Do Tennis Balls Cause Cancer in Dogs?

What? Tennis balls!!! Our goldens constantly have a ballie in their mouths. Could they be a potential source of cancer?

Last Friday, Temple & I took Bailey to Pampered Puppy to give him his first two-person bath. He loved being double teamed ;-)

But you can imagine our surprise when the wonderful owner, after hearing about Kodie, took Bailey's tennis ball from his mouth and told us we should not allow these nefarious toys in our house. Through broken English, she warned us about the dyes and materials used to create tennis ball felt.

I immediately ran home, loaded with guilt, and hit up the Planet Dog site to order a bunch of Orbee Balls.

But after doing a LOT of research, I've come to the conclusion that this is a myth. Sure, tennis balls are probably not as healthy to put in their mouths as carrots. And they do get dirty and touch all kinds of things on the ground. So I recommend rinsing them off every so often.

But in my quest to raise cancer-free canines, I refuse to go off the deep end. I'll cook for them, worry myself sick about them, and blog constantly on their behalf. But I draw the line at denying my Boys their favorite toys! And I've found no real evidence to confirm this myth.

Dealing with Pet Loss and Grief.

Today I had a break-down. It's been 10 days since Kodie passed, and probably 5 or so days since I've had a good cry.

We took Bailey to Mori Point, and I didn't even want to be there without Kodie. Then, we came home, and I fell into a heap of a three hour nap with Bailey. And then, when I got up, Temple showed me the film loop he'd made of Kodie, which had pictures I hadn't seen, and a sweet little note he wrote that said: "So long, young friend. Bodie & family will miss you immensely." Just seeing his little tribute to Kodie reduced me to serious tears.

So today has been hard. Which is why we decided to whip up another stew for Bailey. I also have a business trip this Wed-Thurs, and am dreading being away for even one night. I *hate* being away from my boys. Hate it.

Can't wait for my mom to arrive with her two goldens, Buppy and Paunnie, so Camp Fluppy Puppy can begin. Poor Bailey is bored by us. And I am still missing Kodie something awful.

Holistic Dog Food.

Boy do we have a lot to report.

First of all, today we bought Harris Ranch ground beef and made the same stew we made the other night, only this time with Barley instead of Quinoa, and meat instead of chicken. We didn't have to puree it or debone or anything, and Bailey loved it! He ran into the kitchen as soon as it started cooking and begged all night for little sips and tastes. It also only took 30 mins instead of 2 hours. So I think I highly recommend using meat over chicken, and adding in bone meal as a calcium source.

On that note, Dr Pitcairn's book is wild! I much prefer the Whole Pet Diet, which has us on an 8-week staged plan, and doesn't overwhelm with all these necessary minerals you have to buy. On the Whole Pet Diet, all I had to buy was the oil mixture (wheat germ oil, cod liver oil, flax oil, olive oil, garlic and rosemary) -- and then of course the ingredients for our stews. In Pitcairn's book, he makes you buy all kinds of stuff you've never heard of. You can tell on Amazon how other pet lovers have bought the mixture, because as soon as you buy kelp powder, it recommends lecithin granules, brewers yeast, and all the other crap you'll need. I bought it all, but then aborted my order when I found out about these three MUCH more convenient alternatives:

(1) Halo Pet Foods - owned by the author of the Whole Pet Diet, and apparently now affiliated with Ellen Degeneres. It appears they sell the Spot's Stew recipe we've been making in canned form at PetCo and Whole Foods, so we may move to this.

(2) Honest Kitchen - I saw these about a year ago in a natural pet food store but was scared away because they seemed difficult. I now see that you just add warm water and meat (raw or cooked, and I guess I prefer cooked). This is easier than what I'm doing now, which is adding everything from scratch ... and I'm probably not getting all the minerals/vitamins right yet.

(3) Sojo's - similar to Honest Kitchen above. I'll have to look into both of them to decide which I like better.

I'm sure there are others as well. I just bought a subscription to Whole Dog Journal in hopes of seeing their food ratings. I've got the meat and veggies and whole grains part down. I just want to make sure Bailey's getting the right amounts of Calcium and Vitamin C. By the way, Vitamin C is apparently the most important thing you can give a Golden for hip displaysia and arthritis (more than glucosamine). And I want to find a solution that is more convenient than what we're doing now (cooking from scratch).

In other news, the Pets for the Environment peeps got in touch, and it turns out, it's National Pet Week! I'd like to help their cause (sending kibble to a lab for analysis), so here's a link to their site. Also, we heard from the breeder with the new pups! This pet blogging thing could certainly become a full-time job; too bad I have several projects ramping up and another work trip to Seattle this week. We found a neighbor who watches a lot of the local goldens to keep Bailey during the days while Temple is at work. This is HUGE, because we really don't want Bailey alone when I'm out of town.

Final link of the day: Buppy the Puppy, who has his own blog, sent us this link to a front page article from the Arizona Republic about the booming field of Veterinary Oncology.

Pet Memorials.

Today we got another sympathy card for dear Kodie. Amazing how many friends and fans he had. All our friends, but also other neighborhood doggies, his vets, the neighborhood dog walker, etc. I also got some pictures I forgot I had ordered through iPhoto. This one is of Kodie's last moments. He passed away in my arms, in exactly this position. Precious little sweetheart was still smiling.

I also phoned about Kodie's little ashes, which we will be spreading at Montara Beach in a ceremony with Bailey and my mom's two goldens (when they arrive for summer camp in 18 days). If you are ever in the unfortunate situation of having a pet pass away, I have found Animal Memorial Service to be very humane and caring.

We also met somebody, while on the walk yesterday with Bailey, who reminded us very much of Kodie. Glitter was extremely well-trained, and a golden of the smaller, softie pooftie variety. Apparently her sister is having pups, and there may be a few goldens unspoken for in the litter. Not sure if we are ready for a puppy ... but what the hell! We miss Kodie somethin' fierce. And Bailey is still in his malaise.

Cooking for Your Dog

Today we cooked for Bailey.

I shouldn’t even blog about this until we get the process simplified. But I promised to tell the truth about our switch to holistic pet care, so here it is: blood, guts, chicken liver, and all.

For our first home-cooked meal, we went with The Whole Pet Diet’s Spot’s Stew. You need a 10-qt stock pot, and then you just slow-simmer an organic chicken, a bunch of whole grains (we used 10 oz of quinoa) and some coarsely chopped zucchini, squash, celery, carrots, green beans, garlic, rosemary, kelp powder, and sweet potatoes. Piece o’ cake.

The stew was the bomb, and we couldn’t help serving ourselves as well as Bailey. "Tonight, Bo, we eat like kings!" You’d be surprised how much bulk the quinoa adds. Bailey couldn’t finish what we gave him, and we’re stuffed with days’ worth of leftovers in the fridge.

But the post-game analysis is to avoid cooking chicken.

The problem is you have to debone it. And even after you’ve done that thoroughly, there are still bones left hiding. I guarantee it. We thought we were done deboning, and we’d even served Bailey his dish, when we started scooping the rest out … only to find a hidden bone. Damn it.

We looked at each other, guilt-ridden for shortcutting the recipe, and decided in unison: we gotta do the Cuisinart puree. Small batch by small batch. We scooped out some broth, added some chicken, and added some of the quinoa/veggie mixture. Pulse. Scoop out. Repeat.

It was a total pain in the ass. And our kitchen was hit! Suffice it to say we spent the ENTIRE day hunting and gathering ingredients, and the ENTIRE night stewing, pureeing, measuring, storing, and cleaning. And neither of us wants to eat what this dish morphed into: pureed, baby food crap. We hope Bailey still likes it!

Whole truth: it was fun. Temple is a willing and even supportive, enthusiastic participant.
And today was a Saturday. We didn’t have anything else to do. And we are enjoying lavishing Bailey with love and attention.

But next time, we cook beef. Same stew recipe. But no puree. We throw shit in, we simmer, we go.

September Mourning.

It's only May, but Bailey is definitely in mourning.

Some tips if you lose a dog:

(1) Don't leave your dog alone. Bailey has come everywhere with us. You'd be surprised the places that allow dogs! Bailey has been to Office Depot twice, the hardware store, the post office, and the mailbox. He's also come with me and waited outside at the gym and the grocery. Yesterday I had to go to Seattle for business, so I asked my spousal equivalent, Temple, to stay home with Bailey. He did. We won't do this forever, but until Bailey gets his old spunk back, he won't spend one second alone.

(2) Watch behaviors. Bailey doesn't jump up and down for his food anymore. He goes outside and sits in the spot where Kodie used to chew his bone. He doesn't really beg for walks. And he spends a lot of time laying with his head on his paws, looking sad. He's just started, as of last night, to renew interest in his toys. So maybe, just maybe, he is starting to emerge from the cloud of grief that has engulfed us all.

(3) Talk to your dog and give him tons of love and attention. This is obvious. But I am surprised at how much less natural talking there is around the house with only one dog. Seems that when there are two dogs, you find yourself saying "I'm doing this, boys -- or later we'll do that, boys." I have to force myself to continue that with just one dog around. At the same time, I'm surprised at how much more attention I am able to give Bailey with just one dog in the house, and how much more attention he gets on the walks now that Kodie isn't stealing the show by laminating himself to the thigh of every passer-by.

I know Bailey is hurting just as much - if not more - than we are.

Pets for the Environment.

Three days into this blog, and we've already found a kindred spirit!

Check out Pets for the Environment, which will be sending dog food samples to a lab to be tested for chemicals. Can't wait to see what they learn - I'm sure it will be distressing.

Which is where our home cooking advice and recipes will certainly come in handy.

You can sign up for the Pets for the Environment newsletter, or download their list of Healthy Pet Tips - things you should know about how your own household could be poisoning your pets.

I must say that this newfound cause, though tragic in its birth, is much more rewarding than application and interface design! And looking at little Kodie's picture on my counter, I can at least feel like I'm doing something to help him and the countless other Kodies who will succumb to cancer after him.