Pet Projectz

Nothing can hurt or help more than words and they are something that’s truly priceless.

I was checking my LinkedIn page today and saw that a few people had given me recommendations including Sam Weidner Jr who was the VP of Patriot Homes and who had written the following:

“I have had the honor and the privilege to see a true artist at work. I hired Suzanne Felber to help Patriot Homes take a new, innovative, and aggressive role in helping redefine manufactured homes as people knew them. Without question she tackled that task with enthusiasm, and a creative vigor unlike anyone had seen in our industry at the time. Suzanne has a brilliant mind for knowing design trends and how to present her designs in a way that attracts buyers from all walks of life. With her help Patriot was able to win over 9 housing design awards including an award for best marketing campaign awarded by the NAHB. If you want your products to look the best the hire the best, Suzanne Felber.”
Service Category: Professional Lifestylist
Year first hired: 2002
Top Qualities: Great Results, Good Value, Creative

It’s one thing when you think that you have given a job your all, but when you receive something like this out of the blue it makes you want to go out and work that much harder, and give that client a big hug!

I’m honored to have worked with Sam and his company, and I’m looking forward to working with him even more in the future!

Homearama in Rochester, NY is showing off a new trend in architecture this year – Barkitecture. Something near and dear to my heart, builders at the show this year not only built show houses for people to tour, they also did an outstanding job of building dog houses that are now being auctioned off with all proceeds going to Lollypop Farm.

David Riedman and @home Builders as always did an outstanding job and I see from the auction site that their home already sold. Daisy is going to be very disappointed – she had her heart set on lounging on the porch and eating the flowers in the window boxes.

Your Life. Your Style. Your Way. This is what the Lifestylist® philosophy is all about, and pampering your four legged family members with a home that benefits less fortunate pets is a great way to live with style!

I have a favor to ask of all of you that really doesn’t have anything to do with this blog but it does – my 10 year old nephew is learning an important lesson about marketing and the power of the internet.

Sam lives in Oklahoma City and is the ultimate sports fan – he is crazy about the OKC Thunders and goes dressed to show his support to almost every game. His parents have always been wise enough to let Sam find his own calling, so his enthusiasm (and his outfits) are all his idea. Because of this, Sam was nominated to be part of the Ultimate Fan Finale.

He is also a great well rounded child (and I am a proud aunt!),does very well in school and loves to cook with me – we entered the State Fair of Texas Cooking contests this year and Sam won two 2nd place ribbons!

If Sam wins this contest he gets to go to Boston and see his team play there as well as learn some valuable history lessons when he gets to tour the city.

Please help me encourage Sam to follow his dreams. The link for where to vote on the NBA site is here, and you can vote was many times as you would like. Most of the others that are up for this honor are adults so I’m even more proud of what he’s accomplished. Please vote for Sam Davis and vote often!

As “people” beds tend to get taller with pillowtop mattresses and layers of mattress pads, blankets and feather beds it gets difficult for our four legged friends to get on to the bed. For those of you who don’t encourage this type of activity it makes it more difficult for your pet. When Daisy was dealing with heartworm treatments I wanted her as close to me as possible so I had my contractor build steps to help her be easily able to make the climb.

I read a great article in a recent Wall Street Journal that shared smoe sources for readily available staircases and wanted to share those here. Whether your budget is $20.00 or $200.00, there is something out there for every pet.

Puppy Stairs offers an ingenious solution that are pretty much blocks that go together to make ramps and stairs. They are lightweight and made of high density foam so they are easy to move.

Orvis offers some beautiful solutions that are more pricey but are well designed. They also have an area dedicated to items for older dogs that I’m going to have to spend some time looking at – it’s hard to believe, but not only am I aging, but my pets are starting to get some grey hairs as well.

For an easy to find, economical solution check out your local Petsmart. They have some that start at $69.00.

Whatever product you decide to use, it will be a lifesaver for your pet. Vets report an alarming rate of injuries from animals trying to get down from these higher beds.

With gas prices what they are, why not invest your vacation dollars into your own backyard? Prices have dropped on many items that can make your own home into a resort, and it’s a vacation your family can then enjoy all year long.

This home features a spectacular indoor / outdoor fireplace that is beautiful as well as functional. By screening in the porch area and using pavers for the flooring this will end up being one of the most used rooms in the house. The furniture was a vintage set that was taken to an auto body company and painted using auto paint. The result is one that will last for years and is very cost-effective. To tie into current color trends we went to Pier1 Imports and found some great colorful cushions and an outdoor area rug to complete the look.

Manufactured Housing is also tapping into the outdoor living trend, and Patriot Homes now offers some new models that come complete with outdoor areas that are ready to go as soon as the homes are delivered. Patriot Homes of Alabama showcased two homes at the Tunica show this year – one with a screened porch area that was large enough to house a bar and seating area, and another with a built-in sink and prep area, covered porch and optional grill. This area could have an additional deck area added on-site, but as offered there is lots of room for even the largest parties.

When considering an outdoor oasis of your own, keep in mind the following considerations:
*Utilities: Be sure that you have adequate water, electrical and gas if you’ll need it for your new area. If this is something you’ll have to add it can really drive up the costs.
*Screening: If you are in an area that tends to have lots of bugs you may want to think about screening in your new area to make it more comfortable all year long.
*Size Matters: Be sure when you are planing your space that there is room for whatever seating you plan on using as well as room to walk around. One of the mistakes I see the most is porches that aren’t wide enough when you add traditional seating.

Sadly traveling especially flying is no longer the enjoyable experience it used to be, so relieve the stress and enjoy your own back yard.

I love to cook, so I was thrilled to discover these recipes on the HGTV website for pet treats and other crafty ideas to spoil your cats and dogs. The dogs have already picked out their Haloween costumes and can’t wait to share their secret identities with the neighborhood kids.

Life is never dull when you live in an Idea Factory. I was working in the garden last weekend and saw two grown dogs and a puppy running along the other side of the street. The Idea Factory is on a pretty busy street, so I was concerned when I saw them decide to cross the street. The two older ones made it, but the puppy wasn’t fast enough and got stuck in the middle of the street with cars whizzing past her on both sides. She finally gave up and just sat in the middle of the street and cried. The two older dogs kept going, and I knew she wasn’t going to make it if she stayed there so I picked her up and brought her in.

She had a small wound but seemed more scared than anything, and she was just a baby. With two older dogs who had both shown up here pretty much the same way I knew we couldn’t have another dog so I set about trying to find her owner or someone who would adopt her with no luck. So it looks like Rosebud is going to be the newest member of our family.

I’ve always been a cat person, and when the other two dogs came to live with us they had some age on them, so being around a puppy is a new experience. Puppies may be cute, but they are an incredible amount of work! I swear Ms. Rosie has Great Dane in her – her paws are huge, and she has this long skinny tail which feels like a whip when she’s wagging it. I don’t even know where to begin to start housebreaking her, so for now she has limited inside privledges.

The holiday and gift giving season is coming up quickly, and I beg any of you that think giving a pet as a gift will remember that it is a life long commitment for someone, and that every shelter and rescue group that I’ve contacted has more animals than they can possibly take care of – please consider and older, loving animal that is trained and needs a loving home.

Sometimes there can be a happy ending, and today was one of those days. Thanks to a wonderful support group of animal lovers who spread the word (and photos) about Tobias, the perfect Mom has been found! After many tears of joy, one precious baby has gone from being an outdoor cat with not much hope of a very long life to a loved and pampered indoor cat with a Mom who understands how important it is to spay and neuter. Now if I can find a home for the puppy…

This has been a tough week. One of our many feral kittens that lives outside our doors finally found a home. Being an urban dweller that has a reputation for taking in stray and hurt animals, it seems like every week we have a new mouth to feed and I
just can’t turn any of them away.

We have tried to spay and neuter all of the feral ones that we can catch, but still we end up with babies. It’s amazing how hard it is to find homes for perfectly loving animals these days, so when I find someone that is looking for a pet to adopt I’m overjoyed.

Sadly this adoption didn’t take, but we always offer to take any of them back that someone decides isn’t a good fit for them. Tobias is back, but I’m hoping we will be able to find the right family for him.

There are two ways to break the cycle of unwanted pets – aggressively spay and neuter, and encourage everyone that you know to visit a shelter and find the loves of their lives. Sadly the shelters and rescue organizations have more animals than they can find homes for, and any help of homes, fostering or financial can make all the difference.

And if you can provide a loving home for Tobias, please let me know.

They say that you are either a dog or cat person – up until a year ago I would have fallen into the cat category. That was before Daisy jumped into my life – the perfect example of a homeless, abused, junkyard (and I say that lovingly) dog. When she came charging at me I thought my life was over – she has Boxer and a few other breeds in her and I thought she was coming to attack. But not my Daisy – I guess there was a sign in “Dog language” outside my home saying animal lovers live here, and she knew a good deal when she saw one.

I will have to admit I threw things at her, hosed her and did everything I could to make her leave but she had decided this was her new home and now no one is happier about her decision than I am. She is the perfect dog- she stays on the back porch and guards us fearlessly every day and night. All she asks is to be fed and taken for a walk around the block every evening. But I noticed that she was getting slower and slower on our walks so I called our vet – the only one that I know of that makes house calls. He did some tests and confirmed that Daisy has heartworms – a disease that is easily preventable. It is much more common in dogs than cats, and now I’m kicking myself that when I did bring a dog into my home I didn’t contact my vet immediately and learn what I needed to do to take care of my new family member.

We started her treatments on Monday – they inject asrsenic into the dog which kills the worms and allows them to be absorbed into the system. It’s very painful and dangerous for the animal, but the only other option is imminenet death. She’s going to have to have 3 injections to totally take care of the problem.

The good news is that Daisy is doing well, and seems to be handling the treatments without too many side effects. I’m hoping that she’ll be living with us for a long time to come.