the luxury of a pet room

Perhaps your kid has grown and moved and left you with an empty nest. Maybe you no longer need a home office since that laptop keeps you mobile. Or maybe you just have the extra space. Would you consider a pet room? Sounds like something for nutty animal freaks, right? Well, most of the people who read my blog are nutty animal freaks, so we're safe.

My clients of nearly two years, Matt and Connie,* have just such a room for their two pooches, Sneakers and Lanie.** When I came for the initial consult, Matt and Connie showed me around the house and presented the pet room. I couldn't initially determine if it was odd or fantastic, but as they explained the room's features and I got to know how down-to-earth they are, I settled on fantastic. And now that I've been working in that pet room on a regular basis for so long, I give it a five-woof rating, and not just because it's a cool luxury.

But it is a cool luxury. Let's go over the features of this particular room:

• laminate wood floor: looks great, wears well, and is super easy to clean

• large crate: the door is always open, but it's a small comforting space that the girls mostly use for toy storage

• toys, and lots of them: naturally

• ample food and water in attractive dishes: a must, as food always tastes better on pretty plates

• two custom potty pads: potty pads are held in place by frames and Matt cut a plastic "netted barrier" to place over the pads so that the girls would stop tearing up the pads. Genius.

• nightlight: to scare away monsters

• protective gate secured with bungee cords: to keep the girls from trying on clothes in the closet

• shelves to support small ammenities: help keep cords and things up and away from the girls' reach for safety reasons. Adds convenience for their caretakers.

• treat jar: because the girls are so good

• disinfecting wipes: for those surfaces that need disinfecting

• hand-vac: conveniently located for light vacuuming needs

• boom-box: so the girls can rock out when they get bored. I've caught them a few times.

• blinds and fan: to keep the girls cool in summer and well ventelated

• two video cameras: so Matt and Connie can see me stroll in like a zombie at 5:00 a.m. in my PJs (that uniform is a perk of being a professional pet sitter). And so they can have fun peeking in on their girls when they aren't home.

• doorway baby gate: Matt removed the door to the room and replaced it with a tall baby gate so the girls can see out

Whether you think it's awesome or you're rolling your eyes, you must know how happy these dogs are while their owners are away. They absolutely love that room! Though they are excited to see me when I arrive and we have a lot of fun together, they are happy as clams to go back in their room when it's time for me to leave, and sometimes, if they are really tired, they'll even spend time in the room while I'm there! The pet room provides them with a sense of security. They have plenty of room and more amenities than most animals I know. Lucky, lucky dogs.

Do you have the luxury of a pet room? I'd love to hear about it. I've one-upped the pet room. I have a multi-room pet house. My pets even allow me to share it with them.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent from tomato-throwing non-animal-freaks.

**Names have been changed so their canine friends don't make fun of them for being spoiled.

why i don't have a cat

Confession. Scandal. Intrigue. Suspense. Terror. I am a professional pet sitter with no cat.

Almost every new client asks me what type of pets I have. When I rattle off the list, which does not include a feline, I get:

"No cats?"

"You forgot to mention your cat."

"And how many cats do you have?"

"No cats? Don't you like cats?"

And by the die-hard cat people, I am often looked upon with slight suspicion, at which time I begin making out with their cat, just to prove my devotion. I also love hippos, but one does not reside with me.

So how do I feel about cats? Cats are awesome. They are so individual. One might wind between your legs and magnetize to you the second you walk in the door, and another might hide in the closet, never to emerge when humans are present. Some purr and meow, some hiss and yowl. Personality is a great thing to have.

I have cared for a pair of shy cats for nearly eight years now, yet I've never touched them. I know they are alive because their food is consumed, their litter box is used, and their eyes glimmer and move under the bed. I don't push them to be friends, and their family is well-aware of their aloofness. I talk to them as I go about my business of feeding and litter-box scooping, just so they know someone is there who cares. But they don't care. They just want to be fed. That's okay.

I care for several cats who require insulin injections. They are all rock stars about it. And thank goodness those aren't the ones who hide under the bed.

One cat that I care for melts my heart every time. She lives in a house with two rambunctious food-stealing Jack Russells who have not been trained, so she dines on the kitchen island. Every time I visit, she guides me to the island, jumps up on it, then puts her paws on my shoulders and nuzzles into my neck. What better love is there?

So why don't I have a cat? (drumroll)

The litter box. 

That's it. I can't stand litter boxes. And I don't wish to send my kitty outside among the coyotes and javelinas just to potty. So I choose not to have a cat. My husband is totally a cat person, too. I've thought many times about surprising him by adopting a cat and have browsed the cats available and in need on a regular basis because even though I'm more of a "dog person," I adore cats. But then I remember the litter box and the litter. It's a no-go.

Part of my job is to scoop litter boxes, so I'm pretty sure I've seen 'em all, and I have yet to meet one that I would have in my home. There are the filter ones, the ones with tops, the sifters, the ones that rotate, the ones hidden in the pot of a house plant...and then you have the litter. No matter what kind, it's just bad. The ones that try to mask the poop smell are the worst. They literally make me feel ill. I most commonly run across the scoopable ones with odor control, so that's chemical and dust combined. Awesome. The natural ones, like the pellets, are better, but they still get tracked all around the litter box. They all get tracked. That's gross and a major pain. I'm fine with cleaning all that and dealing with it when I'm being paid, but no one in my home is going to give me a paycheck for cleaning the cat box and surrounding areas, and certainly no one in my home will do the chore. So, no cats. Sorry.

I am thankful that I get to interact with my clients' cats regularly. They are delightful, and they satisfy my feline needs. So until we find the cat who is already trained to go on the toilet AND flush, we're going to be happy with the rest of our herd. If we find that cat, there will finally be a reason for my boys to leave the lid up on the toilet.

National Geographic Kids goes totally techy

I grew up with a library of National Geographic magazines in my home, so it's only natural that my jr. pet sitters have a subscription to National Geographic Kids magazine (called National Geographic World back when I had a subscription). We love, love, love reading it together! We'll usually read an article or two after our nightly book-reading ritual so we can savor the magazine all month. Since we've been busy with summer activities and slackin' on the reading a wee bit, we were behind on the last issue. We noticed only a couple of days ago that a few of the articles have a new techy feature that blows my mind. There are now "digital extras" in the form of "bonus videos" that you can watch on your phone. No joke!

All I had to do was download the "free NG Kids Scanner" on my iPhone, scan the picture in question, and up popped a totally awesome video that showed footage of what was described in the article. How crazy cool is that?!

Totally simple instructions...

AND we just received the September issue in the mail today! And it has driving dogs. Enough said.

National Geographic Kids magazine was already awesome, but this adds another level of excitement. I'm happy to say that my littles are already really excited about reading, but this takes the magazine-reading experience to a whole new level. And I imagine it might entice children who don't enjoy reading to give it a try. And, again: driving dogs. Yes.

our sulcata, Fluffy

In October of last year, we added a new member to our family, Fluffy the Sulcata Tortoise. A client of mine let me know that she had several that were looking for homes since her neighbor's Sulcata had babies. "Do you want one?" she asked. "You're the first person I thought of." Of course I was. I'm a professional-pet-sitter-don't-try-this-at-home.

My first instinct was impulsively optimistic, but I acted grown up and told her I appreciated her offer but would need to "consult the family" before accepting.

Then, I was even more grown up. I spoke to my husband about it before telling the kids, so there was no ganging up or anything, and we deliberated for a couple of weeks. Deciding to take on a pet that will likely outlive your children is a big commitment. We covered all of the bases, and decided to take the plunge. We told the littles and the teen thing, and they were beyond thrilled. We made them promise that they would make sure their children took great care of the tortoise in his later years (because a fifteen-, five- and three-year-old totally get that kind of commitment), and we went in with full-family responsibility.

Fluffy lives in a large apartment we call "the tank," (because it's a converted fish tank) and gets out in our back yard ("garden," for you UK-ers) to exercise, explore, and graze nearly every day.

I think he's really smart because he knows enough to like me best. If anyone but me approaches him, he pulls into his shell for a bit until he recognizes the human, but he knows I do 99% of the feeding and cuddling and freeing, so he's attached to me and stays out of his shell whenever I reach for him. This proportion of care totally violates the original family contract, but did not surprise me.

Oh, and perhaps I should mention that we don't yet know his gender, but we call him a "he." We might change his name to Mrs. Doubtfire if he turns out to be a she.

There is a ton of conflicting information on the 'net about Sulcatas, but Wikipedia warned me that Fluffy will eventually tip the scales at 100-200 pounds, and he can live to be 50-150 years or "much longer." So perhaps the great grandchildren should be prepared.

Fluffy has brought so much unexpected joy to our family. He's got a personality, and a bit of an attitude, so he fits right in. It is SO fun to watch him eat. Check it out:

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That's him eating weeds in our yard, which is awesome. Can you imagine how many weeds he'll help us out with when he's 150 pounds? Oh, wait...I'll be dead. The great-grandchildren will appreciate that, I'm sure.

For now, we love Fluffy, and he seems to love us.

the day I purged the fridge: mixed bean and quinoa hodgepodge

I'll throw a disclaimer out right away: I'm not a chef. I'm not a food photographer. This is not turning into a food blog. What this is is a yummy recipe-ish concoction that I threw together one day with stuff left over in the fridge, and it has become a staple in our house. It's animal-friendly (vegan) in the way that it doesn't use them, and it's a complete meal. Plus, it's flexible and easy, so if you're a not-chef, like me, you can swing it. Here goes...

mixed bean and quinoa hodgepodge

serves any number of people over any number of days, depending on how much you want to eat

stuff you need (all approximate)

• 1 cup quinoa

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• 1 lb organic green beans

• 1 lb/1 can dark kidney beans

• 1 lb/1 can garbanzo beans

• 1/2 pound cooked lentils

• 3/4 cup Italian-ish dressing of your choice (You can make your own, or I like Trader Joe's or Annie's Naturals Tuscan Italian varieties.)

what you do with that stuff

Cook the quinoa in the vegetable broth (you can also use water, but vegetable broth will provide more flavor, plus, it's easy to make), covered, until the liquid is absorbed (15-20 minutes), then cool.

Discard the ends of the green beans and snap each bean into thirds. Steam slightly in a steamer basket or blanch (you still want them to be crunchy), then cool.

Cook the beans, unless you're using cans (I usually use organic canned beans for convenience). Feel free to substitute any type of bean you like.

Cook the lentils, if necessary (I LOVE the packaged lentils at Trader Joe's...you can find them in the veggie section. Much easier.)

Once everything has cooled, stir all ingredients together in large mixing bowl.

Feel free to play with the proportions to suit your dietary, taste, or texture preferences.  It keeps nicely in the fridge, so I make this big batch so I can have something to easily grab for lunches over several days. It's quite filling! The rest of my family loves this as a side dish. I sometimes eat it as-is, but I often use it as my base and add different combinations of things I have around. Some of my favorite additions:

• avocado and beets

• pecans and raisins

• almonds and apples

• over a bed of your favorite cooked greens

• over your favorite lettuce

• with a side of roasted fennel (another of my staples)

I probably would have fallen of the vegan wagon a lot more often had I not been able to reach for this nutritionally-balanced quick meal, so I'm sure to have some on hand about every-other week so that I can just grab a scoop when I'm ravenous.