Shocked Tonks Tuesday

Tonks wanted a turn to star on our blog. I of course couldn't deny her that, and so I offered to help her snap a shot of her pretty calico self. Something shocked Tonks during the photo shoot, though. Perhaps it was my lack of photography skills?

Even with a slightly shocked look on her face, isn't Tonks pretty darn cute? I sure think so.

Happy Tuesday to all!

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Doodle of the Day

I don't often share doodles that don't star at least one cat and/or dog. Today's doodle is another bit of concept art for a story I'm scribbling up, and it stars neither a cat nor a dog. That being said, none of my drawings completely lack an animal character, because that would be blasphemy. So, what animal can you find in today's doodle?

In case you couldn't tell, that there doodle has a goat in it. I know it's not a cat or a dog, but I am quite fond of goats. What's more, though I myself had a very normal childhood, my parents both had somewhat unique childhoods, which involved lots of unique pets. My parents have shared many stories with me about their one-of-a-kind childhoods, and the details of their reminiscent stories often inspire my drawings and writings. In this case, that there goat is inspired by a goat my dad had as a kid. My dad's family actually had multiple goats, as well as a plethora of other unique pets. Stories of these other pets have also inspired other upcoming doodles, and they also make their way into my stories. Many of the weekly poems I share on Thursdays have also been inspired by certain stories my parents have told me about the days when they were growing up.

Okay, I'll stop rambling now.

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Tidbit of the Day

Today's tidbit on COVID-19 and our furbabies relates to proper hygiene and cleanliness. We've already mentioned how animals are far less likely to get the novel coronavirus than us humans are, and how we're more likely to give it to our furbabies than they are to give it to us. We've also mentioned how our furbabies are not terribly likely to transmit viral particles to us, largely because their fur, collars, leashes, and so forth are porous surfaces and therefore more likely trap pathogens than to actually transmit them. This all being said, it's of course still a good idea to practice good hygiene when it comes to you and your furbaby.

To begin with, for both your safety and the safety of your furbabies, wash your hands regularly, as you all most certainly know. This goes for if you touch an unfamiliar animal, if you go to the vet with your furbaby, if you go anywhere else outside of the home, or if you touch anything from outside of the home or anything else unfamiliar. You've all probably heard the recommendations for the cleaning of hands. Wash them with soap and water for 20 seconds, making sure to scrub and let the soap suds up. Some people might not know that soap labeled as antimicrobial isn't actually required to kill germs, as it's the actual molecular structure and nature of soap suds that can wash away and destroy pathogenic particles. Soap and its suds not only remove germs from surfaces, but they can also kill germs by breaking apart the surface and possibly further structures of bacterial, viral, and other pathogens. So, wash those hands with water and soapy suds.

In addition to washing your hands in order to keep yourself and your furbabies safe, you can of course clean any items that come from outside of your home, or that you take out of the home when you go out. This being said, beware of harsh chemicals. Many cleaning items contain chemicals that can be caustic or toxic to our kitties and pups. This even goes for hand sanitizer, as the alcohol used in most hand sanitizers can be incredibly dangerous if a furbaby ingests it in enough quantities. Other common household cleaners can contain other ingredients that could also result in pain or toxicity if your furbaby has too much contact with them or ingests them. For this reason, if you clean anything in your house with even potentially dangerous cleaners, keep both the cleaner and the items being cleaned well out of your furbaby's reach.

If it's your kitty or pup that might need cleaned, or if their collar or other items of theirs need cleaned due to any potential exposure to pathogens, then of course use only pet-friendly cleaners. Go for shampoos that are formulated for pets, or clean their collars, leashes, or other items with hot water and soap. As we mentioned above, sudsy soap in water can indeed be effective against pathogens. Again, soap is not only capable of removing and washing away pathogenic particles, but on a molecular level the suds of soap are meant to destroy the physical nature of bacterial, viral, and other such particles.