he's gone...

Sweet Sullivan

6.26.2002 - 3.25.2009

My perfect Southern gentleman... I will love you forever.

treats and toys that give back

Harry Barker has introduced new treats and a new toy to benefit the therapy dog programs at the Medical University of South Carolina as well as the MUSC Children's Hospital program for medically fragile children. If you read this blog regularly, you know that my dog Mona Mae and I are Delta Society Pet Partners and members of Prescription Paws... so this is a cause very close to my heart. Plus, wouldn't Miss Mona Mae (who's practically perfect in every way) look so cute with her little therapy dog purse below? I think perhaps the Easter Bunny might have to bring her one.

dog in a garden

Image via Shelter

Pretty dog, pretty garden... How much do I wish my yard looked like this? What they DON'T tell you is that this is the "Before" shot. In the "After" picture, this lovely Golden Retriever has dug up the boxwood, run through (and crushed) that beautiful lavender, and used the teak bench as a giant chew stick. I do have dreams of my front yard looking like this some day, but my backyard will continue to be the dogs' domain.

puppy projects

I was a busy little bee this weekend... lots and lots to do. But I'm really happy that I was able to check off a lot of my little projects I had been meaning to get accomplished. A couple of these were quick and easy craft projects that I thought some of you guys might be interested in.

I purchased one of the handprint kits from a local crafts store and made an impression of sweet Sully's paw... a couple of hints if you decide to try this one - 1) let the plaster set up a little longer than the directions advise and 2) trim any fur around the pad in order to get a cleaner impression. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but I was very happy with how the paw print turned out. I'm going to attach a ribbon to the back and hang it on the wall somewhere.

I also crafted this little pillow that features Sully's silhouette on the front. I took the photo below, enlarged it to the size I wanted, and then cut out Sully's shape. I then just pinned it to a piece of felt, cut around, and TA-DA... a little mini-Sully silhouette. I chose to hand-stitch him onto chocolate brown wool, sewed the two pillow pieces together on a machine, stuffed with a pillow and was all done! I'm SO happy with how it looks!

Other non-dog-related projects accomplished this weekend include new pillows for the sofa (I have NO idea why the seat cushions look to be a completely different color than the rest of the sofa because it's NOT that way in real life), AND creating a homemade magnetic chalkboard to fit an old frame I had (um, PS - it's quite possible my French on the new chalkboard below makes NO SENSE AT ALL since I have no idea how to speak French). See? Told ya I was busy...

the five dog rule

Image via Absolutely Beautiful Things

Let me fill you in on something I've learned... I call it "The Five Dog Rule": Upon learning that a person has five dogs, 98% of the population will immediately consider said person to be strange/crazy/off their rocker.

Case in point: Struck up a good conversation with reasonably cute (and tall... I'm 5'10" so this is an important fact) guy sans wedding ring in line at the grocery store last night. He then notices I'm buying, like, every package of canadian bacon in the store (it's one of the only things I can get my sick dog Sully to eat). He asks... I explain... and then one thing leads to another and before I know it, I've told him I have five dogs. Result: conversation over. Oh well.

happy st. patrick's day!

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Irish greetings from my pups to yours! We hope everyone has a fantastic St. Patrick's Day! Please enjoy the leprechaun stylings of the fabulous Quincy in the video above :)

petfinder's mutt-maker

If you're looking for a fun way to waste some time, check out Petfinder's MuttMaker. You can create your own crazy little mutt by combining different breeds. My creation is above - a Huskweimadogtzu! Oh, and yes, he's wearing cowboy boots...

trainer extraordinaire

My dogs are awesome. And at least part of their awesomeness is due to the fantastic trainer from whom we've taken classes.

Teoti Anderson is the owner of Pawsitive Results and is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer. AND she's also authored several books on dog training. AND she's the founding member of Prescription Paws (the group Mona Mae and I volunteer with). AND she has a full-time job as well. (You can read all about her here.)

So considering that she's apparently super-human, it's no surprise that she's been featured or included in tons of different magazines and publications. But her most recent claim to fame is a fantastic article in this month's Southern Living.

Pawsitive Results is based in Columbia, SC, so if you're in the area, I highly recommend signing up to take one of her classes. And honestly, if you're within 2 hours drive time of Columbia, I'd sign up too! It's totally worth driving that far... I promise.

Click here to read the Southern Living article "Sit! Stay! Good Dog!" that features Teoti this month.

shedaway vacuum attachment

I like this... a lot. Almost cheers me up despite the gloomy, 50 degree day we're rockin' here in Columbia (which just seems even worse because of the beautiful weather we had earlier this week... what a tease).

Bissell now makes this handy vacuum attachment that you can use to brush your dog! And it fits most brands as well... so no need to buy a new vacuum. It simply adds a shedding blade attachment to your own vacuum, and all that dog hair you brush off is collected right into the canister. Anything that can help me cut down on the massive amounts of dog hair generated by the five pooches living in my house is just aces.

I will readily admit that there are dogs (one of mine included) that would completely flip their lid if you came near them with a running vacuum. So if your dog is one of those, please don't go buy this. You'll either a) give your dog a heart attack or b) freak it out so much it might bite.

And even if your dog doesn't seem to mind a vacuum cleaner, and you decide to try out this handy new device, I advocate going slow and steady using proper training techniques. I HIGHLY recommend this article from Whole Dog Journal. Non-subscribers will need to buy the article for access, but if you've ever had trouble trimming your dog's nails or other grooming issues, I promise you it is worth every penny.

So has anyone out there tried this yet? I might try to locate it in a store this weekend. And don't worry Mona Mae... I promise I'll keep the big, bad vacuum cleaner far, far away.

puppy cam

Check out the puppy cam at the Washington Animal Rescue League... Now I'm going to get even less work done than usual!

puppy party

Over the weekend, we had a party for some of the puppies to celebrate their first birthday. The dogs all had a wonderful time and were all completely zonked by the end of the day. I've posted a video and pictures of the fun times below...

Quincy was the only one that would leave his hat on... he walked around like this almost the entire afternoon!

Birthday girl Lulu...

Birthday boy Amos...

happy birthday!

Over the weekend, the original seven Pecan Pie Puppies celebrated their FIRST BIRTHDAY! In their honor, I'm posting some of their puppy photos and a current photo and giving you an update on each.

Amos is doing well living with his parents in Columbia. He's a big, lanky goofball, and he loves to have a good time. He also has two feline sisters that keep him in line. And while he regularly drives his parents a little crazy with his... vocal nature... they love him to pieces.


Georgia has turned into a beautiful, healthy girl living near Rock Hill, SC. She still sees her sister Lulu from time to time because she was adopted by Lulu's mom's aunt (did ya get that?).

Major (previously Tillman) currently lives in Columbia with his dad. This dog is spoiled rotten and enjoys the good life. And I swear, if I hadn't seen Penny birth him myself, I would never believe he came from the same litter.

Little miss cutie-patootie Genevieve is living the fast-paced life in Washington, DC with her human mom and four-legged sister Tucker. She has the classic head-tilt of her birth mom down pat.

Sweet Lucy (previously Hazel) also lives near D.C. in Alexandria, VA. This little girl holds a special place in my heart because she was with me the longest. She needed surgery to correct her entropion before she moved on to her forever home. But now she's doing great with her new mom and dad!

Pretty girl Lulu lives with her mom in Columbia as well. I get a chance to see her from time to time and she is an absolute sweetheart. Looks like she has some Boxer in her somewhere...

And the little runt of the litter... Ruby Sue! She also lives in Columbia with her new family. She has learned to climb the ladder to her two-legged siblings' playhouse so she can spend more time with them!

I'm so grateful to all the wonderful people who opened their homes to these sweet dogs. It's wonderful to see them all doing so well and enjoying healthy, happy lives. Their mom, Penny, still lives with me (and is still available for adoption!) and is doing great as well.

a satisfied customer

I love it when I receive photos of pups wearing my collars... it absolutely makes my day. So when I received these lovely photos of the beautiful Annabel from Myrtle Beach, I knew I had to feature her on my blog. And I ESPECIALLY love the fact that Miss Annabel seems to know EXACTLY how beautiful she is! Thanks to her mom for sending me the photos!