"Hey, Sis, we look good in these new bandanas from All Things Dog!" woos Wolf. Woooooos!!! The FiveSibes are very excited!!! They received a package in the mail with presents...bandanas and Snoopy books from Carrie over at All Things Dog blog!  Back in February the FiveSibes won a giveaway All Things Dog were hosting in honor of Charles Schulz. Now how much fun is that? Who doesn't dig the coolest dog around - Snoopy? We are huge fans in this household, having every holiday toon Snoopy and friends ever made as the Peanuts gang has been a favorite of my daughter since she was a young child. So, we were pretty excited to find out we won a cute Snoopy book gift set! And, in honor of Snoopy's coolness, Carrie also sent along some snazzy bandanas that FiveSibes were proud to model!  The  pupsters checking out each other's bandanas! Harley stylin' in her new haute couture! Gibson getting ready to prance through the neighborhood in his new designer...

Is your yard pet safe? Even though today is the last day of National Poison Prevention Week, we should always be alert and attempt to prevent poisoning – do you have the tips? And then there are always those accidental cases, where even with the best of intentions, pets somehow manage to find, ingest, or come in contact with poisonous substances. Do you know what to do? First and foremost – keep your vet, local emergency vet hospital, and a Poison Control number visible by your phone and listed in your cell phone.   Secondly - do a safety check around your home, car, yard, garage - anywhere your pet has access to. Thirdly - be aware of what is poisonous. Some seemingly harmless items can be pose a very serious threat to your pet. According to Pet Poison Helpline, the top poisons include: Human medications, including ibuprofen and acetaminophen   Insecticides (STOP, don’t spray that wasp or spider anywhere near your pet or on a surface where you pet can get ...

A s far back as the early 1920s, Siberian Huskies were symbols or mascots for schools. Many mascots originated as live sled dogs, later joined by a human dressed in a Husky costume. Siberian Huskies are not just known not for their striking beauty. They are also famous for their strength, speed, and tenacity; the same qualities valued in sports. It's no wonder the Husky is a very popular school mascot! A while back, I invited readers to submit photos of their local school Husky mascots, and/or student artwork (with school official's permission) portraying the Husky. Today, we are featuring our very first school district in this Husky Mascot series...  ...a drum roll and some Husky woos for...  Highland High School,   dubed "Home of the Huskies," located in upstate Highland, New  York!   T he Highland students are very proud of their schools and of their mascot, and it shows in the beautiful artwork on display in the school. Here is a slideshow featuring the Hi...

Wolf waiting for the supermoon to appear. T oday's Shadow Shot Sunday is devoted to "supermoon" watching! T his was a pretty special weekend indeed for moongazers and photographers alike, as it was the appearance of a supermoon. A supermoon is when the moon orbits close to the earth - and this supermoon was the closest it has been to Earth in 18 years. The colors change from a bright white to a glowing gold-orange depending on the location and time, and in some areas, it loomed large over the horizon. Now I would have to say, it definitely is in competition with the August "harvest moon," but this morning actually proved to be the best time to capture some awesome "larger moon" shots. H ere is a little slideshow of the supermoon's progression, beginning Friday night.  H ere, most of the FiveSibes took it all in stride, periodically perching themselves looking upward to stare at the bright beauty. Just one Sibe seemed to be affected by its ...

There is so much we can learn from dogs. In our everyday lives and when something tragic hits, such as the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all--both human and animal--who have been touched by this disaster. The images are so vivid. Burned in our minds forever. We send our hopes and prayers to them.  It's hard to see the devastation and think, "what good can I take from this horror?" I can honestly say that I can not answer that. It seems there is nothing good to glean from it at all. What we can do, is focus on hope. Hope for survivors. Hope for no further eruptions. Hope for help. Hope for assistance for the pets who have been lost or hurt as a result of this to be found and reunited with their families. So many of us have been touched by the incredible video of one lost dog, who caught the attention of a cameraman to lead him over to another dog, apparently injured or worse at first glance. The first dog refused to leave thi...

I n honor of St. Patty's Day, I'd like to share with you a great recipe by Andrew Kaplan I saw in the Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine that I'm going to cook up for the FiveMcSibes. It sounds like a tongue-waggin', lip-smacking holiday recipe for our furkids! Green-With-Envy St. Patty's Potato Cakes   Ingredients: 1 c. leftover mashed potatoes* 1 egg, lightly beaten 1 oz. corned beef, chopped into small pieces 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained 1/4 c. frozen green peas, thawed 1 T. chopped parsley 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil Directions: In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed potatoes, egg, corned beef, spinach, peas, and parsley. Mix with wooden spoon to combine. Form into golf-ball size balls, then flatten with the palm of your hand.  In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the potato cakes to the pan and cook, turning once, until golden brown and heated through, about 5 minutes. Tra...

   Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet! What It's All About In honor of Petfinder's 15th birthday , they are asking people everywhere to pledge to spread the word online about adoptable pets today, March 15, 2011. What You Can Do Now Add a badge to your Web site to show your support. Take the pledge that you will tell one person about pet adoption. By pledging, you'll enter for a chance to win one of 10 Pet Hair Eraser ® Vacuums from BISSELL. Donate your Facebook status and photo to an adoptable Petfinder pet. Simply replace your photo with one from the Adopt-the-Internet All-Stars gallery and post one of these messages: More than 320,000 pets are waiting for homes on Petfinder.com. Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet today and find forever homes for as many as possible! I adopted my pet from Petfinder and now I want to help get this pet adopted! If you want to help pets in need of forever homes, please repost this!   Share an adoptable Petfinder pet on Twi...

It's also Shadow Shot Sunday! Even though with the arrival of Daylight Saving Time (DST), we are losing an hour as spring approaches, the lighter days make it feel like there are more hours in the day. With it being light out later, there's more time to walk and play with our furkids, spend time with family, and uncover the BBQ grills!  The arrival of spring's DST is so welcome! It even makes work days seem shorter with more time being spent outside and at home in the  lighter evenings. I guess if we snow-loving Sibe families have to forfeit the white fluffy stuff when the warmer weather arrives, the upside of the deal is lighter "longer" days. Back in the fall for November's DST blog , I highlighted some pet safety reminders that I would like to just reiterate and update here for the spring DST: Help reset your pet's internal clock for specifically time medications by staggering them for the first to match the new lost hour. Example:  If yo...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert for a voluntary Phenobarbital recall! Please check with your vet or pharmacy with regards to your K9 Pheno prescription (used as anti-seizure medication) to be sure it is not the affected lot. There are dangerous side effects for canines. Please check out the FDA site or Veterinary News for more information, such as lot numbers and dates as well as the number to call if you should have a precription that fits the recall specifics.  PLEASE STOP ADMINISTERING THE PHENO & CONTACT YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK THE PRESCRIPTION MATCHES THE LOT NUMBERS/DATES! My Sibe, Gibson, is on this medication, and I know of several other Hu-parents whose furkids are prescribed Pheno for their seizures/epilepsy.  Hopefully, no more canines will be affected by this frightening mix-up.

T oday is a very special day - it's the birthday of our Alpha Queen - Nanuk "Harley" Mari. Harley is our very first Siberian Husky furbaby. My daughter had wanted one for many years, and Harley was the pup she picked out of the three remaining pups in a litter. They instantly bonded and to this day, share a very special connection. Harley has been to many amazing places. She has ridden in a police car (several times) with her Hu-Dad, attended court, been to the food store, rode on a boat (and got seasick!), attended school, frequented McDonald's drive-through (for vanilla ice cream), and so many other fun things.  The Birthday Girl! H arley is an absolutely amazing Sibe. She understands and communicates brilliantly. Sometimes she understands too much! She is always ready for a good (rough) game of Tug-O-War or Fetch, and is the true queen of this household, ruling over both humans and canines alike! Even with all of her Siberian Husky attitude (and she can sure g...

  T oday is Mardi Gras, and the fun is not just for humans. As you can see from our Sibe, Chloe, who is all decked out in her mask and beads, pets love to get into the spirit of the celebration, too!  Although, she didn't quite understand that while Siberian Huskies of color have natural masks, white ones do not.  I didn't want to belabor the point too much and risk dampening her celebratory spirit, so I just explained to her that her white coat would serve as a beautiful backdrop to her Mardi Gras "pawty" mask. Thankfully, she graced me with her acceptance of that answer. T o celebrate today in a homestyle way, why not make some colorful and sparkly masks, whip up some tasty snacks for you and your furkids (after all it is "Fat Tuesday!"), and join in the fun by pulling up a seat in front of the TV and checking out some of these festive furbabies struttin' their colorful stuff! I f you and your canine companion(s) did not have the opportunity to g...

For this week's Shadow Shot Sunday, our Bandit is captured in a quiet moment, by my shutterbug daughter, as she soaks up some sun rays. Happy Sunday, Everyone! Be sure to stop by the host's "Hey Harriet" blog!

The day began innocently with a beautiful dawn... When suddenly...the Sibes realized it was SPA DAY! "Big Brother Gibson is outside...what are they doing to him???" He didn't seem to mind the loud contraption...   Can you hear Harley panting? She knew whose turn was next... Wolf and Bandit tried to hide... Oh, no...he got Chloe! Time for some (badly needed) nail clipping... She's not happy...but look at those pretty manicured paws! All this came from Gibson...and it's not really even coat blowing season!!!  "Woo...Spa Day is hard work." Gibson getting ready for a nap while it was Harley's turn in the tub! After she was blow-dried, she show us her floofy white tail (or did she tell us to kiss her beautiful clean Husky @$$???) "(Sigh). It's hard work being beautiful. They better be done." "Do you think it's safe to go back out??? Can we make a break for it??" "Woo! We escaped! Hey...Gib...(sn...