Vinegar Fridays

TGIVF!

Last week my neighbor's Jack Russell terrior, Jake, got into a scuffle with a skunk. Not a pretty sight or smell! I never did get around to asking my neighbor exactly what he did to eliminate the odor, but I wish I had known about the occurence at the time. Because, guess what? Vinegar could have rode to the rescue! What else?

If one of your furry friends needs fumegated, try a rub down with vinegar (any kind will do, but I'd recommend the cheapest you can find). It should do the trick.

While we're talking pets ... have any of you had a flea problem this year? So far, our cats have remained flea-free, and we're hoping it's because we've been adding that splash of distilled white vinegar to their drinking water, like I recommended in an earlier VF.

But if your cat or dog ends up with fleas, a good way to kill them without resorting to potentially lethal chemicals, is to bath them in baby shampoo (make sure you stick to the natural ones) and then rinse them with warm water with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar added. You'll see the dead fleas wash right down the drain. The reason I mentioned potentially lethal chemicals is because of a news story I saw a couple of days ago. There were dogs and cats who became violently ill after having a popular vet prescribed flea medication applied topically. It's scary to think you may be harming your pet when you're just trying to protect it.

All the commercial flea products make me nervous when there are small children in the house. They love to hug their doggies and kitties and just may end up with an armful, or mouthful, of flea-killing chemicals. Yuck. Flea collars are especially troublesome in households with children. Just think about it -- your child grabs the dog by the collar and then grabs a cookie with the same, unwashed, hand. Not good. Not good at all.

That's it for this week. May you never need this natural remedy for skunk spraying or fleas, but if you do, I hope this info helped!

Keeping it green with vinegar,

Hana