Shelters you should know: Meet FOHA in northern Virginia

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Blog the ChangeFor this round of Blog the Change for Animals, I wanted to (once again) highlight an organization that has been helping animals since before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eyes.

Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) in northern Virginia has been serving the DC area since 1973. In 2012, FOHA gave me a wonderful place to volunteer and a new pup in the form of Tavish. In 2013, FOHA celebrated its 40th anniversary. This year, the fantastic folks at FOHA are continuing this important work into year forty-one. Continue reading →

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Forget the polar vortex – let’s talk about the Molar Vortex

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In light of the recent weather event – affectionately* known as the polar vortex – I’ve made a decision.** In the summer of 2012, shortly after he joined our home, Tavish went in for a dental appointment. On that fateful day, he said farewell to eight teeth.*** In honor of those brave enamel soldiers**** that gave their lives that day, I hereby proclaim the great teeth pulling of 2012… the Molar Vortex.

It would also be a good name for what happened to this guy:

via giphy.com

Oh, Bumble.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

*Affectionately? More like scornfully. Mournfully. I-wish-I-lived-somewhere-warm-fully. (I know, I know… that last one’s just a near rhyme. Call it poetic license. If you can do better, the floor is yours, Wordsworth.)

**I’ve also been plagued by the following cheer, inspired by one I heard in high school: “Brrrr. It’s cold in here! There must be a vortex in the atmosphere!”

***Life on the streets is rough, yo. (Or maybe life on the dirt roads? Those aren’t really streets.) There are no roving dentists offering free dental care to adorable homeless dogs making their way in the world today. It takes everything they’ve got. Taking a break from all their worries sure would help a lot. (Wouldn’t you like to get away… from me and my meandering thoughts? Probably.)

****Martika, I think we found your next big hit song. (I don’t know why I just decided that Martika is a regular reader, but how funny would it be if she was?)

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I like navel gazing, but I hate belly buttons

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Pet Blogger Challenge Jan. 10

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I only like navel gazing (or, as our friend Pamela would call it, omphaloskepsis) when it’s metaphorical. Please keep your abdomens covered or – at a minimum – at a reasonable distance from my eyeballs. I can’t quite explain why, but belly buttons really weird me out.

Now that we’ve established some boundaries, dear reader, let’s move on to the real topic. (Full disclosure: I may have actually directed a few lines of “Take a Look at Me Now” at the mirror in order to psych myself up before writing this post, but let’s just keep that between us, okay?) This bout of self-reflection has been prompted by the annual Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by Go Pet Friendly and Will My Dog Hate Me, two of my favorite blogs. Continue reading →

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When it was 2013, I read posts that filled me with cheer…

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Well, the new year is here. It’s time to look forward. Unfortunately, I really excel in looking back. I’m often nostalgic for yesterday, not to mention yesteryear. So, in order to truly say farewell to 2013, I needed to get that out of my system. I needed to post December’s monthly roundup, and I needed to do it today.

someecards.com - I refuse to reminisce about the past year unless it's in a

via someecards.com

I hope you don’t mind that this roundup is so close on the heels of the last. (Although perhaps the real problem is that I’m usually at least a month behind with these!) Anyway… today, I have a selection of fourteen posts that made me smile during the last month of the year. Read on and be merry. (It’s cool to be merry in January, right? Let’s take merriment back from December. Merriment for all the months!) Continue reading →

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Weird (and fluffy) science

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Well, here we are. It’s the first Friday of 2014. I was feeling kind of lazy on the post-drafting front, but it just didn’t seem right to start the year off without some Friday linkage… so, let’s get to it. (Against all odds, the topic of today’s post is science. If you knew me, you’d realize that in and of itself is weird.)

  1. First up, your punny pet name for this week: Albert Whinestein.
  2. So, apparently science has discovered that dogs do their business in line with the earth’s magnetic field. I do have one question: who funds these studies?
  3. In less weird scientific news, we’re one step closer to hanging out with Dug from Up. I can’t wait.

    via giphy.com

  4. Let’s be honest. Dogs know us better than we known ourselves, right? (That’s because dogs are awesome. Even cats can’t argue.)
  5. I’ve heard that a dog a day keeps the doctor away. Unless the doctor is a dog, of course. (Seriously, what can’t dogs do?)
  6. Also, rumor has it that dog lovers make awesome friends. Science wins again. Go science! (I’m sure science appreciates a little cheerleading every now and then.)
  7. I’d also like to thank science for finding cute new animals for me to squee about.

Speaking of important discoveries, scientists have discovered the theory of cute-itivity.

I melt (and I’m not scientifically savvy enough to come up with a theory to share here).

Anyway, in case you missed anything over the holidays, here’s what we’ve been up since the last round of Friday linkage:

That’s all for today, folks. See you next time!

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Caption these dogs: Leaping into the new year

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Okay, I must warn you – the photo below is pretty terrible. We’re talking should-have-deleted-it-immediately territory. It should really be in the don’t-let-anyone-see-this pile. The if-only-I’d-made-different-choices category. However, I kind of love it, in spite of the fact that it exposes my sometimes questionable photography skills.

To set the stage… this photo is the last one I took during the photo shoot for our holiday card this year. After I saw it, I couldn’t stop laughing and declared it a wrap.

Leaping Tavish, unimpressed Bella via wantmorepuppies.com

I am the blurry cow, and Bella is my moon.

As you can see, I was not set up for an action shot. The light was low, as was my shutter speed. If only…

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In 2013, you wanted more puppies, more puns, and… more cats?

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Today, on the last day of the year, I’m taking the totally original approach of reflecting on 2013. I don’t see a lot of this out there, which I find surprising – I mean, you’d think it would be a natural fit. I can only hope that my trailblazing example will inspire more reflection in the future as one year passes the torch to the next.

Sarcasm duly noted? Good. Because I know every website on Earth (and perhaps Mars?) is doing the same thing… and I don’t care. Nostalgia is my absolute favorite kind of -algia, and I finally put down a deposit on a nice little bungalow on Memory Lane. (It just makes good financial sense.) Let the reflecting begin! Continue reading →

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14 posts to remember from November

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It’s time for yet another monthly roundup. Well, technically it’s past time. Anyway… today, I give you fourteen posts that made me smile in the month of November:

  1. Mirth Watch Thursday: We Are the Furred from Pooch Smooches – You know I can’t resist a song parody.
  2. Tips For Traveling with a Cat from Rescued Insanity – I know that it sounds like a straightforward post. It is not.
  3. Things You Say to Dogs That Would Be Creepy If You Said to People from Bunny’s Blog – Can’t argue with that.
  4. If my dogs were kittens. And they had a box. from Oh My Dog! – I’m a sucker for cats in boxes. True story.
  5. Why I Took Leaves From My Parents And Now I’m Taking Them Back from My Brown Newfies – It’s genius. Weird genius.
  6. Misconceptions about Gay People and Dogs from Fidose of Reality – This is a truly fantastic post, but the line about the dog with the video camera might just be my favorite part.
  7. Monday Mischief: Mischief-less In 7 Letters or Less from Pooch Smooches – I love this idea. What would your dog’s vanity plate say?

    Tell me more via wantmorepuppies.com

    Inquiring Tavishes want to know…

  8. Ty and Buster: How the Boys Got Their Names from Take Paws – I’m still giggling about the Rancid suggestion.
  9. FitDog Friday: Overcoming Obstacles from Beagles and Bargains – I can relate.
  10. The Rival in My Bed from Something Wagging This Way Comes – Between the post and the comments, it’s got your Daily Laugh Requirement (DLR) covered.
  11. Dog Nose Wisdom from Raising a Super Dog – I think Jager should be my new life coach. How do I make that happen?
  12. Getting to Know My Dog’s Brush (In Which the Dog’s Brush Can Speak and I Interview It) from The Chronicles of Cardigan – Where does she come up with this stuff? Love it.
  13. I Write More and More Letters from Rescued Insanity – I cannot get enough of these. (Also, Food Network? I hope you were listening to this wise woman.)
  14. Dogs in the heat of the night from A slightly R-rated dog blog – Let’s end on a joke, shall we? We shall.

There you have it – did I miss any of your favorite posts from November? (It’s possible – I only have two eyes and one laptop, after all.) If so, please share them in the comments. (Or, if you have some from December, send them my way for the next list!)

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Introducing… The Puppy Tails: A new (and awesome) blog on the block

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I have a special edition of No Frown Friday for you today. I’m shining the spotlight on a very special blog: The Puppy Tails!

When I found out that I was paired up with The Puppy Tails for the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange this year, I was pretty excited. I mean, the name alone is clever and cute. The blogger behind the pups, Laura, looks like a lot of fun. The canine stars of the show, Monty and Delilah, are heart-meltingly adorable. Like me, Laura still calls her crew puppies even though they might not technically fit that definition anymore. Obviously, this match was meant to be.

Borrowing this photo from The Puppy Tails so you can see the cute – I sincerely hope you don’t mind, Laura!

I’ve spent some time reading up on The Puppy Tails this month, and I’ve really enjoyed it. If you, like me, are new to this wonderful blog, allow me to give you some tips on where to start (and at the end, I’ll tell you how you can help me spread the blog love to Laura, Monty and Delilah):

  1. First up, a punny pet name inspired by The Puppy Tails: Monty Paw.
  2. The Puppy Tails is a relatively new blog – it began in August of this year, and it’s a welcome addition to my reading list!
  3. Unlike this blog, The Puppy Tails contains useful information in addition to being entertaining and well-written. Check out this list of Puppy FAQs – I love how Laura is dedicated to helping others care for their puppies.
  4. Monty the pup is a rescue, and Laura recently dedicated an awesome post to him during Adopt a Dog Month.
  5. Laura is super talented too. Check out her upcoming line of homemade dog beds! (I totally want one.)
  6. She’s also cool and ahead of the curve – she totally posted adorable selfies with her pup long before the rest of us decided to step out from behind the camera as part of the Meet the Bloggers hop.
  7. Laura also gets to do awesome things in London, which has resulted in my undying jealousy.
  8. Seriously, The Puppy Tails is awesome. It tackles anything and everything you might want to know about having a puppy, including diet, teething, separation anxiety, walking, going to the vet, socializing (or, socialising) your puppy, clicker training, and so much more.

So, that’s a quick intro to the wonderful blog that is The Puppy Tails. Want to help me spread the blog love to this adorable addition to the pet blogosphere? If so, please do the following:

  • Stop by The Puppy Tails, leave a comment, and say hello.
  • Follow The Puppy Tails on Twitter. As a bonus, you will then be treated to tweets like this one. Awesomesauce.

This post is part of the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange, co-hosted by this humble blog and Something Wagging This Way Comes. For more feel-good bloggy goodness, check out the other blogs participating in this year’s exchange:

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