I’m writing this for pet lovers every where , which like myself, there are many out there who are very close to their pets. They will always be there for you, good companions, and rarely complain.
However they do in fact need our help through their journey in life.
Over the years I’ve traveled the world, visiting many countries, where ever my work would take me, primarily throughout Asia. I’ve learned and experienced many cultures, and now live in Northern Thailand , surrounded by jungle, but not too remote.
The other day, I was looking across the jungle view, thinking back on all the pets I’ve experienced, and who have come and gone with time. I really have enjoyed to the fullest many Dogs, Cats, Birds through the years.
One thing really struck me though, being a pet lover. I realized a disturbing pattern of most of my pets which, well enlightened me to share my experiences, and hopefully offer some good common sense, preventive steps to protect your pets, as they can and do follow similar heath problems as people.
Preventive, is certainly the right word to use towards your pets life and well being.
I’m going to share an experience with my pets, and these aren’t what you might think, shots, vaccines, give a pet a bath topics, but unique true experience, where many of my pets could have lived a much longer and healthier life, if I would have known these problems before hand.
It started with my favorite dog, a golden Lab-Retriever name Kruger, yes named after the Australian gold coin, do to his short hair and very gold color. He traveled almost everywhere with me, within the states.
I was working and traveling back in the early 1980s , taking many lengthy trips to South Korea, where I was setting up a factory in the middle of the country. After many weeks and months, on my return, my neighbors , sadly informed me Kruger had passed away at 7 years old. Now , these were great people, also animal lovers, their dogs played with Kruger, so a perfect match while traveling.
This shocking news was quiet a jolt, right to the heart, loosing your companion. In fact I went from sad to anger very quickly……I can travel the world, build a hi-tech factory learn a foreign language and survive, but loose my best companion was to much to bare, I was really angry, something like this, beyond my control, couldn’t turn the clock back.
So I guess the anger drove me to read everything I could, and since I can speed read,I’m referring to dozens of books. That wasn’t enough, I still was left empty with the why question. How could this have happened, he was so healthy, shots, vaccine, exercise, why I asked.
Well, I didn’t stop with books, I made appointments with local vets, can you imagine an appointment, showing up without a pet. But I did.
These were my findings. I cared for Kruger so much, I made a fatal mistake from the begining , but I want people to wake up and learn from my unique experience, and mistakes.
Kruger had passed away do to a cancer tumor along side his neck.
I found the reason why this happened, simply based on nutrition. Diet, food, health is so critical for Pets.
I gave him extremely rich canned food, mixed with rich dry food. You see those cans all the time, the picture with rich meat and gravy look on the label.
So the lesson is simple preventive understanding on nutritional guidelines for your pets. If I had picked up a book, and educated myself, he may have lived a much longer life.
Think about this simple preventive , common sense approach as a pet lover, and this certainly applies to more than just dogs.
Archive for June, 2010
Pet Lovers Sanity Guide
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010New Fall Shoes!
Monday, June 28th, 2010The fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love to see the leaves change color along with pumpkins, mums and hay bales everywhere. There’s crispness in the air and the smell of fireplaces in the evening. As fall arrives, the sandals, flip-flops and shorts get put away and the fall and winter shoes and clothes come in.
Each fall I find it exciting to see the new trends; the colors, styles and textures that will dominate the industry. Some of the trends continue in popularity from the previous year, while others are new looks.
This year, gray is one of the hottest colors. In all different hues, from the softest dove gray to the deepest charcoal, it’s showing up everywhere. I’ve seen boots, Mary Janes, and ballet flats all in gray as well as many different textures including patents, suede’s, satins and the list goes on…
Metallic’s, such as gold, silver and bronze are very popular and found in many different designer shoe lines, from the soft brushed gold to complete shine. I’ve seen some adorable ballet flats in soft gold and of course plenty of sexy metallic sling back evening sandals.
Mary Janes are one of my favorites, but Mary Janes in black patent leather are my favorite! I like both the rounded and pointed toe but I prefer the rounded just a bit more. I especially like the look of the cap toe. Suede pumps with patent leather cap toes are one of the many other possible combinations of materials and they have such a sophisticated look.
Classic styles are getting a bit of a twist with an exotic flair of animal prints along with embossed leather crocodile and snake. Animal prints are often being paired with black or brown leather.
Satins shoes have of course been dazzling for years. Some simple, others adorned with jewels. Black always seems to be a popular choice for its sophistication. Red satin, while sophisticated as well, has a true “wow” factor.
Fortunately, getting the latest fall trends doesn’t have to break the bank. For the most part, shoe styles can be found at prices that are on the less expensive end to very costly. Checking local as well as online stores can help get the look you want for the price you can afford.
Is the Age of Entertainment Upon Us?
Monday, June 28th, 2010Are we no longer in the Information Age?Are we destined to be “gamers”?Whether youâ??re in marketing — particularly the digital side — or just looking for a job in marketing and related fields, you may have noticed the growing emphasis on entertainment. Entertainment activities becoming more the focus of our digital and offline lives.
And, as youâ??d expect, entertainment marketing seems to be following that growth. I donâ??t mean entertainment marketing as in promoting movies, actors and actresses. Iâ??m talking about entertainment marketing for the sake of having fun with a brand wrapped around that fun.
The traditional, age-old tactics of marketing to customers and prospects via one-way communications is falling by the wayside. Ads of all type. Direct mail. Mass-distributed news releases. Yes, they will always have a place â?? some place â?? but those tactics of marketing communications are becoming a smaller part of the total marketing effort. Todayâ??s successful marketing is individually-focused and better targeted to peopleâ??s own interests. Mass marketing is slowing going the way of the dinosaur.
The strong potential of wrapping marketing around entertainment first hit me a couple years ago after reading an article in BusinessWeek. Here is an excerpt:Â
Weâ??ve all read a lot about viral videos and how to create them. Of course, the main aspect of viral videos is their entertainment value. No one will share a commercial with friends and family â?? unless they see it as entertaining first and foremost. Any marketing push in the video must be secondary and indirect.
But, a successful viral video is not easy to develop and is not right for marketing every company, product or service.
The trick in the entertainment and marketing combination is to develop some level of connection with your audience. Create tools, services and experiences that complement your company, products or services while being part of your customers and prospectsâ?? entertainment habits and interests.
One good example of this approach is Southwest Airlines. According to a June 26, 2008, MediaPost Marketing Daily story, Southwest Airlines â??has signed on to sponsor the Midnight Gaming Championship (MGC) 2008 video gaming season to capture mindshare from tomorrowâ??s professionals, now ages 16 through 25â?¦.The marketing message tied to the sponsorship focuses on educating consumers about several Southwest services such as the downloadable computer desktop widget â??Dingâ?? that offers exclusive fares on flights; along with the companyâ??s weekly email, Click â??nâ?? Save, that reaches 6.9 million subscribers; and Rapid Rewards.â?
Southwest Airlines is marketing its services that are tied to the interests and habits of its targeted 16-25 years of age demographics. Thereâ??s a connection between what Southwest is pushing and its audiencesâ?? habits.
There are other ways to connect marketing messages with customers and prospectsâ?? lifestyle. One is video â?? and not on TV. The use of online video is becoming more and more popular. And, video is being used for entertainment purposes more and more, according to a June 25, 2008, eMarketer article. Based on a study it conducted, Solutions Research Group â??predicted that total hours with video-based entertainment would grow by nearly one-third to an average of about eight hours per day by early 2013.â?
Another key stat from the eMarketer article is the trend to online rather than offline video:
Marketing is evolving to have companies become connected with their audience much more so than just communicating to them. And, as more of the audience members are focusing on entertainment, itâ??s up to the marketers and communicators for companies to develop ways to connect brands with their audience around their entertainment preferences.