See Beautiful: Volcanic Edition

A couple of weeks ago when I posted about the hubs swimming with an Iron Dog, I mentioned we'd gone to the Big Island for my Big Birthday. Today I thought I'd share some of the beauty of Hawaii with you!

We spent a few days in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and it was amazing! (It would have been even more amazing if the rain had let up a little more often.)

Here's a picture of the Kīlauea crater during the day (during a rare break from the rain!).

A Tribute To A Cancer-Fighting Warrior

I have some sad news to share.

Last week we lost a cancer-fighting hero - Charley, the chocolate Lab.

Photo courtesy of Ellen Venturella-Wilson

A Late Thank-You - With Random Stuff About Hot Dogs

I owe two fabulous bloggers a thank-you! And it's overdue for both of them!

We got some awards!

Yard-Saling Dogs - On the Sell Side

Remember when I posted about yard-saling dogs last month? Well, last time the dogs were on the buying side, but this time they were on the selling side.

My sisters and I met up last weekend to hit my one sis's 'hood's annual garage sales event. It was a lot of fun, and there were a lot of cute dogs.

This little girl was selling cute, and she was selling it hard! (And I am always in the market for cute!)

The Shortest Path To Treats

With our 2 previous dogs, they never wanted their walks to end. Bailey would dawdle along, sniffing and exploring for ages if'd you let her. Abby, who we used to always take to the bay, would dance out into the water just out of reach when it was time to get in the car and go home.

Abby evades capture just out of reach in the water

So with Rita, I taught her that getting home from a walk was a good thing by giving her a treat when we get home.

And now of course she wants to race home!

Swimming With An IronDog

Two weeks ago, the hubs and I went to visit the island of Hawaii for the first time. (We decided to go to the Big Island to celebrate my recent Big Birthday! I'm hoping to share some pics of our trip on the next See Beautiful hop!)

While we were in Kona, my IronGuy wanted to swim the course used for the Hawaii Ironman.*

My Dog Loves Life! #FuelTheCure

Today I'm joining Oz the Terrier and Sugar the Golden Retriever who are hosting the "Loving Life Contest and Fundraiser" along with Zuke's treats to support the Dog and Cat Cancer Fund!

You know that (unfortunately) dog cancer is an issue that Pooch Smooches is passionate about, so I was happy I remembered to participate, because for each blog post in the hop Zuke's will donate $5 to DCCF!

You can join in too - but time is running out as the contest/hop ends May 22. All you need to do is create a post showing your pet loving life and include #FuelTheCure in the title. (Complete rules and info for the contest are here on Oz's site.)

We're also happy to participate because Rita LOVES Zuke's tasty treats and I love that they donate a portion of their sales to DCCF, which helps pet parents afford cancer treatments for their sick furry family members.

So, in the spirit of the hop, here are some pics of Rita loving life and doing some of her favorite things!

Rita loves to go on walks...

Less-Wordy Wednesday: Rita Refutes the "Lazy" Label

Rita was miffed that I called her "lazy" in my post last week. She insisted that I "roll tape" to show how crazy she gets over her Unbreakoball. (We'll get to the tape in a minute, Rita!)

Ages ago (probably before most of you found PoochSmooches), Rita won an Unbreakoball. She LOVES it. I don't know why she gets so nutty over this toy! It's like nothing else we own.

I don't bring it out often because it's hard plastic and a bit scratched up, so that plus hardwood floors is not a great combo. And she can't play with it in our yard because we live on a super steep slope, and if it rolls off the deck, it's a goner.

But I got it out the other day and she immediately went nuts.

These pics are all a blur cuz she runs by so fast with her prized possession.

Cracks me up how she hooks a tooth in to carry it around.

Monday Mischief: Paws and Pints!

Okay, you know the hubs and I love dogs.

Our Dog is Lazy: Recumbent Fetch & Another Inventive Game for Lazy Dogs

We are coming to grips with the fact that our dog is lazy.

I've mentioned before that Rita's not really that into playing fetch. Oh, she'll run after the ball/toy a time or two, but then she just takes it to her bed.

Wordless Wednesday: The Right End and the Wrong End

Recently, when Reggie came to stay with us for a couple of nights, the pups had one half of the couch, and I had the other.

I ended up next to the, er, wrong end of the Reg.

Monday Mischief: Our Dog's a Drama Queen

This past weekend, the hubs and I went away for one night, so my sis came and dog-sat Rita for us. 

After some initial barking when my sis let herself in the house, she was greeted with two kisses from Rita. (Rita is VERY stingy with kisses so getting two is a big deal.)

Once Rita got over being happy that it was her auntie who came in and not a burglar, she started waiting for Momma to come home.

Rita camped out by the garage door

Less Wordy Wednesday: Yard-Saling Dogs

This weekend my sis and I helped our other sis with her yard sale. No, we weren't selling dogs, but many cute pups stopped by to shop! They all seemed to be shopping for the same thing!

This is Lady. She didn't get out the car. Just did a drive-by to see if we had cookies.

No Mischief at Grandma's -- Well, Maybe a Little

My mom has a collection of teddy bears. But Rita never tries to snag the ones that aren't "hers."

My mom has one little lavender-colored, bean-filled bear that Rita is allowed to play with. It sits on a little stool in my mom's bedroom, and Rita runs to get it first thing when we go visit Grandma. It always makes us laugh when she runs to get it right away, like it's the whole reason we're there!

Less-Wordy Wednesday: Sporting Dogs

Usually sporting dogs are the hunting breeds... but not at our house. 

Oh, Rita does like to hunt a squirrel or dead gopher every now and then, but she's more of a Pawdres ball girl:

"SD... Does that stand for Super Dog?"

More Hiking Mischief

Last week I blogged about our hike with Rita in Marian Bear Canyon in San Diego and the mischief therein. Well, this weekend, we went back, only headed west instead of east like last time.

We saw lots of pretty flowers (or weeds?) growing like crazy. 

There were these tall yellow things growing everywhere. They looked really pretty along the hillside. You can see how tall they are in this pic because they are growing up over the hubs' head and he's 6'2".

Wordless Wednesday: Caption Rita and Reg

Rita and Reggie had a very fun play date today. Can you caption these cute pups?

Hiking San Diego's Canyons With Your Dog: Hiking Mischief

One of the many things I really like about San Diego is the canyon parklands which run through the 'burbs (and even quite close to downtown). Although the canyons can be a bit scary at times (like fire season...) they are great for going on a nice hike and feeling like you've gotten out in nature, even though you might be hiking right along a freeway.

Check out the link above for a list of all the canyon parklands and maps of each.

You'd never know we're hiking right next to a freeway!

Perfect Present Pairs a Pup and a Paperback

You guys! My dear, sweet friend (and fellow author) Kathleen Irene Paterka (by the way... check out her books!) sent me the sweetest present!

And it's so perfect for me! A dog reading a book!! I mean, could that be any more perfect??

My Dog's So Weird: Miss Sniff

Instead of Mischief Monday, today we have Miss Sniff Monday.

Rita has some funny habits, and this is one of her more amusing ones. Every morning, when I get dressed, as soon as she hears the rustling of the fabric of my clothes, she comes running to sniff my pants.

If I'm putting on yoga pants or shorts, she's pretty sure she's getting a walk and her tail starts wagging.

Me, getting my shorts ready to put on

Hiking at Wildlands Conservancy With Your Dog

For less-wordy Wednesday, I thought I'd share some photos from a little getaway trip we did last week. We went to Desert Hot Springs/Palm Springs for a few days and did three days of hiking on some of The Wildlands Conservancy trails.

One day we went to the Mission Creek Preserve:

My Dog's So Weird: Breakfast Mischief (And... A New Title)

Rita has some very odd habits.

Here's one that's been surfacing lately - she doesn't want to eat her breakfast.

Dinner, she'll snarf down in two minutes flat. But breakfast? She'll often sleep until 9, get up to go outside quickly, and then go back to bed.

Less Wordy Wednesday: An Update on Adorable Adoptable Pups

Ages ago (siriusly... ages - it was way back last June...), I posted 2 pics of buddies Gus and Ricky, who were up for adoption at Helen Woodward Animal Center where I volunteer. I asked you guys to come up with captions and (some of) you guys came through! 

From Amy at Terra Toby: Bus: "Right here?"
Ricky: "A little lower…to the left…ahhh right there!"

Off The Wall Mischief

About once a week, I try to get Rita over to her BFF's house for a playdate.  They play like crazy, and then we all go for a nice long walk.

I've shared a photo of her BFF before - she's a boxer named Dakota. She will kiss you with that big ol' tongue if you let her.

Wordless Wednesday: A Photo Flashback

I shared this recently on my Facebook author page, but thought I'd share it here as well.

As far as I know, this is the first known photo of me with a dog: (sorry about the quality - I just took a pic of the original with my phone)