Stuff you should have

These are my favourite things, and you should have them, too!

Friday, February 25, 2005 , evening

Oreck Air Cleaner

Excuse me for a moment while I sound like a commercial, but I want to rave about our Oreck Air Cleaner.  I keep it in the bird room and had to clean it today, and it never ceases to amaze me when I see all the dust that it’s trapped.  I usually clean it about once a month (whenever it starts making a “popping” sound), and it’s always filled with cockatoo dust.  Filled!  Every nook and cranny of the pre-filter is 100% cockatoo!  I swear I could mix the dust with some glue and water and build myself a dozen new cockatoos with all the junk that the air cleaner traps.  I’ve only got one small Goffin’s cockatoo, too, so it’s not like I’m living with a flock of umbrella cockatoos… it’s just the Goffin’s and 5 other birds, none of whom produce anything like cockatoo dust.  We keep a second Oreck Air Cleaner in the hallway outside the bird room, and while it doesn’t get as dirty, it still traps an incredible amount of dust.  I’d like to pick up a couple more during Oreck’s current “buy 1, get the second half-price” offer, and put one in the master bedroom and one downstairs.  They’re not cheap initially, but well-worth the investment in the long run when you don’t have to buy expensive replacement filters.  I’ve got two inexpensive Honeywell air cleaners sitting in the garage, unused, simply because I don’t want to pay $60+ for new HEPA filters, plus 15+ for pre-filters.  So, the Orecks do the job, and they do it for a great price.  If you’ve got pets, especially birds, I’d highly recommend it.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/25 at 09:07 PM
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Sunday, January 16, 2005 , evening

Gifts for good dogs and cats

Having, oh, a lot of dogs and cats means we buy a lot of stuff for dogs and cats.  There have definitely been favourite purchases for pets and owners alike, so I thought I’d mention a few in case you’re looking for a perfect gift for Fido or Fluffy’s upcoming birthday.

Three out of three cats agree that the Little Pink Sock catnip toy is the best damn cat toy featuring catnip that’s ever been invented.  These toys provide your cats with hours of fun as they toss them in the air, drop them from high places, rub them against their faces, or simply nap on their soft pink surface.  Socks come two to a package and are stuffed to the brim with aromatic catnip (which to me smelled like camomile tea).  Your cat will think you’re wonderful, and you’ll love the cute packaging.  I don’t know how long the catnip will last, but I think I’ll order an extra set to have on hand so we’ll never run out.  Even Chelsea loves the little pink sock, and otherwise I don’t think Chelsea loves anything at all.

Three out of three cats surveyed also agree that when they’re in the mood to hunt, they want to hunt Toy Shoppe Teasables cat wand toys.  Actually, I lied—only two out of three cats surveyed love chasing the wand toys, but that’s just because Derek feels hunting and playing would cut into his cuddle time.  Still, Chelsea and Jackson think the wand toys are great fun, and they might be a good workout for me, too.  In a few months I’ll have one freakishly huge bicep from holding a wand out while I watch TV.

Dog toys are tougher to recommend because our dogs are all so different.  The thing all our dogs love, big or small, is the Toughchew Dog Bed.  We originally bought one of the “nearly indestructible” Toughchew beds for our Anatolian shepherd, as he was always ripping up dog beds we were buying.  We figured it was better to spend $180 on one really durable bed than to repeatedly pay $40 for beds we’d have to replace.  Also, the Toughchew bed came with Orvis’ great “lifetime guarantee”, so we figured we had nothing to lose.  Unfortunately, we seem to have one of the rare dogs who can annihilate a Toughchew bed, as Dante the Anatolian was able to put a tear in it after being left alone with it for 10 minutes.  HOWEVER, Orvis did immediately honour their replacement warranty after a quick email to them about the incident, and a few days later a brand new bed arrived.  We still have to keep it away from Dante unless we’re there to watch him, as he loves to take dog beds and drag them outside (no matter how large they are).  However, when he’s sleepy the bed is his favourite thing in the world, and it’s also supremely comfortable for our aging German Shepherd.  We now have a second bed for our wee dogs and they also think the bed is heavenly.  Our terrier-mix loves to grab it and shake it, and she’s been unable to even break a thread.  If you want a good, reliable, comfortable bed for your dogs, and want to know that it will last a lifetime, buy a bed from Orvis.  You won’t be disappointed, they guarantee it, and if your dog eats it they’ll send you a new one.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/16 at 09:46 PM
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