Monday Mischief: Rita Loves Lucy

Or does she?

We went away this past weekend with Rita to visit my mom. My brother and his family were there as well, with my brother's mastiff, Leo, and my nephew's Lab-mix, Lucy.

Big boy, Leo, licking the ice-ring that formed in the birdbath

Lucy enjoying (?) a bit of ice from the birdbath

Sandy Dogs

No, I'm not writing about Rita after she comes home from the beach (although I could probably enter a sand castle competition with the amount of sand she brings home from Fiesta Island). Instead, I'm talking about Hurricane Sandy. Helen Woodward Animal Center (where I volunteer) got 45 cats and dogs this past weekend from shelters affected by Hurricane Sandy. Forty-five!

You can read more about it here, but basically each of the pets that arrived was already up for adoption before the storm hit. However, there were so many displaced pets after the storm, that the shelters didn't have room for the adoptable dogs/cats anymore and needed help.

HWAC, Southwest Airlines, SeaWorld, Delaware County SPCA and Save-a-Pet all worked together to fly the dogs and cats out to San Diego. Here's a super-sweet little video:

If this video doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, then your cockles need some serious thawing. I'd suggest putting them in the microwave on auto-defrost and just leave them in there for as long as it takes.

A lot of the pups weren't ready to be adopted yet when I was there on Monday for my usual shift, so I didn't meet any of the dogs in the video but I did meet some other real sweethearts!

In other Helen Woodward-related news, remember the other day when I posted this picture of the gorgeous but somewhat, um, crazed looking pup that I was in love with...

...well, when I went up on Monday, he was already gone! Hopefully he's being spoiled rotten in his new furever home even as you read this. Hopefully all the "Sandy" dogs and cats will soon find their furever homes as well.

A Special Shout-out for Tripawd Warrior Princesses
The day after Thanksgiving will probably always make me think of our beautiful Abby. We brought her home from HWAC on 11/27/09, the day after Thanksgiving. We are very thankful that we got to have that special girl in our lives, even if for way too short of a time.

Sadly, this week, the last of the original Tripawd Warrior Princesses that I dedicated the drawing below to earned her wings.

Tripawd Warrior Princesses: Rio, Isabelle and Abby

I like to think our special girls are all together now, with their capes and their wings. Goodbye sweet Isabelle. You were truly an inspiration, surviving Hurricane Katrina and two kinds of cancer. Run pain free and say hi to my Abby!

I hope everyone here in the States had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday: The Poor-dog's Frosty Paw

The hub's physiotherapist suggested freezing cups of ice and using them to ice-massage some of the continuing trouble spots on his knees post-surgery. Well, Rita (who is completely uninterested whenever I try to give her an ice cube) has decided that these are super tasty.

"Oh man. I can't enough of this!"

Monday Mischief: Pixie Sticks Her Nose Where She Shouldn't

Today, we have a guest mischief-maker that we're featuring - the delightful Pixie. (Rita's just been such an angel, we had to go hunting for mischief.) Doesn't she look sweet?

Pixie at the beach

Maybe She Needs a Sibling

I was actually going to write this post with just a quick update on our yard work, but then I looked at his picture again:

"Why won't you play with me??"

Be the Change - Shelter Drive By!

Today I've got a very Hellen-Woodward-centric post.

Dr V. (not our Dr. V, whom you might remember from Abby's oncology visits, but a different Dr. V.) of www.pawcurious.com has teamed up with BlogPaws and the folks at Iams (with their annual "Home 4 the Holidays" campaign) to highlight National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week.

Dr. V. asked that bloggers do a "drive-by" of a local Home 4 The Holidays shelter or rescue and drop off a donation. She said it could be something "as simple as bringing them an old towel from your closet or as complicated as you wish. I like simple. Simple is good and repeatable and easy and is what I will be doing."

So, I did something simple. I gathered up a small bag of some sheets and towels we no longer needed. I also checked Helen Woodward Animal Center's "wish list" page. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know I volunteer at HWAC. They actually started the Home 4 the Holidays campaign. In fact, a certain little girl we know and love was adopted during that campaign:

How could we resist bringing this face home with us?? (Miss that girl...)

Monday Mischief: Underwear Everywhere

Around here, we can't resist an underwear snatching pooch. (If you don't already know what the dog ate, well, he ate some panties that didn't belong to his momma. This is no spoiler, since it's revealed in the opening line of the book: The vet handed Maggie Baxter a plastic specimen bag containing a pair of size-tiny lavender thong panties extracted from her dog; but they were not hers.)

So, of course we fell in love with Ecco, the underwear thief, when we first met him a few months ago. Ecco is the "nawty dawg" with a big heart. His mom contacted me about spreading the word for Ecco's 2012 "Underwear Everywhere" Drive.

The flyer is a bit hard to read on my blog (I couldn't post it full size or it wouldn't fit), but below the image I've typed up the text.

"Please help Ecco, the naughty dog with a big heart, collect NEW socks, hats, gloves and underwear for the 300 plus homeless served by the Union Mission Ministries. Every year, Ecco tries to redeem himself by donating more underwear than he has destroyed over the past year. It's never too late to turn your negatives into positives! Thank you for helping Ecco with his goal of collecting over 1000 pairs of socks and undies! Please send all items to p.o. box below. If you are local (Hampton Roads), we will be happy to provide pick up! Donations can also be made via our web site, www.nawtydawgbigheart.com under the "BIG HEART" tab. Please write "Mission" in the comments to ensure the proper allocation of your gift."

P.O. Box 1007, Smithfield, VA 23430-1007

Rita is, amazingly, the first dog we've had that doesn't steal our undies. It never occurred to me to take a photo of Bailey or Abby scampering around with our undies (probably a good thing), but luckily we have the adorable photo of undie-thief Ecco to enjoy for Monday Mischief.

Is your dog an undie thief?

Happy Monday Mischief!

Just Chew It

The other day on CometDog.com, a site my friend started for "sharing, support & shenanigans" with other dog lovers (and also cat and lizard and any-ol'-pet lovers!), she posted a link to this very informative article from Whole Dog Journal on The Best Rawhide Chews for Your Dog.

Rita is not a destructo-chewer (thank heaven!), but I love to give her something to munch on in the afternoons when she's bored and wants me to stop staring at the box on my desk. Since I normally write in the afternoons, I need to keep her entertained. But I've never been really sure about what's best to give her.

We've tried a few things, starting with bully sticks. You might remember I posted these pics of her enjoying her bully sticks before.

"Give it to me!"

Wordless Wednesday: The Power of Jerky

As you know, we've been in the midst of a backyard renovation project. It had hit a snag (caused by the city, which tried to give me a heart attack from the stress of dealing with them to get our permit, a process that only took about 10 days longer than it should have...), but we are back on track now. This is good news for me and the hubs, but terrible news for Rita, since she HATES the strange men in the yard.

Here she is in typical Cujo-mode when she sees the men out there working (been keeping the blinds down, but as you can see that doesn't really help...):

Yes, her feet are fully off the floor.

Monday Mischief: Playing Dentist

Usually on the weekends, we like to take Rita to Fiesta Island and we go for a long walk with her while she plays with the other dogs and romps in and out of the bay. But, since Mike's double knee surgery, it's too crazy down there for him. (I've seen lots of people - and I've been one of the people - bowled over by charging dogs not watching where they're running.) So, to protect his knees, we've been going to the much calmer Kate Sessions Park, which has a lovely view of the bay.

Technically it's not an off-leash park, but it's got a huge lawn, so there are usually some dogs playing off leash in one corner. Every time we've been there, Rita has found a buddy to play with, like this cute Golden mix pup. She invited him to play "dentist":

"I'm opening as wide as I can. How do they look?"

Frosty Paw Winners!

Just a quick post to announce the winners of the Frosty Paws giveaway!

The lucky folks/pups who have Frosty Paw coupons and the stuffed Frosty dog coming there way are:

"Hello, winners! We're headed your way! Please don't eat us."

1. cstironkat
2. Roxy the traveling dog
3. Danielle M.
4. JO
5. Britt T.
6. Sara M.
7. Micki
8. Peggy F.
9. Kathleen N.
10. Ashley T.

I'll send emails out to get your mailing addresses.

Congrats!

"It tastes like heaven in a cup!"

Rita says it's never too cold to eat a Frosty Paw... but, then, Rita lives in Southern California. No worries if you happen to live somewhere that does get too cold - the coupons are good until the end of next year, Dec. 2013! Thanks again to the folks at Frosty Paws!

A Special Beach Day

Last Wednesday a handful of current/former Tripawd owners met up at Fiesta Island. In attendance, we had Linda & Bernie Bin Laden (siblings to Angel Max), Queen Nova's mom was there (unfortunately, being a Great Dane and all, it was not possible for Nova herself to fit in a carry-on and come along with Mom on her trip out from Michigan), Wookie (the lone Tripawd in attendance), and of course Rita (sister to Angel Abby).

It was a beautiful day - sunny and hot and the water was about as calm as I've ever seen it in the bay.

Linda, Rita & Bernie immediately head for the water.

Rita & Big Bear

Wordless Wednesday: Agility & Jerky

Last Wednesday, when I posted the "in the trenches" shot of Rita in our torn up backyard, commenter Pamela (check out her Something Wagging This Way Comes blog for great info and insights on life with pups) suggested we should think of it as our own agility course. Well, this week we decided to turn it into an even more challenging agility course:

Rita in action on the course!

Monday Mischief: Frosty Mayhem

If you saw my post on Friday, you know we are having a Frosty Paws giveaway (enter and win some Frosty Paws for your pup!). You also remember I put all the stuffed Frosty dogs in the guest bedroom for their safety and comfort. I shut the door behind me, and figured they'd be in there resting and getting ready for their voyages to their new homes.

Well, later that night I was soaking in the tub with a book, and the hubs hears Rita in the back of the house romping around a little too happily. He goes to investigate and finds this:

Look how they're all trying to shield their eyes. Oh, the humanity!

Frosty Paws Giveaway!

October (which is quickly getting away from us) is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. In order to help celebrate this very special month, the folks at Frosty Paws sent me TEN prize packs to give away! The prize packs include a Frosty plush toy (for humans, not for dogs) and two coupons for free boxes of Frosty Paws (for dogs, not humans - although they do look pretty tasty). They come 4 to a box, so that's 8 Frosty Paws for your pup to enjoy! (But not all in one sitting.) Or, if you have a sharing kind of pup, he or she could have an ice cream Frosty Paw social and invite all his/her pals over!

See all the giveaway details below.

"This box is practically as big as me!"

Wordless Wednesday: In The Trenches

...or, in this case, hopefully not in the trenches. The yard project continues and things are at the point where they continue to look worse each day.

Rita wondering where her yard went. (Nice clouds reflected in the window.)

We are hoping we'll soon be at a point where things will start looking better - but that might still be weeks away!

In Other News

1. As I'm writing this, Rita and I just got back from a fun outing with some other current/former Tripawd owners. We had a lovely time at Fiesta Island. I'll do a full on post with pics soon. 
2. I've been waiting to receive a fun package in the mail, which should also be fun for some of the blog readers. Someone is sending me something to share with y'all, so stay tuned for that. 
3. I got another really great review for What the Dog Ate the other day that you can check out here, on a super fun & funny blog called Chronicles of Cardigan. Check out some of her other fun posts while you are there and the pics of her gorgeous Corgis and cats. 

Sometimes I Wish Rita Spoke English!

At least once a week, Rita takes part in this scenario at the beach: A big dog runs up to play, but maybe is a bit too dominant or rough, so Rita gets scared and squeals like the drama queen that she is, when all the big dog wanted to do was play. Invariably, she will later run up and do the exact same thing to a smaller dog. She just wants to play, but she gets so excited that she bops the little dog or chases it too fast, and the next thing you know, she's scared the life out of it and it's telling her off.

Rita flees the big dogs. "Hey! Come back! You said you'd skinny-dip with us!"

Somewhat Wordy Wednesday: Rubble

Today's word on Somewhat Wordless Wednesday is: rubble. Remember those (ugly) stone steps I just photographed Rita on the other day? Well, now they look like this:

Monday Mischief: No Ordinary Rabbit

We are getting ready to have some work done in our backyard, so the other day I was gathering up all the small little animal sculptures that inhabit our yard that I wanted to keep out of harm's way.

Well, moving them all into a pile brought a certain one of them to Rita's attention: the evil bunny.

"What is this thing??"

This little stone bunny has been in our yard the entire time she has lived with us. In fact, she walks past it on her way out the back door several times a day. But she only noticed it once I moved it.

Authors Playing Tag: The Next Big Thing

Last week, Peggy Frezon of Peggy's Pet Place (you remember, Peggy, right - from the Dieting With My Dog book giveaway?) tagged me for a blog feature entitled "The Next Big Thing." This weekly feature, where each author passes the torch on to five others for the following week, is about "The Next Big Thing" that writers are working on, with each author answering the same set of questions. As Peggy said, "What a great way to learn more about an author and discover some new reads." So at the end of my post, I'll tag five writers, so be sure to check them out next week. Thanks again to Peggy for tagging me! 

My next book is definitely a "big thing," to me, because it's been with me, "hounding" me as it were (yes, it's another doggy-related book), for so long now. So, here goes:

Wordless Wednesday: Fall!

I love the fall - this is one time of year that I miss our east coast days. The fall was so great there! But, we really do have fall in San Diego. It's just that we have it in very small amounts. Sometimes you have to look pretty hard for it, but we have a nice little bit of it here on our street:

The neighbor's liquid amber trees. So pretty!

Monday Mischief: The Coyote in the "Window"

Sometimes on Sunday mornings, we like to watch CBS Sunday Morning while we sip our coffees and read the paper. And sometimes the segments are boring (which is why we read the paper while we watch). But there's one segment we always enjoy (and even stop reading the paper to watch): the "Moment in Nature" at the end.

As soon as good ol' Charles Osgood said yesterday morning that they were going to "leave us" with some coyotes in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, I knew Rita would come over to watch, so I grabbed my iPad to record it.

Strange Bedfellows

Sleeping with the Furry Kids
I got an email from my sister this morning, saying that her back was hurting, from her bed and "from having a dog invade my space. She is so twitchy in her sleep that I'm practically on the edge of the bed trying to keep away from her. What's wrong with this picture?"   

It got me thinking about this picture that I'd seen all over Facebook lately:

"Sleeping with Pets: Expectations vs. Reality"

[Photo from: http://9laughs.com/sleeping-with-pets-expectations-vs-reality/]


I think those of us who let our dogs sleep in the bed start out thinking, "Won't this be nice!? Won't it be cozy!" But the reality is usually anything but.

Monday Mischief: Not So Much

Poor Rita! Her Pop had meniscus surgery on both knees on Thursday, so she has not been getting her usual amount of attention. She's been a very good girl through it all, although not shy about letting us know how bored she is. (A lotta heavy sighing going on around here!)

We gave her a bone to try to keep her entertained this afternoon. You can see how put-out she is. (Those are the hubby's knees strapped up to his super-duper ice machine in the foreground.)

"Most boring weekend, evar!"

Wordless Wednesday: Beach!

It's (mostly) Wordless Wednesday time again - and today's word is BEACH!

Rita finally got to go back to Fiesta Island!

Here is her super-excited (although blurry) face on the way there.

Monday Mischief: How Rita Spent Our Vacation

I survived The Gulag
Hi everypawdy - it's me, Rita, again. I know I promised last week to tell you about my time at The Gulag, so here it is. Since it's Mischief Monday, let me just start by saying I didn't really get up to any mischief there. (Well, not too much anyway...) I was a very good girl! (No, it's my pawrents that got up to mischief - after all they left me to go to Maui!)

At The Gulag, they made me go on a diet and I think they drugged me! [Note from Rita's Momma - yes, they did probably give her less calories than we do, but that was a good thing since (1) the vet said she needed to lose a couple of pounds and (2) she was getting less exercise. And, yes, they gave her some benadryl to help keep her quiet since she was on restricted activity for 2 - 3 weeks because of possibly having panoesteitis.]

Here are some pics of what I did there. Mostly I had to work:

I had to guard the gate

Human Shaming: It's the Dogs' Turn

Have you heard of the popular Dog Shaming site? If you are not familiar with this phenomenon, there's a pretty funny video/report about it from CNN here. (Of course, given the opening lines of What the Dog Ate, wherein the main character, Maggie, finds out her dog has eaten her hubby's mistress's panties, this sentence from the report was the one that really caught my eye: "...underwear eating seems to be one of the most common misbehaviors.")

Anyway, the folks at Kol's Notes and My Brown Newfies thought it would be fun to let the dogs have a turn shaming their humans, so they declared today:

Wordless Wednesday: Rita & Ray

Hi everypawdy - it's Rita. My pawrents went to Maui last week and all I got was a trip to The Gulag and this manta ray toy. (Remember I went on that "trial" sleepover to The Gulag, well now I know that "trial" means it's going to happen again!)

Me and my ray, Ray.

What the Dog(s) Ate: Wrenches, Hair Ties & Bras. Oh My.

Did you know there is an annual award for pet x-rays? Well there is! Yes, it's time for the annual Pet X-Ray Contest 2012 Winners! (Also - keep reading for another chance to win a paperback of What the Dog Ate!)

Ciao to My Chow Hound?

What Happened to My Good Eater?
Rita, as far as we know, is a German Shepherd/Beagle mix. Until very recently, her beagle side has really shown through any time there's food in the picture. This was a welcome change (back to what we were used to with our beagle, Bailey) from Abby, who was obsessed with keeping her super-skinny super-model figure.

In related news, we won something again! Yes, AGAIN!

But, about 6 weeks or so ago, a weird thing happened. Suddenly Rita wasn't such a chow hound anymore. You might remember we won a sample of Honest Kitchen and she loved it, so we bought her some and had started mixing it in with her Blue Buffalo kibble. For a couple of weeks, she was all over it, licking her bowl so hard that it would slam up against the wall. But then she just went off of it.

Food! Rachel Ray's Nutrish, from MyBrownNewfies.com

I tried just the kibble. I tried just the Honest Kitchen. She didn't seem to want either one. Around the same time she went off peanut butter, which every dog I've ever known loves. She used to love it herself! The other night we made pizza, and she turned her nose up at the "bones."

The only way I could get her to eat was if I cooked something for her myself and mixed it in with her kibble. So, if we were having chicken, I'd set aside enough for a few meals worth for her and boil it along with some greens and then dice that up with her food. Or I'd do the same with some fish or turkey. I'm not a great cook - but she LOVED it! (It's nice to have someone enthusiatically gobble your cooking!)

This is the Lamb Stew. Rita's intrigued...

As I said, this has been going on for weeks now, and I had been trying to figure out what the heck happened to her appetite. But I finally figured it out! When she got the diagnosis of the panosteitis, one site I looked on said that dogs who have it can become depressed or even anorexic. Well, she'd actually gained some weight from all the laying around and not exercising, so that didn't really make sense to me. But, I started to think, maybe the only reason she didn't become anorexic was because I started trying so hard to vary her meals and mix in some home cooking that she kept eating her meals. Plus, she never went off her treats - I mean, she's not crazy.

Anyway, while I was writing up this post I searched again on panosteitis and, more specifically, whether it affects the appetite - and it does! In fact, the site I found said loss of appetite is usually the first symptom. Now it all makes sense!

Rita Wins Again!
So, winning the Rachel Ray "Naturally Delish" dog food from Jen at the My Brown Newfies blog could not have happened at a better time! Rita loves a little bit of it mixed in with her kibble. (I have to mix it up really good or she eats around the kibble...)

"That was SO yummy!"

I have no idea what this new Rachel Ray food costs, but I think it's available in grocery stores, which is handy, and it also comes in resealable tubs, which is also handy (and way better than dealing with an opened can of food). Plus it's made with no fillers, meat by-products, artificial ingredients or preservatives, plus no corn, wheat or soy, and 100% of the proceeds go to help animals in need. I'd imagine it would be pretty pricey to feed your pup this alone, but it's been great for mixing a bit in with Rita's dinner to get her appetite going again.

So, thanks to My Brown Newfies and thanks to Rachel Ray for the yummy* goodies for Rita.

Hopefully we'll get our ol' chow hound back one of these days!


* I should probably say "yummo" instead of "yummy", as a nod to Rachel Ray since that's what she always says... but my bro is not a big fan of Ms. Ray,** so I'll stick with yummy. Or I'm also partial to yumma.

**My bro is a great cook and therefore watches the cooking channel a lot. I think he doesn't like her because she is so darn chipper. Chipper is not really a word that would ever come to mind if you were looking for a one-word description of my bro. Plus, I'd say his cooking style is more Alton Brown than Rachel Ray, so he's just not into the whole 30 Minute Meal thing - he wants to make the 8 to 10 Hour Meal. Seriously. He needs his own cooking show. We keep telling him he should pitch it to the Food Network - we even have the title already: "The Surly Chef". There'd be none of that constant patter. Instead he'd just cook and occasionally explain something. If the cameraman got in his way, they'd have to bleep out a lot of expletives. (Even if the cameraman didn't get in his way they'd probably have to bleep out a lot of expletives...) But the food would be amazing!

Monday Mischief: Quiet Mischief??

Have you ever had to keep a puppy quiet? It's not easy! Even though Rita is maturing a bit and now at the ripe old age of about 14 months, she's still very active. Yes, she's way more mellow than crazy Abby was - but she's still far from a couch potato. She wants to run and play like every other normal puppy does!

Even before we found out that she has panosteitis and that we need to keep her quiet for 2-3 weeks, we were already trying to do that since she'd been limping on and off. On the days when we were avoiding walks and vigorous play, we tried doing some training and some very gentle inside play, but it wasn't enough to tire her out. So I got the idea to order a Tug-A-Jug. I have a friend that uses one with her dog and he loves it, and I hoped Rita would too.

Basically, as you can see, it's big plastic jug that you fill with little treats or kibble and then the rope toy that's knotted down inside acts as a barrier to getting the treats out without some effort.

On Amazon, the marketing blurb calls it "the ultimate interactive toy!" and says it has "multi-sensory appeal," stimulating your dog's "sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste." What other toy hits all five senses - except maybe a live gopher! (That part's not in the marketing blurb - I added that bit myself.)

Sleepovers are Exhausting

Recently, Rita went for a trial sleepover at my sister's house (aka The Gulag - where they have actual rules that dogs must abide by!).

It's a dilemma, isn't it? Wondering and worrying about what you're going to do with your pup if you go away on vacation or for work.

My sis and I have been trading dog-sitting duties for a long time now, which used to be no big deal back when we had Bailey, who was close in age and temperament to their corgi, Lou. But now that we keep insisting on getting these darn puppies, and since Lou has become a distinguished older gentleman, well, it's a little more complicated.

Abby used to pester Lou relentlessly trying to get him to play with her - and driving him into a state of...let's call it extreme dismay. So we decided on a trial run with Rita, so see if she'd be an improvement in Lou's books over Abby.

This was the first time since we got Rita back in January that we'd be away from her for a night. And she looked a little concerned when Momma left.

"Wh-where are you going, Momma?"

Wordless Wednesday: Treats?

Rita got a new name tag:

In case you can't see it that well, it says "Insert Treat" with an arrow pointing up at her adorable little hungry face. (We got it from Dog Tag Art; they have a lot of fun options!)

Cute, eh? Of course, we ordered it before we found out that she has panosteitis and needs to lose a few pounds, so we might have to ease up on inserting the treats. I'm pretty sure no matter what, she'll still manage to wheedle some treats out of us! Rita says, "Dieting bites!"

Monday Mischief: Being Nosy

Is this mischief (being NOSY), or is she just trying to be helpful? 

The other day I potted some plants and, of course, Rita had to come stick her nose into what I was doing. She's always got to be RIGHT THERE next to me, checking out whatever I'm doing.

"What are you doing, Momma?"

Update on a Limping Puppy

I don't normally blog on the weekends, but we just got back from the vet, and I figured this was the easiest way to update everyone at once who loves little Senorita Rita. Don't worry - it's not scary news. But it does involve the words "bone disease."

As many of you know, Rita has been limping on off for about a month now. We'd been taking it easy on and off - skipping trips to the beach and foregoing our usual long walks - and then the limp would go away so we'd go back to normal.

This past Monday after a particularly crazed wrestling match at Fiesta Island, she started limping really badly. We took it easy all week (no walks on Tues or Wed, and only short trips around the block on Thur and Fri), and she seemed fine again. But then last night she was definitely limping again, seemingly for no reason. So, this morning we were off to the vet.

What's In a Name?

Today's post was inspired by Dakota's Den's post on How Did You Name Your Dog.

Dakota's Mom shared this very fun graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365. {Click here to view Matt's full post.}



Who knew that George Washington had so many dogs? (I assume not all at one time...) And both G.W. and Queen Elizabeth had dogs named Vulcan?? What's up with that? (And doesn't that seem like sort of an imposing name for a cute little corgi?)

Anyway, I thought I'd share the story of how our pups got their names:

Bailey was named after Bailey's Bay, which was near where we lived in Bermuda. We thought we were being so unique and original! But suddenly there were Baileys everywhere, because there was a popular character on... I forget... a show we didn't watch so we had no idea. Maybe 90210? Something like that...

Abby's full name was Abby Louise, because that used all the letters in Bailey's name. Awww. Miss that girl!

Rita was named after Rosarita Beach, the beach in Baja Mexico where the rescue group found her. When she came to us, her name was Peaches. (Which was a funny coincidence, because there is a minor dog character in What the Dog Ate named Peaches.) Anyway, Mike makes a mean peach margarita, so in addition to being named after the beach, she’s also named after peach margaritas.

A pearl in the poppies

After reading Dakota's mom's post about how she found that Dakota means “trusted friend,” I decided to look up what Rita means: “Pearl.” This is another funny coincidence, because I joked with Mike when we were trying to come up with Abby's name that I wanted to name her Pearl so that I could be “Mother of Pearl.” (I know - I'm a dork.)

I guess we picked the right name for Rita, as she is definitely our special gem!

How did your pup get his/her name?


Very Brief Book/Writing News
In book news, I got another nice review on Chick Lit Central. Also, I had another idea for a book that I like and think could be a lot of fun to write - so I'm now working on three, yes three, different books at one time. And making myself crazy(er). Going to try to focus and finish one!!

Wordless Wednesday: I Gotta Wear Shades

That's right - Rita's future is so bright, she's gotta wear shades. (Okay, really it's just cuz she likes to hang her head out the window...)

Remember last Wednesday when I posted pics of Rita sporting her Doggles? Well, Sunday was the first time we actually remembered to try them in the car:

"I know it's cute, but must I wear them?"

Monday Mischief: Scavenging!

This Monday Mischief is actually mostly about me and some mischief Mike's admin asked me to join in - but Rita benefited from the mischief as well!

Last week I participated in a scavenger hunt that was a team-building event for my hub's Finance department at work. The hub's admin was the one who invited me to be one of the "things" they scavenged for, so he didn't know I'd be there.

The hunt took place in downtown La Jolla, full of nice restaurants and shops and always bustling on a Friday afternoon - especially in the summer. I was told to hang out reading What the Dog Ate on the bench outside Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. There were 6 teams, and even though the hunt was to last all afternoon, they were told that my particular clue was only good from 2 to 3 (so I didn't have to sit there forever).

The clue was something like: "The dog ate my homework" is one of the most common excuses in America. Stop by this 3000 mile mountain range for a sweet treat, where you'll find a La Jolla author who can tell you what else the dog ate.

When I got there, the bench I was supposed to sit on was otherwise ocupied by a homeless guy. Luckily there was a tiny little wall about 6 inches off the ground in front of the shop, so I sat on that and pulled out my book and tried to make the cover obvious.

What's Better Than a Good Book?...

...A FREE good book!

It's time to announce the winner of my giveaway of Peggy Frezon's Dieting With My Dog, and the winner is... Danielle Murgia! (Yep, that's right... If you checked Peggy's blog this morning to see who won What the Dog Ate, the same lucky lady won both books! What are the odds? But Rafflecopter is totally random, so, it's just Danielle's lucky day. Maybe she should pick up a lottery ticket today!) 

I'll email you shortly, Daneille, to get your address. Congrats on the double win!

Speaking of being lucky... I won two books myself this week! 

Wordless Wednesday: Lovely Rita

For this week's (mostly) Wordless Wednesday, I figured we'd focus on the cuteness of Rita. (And, okay, I admit... there's some book-related wordiness at the end.) But mostly, there are a LOT of cute pics - and even a painting! - of Rita:

"This is cute enough, right? We can stop now, right?"

Monday Mischief: UnbreakOBall & Monkeybutts

It's Monday Mischief time again, so this week we've got a video of Rita being mischievous with another little something that we won. Yes, we won something again! We've been so lucky lately! Remember a while back I posted about the UnbreakOBall contest and encouraged folks to enter? And remember I included the link to my entry for Abby versus Barney, which Liz from the Indestructible Dog Gear blog turned into: "The Tale of Abby & Barney: A Love Story"? Well, Abby was named the "Indestructible Dog of the Month" for July (whoohoo!) so Rita received an UnbreakOBall in Abby's memory.

"More mail for me??"

Dieting With My Dog - Giveaway!

One of the really great things about publishing my book has been meeting other writers - like Peggy Frezon, author and dog columnist. So, today I wanted to introduce you to Peggy and her book, Dieting with my Dog: One Busy Life, Two Full Figures…and Unconditional Love.

My copy is on its way, so I haven't read it yet, but the book tells "the honest and heartfelt story of one overweight woman and her chubby spaniel, struggling to lose weight together. Their wonderful results will inspire anyone who wants to get fit and healthy…with their furry best friend."

“Peggy Frezon has written a charming and delightful tale. Dieting With My Dog is sweet, funny, inspiring and adorable, just like Peggy and Kelly!”

–Julie Klam, bestselling author You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness

Post Olympics Blues

Now that the Olympics are over, we have the post Olympics blues... We have had to resort to entertaining ourselves with our own sporting events around here - like Pancake Catching, Puppy Pouncing, Open Water Swimming, and the Sweet Potato Chase.

Open Water Swimming 
Remember last week I posted about Rita's first swim, and how we didn't have our camera? Well, this past weekend I remembered to bring my iPod Nano along, so we caught some videos of her in the act. (Luckily we went both days of the weekend, as the video from the first day was mostly of the hub's finger...)

So, here she is, our own little Rita Lochte: (it just occurred to me that Ryan has the word for "lake" in his name; he must have been destined to be a swimmer.) Note - please ignore my high-pitched squeaky voice in this video. She was probably trying to swim out to hold me underwater to make the squeaking stop....

Pancake Catching Fail

Hi all - Rita here. Today it's time for Monday Mischief. Momma thinks I am a good girl, so she doesn't really think I get up to much mischief. (She's soooo wrong!)

Momma made this video of me yesterday -- it's supposed to be a game of catch with Momma using pieces of a leftover pancake from their breakfast to get me to learn to catch. (You can't really hear the sound very good - but it's mostly just Momma saying "Are you ready?" and then laughing at me. Nice, Momma. Real nice.)

The Kona Interview

Today I'm very excited to have Kona here for an interview. Kona doesn't get to have his say in the What the Dog Ate, so it was nice to sit down and chat with him and see what makes the big guy tick. So, let's get started.

Q. Hi Kona. Welcome to the blog. Let's start with some basics. What breed of dog are you?

A. I’m a chocolate Lab. I am very handsome. My Momma says so.

Q. Are you a purebred dog?

A. No. Why would you ask that? Do I look doughy? Are you suggesting I'm a flabrador? I think I’m kind of muscle-y. I mean, I’m not pure muscle, but I have a lot of muscle. I do have some doughy parts, but man. Pure bread. I like bread, don’t get me wrong, but that just seems like a mean question. [Looks down and shakes head.] [Muttering] If this is how this interview is going to be, I'm outta here. I thought this was going to be a puff piece. Man, talk about hard-hitting questions.

Q. No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re very muscular! [Kona sits up and smiles.] I meant, you know – where did you come from. Do you have papers?

A. [Tilts head.] Papers? You mean like the papers you pee on? I haven't done that since I was a puppy. Geez. What is this??

One-Word Wednesday: Pounce!

It's Wordless, or as I prefer to call it, One-Word Wednesday again, so I give you this photo of Rita:

If you've been around here a while, does this remind you of anypawdy?

Puddle-Plopping Pleases Puppy

It's Monday Mischief time and this morning Rita's mischievous idea was to plop down in a puddle on our muggy morning walk. Swell. The girl can sniff out a puddle at 50 paces. She finds puddles that I don't even notice and suddenly plops down or pounces with her front legs into them. And the muddier the better! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera, but fortunately, she dried off before we got home.

Awww. Every hike needs a stream!