while light fur magnetically attaches to dark trousers. When a cat has both light and dark fur, like my Seren, owners learn to live with hair and consider it a condiment.
Boy cats tend to grow bigger than girl cats, but as long as they’re spayed or neutered (you’ll want to do this!), the behaviors tend to be similar. Intact males want to baptize everything with sprays of urine, and intact girl cats bring more furry babies into this world after yowling and pestering owners to death.
MATURE CAT VS KITTEN DELINQUENT
Age matters. While space concerns force shelters to adopt out kittens as early as possible, a cat will have far fewer behavior problems if he stays with mom-cat and siblings until at least twelve weeks old. If you adopt a kitten younger than this, you should either have a friendly adult cat in the house prepared to teach Junior how to be a proper cat–or you yourself must attempt to give these lessons. Cats learn from watching other cats how to groom themselves, use the litter box, scratch the right object, and inhibit clawing and biting during play. Humans fall short as teachers.
Lovely adult cats often get overlooked, but they’ve already learned these basic lessons and make outstanding pets. Due to the overload of animals, too many shelters have arbitrary age limits for euthanasia. Cats aged five and above may be euthanized automatically, even though they could be expected to provide a decade or more of companionship to a loving human owner.
Older cats tend to be more sedate than kittens, and less inclined to climb curtains, attack toes, or conduct gravity experiments by knocking breakables off high spots. My Seren-kitty rarely plays “gravity experiments” any more, thank goodness!
At the shelter, don’t expect adult cats to “sell themselves” the way a kitten would. Remember that they’ve likely just lost their home, are scared and sad, and wondering what they did to make a beloved human go away. They need people to take a second look.
Last Christmas, I received emails and phone calls from folks looking for holiday kittens–at a time of year when furry babies are scarce. Now’s the time to look since a bumper crop abounds and you’ll be saving a life by adopting a cat.
You don’t need to wait for Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month. Wonderful candidates of all shapes, ages, and sizes wait for you at area shelters all year long. Seventeen years ago, my cat Seren(dipity) showed up on a friend’s back porch, and purred her way into my heart. And only a few weeks ago, Karma-Kitten made his grand entrance into my world. May you be so lucky as to find the cat of your dreams!
New to kittens? Never fear! You can find all the must-know info on caring for a new furry wonder in my book COMPLETE KITTEN CARE!
I think that September Day (my animal behaviorist main character) and her dog Shadow may need to adopt another “furry waif” in the next book SHOW AND TELL. What do you think? The next stop on my HIDE AND SEEK Bog Tour features a Guest Post at the Writers & Authors Blog, covering the how-to’s of writing animal point-of-view characters, enjoy!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
June 2, 2014
Hide and Seek Blog Tour!
The next two months (yes, that’s SIXTY DAYS, YIKES!) I’m on a virtual tour, spreading the thrilling (and furry-licious) news about HIDE AND SEEK, the second book in my September Day dog viewpoint thriller series. *whispering* There are some opportunities for free books along the way…
Those who read the first book in the series LOST AND FOUND demanded to know what happened in September’s past — you ask, I listened, and the result is the new roller coaster ride with even more intrigue and mayhem. If you read this blog regularly you already know how the canine hero character Shadow was inspire by my own Magical-Dawg, and that the Maine Coon character’s traits and challenges mirror that of many felines that we love. I hope y’all continue to enjoy this series.
I’ve scaled back posting on the blog (sorry…) to have more time to write the NEXT book in the series, SHOW AND TELL. Over the next several weeks, I’ll post links to each stop of the blog tour so that you can find out more about my writing process, what furry details inspire my work (and my life), and more.
If you want to get a jump on the schedule, my website homepage lists current and upcoming posts here.
Yesterday I was the guest on Suspense Radio One On One with John Raab, and–with the magic of the Internet–you can hear the 20-minute podcast at your leisure right here. Fun stuff…we laughed. A lot! Check it out here.
Today’s stop is at Laurie’s Thoughts And Reviews where you’ll find a fun interview with me about the book, how it came to be, and some advice to writers. Oh…and an excerpt from the book, too, if you’re not too sure about reading it and want a teaser. Go to the blog here.
Backstage at the show…and yes, that’s all my own jewelry. Ahem.
IN OTHER NEWS…SHAKESPEARE IN THE GROVE!
My current “brain candy” is preforming in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and we just finished our first weekend of 3 performances, with nearly 700 in attendance. Wow! The man still has an awesome fan base. *s* You’ll remember that last week Karma-Kitten interviewed the dog actor Benedick here. Now you can view a TV interview about the show (and yes, that’s me in the bling, go figure!). Check out the KXII-TV video here.
Later this week, look for more furry-licious content–after all, June is ADOPT A SHELTER CAT MONTH so Seren-Kitty and Karma-Kitten have some suggestions for choosing your next furry wonder. Maybe that’s why COMPLETE KITTEN CARE book has been in the top 3 Amazon best sellers list the past week, yay!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 28, 2014
Shakespeare Goes to the Dogs
“Seren, I can be a GREAT lion. Wanna hear me roar? Do ya, huh, huh, huh?”
Karma has been miffed he’s been left home in the evenings while I rehearse for the first annual Shakespeare In The Grove production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It’s free to the public and performed at 7:30 pm outdoors at Pecan Grove Park these next two weekends, May 30, 31, June 1, 6, 7, 8.
Other than vet visits, Karma has only been outside one time since he showed up on our back patio, and he trembled and became so upset that I’ve not taken him out since. So I reminded him of that fact. But Karma wanted to know more.
Karma: Magical-Dawg goes Outside. He likes playing Outside, I watch from the window. Does he get to go with you to see that Spear-guy shake? Does he shake his spear cuz he’s scared of Outside, too?
Amy: William Shakespeare doesn’t shake, that’s his name. He wrote the play, he’s not IN the play. Only actors are IN the play. Actors pretend to be romantic and confused lovers, or magic fairies and sprites with wings, or actors entertaining royalty who pretend to be lions, and there’s even a dog…
Karma: I can be an actor! I pretend to attack Magical-Dawg all the time. I can shakee my spear-like claws and roar. Let me play the lion. I will roar so good everyone will say ‘Let him roar again, let him roar again!’ Does the lion get to chase fairy wings? Do sprites taste like chicken? (Pause) Wait. There’s an actor dog? Why does Magic get to go and I don’t?
Amy: This is another dog . . . maybe it’d be better for you to talk to him and he can explain everything. You can interview him about being an actor dog and appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Karma: Oh look, there he is! Gee, he’s not near as big as Magical-Dawg. And he’s mostly white. Wow, he sure moves fast and jumps nearly as high as me. Didja see that back-flip and high five…I mean, high four?
Amy: Karma, be polite. Should I call Seren to do the interview instead?
Karma: I can do this! (clearing kitty throat) Mr. Dog, your poochy honor, your canine-icity …uhm…What do I call you?
Benedick: Senior Benedick and I am delighted to be here. You may call me Ben but I won’t answer. I go by Benedick. If you are too lazy to say that then Dick will do.
Karma: I’m not lazy. All cats sleep a lot, it’s our nature. You should see how much Seren-kitty sleeps. (whispering) She’s reeeeely old, like seventeen-eleventy years or something. And my best dog friend is three times as big as you. Why do you look so different? How old are you, Dick?
Benedick: I am a Jack Russell Terrier. What’s my age! What’s yours?
Karma: (puffing up) I’m almost a whole year old! I’m not a kitten anymore, can’t you tell?
Benedick: Fine, I am twelve-years-young, but I can still play a six-year-old character. It’s my good English Genes I got from my father. He immigrated to America from England.
Karma: Wow. Did he dog paddle all the way? Was he an actor, too? Amy says I can’t come to the Shakee Spears show, so how come you’re such a lucky dog?
Benedick: I was born a Thespian and have been preparing for the stage my entire life! I was last seen playing Crab the Dog in the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival’s production of Two Gentleman of Verona.
Karma: That Shakee Spear guy sure gets around. Oh, Amy wants me to ask if you consider Shakee Spear to be your forte? I don’t know what that means but Amy’s the boss…
Benedick: I don’t consider Shakespeare to be my forte. I consider it my fortissimo! I sing, I dance, I even used to do a magic show with my pet human.
Karma: How did you get the part? Was tryouts scary? Did the Director bark and hiss at you?
Benedick: Darling, when you’re as well versed in Shakespeare, the Director auditions for you.
Karma: How do you learn your lines? Are you a method actor?
Benedick: I am, I don’t like doing the same thing every time. I like to be spontaneous and keep those human actors on their toes! I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement clicker training and repetition.
Amy: Excuse me Karma, but I have to ask. Senior Benedick, how do you feel about the characters in the show heaping so much praise on the Hounds of Sparta, with nary a mention of the merit of holy terriers such as yourself?
Benedick: Well, my dear, you must first consider when it was written! Jack Russells weren’t around till the 1800s. It’s like seeing an old movie that talks about how amazing and convenient the new telephone booths are at the train station! It might be archaic NOW but then…well…it’s all they had.
Karma: Do you get paid in treats? Clicker training is paw-some! I think bacon would be a great payday. How are the two-legged actors to work with?
Benedick: Well I’ve had to give a few acting suggestions here and there, but overall I think it will be a fine show. Bacon! With this figure, I think not. I only accept homemade whole grain peanut butter biscuits when I am in a show. It’s in my rider.
Karma: What can everyone expect of your performance in the show?
Benedick: Perfection
Join Senior Benedick and the rest of the human cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Pecan Grove Park, 3200 Canyon Creek Drive in Sherman. Learn more about this family friendly free production at ShakespeareIntheGrove.com
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 22, 2014
Bra Klepto Cat!
Karma has a new toy. I’ve already told you about his shoe fetish. But now he’s discovered my bras and become a bra thief. Is there such a thing as an underwear fetish in cats?
He waits until I’m in the shower, having set out clean clothes, and then performs a grab-and-dash, carrying the prize away with high held head. I should be glad, I suppose, that he’s not stashed it under the bed out of reach. Yet. And also that he only targets brassieres that aren’t being worn. Ahem. Tiny tooth punctures in the delicate fabric, and tug-games with elastic bits, seem to be the allure.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Magic targets my husband’s socks and carries them around like a child with a blanket. Lots of dogs target undies. And Seren loves to lounge in fresh-from-the-dryer laundry and will un-fold clothes given half the chance to sneak into the wardrobe.
Karma has just taken it to the next level. I hate to think what’s next. It can’t be on the same level as my friend Jenny Hansen’s Undie Chronicles (for some insanely funny reading you should check that out!).
Do your pets target your unmentionables? Do tell!
WEEKLY UPDATES
Thanks again to all my Sweet Peeps and Sweet Tweets for the support and encouragement to take some “Amy Time” away from blogging. This the first of what I plan to make a weekly update/post and from time to time will include what I used to call “Monday Mentions” roundup.
PUPPY-LICIOUS! The About.com group of 800+ sites will soon launch an update to the design. So for the past month I’ve spent lots of time updating my puppies.about.com articles (about 400 or so) with the new requirements which include SQUEEE! even bigger, more scrumptious cute puppy pictures. Oh, there’s lots of other “hidden” updates on the back end that have to do with SEO schtuff, too. One ongoing project is an alpha-list of puppy breeds-at-a-glance! I’ve finished the “A” puppy breeds and the “B” puppy breeds and have begun the “C” list. Let me know if you have a darling doggy pix you’d like included of your fav breed!
SHAKESPEARE IN THE GROVE I’m having a ball rehearsing (pix here!) for the first annual Shakespeare In The Grove production in Sherman, Texas. This first show is a favorite for adults and kids alike–A Midsummer’s Night Dream. And get this…my character, as an Amazon Queen, Hippolyta, I get to wear BLING! Hope to see y’all there, we open next Friday and it’s FREE FREE FREE to the public!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 16, 2014
10 Guilt-Free Ways to Love Pets with #HillsPet
10 Guilt-Free Ways to Love Pets with #HillsPet
Image courtesy of Hill’s Pet Nutrition
We don’t often think of cat weight loss or doggy dieting in the same breath as loving our pets. More often we think of pet love in terms of dog toys, kitty cuddles and with proper vet care just to name a few. Oh, and food. Lots and lots of yummy-icity.
After all, love doesn’t “deprive” your pet with something he or she adores, and at my house, the Magical-Dawg adores treats! Seren-Kitty, the 17-year-old, isn’t quite so treat motivated, but the new Karma-Kitten never met a taste he didn’t like.
Magic is seven year’s old and still quite the canine athlete. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
Magic at age seven is in good shape with a healthy body condition, thank heavens. That’s not wishful thinking, even the veterinarian says so. Seren, though, is a little tiny skinny thing at barely six pounds, and so we struggle to get enough nutrition into her.
Karma plays a lot–but still manages to add to his “tummy” power. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
Karma is almost a year old. He’s a tank, and has already developed some (ahem) table muscle. Get a load of that tummy! But he still loves treats and wants to graze from everyone’s bowl or plate. Heck, he even countertop cruises and absconds with anything reachable. One day last week Karma executed a dash-and-grab in order to swipe kabob off my husband’s plate!
Here’s the thing. Feeding a weight reduction or maintenance food like Hill’s® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution actually IS a way to love your pet where it counts most–by keeping him or her a healthy weight. It’s not withholding love–it’s redefining love with the help of great nutrition.
Food can be a huge issue for pet parents. Choosing the right one, and feeding the correct amount, can be a challenge and because food and attention are so closely linked, it can feel like we’re depriving them of love when we restrict those yummies.
My 17-year-old Siamese wannabe still rules the roost, despite weighing barely 6 pounds. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
At my house, Magic and Karma look betrayed with Seren gets extras (she needs it!) and they don’t. Managing feeding time when you have pets with different needs gets complicated, and feeling guilty about depriving them doesn’t help. So finding other ways to love them keeps pets happy and pet parents doing the right thing. We don’t have to feel guilty when we feed Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution treats, because they’re formulated to work the same as the diet. How cool is that?
10 WAYS TO LOVE YOUR PET
Image courtesy of Hill’s Pet Nutrition
New routines are one of the best ways to get into healthy habits and redefine the way you love your cats and dogs. Besides offering a Hill’s Metabolic Treat, here are 9 more tips for how to love your pets–what have I missed? How do YOU redefine pet love?
Love With Grooming: Seren adores being combed and groomed. Magical-Dawg sheds like crazy so grooming him also prevents mats and satisfies that itch.
Love With Training: Both dogs and cats relish exercising their brains–and it prevents boredom.
Love With Toys: Find what floats your pet’s boat and provide fun toys. Cheap thrills, like empty paper bags for cats or old socks for dogs, can offer inexpensive hours of fun.
Love With Games: I just discovered Karma likes to sled! That is, if I drag a towel on the floor, he hops aboard and wants to be towed all over the room, what fun for us both! Magic will play Frisbee fetch until he collapses.
Love With Pets: Scritches and cuddles and massages not only feel good to your pets, it also has health benefits for you.
Love With Walks: Teach your cats to walk on a leash, and take them for rambles around the house or over to Grandma’s house. Dogs adore exploring new places, so give yours a new leash on life with a new vista on your walks.
Love With Vets: Proper routine care keeps your cats and dogs healthy, reduces health costs, and ensures they’re around as long as possible to share the love.
Love With Laps: Seren never enjoyed lap sitting until she turned 14 years old or so. I’m loving the lap-sitting time we now share.
Love With Sniffs: Dogs don’t have to gulp to enjoy a treat. Scent an old sock with something stinky–like old cheese or pungent fish–for a sniff-treat that delights nosy dogs. And for cats, offer some catnip.
This post is sponsored by Hill’s and the BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s Prescription Diet Metabolic Food, but I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.
BONUS: TELL A FRIEND PROGRAM
Want to do something healthy and loving for your pets? I’m telling all my friends–and you can, too, so share away! Here’s a $25 Wellness Visit Rebate (fill out this form) to help you and your pet with a wellness veterinary visit. Instructions are on the rebate. You’ll also get a valuable $25 rebate for Hill’s® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution food. Wow! That’s a $50 dollar value. Click here and spread gift of health!
BlogPaws will collect the interested individuals’ information and Hill’s will mail out rebates to all who fill out the form. One rebate mailing per household. As a blogger, all you need to do is spread the word!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 15, 2014
BRAVO Dog and Cat Food Recalled
BRAVO Dog and Cat Food Recalled
This is one of those times that I need to send a quick and important shout-out to my Sweet Peeps. If you feed your pets BRAVO Pet Food, please be aware that certain products have been voluntarily recalled due to the possibility of Listeria contamination.
All the details can be found in this hot-off-the-virtual-press article.
Be safe! be well!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 13, 2014
Taking A Breather
“Come play with us…please? when’s quitting time?” Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
I need your understanding, Sweet Peeps. After several years of blogging three times a week, along with the weekly newspaper columns and the 8+ monthly articles for puppies.about.com, my frazzle-icity has reached new heights. Or is that depths? More likely a brick wall. 
This is my 675th blog post. Yay!
But it’s been a struggle to maintain this pace, while also writing the next book in my September Day thriller series. I’m also about 1/3rd of the way through the rough draft of COMPLETE PUPPY CARE companion volume to my kitten book. But at this rate, neither book will get done any time soon and even the short writerly schtuff feels like I’m giving it short shrift. I hate that!
Oh, and the cats and dog want attention, and–hubster too. They’re funny that way! :) This past month, it hit me pretty hard that I probably won’t have Seren-Kitty for very much longer so I want to enjoy her good days while she has them.
I get to “see” and interact with many of y’all on Facebook anyway. Actually, I was so torn about this decision and then I posted a vague mention of it yesterday and the outpouring of love and encouragement made me feel so encouraged! Thank you, thank you, a million times–I can’t tell you how wonderfully helpful that was. I don’t want to disappoint but really need to figure out how best to spend my time and focus my efforts. If you’re not already following me on Twitter or my Facebook Fan, or a Friend (or Follower) now’s your chance–message me to say you came over from my blog.
I’ve got the BEST Sweet Peeps evah!
Starting next week, I’ll be dialing back my blog posts to one a week, probably Thursday or Friday. I still accept select “sponsored posts” — stay tuned for a fun one this Friday–but for the most part any product reviews will appear over at my puppies.about.com site. I’ll be sure and share all the new puppy schtuff here, of course and any breaking news will get a post, too. That way I can keep y’all up to date on the fictioning progress and any SQUEEE! puppy-licious and cat-astic info. Instead of three weekly lame blog posts, you’ll get one (hopefully) PAW-some post! I’ll try to send out more regular Pet Peeves newsletter updates, too.
Thanks for being such great supporters and followers of the blog! I’m not stopping, really I’m not, I love this BLING, BITCHES AND BLOOD BLOG–just taking a breather to hopefully give y’all more and better content in the books. I hope you’ll understand and still check back in here every week for more writer-icity and pet-astic edu-tainment.
woofs & purrs and ever-so-grateful virtual hugs,
amy
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 12, 2014
Weather Watch, Tornadoes and Pets
Weather Watch, Tornadoes and Pets
The double-headed killer tornado that hit Midway Trailer Park and killed 36 people. Image courtesy of NOAA
It’s that time of year here in N. Texas for storms, rain, hail and (eeek!) tornadoes. Today we’re under a weather alert with forecast of up to 2 inches of rain and possible hail and wind. That could turn into a might big wind that could cause Dorothy to shake in her ruby slippers.
When I grew up in North Indiana, we also had tornadoes and those events were exciting times for us kids. It meant camping out in the basement…with our parents! How fun is that?
My folks must have done something to keep us kids calm, because I can only remember the excitement and not the fear. The awe and shivers came afterwards one spring weekend, though. That part of the country still talks about the Palm Sunday tornadoes of 1965. It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in Indiana history, with 47 documented twisters, $5.5 billion in damages and more than 250 killed. That picture of the double-headed tornado still gives me goosebumps. Another 800-foot-wide tornado killed 25. The trees that survived still grow in a twisted witchy-posture.
It only takes one tornado to land on your life for you to be 100 percent affected. It doesn’t have to be a ravaging pack of twisters. Are you prepared?
People were killed in part because warnings didn’t get to them on time. Those who did get the warnings couldn’t tell the difference between a forecast and an alert. As a result of these killer storms, the weather service launched an education program as well as the designation of “Weather Watch” and “Weather Alert” so the public could be better prepared and take cover. For more on this important storm, read this article.
Seren is not a fan of carriers so I need to plan ahead. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC
So today as a grown up, the adventure and excitement have given way to concern. I know what wind can do. Today we get advance warning, and know to prepare during a “Watch” and take cover from imminent danger during a “Warning.” But because of the way the ground shifts, few houses have basements to take shelter. Instead, the pantry under the stairs (no windows, center of the house) is our go-to tornado spot.
Karma would go into the pantry without prompting–that’s where he tries to eat through the dog food bag to get to the kibble. But with enough warning, Magical-Dawg, the cats in separate carriers and I all fit inside. Today I’m clearing out space just to be prepared.
And hopefully the space won’t be needed for shelter. Here are more tips on preparing for a natural disaster and keeping pets safe.
How do you prepare for Mother Nature’s tantrums? Have you ever experienced a natural disaster–what did you do right/wrong and how will you keep your kids (furry and otherwise) safe? Do tell!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
May 9, 2014
Cheap Thrills: Karma’s New Toy
Cheap Thrills: Karma’s New Toy
I think Magic is truly put out by what the Karma-Kitten gets away with, all in the name of cute-icity. What do you think? Do you have a “double standard” and some of the fur-kids are allowed to do certain things while others are not? Am I a bad pet mom? (Hey, it is nearly Mother’s Day).
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered–post in the comments. Do you have a new kitten and need answers? I’m a new Brand Ambassador for The Honest Kitchen and you can get FREE samples here, check it out! (Karma loves this!). Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book give aways and appearances related to my THRILLERS WITH BITE!
AMY SHOJAI'S Bling, Bitches & Blood - Pet-centric Writer-icity & Thrillers With BITE!
