Just so you know

Just a little heads up for all of you kids here...it is NEVER a good thing when the pilot of your plane says,

"If you look out of the right side of the plane and see another plane running parallel to us, pay no attention to it. It'll be using another runway...."

It's just NEVER a good thing.

More on this later.

A little dog to dog comparison

Just an interesting doggy note here...took a walk around the city yesterday shortly after arriving and it was raining. Naturally I had to go to the dog park because it had been about eight or nine hours since I had seen any pooches.

Most of the pups running around here had raincoats on. Even the breeds like Huskies and Chows were wearing them.

Most pups in Boston really don't wear them. Winter coats, yes, but not too many raincoats.

Question...are our Boston pups more "macho" than San Francisco pups? Discuss.

The saga continues...like you wanna hear it.

So as to prevent nausea


Day One/SceneTwo

We are, naturally, the last group to board the plane – part of group F, which undoubtedly has some sort of “Fashion Failure” connotation. They still let us board though, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Stepping onto the plane I feel as though I am walking into an 80’s gay bar meets backstage at “The View”. Lavender colored acrylic divides the uber cool from the regular cool and us. Soft purple lights wash up the cabin walls and line the ceiling. The flight crew is swaddled in sleek black uniforms with an occasional splash of red. Ambient, new agey music softly plays we take our black leather seats. Oooo...

Looking at the crew, I see the work of the selection criteria board is immediately apparent. Again, I imagine what the list looks like.

Crew members must include at least one of each of the following:
Cute gay boy with spiky hair
Dark haired Asian beauty
Pretty blond chick from American heartland
Strikingly handsome/lovely dark skinned man or woman
Other random lovelies

I immediately sort through the contents of the little catch bin in front of me. I find a tastefully designed barf bag, a tastefully designed emergency procedures manual, a tastefully designed menu, a tastefully designed welcome brochure, and a box of no roll crayons. Since I imagine that in my future, crayons will be the only implements that I am allowed to write with, I play with them first. This behavior earns an icy glare from the little one. I put them back. I'll get back to them later when she is sleeping.

I start to monkey with the personal viewing screen and discover that there is a remote control imbedded in the arm of my seat. I am oddly charmed and overly impressed. I wonder if Richard Branson would consider adopting me. I can cook and don't often soil myself.

My morning tea was laced with Dramamine so I spend the flight alternately drooling on myself while sleeping and playing with the entertainment system. Needless to say, it takes me most of the flight to figure out what my eleven year old nephew could figure out in ten minutes, tops. By the time I am comfortable with the system we are bouncing onto a rainy San Francisco runway.

We had some great Dim Sum for lunch at a little place in the Richmond and are getting ready to watch the Oscars even though we haven’t seen even one of the movies.

I have not yet had a glass of wine but I hope to remedy that situation shortly.

California, here we are

Day One, Scene One

First of all, big thanks to Uncle Eric for rousing himself out of bed early on a Sunday morning to drop us off at the airport. Anything to get rid of us.

We’re here are at the airport getting ready to board our flight. It’s 7:12 am, we’ve passed through security in an unusually uneventful way. The little one typically gets pegged as some sort of high security risk and we generally nearly get carted off to the airport equivalent of Guantanamo. This time, however, not so much. I think that we will only fly Virgin from now on.

The Virgin waiting area is a sea of coolness. It’s about twenty minutes old. All red and white graphics and blue glass tiled bathrooms. Touch screen computer monitors and multi ethnic passengers are everywhere.

We are hopelessly out of sync with the rest of the way hip flyers waiting to board the plane. It’s as if the crowd has been vetted out by some sort of selection criteria board. I imagine what their checklist might look like.

Qualifications to fly include/but are not limited to:
Possession of:
I Phone/I Touch/I Pod
Laptop
British accent
Pithy sense of humor
Some sort of fashion sense
Ability to pull off above mentioned fashion sense that may include the wearing of Uggs and fedoras

We clearly have been allowed to fly under some sort of “special admissions” program that allows the tragically unhip/uncool to mingle with the rest of humanity. I’m feeling like the best we can do is not draw attention to ourselves. It's not gonna be easy.

For general consumption...

OK Kids, we are going to be taking a little vacation from the bustling world of retail to regain our normally sunny dispositions. We are going to California to mooch off of family and theoretically stand in the sun for five minutes.

I say this as monsoon conditions blanket the entire left coast. I must say, our timing is really impeccable.

Here are the dates that we will be closed for vacation:

We will be closed from Sunday, February 22, 2009
through Sunday, March 2, 2009.



We will reopen on Tuesday, March 3, 2009,
keeping our regular hours 10:00 am - 7:00 pm.

Remain calm, carry on, and we will see you when we get back.

Thanks to you all, the best customers anywhere.

Baby Amani

This is the darling baby aardvark, Amani, born at the Detroit Zoo on Christmas Day.

Call of the day...

I know that you won't even believe this but here it goes.

"I have a couple of questions." the caller alerts me, "Do you have time?"

"OK." I say. "I have a little."

"Do you have any dry shampoos for dogs?" she asks.

"No," I say, "but we have mousse and wipes and things like that. What kind of dog do you have?"

"Well, my dog is actually no longer alive. I had it freeze dried and keep it in the house, and with the holidays, I feel like it needs to be cleaned up, you know, for guests."

"I understand." I say.

Holiday Photo Shoot Update

OK Kids, the Holiday Pet Photo shoot is REALLY filling up fast. We only have a couple of slots left open because lots of people have opted to sign up for the event early.

We will be extending our hours that day to accommodate as many photo seekers as we can but please do call us at 617.323.7387 if you want to be sure to get in.

Pet Photos

We had some really great photo results from our "Howl-O-Ween Pet Photo Day". Pooches, kitties, and humans showed up and walked away with dandy, fun shots.

Here's a few for you to take a gander at:



Our Christmas Pet Photo Event is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 23rd at the store.
It will again be a first come, first served type of event and judging from the Howl-O-Ween shoot, we do expect it to be well attended. We'll let you know more details as we get them.

I'm wondering...

Yesterday's, "do you sell" phone call question was "Do you sell ants?"

"Ants?" I say, "Why, no...you can get them outside..."

"Oh." came the reply and a polite "Thank you" followed.

Piranhas, ants...am I missing some sort of marketing opportunity here??

Howloween Photo Shoot

Our annual Howloween Photo shoot is going to be Sunday, October 26th at the store.

It'll be first come, first served this year though we are accepting early sign ups.

We will get back to you all with more details as soon as we have them.

Poodle Rescue Alert!

OK kids, let's think about how we can help the people over at Flora's Pet Project in Connecticut.
Our pal Daryl just let us know about a seizure they did of over twenty poodles from a neglectful
"breeder". This person kept far too many dogs to care for them and when they seized they were in deplorable condition - matted, smelly, thin, and scared.

The volunteers of Flora's cleaned them up and are providing veterinary care to them now. They range in age from a few months old to three years old.

Daryl tells us that they are a terrifically sweet group of dogs though none of them is sure about how to live in the real world. They are looking for experienced adopters to provide training and social skills to these wonderful little pooches. They will be great pals to someone.

Just to let you know...

that someone just called and asked if we sold Piranhas.

We don't.

I thought you would like to know.

Please welcome...

Mr. Giacomo Gigio, our new store kitty.

Mr. Giacomo comes to us from the Boston MSPCA and is the long lost son
of our late, beloved Topo Gigio, (so we imagine).
You will probably see him hanging out in the window or running around
the store introducing himself.
Please make yourself known to him. He is new in town.

Greg Tilford Lecture- Herbs and Natural Supplements for Dogs & Cats

It is with great pleasure that we once again announce a lecture by herbalist Greg Tilford. Greg is also an author and co-owner of Animals Essentials, a line of herbal and nutritional supplements that we carry at The Pet Cabaret.

The lecture is entitled "Herbs and Natural Supplements

for

Dogs & Cats".
The presentation is designed to identify and explore the true dietary and supplemental requirements of dogs and cats, viewed from a holistic perspective. This knowledge will help take attendees into deeper, more loving and caring relationships with their companion animals.

THIS EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE

ON: SEPT, 19, 2008 at 7:00PM
AT: THE PET CABARET
4404 WASHINGTON STREET
ROSLINDALE, MA
617-323-7387

Pre-registration for this event is necessary. Really...space is limited.

Greg is rarely in the Boston area so this is a really great opportunity to hear a well-known expert on herbal medicine and supplementation for animals.

Greg with students on an herbal walk
from a June 2008 seminar in Montana

Annie!

So the auditions for the part of Sandy the dog in the Footlight Club version of Annie went very well. We had a beautiful day and everyone was nicely behaved. No fights broke out even when participants were being pelted with tennis balls. The show, did indeed go on.

Here's a picture of the finalists. Good luck to them all!

Off Leash Dog Parks

We get a lot of inquiries regarding off leash dog parks in our area...you know...Roslindale, JP, Brookline, Dedham...

Now we all know that we don't really have any to speak of around here since the powers that be in the city have not seen fit to convey that honor upon us and our pooches, but we do know some exist.

So my question to you all is where are they all and where are your favorites?

Let us know where the pooch packs are playing.

Thanks!

Exciting News!

Hi Kids!

Just got word that Greg Tilford - herbalist supreme - will be gracing us with an hour long lecture about the use of herbal remedies in animals on Friday evening, September 19, 2008.
We have not yet confirmed the exact hour but we'll get back to you on that... I really did just find out.

Greg is the owner and formulator of the Animal Essentials line of remedies that we sell at The Pet Cabaret. Those of you who have used these formulas can attest to their gentleness and effectiveness. They really are just great.

This is going to be a wonderful opportunity to hear Greg speak and ask him a question or two.

We are very excited about Greg coming to our store and urge you all to sign up for this lecture as soon as we get back.

The Road Trip continues...

Da Falls








These shadowy characters have been following us everywhere.









Looks relaxing doesn't it?

The Road Trip Begins!

All right kids, here's what's going on...I have been meticulously photo documenting our road trip for your viewing pleasure but for some reason cannot upload the photos to the site yet. I will keep trying.

In the meantime I will say that going to Niagra Falls seemed like a good idea at the time. Obviously, it seemed like a good idea to about a million other tourists as well.

So there we all were...in Niagra Falls...slowly we turned...inch by inch, step by step.

But it turned out to be very fun as well. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride and had a swingingly good time on it. We all looked marvelous in our blue plastic ponchos.

We ate at Wolfgang Putz's place, didn't really work out like we planned.

We walked around in a dazed and confused state for the remainder of the evening after getting completely over-stimulated in a casino.

So now, here we are in Michigan drinking wine and swearing at the computer. Not different from most evenings.

We'll get back to you soon with photos.