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Pet Press KALISPELL NOV 2022
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Nov. 10 is Sesame Street Day, marking the anniversary of the first episode’s air date in 1969. No matter what your personal experience with the show is, there’s no denying that it’s a cultural phenomenon. But while “Sesame Street” remains popular with small kids, it’s also clear that children’s television has come a long way since it premiered.
I’m sure my parents wondered why on earth we were watching that nonsense, but it was my life for a few years. We’d pretend we were jumping the General Lee (the lead characters’ car) over ditches and sliding across the roof of the car. For boys our age, Catherine Bach’s presence on the show also didn’t hurt. She was beautiful and wore tiny shorts so iconic that they’re still named after her character, Daisy Duke, to this day.
My kids didn’t grow up watching “Sesame Street” — they watched shows like “The Fairly OddParents” on Nickelodeon. Unlike some other programs, I was glad to watch that show along with them. It’s actually quite funny! My kids are in their 20s now, but I still sometimes stop and watch an episode of “The Fairly OddParents” when I’m channel surfing. Meanwhile, I was born in the late 60s, and there was no such thing as cable. You had three channels: ABC,
Now that I’ve reminisced a bit, I want to wish you and your family a wonderful upcoming Thanksgiving. I can be a very sentimental person, and I love tradition, so this is among my favorite holidays. I love watching all the fancy heirloom china come out of the cabinets for an annual appearance and reliving the rituals of my youth. One of the things I look forward to most is my great-grandmother’s sweet potatoes. I know they’re among many people’s least
THE TV SHOWS I WATCHED AS A KID GLUED TO THE TUBE
NBC, and CBS. So, everyone watched the same TV shows, and you learned to like whatever was on. We were only allowed to watch one hour of TV a day, but we made the most of it. We had what we’d watch every night mapped out. On Tuesdays, it was “Happy Days” and “Laverne & Shirley.” We loved Fonzie, and I still remember watching him jump the shark that first time. It was a two- week event with all this buildup. By the time the second episode aired, it was kind of a letdown. But it reflects how television ruled our lives back then. We measured time based on sitcom episodes! My favorite show of all was “The Dukes of Hazzard.” It came out when I was 10, and my brother and I were glued to the TV every Friday night to watch it. It was a ridiculous show, and we absolutely loved it. To kids our age, it seemed like life couldn’t get any better than driving around dirty roads and outsmarting the dimwitted sheriff.
favorite dishes — some people look at me funny when I talk about how much I love them. But these aren’t the gooey kind with marshmallows. They have special ingredients like pineapple, apricot, and brown sugar. It’s like eating candy, and sometimes we don’t even wait until Thanksgiving to put them on the menu. I’m sure the sweet potatoes are terrible for you, but if you can’t enjoy unhealthy food at Thanksgiving, when can you enjoy it? That dish always reminds me of my great-grandmother and all the years I grew up watching my mom make them. And as you might have noticed, I love any excuse to take a trip down memory lane.
– Dr. Jevon Clark
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MEET THE CLINIC’S Charlie in
Come Out and Play
STAYING ACTIVE IN COLD WEATHER
Hi, everyone! I’m Charlie, an 8-year-old Chihuahua Pomeranian who’s originally
Winter is almost here, and as the weather gets colder, many people use it as an excuse to stay inside and on the couch. But if you don’t want to wonder what happened to your fitness goals when spring comes around, now is the time to start preparing. Here’s what you need to know to comfortably enjoy outdoor exercise in low temperatures. First, there’s good news: Your chance of frostbite in 5 degree F weather is less than 5%. So, outdoor exercise is perfectly safe most days of the year. Just stay inside when there’s a particularly nasty wind chill and don’t exercise on icy surfaces. But while you probably won’t be hurt by outdoor winter exercise, there’s no denying it can be unpleasant if you aren’t prepared. One school of thought suggests there’s no bad weather, only poorly chosen clothing. So, if you want to exercise outdoors in the winter, you must set yourself up for success with the proper gear. Dress in layers and put them on in the correct order. Opt for a moisture-wicking material as your bottom layer, then add a warm insulating layer, followed by a wind and water-resistant jacket on top. Remove items as you get warmer so you don’t trap sweat. Also, remember the wool socks, gloves, and hat. Another way to keep yourself comfortable during an outdoor workout is to warm up longer before beginning. Exercise in cold weather makes strains and sprains more likely, and a warmup will keep you safer. Plus, the additional movement before heading outdoors will help the temperature change feel less jarring. You’ll want to protect your skin from the harsh air. One of the best ways to do that is by staying hydrated. Though it sounds obvious, many people feel less thirsty when exercising in the cold and don’t drink enough water. Also, moisturize regularly and protect your nostrils and lips from the wind with petroleum jelly or Carmex. Finally, don’t forget the sunscreen — if skiers can get a sunburn, so can you!
from Texas. My mom, Rebekka, found me running around in the street one night when I was only a 2-month-old puppy. Can you believe it took Mom about 15 minutes to catch me? Even then, I liked making her chase me.
I didn’t have a collar and was covered in fleas, so I’ve lived with Mom ever since. I only weighed a pound and a half back then, but now I’m a very big dog, so I always get my way. Sometimes Mom makes the mistake of telling me what to do. She’ll call me when I don’t want to come. So, I give her a special look to let her know what she did wrong and then take off running in the other direction. That teaches her!
The worst thing Mom does is bathe me. I like kayaking with my life vest on, but the bathtub is too much. I do my best to escape and run around the house, drying myself on anything I can find. Mom says I look like a little rat when I do that, but how does she think she looks when getting out of the shower?
Sweet Potatoes We hope you’ll enjoy this recipe that Jeanne Clark submitted. It’s one of her favorites. Inspired by Be.Chewy.com
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TOP DOG n Charge
PET CANCERS ARE OFTEN TREATABLE CREATING QUALITY OF LIFE
Mom is pretty great in other ways, though. She always plays with me and helps me get out of trees when I chase squirrels there. Mom also makes sure I get a Bark Box every month. I get so excited when they show up — nothing is better than new toys. And sometimes something even more exciting happens too, when she throws me a birthday party with all my friends and a cake!
During the winter, Mom makes sure I have warm sweaters to wear. They’re comfy, and I look pretty good in them if I do say so myself. But I don’t like it when Mom dresses me in front of other people. How embarrassing! Can’t I have a little privacy, Mom?
“Cancer” is one of the most dreaded words in the English language, one we never want to apply to ourselves or our loved ones. But most of us will face the subject someday, personally or through a friend, family member, or pet. November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month, a condition we frequently treat at the Animal Clinic of Kalispell. As Dr. Clark puts it, “Cancer is pretty darn common. We see lots of different kinds of cancers.” A new diagnosis is sad but not unusual. Some cancers result from environmental carcinogens, just like they do for humans. Occasionally they develop from sexually transmitted infections. But for the most part, veterinarians don’t know what causes many cancers besides old age, genetics, and time. An animal that lives a long life is more likely to develop the disease, and we don’t currently have many preventive options. What we do have, however, are treatments. Dr. Clark notes, “When the general public thinks of cancer, they often assume the worst. We have stories of young people who die from cancer, and we can’t quite wrap our heads around that.” Those cases exist, and he points to a recent patient, a dog that died from a brain tumor at age 4. “My staff will remember that forever,” he says. But it sticks out precisely because it is unusual. “Just like in human cases, most cancers we see, we manage as either chronic diseases or strive for a cure,” Dr. Clark says. “When we give a cancer diagnosis, more often than not, I approach it from a perspective of chronic disease and ask how we can keep this pet around for a long time with a [good] quality of life.”
My mom works at the veterinary clinic, so I spend a lot of time in the kennel
during the day playing with the other dogs. I also love hanging out with cats, kids, and rats — anybody who will cuddle with me. But being with Mom is my favorite thing. I like lying across her shoulders while she drives, and I make a bed in her clothes whenever she leaves. We’ve been inseparable since she first found me,
and I like to keep it that way.
Ingredients
Directions
1. Cook potatoes before peeling and then slicing them. Place them in a baking dish and set aside. 2. Combine the following in a pan: sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nectar, and 1/3 cup of pineapple juice. Bring this mixture to a boil, constantly stirring until it is thick. 3. Remove from heat, mix in the butter, and let this cool slightly. 4. Stir the crushed pineapple and pecans together before pouring them over the potatoes. 5. Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes or until bubbly.
• 3 lbs sweet
potatoes or yams ¾ cup light brown sugar
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1 ½ tbsp cornstarch ¼ tsp salt
Numerous options are available, including maintenance, palliative, and even hospice care. “Even if we can’t give curative results, we can probably give good quality of life results,” Dr. Clark says. “I want our clients to remember that a cancer diagnosis is not necessarily the end of the line.” “Our goal is to keep the pets and our clients comfortable,” he adds. “I hope that someday, we’ll get to a point where we say, ‘This is cancer, but it’s okay. There’s a 75% chance we can cure this.” In the meantime, we’ll do our best to help your beloved pet live the longest fulfilling life possible.
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1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apricot nectar
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1 cup crushed pineapple, drained, reserving 1/3 cup
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2 tbsp butter ¼ cup chopped pecans
– Dr. Jevon Clark
406.755.6886
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406.755.6886 WWW.KALISPELLVET.COM 1408 AIRPORT ROAD KALISPELL, MT 59901
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Inside
1
Dr. Clark’s Favorite Childhood TV Shows
2 Getting Outdoors Despite the Cold
2 Meet Top Dog Charlie
2 Jeanne’s Sweet Potatoes
3 Raising Pet Cancer Awareness
4 Calico Cat Saves Owner From Would-Be Burglars
Guard Cat Mode Activated
FELINE DEFENDER PREVENTS ROBBERY
We’ve heard of guard dogs, but have you ever heard of a guard cat? Well, Bandit the calico cat somehow knew exactly what to do when she spied intruders at her owner’s back door! Some may call it instinct, some may call it luck, but to Fred Everitt, she’s a hero. Everitt, a 68-year-old retired oral surgeon, was sound asleep in his Mississippi home on Sunday, July 24, when Bandit started letting out deep meows
came into his room and tried to pull his comforters off and clawed at his arms.
Bandit’s behavior was unusual, so Everitt knew something was wrong. “She had never done that before,” Everitt said. “I went, ‘What in the world is wrong with you?’” Bandit’s persistence eventually pulled him from bed, and after throwing his robe on, he went to investigate. When he finally got into the kitchen, he noticed two figures — one with a crowbar and one with what looked like a handgun — trying to break into his back door. By the time Everitt returned from retrieving his own handgun, the intruders were gone. Thankfully, it didn’t turn into a confrontational situation, and Everitt gave credit to the 20-pound cat that he adopted from a Humane Society. If it hadn’t been for Bandit’s alertness, it could’ve been a completely different story. “I want to let people know that you save a life when you adopt from a pet shelter or rescue one,” Everitt said, “but the tides could be turned. You never know when you save an animal if they’re going to save you.”
sometime between 2:30–3 a.m. Everitt assumed Bandit had seen another cat or other animal outside. Cats tend to be active at night, and Bandit is no exception. She’s been known to roam the living room and explore the kitchen cabinets while Everitt sleeps soundly. He quickly realized it was something else when she
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