Shadow's Stuff Helps Dogs Lead Better LivesWritten by K. McCafferty
Our furry friends also need pure and gentle skincare. No one knows this better than Spring Rain Botanicals owner, Karen McCafferty. “ As an animal lover, I always worked to help animals in any way I could. When our Shadow’s skin condition quickly worsened I knew that I could create natural skincare for him as well.” From that moment, Shadow’s Stuff was born. Shadow was a West Highland Terrier, and had beautiful white, silky fur. As he grew order, his skin became red and itchy; soon he was chewing and itching so much that he would often bleed. As humans can acquire eczema through heredity, dogs can also have a form of atopic eczema as seen in different breeds. Through experience with customers, Karen finds that it is mainly owners of Terrier or mixed Terrier breeds that often seek out her products. “With Shadow we tried changing his diet, commercial shampoos and even cortisone when it finally dawned on me that if I could help humans with skin problems, I could definitely help Shadow.” Karen researched just right combination of natural skin conditioners and other botanicals that would both help skin heal, yet be safe to dogs. “Overall it took just a couple of days to see that Shadow was not itching as frequently, and about a month before new fur was growing back in those bald spots.” Karen stresses that her dog products are only be used on dogs. Her ingredients are tailored to dogs’ ability to handle certain ingredients and do contain essential oils in small amounts. Her products are not to be used on cats or other animals, especially since cats do not have ability to metabolize many essential oils. As a rule, cats don’t need frequent bathing and skincare that dogs do, however there are always exceptions to rule if you have a cat with a skin condition. If you need a cat shampoo, Karen will gladly create a ‘cat safe’ shampoo for you, simply email her at km@springrainbotanicals.com .
| | FARM TO MARKET DAYSWritten by Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes
Contact: info@togetherparenting.com Category: Parenting/Family Activities Description: Family activities/recipes for St. Patrick’s Day and spring Word Count: 551 Copyright 2004 Nine Twenty Press URL: _____________________Summer may begin in June but, for many parts of country, gardens don’t reach their peak until August. Modern grocery stores manage to keep us satisfied with produce year round, but there is nothing like flavor of farm fresh tomatoes, peaches, or sweet corn. And there is nothing like experience of buying from local growers who are proud of their wares. The first farmers’ markets started over a century before Declaration of Independence. Since then, it has become an American tradition to buy fresh produce, flowers, eggs and cheese from markets and roadside stands. In beginning, farmers would brave muddy roads in their horse-drawn wagons. As time went on, farmers made weekly trek to town in pick-ups, where they’d pile bushels of fruit and vegetables high on tailgate of their trucks. Today, many lucky city dwellers visit markets that are open every day. My favorite though, is our county farmers’ market held on courthouse grounds. It’s open only on Saturday mornings, and only June - October. It may sound inconvenient but, for my family, it’s a summer ritual. We wake early and arrive disheveled, rarely taking time to comb through our hair. For breakfast, we buy scones from our favorite bread stand and snatch up best looking fruit we see. My son is an expert at choosing “chin dripping” peaches, always looking for most fragrant and heaviest peach that can sit in palm of his small hand. My husband lounges on grass and watches people go by as I scribble a list of what is available, anticipating culinary treats that only summer brings. There is nothing like fresh corn on cob, cold gazpacho with homegrown tomatoes, or homemade fruit sorbet. We always have a batch of sorbet on hand, each week a different flavor. Sometimes we experiment by combining fruit with fresh herbs, but most of time we simple puree 2 cups of fruit with a little citrus juice and a bit of honey, and then freeze it in an ice cream maker. My boys and their friends think it’s a decadent treat.
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