Dog math: When three is not the magic number

Yesterday, I found myself in a position I never expected. I was standing at an animal shelter surrendering a dog. How many times had I wondered how someone could do something like that? Countless. Yet… there I was.

As you may have guessed from the title of this post, our tiny herd is no longer a trio. Instead, it’s now a dynamic duo. (I will, however, still be referring to them as a tiny herd. Old habits – you know, all of two and a half weeks old – die hard.)

How did we end up here? Read on, my friend… though be warned, it’s a long one. Continue reading

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Barking 9 to 5…

It just so happens that today is Take Your Dog to Work Day. It’s also National Dog Party Day. I guess if you’re going to work hard, you should play hard too!

Lucky for me, I usually work from home on Fridays… which means that I can take Bella to work with me today without having to actually take her anywhere. Given that Bella gets carsick in a rocking chair, this situation is ideal. We’ll have our own version of Paw-fice Space right here at home – Bella takes her Floor Patrol duties very seriously.

Now, to the Linkmobile!

  1. Today’s punny pet names take their inspiration from 9 to 5: Polly Parton (for a bird), Dane Fonda (for a Great Dane pup), and Gilly Tomlin (for a fish).
  2. Oh, I can’t help myself. Here are a few more: Molly Parton (for a fish), Jane Fawnda (for a deer), Lily Tomcatlin, and Billy Tomlin (for a goat).
  3. Next, check out this great slideshow of dogs participating in today’s festivities.
  4. Among the offices celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day? The gang at Richmond International Raceway. (I bet Bella’s glad that I don’t work there!)
  5. Over at Peggy’s Pet Place, Kelly the pup has taken to the keyboard to tell us about her canine career.
  6. Sugar the Golden Retriever has donned some “office” attire today as well. (Looking good, pal!)
  7. What if your office is a boat? Something Wagging tells us about Schmitty the Weather Dog, and inspires me to watch “I’m on a Boat” too many times.
  8. The Poodle and Dog Blog gets into the act with this interesting story and clever post title: Dog on a Hot Thatched Roof.
  9. Wondering how to work out the logistics of bringing your dog to work? Never fear. The Pet Health Care Gazette has some great tips.

Sure, it sounds cute… but should we be concerned? Will human workers soon be replaced by a cadre of clever canine professionals? It’s happened before.

That deep thought brings us to today’s video. This dog seems to love his job more than most people I know.

Don’t worry cat lovers, I haven’t forgotten you. Bunny’s Blog tells us all about taking your cat to work.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I confess that I sang “9 to 5” the entire time I was writing this post. It’s going to be in my head all day now. It’s enough to drive me crazy if I let it. (See what I did there?)

So, tell me… have you ever taken your dog (or other pet) to work?

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K9 Kampers Graduate!

The fourth challenge is already here? Kamp’s already over? I would like to protest. “Donna Martin graduates! Donna Martin graduates!

Wait, that’s not right. “Stop the drilling! Stop the oil!

Er… I mean, “More K9 Kamp! More K9 Kamp!”

Anyway, it’s with a heavy heart that I write about the last week of K9 Kamp. The final challenge required me to exercise (wordplay!) some independent judgment (not my strong suit) and choose what to do with Bella this week. That’s right – it was Kamper’s Choice! (I initially typed that Khoice… oops.) Read on to find out how we did.

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#K9Kamp: Hold on a doggone minute

Wow… we just finished the third K9 Kamp challenge. How did that happen? I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.

This week’s challenge was called Just One Doggone Minute to Win It. This challenge recognizes that sometimes life gets in the way of staying fit. However, we all have some free minutes in there, so Kampers were encouraged to find a way to make those minutes count! Read on to find out how we did… Continue reading

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#K9Kamp: Having a ball… with rope

It’s time for another K9 Kamp update. Today, we’re talking about the second challenge, which was named (drum roll, please)… Play with Your Balls. (In case you’re not as amused as I am – which would make me question our friendship – perhaps the fact that I received an email beginning with “How’d you all do playing with your balls?” yesterday will do the trick. Best email ever.)

Anyway, as you know, Bella and I have been battling against various health issues during this year’s K9 Kamp. (We’re still on the DL, but we’re on the mend.) This week, we also had an additional challenge – the fact that Bella will not play with balls. I guess she doesn’t get the joke.

Read on to find out how we did… Continue reading

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Cat’s all, folks…

Before we get into today’s links, I have some fun news to share. I recently learned that this blog was nominated for eCollegeFinder’s Top Pet Blogs Award. The winners were announced this week, and we made the list of the Top 107 Pet Blogs! (I don’t know why it’s 107, but I kind of dig it.) Pretty cool, huh? Even cooler, some of our blogging friends made the list too. Check out the winners here.

Now, to the linkage. Last week, I featured some otters. This week, I’m feline like featuring some cats. (I blame this list of strange cat facts I encountered a few days ago.) Let’s get to it…

  1. Your punny pet name for this week: Terrence Meoward.
  2. Cheetah cub overload! You’re welcome.
  3. I have a feeling that Kristine from Rescued Insanity will like this next one. A cat trained to hug… could the video be any cuter? (On a related note, Kristine is working on an awesome project to show the world just how awesome cats can be. Swing by to find out more and submit your own story!)
  4. The cats in this video give a new meaning to the term copycat.
  5. By no means am I endorsing this brand (I’m no expert on cat food) – that being said, I have to admit that this ad made me laugh. For Pete’s sake, it has Chris Parnell in it. I’m not immune to the charms of Dr. Spaceman.

Finally, I give you this week’s video. I need to hire this guy to do the music for my punny production company. (I’ve got tons of characters, after all.) Wonder if he could do the same thing with plush dogs?

I know… it’s a weird video, but it just felt right. I’m a weird gal.

What are you up to this weekend? Don’t forget to check out Peggy’s Pet Place and Kol’s Notes for this week’s K9 Kamp challenge. Also, you have until Tuesday to enter the two Happy Tails Spa giveaways I announced last week, so why not do it this weekend?

 

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#K9Kamp: Walking on (& napping in) sunshine

As you may know, Bella and I are participating in K9 Kamp for the second time. Today, I’ll be telling you about how we handled the first challengeWalking on Sunshine. This week, Kampers were given a simple directive – take lots of walks!

I have to say – every year it seems that Bella and I have some sort of issue when K9 Kamp rolls around. Last year, it was endless rain, which required us to adapt the challenges so that we could do them inside. This year, although it’s rained some, that’s not the real issue.

Instead, we’re both on the DL – I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago, and Bella was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection last week. So, my mobility has been compromised (walking too far or for too long results in pain), and the infection has left Bella feeling under the weather. Nonetheless, we soldiered on (so to speak) and did our own version of the challenge.

Our walks were not fast, nor were they far. However, we spent a fair amount of time wandering around the yard together. At times, Bella decided that she’d rather plop down in the sun and nap instead of walk. Given that she wasn’t feeling that great, I let it slide this week. We can’t be superstars every week, after all.

So, my first week was not quite the resounding success I’d envisioned, but we made it work for us. Honestly, just spending time with the pup (even if she chose napping in sunshine over walking on it), was nice. That’s the best thing about K9 Kamp – a built-in reason to spend extra time with my favorite furface!

Want more tales (and tails) from Kamp? There’s a sunny blog hop happening today. Swing by Kol’s Notes or Peggy’s Pet Place to check out the other bloggers participating and to share your own stories! If you completed this week’s challenge, you can even enter to win some groovy prizes while you’re over there. Can’t beat that!

Tomorrow, challenge #2 will be announced – make sure to check out Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place for the details. I can’t wait!

Are you a fellow Kamper or thinking of joining us?

When is karaoke night?

 

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Why I’m returning to K9 Kamp

I participated as a featured blogger in the inaugural K9 Kamp last year, and had a great time. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Peggy & Jodi asked me to participate again! (In preparation for this year’s event, I revisited my posts from last year – and now I can’t stop singing “shopping is our greatest thrill” from Troop Beverly Hills. You’ve been warned.)

What is K9 Kamp, you might ask? It’s a series of fitness challenged designed to encourage you to get fit while spending time with your dog. Our fearless leaders/Kamp counselors are Peggy and Jodi from Peggy’s Pet Place and Kol’s Notes, respectively. Read on to find out why I’m participating, and how you can join us!

Continue reading

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A salute to cinematic canines…

Well, the Academy Awards are on Sunday, so I bet you can guess today’s theme… movie madness and dogs on film!  (Sing that last part like you’re Duran Duran… that’s how it sounded in my head just now.)

  1. First up, your punny pet names: Billy Grrr-ystal, Barkin’ Scorsese, and Meryl Cheep (for a bird). 
  2. Throwing an Oscar party?  You could make some punny dishes inspired by the nominees and then decorate with these fun printables.
  3. At your party, you could reenact scenes from past winners.  Just be careful which role you let this guy play.  (In a moment of synergy, I just saw an ad for the re-release of Titanic in April. I’m so there. Be proud, 17 year old me. I’ll never let go.)
  4. If that’s not your speed, you could discuss the greatest movie quotes of all time.  The first category?  Legal movie quotes.
  5. Whatever you do, just make sure you’re comfy – it’s a long show.
  6. I could watch this funny clip of Oscar nominee Jean Dujardin auditioning to be a villain all day.  No joke.
  7. I usually try to watch as many Oscar nominees as possible before the big night.  What’s your favorite?  This year, maybe I should try to catch some of the nominated shorts too.
  8. It’s the year of the dog on the red carpet.  I just have to smile every time I see Uggie, the canine star of The Artist (and a former rescue pup, like our pal Chopper).   Check out this great interview with his trainer, and then get a glimpse behind the scenes with Uggie and Cosmo (star of Beginners). 
  9. Uggie’s far from the first four-legger to rock the red carpet – enjoy this slideshow to see more.  (Sadly, Uggie won’t be on the red carpet on Sunday.  He would have totally upstaged all of the starlets.  However, I hope he’s enjoying his recently announced retirement and that he’s doing well.)
  10. Why stop there? I’m totally into the Golden Collar Awards.  Most adorable nominees ever.
  11. What’s your favorite dog movie?  (Here are some of mine.)

Finally, this video made me smile… and laugh… and cry… and cringe a little. (In any event, I had to share it just for the punny name near the end.)

(via Best Week Ever)

Will you be watching the Oscars?


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8 posts I loved this month

I vowed to post every day in the month of January.  I’m pleasantly surprised to report that I did so (with the exception of one day for the SOPA blackout – and I’m pretty sure that one counts as an excused absence).

I don’t know if I’ll continue to post daily – it was a lot of pressure!  However, I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to take a look back at the month and share a few posts that I thought were really fantastic.

In no particular order, here are eight posts that I really enjoyed this month.  I hope you’ll swing by and read them.

  1. Homeland Security Systems from Tales & Tails – If you’re troubled by trespassers, Tales & Tails has a solution for you.
  2. A is for Adoption (yay!) from Peggy’s Pet Place – A great post about adoption (yay!) that just made me smile.
  3. 5 Ways Dogs Save the World – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous from Something Wagging This Way Comes – “So give your pooch a smooch. And thank her for protecting us from a postapocalyptic hell the likes of which have never been seen on earth.”  With a line like that, it had to make the list!
  4. When we don’t see eye to eye from Love and a Six-Foot Leash – Before you judge, read this post.  Seriously.
  5. Positive Advertising with a Dash of Newf from Rescued Insanity – This video is guaranteed to make you smile.
  6. If You Could Ask One Thing from Rescued Insanity – If you could ask your dog one question, what would it be?  (I couldn’t decide between this one and #5, so they both made the list.)
  7. Porcupines, Fawns and Turkeys – A Winter Woodland Celebration from This One Wild Life – The conclusion to a trio of posts that celebrate nature in all its glory, read this post when you need that moment of Zen.
  8. Saturday’s Dog: Celebrating the Wins by Bringing Up Bella – Need a reason to smile?  Check out these dogs that found their forever homes.
Obviously, I’m a linkaholic.  I also wanted to note that I enjoyed way more than eight posts this month, and you can find links to many of those in my regular Friday posts

What posts did you love this month?  Share them in the comments!

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