With the month of February winding down, I thought I'd take look at some of the things that stand out this month. Earlier on, I spoke about it being National Pet Dental Health Month , and February is also Responsible Pet Owner's Month, and today closes out the Animal Legal Defense Fund's third annual National Justice for Animals Week .  First, in honor of this being the month of love and caring...I'd like to thank Peggy of Peggy's Pet Place for the pawsome bumper sticker she sent to us as part of her furbaby Kelly's birthday/Valentine's Day drawing. As the sticker says, "Hug a pet today!" Or two, or five, or six! Gibson is pleased to show off how he hugs his "pet" stuffed buddy. Please be sure to stop by Peggy's wonderful blog and say "hi!" and let her know the FiveSibes sent you! We see it or read about it every day - severe injustices bestowed upon animals. There are dogs who are used for "sport" fighti...

T his blog is a momentous one...it's the FiveSibes first blogiversary! One year ago today I began sharing my writings and photographs of our five Siberian Huskies with the posting of my very first blog article titled, February is Canine Dental Health Month , featuring our alpha queen, Harley, flashing the camera with her pearly canine whites! Little did I know then just how wonderful this blog ride would be or the many wonderful pet-loving folks I have met along the way. Thank you all for sharing in "a day in the life of FiveSibes" many times over since that very first blog entry. I enjoy and appreciate  your readership, comments, thoughts, support, and friendship; and am certainly looking forward to the next year of canine and pet chit-chat! F or this special date, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about an essential element of training, and not for just Siberian Huskies, but all pets - socialization. Many have asked me over the years how did we get our Sibe...

  For this week's Shadow Shot Sunday, I photographed sweet Chloe patiently waiting for some treats by the soft glow of the back porch light! For some other cool Shadow Shots from fellow photographers and bloggers across the globe, check out Hey Harriet's site every Sunday! NEW BLOG FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENT :  If you know of a school that has the  Siberian Husky for their mascot, then I want to know! Send me an Email at FiveSibes(at)gmail(dot)com with the name of the school and where it is, and some quality JPEG photos of the Husky mascot, artwork, bumper stickers, logos, anything that shows the Siberian Husky school spirit, and I'll make a nice slideshow highlighting that school for one of my blog entries!   Due to permission issues, please DO NOT send any photos that include students or their names - just photos of artwork or mascot images. Please be sure to obtain permission from the school  or district.  Thank you! GO TEAM HUSKY!

Ah, the sounds of a new day dawning  at our house... Happy Woos-day!!! Did you catch the still-sleepy Sibe howling on her back? Silly Sibes!

♥ Have a LOVEly Valentine's day!♥ O n a side note, as some of you were so nice as to comment about them, I had some cute falling hearts and a splashy Valentine's Day widget on my blog to add some festiveness to it. Then suddenly, my blog was "highjacked!" It sent readers to a variety of other websites. Some of you I know were kind enough to alert me to that issue. Then, I couldn't access my own blog at times from this. Very frustrating!!! Thanks to three wonderful folks - one who alerted me to the terrible "art" of highjacking so I actually had an idea of what was happening, and to another (my friend and tech guru!) for helping me fix it! Unfortunately, you can not speak to anyone at Blogger (either by phone or Email), so I posted a notice in the Blogger Help Forum - and I did indeed get a speedy response that, too, was helpful. So lesson learned here  - be careful of the widgets!!!

Smile wide, Smile bright Fives smiles I see; such a sight Healthy teeth, healthy gums Brush pets’ teeth to keep ‘em white! - D. Wills-Raftery     W hile our "Harley" pictured above, helps us welcome in this month to celebrate National Pet Dental Health , we shouldn’t need a reminder that as part of our pets’ overall care, we should be paying attention to their teeth, and be giving their chompers a brushing on a frequent basis (you know your pets’ teeth – this could be daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly). Your pet having strong teeth and good gums is very important. As with people, broken or rotting teeth can lead to other health issues, gum disease, irritation, discomfort, inflammation, and infection. To avoid a problem from starting, give them a little brush with some pet-friendly toothpaste. You can use either a finger brush (this is the type preferred by the FiveSibes), a standard (pet) toothbrush, a dental sponge, or pad. All of which can be purchased at any pet store....

Harley loves being read to! I love books. Always have. And the FiveSibes really seem to enjoy them too! They love to inspect the packages I receive in the mail, eagerly sniffing at the crisp pages of a new book. And, just like children, they seem to really love being read to. They eagerly listen as voice breathes life into the written words, and every now and again they will sound off their interest with a few "woos" if I pause too long between pages. A FivesSibe Four-Paw Rating! R ecently, we were treated to a "paw"some read when we received a complimentary copy of  For the Love of Dogs: An A-Z Primer for Dog Lovers of All Ages, which is cleverly written by Allison Weiss Entrekin (managing editor of Doggie Aficionado Magazine ) and wonderfully illustrated by Mark Anderson, with a foreword that emphasizes positive reinforcement training by Victoria Stilwell , renowned canine trainer and host of "It's Me or the Dog." This hardcover book publis...

Shhhh...can you spot her?

I s your canine companion feeling under the weather? Has tummy troubles suddenly reared their ugly heads? It's no wonder with all the crazy weather we've been having across the country this year. Just like their hu-family, our furbabies have some "blah" days where they don't feel well. Recently, upset tummies, Giardia, and ear yeast infections have made their rounds to several of our FiveSibes, where they are either afflicted with vomiting or diarrhea, or both, thus resulting in one or more being put on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice. Some have asked me just how we prepare ours so the Sibes eat it. So this week, we will be featuring what we refer to as BCR Stew, for our Canine Cooking Corner (which is now a monthly Tuesday feature). T o give an overview, when stomach distress hits, I always check in with my vet. Depending on the diagnosis,  with most average tummy troubles your vet may suggest withholding food for a day to give the intestinal tract a ...

"Where's my snacks???" asks Wolf during the pre-game show.

Humanity. Humane. Humans. According to Dictionary.com , a definition of humanity is, " the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence." Humanity is the state of being humane. Being humane is what makes us human. And humans are capable of great love...for each other and for all living creatures...including sled dogs. The shocking recent news from a British Columbia CTV News Report about the horrific fate 100 hard-working, innocent, and healthy sled dogs faced last April when they were allegedly slaughtered and dumped into a mass grave, some still alive, has spread like wildfire across the globe, disgusting and horrifying the masses. Myself included. It is beyond reason to me how something like this could occur, especially in this day and age. Help is literally just a keystroke away. How many of us have seen, and in returned "shared" or "retweeted" or "linked" information in the hopes of helping others - most of whom we have never ev...

Winter Morning Poem by Ogden Nash Winter is the king of showmen Turning tree stumps into snow men And houses into birthday cakes And spreading sugar over lakes Smooth and clean and frosty white The world looks good enough to bite That's the season to be young Catching snowflakes on your tongue Snow is snowy when it's snowing I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going PS - Although the FiveSibes didn't see any shadows (just drifts of snow!) or Punxsutawney Phil, Happy Groundhog Day to all!