Tag Archives: kahuna’s k9s

20 posts you should read right now (instead of doing that whole job thing)

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It’s time for another monthly roundup! May was full of fantastic posts. I’ve pulled together a list of twenty that I really enjoyed, but I easily could have kept going. Stop being so awesome, pet bloggers.

Anyway, here are some posts that will likely prove more fun than doing your job, unless your job happens to involve lying in the grass while being licked by puppies.

(If that is your job, please contact me. I would like to send you my resume. Said resume will just include a video of me getting licked by Tavish and a portfolio of dog photos. The video portion will kind of look like this:

Sort of a slo-mo Tavish: I Still Want More Puppies

via giphy.com

However, Tavish is nowhere near this calm about it, reinforcing the entry on my resume that says I have advanced skills in dog licking acceptance.)

Moving on… let’s get back to those blog posts I mentioned. Continue reading →

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Dog math: When three is not the magic number

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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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Updated: The red carpet? It’s covered in dog hair.

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This brave confession over at Something Wagging has inspired me to come clean as well – I’m an awards slacker.  When it comes to blogging awards, I’m deeply appreciative but supremely lazy.  That ends today.

I have two awards (from three four sources) to pass along today.  I decided to give myself a bit of a challenge, and imposed a rule of my own on the proceedings.  If I’ve ever given you an award in the past (this includes instances in which I cheated and just turned the spotlight on those fantastic bloggers who gave me an award), I decided to deem you ineligible for this particular round of awards. I thought it would be fun to shine the spotlight on some new faces and spaces.

Ready?  Here we go…

First up, the Kreativ Blogger award, which I received from my pals at Kol’s Notes, Bringing Up Bella and A Filly’s Best Friend.  A huge thank you to allof them for passing this award along to me – they’re all absolutely fantastic and I encourage you to pay them a visit and say so.  (Go.  Don’t make me “encourage” you with a baseball bat to the virtual kneecap.  Seriously. Don’t get on my bad side.)

Anyway, the rules of this award require me to share a few things about myself.  According to Kol’s Notes, I should share 7 things, and according to Bringing Up Bella and A Filly’s Best Friend, I should share 10.  (I long ago accepted that the evolution of blog awards is akin to a game of telephone.)  I’m splitting the difference and will share 8.5 things about myself:

  1. I cringed multiple times when typing Kreativ.  I can’t help it.  I’m a nerd and misspelled words bug me even when they’re misspelled on purpose.
  2. When I was a kid, I desperately wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up.  That did not pan out.
  3. I own a blanket with a photo of Bella on it.  She’s gigantic.  I could imagine it scaring small children, but I love it.  (It was a gift from the in-laws, who indulge my love of puppies.)
  4. My favorite food is grilled cheese, and I often dream of a world where this restaurant has a location near my house.  (That place is delicious.)
  5. I love puzzles and am currently addicted to the latest Professor Layton game for Nintendo DS.  (If you are a puzzle-holic like me, you should definitely check this series out.)
  6. According to my iPod, the most played song is “Bloodstream” by Stateless.
  7. That song is the most played because I listened to it way too much after it appeared on The Vampire Diaries in 2010.  (The fact that it remains in the top spot on my iPod almost two years later should give you an idea of just how much I played it back then.)
  8. Contrary to what numbers 4 through 7 may suggest, I am not a teenager, nor was I one in 2010.  I haven’t been a teenager in a long time.  (Bonus half fact: I’m officially old enough to star in Thirtysomething, a show that I have never actually watched.)
Now, the fun part –  I get to pass the award along to other bloggers.  I’m passing it along to 8 creative bloggers that I truly enjoy. They’re all creative in different ways.  I hope you’ll pay them a visit and discover how.  You won’t regret it.

Up next, I’m going to pass on the Pawsome Blog Award, courtesy of Roxy the Traveling Dog.  A huge thank you for sharing this award with me!

(Also, that earlier virtual kneecap threat applies… get on over there, buddy.)

The one seems to be light on the rules, other than to give it to blogs you love.  With that in mind, I’m passing it on to these eight blogs:

There’s truly something special about each and every one of those blogs – I hope you’ll take the time to visit and discover the awesomeness.

Whew. I’m all out of awards, so I shall take my leave of you now.  (Anyone else start singing “I’m all out of love… I’m so lost without you” after reading the first clause of that sentence?  No? Um, neither did I.)  Until tomorrow, my friends…

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And now, for the talent portion of our competition…

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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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Another trip down Memory Lane for #My7Links

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Last month, I was notified by Katie from Tripbase that I had been nominated to take part in My 7 Links.  (A huge and belated thanks to Kim from This One Wild Life for the nomination – sadly, it took me this long to write the post.  Oops…)

The goal of My 7 Links?  “To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share
lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts
that deserve to see the light of day again.”  Sounds like fun, right?  Here we go…

1.  My most beautiful post

This was kind of a tough call – I think that a lot of the photos I’ve shared of Bella are quite beautiful. (I’m biased, I know.)  However, I decided to go with something a bit wordier: “Lend me your eyes and I’ll write you a blog.” 

2.  My most popular post

According to my stats, my most popular post (based on page views) was one from my recent series recapping the BlogPaws pet blogger conference.  Specifically, the post entitled “BlogPaws Episode 2: Say hello to my not so little friends,” in which I discussed listening to the guys from Rescue Ink give the keynote on the first day of the conference.

(My photo post “Leave(s) it to Bella” was a very close second in the page views category, while I received the most comments on “Take a look at me now,” a post I did as part of the Pet Blogger challenge reflecting on my blogging experience.)

3.  My most controversial post

I’m not the most controversial of bloggers. (I love puppies and cupcakes and spend way too much time talking about pop culture, after all.)  However, I think that the post that qualifies as most controversial is probably “Dogs in hot cars: when will it stop?”  The story I shared in that post was horrifying on so many levels and did inspire some debate.

4.  My most helpful post

I’m not sure I’m that helpful either.  However, I was a bit torn on which post to list here – some of my recent BlogPaws posts have contained some useful information, but I wanted to go with something a bit older.  I do think that “Bella: the Great Houndini” was a pretty useful post – I shared some of our methods of Bella containment and I think that the ideas there would be helpful for others dealing with their own crafty canines.

5.  A post whose success surprised me

As you may know, I have a regular feature that I call No Frown Friday.  These posts are kind of a hodgepodge of things depending on what I have on the brain that week.  I never really know which ones will strike a chord and which ones will fly under the radar.  I find it interesting that the most popular of these posts has such an unassuming title: “That’s one way to stay cool.”

(Also interesting – the most commented on Friday post was “Appreciate a squirrel today.”  Guess it’s not always puppies around here.)

6.  A post I feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

This one was kind of a tough call.  There are many posts from the early days of the blog that never really saw much traffic.  If I had to pick one, I’d probably choose “She’s cute, but…”  This post is a perfect introduction to Bella.

7.  The post that I am the most proud of

I knew that the post I selected for this category would be one where I was blogging the change for animals or sharing an important cause.  I think I’ve settled on this one: “Blog the Change: Pets of the Homeless” (the first time I mentioned that particular cause on the blog).  I think that this is a really important organization, and I’m dedicated to spreading the word about it.  (I discussed it again as part of the recent Pay it Forward blog hop.)

So, those are my links.  Now, for the fun part – nominating five others to participate!  After checking the list of bloggers nominated so far, I think I’m not duplicating… if so, my apologies.  Anyway, I’m nominating these great bloggers:

Happy Monday!

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BlogPaws Episode 2: Say hello to my not-so-little friends

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After the welcome reception on Thursday evening, I was feeling pretty good about returning to BlogPaws on Friday.  I wasn’t disappointed.  The day started out with a pretty great keynote speaker.  Or, more accurately, a duo of speakers:

Meet the men of Rescue Ink.  These are some pretty tough customers from Queens. If you’re looking for peaceful conflict resolution, they may not be your guys.  (Although I have a feeling they’re the type that can solve problems without knocking heads together if the situation allows it.)

In any event, they’re tough customers who care about animal welfare, as the dedication on their website makes clear.  They’re extremely committed to stopping animal abuse – you could really feel the emotion behind their words and their passion for this cause was evident.  That commitment was inspiring.

Rescue Ink is an international animal welfare organization dedicated to defending the defenseless.  (They joked that their lawyers wouldn’t let them go into too much detail about how they actually do that.)  Our two speakers are actually two of the founding members of the group.

Joe Panz (bio)
Big Ant (bio)

Rather than give you an exhaustive recap of their speech, I just wanted to share a few of the quotes I jotted down during the keynote:

  • “A rescue isn’t a rescue until you take it out of a bad situation and find it a better home.”
  • “You don’t send Boy Scouts to get rid of bad guys.  You’re gonna run out of Boy Scouts real quick.”
  • “They say that animals don’t have a voice.  We don’t mind speaking for them.”
  • “It takes 5 puppy mill puppies for one to survive long enough to make it to the pet store.”
  • “Money shouldn’t get between you and your animal.  Your animal is family.”
  • “We defend those that can’t defend themselves.”

You can learn more about the guys from Rescue Ink at their website, including some of their success stories.  I also recommend checking out this post at Kahuna’s K9s – Eryka did a great interview with them after their speech.  This recap at the Pet Health Care Gazette is also fantastic and perfectly describes how I felt listening to these two.  Finally, here’s a video of the interview that Miah from Start the Change did with Joe and Big Ant.

A shot of their logo on the big screen at BlogPaws

Up next: the sessions begin, I learn some stuff, more friends are made, and a puppy movie is screened.  In short… good times.

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BlogPaws Episode 1: The Adventure Begins

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Last week was a busy one.  However, I was on top of my game on Thursday.  I finished my work early so that I wouldn’t be stuck late.  Although I was a tad nervous about meeting new people, this sweet post by Pamela at Something Wagging This Way Comes made me smile and gave me a shot of courage.  By mid-afternoon, I was itching for the workday to end so that I could slide out the door Flintstones style and head over to BlogPaws.  There were no sessions on Thursday night, just an opening cocktail reception.  I’m not one to pass up cocktails and conversation…


However, as is so often the case… a work “crisis” occurred.  (Please let those quotation marks convey my extreme sarcasm.)  Fortunately, I managed to leave the office only slightly later than planned, but then I encountered massive traffic.  It’s the norm in the D.C. area, but Thursday was even worse than usual.

In any event, I finally made it to the hotel.  I parked next to a sign informing me that walking of dogs on the property was prohibited.  For a moment, I wondered if I was in the right place.  However, I did see some dogs (and their people) walking towards the entrance, so I headed towards the lobby.  All doubts were erased when I saw these:

I’m guessing the hotel wasn’t enforcing that whole no dog walking thing this weekend.  Assured of my location, I wandered through the crowd of people to the registration table.  Once there, I signed in and received the largest swag bag I’d ever seen.  Seriously – that thing was epic.

In addition to the swag bag, I received a raffle ticket (spoiler alert: per usual, I did not win anything all weekend) and two drink tickets.  Feeling a little overwhelmed by the crowd (and the fact that I didn’t know anyone in real life, just from their blogs), I headed to the bar and redeemed my first ticket for a glass of wine.  Armed with my glass of liquid courage, I headed into the main room to explore.

I won’t lie – to start with, I felt very overwhelmed and I wasn’t sure what to do.  There were tons of exhibitors, so I browsed and made small talk for a while.  However, I still felt a bit out of sorts – rudderless, if you will.  It felt sort of like the first day at a new school.

Fortunately, my feeling of isolation didn’t last long.  I met some fantastic people – Laurie from Smart Dog and Eryka from Kahuna’s K9s.  These two are locals like me, and we hit it off immediately.  I knew instantly I’d found some new friends – they were fun, clever, and each had an adorable dog with them.  Even cooler, they are both dog trainers who use positive reinforcement.  I can only hope I soaked up some of their knowledge throughout the weekend.

After making these first two connections, I loosened up a bit and the chatter seemed to come more easily.  I met a few other people, including Caren from Cat Chat and Kim from This One Wild Life.  I encountered the lovely Pamela from Something Wagging This Way Comes (and got to meet her husband and Honey the pup).  As a bonus, I saw some absolutely adorable ferrets.  However, the presence of these two confirmed my decision to leave Bella at home – I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have been able to control her prey drive:

Laurie and Eryka eventually had to head home with their pups.  I considered hitting the road as well after losing my two awesome wingwomen (wingbloggers?), but I decided to head back in for a little while longer (after dropping off that giant swag bag in my car, of course).  I’m glad I did – one of the things I learned this weekend is that I need to embrace my extroverted side at this sort of thing.  (Perhaps I can apply this lesson to work conferences as well, but there are never any cute animals at those.)

Anyway, I headed back inside and ended up meeting a ton of people in the lobby area.  In addition to Caren, I met up with several other bloggers.  Many of them were cat bloggers.  (Among them? The bloggers from The Conscious Cat; The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey; Coffee, Cats ‘n Yarn; Catladyland; and Mr. R.W. Emerson.  I’m sure I’m missing a few people – it was quite the gathering.  Introductions and business cards were flying like Bella after a squirrel.)  Some were new to me, but others were familiar, such as the lovely Teri from Curlz and Swirlz (pictured at right).

In any event, I have to thank those cat bloggers for letting a dog blogger into their midst for a while.  (Perhaps they sensed that I have a soft spot for the felines.)  What a fun group!

I capped my night off with some quality chat time with Caren (who better?) and Felissa from Two Little Cavaliers.  I had a fantastic time talking to these two.  Honestly, it felt like we’d known each other for ages.

When it was finally time to go, I reluctantly said good night and headed home.  After just a few short hours, I knew I’d made the right decision to attend BlogPaws.  I had met some amazing people and couldn’t wait to come back on Friday! 

Stay tuned for more BlogPaws updates… I have lots to share, so I’m not sure how many posts will be in this series.  If you’re not really interested in hearing about BlogPaws (which seems odd, but to each his own), never fear.  I’ll be mixing some other posts in there too.  I’m such a people pleaser…

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