pet connection

Yes, it’s true: I have a great job.

I get to kiss kitties, cuddle bunnies, oogle parrots and pet lots and lots of dogs. I also get to test-drive Dogmobiles (a Nissan Murano just got delivered) and get a good look at dozens and dozens of new pet products.

A lot of the stuff that’s put out for pets is nearly identical to other stuff, and a lot of the other things that get sent to me are really, really sleazy. There was one large pet-products company, for example, that sent me a massive box of nearly every squeaky toy they made. When I opened the box, the smell of cheap vinyl nearly knocked me out. I tell you, I couldn’t get that box in the trash can fast enough.

Fortunately for such companies, I rarely take the time to review the products I don’t like. Id rather spend my time writing about those pet products that truly offer something special, whether it’s innovation, exceptionally high quality, good value or just a gee-whiz factor that appeals to me.

Now and then I see a product with all of those qualities.

Not very often, though, since after so many years of writing about pets and their care, I’m a tough person to impress. I’m also at heart a practical one, which is why no matter how many cutesy-pie pet dishes I see I generally think people and their pets are much better off with a simple, well-made stainless steel bowl, sturdy and easy to sterilize in the dishwasher. I have at least a dozen of them, including the first two I ever bought, in 1978.

And that’s not the only multi-generation pet-product I own. My Sheltie Drew is wearing a collar made of rolled bridle leather that I originally bought in 1979 for my Sheltie Lance. When Lance died in 1988, my Sheltie Andy wore it for almost 16 years. When Andy died in 2001, I put it on Drew. Drew is now nearing 10. The collar still looks good.

Yes, I think it’s fair to say that my preference is for products that are well-made and well-designed. They may cost a little more initially, but they’ll last you for years. I have leashes that have outlasted marriages — not my own, by the way — and exercise pens and crates that I bought before the current class of high-school seniors was born.

Still, I love to look at new pet-care gear, and I love to find and write about the best and most interesting of what’s out there. Who knows? Maybe something I write about today will last long enough to end up with my pet-loving niece. If she continues on her chosen career track, she should be well into her dream career as a veterinarian by the time I leave this earth.

Well, unless she doesn’t bring her math grades up. In which case, all those stainless steel dishes will end up donated to the SPCA.