The dog blog days of summer, part II

Since I gave you so much homework during Part I of July’s monthly roundup (you know you love your summer reading assignments), I figured I’d wait a bit before sharing the rest of the links. However, it’s time for part 2. (After all, every dog has his day.)

Here are a few more posts that made me smile during the month of July: Continue reading

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7 wonders of the dog blogging world

The other day, I was cleaning and started singing “Whistle While You Work” (as one does), and then it turned into a mash-up of that song and “I’m Late” from Alice in Wonderland. That factoid has very little to do with today’s post, other than the fact that the June monthly roundup is rather late. In any event, here are a few posts that made me smile in the month of June…

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Barking for the gold

Despite my general lack of athletic ability, I’m kind of an Olympics nerd. I really enjoy watching them, so you can bet that tonight I’ll be watching the opening ceremony. The costume craziness is just too good to pass up. (My menu will not be as classy as this one, although I now really want this baking gear.)

Anyway, the torch is on its way, so let’s get to it:

  1. This week’s punny pet names are, yet again, inspired by Olympic athletes: Aleasha Packramone and Tabby Wambach (or, if you prefer, Abby Wambark).
  2. The games are in London, Eng-a-land, this year, making this post from under the blanket a perfect fit for today’s linkage. (Did you know that London is the first city to host the Olympics three times?)
  3. Well, this is an entirely new take on the dog eating your homework. (I just love an Olympian with a beloved pet!)
  4. There will be some dogs looking out for those attending the Olympics. All security should be this cute.
  5. Maybe your dog wants to get in on the action? Make him this Olympic rings dog toy. If that’s not enough, tell him to check out the Pet Blogging Games.
  6. Adding Olympic sock catching to the games in 2016? I vote yes.
  7. I’m fond of (watching) many sports, but I’ll always have a soft spot for gymnastics. (I desperately wanted to take gymnastics classes as a child, but the logistics did not work out. To this day, I still can’t do a cartwheel.) As such, I enjoyed this salute to Olympic gymnast hair.
  8. I loved this next link – photos of Olympians hugging their parents. So sweet.
  9. Let’s stick with the sappy for a moment. Check out this list of ten inspirational moments from the Olympics.
  10. Cheetahs named after Olympic sprinters? Brilliant.

Today’s video is, fittingly, about Olympic athletes and their pets.

Are you excited about the Olympics? What events are you looking forward to watching?

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Greatest hits from May

I’m almost a month  behind with this monthly roundup… oops! Life has been getting the better of me lately, as you can probably tell. I’ve not been able to get around to as many blogs as I’d like, so here’s hoping I can catch up soon and get the June monthly roundup to you before September.

Anyway, on to the posts! Continue reading

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It’s raining cats and dogs (and awesome blogs)!

Well, a new month is upon us, which means that it’s time for another monthly roundup. In light of the fact that it’s an April roundup, let’s just say I’m showering you with some awesome blog posts. No umbrella needed. Without further ado, here are some of my favorite posts from the last month:

  1. The worst thing my dog destroyed was… from No Dog About It – This post had me strolling down Memory Lane, remembering when my childhood pup Scotti demonstrated what she thought of my reading choices.
  2. The Joys of Stupid Dogs from Doggies and Stuff – I mean, I’m not saying Bella’s stupid… but she’s not really very smart. Remember the treat test?
  3. Random Thoughts from Basset Momma – A fantastic twist on the “this is your brain on drugs” thing from back in the day.
  4. Why You Should Never Use Your Daughter’s Favorite Stuffed Animal as a Dog Prop from My Brown Newfies – A good (and hilarious) lesson for us all.
  5. Dogs in the Movies from under the blanket – These posters are just too cool.
  6. You Can’t Do That! Oh Yeah? Watch Me! from Something Wagging This Way Comes – My new mantra: be the St. Bernard.
  7. Doggy Style Pick-Up Lines, also from Something Wagging – Hilarity doesn’t even begin to describe this one. (Pamela, you need to stop being so awesome. Actually… don’t.)
  8. January is Train Your Dog Month from Bringing Up Bella – Yes, it’s from April. Yes, it’s fantastic. (Bonus points for the perfectly chosen soundtrack.)
  9. You call me a Pit Bull like it’s a bad thing from Oh, Corbin – This post is just plain fantastic.
Gratuitous Bellaface!

And here are nine more!

  1. The Optimism of Cats and Dogs from Life with Sampson and Delilah – I love this story. I can picture it all playing out, as clear as day.
  2. Blog the Change: The Kindness of a Stranger from Kol’s Notes – A truly inspirational post.
  3. Be a Billboard for a Good Cause from Daley’s Dog Years – This post inspired me to purchase a shirt. That’s how good it is. (Seriously though – an adorable shirt and spreading a good message? You can’t beat that.)
  4. Cute Welsh Corgis and Guys in Ties from Chronicles of Cardigan – Sounds like a good combo to me.
  5. This is why I don’t travel with family from Pawcurious – This one cracked me up, especially the reference to Dr. Google. I can’t seem to break up with that guy. He’s like a bad boyfriend.
  6. Video Monday: If  you were a dog toy from Grouchy Puppy – Although now I am channeling Beyonce and singing “If I were a boy,” this video has nothing to do with that.
  7. The Top Ten Reasons Why Dog Teens are Better than Human Teens from Arwen’s Pack – Redirecting a sullen teenager using a squeaky toy? If only…
  8. Cats in Space from Bunny’s Blog – You know I love any excuse to reference [insert noun here]… in… space!
  9. Dog Song Saturday: Songs of the Dog Walker from Talking Dogs – You can’t go wrong with this one. (However, I will never be able to reference Wayne Brady without thinking of this moment.)
Did I miss any of your favorites? Share them in the comments!
For previous monthly roundups, click here.
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Fifteen favorites from February

Last month, I did a post cataloging a few of my favorite posts from January.  I shared eight posts.  I’m back with another installment, and as you can see, the numbers have increased.  I didn’t mean for it to happen – but before I knew it, I had eleven or twelve posts on my list.  At that point, the nerd in me decided to aim for some alliteration… so I thought I’d share fourteen.  Of course, somehow I ended up with fifteen instead.  I could have added more, but the next number that would have allowed for such alliteration would be fifty.  Consider yourself lucky.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are fifteen favorites from February…

  1. Dad’s take: A songwriter’s muse from Love and a Six-Foot Leash – You know I can’t resist anything involving song parodies.
  2. Influence Positively Interview: Faith Maloney from Grouchy Puppy – Fantastic interview with one of the founders of Best Friends Animal Society.
  3. The House of Special Needs Dogs from No Dog About It – This one is technically from January, but I didn’t read it until February, so it still counts.
  4. Turning Fear into Understanding from Rescued Insanity – A thought-provoking piece (and thoughtful comments) about fear and judgment.
  5. A Confession on Bias from Back Alley Soapbox – In that same vein, here are some fantastic meditations on jerks, dogs, and Jon Hamm.
  6. The Ugly and the Adorable from under the blanket – A wonderfully whimsical collection of photos.  I can’t get enough.
  7. A Valentine’s Message from Cali… from The Daily Dog Blog – Speaking of photos, I just loved this one!
  8. Harry PAWter from PupLove – Words cannot explain how much I want to recreate this photo shoot.
  9. Notes from Home from Bringing Up Bella – Putting things into perspective…
  10. Tennyson Obviously Didn’t Have a Dog from Something Wagging – Drowning in dog hair?  Never fear!
  11. Forgotten Language from Tales and Tails – I’m a big Shel Silverstein fan, so this one definitely had to make the list.
  12. I Want to Be One of My Dogs from Twenty-Six to Life – I’ll take “phrases often said by members of my family” for $200, Alex, along with “if I’m reincarnated, I hope I come back as a dog in this family.”
  13. 10 Simple ways to Show Kindness in the Dog World by Rescued Insanity – Simple ways to have a much more wonderful (dog) world.
  14. Dog a Day Project – Tastes Like Chicken by Doggie Stylish – This one reminded me of Bella and her goose.
  15. Verona: Shakespeare, History, and A Lot of Dogs from Bicontinental Dachshund – These are a few of my favorite things (and I’ve always wanted to go to Italy).
As you’re probably aware by now, my linkaholism knows no bounds.  You can find many other great posts I’ve enjoyed in my usual Friday linkathons.
Did I miss any of your favorites?  Share them in the comments!
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Let’s hear it for the squirrels!

Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day!  Today, I thought I’d share one of my favorite squirrel-themed videos – I remember this one from childhood and it always makes me smile.  It’s my favorite way to celebrate the holiday.  (That makes it sound like I have a favorite list of squirrel videos. I do not, but perhaps I should curate one.)

A few other ways to celebrate:

However, you choose to commemorate the day, watch out for the Jedi squirrels.  Those guys are tough.
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And now, for the talent portion of our competition…

It’s Friday… let’s get to it!

  1. Your punny pet name for this week: Andy Warhowl.
  2. Meet the world’s smallest working dog – score one for the little guys!
  3. Enjoy these lessons in love from ’90s song lyrics.  Anyone have any lessons in pups learned from song lyrics to share?
  4. A dog in a top hat? Seems perfect for awards season.
  5. I was in Pottery Barn the other day and saw these adorable pillows.  Perhaps the new trend in home decor is “put a dog on it”?  (Someone alert Portlandia – say goodbye to “put a bird on it.”  Dogs are the new birds.)
  6. If so, I want to buy all of these prints. (I have a pup art addiction.)
  7. Dog ears come in so many shapes and sizes, but they’re all so darn cute.
  8. I love a good sleepy dog video… the stretch at the beginning of this one really pushes it over the top.
  9. Ah, that age old debate: cats or dogs?  Where do you land on this one?
Whether you’re Team Cat or Team Dog (also available: Team Both), you have to admit that this pup’s entry for the talent portion of the competition is pretty adorable:
Of course, he’s got nothing on those dogs barking the Star Wars theme in the teaser for VW’s Super Bowl ad.  Have you watched it yet? The dog dressed like an Ewok in the front row is just icing on the cake.

I wonder if these dogs would star in my upcoming film, Star Wags: A New Rope Toy.  Still casting for the roles of Obi Wag Kenobi, Arf Vader, Slobber the Hutt, Luke Skybarker, Arftoo-D2, Boba Fetch, and Lando Abyssinian.

Have a great weekend and may the pups be with you!

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Attack of the tiny tomatoes

It’s the first No Frown Friday of 2012… let’s jump right in!

  1. Your punny pet name: Meowrio Lopez.  (On a related Saved by the Bell note, can we all agree that Lark Voorhies would be the perfect name for a pet bird? No punnification needed.)
  2. Speaking of puns, these classic book covers updated with cats are fantastic.  I think Litterbox Five is my favorite.
  3. Apparently even those who profess to be anti-pun fall victim to them every now and then. I was honored to learn that one of my punny posts made Rescued Insanity’s list of eleven must-reads for 2011.
  4. This cat is way better than I am at Fruit Ninja.  I’m beginning to think all cats have secret video game skills
  5. I’m craving all of these pieces from Have you met Miss Jones.
  6. You know what you need? An awesome video. Lucky for you, this one over at No Dog About It is extra awesome.
  7. Is this the best dog-related picture of 2011? You be the judge.
  8. You know I love any excuse to break out my best nature show narrator voice (see, e.g., the Cave Dog). So I had to share this post from Something Wagging about the migratory patterns of the Fuzzy-Bellied Honey.  Don’t be ashamed to read it out loud, Discovery Channel style – I did.
  9. Enjoy some pretty and get a few photography tips courtesy of Alfie’s Blog.
  10. I adore animal odd couples.  This fawn and kitten just made my hall of fame.
Finally, I saw this video and just knew I had to share it.  My love of turtles and tortoises is well-documented.  The baby tortoise in today’s video reminds me of my own childhood turtles, George and George.  They loved tomatoes too.
(via Cute Overload)

I want to give this video a high five, in the style of these two awesome sea turtles.

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22 things that made me smile in 2011

‘Tis the time for reminiscing about 2011…

Last year, I shared some of my favorite posts from this blog.  This year, I’ve decided to stop the navel gazing (until the Pet Blogger Challenge later this month, of course) and highlight some of my favorite posts from other bloggers.  (Thanks to Mel from the No Dog About It blog for the inspiration.)

It’s a tough task, actually. There is a ton of great content out there in the pet blogging community.

The posts below all have one thing in common – they make me laugh or smile (one of those really big smiles).  There are many beautifultouching, and thought-provoking posts that touched my heart this year. However, today I felt like aiming for tears of laughter or joy rather than the other kind.  Hope you don’t mind.

It was a long year. I’m sure there are some others I adored that slipped my mind when writing this post.  (Perhaps one of my 2012 resolutions should be to do a better job of keeping track of my favorite posts. You may notice that this list skews toward the more recent entries.)  In no particular order, here are 22 posts I loved this year…

  1. My Most Embarrassing Dog Moment from My Brown Newfies – I have no words. Just go read it.
  2. The Puppiness Project – Everything’s Better with Puppies from Something Wagging This Way Comes – With a title like that, how could this post not make my list?
  3. 10 Pictures of Dogs Reading Books from Doggie Stylish- I love dogs. I love books. I love this post.
  4. Favorite Video Friday – Stella’s Shasta Adventure from No Dog About It – I don’t know how Mel finds so many great videos.  However, I still watch this one when I just need a moment of Zen.
  5. (Viewing this may cause extreme joy) More Happy Pets! Part I from The Chronicles of Cardigan – It really did cause extreme joy. Extreme.
  6. Adopting Beelzebub: A Beast of a Bird? from This One Wild Life – An adoption story that warmed the cockles of my heart.
  7. 17 Things Bella Has Stolen from Bringing up Bella – I’m kind of glad my Bella only hoards socks.
  8. Spam Saturday: Amazing Products, Thrilling Occasions, Thanks-a-Mundo! from Will My Dog Hate Me – This post is masterwork. Go put the lime in the coconut and drink it up, okay?
  9. 32 Simple Things You Do That Matter To Dogs from Peggy’s Pet Place- More warming for those cockles.
  10. Dog a Day Project – Why I Don’t Have Kids from Doggie Stylish – I’m just going to start replying to everyone who asks me when I’m going to have children by emailing them a link to this post. (Don’t get me wrong – I don’t know what the future holds. However, I tend to think people should mind their own beeswax and stop asking.)
  11. 5 Reasons Puppies are Easier Than Kids from Smart Dog – A perfect companion to the Doggie Stylish post. 
  12. She Who Cannot Be Trusted from Postpartum Paradise – A toddler, a dog, and adventures in unconventional (and unsanctioned) grooming.  See? I can appreciate posts involving kids!
  13. Senior Dogs: Appreciate, Don’t Discriminate from Grouchy Puppy – This one is actually a guest post that Sharon from Grouchy Puppy contributed to this blog. I just love the message.
  14. The Mystery of Burt’s Bees from Tales and Tails – Or, as I like to think of it, “how to collect puppy kisses in one easy step.”
  15. Dogs in International Costumes: Bone Voyage! from Will My Dog Hate Me – Just because.
  16. Drunken Master IV:  Canine Fu from Rescued Insanity – A funny tale of DWWI (Dog Walking While Intoxicated).
  17. For Woofing Out Loud from Kol’s Notes – In case you’ve ever wondered if your dog thinks you’re as funny as you think you are… the answer is apparently no.
  18. 15 Ways to Tell if You’re Dog Crazy from Something Wagging This Way Comes – Just a genius post, and, well… it’s funny ’cause it’s true. This post inspired me to start that whole dog song parody series of posts. 
  19. Pinterest Tuesday – Dogs Making Messes from Two Little Cavaliers – The cutest kind of mess is the kind that I don’t have to clean up.
  20. Chinese Takeout = Bad Dog Parenting from Life With Desmond – Speaking of messes… wondering if something is trash or treasure? Just ask the dog.
  21. Dressing Up Dogs at Holidays from Grouchy Puppy – I just love this creative take on the antler photo.
  22. From the DDY Digs Desk from Daley’s Dog Years – I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m including this post partly because of the Ryan Gosling photo.

Why 22?  I have no idea. I feel like this list could have gone on forever (for example, I wanted to include a post from BZ Training, but I just couldn’t pick a favorite photo shoot, so I’m cheating and linking to the whole blog here). Finally, I just held an intervention for myself, cut myself off, and sent myself to list-making rehab.  
What was your favorite pet blog post of 2011?
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