Aurora Boardealis

Resolution Report Card

2011-12-31T11:43:00.000-05:00

Here we are on the cusp of 2112 and I still haven't finished cleaning out that hall closet. Then I remembered my list of resolutions for 2011 and I wondered how I did. Here's the score. Clean the garage--yes Re-roof the decorative well in the back yard--yes Find Sasquatch--no Lose a couple of pounds--yes Inherit a diamond mine--no Plant tomatoes--yes Pick tomatoes--yes Eat tomatoes--yes Save

Today we learn a new phrase

2011-12-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

'Anticipatory grief.' In this excellent guest blog post (not my guest, not my blog, I did a lot of borrowing here), the multi-talented Dale Wisely talks about pets and worry and, well, I'll let you read the rest. The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

The Current State of Grooming

2011-12-08T11:37:00.001-05:00

For now we are without a groomer. Which means we don't do haircuts, but CAN do baths and nail trims. And dogs receive a discount bath, including nail trim, with a boarding visit. We do not have immediate plans to hire a groomer. There are a lot of quality groomers in the area and we are referring mainly to Dogs With Style in Hudson. We took our Leo there and a nice lady named Ruth made him look

The Blogapalooza Report Card

2011-12-01T10:41:00.001-05:00

As much as I had wanted to finish Blogapalooza with a flourish on the final day, it just didn't work out. What happened is I sort of put it off to the end, and then I sort of fell asleep. So let's give ourselves marks for the month. Intentions: A+ (always the best of intentions) Sticktuitivness: B- Educational value: D Entertainment value: A++ (I'm easily entertained) Social value: D- Value as a

So you think you're already tired of Christmas music?

2011-11-29T13:32:00.001-05:00

This is the time of year when people look forward to holiday concerts. At venues all over the area, local musical groups put on free and not so free performances of all your holiday favorites. You can hear concert bands at nursing homes, bell choirs in the gazebo on the town square, choruses in the mall, and small combos in whatever cafe nooks they can find. There is nothing like live music,

The Thanksgiving Tally

2011-11-28T10:45:00.001-05:00

51 = the number of dogs who boarded. 3 = the number of cats. 60 = the number of pounds of dog food served 2 = the number of kids home from college 1 = the number who spent more than 6 waking hours in our company 8 = the number of pounds of turkey we cooked 0 = in the number of pounds we had leftover after we accidentally left it out all night 368 = the number of days since Ohio State

When Black Friday Comes I'm Going to Stake My Claim

2011-11-24T20:49:00.001-05:00

Black Friday starts at midnight and this song won't get out of my head. All you shoppers who are heading out for the deal of the century, enjoy one of my favorite bands The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

My Cat is Trying to Kill Me

2011-11-23T21:57:00.001-05:00

I have sleep apnea, and I use one of those CPAP machines at night. For those who do not know, the CPAP forces pressurized air into my nose via a mask I wear that makes me look like I have a monkey on my face (I stole that analogy--thanks LIE). I have woken up with my machine turned off and I recently discovered why. My cat sits on it and pushes the off button. I think it's on purpose. He doesn't

The Great Bridge Repair of 2011

2011-11-19T22:28:00.001-05:00

On September 19, they closed a bridge a mile west of our place. Totally closed it, complete with a 5 mile detour. Kind of a pain, if our destination was points west, such as Twinsburg, Hudson, Akron, Macedonia or Missouri. In fact driving to Missouri was sufficiently more difficult that we avoided it altogether. The bridge crews were kind enough to put large detour signs up for the motorists,

Tomorrow is National Vicheyssoise Day

2011-11-17T23:28:00.001-05:00

Today my wife tells me of a Facebook post by our nephew who is in college. He noted that today is Homemade Bread Day. Actually this is what he said: "Today is National Homemade Bread Day.....too bad I'm hungry now and can't wait 3 hours for a sandwich." Pretty funny. Then I wondered when was the last time he's ever made bread? My guess it's never, which means it would be a lot more than 3 hours

My Public Service Good Deed for the Day

2011-11-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Because of my published writing, this blog, and my website, plus the kennel website and the various other ways I've weaseled myself into the internet, I signed up for a service called Google Alerts, which scours the internet for search terms I have provided and emails me with the results. For example, I have it set up to keep an eye open for any time 'John Sharp' comes up. So on a given morning I

The Problem with Princess

2011-11-11T23:37:00.001-05:00

Problem: Princess is a little old dog who visits us a lot. Recently she has started having sore feet, and we've figured out that it's because she paces relentlessly in her concrete run. Being old, she needs a bigger space so she doesn't get stiff. But with the pacing issue, we can't give her a big space. Solution: We have given her a smaller inside space, and furnished it with a comfy cot and

HBD LMS

2011-11-10T19:28:00.001-05:00

One of our valued employees has a birthday today. Lauren, take a bow. If she were here, I'd make her dump the poop buckets. We have this family tradition where the birthday celebrant gets the Big Birthday Weekend Extravaganza. The weekend closest to his or her birthday is centered around that person, where he/she gets to choose meals and stuff. Both my kids are away and we're having their

Goodnight, Champ

2011-11-09T09:23:00.001-05:00

I was in eighth grade when the first Frazier--Ali fight happened. It was all we talked about. A lot of my friends loved the fast talking, boastful Ali, but I liked Frazier. He was a no nonsense bull of a man and I liked the way he just went about his job without all the showmanship. RIP Smokin' Joe The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

Toy of the Day

2011-11-07T23:46:00.000-05:00

Did you ever want a dog toy that talked to your dog, so you didn't have to? Babble Ball comes with pre-programmed phrases and wisecracks and when your dog goes near it, it turns itself on and talks to him. It's activated by vibration or even the dog breathing on it. They have different sizes, and some for cats, ferrets and birds. Here's a video of a dog being "entertained' by one that makes

Sunday Chuckle

2011-11-06T17:23:00.000-05:00

This is a what? . Don't ask me, I stole this picture from Facebook (thanks Michelle Rizzo) (wait, Michelle is an Aurora police officer so I didn't steal it I, um, found it lying in the street, next to my house, no wait, it followed me home, yeah, that's it, it followed me home), but feel free to make up your own joke. Best line so far is from Mike Tinlin of the Tinlin Team: "I can't hear

An Interview with Victor

2011-11-05T10:57:00.000-04:00

Victor, is a 9 year old shepherd-retriever mix, currently staying at the Humane Society of Greater Akron, waiting for a new home. November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and Victor hopes someone out there is looking for a dog just like him. I spent a few minutes with Victor this week. Aurora Boardealis: Let me first say how great you look for being nine. What's your secret? Victor: I

Attitude, Schmattiude.

2011-11-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

. So I get a call today from someone who says her dog is hard to handle. He has an attitude. "Will that be a problem?" Good question. Most of the time dogs who have behavior problems (the nice way of saying they are likely to bite you) react to a certain thing, like cornering them, or trying to take their food away, or sticking a thermometer in their butt. Some dogs are 'cage tough' in that

Maggie the Cat

2011-11-03T23:39:00.003-04:00

On July 23 Maggie was dropped off to board. The owner said it would be for a couple of weeks, then he called and said it would be a couple of more. Maggie is still here. It turns out he now needs to find a home for her. She's a sweet little female cat, long hair, black and white, with a cute little mew. I've taken to letting her out into the front room at night to give her some more exercise.

When trees attack

2011-11-02T16:29:00.003-04:00

A couple of nights ago I heard a huge racket outside. I went outside and since it was dark I couldn't see much. Here's what it looked like in the morning A huge maple tree, which had never been pruned properly, split off and fell, stripping branches off the pine tree and landing on the garage. Fortunately it looks like maybe only a shingle or two were lost, and maybe some minor repair to

Blogapalooza 2011

2011-11-01T15:38:00.001-04:00

Today I discovered, via the Facebook post of a denizen of Toronto and probable future family member (this is shaping up to be a grammatically torturous sentence but I'm going to keep going), that November is National Blog Posting Month, aka NaBloPoMo. It's a sister to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month). During November, bloggers are encouraged

How Not to Conduct an Employee Search

2011-10-18T22:25:00.001-04:00

I have an open position here at the kennel. Part time kennel help, 15 hours a week. Pays about like McDonalds (maybe a little better depending on experience). I've had it for a few weeks but it turns out I really, really hate the hiring process. In the past I've put an ad in the paper with a phone number. Then I was bombarded with calls where I had to talk to lots of people who were wholly

Hello, September

2011-09-01T12:35:00.001-04:00

Hours Another summer is nearly gone, and the slower season begins for us. We'll have mainly weekend business now though to the holidays, which coincides nicely with our change of hours, which happens after Labor Day. After several people asked about them, I decided to add a little bit on the website about why we have such unusual hours. The truth is, I didn't invent those hours. The people who

Saying goodbye to my alien baby

2011-08-24T12:01:00.000-04:00

For years I have had this little bump in my belly that stayed smallish and never really bothered me, and I knew it wasn't anything serious but I didn't really know what it was. As it got bigger my son asked me what it was, and I told him it was my alien baby, and that one day he would have a little brother or sister with a long, skinny neck and and the ability to ride a bicycle up to the moon. He

Hair, hair, everywhere, and all the boarders did shrink

2011-08-17T10:57:00.001-04:00

This has been a hairy year. I don't mean 'skidding through a snowy mountain pass' hairy but actually hairy. Dog hairy. I have to guess it's a combination of weather and, well, weather, that is causing dogs to leave large amounts of themselves with us after they leave. Pippen, for example, has been here several times this summer and we can barely get rid of one batch of hair when she comes again

Names, Part 2: Every Name is a Song Cue

2011-08-09T20:23:00.001-04:00

Many years ago I had a kennel assistant named Ellie. One day I (unintentionally) snuck up on her while she was bathing a dog named Mickey. I caught her singing, "Hey Mickey you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, Hey Mickey." Then she saw me and said, sheepishly. "You weren't supposed to hear that." Maybe not, but she's not the only person to be inspired by dogs' names. With jillions of

Friends Don't Let Best Friends Drive Without Heartworm Preventative

2011-07-25T15:11:00.000-04:00

But don't take my word for it. Here's NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Pass this along to your friends. The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

What Happens if You Tell Your Dog He's Not Going to the Aurora Kennel

2011-07-15T17:26:00.002-04:00

The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

Names, Part 1

2011-07-11T11:18:00.001-04:00

Some of us were talking about pet names the other day and I realized it had been a long time since I mined the database to see what pet names are the most popular here at The Aurora Kennel. I know that when you compare it to the newest studies that show the most popular dog name to be Bella (from Twilight movies/.books (which I have neither seen nor read (regular readers will remember that I

Potpourri

2011-07-02T19:59:00.000-04:00

COMFORT For years we've relied upon garage sales and hand-me-downs for our bedding material, which has consisted mainly of towels, bathroom rugs and old blankets. Mind you, we never heard a single dog complain about it, but it got to be quite an eclectic pile of laundry over the years: plaid stadium blankets, fleece bed covers, giant Barney the dinosaur beach towels, and even--ack--a University

On a Day When We Did a Thing We Did Not Want to Do

2011-04-17T22:18:00.003-04:00

Some 14 years ago the first employees to arrive at the Aurora Veterinary Clinic were greeted in the parking lot by a cat, little more than a kitten. There was no sign of an owner, and when they opened the clinic door, the cat just moseyed in like he had no particular place to be and this place was as good as any. He needed a home and we had a cat shortage at our house so we took him. After much

A New Dog for the Price of a Haircut

2011-03-22T18:17:00.000-04:00

Our newest dog, Leo, is a golden doodle. This means he's part poodle and part golden retriever. He's pretty much always had fluffy hair and in our minds we've tilted him toward the golden retriever end of the scale, because that's what he seems like. Until now. His hair is extremely prone to matting and requires faithful brushing. We are not faithful brushers. Nor even occasional brushers. By

Okay, this is one cute video

2011-02-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

8 People Foods That Are Toxic to Pets

2011-01-29T17:07:00.000-05:00

We have already discussed onions and grapes, but here is a more comprehensive list of things your pets should not sink their teeth into. The 8 People Foods That Are Toxic to Pets The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

The State of the Kennel Address

2011-01-26T16:05:00.001-05:00

Last night featured another much less widely talked about but no less important speech on the state of things. That's right, the annual State of the Kennel (SOTK) address, given by me, before a warmly disinterested multi-species audience in my living room. As is customary at these affairs, all species were encouraged to sit or lie wherever they liked, as long as the dog stayed off my chair. Since

And the Award Goes to...

2011-01-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

If you recall, I refinished a door last year, sanding and staining and polyurethaning, until it was beautiful. Then promptly a dog came along and scratched it. What did I expect? So instead of getting mad, I embraced it, devising a contest to see who would leave the highest scratch on the door. Naturally this favored larger dogs (or dogs who could jump really, really high) and at one point I

The obligatory "Best of 2010" awards

2010-12-29T20:41:00.000-05:00

As a blogger I'm required by law to produce an end of the year, 'Best of 2010' list. I had no idea about this until late yesterday afternoon I got an email from President Obama reminding me of my obligation. He said, "Mr. Sharp, I've been scanning all the blogs in the U.S. and it seems the only two blogs that have not completed their 'Best of 2010' posts are you and a tiny blog by a guy who can

Dogs are like the Ferengi

2010-12-26T11:37:00.001-05:00

I get these daily emails with helpful tips about dogs and cats, some of which I've shared. I've also linked them over there on the right so you can get them too. Anyway, the other day one of them explained why dogs love having their ears stroked, and being the geek that I am, I immediately thought of the Ferengi. Now you Trekkers know what I'm talking about, but for those who do not I'm afraid

Old Blue

2010-12-05T09:32:00.001-05:00

Here is a wonderfully written little thing about a girl and her dog in a journal called McSweeney's. The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

2010-12-01T17:56:00.001-05:00

Goodreads is a website where you can keep track of the books you've read, are reading, or intend to read, and also share in the book reading experiences of your friends and others. Each month they send a newsletter. Here is how their latest newsletter started out: Dear John, You started reading The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love 857 days ago. Update your progress. Since you asked. Dear

Gone but not forgotten

2010-11-16T16:44:00.001-05:00

The dogs and cats who stay with us are often more than just business transactions. Admittedly, many pets visit us only once or twice, or maybe once every couple of years, and we don't have the chance to know these guys as well as many of our more frequent guests. But many, many dogs and cats have been coming here for years, and often they are the second or third in a family of pets we have cared

So hide the chocolate covered raisins.

2010-10-12T13:08:00.000-04:00

We all know chocolate is bad for dogs. And did you know onions are bad too? So when you let your dog clean up the dinner plate make sure you didn't cook with onions. And then there is gum with xanthan. Also, grapes. And raisins. You may have heard that too. Just so you know how seriously pet professionals take it, here's a little story. Our new dog, Leo, a seven month old golden doodle, was

On the saying of Goodbye

2010-09-27T16:19:00.001-04:00

Our doberman, Titus, passed away last week. He was only 6. A few weeks ago he started coughing and tests revealed he had cardiomyopathy, which we knew meant he didn't have long. We tried several medications but it was like throwing a pillow in front of a car to get it to stop. We've been through this before, the end days of a cherished pet, and we watched for the signs that it was time to help

Oh where, oh where has my little blog gone?

2010-08-05T14:08:00.001-04:00

They say that a blog has to be constantly updated in order to be effective. My goal was a couple of times a week. Sounded easy. But then Summer happened. Summer is to kennels what December is to retail. And this year we've been busier than last year, which is a good thing. But something had to suffer and it was the blog. So here are some of the things that happened since the last time I posted:

This is not the duck in question

2010-06-15T15:21:00.002-04:00

Someone sent me this to cheer me up Actually I apologize for alarming people. I'm not really broken up about it. I'd classify it more like being a teensy bummed, but then I went out for ice cream and everything is better. The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation 330-562-7011 AuroraOhioKennel.com

Of Ducks and Men

2010-06-15T11:27:00.001-04:00

Several days ago my son was mulching the beds next to the house, and when he tried to spread some behind a shrub, there was an explosion of feathers and quacking and a mallard duck rose up and flew away. We looked and there, in a little depression she'd dug right next to the foundation, were ten eggs. Naturally we all had to go back and have a look, then we worried whether we'd scared her away

An Interview with Bogey

2010-05-19T10:09:00.002-04:00

As I've posted before, the Akron Humane Society has lots of dogs and cats to adopt, and at Facebook I've friended them, so in my feed I get to see the featured pet of the day/week or whatever. I want to use this blog to help promote them and hopefully (yes I know hopefully is poor usage) help them get adopted. As such, I conduct interviews with selected pets. Some interviews don't get published

A dog story to warm your heart.

2010-05-09T22:36:00.002-04:00

There's a little blog where some writers post things they've written that aren't really literature, but more like conversations between themselves. Here is one such post about a really stupid Labrador and the people he loved. The Aurora Kennel: TLC Boarding by Reservation330-562-7011AuroraOhioKennel.com

Nick nack paddy whack, give your dog a ....wait. A processed synthetic bone shaped toy?

2010-04-29T20:25:00.003-04:00

According to the Dogblog at Dogster.com, there are ten very good reasons not to give your dog a meat bone. I've long lived in a home with veterinarians who have forbidden our dogs to have bones, and when I tell people that, sometimes they say, "But dogs have always had bones," "they evolved eating bones," "if bones were bad for dogs, Old Mother Hubbard would have needed a different word to rhyme

NaPoWriMo

2010-04-26T00:07:00.005-04:00