Visitors

Her daddy is out of town this week, so Miss Addison Mae is back in brown dog land! Unfortunately, the browns were not too excited at all to see her and Wrigley even HID! She is doing great, though, and I was happy to see her after a month of her being away. The first night I couldn't remember how I did everything with so many dogs, but now I'm back in the swing of things and everything is going smoothly. She leaves again on Friday, so I am enjoying our time together while it lasts.

In other news, my neighbor is also a yoga student of mine and heard me talking about Maizy's work at the library (which she hasn't been doing since her tail amputation several months ago because it took her so long to heal from that surgery) and asked if she could stop by with her kids someday. I said sure and yesterday she stopped over with the kids who read to Maizy, petted Hannibal the cat, and were licked by Probert (who is crated in the living room until Addison's departure because they stress each other out). Maizy was ecstatic to have visitors who were paying attention to her and after only a half-hour visit, she spent the rest of the day in recovery sleeping. Some "nanny dog"! Hehe. Probert was less enthusiastic, but was very tolerant and observant. He is not so used to children, but I thought he did great. Only one growl when the kids were getting too crazy by his crate, but he is entitled to give warnings if he doesn't like something. Wrigley did not come visit because he would have steamrolled those poor children with his boisterous enthusiasm for all things. :D

In closing, here is an updated photo of all three browns. Do you know who is who?

Back to Basics

There is happy news and sad news here in Brown Dog Land. The happy news is that everyone is doing great and things are going really well. The sad news is that Addy is doing great in a new home! Last night she left to move in with her dad (my ex) and will be living with him full time now. I was sad to see her go, but when I saw how happy she was to see him walk in the door to pick her up, I knew it was definitely the right decision! She is going to be a happy and spoiled only pup and I know it's going to work out great.

So, over here, it's back to all brown dogs all the time and I get to stop the crate/rotate routine. In the end, I still couldn't be happier.

Crates and Crafts

So, I don't know if any of you have had the same experience, but those plastic crate pans that come with most brands of crate really stink! About two years ago, I replaced Maizy's (for around $60-70) and once again last month, it had broken. It didn't make sense to spend more money on a crate pan, so she was existing without for a few weeks while I figured out what to do. I considered trying to find the right size of metal crate pan or make some kind of metal floor for her, but I soon realized that it wasn't the best solution. Add to the situation that Maizy is a massive chewer and that I was buying her new blankets from the thrift store every few weeks, and I decided that the solution to our crate floor situation had to be dual-purposed.

After some discussion with my brilliant boyfriend, we came up with a plan. And so, this past weekend we cut down a piece of plywood (with the aid of a neighbor who couldn't bear to see me using the manual version, and rushed over with his electric saw in order to do the cut for me quicker than his estimated "three seconds"), dug a scrap of carpet from the depths of the boyfriend's basement, and created a masterpiece!

Tada!

I present to you: Maizy's shiny new carpeted floor. This was a simple and cheap solution (we already had all of the materials laying around) and is working out beautifully so far! And Maizy is very happy with the results as her initial reaction to her new floor was to hunch up into "resource guarding" posture lest one of the other dogs even THINK about relaxing on HER new carpeted board!

This obviously isn't a good solution for a dog that has regular accidents in their crate (Addison!) or who has a sensitive stomach that can lead to barfing (Wrigley!), but this is the perfect solution for all of Maizy's issues. If it isn't, I don't know that yet, but will keep you updated in the following weeks to see if there are any major issues with her carpeted floor.

I've also included one bonus photo, which includes all four pups in their crates with the doors shut and their dinners sitting in front of them waiting VERY patiently to be given the "okay" before diving in. They are such well-beahaved sweetstuffs (sometimes).

Belated Happy Two Birthdays!

This past Sunday was Addison's SECOND birthday! Already! She is clearly the baby of the pack, but is such a little spitfire. She drives me nuts all the time, but of course I love her!

Hello everyone! Well, last month was a very busy month, so excuse my absence from the blog once again! All is well here with the pups. Maizy's tail is healing up well and Probert, who decided to follow suit with a more minor (non-surgical) tail wound of his own is also healing his tail. I am just not sure what is with those dogs, but the two of them are now referred to as the "tail twins" on most occasions.

Wrigley and Addison are also doing well. My boyfriend recently scored a whole messload of athletic balls from a trash pile and the dogs have been loving the unending supply of basketballs and footballs that appear from the garage every time an old ball is killed. It's adorable. And a cheap source of entertainment for sure!

Springtime!

The magnolia tree in the backyard is blooming and the days here in Chicago have gotten so beautiful! The "little dogs" (Probert and Addy) are getting daily walks now and the "big dogs" (Maizy and Wrigley) are spending lots of time in the backyard while I lounge in the hammock. I was in Texas for a week, so it was nice to come back to similar temperatures here at home! Also, I missed my pups! Here are some portraits from yesterday:

Here is Addy on our walk today. She has taken to carrying her pink kong on every single walk that we go on, which is totally cute and charms the heck out of me (and some others).

This is Probert's move on a walk when he wants to sniff something and doesn't want me to drag him along. It is both totally cute and annoying to watch him army-crawl through yards taking in all of the sniffs and totally slowing down the pace.
Yesterday I was finally able to pick up a refill of Maizy's new meds and so she is back to feeling great! She had run out right before I left for Texas and her doctor hadn't written the prescription yet, but we got a donated bottle of the name brand as well as a written prescription for the generic (which is like $7 a month compared to over $50). Very exciting.
Wrigley still refuses to pay attention when I am trying to take a picture of him outdoors. There are SO MANY THINGS to be vigilant of, and he does not disappoint.

Precision Fetching

As demonstrated by Addison. Do not try this at home. :)

A Real Live Update

Hi friends, we hope that you are all doing well. Things have been crazy and busy for us here, which is really no excuse for not updating, but I'm using it anyway. The dogs are all doing well and I am adjusting to being a full-time single dog (and cat) mom. It helps (I guess?) that I was also laid off from my full-time job and now have a lot of free time to spend with the pups! At least for the time being.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I neglected to share from recent months...

Here is Miss Maizy A in November after a day of vet procedures. She is FINE, but was feeling a little beat up when she came home. The no-bite collar was not popular.

In December, we had a lovely last-minute Christmas tree that was enjoyed (and not destroyed!) by all of the pets. Our first full-sized Christmas tree. It was a wonderful holiday. That is Justice admiring the tree.

Here are two recent pictures from last week. Maizy and Probert enjoying a delicious pear and Addy hunting for lost treasures under the love seat with a guest appearance from Wrigley's butt.

Also, we have had a very special new addition to the pack as of late, Greta! Greta is a three-year old GSD/mystery mix dog who belongs to my boyfriend (!) and comes to visit often. Her and Wrigley have really hit it off and I have some adorable videos of the two of them that I will share soon. So now we are a five-dog pack on some days! It's a full house, but we couldn't be having more fun.

Success!

Had another successful Pinups for Pitbulls fundraiser in the Chicagoland area this weekend at Natural Pet Market in Wheaton, IL. Tracy, the owner of Natural Pet Market, is a fellow calendar girl and the event was so much fun! It was attended with adorable adoptables from Bombshell Bullies and food was provided by Upton's Naturals.



My favorite adoptable bully was a little guy named Cookie Monster. If you are in the "market" for a new pup, definitely contact Bombshell Bullies about him. He is a GREAT dog. Totally loveable and well-behaved.

But the BEST part of the whole event was when Tracy contacted me later that night to let me know that we'd raised $1000!! That brings the grand total for Chicago fundraisers to $3300 this year so far! We owe so much to the great support we've gotten here and all of the awesome companies who have donated their time, products, and money. We're really fortunate. Thank you, from the pups! :)

Hello to all of our two-legged, three-legged, and four-legged friends (and anyone we missed)! A few weeks ago, my computer broke and then I went out of town for a week, so I haven't been able to update the blog. As it is, I still haven't set up my newly repaired computer so that I can get the photos off my camera, but that is coming. You will have to settle for words for now.

The pups are doing great. It is "vet season" I guess because in the past two months Wrigley, Maizy, and Probert have all been in to see the vet for their necessary yearly visits. Wrigley's visit was mostly uneventful minus the news that he is overweight. Since he is getting the same level of exercise as the ideally-weighted Addy, Maizy, and Probert, our only choice was to cut his food down. Poor Wrigley. Though, having been away from him for nearly a week last week, when I saw him again with "fresh" eyes he looked thinner to me! I guess we'll see how he does!

Maizy's visit was exciting in that she required a tooth cleaning, x-rays (to take to a new ortho doc), had an ear infection, and had a little arm scab that she kept tearing open. She came home from her tooth cleaning appointment in a No-Bite collar limping from hip manipulation and having lost a tooth that just fell out during the dental! Only six years old and she is falling apart! She is an angel about her ear medicine, though, and her arm healed after a few days in the collar (which she hated. a lot).

Probert's visit last night was good. The doctor took blood in order to test his liver as she thinks he will be on his medication long-term and wants to be sure it's not affecting his liver. He also needs his teeth cleaned, so I will be scheduling a dental for him soon. He also had a little mass aspirated and we'll find out what that was. Luckily, everything else is great, so we got out of there relatively unscathed!

Addy doesn't see the vet until April, so she is plenty happy about that!

Playing Dress Up

So, once again this year we participated with Pinups for Pitbulls and submitted a photo for the 2010 calendar. Out of the almost 100 submissions, we were NOT chosen to have our own month in the calendar, but our picture will appear on a page in the back. Oh well. Enjoy anyway!


The photo was a huge collaborative effort in tribute to the Elvgren pinup painting, Station WOW. I can't tell you how much fun this shoot was. Everyone who worked on it was great. The photographer, Chris Zibutis is awesome and was assisted by his lovely wife, Monica Zibutis as well as their friend Robyn Martin. The hair and makeup was all done by my sister-in-law, Jenna Hopman. The dog-wrangling and general pup supervision was handled by my husband, Shawn Hopman. We shot at the yoga studio where I teach thanks to the kind owners. The pup models were your friends, Addy and Probert. As you can see, Probert is an old pro at this looking adorable on film thing by now!

Howl-O-Ween

Yesterday Addy and I went out to Tracy's store, Natural Pet Market in Wheaton, IL for the annual Howl-O-Ween party. Addy did not really dress up for the party, but for my own amusement at home, I dressed her as Tupac. Picture her rollin'.

She also whipped out her adorable high-five trick and won the trick contest! Now we get to go back to Natural Pet Market with a $25 gift certificate! Wooo!

Poor Addy

Poor baby Addison has a poufy face tonight for some unknown reason. We gave her an antihistamine to see if it will clear up by the morning. She looks so uncomfortable. I hope the medicine helps! Send her good thoughts!

We Made It!

The Pinups for Pitbulls Team: Michele with Frankie, Jesse, Nicole with Addy and Maizy, Trish, and Gina.

The Chicago PAWS Walk For Their Lives yesterday was a great time! Everyone returned from last year, plus a few new additions, so we had a great group (all ladies, by the way)! This year I had started a "team" for Pinups for Pitbulls and we raised over $1000 between us, beating our goal.

The weather was beautiful for the end of September in Chicago, so no complaints there. The walk was long and we took many breaks because of our little fwee wegged friend, Addy, who was worn out by all the walking. She refused to be carried very far or to ride in a stroller (we tried!), so we walked at her pace. Jesse quite nimbly handed out Pinups for Pitbulls fliers to people walking with pit bulls (we had a fun time trying to spot the pitties). By the time we got back the the finish line, they had disassembled it and there was no one there to cheer for our accomplishment. Boo.

The walk had about 4,000 participants this year and I think the money raised was in the neighborhood of $250,000! Great news!

We didn't hang around too long, but we did have to go to the doggie massage tent so that Maizy, Addy, and Frankie could get a well-deserved massage. Also, Maizy spent some time playing in the water (which was meant for drinking). This video I took cracks me up. Look at how wet Addy is from her unexpected splashing.

On the way home, we made a well-deserved stop at Fritz Pastry which I cannot recommend enough if you are in Chicago. The food they make is delicious and some of their items are even vegan (ask for which items are vegan, but I recommend the coffee cake or the blueberry muffin). They also have a great little outdoor deck that is perfect for tired doggies.

Addy Loves Tug

Addy couldn't stand it that the Brown Dog Dad was not trying to get her toy, so she kept putting it in his hand so he would tug it. :)

This just in...

Check out Probert and I in the local news!! Please leave a comment on the paper's website to thank them for doing a positive story about pit bulls!

Dog lover advances the cause of pit bulls

By Adam Rosen, arosen@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Mon Sep 21, 2009, 10:43 AM CDT

Berwyn, IL -

Nicole Hopman has always enjoyed the company of pit bulls, so much so that she has dressed up as a pin-up girl to raise money for the breed she loves.

"They’re the breed of dog that is most in need of responsible ownership,” Hopman said. “A lot of people are just getting them to fight or train the wrong way and it doesn’t help the breed at all.”

In 2007, Hopman heard from Little Darling, a pinup model and burlesque performer and creator of the “Pinups for Pit bulls” calendar, that she had seen photos of her Hopman’s pit bull and Probert wanted the dog to appear in the 2007 calendar. Hopman accepted, and was brought in the following year to appear beside her canine friend for the 2008 calendar.

This year, Hopman and Probert did a photo shoot with local photographer Chris Zibutis and submitted her best photos to the calendar.

If Hopman is one of the lucky 12 chosen, it will be her second appearance in the calendar and third for Probert.

Even if she is not included, Hopman will host a calendar release part Nov. 6 at The Exit in Chicago. However, half of the stars in the calendar will not be allowed admittance.

“There are no dogs allowed, but there will be many dog lovers there,” Hopman said.

Notable

Probert the pit bull received his name from the former Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings forward Bob Probert, who was notoriously known for his enforcer style of play. Nicole, a Red Wings fan, agreed with her husband Shawn, a Blackhawks fan, on the name.

& quotable

“For me it’s disappointing that there are people out there who are willing to exploit a dogs loyalty for profit, and it’s disappointing that someone has the capacity to be so cruel.”

Calendar preorder available

The “Pinups for Pit bulls” calendar will go on sale in early November starting with the launch party Nov. 6, but calendars can already be pre-ordered at the organizations Web site, pinupsforpitbulls.com.

More about Nicole

OTHER PETS Addy, a pit bull

HOBBIES Baking, yoga

JOB Yoga teacher in Oak Park

Happy Sunday!

Addy holding the same de-footed Cuz as Maizy in the previous entry. Obviously, Addy is much littler.

Not Dead Yet

Hello! Just a quick update to say hello and that we're still around and doing fine. Lots has been going on, all of which has kept me from updating the blog. I have mostly spent my time working hard on getting things organized for the Pinups for Pitbulls Calendar Release Party in November. This week Addison graduated Advanced Obedience at Anything is Pawsible, which was great. She finally learned to "stay" in a stand position and I was so proud of her. We have some work to do, definitely, but I think she has a chance of passing the CGC test in a few months maybe.

Anyway, I don't want to post a huge wall of text, so I will post again soon with pictures! Of pups!

Two Pets, One Bed

Is Justice a giant cat or is Addy a small dog? Maybe a little of both.

Epic Biteyface

No dogs were harmed during the events portrayed in these pictures. Addy and Wrigley are great friends, they just both like to play rough.