My baby is 7 today! I can’t believe how time has flown by these last 7 years. I did a walk down memory lane and put together a video of his most treasured moments. (sorry its so long, but 7 years is a long time - like forever in dog years) Pawty tomorrow…..
I have been quite busy this week since the car episode. I have had to play catch up today on my blog readings and still have to catch up on my comment responses, sorry I have been so lax. Hopefully this week will run smoother.
I went swimming with Apollo, Zeus and Hera today. They jumped and dove after the balls and were generally having a good time until I noticed the blood coming from Apollo’s back foot. OH NO! So I grab him and take a look at what he has done to himself. I was afraid of a torn nail after what I went through with Brutus last year. Luckily all nails were still attached. He has managed to grind down several of them to their quicks from launching himself off the pool decking. I checked Hera and her nails were getting worn too but not as badly as Apollo’s so I will watch her, but have to order Apollo boots for his back feet. I looked around on some forums and found some fancy neoprene booties for his back feet to try out. I have to measure his back paws and order them. I swear it is always something. (they are on sale at the Neo-Paws™ website and they ship the same day if ordered 3:00pm EST - which means he will have them for Bark Park on Saturday! whooo hooo!)
You can see WHY Apollo’s nails are so ground down.. He REALLY gets into the jumping.
I LOVE this picture, he jumped 2/3 the way across the pool ontop of Hera to get that ball… “Look out Hera, that ball is MINE!”
As I mentioned earlier, I ordered patriotic collars from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady for Brutus and Rufus. I’ve been a bad dog mommy and haven’t had much of a chance to post the pictures of them with all the festivities going on. We are not in a very patriotic mood with all the fireworks trauma but oh well. However, I am sooo pleased with the new collars. I am an Army veteran (I am sure most of you don’t know that) and I wanted to have something special for the boys that showed support for out troops. They look sooo handsome in them and I got a ton of compliments on them when we went to Indianapolis (I forgot to mention that B and R rode with us on Thursday). I took off their other collars and tossed them in the wash and hung them up to dry. I can not believe how well they washed up. They looked brand spanking new again! Can’t beat the quality! Well with out further ado… here are my handsome boys in their Patriotic Yellow Ribbon collars
I have another surprise for later this week… my Pirate collars came and OMG they look amazing! Better than i could have ever dreamed! Thanks Jen! You are the best, well second to your collars… lol Don’t forget to head over to Sew Crazy Dog Lady’s website and check it out. She currently has a drawing to win a FREE collar! I hope I win… 
Just a side note… but where in the world is all this spam coming from?! I mean seriously. I have had very low spam counts since I stared using hosting my blog and with in the last 36 hours I have had more spam comments caught by Askimet than the rest of the time combined! UGGG!
What a gorgeous day to play at the park. We have had a really cruddy week with the rain and our 4th was foiled. But today was beautiful and we took full advantage of it at Bark Park. I have added a gallery page for today’s visit - there are a TON of pictures… you can see it HERE
As we got closer to our destination Hera got more and more excited and by the time we pulled into the drive all three of them were wound up tighter than a drum… barking, whining and pacing at a fevered pitch. They couldn’t pour out of the car fast enough. We got in the gates, the leashes were unclipped and off they ran to paradise - social butterflies in all their glory. Of course Hera had to jump into the first water source she saw…. hey silly that’s for drinking!
We met up with Jack and Greta almost right away and we headed straight to the agility equipment. Apollo did some practice on the agility equipment and we taught both Hera and Zeus to do the A-Frame! Too cool.
Our buddies Jack and Greta
A couple more….
The beautiful Newfies were there today too.
There was a new dane at the park today too.. He is quite handsome.
Happy 4th everyone! Hope everyone has had plenty of BBQ, fireworks and festivities. The weather was horrible here which threw a giant wrench into our plans. We invited my husband’s family over to use the pool and BBQ. We spent an ungodly amount of money on food which we spent the entire day in our living room eating. It was cold (never got over 70°F - what’s up with that!!! Its JULY!) and rained non stop until 7:00pm, well after everyone went home. The dogs spent the day locked in my bedroom (see post - Not Welcome) while we gorged ourselves on food. Everyone was kind enough to save huge portions of their steaks for them to eat later. It makes me so sad that they were not allowed to take part in our festivities, at least I was close so I could keep going upstairs checking on them and bringing them little morsels of food and treats instead of an hour away.
One thing I did learn this year is that they DO NOT like fireworks. We have lived rurally in the past and it was never an issue. Everyone in the “suburban hell” bought fireworks (including the OH). They started letting them off around 10:30pm last night after the Columbus’s Red, White and Boom and they continued until about 2:30am. Of course I was letting the dogs out to potty before bed time just as the first firework went off and they went nuts. Rufus was charging around the yard barking and growling and by the time I got them all back in Brutus and Rufus were panting so hard i was afraid they were going to bloat. I let them all sleep with me last night and cranked up the ocean sounds cd full blast to try and drown out the noise. Rufus panted and profusely drooled for hours. Poor baby.
I did a little better job of preparing this evening and put them in my room with the radio blaring just before dark so they weren’t spooked by the initial explosions. They seem pretty calm right now which is good because tomorrow night is going to be just as bad if not worse. There are several parties scheduled tomorrow and the weather is going to be nice.
On a lighter note, I ordered patriotic collars for Brutus and Rufus from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady. They look so handsome in them. I spent the entire day yesterday driving to and from Indianapolis trying to deal with our car situation which still has not been resolved… ugg. I have not had time to blog about them & will write about my new super duper awesome collars tomorrow. I am absolutely exhausted and want to go cuddle with my puppers.
Next up…. Bark Park tomorrow! Whoo Hoo!
Can you believe it is already July 1st?! I sure can’t. The year is now half over. Summer is trying to make a come back in Ohio after the last week we have had. It has been in the 70’s and was only 63°F yesterday! We have been dying to get in the pool and swim. Well the Sun God, Helios was smiling on Zeus, Hera and Apollo (note the theme) and gave them a gorgeous day to swim. (video of all the dogs at the end)
Apollo is taking his jumping really seriously… He flies half way across the pool!
Poor Rufus, he didn’t get to play! Mean old mommy wouldn’t let him out because he was barking like crazy at the other dogs. Here he is watching barking from the upstairs window trying to make me feel bad.
Zeus got in today and was jumping a little bit too. He is no where near as enthusiastic about jumping as Apollo or Hera.
And of course “everyone” knows it takes two labs to get a ball out of the pool.
And last but certainly not least. Enjoy a few minutes of our day, a pretty typical day.
Happy July!
I ddn’t much feel like walking the dogs tonight, Im a little sore from our extra long power walks last night. So I loaded up Brutus and Rufus in the rental and we headed off to Tim Horton’s for some timbits. We went through the drive-thru and I had the window in the back of the SUV rolled down. Both the boys had their heads sticking out of the window facing the drive-thru window. I think the teenage boy running the counter about shat himself when he went to hand out the box of timbits and my drink. Its not everyday you see two monster dogs in the drive-thru at 11o’clock at night.
They love timbits. Always have and I suspect they always will.
ETA - I guess I should have put links to Tim Hortons and Timbits on here. I forgot its kind of a regional thing.
Sunday is the end of my weekend. Thank goodness it’s Sunday. I can only hope this week will be better than the last. I haven’t had time to blog or read blogs (which I appologize for), neglected the dogs and have had one horrible thing happen after another.
Friday was supposed to be great! I had been looking forward to Bark Park’s special friday night pawty, with live band, the entire week. It was not to be. Around 230pm my husband calls to tell me he has broken down in another state on his way back to town from a business trip and needs me to head out after him. So I start calculating how long it will take to get him and get back to town (5½ hours round trip) and if I hurried I could make it back for an hour at Bark Park with the dogs. I head out and get about 40 minutes out of town and am chatting away on my cell phone when my car looses power and I also break down on the freeway as well. My engine is shot. I absolutely can’t believe it. Call roadside assistance - what a nightmare! And then we call my BIL to pick us up. We didn’t get back home around midnight. 
No Bark Park for the dogs.
Next up I have to figure out how to get Jack and Greta from the kennels first thing in the morning for Courtney. We get a rental car and head out to pick them up. Jack has had the runs at the Kennel and an accident on his bed. They stink worse than farm animals and have poop on their legs and faces/ears. Gross! The bed was so disgusting, even after being washed that I just left it behind for the dumpster. Poor Jack! At least they were picked up and settled at home waiting for their mom, disgusting, but home. We had friends from school in town which I didnt get notice they were coming until late Thursday night and if I wasn’t on the way to meet them, I would have bathed the two. I would absolutely hate to have to come home to that.
Now I have to figure out what we are going to do about the car situation and recover from a stressful and busy weekend. Everyone had extra long walks tonight to burn off some of the negative energy we all have. I know I feel better and they all seem exhausted now.
Hubby has more business out of town tomorrow and I am stuck at home with no car. Hmmm, maybe I will bake dog treats to make it up to the dogs. Good news is even with the holiday weekend there IS a bark park on Saturday! YEY.
Here’s a little black and white eye candy. I’d hate to end on a bad note
Z and I decided to take Apollo and Hera into the pool with us to swim. It was nice out early on and I got some great shots in the pool. Poor Brutus and Rufus were just beside themselves because I left them inside. Rufus barked at the door the whole time. But the yard just isn’t big enough for us to swim with all the dogs running around like fools.
We made quite a break through and Hera finally got up the nerve the other day to jump in. She had been using the steps exclusively to get in/out of the pool but was too much of a chicken to try jumping in. First it started out as a “slide in” to the pool. Then she started getting brave and actually jumped in. She kept getting braver and braver and eventually was launching herself into the pool. Apollo not to be out done, decided he was going to try his hand paw at it too. With in an hour in the pool my dogs went from circling and barking to full on launching themselves into the pool. Labs and water…. like PB&J…
OHHHHH I am sooooo mad! As you all know we have moved into a suburb neighborhood with 6 dogs from the country. It has been an adventure needless to say. Everyone lets their dogs roam or leaves them unattended in electric fences.
Since we also have the pool, the kids are here nonstop wanting to swim. So far they have all been good about latching the pool gate on their way out. Last week I caught the gate unlatched, but closed and was able to shut it before the dogs discovered it. However today I was not as lucky!
The last kid left to go home, Z leaves to play golf and my OH has my car (with the keys to his car). I let the dogs out back to pee and walk inside for 3 seconds to answer the phone. I hear Brutus start barking as I am walking to the door… All the dogs but Zeus and Brutus are GONE! And no where in sight! I absolutely panic! I throw on my shoes and run out the door with a handful of leashes.
My first concern is the little yip yaps (3 crazy barking chihuahuas) on the corner that really wind up B and R. So I run straight there, not a one of my dogs in sight. So I knock on the door and ask the lady to bring her dogs inside just in case. Rufus is actually pretty good with little dogs, but I didnt want to take any chances after the “Yorkie incident”.
I am bawling and hysterical at this point searching for them desperately. I see the kid that left the gate open and lay into him bawling hysterically. I hear another one of the boys calling “Brutus, Brutus” and running towards my house. It was Rufus and he ran around the front of the house to get back in… (guess he got hot and had enough of an adventure after 5 minutes). They all start heading back to the house with boys in tow. Thank goodness! Crisis Averted.
That 5-10 minutes seemed like an absolute eternity.
I went back over to the Yip Yap’s house to let her know they had been rounded up and to thank her for bringing them in and explained what had happened with the gate. I assured her it wouldn’t happen again.. She was thankful that I had come to warn her. The gate is now locked and I have hidden the key. I will just have to keep it locked and escort the kids in and out. Another lesson learned - burb life is difficult with 6!
I just got an update on one of my former foster Saints. I got an email from her family with pictures letting me know how she was doing. I am sooo excited she is doing so well. I hear from my previous
fosters’s family from time to time. In fact I have made good friends
with several and talk to a couple weekly. Heidi, now named Daffodil, is
an extra special girl. We had quite a bit of time together bonding and
I am so happy she has found such a happy loving home.
“It’s been almost a year since Daffy joined our family. She has grown– we think she is the tallest St. we have ever had. The last vet visit in March she weighed in at 140. So I guess she is eating well.
She is really fun. We walk daily and some days she goes to “day camp”. Then she comes home completely exhausted. She loves to ride in the car and has an assortment of toys.
She still grabs kleenex when possible and will eat any eggs left out or butter. We have learned to put these things away. All in all she is a joy.
Phyllis, Bill and Daffy”
Zeus’s new Sew Crazy Dog Lady collar came!!! Woo Hoo!!!! It is gorgeous and looks sooo good on him. My son even agreed that it looks good and he’s a tough cookie to impress. The green stands out against his black fur magnificently! Yet again I am sooo impressed with the quality and style of the Sew Crazy Dog Lady’s collars. Thank you for another wonderful creation.
Zeus really likes it too. He likes all the attention he is getting when we fuss over his pretty jingles (collar with id tags - we call them his jingles) and is prancing around. He knows he looks posh and stylish! I have ordered a couple new one for Brutus and Rufus as well…. they are big surprises! I think you are going to LOVE them!
So…. with out further ado…. The handsome Zeus modeling his Sew Crazy Dog Lady collar…
Our buddies Jack and Greta are in the kennels this week since their mom and dad are on vacation. I offered to go and check on them a couple of times since the place they are at isn’t very far from my house. They are being boarded at Kennel Club USA in Johnstown, Ohio. It’s only about 8 miles from here and a very pleasant country drive. So I went out there this morning to see how they were doing and WOW what a set up, a sprawling 45 acre “pet paradise.”
I go inside and announce that “Hi my name is Lora and I’m here to visit Jack and Greta.” The owner goes in the back to check Greta and Jack’s “scheduled location.” As I stood alone in the front (which has a gorgeous shop with fantastic collars and leads, grooming products and other dog related stuff) one of the birds , an African Grey calls out… “Hi my name is Lora” – OMG my jaw dropped… The owner comes back and I ask what the bird’s name is (thinking its Lora or some derivative). He tells me it’s Wendy… hmmmm I’m like I swear that bird said my name. He said she probably did, probably copied what you said when you came in. WOW! What a smart bird!
The owner gave me the grand tour and I must say it is one of the cleanest facilities I have ever been in. There was NO poopie smell, the floors were clean and the staff was attending to several groups of dogs in different areas. There’s a little dog play area that’s inside with glass windows so I could watch them for a bit. There were some groups of large dogs out in the play yard running around. Jack and Greta were in their run when I got there which was incredibly clean. The staff was handing out fresh water bowls when I was there.
The owner has designed several collars which he has made specifically for his shop using super high quality English Bridal leather. You can see a couple of the creations on his site.
I didn’t have my camera on me when I went or I would have asked to take some pictures, but you can see the place on line at their website www.kennelclub-usa.com It’s a fabulous facility and If I ever went out of town, I would certainly have the thundering herd boarded there.
Ahhhh what a glorious day! Gabby the greyhound showed up at our house around 8:45am. The greetings were unceremonious for the most part. Brutus was a bit put off at first but quickly came to his senses and remembered Gabby is his good buddy. We left the house shortly after her arrival for a wonderful day at Bark Park. Apollo and Hera were the only dogs of mine to make the trip today. My car won’t hold much more than 3 dogs in the back and since my son went with me there was no more room. I tried fitting Zeus in and Gabby snarled because the other dogs were stepping on her. Next time.
We played for hours! The weather was beautiful and the shade was very nice. Gabby was done after a short time and found a nice cool place to lay in the shade. Every now and again you would see her streak by with another sight hound and lap the park with a sudden burst of energy. But most of the time she looked like this:
OR THIS
Hera on the other hand spent a good portion of her day running around barking at dragon flies. Today several other park goers saw the dragonflies she was chasing and now she is no longer considered insane… lol She got brave and jumped in the air for a few of them this time.
Apollo ran the agility course a few times with Zach. He wasn’t as interested today. I think Zach waited until he was too tired to really enjoy it. He has remembered everything he has learned so far and even braved the teeter totter today.. He made a new friend today too.. He played with this male lab for ages and they both seemed to really like those little rubber duckies. They tugged on one and never scuffled. What a cute pair they made.
Our good friends George and Betty were our guests today and they brought Apollo’s friends Maggie and Joely up to play as well. Its been a long time since we have seen them.
Of course the Newfies and some of the Danes were there today. I took lots of pictures of them which can be seen in today’s gallery. I think these two are my favorite ones.
I ended up taking over 225 pictures in all.. which is surprising since my hubby had to meet me with my camera battery. I put it in the charger last night and thats where it stayed when I left for the park… ugg. Not all of my pictures turned out, but I put alot of the ones that did into todays Bark Park Gallery in the Photo Gallery Page which you can reach HERE. Make sure you stop by and see all the gorgeous doggies we met today. (Don’t forget to click on the pictures above to enable lightbox)
Our buddy Gorgeous George at Georgeous nominated us for June’s Awesome Blog Award over at Dogs with Blogs Bone Zone. How nice of him! The voting runs for several days and there are some pretty awesome blogs in the running this month so we don’t expect to win. We are just honored that George thought so highly of us.
Our competition includes:
Check them out if you are in the mood for some good reading. Good luc and congrats to everyone for having such PAWSOME blogs!
