Fantastic Grooming Tool: The "Zoom Groom"

Recently I worked a dog-adoption event, and a professional groomer was there to give the shelter dogs a little polish:

She used a soft rubber brush on the dog I was handling. He loved it; it was called a "Zoom Groom." As soon as I could, I bought one from my local, independent pet store:

My Pugs shed a lot. Up to now, I brushed them with a "Furminator," which is great, but you have to be careful when using it. The steel teeth can hurt a dog's skin if you push or pull too hard.

The great thing about the Zoom Groom? It's terrific at removing loose hair, but it does it with soft, rubbery "fingers" that practically massage the dog's skin. My Pugs close their eyes and bliss out when I use it on them:

And boy, does it pull out the loose fur!:

I'm totally sold. So, apparently, is Mu Shu:

Plus, the Zoom Groom makes these cool little honeycomb mats of Pug fur:

Here's a tip I got from my local wildlife store: Save that soft fur you brush off your pet. In the early spring, put it into a suet basket and hang it from a tree. Birds use the soft fur to line their nests for their babies.

Turning trash into treasure, one Pug at a time.

Daddy's Little (Hairy) Helper

I went to the grocery store today, and this is what I saw just outside the sliding-glass doors:

A yellow Lab, no leash on her, waiting patiently on a patio chair drawn right up to the front doors:

I snapped a few fast shots (this one is underexposed--I only had a moment!):

Then a man came out of the store with two bags of groceries. He handed one to the dog, and as jaws dropped, the two of them made their way through the parking lot:

What a good dog!

African Bumshots

Dear readers, I actually thought a lot about you out in the bush. As in, how can I not bore you with my animal photos? I know my pics aren't National Geographic quality. And everybody's got an Uncle Harrry or Aunt Min who went to Africa and just can't wait to bore show you all their bajillion photos.

I don't want to be your Aunt Min.

And then I had it: Bumshots! That's what our guide, Fannuel, calls the inevitable photos you get when all you catch is the backside of a critter.

I tried to capture for your entertainment the best bumshots I could.

First up, an elephant bumshot. At Mfuwe Lodge (the poshest and largest place we stayed), the trunksters are known for walking through the grounds--and sometimes right through the lobby:

This is a Kudu, a type of antelope. Not strictly a bumshot, I know, it's more of a sideshow. But I love the way he's got his head in the bushes: "You can't see-ee me!":

Oh, lordy. Zebra bumshots are just the best thing ever:

This poor behbeh has lost most of his tail, probably in a fight with another zebra:

This is a Waterbuck, a type of antelope:

They're famous for having a white ring "painted" on their bums:

More zebra bumshots! I'm helpless in front of their glory:

Elephant bumshot in the bush:

Cape Buffalo have the most endearing goofy, deadpan faces. But there bums are awfully cute, too:

Okay, hide your eyes for the next two shots if you're prissy. Because the Boys of the Bush let it all hang outwhen it comes to bumshots.

We've got your male lion...

...and a very relaxed local dog in the bush village of Siankaba:

Back to PG stuff. Mother-and-child heffalump bumshot:

Bushbuck bumshot. Bushbucks are very shy animals and normally hide in the underbrush:

Wart hog bumshots. When they run away, their little skinny tails stick straight up. When they're relaxed, they flop all over the place, like the tails on these guys. Quite adorable:

African Hare bumshot, snapped on a night game drive. A hare is not the same as a rabbit, we learned. (I won't bore you with the whys and hows, here.):

Giraffes make some of the best bumshots ever. This guy's really cool, because if you look closely, you can see three or four faint lines on his haunch where a lion raked him. But he got away, so yay!:

Egyptian Sacred Ibis bumshot, with the extra-fancy feature of doing it on one leg:

Leopard in the night bumshot. Not a well-focused photo, but hey! It's a leopard! In the wild!!

Baby Baboon Bumshot. (Triple B's for the win!)

Impalas have some of the cutest bums in the bush. Their dark markings on haunches and tails make the letter "M," and their ubiquitousness leads some people to call them "the fast food of the bush," and the "McDonald's of the bush." This guy's broken off most of his left antler, probably in a fight with another male:

I'm especially excited about this bumshot. This is the African Wild Dog, an endangered species, I'm sad to say. This gal's pack recently had a litter of pups born to the alpha female, keeping these nomadic creatures in the area for several weeks until the babies grew large enough to travel. I was able to see the dogs on two separate occasions:

This is another rare shot. The Sharpe's Grysbok is the smallest of the antelopes. Wikipedia says it weighs only 15-25 pounds, full grown. It is solitary and shy, so I was tickled to get this shot, even though it isn't a full-on bumshot:

I can't help myself. Giraffe bumshots are hysterical:

Behbeh elephant!

Behbeh elephant bum-hance:

These are Puku. They're another antelope species, just a little bit bigger and shaggier than the Impala. Mother-and-child Puku bumshot:

Lioness and cub bumshot. You can see from her pendulous teats that she's still lactating:

Oh, dear lord. Look at the teensy bum on that littlest elephant:

Camouflage bumshot! That's Frank, our park ranger, toting the rifle on his shoulder (which he's never had to use on an animal, thank goodness) and our inestimable guide, Fannuel. What that man doesn't know about the bush isn't worth knowing.

I followed their bums for the better part of a week, walking through the bush. These guys kept me safe, they made me laugh, and they showed me a world of beauty and wonder I could scarce imagine.

The end.

(I had to say it!)

A Month of Polka Dots

How did it get to be July so fast?! Here's a swift rundown of some polka-dotted wonderfulness that I noticed in the past month. First up, this little Chihuahua mix is a neighbor of mine. His name is "Gordito" ("little fatty" in Spanish). He has two big polka dots on one side:

And a cute mini-dot on the other:

This is "Arrow," (f.k.a. "Acute"), one of the kittens that was fostered by my Lovely Daughter #1 for a few weeks. He has two teeny brown polka dots--freckles, really--on his pink nose:

This adorable bulldog was romping on the leash-free beach when we took the pugs there recently. He/She sported one super-sized polka dot:

This little ladybug rode in my car for a while. His/Her shoulder dots almost look like epaulets. Look at those teeny-tiny feelers!:

This beautiful polka-dot skirt by fiber artist Alabama Chanin is done by layering two lightweight jersey knits over each other, hand-sewing around each dot, and then (very carefully) cutting away the top layer to reveal the inner layer. The model's stance isn't very graceful, and her shoes are awful, but I love the idea of the cutaway polka dot skirt:

Just one quibble: Couldn't you match up the dots on that center seam?

Foster-Kitten Fun!

Sometimes you have to step outside of your routine and do something new, right? 

So we're fostering a kitten for the first time, ever. This is "Jessica," 14 weeks old:

(Photo courtesy of LUXE Paws.)

She was named by the wonderful cat-rescue group that saved her after her feral momma gave birth to a litter in the neighborhood. Jessie's super-sweet and loving. She purrs as soon as you enter the room:

 She has the most adorable polka-dotted belly:

Pretty much every pose she strikes is model-worthy:

She has these fabulous, dark tabby lines on her, and this elongated bull's-eye mark on each side:

She loves to lick our fingers:

We're absolutely smitten:

That belly, again! Can't get enough of it!:

I'm thrilled to find that taking care of Jessica for a few weeks isn't that hard. It's mostly just keeping her company, playing with and holding her a lot:

 Sometimes she naps:

And sometimes she plays:

With her appealing good looks, she'll probably be adopted soon:

The great thing is this particular rescue group does all the advertising and finding-a-home stuff for the kittens and cats it rescues. All I have to do is offer Jessie love and companionship:

And take cute photos of her:

And slooooowly introduce her to the other critters in the house:

Fostering a cat or kitten, a dog or puppy is surprisingly simple. Find local rescue groups in your neighborhood by going online to learn how you can do it, too.

It's fun! It's easy. And it saves lives.