Happy Mutts Day!

July 31 has been designated as Mutt’s Day… because every dog has its day.  Mutt’s Day is the  celebration of companionship, loyalty and love of a canine even though it doesnt have papers or a fancy pedigree.

We all watch the Crufts or Westminster  Dog shows on tv.  The gorgeous carefully breed and groomed dogs gliding through the ring making their owners and sponsors proud.  Then we look over and see our own dog, the one we picked up from a local shelter, got from the paper “free to good home” or found wandering the streets because their owner dropped them off in the middle of no where under the cover of darkness. The Mutt.  Our dog is sprawled out on the floor, legs spread and in the air and snoring loud enough to drown out a Boeing 747 ramping up for take off.  Not very dignified like those Westminster dogs…

But that mutt is our constant companion.  The one we tell our secrets to, share our good times and bad.  The one that hangs on every word we say and thinks we hang the moon and stars.  Our best friend.

Moxie is a beautiful 9 year old Border Collie/Australian Cattle Dog

We are celebrating today with Moxie, a 9 year old Border Collie/Australian Cattle Dog.  She is the winner of a photo contest I sponsored on my favorite forum www.Ruffdogs.co.uk.  We put out a call for all “mutts” on the board to post pictures and the forum members voted to decide who would be crowned Mutt Day queen or king.  Our Buddy Moxie was the resounding winner of a feature spot on my blog and a $20 Petsmart Gift Card. You can read more about Moxie on her Blog - A Dog About Town.

Ever wonder why your dog whimpers and whines in his sleep? Could they possibly be dreaming? Absolutely. I think Non Sequitur by Wiley has hit the nail on the head with this one.

I ended up at the mall today.  Not my favorite place, but it was a family affair.  I ran by one of my favorite boutiques Moochie and Co and low and behold they had the coveted XL doggles.  Doggles has seen fit to discontinue the XL size of their cool shades and (they are quite difficult to find) Moochie and Co put them in the clearance bin at 50% off.  WHOO HOO for me!  I got them for under $10.00!  They dont seem to mind them one bit and can actually open their eyes

We hit another dog park this morning as well.  I will be posting pictures tomorrow after I sort and site them.

No, I am not having a baby nor am I getting another dog…. LOL So with out further ado, our big news…

Apollo and Hera will be making their ULTIMATE AIR DOGS splash debut in Bristol, Tennessee on August 21st for the Bristol Family Day Event at the Bristol Motor Speedway.  This jumping exhibition will be part of “Race Week” festivities culminating in the Sharpie 500 NASCAR race!

We are so excited and will be jumping in all the splashes that day.  The next event we are scheduled for is the Van Wert County Fair the following weekend.  The County Fair Event is two days long and we will be able to earn points towards our UAD titles and if I get their UKC registraton numbers before hand towards their UKC titles as well.

Since Apollo is registerd with the AKC he will be able to apply for a SINGLE REGISTRATION at the UKC (United Kennel Club). Since Hera was a stray and we do not have her lineage she will be able to apply for a LIMITED PRIVLEDGE REGISTRATION with the UKC so she can still participate and earn points in UKC sanctioned events.

Registration numbers and “papers” have never really meant a whole lot to me.  Since more than half of my pack came to me as rescue and I have done so much rescue it always seemed hypocritical to me to be concerned over pedigree.  I got what I got, people left over trash and that was just how it is.  I feel torn over getting them registered.  Having a number or a piece of paper doesn’t change how much I love them or how special they are to me.  It doesn’t change the way I treat them or talk about them or how I “see” them.  It’s only a piece of paper filed away in my filing cabinet, gathering dust because I have never had any intention of breeding them.

I guess I really need to think about whether I want to jump them “seriously” or just for fun. What would you do?

Either way, I think it’s going to be an absolute blast and I can’t wait to go!

SIDE NOTE- I had to add a captcha to my blog.. I swore I never would, but the spammers have gone to town and absolutely bomb-barded me.  It was seriously effecting server load.  Sorry for any inconvenience it may cause.

A friend of mine from Norway sent this to me and I absolutely died laughing.  I dont know who created it, I wish I knew so I could credit them.  I tried googling, but well, use your imagination for what I found.. it certainly wasn’t this!

Apollo got another bath last night and I finally got the smell off of him.  I am thinking it may have rolled in a spot where a skunk had sprayed something… not a fresh spray so it wasn’t impossible to get off.  It really smelled!  And it was the same smell I remember from the Skunk Fest of ‘06 when Brutus and Rufus took several direct shots right in the face (insert puking unsmiling face here).  The carpet under my desk smells like it still too… UGGGG  I have lit a candle and fabreezed the heck out of it.  I am sooo getting my carpets cleaned next week!

Oh a wonderful note… We received the coveted Brillante award from our new friend Jedi.  What a cool Name!  Thanks Jedi I have been wanting that award for like 6 months!  I’ll pass on the award shortly. We also recieved another Arte-de-Pico Award from Kaos.  Thank you very much!  How you find time to read blogs right now with you big move shows dedication!

No Bark Park this weekend its her weekend to herself… I think anyone that graciously opens her home 3 Saturday’s a month for 6 months a year for the last 8 years deserves a few days off to herself!  Bark Park has donated $950,000.00 to local rescues and humane organizations in the last 8 years.  Wow!  You are amazing Marcia.

We will have a big announcement tomorrow… so don’t forget to check-in for the news!

I set out on a new adventure today.  Behind my house is a grove of trees with a stream running through it.  Its sort of hard to get to and you have to go through a ton of brush and thorn bushes and trees.  I took Brutus over there first and I couldn’t figure out how to get him down into the stream so we just walked down the path they mowed out through the grass and weeds. I had him on a 25 foot lead so he had a little freedom.  We walked down to the soccer fields and in the trees.  Wouldn’t you know I had my camera but left my darn CF media card in the reader at home….grrr so no pictures but Brutie had fun exploring..

I took him home suited up in my wellies and took Apollo and Zeus down to the stream in a different spot and found an easier access down to the stream although I still had to traipse through alot of brush etc to get there.  This afternoon I may take Rufus down there so he can get in the water.

I read somewhere that back before the farmers settled Ohio a squirl could make it from one side of Ohio to the other with out ever touching the ground.  This is the raw Ohio.  It was gorgeous down there and calm and quite.

We waded and the boys swam in the little pools and had a good old time. There were a bunch of deer tracks heading to and back out of the water. Of course Zeus rolled in deer urine and stinks now. I tried to get around one of the pools because it was too deep for me to walk through with my camera and i got stuck in the mud and went down! Luckily I had the presence of mind to lift my camera in the air. OMG it stunk and was nasty! I had to come home because I couldnt stand to smell myself anymore… blech.OMG The boys stunk too so a quick dip in the pool and baths for all 3 of us.

The boys checking out the retention pond on the way back

Zeus and Apollo accompanied to pick up dinner last night and on the spur of the moment I decided to take them to one of the free public dog parks near my house.  Its one we have been to once before early in the spring when the ground was still a muddy mess.  The park is alot closer to my house than I remember… Surprisingly there were a bunch of dogs there this evening playing.  Everyone was very well behaved and it was a very nice visit.  There’s no water and it is quite small compared to bark park but it was clean and everyone was nice.  Of course the park goers sized me up as the boys poop’ed not long after they got in the actual park.  I had my trusty poo bags and immediately cleaned it up.  I swear you could hear an audible, collective sigh of relief.  There must be a problem with irresponsible pet owners there.

This young black dane followed Apollo everywhere… he was his big giant shadow

Zeus seems quite happy with his good fortune, a trip to the park

Apollo is tuckered out and happy as a clam

On the way out I saw a lady squatting down watching across the street into a parking lot.  There was alot of shouting and frenzied barking.  I figured someone from the park had lost control of their dog but when I made my way down the path a bit further I could see 3 police cruisers and a man on the ground.  By this time many of the park goers were clammering against the fence, concerned as to what was going on.  The lady kneeling down didn’t want to go to her car.

I strained harder for a look and low and behold the man on the ground was wearing a protective suit.  The police and k-9 were doing a shutzhound training exercise and had staged a “traffic stop gone array” in the parking lot.  It was amazing.  The dog was brilliant, so well trained and when his handler gave the stop command he stopped his frenzied barking and returned to the handler’s side and sat.  I explained to a few of the concerned park goers what was happening and they were quite relieved and went back to playing.  Certainly not a sight you see every day.

We had so much fun last night (and I felt guilty that Hera didn’t get to go) that I went back today around noon with Apollo and Hera.  It was nice and cool and there was a wonderful breeze.  There were only a couple of other dogs there but they made fast friends and had a blast playing with the Kong Wubba, soft floppy flyer and airdog bumper I packed in my park bag. Of course Hera had to get into the only water bucket at the park for a dip.  Silly girl!

I have added several other pictures including pictures of our park buddies to the galleries HERE and HERE.

After we went to Bark Park on Saturday we stopped in at Mutts and Co to get the cool water bottle that Courtney has for Jack and Greta.  We bought a 24-oz “Jumbo” Guardian Pets Handi-Drink kit.  (We paid $13.50 for it but after looking around we got jipped big time)  They have them for $8.99 on Doctors Foster and Smith. It is cool though and the dogs will dring out it with out any hassel.  I can fill the bottle and freeze it before we got to the park and they will have ice cold water to drink.

But…………. While I was there……. I got 2 pairs of Doggles! I have always wanted Doggles for the Dogs… I have seen several dogs wearing them in pictures but never any in actual real life. They had 2 pairs on clearance for $14.99 and I just couldn’t resist.  Apollo and Zeus looked so cool in them!  I got a pair of Large for Apollo and a Medium for Zeus, but they didn’t have any XL’s.  I was hoping the Larges would fit on Brutus and Rufus, they don’t!  I tried them on them and they are so tight they can’t open their eyes… its hysterical.  They did graciously allow me to take some humiliating pictures of them… lol  (Drs Foster and Smith has them in their catalog for $14.99 - all sizes, I’m very tempted)

I think this says it all!

CHA CHA CHA……

Sami and Baylee AND George sent us a fabulous Arte-y-Pico-Award! Thanks guys we really appreciate it!

The Rules for Passing on the Award:

1. Pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for creativity, design, and interesting material and also contribute to the blogger community regardless of language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given him/her the award itself.
4. Award winners and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the Arte-y-Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of the award. http://arteypico.blogspot.com/
5. In compliance with said rules, the award winner must show these rules.

Its so hard to decide who to pass this award to.  There are so many deserving blogs that I read.  I pass the Arte-y-Pico Torch to Dot, Zen, Zoe, Quay, and Dylan.

It never fails.  I pick up the dogs’ toys and no sooner do I turn around, the toybox has exploded again.  My living room looks like a preschool right before lunch when the kids have left a path of destruction and pile of toys in their wake. I am picking up toys constantly.  It is seriously worse than when my son was little.  Now granted there are 6 of them and only one of him, but geez!

I have noone but myself to blame.  I never taught them to pick up after themselves and I keep buying toys, and buying them and buying them! Its so hard not to when I love stuffed animals and they bring such joy to the dogs for such cheap price. Why this week alone we had several new additions.  I ordered a box full from the K-9 Cuisine and they showed up on Friday.  We got a Goose Migrator, Flea, Hedgehog, 2 more plush stick buddies - this time the cow and the moose, (the dog we got back in April is still going stong) and a couple of gifts for our friend Moxie in Texas (ssshhhh I cant say what they are though and it won’t be a surprise).

Flea is a HUGE hit.  Apollo carries it around everywhere and when he doesnt have it, Zeus snatches it up.

The Hedgehog didn’t last more than 30 seconds before his nose was ripped off By Hera and Eris (grrr those girls!).  Good thing I had the stuffy suture kit to give Hedgie a facelift. He actually looks like Brutus Buckeye now. So far, so good.

Lambie came from Pet People last week along with the GoDog PinkBaby Dragon.  We arleady had the blue baby dragon and they always pull it out of the box and play with it so we figured we’d get the pink one too.  It’s a hit and there is a yellow one too that I might have to pick up next time I am there.

You can see Rufus LOVES Lambie and it is now his favorite..

I’ve had to do surgery on 3 toys this week.  I was lucky I caught the destruction in time for them to be saved or they would have ended up being sent to Licked Toys for a proper tribute in the toy graveyard and for the world to see our shame.

It was a HOT HOT HOT one today.  We got to the park when it opened at 10:00am and within 20 minutes several of the dogs there had enough.  I can’t say I can blame them.  It was 90°F at 10am and the temps quickly rose to scorching levels (we are all light weights in Ohio, not used to this heat).  My dogs however hit the water right off the bat and were happy as larks.

There were alot of dogs early on but the crowd thinned out pretty quickly as it got hotter and hotter.  Jack and Greta were the only big dogs that showed up.  Misty and Gabby the Newf’s couldn’t make it (we hope their mommy is feeling better ) and we knew not to expect them.

There were several scuffles, nothing major and no dog got hurt.  I think the heat just got to everyone and made everyone snarky.  Of course my kiddos were good little Labradors and weren’t involved in any of the unpleasantness.  They just wanted to have fun and act silly.

The Three stooges decided they were tired and hot and needed to go home and rest.  I think I actually decided that but they were more than willing to go to the air conditioned car.

Make sure you visit the Gallery for today’s Bark Park Visit to see lots more pictures of us and of our buddies at the park.

Hopefully you will notice a quicker load time for the site.  I adjusted the number of entries that show up and I have noticed it loads quicker for me at least.   Also, in case you are wondering, Rufus is doing much better today.  After I trimmed the hanging pad skin he is in alot less pain and is no longer hobbling.  He still favors his paw just a bit outside on the pool decking but no where near what it has been like the past few days.  Thank you for all the well wishes - the good vibes are paying off and he is well on his way to being “back to normal”

NEXT BARK PARK IS IN 2 WEEKS ON AUGUST 2nd.

Baylee the Saint Bernard tagged Rufus, thanks Baylee! I guess inquiring minds want to know a little more about the big Rufmeister.

• What is your name?  Rufus (I dont have a fancy name)
• If you could change your name, what would it be? Rufus von Dufuspants (hehehe)
• What is your pet’s name (it can be a webkinz or a real pet)?  I guess that would have to be a stuffie we call Lambie.  That is his favorite toy.
• If you could change your pet’s name what would it be? The green-eyed Monster. He cant stand it when another dog is getting attention.. he will shove his way right up to the front of the dog pile to mooch the attention.
• What is your brother or sister’s name?  Well, his REAL brother is his litter mate Brutus.  He also has pack mates Apollo, Zeus, Eris and Hera and a skin brother Z.
• If you could change their name, what would it be? Nero.  So he and his brother would be Brutus and Nero like Madame Medusa’s crocodiles on Disney’s The Rescuers.  I came “this” close to changing it when I adopted him.

I have to tag as many people (or critters) as letters in my new name! That’t NERO, so 4.  I choose:

Cheslea the Dane, Whimsey the Bloodhound, Willow the Dane, and last but not least Charlie Daniels from Down Under

The pool has claimed yet another victim.  This time its the star of “the big splash” Rufus.  I noticed two days ago (when the video was shot) that Rufus had started limping a little. Of course I became very concerned that he hurt his shoulder jumping in and that it was my fault for encouraging him.  I gave him a buffered aspirin and sent him to bed.

Yesterday he played and swam in the pool, chased the labs around but no jumping.  We were all exhausted and took a nap.  He limped a little going outside but once he got out there he could hardly walk.  OMG what have I done…  back in the house we go and massage his leg and shoulder.  I can’t find any tender areas but he’s still limping and feeling quite sorry for himself.  Another buffered aspirin down the hatch and I am resigned to the fact that a $$ vet visit is in store. While watching tv he climbs up in my lap (yes he thinks hes a lap dog along with all the others) and I am rubbing him and I touch his paw.  He pulls it back and whimpers…. hmmmm could this be what the problem is? Upon inspection I find he has scuffed up his pads to the point they are raw on 3 of his feet and the one he is favoring has a big flap of paw pad torn back.  There’s the culprit!  No wonder he is limping - OUCH, the poor baby, at least no stitches.

They are falling like flies I tell you!  Brutus has a scuffed spot on his front paw too and now Apollo’s front paws are raw and ouchie.  He didnt really want to jump in yesterday so front booties for him as well.  The black, dark-nailed dogs are all fine. Pads are fine, nails a little worn in the back from launching, but no more than say walking on pavement.  I am keeping an eye on them.  Its the light-nailed dogs that are suffering.  I called my vet and she says light-nailed dog can have softer pads and nails than dark-nailed dogs.  Looks like Rufus will be getting boots too.  Ruffwear has the light blue boots on clearance 50% off at Backcountry,com’s outlet in their XL and XXL sizes.  I think I am going to get a pair of each so both saints (Brutus’s paws are raw too) will have a pair and the bigger pair for their front and smaller pair for their back paws.

Here is Rufus feeling sorry for himself.  I clipped the hanging piece of dried dead paw pad which has really alleviated alot of his pain. I put on some bag balm, a sock and a Muttlucks boot to protect it when he goes outside and to prevent him from licking it.  It looks alot better today.

Still waiting on Fedex.. I checked the tracking and its on the truck out for delivery.  The UPS truck just drove by again. The second time today.

TOMORROW —– BARK PARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rufus chased the labs around the pool today and kept getting braver and braver.. he wanted to get in with them and finally (with a little coaxing) he jumped in on his own!  It wasnt graceful and he won’t be winning any ribbons for grace.  But it was a major milestone.  Brutus.. still not impressed with the pool.  I have had several people asking if people use the pool too.  Yes, we use the pool too.  In fact, I am IN the pool with the dogs when I am shooting this video as well as most of the other and a ton of the photos in the pool.  Thank Dog for a good filter system and pool Shock!

I am also expecting a package!  I’m quite excited.  We ordered some stuffies from K-9 Cuisine.  It has already shipped too.  I was shocked how quickly it was sent out.  And since we bought over $50 worth of goodies, I qualified for free shipping via Fedex!  My package will be here on Friday.  I can’t wait to show off my goodies!

Rufus FINALLY got in the pool today.  We have had a major break through.  He needs a little coaxing to get off the stairs, but will actually do it by himself.  I am so proud of him.  Brutus however, is still a scaredy cat.  I hope you enjoy the video of my Atomic Pool Dogs and photos….

Rufus in the Pool

Maybe Brutus will get in soon.

Apollo’s Neo Paws Summer Shoes arrived in the mail yesterday.  Since it rained all day we didn’t get a chance to try them out.  We were blessed with sunny weather and a perfect day for the pool.  I started out by putting the boots on in the house and let Apollo walk around in them.

He was not impressed at first and I was a little skeptical.  I had a hard time trying to put them on correctly.  He refused to stand up when I was messing with his feet.  He’d flop down and roll over on his back. uggg.. silly boy.  After a few minutes we finally got them on properly and he walked around like he had a corn cob up his butt… bwahahah!  They seemed a little big at first but once he started moving around in them they were just fine.

Next we went outside and walked around the pool while I was skimming it.  He was a little apprehensive around the water at first and finally couldn’t resist jumping in when I tossed in the beloved duckie.  After that… he didn’t seem to notice them at all and he was the big yellow bomb again. The stayed on perfectly and protected his feet brilliantly!  I must admit when I first opened the package I was a little disappointed but once I got them on him and saw them in action.. I am totally sold!

What a great day we had in the pool and his feet were completely protected. Thanks Neo Paws… we LOVE the boots.

We Rate Neo Paws Boots -5/5 paws

Cool Boots!

This picture is hysterical… Note the “No Diving” sign he is jumping from

I think you need a little help with that duck!

Sorry there’s so many pictures.. we had so much fun I went a little snap happy and had a hard time trying to narrow it down.

Our friends at the Zoo Crew sent us this awesome award!  We are quite honored to be on your must read list!  Thank you so much for the award!

I would like to Paw it Forward to our British Rottie pal Georgeous!  He has such exciting adventures and creative pictures.  We heart you!

Ahhh, Saturday morning, my favorite day of the week. We started out to the park this morning early. The forecast advised it was going to be a real scorcher and we wanted to get as much play time as possible before it got too hot.  I think everyone and their brother had the same idea!  We got to the park at 10:45am and the parking area was completely full… over 60 cars!  Cool.. that’s a little further of a walk but Zeus, Apollo and Hera would have a little extra time to do their business before we got in there and I wouldn’t have to chase them around with plastic bags for the first 20 minutes.  There were several sets of labs walking in with us and I must say mine were the best behaved pack I saw walking in (at that time).

The park was packed!  There had to be close to 250 dogs there.  More than I had ever seen there at one time and not a single scuffle.  We played in the pond and met up with Misty and Gabby the Newfies and played with them for a bit.  The sky started clouding up and there was a nice breeze.  The rain came several hours ahead of schedule and the skies open and down it poured.  Everyone scattered and tried to hide under the trees.  Most made mad dashes to their cars.  We stayed for a few minutes, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, we gave up as well and left for home.

It wasn’t a good photo day which is disappointing. I added today’s “limited” gallery page HERE.  But, the dogs were satisfied with their trip and all are snoozing soundly on the floor at my feet… priceless.

Seriously Hera, do you have to get in EVERY water source?

This photo cracks me up… Small, Medium and Large

I’ve been thinking about getting Kong Wubba’s for awhile.. didnt know if they’d like them… now I know.  Meijers had buy 2 get one free dog toy… guess who has 3 new red wubbas for the pool now!

The Three Stooges

The Pied Piper

Make sure to check out today’s Gallery for more pix. Until next Bark Park…

Ok now that I have you humming the music from Disney World/Land’s ride Pirates of the Caribbean…lol  I honestly thought about adding the midi file to this post so you could all enjoy it with me, but then decided I didn’t want to hear that song every time I opened my blog for the next several days.  I also figured I drive someone to the nuthatch so no music. (you can thank me later)

First to report we are squit free!  All of the thundering herd are back to normal, no tummy troubles what-so-ever, so my luck is already looking up.  I have, however decided to put the kibosh on the birthday cake I was planning for Zeus’s birthday party.  I don’t want chance fate and send everyone spiraling back into the diarrhea pit of hell.

Next on the agenda…. My new collars from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady!  I think these are my favorites or close there to so far!  My boys look soooo handsome and manly in them.  Their good looks rival that of Capt. Jack Sparrow and Will Turner!  Again, I am so happy with Sew Crazy Dog Lady collars.  I am never disappointed with the quality or style. This is a truly custom design and the fabric was ordered specially for B and R - If you are interested in this pattern, contact Jen directly and request the B and R Pirate.  I dont think she has the fabric swatch on her site yet.

Each one of the collars has now been through the washing machine and every one of them has come out looking brand spanking new.  And that my friends is QUALITY!

And last but certainly not least…. Tomorrow is Bark Park!  Our favorite day of the week.  We are going early as its going to be a hot one.  Apollo’s boots haven’t come yet but his feet look ok to run around on the grass.  Hopefully they will be here tomorrow so he can cool down in the pool after the park.  He has been staring at it wantingly all week.

I picked out this darling picture of Rufus for my regular “Wordless Wednesday” post.  But today isn’t a typical Wednesday, there is nothing wordless about what I am about to say!  I am riding the heals of yet another disaster and am absolutely exhausted physically and emotionally.  It seems like if I didn’t have bad luck lately, I’d have none at all.  I mean surely, how much is one person meant to endure?

It starts out with a case of explosive diarrhea!  Poor Zeus!  He has such a sensitive tummy and I did this to him.  I gave him some cut up steak and that sent his tummy into absolute fits and well.. now I have to have my carpets cleaned in two rooms because he wont stand still when he poops.  There is a trail all over my sons room and down the hall and one in the living room.  I could just scream because its my own darn fault!  NOTE TO SELF - stop feeding Zeus anything but his regular food!

Actually the squits is only a blip on the screen compared to what was next.  It is really just a continuation of the vehicle drama nightmare that has become my life (THIS post will get you up to speed to press).

Our cars are not fixed yet and we are still in a rental car.  Pricey, but that is just how it is.  We rented from Budget and will NEVER step foot in one of their vehicles again.  Here is the gist of what happened. Hubby is doing work in Indianapolis again and on his way out of town, he is stopped by the police for expired tags!  That’s right, the idiots rented out a car that had tags which expired 4 months ago!  Not only that, but the plates didn’t match the vehicle.  So they basically slapped a plate with expired tags on the vehicle with no current BMV record and let it rent out for months (there’s over 7000 miles on the car).

Ok.. so he gets pulled over and they impound the vehicle and leave him standing on the side of the road! I get a call and am left to sort it out with the manager at Budget.  In the “transaction” my husband’s drivers license gets misplaced… (he says they have it, they say he has it) so he can not pick up another car at a Budget in Indy.  The tow company will not release the car until it has proper and current plates/tags from Ohio so the only other option is me getting another car and I am left to drive all the way to Indianapolis to pick him up and come back home.

Now I am not a sue happy individual, but those morons offered to give me 2 days of free rental knocked off my bill.  WHAT are you kidding me! What about the ticket, the gas, the 8 hours of my life I will never have back?!  I can think of a million other things I would much rather have done with that 8 hours.  Most of them with my dogs!  And the sad part, this whole scenario is just so outrageous I wouldn’t even believe it if someone told me!  In fact, I would think they were being a drama queen.  UGGG

Please let me have some good luck!

My baby is 6 today!  I can’t believe how time has flown by these last 6 years.  I did a walk down memory lane and put together a video of his most treasured moments. (sorry its so long, but 6 years is a long time - like forever in dog years)  Pawty tomorrow…..

I have been quite busy this week since the car episode.  I have had to play catch up today on my blog readings and still have to catch up on my comment responses, sorry I have been so lax.  Hopefully this week will run smoother.

I went swimming with Apollo, Zeus and Hera today.  They jumped and dove after the balls and were generally having a good time until I noticed the blood coming from Apollo’s back foot.  OH NO!  So I grab him and take a look at what he has done to himself.  I was afraid of a torn nail after what I went through with Brutus last year.  Luckily all nails were still attached.  He has managed to grind down several of them to their quicks from launching himself off the pool decking.  I checked Hera and her nails were getting worn too but not as badly as Apollo’s so I will watch her, but have to order Apollo boots for his back feet.  I looked around on some forums and found some fancy neoprene booties for his back feet to try out.  I have to measure his back paws and order them. I swear it is always something. (they are on sale at the Neo-Paws™ website and they ship the same day if ordered 3:00pm EST - which means he will have them for Bark Park on Saturday!  whooo hooo!)

Neo-paws™ Summer Dog Booties

You can see WHY Apollo’s nails are so ground down.. He REALLY gets into the jumping.

I LOVE this picture, he jumped 2/3 the way across the pool ontop of Hera to get that ball…  “Look out Hera, that ball is MINE!”

As I mentioned earlier, I ordered patriotic collars from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady for Brutus and Rufus. I’ve been a bad dog mommy and haven’t had much of  a chance to post the pictures of them with all the festivities going on.  We are not in a very patriotic mood with all the fireworks trauma but oh well.  However, I am sooo pleased with the new collars. I am an Army veteran (I am sure most of you don’t know that) and I wanted to have something special for the boys that showed support for out troops. They look sooo handsome in them and I got a ton of compliments on them when we went to Indianapolis (I forgot to mention that B and R rode with us on Thursday).  I took off their other collars and tossed them in the wash and hung them up to dry.  I can not believe how well they washed up.  They looked brand spanking new again! Can’t beat the quality!  Well with out further ado… here are my handsome boys in their Patriotic Yellow Ribbon collars

I have another surprise for later this week… my Pirate collars came and OMG they look amazing!  Better than i could have ever dreamed!  Thanks Jen!  You are the best, well second to your collars… lol  Don’t forget to head over to Sew Crazy Dog Lady’s website and check it out.  She currently has a drawing to win a FREE collar! I hope I win…

Just a side note… but where in the world is all this spam coming from?!  I mean seriously.  I have had very low spam counts since I stared using hosting my blog and with in the last 36 hours I have had more spam comments caught by Askimet than the rest of the time combined! UGGG!

What a gorgeous day to play at the park.  We have had a really cruddy week with the rain and our 4th was foiled.  But today was beautiful and we took full advantage of it at Bark Park. I have added a gallery page for today’s visit - there are a TON of pictures… you can see it HERE

As we got closer to our destination Hera got more and more excited and by the time we pulled into the drive all three of them were wound up tighter than a drum… barking, whining and pacing at a fevered pitch.  They couldn’t pour out of the car fast enough.  We got in the gates, the leashes were unclipped and off they ran to paradise - social butterflies in all their glory.  Of course Hera had to jump into the first water source she saw…. hey silly that’s for drinking!

We met up with Jack and Greta almost right away and we headed straight to the agility equipment.  Apollo did some practice on the agility equipment and we taught both Hera and Zeus to do the A-Frame!  Too cool.

Our buddies Jack and Greta

A couple more….

The beautiful Newfies were there today too.

There was a new dane at the park today too.. He is quite handsome.

Happy 4th everyone!  Hope everyone has had plenty of BBQ, fireworks and festivities.  The weather was horrible here which threw a giant wrench into our plans.  We invited my husband’s family over to use the pool and BBQ.  We spent an ungodly amount of money on food which we spent the entire day in our living room eating.  It was cold (never got over 70°F - what’s up with that!!! Its JULY!) and rained non stop until 7:00pm, well after everyone went home.  The dogs spent the day locked in my bedroom (see post - Not Welcome) while we gorged ourselves on food.  Everyone was kind enough to save huge portions of their steaks for them to eat later.  It makes me so sad that they were not allowed to take part in our festivities, at least I was close so I could keep going upstairs checking on them and bringing them little morsels of food and treats instead of an hour away.

One thing I did learn this year is that they DO NOT like fireworks.  We have lived rurally in the past and it was never an issue.  Everyone in the “suburban hell” bought fireworks (including the OH).  They started letting them off around 10:30pm last night after the Columbus’s Red, White and Boom and they continued until about 2:30am.  Of course I was letting the dogs out to potty before bed time just as the first firework went off and they went nuts.  Rufus was charging around the yard barking and growling and by the time I got them all back in Brutus and Rufus were panting so hard i was afraid they were going to bloat.  I let them all sleep with me last night and cranked up the ocean sounds cd full blast to try and drown out the noise.  Rufus panted and profusely drooled for hours.  Poor baby.

I did a little better job of preparing this evening and put them in my room with the radio blaring just before dark so they weren’t spooked by the initial explosions.  They seem pretty calm right now which is good because tomorrow night is going to be just as bad if not worse.  There are several parties scheduled tomorrow and the weather is going to be nice.

On a lighter note, I ordered patriotic collars for Brutus and Rufus from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady.  They look so handsome in them.  I spent the entire day yesterday driving to and from Indianapolis trying to deal with our car situation which still has not been resolved… ugg.  I have not had time to blog about them & will write about my new super duper awesome collars tomorrow.  I am absolutely exhausted and want to go cuddle with my puppers.

Next up…. Bark Park tomorrow!  Whoo Hoo!

Can you believe it is already July 1st?! I sure can’t.  The year is now half over.  Summer is trying to make a come back in Ohio after the last week we have had.  It has been in the 70’s and was only 63°F yesterday!  We have been dying to get in the pool and swim.  Well the Sun God, Helios was smiling on Zeus, Hera and Apollo (note the theme) and gave them a gorgeous day to swim. (video of all the dogs at the end)

Apollo is taking his jumping really seriously… He flies half way across the pool!

Poor Rufus, he didn’t get to play!  Mean old mommy wouldn’t let him out because he was barking like crazy at the other dogs.  Here he is watching barking from the upstairs window trying to make me feel bad.

Zeus got in today and was jumping a little bit too.  He is no where near as enthusiastic about jumping as Apollo or Hera.

And of course “everyone” knows it takes two labs to get a ball out of the pool.

And last but certainly not least.  Enjoy a few minutes of our day, a pretty typical day.

Happy July!