Brookfield Zoo animals enjoy Halloween treats :: Chicago Sun-Times :: Photo Gallery

Brookfield Zoo animals enjoy Halloween treats :: Chicago Sun-Times :: Photo Gallery

Eat Better Bowl

Toby and I will be away for the weekend so we thought we would post this today.



This weeks cool item is the EatBetter Bowl. I personally think it is a really neat looking bowl, but that is not the reason you want to buy it! This bowl is designed to help your pet eat slower, maximizing the health issues associated with fast paced eating. The bowl has a wishbone design in the center that creates and obstacle that prevents gulping or vacuuming behaviors.


We call that the "hoover behavior" at my house. Toby gets a special can of food each week, it is apparently really special because he can only taste it if he consumes the whole thing in under a minute! LOL.


You can enter to win one on the Tails Magazine website.

Weekends on a Wednesday.........

Join us at The Spooky Pooch Parade at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Saturday, October 31. 1pm-3pm

Chihuahua's Rock Halloween Party

Chihuahua's Rock Meet Up Group had their first meet-up at Best Friends Pet Care on Sunday. They had fun toys out to play with, and yummy treats for the dogs and owners! They held it the dog camp room so there was plenty of room to play and run. They even had a Halloween costume contest!

If you are interested in hosting your next meet-up at Best Friends, please call and schedule your date with our manager. We have plenty of large indoor and outdoor areas available.

(847) 634-9444

Chicago's Top Cat Contest

This is Winter, he is one of the cats that Young at Heart Pet Rescue has here at Best Friends, in the cat sanctuary. We think he is Chicago's coolest cat!

You have all heard the saying "cats are cool, and dogs drool". If you believe your cat is cool then this a contest for you. Sun Times Newspaper has a contest for Chicago's coolest cat. You can submit your cat's picture and a brief description and it will be posted on the website. At a later date they will vote to find out who the coolest cat really is.

Skunked....

We are not the only ones that have been enjoying that wonderful Indian Summer! The SKUNKS have been also! While they are cute to look at, and are even great at eating the grubs and mosquito's in the lawn, they are not so cute when they come face to face with our dogs. A skunk will give a warning when it is alarmed by stamping their front feet. While you or I would take heed and leave, our dogs would take that as a sure sign of wanting to play. I know Toby does. "Look Mom he is black and white and cute like me, he must want to play!" I must admit watching Toby chase the skunk around the yard a few weeks ago was funny. You would have thought it was another puppy, the skunk literally ran in circles until I called Toby in. I lucked out with that one, I and Toby have not been so lucky in the past. I love Tomato Juice in my chili not on my dog!

The American Kennel Club (Fetch Magazine August 09) says the most important thing to do if your dog gets skunked is to check their eyes, nose, and mouth. If he was sprayed in the face, which is where skunks tend to aim, the chemicals in the spray could cause irritation and inflammation, even in the lining of the throat and lungs if inhaled. After rinsing with plenty of water if they are still rubbing at their face, or their eyes look red, they should
probably be seen by a vet.
Obviously after their encounter with a skunk you are going to want to give them a bath. A full service grooming salon, like Best Friends, will be able to offer a "skunk bath" We use a specially formulated soap. Prior to putting your friend in your car though you might want to try this home remedy to rid the house and your dog of some of the smell.

1 Quart 3 percent hydrogen Peroxide

1/4 cup baking soda

1 teaspoon Dawn liquid dish soap

After thoroughly soaking your dog in this mixture rinse him well in clean tap water. For the face some people recommend using a towel and soaking areas on their face with tomato juice. Keep in mind that it might take several baths to completely rid your dog of the skunk smell.

Marmaduke Makes A Difference

Today is the day... National Make A Difference Day! Thank You to all those who helped make a difference in someone's lives.

Sleepy Pod For Pets

Fun Stuff Fridays is very unique this week......
It's a car seat, a carrier, and a bed. Three great things in one! The sleepy pod comes in many different colors to match your pets' fashion styles! You can even add a "Cloud Fluff" for some extra cushion. Coming in December you can add a "crater dot" insert for extra warmth.

Weekends on a Wednesday...

For more information contact http://www.yahpetrescue.com/about/

For those Chihuahua people out their The Chihuahua's Rock Meet Up group will have their meet up here on Sunday 10-25 http://www.meetup.com/Chihuahuas-Rock-Meetup-Group/calendar/11523544/

Dog Adoptions....Marmaduke style!

No need to adopt as many as Marmaduke did, but please don't forget October is Adopt a Shelter Dog month! For those dogs you do not have room for volunteering to walk them is a great idea too! If you do, don't forget October 24th is National Make A Difference Day, log in those hours and help America make a difference in people and animal's lives.

Best Friends loves to make new Best Friends. Every new friend that stays with us, their first night of boarding is FREE! They also get $10 off their first salon appointment.

Brutus the Bear

Photo courtesy of Casey Anderson/National Geographic/ZooToo News

Can you imagine rolling over in bed and laying next to you is an 800 lb Grizzly Bear! I thought Toby hogged the bed, I can only imagine this guy! Casey Anderson of Montana adopted a Grizzly Bear he now calls Brutus when he was just two weeks old. Brutus, then just a cub was born into a wildlife facility,which offered the captive bear only a death sentence, given it's propensity to keep the grizzly population at a low, manageable level. Casey took him home and with the help of his family and friends bottle fed Brutus until he was old enough to eat on his own. The rest is as they say on the books, or shall I say books, television, movies, and Internet! Brutus is now recognized as a Grizzly Ambassador! Casey has since opened the Montana Grizzly Encounter, a facility that now houses five resident grizzly bears and gives Brutus the life he deserves. For more information about this post you can visit ZooToo News. You can also go to Brutus the Bear's personal website, or the Montana Grizzly Encounter site. You can currently catch them on the National Geographic Channel, with their show

Expedition Grizzly.

Pee Wee the Fire Pig

video powered by Zoo Too Pet News on ZooToo.com

While some fire stations have adorable well behaved Dalmations for their mascots this fire station in Georgia has someone a little more unique! Meet Pee Wee the pig!

Give A Day. Get a Disney Day.

Wow am I excited!

This program does not begin until January 2010, but I thought I would mention it now since it goes along with the last post. Give a Day.Get a Disney Day. is a program that celebrates and inspires volunteering. Starting January 1st 2010 you can log onto the website and pick a location in your area to volunteer for a day. Once you have logged in your information, it will be sent to Hands On Network, part of the Points Of Light Institute. They will keep track of where you have gone to volunteer, and then once your time has been confirmed you will receive your free pass to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park. For more detailed information please visit any of the above sites. Make sure to sign up right away in January, as they do have limited tickets.

The really cool part is for those of you who have the ability to travel with your pets, when you visit the Walt Disney theme parks in Florida, your furry family member can visit us at

Best Friends! You got it, Best Friends Pet Care now owns several of the pet care locations on the Disney property. While you are out enjoying your well deserved day of fun let them come enjoy theirs with us. If you are unable to bring your pet with they are always warmly welcomed at any of our local locations.

Make a Difference Day

Make A Difference Day is said to be the most encompassing day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. USA WEEKEND Magazine created this day, and it has now grown to become an annual event that takes place on the 4Th Saturday of every month. In 2008 3 MILLION people volunteered to help someone! If you do not have anything or anyone in particular you can think of you can visit the Make A Difference Day website for ideas in you area. If you already have an idea make sure to go on the website to log your project in, so it will count with the millions of others that are volunteering their time on Saturday.

Remember there are always people out their and organizations that can use your help any day of the year! It is still pretty nice weather out there so perhaps you can find a animal shelter or rescue in your area, I am sure they have plenty of dogs that would love to go out on a walk and enjoy the day with you. If it is too cold for you than you can volunteer in their cat rooms. Many places have very spacious rooms for the cat community, they always love to sit in the sunshine and get some love! Not near a shelter or rescue, perhaps you have an elderly neighbor, or simply someone who lives by themselves, offer your time to help them clean up all those crazy leaves we know are flying around our yards this time of year! If you yourself have a dog take your neighbor and your dog for a walk. You can warm two hearts at once!

Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully it will be a fulfilling one for you. To those of you who do volunteer regularly no matter where it might be, thank you. For those of you who volunteer at a rescue or shelter please remember our Rescue Friends Program. For every pet they adopt out the family receives $20 off our services and the rescue/shelter receives a check for $20.

Best Friends Jack-O-Lantern!

Happy Halloween! Check out the Jack-o-lantern that our sister location in Houston carved! Pretty awesome right?!?

"Fun Stuff Fridays"

http://customphotonightlights.com/tails/index.php

When your human parent is having a bad day they always say seeing you always makes things better. I must agree, my mom always has a smile on her face when I am around, my dad even says she is happier to see me then him! Well this cool item is for all of my furry friends out there that are not allowed to sleep on the bed with their human parent. A custom photo night light. Now I am not saying that humans are afraid of the dark, but I bet if they rolled over in bed at night and saw your cute face next to them they'd have sweet dreams all night long. Maybe my mom will get me one with a picture of a peanut butter rawhide! This night light has a small 4 watt bulb, a toggle switch, and a nice black museum style background. You can have your photo horizontal or vertical. They are pretty low in price, they would make a great holiday gift.

Thanksgiving Special

The Great American Pet Expo

I know the last post said to watch for upcoming events on our "Weekends on a Wednesday" post, but this event sounds so cool I thought it was worthy of it's own post! The Great American Pet Expo will be held at Navy Pier this year on November 14 and 15Th. Best Friends will have a booth there so you will have to make sure you stop by. Ultimate Air Dogs,Classic K9 Extreme Team, WFCO Dancing with the dogs among others will be there showing off their talents. There will also be many different rescues and shelters there. Hope to see you all there!

Weekends on a Wednesday

We have "Fun Stuff Fridays" and now you can watch for " Weekends on a Wednesday".

Every Wednesday Toby and I will post upcoming pet events that we have noticed for the surrounding areas. We might not get everyone's events posted, and we apologize, it is not because we do not think it is something fun to do, we simply missed it! Most any of the pet shelters and animal rescues in Illinois will post events directly on their sites.

As always if there is not something specific that interests you remember any day spent with your pet is a fun one. You can always go for a walk in the neighborhood, or simply curl up on the couch and read a good book together. They will be happy to spend any time with you. It is that unconditional love they provide us that gets us through the crazy work week.

Watch for our first installment of fun things to do with your pet next Wednesday

**Don't forget we now offer day passes to our dog park. A great way to let your furry friend run off some energy on the weekend!**

The Real Deal

Hi everyone, it's me Toby. Well OK it's my mom, typing for me, but if I could type my commentary would be just as important! By now you all pretty much have gathered I am definitely an only dog, by my choice. Mom says I can be a bit of a snob to others in my house! I was here first, simple as that! That does not mean I do not love every animal out there, just like my Mom and everyone at Best Friends we are equal animal "lovers". Everyone and everything deserves love.
I personally have never met a cow before but I have heard stories of Mom's friend Freeway, a feisty shih tzu, charging at the cows and pigs on Grandma's farm. Geeze, Mom says I am a dog snob, but at least I am smart enough to challenge an animal my own size! All right enough picking on poor Freeway. There is a neat contest going on right now that allows you to pick the next California Happy Cow. It is more of a contest for the kids to go online and do, but thought I would mention it. Hey... I am black and white think I could pass as a Happy Cow? Can you imagine me being a movie star, all right off to my peanut butter rawhides I go. Have fun voting! Not to persuade anyone but Mom and I voted for April!

Online Reservations

No more trying to remember to call and make a reservation in the morning for the dog! Best Friends now offers online reservations. After a long day at work, you are finally sitting down at the computer booking your vacation on Travelocity, now you can switch sites and book the furry family members their vacation too! As long as the location you are booking with has your email on file in the center you can book away! If you are a brand new client to our center, welcome, call us so we can enter all of your information in, and then you too can book online. For those of you who do have a pet that has never boarded with us before don't forget first time boarding guests get their first night FREE!

Fun Stuff Fridays! Fauna Suana Bed

Yes, I know a day late, today is Saturday. Toby and I were busy yesterday debating what cool pet product we can begin with. Checkout the blog every Friday for Fun, and sometimes new pet products. Toby, I, and Best Friends Pet Care do not necessarily recommend the products we simply read about the reviews and wish to share! If there is a particular product we do personally recommend we will let you know! If any of you have something totally cool that you think our readers will enjoy email me and let me know. No solicitations please, just honest feedback because your pet personally tried that product, and loved it. As always enjoy our blog and have a great day with your best friend! mhodorowich@bestfriends.net

This weeks feature is Fauna Sauna Heated Pet Spa Bed. They are a little pricey, but definitely seem to be well worth it. Each style bed provides non contact radiant style warmth. Great for the bones and joints, or to simply to cuddle on! Forget Toby I might just have to get one, after a hard days work in the kennel that sounds pretty cozy!

My Daisy Days

We have a star among us! Right here in Grayslake, not to far from Best Friends, lives Daisy the basset hound. Daisy is a rescued Basset Hound who has her own set of children's DVD's. She will eventually have her own set of books to go along with the DVD's. My Daisy Days, a series without dialogue, on the recommendation of experts in children's education, features both the original Daisy and her eventual replacements. The original Daisy had passed away since the beginning of this journey 8 years ago. Each episode features Daisy at various locations through out Grayslake and the Chicagoland area. Everywhere from the zoo to the County Fair! The best part of the DVD sales go to the Starlight Children's Foundation, a group that works to improve the quality of life for terminally ill children. For more fun facts about this cool dog you can visit Tails Magazine, or Daisy's website.

This little piggy...

went to the market, with his owner! This story gives a whole new meaning to that old Mother Goose rhyme I heard as a child. Oh my goodness I am in love! Toby I think you need a friend. Trust me this one would not try to steal your peanut butter rawhides! Best Friends has cared for many different pets over the years, I hope someday we can care for a Tea Cup Pig! According to The Daily Mail, and other sources these new pets are so popular that they are now almost impossible to get. These cuties only way about 2 ounces when they are born and by the time they are 2 years old they are fully grown, weighing in at between 40-45 pounds and stand about 12-16 inches tall. The Tea Cup Pig photo below is courtesy of Jane Croft of
Little Pigs Farm.

Upside Down Dog

We all have numerous pictures at home of our pets. Each of them cuter than the one before. Then there are those that are just down right funny. The picture of them smiling as they are laying belly up in the yard waiting for a pet, the upside down stretch off the couch to try and grab the bone on the floor. Sounding familiar? They sure bring back memories of some of Toby's tricks. Next time you run across one of those funny upside down pictures, save it. http://upsidedowndogs.com/ Visit this site and post that funny picture. It is free to post, and pretty cool to be able to see you pets picture on the web! Your right she is not upside down but we were talking about cute dog pictures and I could not resist! We love you Kasha!

"Pawpawties" for charity

A dog and a cat best friends, pretty crazy if you ask me. A dog and a cat hosting their own twitter site, now that's crazy! Not so crazy for these two friends. Romeo is a Persian cat from North Carolina and Dougal is a cairn terrier from England. Their "human" parents claim they are really the ones behind the screen doing all of the work, but if you ask Romeo and Dougal they'll tell you it is all about them. After all they are the inspiration! Together with their parents they post daily on their websites, twitter,facebook and on their blog! Once a month they host "pawpawties on Twitter to raise money for various pet rescues, and animal shelters. They also have a fundraising program called Furpower, that allows them to collect money for The Humane Society of America, among others. Furpower does have some corporate sponsors so they are usually able to double the amount raised by donations. They just began this fabulous journey in March, and have raised money so far for Animals in Distress in Harrisburg PA, and Kitten Rescue in LA. They use the websites firstgiving.com and justgiving.com to collect the pledges and provide tax receipts to all of the wonderful donors. For more information on these crazy pets you can visit The Daily Herald or any of the for mentioned sites. Toby says to make sure you check them all out, it is a pretty cool thing. He seems to think he needs to have his own thing going on! I told him he is cute and convincing but I am not to sure about having his own site, he does not need to get a bigger head! =)

The "woof" or the "meow"....

that is the question. Everyone loves their pets, how can you not. That unconditional love they show you each and everyday. But the question does remain, are you a dog person or a cat person? We all have our preference. In connection with the Meet the Breeds event - the world's largest showcase of dogs and cats-, the Cat Fancier's Association and the American Kennel Club are starting a little friendly competition! You can declare your preference by going onto the Meet the Breeds website. Have fun! For the record we here at Best Friends have equal love for all of our furry friends!

"Catober 1st"

Happy Birthday to all of our feline friends! North Shore Animal League in Port Washington New York wants October 1st to be a day of celebration. They have declared this day "Catober 1st", a universal birthday for shelter and rescue cats everywhere. For all those adopted cats out there we raise our paws, and hands to you! To join in the month long celebration you can visit their website. The adorable picture below is courtesy of North Shore Animal League.

Where in the World is Pushkin?

We miss you Pushkin! Hope you are having fun in the city!

October camper of the month

This is Hairy our "furry camp counselor"! He likes to spend his day in camp patroling the area making sure everyone is on their best behavior! Hairy, you are definintly one in a million. We love you!