I went to the Columbus Pet Expo today with my family to visit the Annie’s Pooch Pops booth to buy a few more of the coveted Muttkins!

Of course I left the bag on the counter when ran out for a few minutes and the dogs helped themselves to the packages.  By the time I got home the damage had been done.  The cookie was completely eaten off 2 of the Muttkins.  I guess the temptation was just too much for them to resist.

I hope they enjoy them while the dogsitter is here…. Thats right, dog sitter!  We are going on our first FAMILY vacation in 5 years. Is it wrong that I have mixed feelings about it?  See you all in one week.

Whats a Muttkin you say?  It is an AWESOME all natural dog treat that I picked up at the Expo.  The vendor, Annie’s Pooch Pops had a booth down from us.  Kendra and I, or should I say Basja and Rufus, made nice with the vendor during set up on Thursday afternoon.  We got a few cookies and every time we walked by they would perk up and try to say hi to them.  We would joke that the guy was Basja’s boyfriend because she would peek around the corner and just stare at him, no doubt mouth watering… lol

So what is the Muttkin…

The Muttkin is a “GOURMET beef marrow bones, wrapped in our all natural handmade, peanut butter biscuit and slow roasted to perfection“. Its brilliant!  They come in several sizes from mini to mega.  Rufus was eying one so Saturday after we worked our shift at the booth we stopped by the booth.  “Rufus” selected a MEGA Muttkin to take back to the hotel.  He was in absolute heaven.  First he gave it a good licking all over, ate the cookie covering… Then settled in for a good gnawing.

MMMMMM THAT’S GOOD!!!!

A Mega Muttkin costs $10 and WOW is it worth every single penny!  The bone hasn’t had much “alone time” since its come to the house.  The rest of the dogs wait their turn to get some “personal time” with it.  Hera was hiding with it in her crate the other night.  I left her in there with it and I am pretty sure she didn’t get any sleep.  In case you are wondering, Basja got herself a Muttkin and a bag of cookies….

Luckily Muttkins can be ordered on the net along with many other fabulous all natural treats and large special occasion cookies - I think they will be at the Columbus Pet Expo this weekend, I am going to have to go just to stock up!

Kendra was nice enough to send me a picture of Basja enjoying the last of her cookies.

We give Muttkins 5 paws up!

I thought I would start out by explaining a little bit about the expo and why I attended (again, went last year too).  The Big Dogs Porch is an online community (forum) of big dog owners from around the globe.  It is a great resource for big dog health, behavior, nutrition, breed specific things, general dog stuff and we even partake in some “non-canine” banter.  I joined a little over two years ago and have made friends with several members that I actually see outside of the computer (not all my friends live inside this electronic box…. lol).  Chicago hosts one of the largest pet expos in the country and is centrally located for the member to converge for a meet up.

The owner of the forum, Dana, also co-owns Karma Charms collars so in addition to acting as “big dog ambassadors” for the forum we volunteer to work the booth for Karma Charms. Outside of the actual Expo we had several group dinners and a potluck get together with our dogs.

Here’s some of the dogs we met this trip.  First I’ll start off with the dogs we got to see from last year (photos in the 2008 Expo Gallery).  This is Karma of Karma Charms.  She is Dana’s English Mastiff.

And Basja, my good friend Kendra’s Blue Great Dane. Rufus likes her ALOT.

And now the Newbies…

This is Reggie the Saint Bernard, he belongs to Jodi.  He is totally lovable and got along great with Rufus. He has a penchant for Houdini… lol

Beautiful Indy the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog belongs to Melissa of Swiss Lick Swissies.  Rufus REALLY REALLY liked Indy.  She had some very romantic pee-mail and Rufus felt the need to hump the air after sniffing her…eek.  I think she is the first intact female dog he has ever seen and he really liked her.

There were two Leonbergers present and what adorable sweethearts they were.  First is Lowe, owned by Jenni and the second is Cleo, owned by Deb.  Every time I said her name I thought of Ms Cloe the telephone clairvoyant — “call me now”

Lots more photos from this years Expo can be seen HERE.

I am soo glad to be back in my own bed with my family and furkids.  Rufus and I had a great time! We got to see lots of old friends, met lots of people at the expo and made lots of new friends.  Here we are working at the booth.

Rufus was an absolute STAR! He was so good with all the petting, touching, photographing and other dogs that came to the booth. He was even great with the little dogs (Doxie Rescue) in the booth right next to us.  I was sooo proud of him. Here he is begging for donations for Pry rescue and canine cancer research.  The group collected donations and split it between the two groups.  Haven’t heard the totals yet.

I thought this picture was sooo sweet!  Rufus is sharing a tender moment with Sue (BDP member).  He was absolutely soaking up all the attention! He seemed to enjoy himself alot more than Brutus did last year and will most likely go back again next year.  His Keg was a real hit too!

Here he is “working” in the booth with fellow bdp dog “Cloe” the leonberger.

Of course I couldn’t let this gorgeous silk brocade martingale collar by Karma Charms (Art Deco in Green) pass me by… I love the colors and it matched my Merrell tennis shoes so I absolutely had to have it so we would match .

At the end of day 1, he was one tired pup.  We went back to the hotel and he totally sacked out on the bed!  He didnt even notice me snapping a picture of his big tired self.

More pictures of the other dogs, more info, a photo gallery and some of the goodies we came home with will be showcased over the next few days…. starting tomorrow!

I am having the most ridiculous morning!  After driving round trip to Chicago for the expo with no mishaps, why is it that my first morning back THIS happens????

I bought the most amazing Paco working lead at the expo (thank you very much Karma Charms) and it is one of the fancy ones that has clips on both ends (I’ll have to blog about it in a few days… you’ll love the name). I thought I was going to be slick this morning and hook up Brutus to one end and Rufus to the other to take them outside. Good idea, right?! Well…. it wasnt!

A stupid wild bunny raced out of the “yard” (no fence) into the bushes at the corner of the property. Of course, B and R were at the bottom of the steps when they saw it (I was at the top) and started pulling. I held on for dear life and tried pulling them back towards the house. Rufus started to come back up the steps and that damn bunny turned around and came back! What an idiot!

Both of them took off, I was still holding on. They pulled me off the steps and to the ground. Still holding on, I am dragged a few feet. I can no longer hold on and am in absolute agony - they ran off. Luckily the leash that had them tethered together clothes-lined a swing set and they were stuck like chuck. I was able to hobble over and grab them and make them go back inside with out any other collateral damage. I was soooo mad!

My knee is in pretty bad shape and I am on the couch with it propped up w/ ice. I can barely walk and the swelling and bruising is unreal…. welcome home! grrrr

And can you believe one of my friends told me I should get rid of them because they are so big?!  AS IF! I could have just as easily tripped over a chihuaha and done a header down the stairs.

Rufus and I are off on our way to Chicago for the Big Dogs Porch get together and Expo… I have my laptop so I should have a few updates with our adventures.  See you all when we get back!

I dont have much time so here’s a preview of the pix I took from SAINT Patty’s Day….   More later tonight when we get there.

Hubby thinks I should send it to Guiness Beer…. lol

“SAINT” Patty’s Day is right around the corner so of course I had to feed my collar addition for the boys. Brutus and Rufus are now sporting their fancy new St Pat’s collars that I custom ordered from Sew Crazy Dog Lady. I absolutely love them!  They are sooo festive, stylish and of course the same great quality I have come to love from The Sew Crazy Dog Lady - Jen has never once disappointed. Here is Rufus modeling “Luck ‘o the Irish.”  I think green really suits him.

I was so proud of myself for ordering well in advance so I would have them in plenty of time for the holiday, I even gloated, and wouldn’t you know St Patty’s almost slipped me by.  For some reason I was thinking it was the following week.. but nope, its this Tuesday the 17th.

I pulled out the collars, put them on the boys and had a gorgeous warm sunny day to take some pictures of them. I think this pattern is one of my favorites

I cant wait to show off the Cinco de Mayo “chilli calor” (Mexican Independence Day - May 5th) collars!  They are too cool!  More collar photos added to the Gallery

And good news for Apollo.. his T4 thyroid results came back normal and his ears are looking much better.  I am to treat for 3 more weeks and go back in for another check up.

And it continues…..

I went to the vet this morning with Apollo.. looked at his ears and very pleased with the progress. I am to treat (triz-eta wash 1x day + antibiotic drops x2 ) for 3 more weeks and we will do another culture and sensitivity to make sure there is nothing left that has become resistant to the antibiotic.

HOWEVER, He also had blood drawn for a T4 thyroid panel. If the hair loss is any worse in 3 weeks we will also do a skin scraping to see what is going on. UGGGG

The hair loss on his hip has gone from the size of a quarter to about that of a half dollar in 2 weeks. No itching, no licking, no scratching…. The Vet does not feel it is a reaction to the antibiotics as its too unique and localized to be a reaction. The Thyroid panel was taken but haven’t heard back yet and other possibilities include demodex, ringworm or allergy. I am about to loose it!

Remember about a month ago I asked which of the snow dogs photos I should submit to for the Ruffdogs Forum Photo Contest?

This was the last picture of the group and was the one that ended up being chosen for the entry.  Can you believe it actually won!  How incredibly exciting! Emily the graphic guru made up this banner for the forum and it will be showcased for the next month.  I also get to choose the theme for the next contest.  Any suggestions? ‘Cuz I haven’t got a clue.

An interesting side note on the photos from the previous post, they were stolen and someone tried to pass them off as their own on their site!  I “try” to watermark all my photos to discorage photo theft, but some people are just so incredibly brazen they dont even care.  I just happened to find out from Jan of the Poodle and Dog Blog - thanks Jan!  By chance, she happened along the blog and entry through the Dog Times News.  She thought the title looked familiar so she clicked on it and there were MY photos, MY text and the idot asshat was trying to pass them off as his. I contacted Blog Times News and Blogger and nothing was done about it so I was left to take matters in my own hands by removing the photos from my own blog and leaving a few nasty grams on the page - the idiot was hotlinking my photos, stealing my bandwidth just to add insult to injury.  Once they were removed, I reloaded them with a different name.  I was sooo mad!  I felt completely violated.  Now I know how Biggies’s mom felt!

Copyright means DONT USE WITH OUT PERMISSION ASSHAT!  You know who you are!

I know it’s Wordless Wednesday, but since it’s been awhile since I last posted, I have alot to say.   Seems like its a constant theme of my life these days. I have spent a lot of (ok way, way too much) time on Facebook looking for my old high school friends.  My 20 year high school reunion is this year and I have been asked to work on the reunion committee.  So I have been looking for people… there are alot of people to find too.  I graduated in a class of over 750 students so to say I have been consumed is an under statement.  I have been met with quite mixed reactions to my dog pack.  Everything from “good for you for saving them” to “damn, you are crazy!”

While searching for old photos (there aren’t many from my high school days around - mostly cheerleading photos) to upload to the class of 89 facebook group I came across this precious gem.  I found it last night in the bottom of my photo box and swear I have never seen it before in my life.  It’s a black and white 8×10 photo of my daddy holding me on xmas day (I’m 4 days old) with that giant stuffed St Bernard that has shown up in a few other childhood photos.  I raced out today and grabbed a frame for it and hung it on a wall. It appears I was destined from birth to love Saint Bernards.

I ordered and received a couple new collars from the Sew Crazy Dog Lady and they turned out fabulously awesome as always (I’ll blog separately about them tomorrow)!  And finally picked up Rufus’s boots… another post on this one with video later in the week.  I am also getting ready to head to Chicago with either Brutus or Rufus (haven’t decided which one yet) for the Chicagoland Pet Expo and Big Dogs Porch get together.  I am really excited to see my friends again.  Brutus went last year and you can see the festivities from last year here and here. - I’ll be in booth #254 if you want to stop by and say Hi.

The weather is starting to warm up and I got out to the park with Apollo and Rufus to meet up with the Newfies last week.  It was tons of fun and Misty was thrilled to see her boyfriends again.  She loves the boys… lol

Gotta’ love the drool…

Ta’ for now