Woof Woof Wednesday with Ice Cream and the Letter B

We've reached the second day of the April A to Z Challenge.

As I mentioned yesterday, some of my favorite things in life are cats, drawing, writing, and the fantasy genre. And so, my A to Z contributions this year will be illustrations for a weird and wacky fantasy story I'm currently writing. This story co-stars a hind limb paralyzed orange tabby cat named Hobo, and this month you'll get to go along on some of his adventures.

Today, we're at the letter B, which stands for books. Just like how fictional feline Hobo's also fictional human of a mom enjoys creating art, as seen in yesterday's doodle, she also enjoys reading. And Hobo may or may not wreak havoc on her books.

While it won't make much sense in these blog posts, these illustrations are indeed based on parts of my story that I wanted to visualize. There's going to be a lot of weirdness this month, a fact I won't deny, but writing and drawing fantastical whatnot is a therapeutic form of escapism for me. So, here we are.

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Now, how about a dose of pup Astrid? Perhaps with a dose of ice cream on the side?

On the first day of spring every year, Dairy Queen offers free ice cream cones. I'm lactose intolerant as well as gluten intolerant, and so I don't eat ice cream cones. Astrid, though, loves her some ice cream, and so I always go and get one for her.

I know ice cream and all that jazz isn't the best for a dog. But, Astrid is 12 years old and I just want the sweet and sassy old girl to be happy. So, sometimes she gets to have an ice cream cone all to herself.

Astrid hopes your day is as tasty as hers!

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Tip of the Day

As we said yesterday, April is Heartworm Awareness Month. For this reason, we are repeating an old series of heartworm tips.

Our second tip relating to heartworms is to know the potential symptoms. Since heartworms can affect the heart and lungs, early symptoms can often resemble those of asthma. Coughing and a lack of desire or an inability to exercise are commonly seen. Other potential signs of heartworm disease include decreased appetite, weight loss, and vomiting. The more severe the heartworm infection, and the longer it is present, the more pronounced the symptoms may be. Severe cases may also involve fluid buildup in the abdomen, as well as acute symptoms of pulmonary or cardiac failure, often due to heartworms causing a blockage. If you have any concerns that your cat or dog might have heartworms, seek veterinary care as soon as possible.