Showing posts with label Rita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rita. Show all posts

June 26, 2014

#FuelTheCure Blog Hop, Contest and Fundraiser

When we heard our buddy Oz the Terrier was hosting a #FuelTheCure fundraiser to help raise money to fight pet cancer, we had to join in!
Oz is hosting along with Zuke’s (Rita loves Zuke's treats!) to help raise money for the Dog and Cat Cancer Fund. The fund: works with vets to help families in need get cancer treatment for their pets, offers research grants to scientists, and promotes prevention by raising awareness and encouraging early testing for canine and feline cancer.

June 22, 2014

I Don't Wanna Walk! (And a Winner!)

Rita can be so weird sometimes. 

Like, today, it started with making waffles for breakfast, and she wouldn't take the bite I offered her. (She's super picky. What a nut.) 

Then I attempted to take her for a walk, and she insisted on dragging me back home after only 5 minutes. This from a girl who normally LOVES her walks.
Rita in her usual walk-loving-mode

June 17, 2014

Can You Find Happiness at the Drive-Thru?

Rita is not a super smiley dog. Mostly she just sits with her mouth shut and observes, so when she looks smiley I love it!

Monday was Rita's 3rd birthday so to celebrate we went to the In-N-Out drive-thru and got her a Flying Dutchman. This made Rita HAPPY.

June 15, 2014

No Monday Mischief Here - Just a Birthday Giveaway!

Monday is Rita's third birthday (Whoohoo! **blows noisemaker**), which is a Super Big Deal since our sweet angel Abby never even made it to 3. (Poor Ab.) So, to celebrate - we did lots of fun things on Sunday, and we are having a giveaway today!

We celebrated on Sunday since The Daddy has to work on Rita's actual birthday. (Actually... we have no idea when her birthday is. But the rescue guessed her birthday was somewhere in June. We were going to pick the mid-point, but that's my brother-in-law's bday, so we picked the 16th - which is her angel-cousin Lou's birthday, so a pretty special day!)


We went for a lovely walk. (I confess, this pick is from Saturday, but we did almost the exact same walk on Sunday...)
A lovely day for a walk!

June 12, 2014

See Beautiful: Orange You Glad It's Summer?

Okay... technically it's not summer until the 21st, but most schools are out and the weather's heating up, plus isn't Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start to summer? So, close enough!

Now that that's out of the way... I have to confess... I don't really like summer all that much. Since we live in the Land of Lovely Winters, I prefer every other season over summer, when it can get too hot for nice long walks/hikes with the pup. Neither Rita nor I like to get overheated, so... we just try to get through summer. Plus, since the hubs and I don't have kids, we always go on vacations in the spring or fall when it's quieter, so it's usually a long, hot wait for vacation!

But... I wanted to do an "orange you glad it's summer" post because of this, the scene on our front porch recently.

June 1, 2014

Monday Mischief: My Momma Experimented on Me!

Rita here. Sit back, get your popcorn, and lock the doors, cuz I have a scary story to tell!

The other day, Momma insisted on brushing me 50-strokes. I don't like being brushed very much, so that was not super fun but I tolerated it. 

Then we went for a long walk, and I looked like this after:

May 27, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Rita's New Leash & Avoiding a Tired Pun

Rita got a new leash... (not on life. Man, while I was trying to write a title for this post "a new leash on life" is ALL my feeble brain could come up with). She just got a new leash. Period. 

It's a little bit girly, and a little bit bad-ass (cuz it has pink skull & crossbones on it), just like our girl. Here she is sporting it, nice and pooped after a walk.

May 13, 2014

Wordy Wednesday: How We All Ended Up Exhausted

Just looked back and in almost a month I've only posted 3 times. I mentioned the blog would be quiet for a bit, and originally that was for a good reason. I was feverishly editing my new book! (More book news below.) But then the good reason for the blogging break turned into a sad reason.
A begonia on the hospital room windowsill

May 12, 2014

A Quick Catch-up and Puppy Mischief!

If you saw my last post, you know my mother-in-law passed away, so the hubs and I have been away from home for over 2 weeks. (Luckily we made it there in time to spend a couple of days with her.)

Rita stayed with Reggie (her cousin) while we were away. She was (reportedly) a good girl (except for not wanting to share her chew bones!), so I have a little Reggie mischief to share.

Reggie sent us this photo while we were in Montreal:

April 16, 2014

Oh, I Could Write a Blog Post About Your Easter Bonnet #TBT

Don't you love old family photos? I mentioned last month that my bro had uploaded a bunch of old pics and I thought I'd share some in honor of "Throwback Thursday" (TBT) and the upcoming Easter holiday. 

With a nod to Irving Berlin and his Easter Parade, here's a sonnet blog post about some Easter bonnets.

First, we have my mom in this fine floral number. If you've got an empty basket, some faux flowers, and a hot glue gun, you too can dazzle with this look!

April 15, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: Garage-Sale Dogs

Okay, no this isn't a post about dogs for sale at garage sales. (That would probably be a subject for a Blog the Change for Animals post...) This is about all the dogs my sisters and I met when we went to the annual garage sale event in my sister's 'hood this weekend. So many sweeties! 

Our first stop was to say hi to Marley. Isn't he a cutie? (I was there the day his momma found him - he was a stray. Hooray for Marley hitting the Doggy Lotto!)

April 9, 2014

#WOOF: 3 Things to Love About Reactive Dogs

It's time again for the monthly WOOF (Working Out Our Fears) Support blog hop, where reactive dogs and their owners come together to share similar experiences. This month's theme is "What I love about my reactive dog."

I easily came up with the three top things I love about my reactive girl, Rita.

1. A Reactive Dog is the Perfect Dog for an Introvert
Our first dog, a beagle, was not super interested in strangers when out on a walk (unless she could sniff them). She just wanted to sniff and do her own thing, so we rarely interacted with our neighbors. Which was perfect for introverted me.

Then we got Abby, who loved everything and everybody in the world and wanted to say HI! Not good for introverted me, forced to finally interact with all those neighbors.

Luckily, now I have Reactive Rita. 

April 8, 2014

Less-Wordy Wednesday: When I Get Home

We have a frosted panel in the door that leads from our garage into the house. So, usually when I get out of the car, this is what I see:

April 7, 2014

March 25, 2014

Less-Wordy Wed.: Note to Self(ie), Games of Bitey-Face + Selfies Don't Mix

The other day during a Reg & Rita play date, the dogs were resting next to me on the porch, so I thought I'd try to get some selfies of the 3 of us. 

The break in the action was too brief though, and I ended up with this
Yikes!
And this:

March 12, 2014

#WOOF: Frustrations and Successes with My Reactive Dog

Today I'm joining the WOOF Support blog hop. WOOF (Working Out Our Fears) Support is where reactive dogs and their owners come together to share similar experiences.

I've mentioned before that Rita has a lot of fears ("Have you seen this man?" - may need to re-run that post some day. It was funny, IMHO, and I think 4 people read it.) and, when on-leash, is reactive to dogs (and motorcycles, and crows, and sudden surprises, etc.). Back when we used to go to the off-leash park, she was fine with most dogs, but on-leash, it's a crap shoot.

If you also have a fearful/reactive dog, well, lucky you! And you may want to read all the posts in the hop, because we're sharing: "Successes, Frustrations and Everything in Between"

March 11, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: A Chew Review with Words Few

Hope you don't mind me being a weeeee bit wordy to do a quick review of a new bone we tried that Rita really likes - Benebone.

My sis, Reggie's mom, turned me on to these. Rita is very picky, but I ordered one (via Amazon) to give it a try. It was a hit! I like it because it's well-designed and the Y-shape gives her something to hang on to. Rita likes it because it tastes like BACON!

March 10, 2014

Monday Mischief: Found and Lost and Found

Found
Back in late 2012, I found this perfect tag for Rita, which I posted a pic of on the blog.

As you can see, it says "Insert Treat" with an arrow pointing at her mouth - very appropriate for her!
Lost
Well, this week, I noticed it was missing. I was bummed, but figured it broke and fell off on one of our walks, and I mentally added it to the always-growing To-Do list.

March 6, 2014

FitDog Friday: Five Ways To Rev Up Your Walk with Rover

Have you fallen into a slump with your dog walking? Did you resolve on January 1st to walk your dog more, but now it's just so boring you don't wanna?

Well, here are 5 tips to put some oomph back into your walks with your pup.

1. Bored with the scenery? Drive to a different 'hood!
I used to do this in our old neighborhood, which was kind of isolated so I'd get really bored walking the same loop over and over and over and over. Some days I'd drive to another neighborhood, even just a short ways away, and then we'd have someplace new to explore. New smells for the pup, new houses to check out for you.

2. Use the time wisely
Our sniffy angel on a hike
2A. Does your dog take unusually long to catch up on his/her pee-mails? We used to have a beagle, and believe me there is nothing like walking a scent hound to let you know that "walking" is a relative term. What I generally did with her was stand around a lot, while she sniffed like she was a recruit for the bomb squad. Luckily Rita is only half beagle, so she's much less stubborn when I tell her to heal and we can keep moving. Still, sometimes I let her sniff.

March 4, 2014

Wordless Wednesday: An Unwelcome Visitor

Do you like it when folks just pop by? Personally, I kinda hate it. After all, I'm a writer. So on most days if you stop by unannounced you'll find me in yoga pants (winter) or shorts (summer) with no makeup and my hair barely brushed. (At least I get out of my PJs, but that's only because Rita has to be walked every morning.) 

Also, the house is usually a mess. If it isn't a mess, that means I'm procrastinating* on my writing.

Anyway, it turns out Rita hates uninvited guests just as much as I do. Case in point, this little guy showed up at our back door the other day when we FINALLY got some rain.
The neighbor's cat