You got to know when to hold ’em… know when to fold ’em… know when to howl and play… know when to run. You never count your dog treats, when you’re sittin’ at the table. There’ll be time enough for barkin’ when the dealin’s done.
I hope you learned something from today’s PSA (Puppy Service Announcement).
Another Friday is upon us… let’s get to the linkage! (Don’t worry – the post title will make sense when you get to today’s video.)
In other news, I managed to sprain my ankle while running on Wednesday. Guess there goes that 5K I was going to run next weekend. I doubt I’ll be able to run by then – if not, I’m going to try to walk it. (At a minimum, I’ll be there cheering my team on, but I’d really rather participate.)
Anyway, that’s a long-winded way of introducing today’s video. Perhaps I can hire this pup to train me when I can start working out again. (I recommend watching with the sound on – the music is perfect.)
Or technically, a bicycle built for two legs and four paws. Well, not really built for them, but used by them nonetheless. Anyway, who cares about semantics?
(Also, part of me really wants to express some safety concerns, but I’ve decided to just enjoy the cute instead.)
(via Jezebel)
Anyone else remember that song?
In any event, Bella looks pretty darn comfy. How would you caption this photo?
It’s Friday. So, are you pondering what I’m pondering?
You know I love a song parody. (I also have a soft spot for videos combining Beyonce tunes with adorable pooches. I don’t know why.) Once this whole “running the world” theme popped into my head, a quick Google search revealed the perfect video for today’s post.
(Runner up: Who run the world? Squirrels!)
I wish I was creative enough to turn some of my parody stylings into actual videos (and that I could sing). I mean, I can’t even pick a favorite line. One Dalmatian can build a nation? Kibble we can devour? It’s just genius.
I, for one, welcome our new canine overlords.
Every week, I’ll be featuring adoptable pets from local rescue groups. This week, I’m sharing adorable adoptables from Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA). Ready to meet this week’s pups, Bear & Piper? Here we go…
First up, meet Bear! This handsome guy is a Lab mix and he is approximately six years old. Here’s his bio from FOHA:
“Bear is a wonderful blind black lab mix. He needs a family that will help him learn the lay of the land and keep him safe. He has a lot of love to give and is a very bright fellow.
Bear is in foster care and not at the shelter, so please ask to meet him.”
Do you have the perfect home for this lovely Lab?
Up next, meet Piper! This Silkie/Yorkie mix is approximately five years old. Here’s his bio from FOHA:
“Hi, my name is Piper and I am a cute Silkie Terrier that was picked up as a stray and taken to a county pound. For the life of me (literally almost) I can’t figure out how that happened. Wasn’t my family out looking for me? Luckily FOHA came to my rescue. I am still trying to adjust to not being in a home so I am shy with strangers. But I am great with other dogs and I can be bribed with some cheese. I am so cute, I know you will want to meet me. Just please go slow and give me time to get to know you. Trust me, once I know that I can trust you, it will all be worth the wait. I am quite the snuggler with my friends! Might that be you?”
If you’re interested in adopting Bear or Piper, visit the FOHA website for more information, or email doginfo@foha.org. To view the other pets available for adoption at FOHA, click here.
FOHA also has monthly adoption events at the PetSmart in Gainesville and at the Treasure Hound in Chantilly. To find out more info on these events, click here.
(If you have your eye on a specific pet, please email for information
first – not all pets will be at the monthly event. However, there are a
lot of awesome pets in need of homes, so if you’re in the neighborhood,
stop by and meet some of them!)
Bios and photos from the FOHA website. This post is not on behalf of or officially endorsed by the group.
As you may or may not know, I love to share a good video on Earth Day. Last year, I featured a dog kissing the world. (Earth Day also fell on a Friday last year, so it was perfectly timed for a linkathon.)
This year, I’m digging the video I shared on Earth Day 2010 out of the archives – I had just started the blog a few weeks before. Given that I probably had one reader then (counting myself), I figured it was worth sharing again.
So, without further ado, I give you my hero…
To borrow from myself, here’s what I said last time. I think it still applies:
“Captain Pug. He’s my hero. Going to take pollution down to zero. He is cuteness magnified, and he’s fighting on the planet’s side. (Hat tip to Captain Planet for infiltrating my brain for decades.) I mean, seriously… how cute and well-trained is this pug? Also, if anyone knows how I can join that dog’s carpool, please let me know. Best. Commute. Ever.
Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Puppies! By your powers combined, he is Captain Pug, the cutest superhero ever.”
As a bonus (and so that I’m not just repeating myself), enjoy these photos I took at the National Zoo yesterday. Lions and flamingos and birds, oh my!
Happy Earth Day, folks.
I’m in a penguin mood today. It happens from time to time. Guess I just can’t resist a bird that comes equipped with built-in formal wear. (Wouldn’t a penguin make a great prom date?) Anyway, on to the links!
Even fake penguins are hilarious. Observe:
We’ve already covered dogs (and rocks and Corgis and Ryan Gosling) in space on this blog. Today, we’re just talking about dogs… and then talking about space.
First up, a Bella glamour shot. (Better than these glamour shots, right? Fun fact: I used to work in a one-hour photo joint and occasionally helped out with glamour shoots in our small town portrait studio.)
Anyway, I just love this photo of Bella. I think it’s the ears…
Speaking of photos, it was a big day in DC yesterday. The space shuttle Discovery was flown over DC on the back of a 747 before landing at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. The shuttle will soon be on display at the the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center. It was a bittersweet day, but it definitely made for a cool photo op.
People all over the DC metro area were outside, trying to catch a glimpse of Discovery. Here’s one of my photos from the big day – if you want to see more, check out my set on Flickr.
Lately, it seems that I’m constantly running behind. Today’s post is no exception. Writing a post for Blog the Change for Animals has been on my to do list for over a week, yet I’m still barely getting it up before the day is done. Luckily, a topic has been percolating in my brain for a while now, so here we go…
Have you ever thought about volunteering for a rescue group? I’ll admit – it took me a while to turn my intentions into actions. I would occasionally send an email to a rescue group for information, but somehow it never really clicked.
For today’s Blog the Change event, I decided to share a little bit about my experience and encourage you not to give up if you’re interested in working with a rescue group. I had my own form of Goldilocks syndrome – it took me a while to find a group and volunteer opportunities that were a good fit. With a little persistence and patience, you can find your fit as well.
For me, things finally changed once I read an article about Second Chance Photos. I’d never considered offering my services as a volunteer photographer before, and reading about the organization gave me the push I needed to seriously pursue volunteering with a local rescue group. I emailed several local organizations, and one took me up on my offer. (I later had the opportunity to attend a Second Chance Photos workshop, and it was fantastic.)
My experience taking photos of some of the animals at Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) led to other opportunities. In order to make the logistics of photo shoots easier, one of the other volunteers suggested I sign up for dog walker training. (Before taking the training, I had to have another volunteer get the dogs out of their runs and bring them to me for photos. Now I can get dogs out myself. I’ll be candid – I haven’t done any formal photo shoots since taking the training, but I’m going to revisit this option soon. I wanted to get comfortable with the shelter and its routines before trying again)
After taking the training, I began to receive FOHA’s weekly newsletter, which is full of volunteer opportunities. I started to volunteer for dog adoption events, and I now help out with FOHA’s Twitter account as well. The adoption events are very rewarding – it’s a fun way to spend a day, and it’s nice for the dogs to get out of the shelter for a few hours. Two of the dogs I’ve brought to events (Willis and Janai) have since been adopted – when I read their names in the weekly email of dogs who were going home, my smile couldn’t have been bigger.
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| My most recent adoptable buddy – the lovely Smilin’ Sally. |
So, if you want to volunteer but don’t know where to start, this post is for you. Your fit is out there. If the first group you try isn’t a great match, try another one.
Try out different opportunities. If you’re a people person, you might enjoy working an adoption event. If you enjoy being outdoors, you might like being a dog walker. If your time is limited or you prefer working from home, you could volunteer to help with the organization’s social media accounts. If you’re a writer, perhaps you can help pen bios of adoptable animals for the website. Do you have experience planning events? Perhaps you can help plan a fundraiser or organize other events for the group. Are you a cat person? Consider becoming a volunteer cat snuggler. (Best job title ever.) Help collect food, blankets or other supplies for the shelter. Every little bit helps, whether you can volunteer once a week or once a month.
Many rescue groups have weekly newsletters – sign up for those and take a a look to see what kinds of help the group needs. There’s an opportunity out there for everyone. Sometimes, you just have to try a few on for size until you find the one that’s just right. If you haven’t found your fit yet, don’t give up. I’m glad I finally took the leap, and I hope you will too.
I also hope you’ll check out all of the great blogs participating in today’s Blog the Change event… there are some truly wonderful posts this round.
