Happy Three Birthday, Probert!

The day we met the wildman. At his foster home in Ohio.

When we adopted the dogs, we didn't know any of their actual birthdays, so all are "made up." Halloween seemed as good a day as any to celebrate Probert's birthday, and today he officially turns three years old! When we adopted him, he was 11 months old and had suffered some pretty serious abuse. He hasn't totally shaken his fear of strangers, but he gets braver and happier every day!

First night in his forver home.

Probert's first birthday. A (dog) pizza party with his brother and sister!

Probert on his first birthday!

A recent picture. Holiday-related doggie torture. I swear, he is so patient. Love this guy.

Little Trouble Probert

As you may or may not have noticed already, Probert is a total handful trouble maker. That doesn't change the fact that I love his little butt dearly, but boy is he a problem sometimes. Yesterday I came home from work and it was one of those times. Apparently Probert has perfected the skill of unlatching his crate and I came home to find a happy dog bouncing around a house filled with gas. He must have jumped up at the stove and turned on one of the burner knobs during his unsupervised romp around the house. He also pooped in the living room (twice), and knocked in the gate to the cat room. Other than that, the house was surprisingly in tact. I am mostly just glad that he didn't explode the house, to be honest.

So, it was an hour or so of fans and open windows (not good for late fall in Chicago!) to air the house out and then Probert and I picked up the Brown Dog Dad and went to the store to buy clips to further reinforce his crate doors. I joked that going to the store was his punishment because he is scared of strangers, new places, etc. Sorry little man, you couldn't be trusted at home so you had to go.

Anyway, now I am fairly confident that Probert is sufficiently locked up at home and I have big plans to come home today to a non-exploded house with no errant poops and no loose puppies. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Speaking of safety, check out the HSUS article on keeping your pets safe this Halloween!

5 A Day

Lately, I have been trying to feed the dogs some fruits and veggies with their dinner. So far so good, because they love broccoli, eggplant, strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, and many others. Last night I had the idea that maybe the pups would like the glop that comes out the butt of the juicer (there was not a lot, just a little since I was only making one glass of juice - apple, orange, strawberry). Well, Maizy and Probert both love the glop that comes out the butt of the juicer, but Wrigley looked at it like his kibble was RUINED and pouted at me until I took it off and fed it to Maizy. Sorry, Beans.

Yoga Mala for Pet Rescue

One more (important, but aren't they all!? hehe) post for tonight to promote an event that I am organizing here to raise money for some very deserving rescues! If you are in the area, please come! If you know of someone who may be interested, please pass it on!

Click here for a larger version of the flier.

Officious Therapy Maizy

This week we received our information packet from Therapy Dogs International making us (Maizy and I) official members!

Our info packet was very informative and gave me some good ideas about where we might like to volunteer. Now begins the (hopefully not too) difficult process of finding a place that we like and that likes us!

I will start making calls tomorrow and be sure to let you know where we end up!

(I blurred out Maizy's ID number so that no one would steal her pawdentity!)

Every time I talk about Maizy's TDI or CGC certifications, I am reminded of Sammy Davis Jr Jr, the "Officious Seeing-Eye Bitch" in the movie Everything Is Illuminated (which you should see if you haven't)!

Discovery News features Pinups for Pitbulls!

Check out our friends from Pinups for Pitbulls on Discovery News! Carla Lou and Baxter are fellow brown pups!

Pinup Girls Pose for Pit Bulls

Tomato Season

Something is going on with my tomato plants that is making them all drop their tomatoes to the ground before they're even ripe. I think the tomato plants gave up on leaves and stems a month or so ago when we had a bunch of rain, but the tomatoes keep coming from somewhere. This makes it prime tomato-stealing season for the pups. Not a day goes by that I don't have to kick someone out of the garden only to see a blur of brown fur fly by with something red (or green or somewhere in between) in it's mouth.

Maizy perfected the art of tomato stealing earlier in the summer when she also successfully snuck a tomato into the house, as evidenced in this video...



Also, please notice that Wrigley is the sweetest thing on four legs and is perpetually confused about where everyone else gets such great stuff. It rarely occurs to him that going somewhere he shouldn't be (in the garden!) is an option!

(P.S. I'm back! My trip was excellent, but I admit to sitting on a bench near the dog park missing my pups on more than one occasion! I am glad to be home.)

Heading Out

Hi Friends,

Just a note that I will be out of town visiting NYC starting tomorrow through Monday, so don't mind the lack of brown dog updates! There will be plenty to share when we get back.

Also, wish the Brown Dog Dad luck in taking care of the pups by himself while I'm away. He's going to need it (especially with Maizy, who sees me as the only authority on anything in the house)!

See you later!
Nicole

The Kitty Cat Mafia

Updated pictures of the other furry members of the family, Justice and Hannibal. This is where they hang out while the brown dogs are on the loose.

Maizy didn't like the way I was eyeing her bone...

Dog Yoga = Doga

Follow this link to watch a great short film, Doga by Andrew Cooke. Really funny stuff!

Also, I think that the Brown Dog Dad and I have taken Cornholio to that little dog park pictured in the movie when visiting Manhattan. Always anti-social with his own species, Corny totally hated it. He was happy to make friends with the hot dog vendors on that trip, though!

Puppies, Indeed.

I took this picture a few weeks ago for a "what do you look like right now" web meme.

I thought that you all would appreciate the greatness of my shirt.

You can get your own by contacting the fine people at Measle's Animal Haven. Available in a variety of sizes and colors.