Category: medicine

Posted on by

east asheville pet care

east asheville may not have the bustle, buskers, award winning dining, and hippie vibe of downtown, or the creative grit and cat head biscuits of west asheville, or the gingerbread craftsmen and prestige of north asheville, but it DOES have a fantastic vet and a wonderful petsitter!  don’t call it least asheville!

having had a string terrible, awful, no good experiences at the crystal palace of doggy dental care in north asheville, we were thrilled to try a new vet when we moved the the east side 2.5 years ago.

pouncey at the vet



redwood animal hospital is a freakin godsend. it’s like stepping back in time 30 years – picture the anti-banfield – they even have a counter cat – big fluffy black cat named Buddha. the vets are smart and kind-hearted and get on the floor with the dogs and really, really seem to like them. the vet techs are so friendly and knowledgeable and just sweet and kind with the animals. the prices are unbelievably low. i mean like half what they charged in north asheville. for better, more personalized attention. they are not open past 5 or on weekends, but we have had a few emergencies and they had no trouble fitting us in during the day. when nacho’s kidneys failed they were so patient and kind and compassionate, walking us through the terrible process with the minimum of stress. the vet tech hugged me.  they always consider cost and do not make you feel like a heartless ogre for doing so. dr. elledge and dr. reason are both smart and have huge hearts. we love going to this vet!

here’s a link to redwood animal hospital.

the BEST dogsitter we have ever had is rhonda turpin at sit, stay, bark & play. she is also a dog behavior expert and trainer, so unlike previous dogsitters, she really can handle the energy of 3 big dogs at once. she posts videos of the pups playing while we are gone!  she leaves detailed funny notes about what they were doing. she is extremely flexible and even came over 3 times a day when we had to leave sugarhoney in her crate overnight. she has completely relieved us of worry about the dogs when we travel. she covers the east asheville – black mountain area, and is just wonderful to work with.

here’s a link to sit, stay, bark & play.

here’s a video rhonda took of sugarhoney stealing the tennis ball.

so, you see, there may not be a music venue or an arts district, but east asheville is not a bad place to raise some dogs. 

sugarhoney agrees.

sugarhoney leaf fall mouth river

Posted on by

daily sugarhoney: sugarheadrest

the love affair between sugarhoney and pouncey seems to get stronger every day.

sister as a headrest 

we’re pretty sure she came home with kennel cough, and has passed it on to pouncey via all their making out. kind of like doggie mono.

the internet says it’s very common, not dangerous, and can last 3 weeks. they are acting fine, but pouncey is coughing. 

the price of love.

Posted on by

daily sugarhoney: sugarshots


sugarhoney passed her first checkup this morning with flying colors.

she got two big shots in her scruff and did not even flinch.

she weighs 16 lbs.

she met two giant pit bulls who really wanted to play with her in the waiting room and was calm and cool as a cucumber.



she is the mellowest, laziest puppy i could ever imagine.

Posted on by

where my oil pullers at?

just kidding, i don’t think that anybody who reads here is an oil puller. but you never know!

i first heard of this practice – oil pulling – a few years ago on a facebook for hippies site called “tribe,” where a lot of alternative thinkers would post questions and solutions, most with a decidedly natural bent.  i was looking for carcinogen-free toothpaste recommendations and saw a post about oil pulling. it was interesting but i did not try it.

fast forward to last fall when i was becoming aware of the wonders of coconut oil. i was fighting a cold and there was a recommendation i saw online for mixing coconut oil with eucalyptus oil and putting it on the bottom of your feet to clear sinuses. it seemed like a better (less malodorous) idea than the bowls of chopped onions i put around the house last year. the same thread mentioned oil pulling. several commenters chimed in with anecdotes of oil pulling easing everything from tooth decay to rheumatoid arthritis – head colds, blood sugar stability, cramps, asthma, back pain, skin problems, the works.

i bought a jar of unrefined cold pressed virgin coconut oil and was happy with how it plus eucalyptus helped my cold. 

i figured the ancient Ayurvedic practice of oil pulling might be worth a shot.

basically you put a tablespoonful of oil (unrefined coconut or sesame seem to be the most popular) in your mouth and swish it around for 10-20 minutes, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.  i floss my teeth beforehand so the space between my teeth is bigger. after swishing through your teeth, you spit it out in a jar or trash can *NOT DOWN THE DRAIN* and rinse with warm salt water and then brush your teeth as usual.

it supposedly works like an intense mouth wash – the coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and it collects all your mouth germs and then you spit them out.

bonus is the lovely trippy layered tiers of half solidified – half liquid coconut oil collected in the jar!

i have been doing this for 2 months now. i can report my mouth feels terrific! i cannot attest to any other health improvements at this point, though i usually have a sore throat/ear pain at least every other week in the winter, and i have not had a hint of either since starting.  considering i spend many hours per week in the germ nest of thrift stores, and we went on a floating petri dish carnival cruise, i am pretty happy.

it seems that western science has proven oil pulling to have a positive effect on oral health, though the other hundreds of benefits have not yet been verified scientifically. i have a baby tooth – a molar that doesn’t have an adult molar to push it out – and i would like to keep this baby tooth as long as possible before i need an implant. i am hoping oil pulling will at least help in this endeavor.

i will keep you all updated on this riveting oil pulling journey. i have my 6 month dentist appointment in april and i am interested to see if the hygienist can tell a difference.

at the bare minimum, it serves as a kind of meditation. for 20 minutes every day i am not talking.


as an aside: how great is talenti gelato and sorbetto? the mango is out of this world!