Website Wednesday

Hi Everybuddy -


It's Wednesday and that's the day I will share a website which I find noteworthy! Today I'm sharing the website for Dogtown.




Dogtown is an amazing rescue run by Best Friends Animal Society. It is located in Southern Utah and sits on over 30,000 acres. They have a staff of approximately 60 professionals - vets, vet assistants, behaviorists, trainers, and everything in between as well as many kind hearted volunteers who come from all over the country. Some regularly "vacation" at Dogtown to donate their much needed and appreciated time and love. They have a rapid response team which travels worldwide to come to the aid of animals in need. They are able to house up to 2000 animals. The ultimate goal is to provide any care required and to place them into loving homes however some never reach that goal. Many of the animals come from local shelters and rescues who recogize that Dogtown is that animal's only chance. They often require rehabilitation and medical care too costly for local groups to provide. They are often the animals that are labeled "unadoptable" due to severe behavioral issues through no fault of their own, and among their guests are 22 of Michael Vick's dogs. All of these animals have a permanent home at Dogtown and are loved and nurtured until they pass on their own with dignity and knowing they were loved. Extreme measures are taken to keep the animal thriving and happy due to the generous donations of their supporters. No medical treatment is considered too costly. We are excited to report that you can have a weekly glimpse into the inner workings of this astounding facility.




The National Geographic Channel has developed a weekly documentary that highlights the stories of various residents at Dogtown. It is aired on Saturday evenings at 9pm, but check your local listings. In past episodes you will meet Animal -




a small ball of fur who was rescued from a horrific puppy mill situation. Completely unsocialized and extremely aggressive, Sherry - a very loving and patient behaviorist - was able to earn his trust. Watch as his unique personality eventually emerges. There's Tiki and Hemi -





2 adorable puppies just a few weeks old left to bake in a tire pile in the middle of the Utah desert where temperatures reach well over 110 degrees. Their life expectancy was 24 agonizing hours in that pile. You'll watch their journey which happily ends in the arms of their new families. You'll meet Bruno -



a senior Chow who was discarded at a shelter with health issues too numerous to mention. These are the stories that make us understand how important an open mind and an open heart is in the animal world. We are aware of the atrocities human beings are capable of but it's places like Dogtown that make us see there's many more out there that have hearts so large that it almost makes up for the sadness.
For this we give the staff at Dogtown and also to National Geographic Channel two paws up!

Ho Hum Sunday

Hi Everybuddy -


It was a Ho-Hum day today. Not much of anything exciting went on this weekend. This was us working hard earlier today. There was much supervising to be done:


Mom has been coaching her snowmen since there's a slight chance of snow for our area tonight and tomorrow. She said she doesn't want us to get our hopes up though. We were outside with our snooters in the air trying to catch a whiff but so far nothing but smoke coming out of somebuddy's chimney.


We want to take a moment to send our thoughts and prayers to The Brat Pack. You recall that they just recently lost their beloved Thrawn, who was such a huge part of their pack. Their Mom very lovingly adopted a Sibe puppy named Durango from her local shelter last week.






Unfortunately they found themselves fighting an unexpected bout of Parvo for the past several days. Despite heroic efforts, precious Durango lost his battle yesterday, and went to the bridge to be with Thrawn. Their Mom is reeling from two such tragic losses so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We hope each new day will bring relief from her anguish and she will move on to find yet another pup in need to bring into her amazing pack.


On a brighter note, I am pleased to announce that my pack is no longer expired!



Mom and Dad went to our favorite food and treat store to get our 2008 licenses. It's about time! We were very concerned we would be busted and we'd all get hauled to dog knows where! They made it up to us by bringing home two bags of some of our favorite treats - Eagle Pack Holistix Biscuits. If you haven't tried them yet be sure to tell your Mom that Echo said they're quite yummy.


Meeka is also pleased to report that the kind people that make the PA dog licenses had him in mind this year. They are a bewootiful Royal Blue in honor of his Royal Highness.

We'd like to thank everybuddy who has signed our guest book so far.....Thank Woo! For those who haven't, please do. We love to see where everybuddy is from. We've moved it to the top of our Blog to make it more accessible.

That was our day. See......pretty uneventful. That's okay though. Uneventful is kinda good sometimes.

I Think We're Very Honored!

Hi Everybuddy -

We are so pleased to accept a fantastic award from The Army Of Four!




It's called The Thinking Blogger Award. It is given to Blogs which make readers think. Wow - we are having such a wonderful time blogging and are so touched that so many seem to enjoy reading what we have to say. With this honor comes the responsibility of passing this award on to five other Blogs. The criteria is as follows:


1. You must write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think

2. Acknowledge this post.

3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.

4. Go tell your humans to fork over the treats!

It's always tough to choose just a few blogs to honor since we'd like to give it to everyone! After much thought we are passing this particular award on to:

Peanut - His Dad is in the military and is away from his pack, doing such a monumentally important job. His Mom and family are at home dealing with life without him. That always makes us think how important it is to let military families know how much we appreciate their sacrifices, and be there to support them through the hardships.

Turbo - He's running for President and makes us think about many of the world's current issues. He really seems to put things into perspective and has us all looking forward to his pending election.

Lorenza - This adorable dachshund who lives in Mexico makes us think about different cultures and how diverse our world is. It's fun to hear about the yummy foods her family prepares and how they celebrate holidays.

The Kapp Pack - Kelsey Ann's Mom makes us think about how important family is. She works as a special needs teacher and still makes time for her adorable biped, her extended family, and of course, her beloved pack, volunteers with rescue, and still keeps a sense of humor.

Five Happy Hounds - Their Mom makes us think about how big some people's hearts are. She adopts the pets that are passed by due to health or other issues, nurtures and cares for them, and gives them wonderful lives despite the heartache that often lurks just around the corner.

Congratulations friends! You make us think and that's a good thing!

Calling All Snowmen!!

Hi Everybuddy -

I'm mad! It's winter. Pennsylvania thinks it's spring. That's just WRONG! We've decided to plan a strategy to encourange Jack Frost to bring some snowflakes to PA. We've brought out all of our snowmen. If we look at them and concentrate REAL hard, it'll work! Take a look - does this not look welcoming?










This cheerful guy sits up on our mantle. Doesn't he look welcoming?












This fella sits up there with him, keeping him company.

These two guys are looking for snowflakes, just like us. They just don't understand what's going on.








This one is just hanging around (harroorooo......Amber's humor is rubbing off on me!) waiting for the fluffy flakes to arrive.








This is a new addition to Mom's collection. She liked it because it says "believe" up at the top. You can't really see it very well in this photo. She thought if we had something to remind us that we need to believe in the snow.....it will come. We'll see if that theory works.












One would think this one would help! How much more direct can one get??!!









Sorry Big Guy - no snow yet but don't worry, we have faith in you!











::sigh:: We wouldn't know.....we haven't seen many snowflakes recently.


















We even have a Snowman posted outside just to cover our bases!









Mom just had to have this one. Not that it's doing much good or anything.












Shadow decided to put it to good use.













So as you can see, there's not much more we can do! We can only dream of the glorious, white fluffy stuff.

Pee S: We apologize for the weird wraparound text. Mom tried to get creative and stagger our snowmen to keep things interesting but the text just didn't wanna cooperate. She's done saying bad words now and is calling it "artsy".

Mysterious Journey Report

Hi Everybuddy -

I am very pleased to report that all is well in our household once again. Dad and our boy returned last night and brought lots of wonderful things. Dad said he drove, and drove, and drove.......




.......... but didn't see any sign of Haggis. He's still on our minds and we're hoping he finds his way home real soon. Grandmom decided to share alot of her beloved stuff and we had a wonderful time exploring and sniffing the interesting smells. Look at all our new treasures:

"Hmmm....I wonder what's in here!"

"I smell Murphy! Murphy - are you in there??"

"Hey Mom - you've just gotta see this!"

We were hot on the scent of Murphy and were thinking that maybe he was in one of the boxes. We looked and looked but couldn't find the little fella. Dad said that Murphy (Grandmom's little guy) loved the treats and Merrick Turducken that we sent. Here's Murphy checking it all out:

And this was Murphy after his scrumptious dinner with a couple treats for dessert:

Yep. He looks pretty content to me! We were glad to be able to share our good tasting treats and food with Grandmom's little buddy.

You just wouldn't believe what Santa Paws left for Grandmom! What's Red and White and has wheels and is very cute.....(besides Shyla that is)??? Look at this:

Doesn't it look like it just rolled out of Santa's workshop? It's a GEM Car. They can use it to cruise through their retirement village and not have to use any gas since it's electric. See the plug? We think that's totally cool and maybe we'll ask Santa Paws for one next year. Maybe they have one in camoflauge! Since we're AO4 Troopers that could come in handy.

We're so glad that Dad's back and Meeka even gave back Dad's side of the bed. Life is good!

We Made Somebuddy's Day!

Hi Everybuddy -

It's been a quiet day here today. Dad is on his way home from North Carolina and we're trying to be real patient. Meeka's being a grump-a-lump because he's missing Dad so much so we're avoiding him. But guess what? WE GOT AN AWARD! Yep - Storms from The A04 was kind enough to pass along the You Make My Day Award. That's so great and we are very pleased. Thanks Storms! We're going to pass that great award on to some of our other blogger buddies. The rules are to pass the award along to up to 10 people whose blog brings you happiness & inspiration and makes you feel happy about Blogland. So we're passing it on to:

The Kapp Pack - Kelsey Ann, Sky, and Canyon

Cosmos & Juneau

Shiloh & Guinness

Holly

Five Happy Hounds

Ivy

Crikit, Sparky, & Ginger

The Dogs of Jackman Ave - Sherman, Penny, & Lola

MayaMarie

Khyra

Whew! That was hard since we'd like to give it to everybuddy but we think it'll make it's way through Blogland pretty quickly.

Thanks again Storms - you're the bestest!

Meeka's Happy Day

Hi Everybuddy -

It's a great day! I am pleased to report that Dad phoned home and the big mystery is over...........Meeka knows where Dad is. First things first however. We'd like to let the AO4 know that their very delicious Egg Nog Cake came through just fine and oh is it good! It really cheered Meeka up. The wait was a bit of a challenge but it finally came through (we think the almonds may have delayed it's arrival).

"Do you see the Egg Noggin Cake yet?"

"Ohhh.....that's so good!"


"Mmmmmm!"



As you can see, we enjoyed it so much. It was so thoughtful of our buddies to think of Meeka. Mom has really been feeling sorry for Meeka too and has let him sleep with her......on Dad's side of the bed. We have to say that he's really gotten used to that. Take a look at what we found outside this morning:







Uh oh. Looks like our Meeka is liking Dad's side of the bed a bit too much! That might be a problem now that we know Dad's coming back soon. And that brings us to our big news! Meeka got a phone call. Take a look:



"Dad! It's YOU! WOOOO!"




"You're with Murphy in North Carolina?"


We know where Dad is! Do you remember this post about our Grandmom and how nice it was for her to embroider our names on our stockings? That's where he is........Dad and our boy went to North Carolina to visit Grandmom and Grandpop! Now it all makes sense. The treats were for Murphy, a cute little guy that they adopted from a rescue a couple years ago. Isn't he adorable?

Dad reports that Murphy loves the treats our girl made for him and he also enjoyed the Merrick Turducken that Dad took to him. Unfortunately Dad forgot to pack his USB cable so we'll have to wait for the pictures. We'll post them when he gets home tomorrow.

We're so relieved now that we know where Dad is. We don't mind sharing him for a few days. Thank you to all of our blogger buddies who were concerned and were sending good Vibes to Meeka. Things are back to normal once again!

OH - don't forget to check out Trooper Echo on the sidebar to the right. A big Thank Woo to Opy's Dad for helping me get my helmet on!

I Miss My Dad!

Hi Everybuddy -

I'm sure you recall our last post about Dad's suitcase. Well, he left on his mysterious road trip......without us!!! It's true. Off he went with Mom's Jeep Commander (he says it's his too but we know it's really Mom's), our boy, his suitcase, and those yummy treats. Mom assures us that he's fine and will be back soon. There's only one problem. Meeka. Dad is Meeka's best friend. You may recall Mopey Meeka Mondays and how Meeka struggles with Dad leaving for work. You can imagine the state Meeka's in now! After he realized Dad was not coming home from work last night he decided to wait anyway, just in case Dad changed his mind. He chose the most logical spot......the front door. Take a look:

"I know he's coming back....he wouldn't leave me"

He said he figured if Dad came home late, he'd be sure not to miss him since the door would whack him right in the noggin. After awhile he decided he'd get a better look out the window:

"Is that my Dad??"

Oh poor Meeka! It's going to be a long day. Hopefully we'll find out where Dad went soon and when he's coming back so that Meeka can be happy again.

The Dreaded Suitcase!

Hi Everybuddy -

We may have a bit of a problem here! Look:

Uh oh. That would be Dad's suitcase.....and Dad's Jeep Hoodie. Yikes! This isn't looking very promising. Past experiences have proved that suitcases never mean good things for us. Visions of doggie jail come to mind ::shudder:: But I only see one suitcase. Usually there's about 20.....I mean 3 or 4 - when Mom and the rest of the family plans to go somewhere. Hmmmm. It's all starting to make sense now. Our girl baked some yummy dog biscuits the other day and for whatever reason, we only got one each!

"One?! We only get ONE???"

It became very clear that they were being packed.......to-go!

Oh my! This is SO not good! It appears as though Dad is taking a trip......to see another dog!!! What will we tell Meeka?? Obviously we need to figure out where he's going:

"I might need the AO4 to help out with their tracking skills"

I've got an idea. If I sit on his map, he can't leave right? (Please note that I do still have ears. Mom's photography skills are a bit challenged today).

Stay tuned for the next chapter of the big mystery. Find out if we foiled Dad's trip, and if we didn't, where is he going???

Happy 2008!

Hi Everybuddy -

The new year is here, just like Mom promised. With a new year comes lots of new adventures and we're very happy to be able to share them with all of our friends. We're still thinking about what our New Year's Revolutions should be and are almost ready to reveal them. Until then, we'd like to share a video sponsored by Ford that we thought was pretty great. Happy New Year.....and enjoy: