Jack of all trades

Although Bella’s exact specifications are unknown, I suspect (and many of you agreed) that she has some Beagle and Jack Russell Terrier in there (sometimes known as a Jack-a-Bee), and maybe a little Corgi too.  Since we’ve done No Frown Friday tributes to Beagles and Corgis, it’s time to complete the trifecta!

  1. First up, your punny pet name:  Jack Russell Crowe.
  2. Speaking of names, do you know how the Jack Russell Terrier got its name?  Once you know its origin story, click over to Dogster to learn more about this feisty breed or watch this clip from Dogs 101.
  3. In the epic battle of JRTs vs. sprinkler, who wins?  We do.
  4. Sprinkler defense aside… prepare for your heart to melt when you watch this video of a JRT mix nursing some abandoned kittens.
  5. JRTs can also play soccer and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. They really can do it all – remember Jesse?  (Sometimes, perhaps, they should be a bit less ambitious.)

The video below reminded me of Bella… she does this every morning and often additional times throughout the day:

(via The Dog Files)

It seems like I’m always seeing JRTs in pop culture – which famous cutie is your favorite?  I’m partial to Wishbone (portrayed by the awesomely named Soccer), followed closely by Eddie from Frasier (played by the equally awesome Moose).

Think you could handle one of these adorable balls of energy?  Then get out there and rescue a Jack Russell!

 

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Happy Easter!

In honor of Easter, I thought I’d give you two videos today.  In the spirit of the holiday, I’m giving cats, dogs, bunnies, and chicks a moment to shine.  First up, Simon’s Cat celebrates Easter:



(via Cute Overload)

Don’t you just love it?  I have a feeling you’ll like this next one too:



(via The Dog Files)

Now that I’ve filled your Easter basket with cute, get out there and have a wonderful day!

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Kiss the world

It’s Earth Day, so today’s video has a special message for you.  But first…

  1. I cannot take credit for today’s punny pet name.  It is genius:  Piggie Smalls.  Also genius and not of my creation: Ol’ Birdy Bastard.  However, I will add a few more names to the list: Notorious P.I.G. and Dr. Bray (for a donkey, of course).
  2. You must watch this audition for Britain’s Got Talent.  I love this woman. I love her dogs.  I love her dog sweater. Love. Her.
  3. Sometimes, you just need to watch cute animals.  Pick your poision: the San Diego Zoo’s Pandacam, the Edinburgh Zoo Penguin Cam, or the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam (it’s back!).
  4. If you prefer your cute in photos rather than videos, I give you this slideshow of pets snuggling with stuffed animals (includes bonus Gremlins reference – be still, my beating heart).

As you may or may not know, we celebrated Earth Day last year by turning the blog over to Captain Pug (obviously our hero and obviously going to take pollution down to zero – also, in case you were wondering, he is cuteness magnified, and he is fighting on the planet’s side).  I don’t know if I can top that… however, I did want to remind you to show the Earth a little extra love today:



(Hat tip to Subroto Bagchi for inspiring the title of today’s post.)

Interested in learning more about going green or celebrating Earth Day with your pet?  Ask and ye shall receive… happy Earth Day!

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Bella’s Bunnies

First, have you read yesterday’s Blog the Change post about Make Mine Chocolate?  As you may know, I’m spreading the word about that cause to advocate giving chocolate bunnies instead of real bunnies for Easter this year.  However, there are lots of wonderful bunnies looking for a home – so if you have done your homework and think you’re really ready to become a bunny parent, then today is your lucky day.  All Things Dog Blog has gone to the bunnies, and is hosting an Easter Rabbit Adoptathon.

Allow me to introduce you to a few beautiful bunnies (click on their names for more info):

Meet Stella and Natasha in Virginia.  Both of these cutie pies may have been handled a bit too much in their previous homes, and can be a little wary or shy around humans.  However, they have been making a lot of progress while living with their foster mom.  Stella is 4 years old, and is looking for a home with a patient person who will work to earn her trust.  Natasha is 2 years old, and is looking for a “loving, patient, permanent home with someone who will let her run and explore and shred some papers and boxes.”  (Loved the description, so couldn’t pass up using it.)

Next up, meet Felt in Washington, DC.  She’s a 4 year old mini Rex rabbit who loves to be petted.  Due to a sinus infection, Felt does have some special needs, but if you have lots of love to give she may be the one for you.

To participate, visit All Things Dog Blog for instructions.  To visit other blogs participating in the Adoptathon and see a whole bunch of adorable bunnies, check out the blog hop after the jump…


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Blog the Change: Honey Bunnies

Blog the ChangeEaster is right around the corner.  So, for this round of Blog the Change, Bella wanted to highlight a bunny-related cause.  After all, she did have a bunny cousin – who she tried to lick during their first encounter.  In any event…

Today, I (and Bella) want to talk about the Make Mine Chocolate campaign (organized by the Columbus House Rabbit Society).  This cause was recently featured on Be the Change for Animals, and it’s a great one.  Just as movies like 101 Dalmatians result in lots of children asking their parents for a Dalmatian, Easter has the tendency to result in requests for bunnies.  While I’m all for adoption, I’m not in favor of families acquiring the pet of the moment and realizing that perhaps pet ownership was not really for them.  If a family is prepared and knows what they are getting into – more power to them.  However, the sad reality is that many of these bunnies end up in animal shelters or worse.

The key here is education – before adopting a rabbit, it’s important to know if a rabbit really is the right pet for you.  (Sound advice before adopting any animal.  Check out the cool Interactive Bun feature at Make Mine Chocolate to see if you’re bunny material.  For those who get the Interactive Bun seal of approval, I recommend visiting All Things Dog Blog tomorrow to meet some wonderful bunnies from Petfinder – it’s an Easter Rabbit Adoptathon!  Go here for details on how to participate.)

So, this Easter season, spread the word about Make Mine Chocolate.  Commit to giving only chocolate (or cute plush) bunnies as gifts.  Visit MMC’s website or the Facebook page to learn more.  (After using that abbreviation, I momentarily drifted off to think about the Mickey Mouse Club.  Anyone else remember The Party?  Okay, back to the serious stuff… focus.) 

Also, I realize it’s not technically part of the Make Mine Chocolate campaign, but I’d also like to take a moment to discourage giving children chicks and ducklings as well.  First, they grow up.  Chicks become chickens, and ducklings become ducks.  Second, unless you’re Chandler and Joey, it’s just not a good idea.

Interested in participating in Blog the Change?  Learn more here.  You can find the list of other participating bloggers (and join the blog hop yourself) after the jump.

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Flashback: Head of the Class

I realized this week that it’s almost the one year anniversary of I Still Want More Puppies.  With that in mind, I thought I’d spend the week sharing some of my favorite posts from the past year.  This post originally appeared on September 17, 2010 (one of the many No Frown Friday installments).  An interesting update related to item #2 below – Yale now has a therapy pup on staff after all.  Guess I was just ahead of the curve.  Hope you enjoy!

Speed Bump
(via Speed Bump)

It’s September… which means school is back in session.  I haven’t been a student in quite some time.  Neither has Ms. Bella.  She did take one obedience course… seven years later, she does sit when asked (most of the time). 

We’ve been lucky – Bella’s a fairly low-maintenance gal who doesn’t get into much trouble.  When we eventually adopt dog number two, we’ll have to be much more diligent! 

If you haven’t already guessed, the topic of today’s No Frown Friday is… school!  Let’s hit the books:

  1. This week’s punny pet names are based on some famous names that chose the School of Life instead of a college degree: Drew Hairymore, Nose-Anne Barr, Roarin’ Beatty, and J.K. Howling.
  2. During college, I often found myself suffering from doggie withdrawal.  Earlier this week, I read that Yale Law School had recognized this epidemic, and offered a solution: if you needed a boost, you could check out Monty the pup for a 30 minute play date.  The circulation listing quoted in that post is so cute it’s out of control.  (A sample… “Subjects: Dogs in libraries; Stress reliever for law students.”)  It turns out that Monty might not have been available, but that’s okay.  A girl can dream.  I would have owed so much in overdue dog fees.
  3. Who needs obedience school? This “” has a college degree!
  4. You may (or may not) remember those great literary punny pet names I shared back in June.  In any event, there’s a second installment – quite a treat!  (Be sure to take the pun-filled quiz… I’m still giggling about Captain A. Lab.)
I’ve pulled today’s video out of the Internet archives, and dusted it off for your amusement.  I remember when I first saw this video last year. It quickly earned a place on my list of favorite things:


Reactions: (1) I would have been so much better at science if it was taught by puppies.  (2) I would like to open a school where all lessons are taught with the help of puppies.  (3)  I’ve already got a foolproof plan for the drama program.

Speaking of smarty pants pups, sometimes well-educated service dogs school others in the Americans with Disabilities Act.  If you want to learn more about the valedictorians of the doggie world – those amazingly smart service dogs – check out Canine Companions for Independence.  CCI spoke at Blog Paws West last weekend, and by all accounts it was amazing!

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Paws for Japan: How to Help

Paws for JapanAs you know, the images and stories from Japan in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami are haunting and heartbreaking.  The tragedy has had a devastating effect on both people and animals.  For that reason, I ask you to take a moment today and learn how you can help with animal relief efforts in Japan. 

Today has been dubbed Paws for Japan Day.

What can you do? Please visit Pawcurious and BlogPaws Be the Change for Pets for information how you can donate to World Vets to support its animal relief efforts in Japan.  Huffington Post also highlighted World Vets in this list of ways to help animals in Japan – there are 5 other organizations mentioned as well if you’d like to learn more.

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Adopt a pet… and the Internet!

Petfinder Adopt-the-Internet Day

Tomorrow’s a big day… in honor of its 15th birthday, Petfinder is asking all of us to adopt the Internet and spread the word about pet adoption.  How can you help?

  • Add a badge to your site.
  • Take the Petfinder pledge to tell at least one person about pet adoption.
  • Donate your Facebook status and photo to an adoptable Petfinder pet.  Simply replace your photo with one from the Adopt-the-Internet All-Stars gallery and post one of these messages:
    •  More than 320,000 pets are waiting for homes on Petfinder.com. Help
      Petfinder Adopt the Internet today and find forever homes for as many as
      possible!
    • I adopted my pet from Petfinder and now I want to help get this pet
      adopted! If you want to help pets in need of forever homes, please
      repost this!
  • Share an adoptable Petfinder pet on Twitter with the hashtag #adopttheinternet.
  • Add a link to your blog, Facebook or Twitter post to Petfinder’s Adopt the Internet page.

There are also many other cool ways to celebrate Petfinder’s birthday – check them out! Our good friends at Grouchy Puppy, Will My Dog Hate Me, and FIDO Friendly will be holding blogathons, highlighting several adoptable pets throughout the day.  Feeling silly?  You can even caption Petfinder photos at I Can Has Cheezburger.

I found Ms. Bella on Petfinder, and you know she’s awesome.  There are many animals out there that need a home, so if you have love to give… adopt! 

Spread the word… happy birthday to Petfinder!

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A long overdue thank you…

I’ve been slacking a bit… several wonderful bloggers awarded me the Stylish Blogger award recently, and I’ve yet to thank them on this blog.  That changes today!

However, because I’ve been such a slacker, I’ve now received this award from 10 (!) other bloggers.  I’m incredibly humbled and honored that these wonderful bloggers chose to share this honor with me.  So, I’m going to bend the rules juuuuust a little.  The rules of the award require you to: (1) thank the person that gave it to you; (2) share 7 things about yourself; and (3) pass the award on to other bloggers (the number seems to vary from blog to blog).

It’s that third rule I’m going to… modify.  Rather than select new recipients, I’m going to take a cue from Doggie Stylish and tell you a little bit about the bloggers that gave me this award and encourage you to go visit their wonderful blogs.  All this and more, after the jump…

So first, a big thank you to browndogcbr, Pawprints on My Heart, Welcome to Kirby’s World, Banjo & Millie, Life with LuLu, Something Wagging This Way Comes, Grouchy Puppy, Chunyo’s Corner, Kol’s Notes, and under the blanket!  As discussed above, I’ll be telling you more about them at the end of this post.

Second, I have to share 7 things about me.  However, I decided to share 7 things about Bella instead – honestly, she’s probably more interesting anyway.

  1. Bella doesn’t know how to catch.  If you throw a toy her way, she’ll close her eyes and wave her paws in the air.
  2. She also doesn’t know the most efficient way to chew.  She never holds a bone with her paws, but props the bone against a toy in hopes of holding it still.  I suspect Bella missed a lot of days in Being a Dog 101.
  3. Bella also can’t play fetch.  When you throw a toy, she immediately returns it to Toy Corner.  The only way to come close to a game of fetch is to sit in front of Toy Corner and take the toy from her when she returns.
  4. Bella is a creature of habit.  When I turn off the TV, she thinks it’s time to go to bed (even in the middle of the day).  When I close the laptop, she thinks it’s time to go outside.
  5. She would happily spend all day out in the backyard, if I’d let her.
  6. She once did a stint in rehab (aka spent a month with my in-laws).  When we were still living in an apartment, we ended up with some terrible upstairs neighbors.  They managed to shake the ceiling so much that Bella developed noise anxiety and had to go to rehab until we moved.
  7. Before Bella came to live with us, the rescue group called her Sally.

Wow… if you add up the identity change, the fact that she must have been skipping classes (hence the lack of dog skills), and the stint in rehab, Bella sounds like a shady character!  Just kidding…

Finally, I’d like to tell you a little about the wonderful bloggers that gave us this award.  Go visit them and say hi!

The dog behind this blog is Hawk (or Hawkeye – I love a good MASH reference), a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.  There’s always great content on the blog – and he’s great at keeping up with his readers.  Hawk spends time in many of his posts answering questions from them.
Dee, the human who maintains this blog, has a menagerie of both children and animals.  She posts wonderful photos and great stories.  I love reading about this big happy family!
Kirby is an adorable little mutt – a terrier mix, in fact.  You know how much I love my terriers!  I always enjoy reading about his adventures as a rescue pup who found his forever home.  He just started rally class, and I can’t wait to hear all about it!
A bit of an odd couple: Banjo is 10 and works as in a prison as a therapy dog, while Millie is 12 weeks old and, as her human puts it, “likes to poop and then play in it.”  Their blog is endlessly entertaining, and there’s even a Millie Cam where you can get your puppy fix!
I love reading about the antics of LuLu and her little brother Wally.  In addition to general cuteness (which they have in spades), they also are dedicated students.  LuLu is a Canine Good Citzen, and Wally has been taking obedience classes.  It’s fun to see them learn and watch videos of their newest tricks and accomplishments.

Something Wagging This Way Comes
Pamela the human writes about a lot of things, including the adventures of her Golden Retriever, Honey.  I especially like what she calls her “Puppiness Project.”  Inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project (which I loved), Pamela writes about lessons in happiness she’s learned from Honey.  In addition, Honey has been taking classes on K-9 Nose Work, which I’ve enjoyed reading about.

Grouchy Puppy Dog Days
First and foremost, you can’t beat the motto: “don’t judge a book, blog or dog by its cover.”  Genius!  Although the blog is based in San Francisco, my East Coast heart still adores Cleo and her human.  Cute photos and informative posts – this blog has it all!  The Influence Positively interview series highlights amazing animal advocates – I love learning about these inspiring people.

Chunyo’s Corner
I recently discovered this blog, and I’m so glad I did!  Chunyo is an adorable Boston Terrier, and there are plenty of cute photos on the blog. In addition, there is a wealth of information on there.  I look forward to visiting Chunyo and learning even more.

Kol’s Notes
The dog behind this blog is Kolchak Puggle.  (Bella used to have a Puggle nemesis in our old neighborhood, but she doesn’t hold that against Kolchak.)  His human is studying canine nutrition – cool, right?  As you can imagine, I’ve learned a great deal about nutrition from this blog.  However, all of the posts are great – so much personality packed into each one!

under the blanket
I look forward to every post from Cate, the blogger behind this blog.  She finds the cutest and coolest products – items that are unique and (no pun intended) drool-worthy.  If you and your pup want to be the coolest kids on the block, I’d recommend starting here.

I received this award from Park Avenue Chihuahua and SewDoggyStyle back in January too – I thanked them then, but I’d like to say a few quick words about them now too, since I’m all about sharing the bloggy love today…

Awesome name, right?  This blog makes me laugh, it makes me smile… blogger Chihuahua Girl is a dog lover after my own heart.  I guarantee a smile if you visit this blog.
Creativity doesn’t even begin to describe what you’ll find on this blog.  So many unique and awesome projects featured here – complete with handy do-it-yourself instructions.  I mean, where else can you learn to make a Doggy Gaga costume?

So… that’s a wrap!  I’d like to say thanks again to the fabulous bloggers above – I’m honored to be in such fine company.  

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To Bella from To Dog With Love

Apparently Bella and I are on a hot streak.  First, she won a collar from Doggie Stylish.  Then, I won a really cool book called  For the Love of Dogs: an A-to-Z Primer for Dog Lovers of All Ages thanks to the wonderful Cosmo Havanese from To Dog With Love.  (Go ahead and check out that awesome blog… I’ll wait.)  Anyway, To Dog With Love gave away a copy of the book, and I won!  (We should enter the lottery, right?  Third time’s a charm, they say.)

The book, written by Allison Weiss Entrekin, is full of whimsical illustrations by Mark Anderson.  It uses all 26 letters of the alphabet (even X) to present fun facts and wonderful info about our beloved pups.  To give you a little taste, I selected a few letters at random. (As you’ll see, it wasn’t really that random.)

B is for Beagles
E is for English Foxhounds
L is for Labradors
L is still for Labradors
A is for Adoption

C is for Cavaliers
O is for Obedience
S is for Shih Tzus
M is for Mascots
O is still for Obedience

Here are some photos of Bella enjoying her new reading material.

Thanks again to Diane and Cosmo from To Dog With Love!

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