Adventures with Angel Astrid: A Walk in the Park

My sweet angel pup Astrid and I both always loved walking through the park that's near our house. It's just a big, open area of grass, around which spans the creek that runs through our neighborhood. Near the creek there are always lots flowers blooming in the spring and summer.

Quite a few years ago I also got these photos of Astrid posing with the beautiful blooms of a little tree in the park.

I'm really glad I got these pretty photo of Astrid, because for some reason that was the last year that tree ever bloomed.

Happy Wednesday to all!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

As I've mentioned multiple times recently, I've been in a spooky mood. This happens to me pretty much every summer, when I become eager for fall weather and Halloween. The fact that many stores now start stocking up for Halloween in June just spurs my spooky mood even more. I hope to get some new summertime spooky doodles done this summer, but for today here's one I scribbled up for my "Halfway to Halloween" series I did for an April A to Z Challenge a few years ago. This one is pretty tame and mostly just involves bats, but I'll share some more from this series over the next couple of days that are even more spooky.

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Tip of the Day

We're still in the midst of repeating a series of food tips from the past. We've so far talked about protein and fiber in pet food, and now today we're moving on to fat. Fat, like other nutrients, plays important roles for both us humans and our cats and dogs. Fats are yet another source of energy for the body and its cells, they aid in healthy skin and coat, and they are also important for growth overall.

In pet foods, some fats can come from the protein source, such as chicken and beef. However, there are also other potential sources of fats in our furbabies' food. Fats can of course come from oils, such as fish oils or plant oils. The important thing is to make sure that your furbaby's food includes good quality fat sources, and in a healthy balance. For example, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which often come from sources such as fish or plant oils or chicken fat, are very beneficial, but most importantly so in proper amounts. Less quality fats and oils would include lard and other similar ingredients, and therefore do be cautious if you see these on a pet food label.

Of course, any fats in too large of quantities could lead to health concerns. For example, obesity and pancreatitis can both potentially stem from or be worsened by diets high in fat. For reasons such as these, as we've said before, try to educate yourself on your cat or dog's health and the best nutrition for them, and of course discuss this with a veterinarian as needed.