It's FUN FRIDAY!!!! And I've been very busy the past few weeks and have been lacking on sharing fun dog related stories and videos with all of my readers. Today I will try to make up for lost time and share a few really great ones!
Terrier vs. Balloons Note: I wouldn't advise trying this at home, because the balloons could very easily obstruct a dog's windpipe and pose a choking hazard.
Dog jumping on trampoline Note: While this is fun to watch and the dog looks happy and healthy (always a good thing) I would consult a veterinarian before teaching a dog any tricks that could pose a risk to their joints.
Jerry can play fetch by himself! I wish I had this machine for Milly!
Skidboot! This late dog really was brilliant!
This photo is my friend Julie and her amazing dog Pepper. Pepper knows a whole slew of tricks - playing dead, jumping in your arms, crawling, barking on command, etc. Pepper also proves to be a true pony wrangler, as seen in this photo taken at the famous Woodlands Pony Farm, of Pepper leading a pony around the farm. I look forward to highlighting Pepper in the future, as this is one Happy Tail (or in Pepper's case Happy noTail) from a pound in Ohio to an amazing life in the paradise that is Maryland with Julie.
HAVE A WONDERFUL, SAFE AND FUN FRIDAY!!! For those of you in the Washington, DC area I encourage you to get out and enjoy the 1st Annual Washington, DC Week for the Animals (May 30 - June 7, 2009). The schedule is posted on dcanimals.org. Does your dog have a neat story? Have you done something special, unique or amazing with animals? Please tell Miss Muddy Paws about it, and you or your dog could be featured on The Wet Nose.
I was quite tickled the other day when I saw a wonderful little surprise on my blog. I just received an award from Beth at Bartering Basics and Living Life on Less. You should really check her blog out she has so many wonderful savings tips, and great ways to get things for FREE. I love reading her blog, and thinking of new and different ways to live like a queen and spend like a pauper.
So, because I received this award there is an opportunity for others to get it too.
Here are the rules:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 or more other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
Pretty cool to give something to new blogs you've discovered instead of those you've loved for a while. And, if you've already gotten the award, its okay; because who wouldn't like multiple people thinking that they have a lovely blog. And, I definitely want to feature some of my new followers who have been so wonderful to me. So, here are my 19 awardees:
I’m 26, Now What?– A fun blog that reflects on all those questions young professionals face!
I ran home at lunch to get something my landlord left for me. While I was home I checked on Milly, made sure her fans were on, she had plenty of water, played fetch, etc. Milly stays in my sun room while I'm at work, and the sun room attaches to our fenced in backyard. This way she is able to come inside whenever she wants, but still can play outside if she so chooses. I find this set up to be much nicer than leaving her in my bedroom or crating her while I'm away.
Anyways, so I get home, open the sun room door and notice something odd looking on her bed. At first I'm thinking is that poop? But as I get closer it looks like it has different colors, and I have no idea what it is. I finally get with in a few feet of the dog bed and see little feet (no pun intended) attached to a black and red mass. Turns out my bird dog decided to indulge on a baby bird today. I cleaned up the bed, removed dead baby bird and gave Milly a plush toy to keep her occupied.
I know that this instinct is bred into her, and therefore I cannot punish her, but boy was I grossed out! Nothing like going home to play with your pooch and finding a baby bird carcass (guts strewn across the dog bed) to make you lose your appetite.
I thought everyone might enjoy seeing photos of Abby enjoying the bully stick she won in The Wet Nose giveaway.
The photo with the cat is actually the cat trying to steal the bully stick from Abby! Katherine wrote to tell me her cat would pick up one end of the stick while Abby was chewing on the other end, and run off with it! That's one docile dog, and one feisty cat if you ask me!
This morning I over slept, and woke up in a zombie like state (many nights I suffer from a combination of muscle spasms from a shoulder surgery I had a few years ago and insomnia – last night was one such night). On days that I over sleep I usually find a way to put myself together as quickly as possible, and often opt to endorse a sense of contrived sloppiness. The hair, though disheveled is neatly pulled from my face, simple blue jeans, a beautiful Lilly Pulitzer shirt, un-tucked, and slightly wrinkled, and simple flats. I decided to wear “no-makeup” and simply smeared a little bit of tinted moisturizer and concealer across my face, as I said, no makeup. Haha. In order to tie it all together I hastily selected a pair of earrings from Tiffany & Co. my brother and sister-in-law gave me a few years ago for my birthday. I took one quick look in the mirror to approve of my contrived sloppiness, and whistled to Milly to get up from her bed and together we happily walked to the kitchen for our breakfast.
I got a few compliments on the earrings today, and was thrilled. I love wearing them, even though they clearly scream Tiffany & Co., they are the classic silver open hearts. Despite the commercialization of Tiffany’s, and the huge amount of reproductions and counterfeit products out there, there is nothing like being presented with that little robin’s egg blue box, so neatly tied with the satin ribbon.
So why not be a bit over the top and entirely too indulgent for this economy, and share this blue box with your dog on a daily basis! This “Sniffany & Co.” dog bed will keep you smiling, have guests laughing, and is soft enough to have your pooch snoring in no time. You could even consider pairing it with a diamond chew toy! Or, perhaps your pooch would like a nice “Hairy Winston”??
One thing most of my readers probably don’t know about me is I am absolutely terrified of fires. This is strange; because I love to burn candles, incense, make fires in the fire place, camp fires, etc. But the route of my fear goes back to a sunny Sunday morning when I was in the first grade, and my parents received a phone call that our horse barn had burned to the ground, and my beloved black lab mix, Rex, had been killed in the blaze. The fire had started when sparks from a car with the engine on blew about 20 feet into the barn, and a small fire started. Immediately the fire department was called, but by the time they arrived the fire was substantially larger, and unfortunately the fire fighters decided to run their hoses two miles to a river to put out the blaze, rather than running them 200 feet to our full swimming pool. By the time they were fighting the fire with water the entire 200 year old barn was engulfed in flames.
At the time of the fire my family had just moved to South Carolina, but our farm in New Jersey had not yet sold, and we were waiting to move the rest of our animals down after we had built a secure fence and settled into our new home. The remaining farm animals (barn cats, chickens, peacocks, pigs and dogs) were under the care of our barn manager, and we were arranging transportation for the animals. Our farm in New Jersey was the classic case of urban sprawl, once farmland, all the area surrounding our property was now subdivisions, and our property was the only remaining farm on the road. The farm was intriguing to neighbors, and we were always more than happy to show neighborhood children our chickens, or invite people over to see a newborn foal, but there was a set of mischievous teenagers who enjoyed cutting holes in our fencing, allowing our dogs to escape. The solution to the problem was to keep the dogs locked in horse stalls when they were not supervised, and the firefighters somehow saw all of the other dogs, but missed Rex.
The reason I’m telling you this is fires can start suddenly, and often times with little reason. I never would have imagined an engine would spark, and our barn would burn to the ground, but it did.
I recently read an AP article about a family who left their dog in their yard at their home in WashingtonState one sunny day. The dog owners made sure to leave a glass water bowl out for the dog, but the combination of the sun and the glass bowl created a magnifying glass effect and focused sunlight directly onto the wood deck of the home. The deck caught fire, and soon the blaze had spread and charred the entire back of the home. Luckily, the homeowner’s neighbors saw the smoke and flames, and were able to call for help in the homeowner’s absence. The family dog was saved, but the homes damage was estimated at $215,000.
When owning pets it is important to take precautions to ensure their happiness and safety, but also our own. Be careful with glass water bowls, be careful if you set fans out for your dogs, and in the event of an emergency have both human and pet emergency kits packed and ready to go.
If you own pets I recommend obtaining a window decal that says “In the event of an emergence save our pets.” The ASPCA is giving away these window decals as part of their FREE Pet Safety Pack that alert rescue crews that pets are inside your home. In the event of an emergency this sticker conveys valuable information to emergency personnel. In this economy you can’t beat the FREE price, so go ahead and get one by visiting ASPCA.org!
I can’t help but wonder if we had had one of these stickers, and the firefighters had known how many dogs we owned; perhaps Rex would still be here today.
One of my two legged mommy’s friends has a blog. This lady is very nice. Her name is Tina, and sometimes on her blog she lets her friend Annie write entries. I asked mommy if I could write an entry, because there has been something on my mind lately.
There is a monster in the closet that mommy knows I am terrified of. This monster is named Vaccum, and it is VERY scary! I have a lot of trouble talking about Vacuum the monster, but I think I’ve found something even more frightening. I must vent.
Mommy has a bicycle, and she likes to ride it. Sometimes she rides it on a stand in the living room, and I think this is just great fun because I try to lick her feet as the whirl round-and-round. Mommy doesn’t think this is very fun, but I do. Well, Mommy has not been riding bicycle lately, but I’ve heard her talk about wanting to start riding again. So over the weekend Mommy and Bill decided to pump the tires on their bicycles.
HOLY GUACAMOLE! You think Vacuum monster is scary – look out! This thing called bicycle pump looks un-intimidating, kind of like a miniature coat rack, but then when the humans attach it to the bicycle it makes alien noises! I want to head for the hills when I see bicycle pump, and once I’ve heard it making its whirring noises as wind gushes into the tires I head for the basement door, only problem is I don’t know how to open it. Mommy gets up to comfort me with treats, and tries to coax me to come over to bicycle and I start to feel safe again, but not for long…
Just when I think the excitement is over the bicycle tire starts to leak air, and once again the pump alien comes out. I hear talk of tires, but I don’t want to hurt Mommy’s feelings, because she’s been talking about bicycling with me, and I really want to try that. Just then the alien pump starts making the noises! I race for Mommy’s bedroom and hide behind the bed… safety! Mommy walks up to me, treats in hand again, and tells me, “Be brave my little Princess Milly, just lay with me and I’ll rub your belly.” She moves her hands through my coat, and tells me how much she loves me, and calls me her pretty girl (which I know I am), and the distraction is comforting and takes my mind off of the potential alien invasion brewing in the living room. But then I hear it again! Alien invasion! Mommy can’t hear it (humans must have bad ears), but I hear it all the way down the hall, in the bedroom, lying behind the bed. Immediately I tense up, while lying down my tail goes between my legs, and I stand up nervously. I race out the bedroom door, whiz past the alien pump, and start poking my nose on the back door, but it won’t open. Mommy comes up and pats me on the head and says, “Come on Milly, this way, I’ll take you outside.” All I can think is you took long enough, and my ears are really hurting from the alien pump invasion noises.
I’m not mad at Mommy or Bill, but for all you doggies out there watch out for the alien bicycle pump, it is more terrifying than the monster that lives in the closet. I now know from now on wheeling the bicycle through the living room means GET OUT FAST, because an alien invasion is imminent!
Thanks for letting me vent, and I hope you enjoyed reading a post from me, Marvelous Milly!
There are a lot of preventatives out there that many pet owners chose to use to best take care of their pets – regular vaccines, heartworm and parasite preventatives, and flea and tick preventatives are some of the most popular. There is debate as to whether or not these do more harm than good, but the general consensus is use them if you are in an area with a high prevalence of heart worm (caused by mosquitoes), fleas or ticks (ticks can cause Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses) then you should use them.
Personally, I use heartworm preventative monthly, but only use flea/tick preventative in the fall, spring and summer. I do feel that doing a limited flea/tick preventative means I have to be that much more diligent about checking for fleas and ticks, and testing annually for Lyme and other tick borne illnesses, but I also worry about putting toxins on my dog.
There is even an entire movement to stop vaccinating dogs, or vaccinate on a limited schedule – I support limited vaccination, or simply not over vaccinating. In many states the rabies vaccine must be administered annually, even though this vaccine is good for three years of protection. Some states have caught onto the risks associated with over vaccination, and are now recognizing the three-year rabies vaccine. Last year I chose to use the new Lyme vaccine, and now looking back on it I’m not sure if I would make that same choice today having learned more about the risks associated with this particular vaccine, and over vaccinating in general. It’s hard, because I live in an area where Lyme disease is extremely prevalent (I myself have had Lyme twice, and both times were from Virginia ticks), but at the same time having learned the risks of the vaccine I question this decision.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many wonderful things to using preventative medicine, and the good tends to far out way the bad, but do do your research, and don’t over-do-it with the preventatives.
When it comes to acquiring your flea/tick or heartworm preventatives the safest place to guarantee an authentic product is from your veterinarian’s office. I believe all heartworm preventatives require a prescription and/or annual heartworm blood test, and some brands of flea/tick preventatives are only available through veterinarians, but do not require an RX.
However, getting these products from your vet can be expensive. Often the vet has already marked up the prices to cover shipping charges, etc. You must be careful before ordering online, as there are many imitators out there selling counterfeit products, but here are some reputable sites to buy these products at a lower cost to you, the consumer. EntirelyPets.comhas great prices on a variety of medications and supplements, and they give even greater discounts when you buy in bulk. 1-800 Pet Meds is also a legitimate resource for these products. You can also find these products at SmartPak.com for less than some veterinarians sell them. I would avoid turning to eBay,Amazon.com or small unknown companies to buy these products, as there is a risk of buying any medication online.
There is a clear link between animal abuse and domestic violence or violence towards humans. Abuse towards an animal is a major red flag for potential violence towards humans, but what does a pet own person trapped in a domestic violence situation do?
American Humane Pets and Women’s Shelters Program, or PAWS, has realized the need for women’s shelters that allow pets, and is helping to end domestic violence and animal abuse by providing a safe haven for domestic violence victims and their four legged friends.
I encourage you to watch this video and learn more about this amazing program.
This has been a GREAT Friday. I took a half-day at work, came home and spent the afternoon with my Milly. We went for a nice run and then did some gardening - we're growing lots of herbs, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, scallions and hopefully soon to be lettuce and carrots (by Monday those should be planted). Milly loves to stand with me while I garden, and nose at any soil that falls to the ground. With all this gardening, it is important to remember foods and plants that are poisonous for dogs. The Humane Society of the United States has a great list of poisonous plants on their website.
Onto what you readers are waiting for! The actual FUN part of FUN FRIDAY! I was thrilled when I found this YouTube video with multiple dances - this duo truly are the most talented Free Style team I've ever seen! I was just going to post the Grease routine, but to have so many dances of Rookie & Carolyn Scott makes this FUN FRIDAY so much better!
In honor of Rookie, the amazing dancing Golden Retriever (he passed away), I hope you all enjoy today's FUN FRIDAY!!!
