The latest...

Some things have been going on here at Happy Dog and now that the holidays are over and gone and everything has gone back to normal, I thought I would fill in the gap that I am hoping you can forgive me for.  I had a little while there where I didn't have much to say, and then the holidays hit and OOF.  I sure loved how action packed it was while it happened, but it's nice to be back to normal.

A little before the holidays, my old dog Jimmy faded completely health wise, and as I could no longer justify making him continue, I went ahead and let my buddy of 13 years go.  Though it was absolutely the right decision, I miss him terribly.  He was such a good guy, and I very much doubt there will be another like the James.

Once Jim had passed on, Tabitha started to deteriorate at a rapid pace.  She had already been having a very tough time with the transition from her usually low key, quiet life, where she was used to my undivided attention, to the very busy schedule, go go go, constant traffic of other dogs, Happy Dog life style.  I personally believe that the absence of her constant companion (she had Jim with her since 9 weeks of age) was just too much for her to bear on top of the life style switch.  She became a very different dog than I was used to, sad and obviously not enjoying life at all.  I tried to help her along but nothing really helped and she continued on her downtrodden downward spiral.  Two of my close friends who love her (and are adored by her), had offered to take her for breaks here and there before Jim was gone.  They had backed off after Jim was gone, not wanting to double whammy me.  I ended up discussing it with them and Tabitha went to spend some time at their home.  She was picked up on a day she was completely despondent due to the day presenting a larger and more boisterous playgroup, and she never looked back.  She was transformed.  The undivided attention paired with one older (and awesome) Scotty dog to spend her time with throughout the day was exactly what she needed.  I was sent picture after picture of the happy looking Tabitha I remember.  Due to the immediate and obvious change, my friends and I decided she could simply stay with them until the end of her days.  As much as I miss Tabitha, I cannot think of a better situation for her to be in and it is clear she cannot either.  She comes to visit, and as much as we are psyched to see each other, she heads for the door when it is time to go and never looks back.  It's a bittersweet situation.  I might miss Tabitha, but I love her enough that I would rather her away from me and happy, than with me and miserable.  She's too good a girl to deny that to.

Luckily for me, I have two long term boarders so when I was personally "dogless" I had these two cuties to keep me company while I finished up the holiday madness and then started to decide what to do without a furry partner in crime.

Izzi & Lexie

As much as I was reminded that I am surrounded by dogs all the time, and as much as I might love them all like they are my own, it's not the same as having my own.  After making certain Tabitha was completely happy in her new (and that her new home was completely happy with her), I started looking around for another buddy who needed a home.  I ended up finding a little one online and filled out the adoption application.  And that is how I ended up with little Tommy Two Guns Gone Fishing.  Tommy came into my life 1/12/2013 at 12 weeks of age and he is really doing well.  He's a really good little guy.  

Ready to pick up the Playgroup!

Making friends is exhausting...

Not only is he doing wonderfully, everyone who comes into my home is doing wonderfully with him.  I truly cannot think of a better group of dogs to show a new puppy the ropes of life.  They are all so patient, fun and understanding all while teaching him how to have excellent boundaries.  If only all puppies could be this lucky.  

Ember & Tommy

Riggins & Tommy

After he is a little older, I am planning to get him out and about where other people and dogs play.  If anyone knows any super great local areas to take your dog to, please, let me know.

I am going to try and stay abreast of this blog a little better than I have in the past.  

If there is anything you would like discussed or reviewed, you just let me know and I will do my best on that subject matter.

Have a tail wagging type of day!

Oh girls just want to have fu-un!

Mali and Lilly have a great time while Fendi joins in a little in the end.

Oh, na na, what's my name?

Holy moly!  Where HAVE you been?  Sorry you guys.  Had a little rough patch there and the interwebz was the last thing on my mind for a bit.  After this, I'll download all the new pictures onto Facebook.

Something came up the other day that had me thinking of you all.  A playgroup dog had lost her identification tag.  You know the one?  Name, phone, address?  Yup, that one.

A while back I was about to make up new tags for my dogs as one of the numbers on the tags was no longer current.  I was talking to an old dog loving friend of mine while creating the tags.  She told me to make the next ones without their names on there and instead put the word REWARD, and here's why:

Side note:  I am not usually into feeding any type of paranoid frenzy but this made sense to me and I thought I would pass it on.

Horror of horrors, you have somehow misplaced your favorite fuzzy friend.  Now although anxiety ridden about their general welfare, you know that with the microchip (they ARE microchipped right?), tags, and loose dogs running amok being generally frowned upon, they can't stay missing for very long.  With those things on your side, let's pretend someone does in fact find your buddy and they start reading the tags.  They now know your dog's name and were they awful enough to simply decide keep your dog, it wouldn't be that hard of a switch.

The better thing to do, is skip the name and instead put the word REWARD in big old capital letters.  Tabitha has the kind of tag which has writing on the front and back.  The front reads REWARD and the back has my phone number, email address and street address.  As for Jimmy, his was always NEEDS SEIZURE MEDICATION and then REWARD, followed by the phone, email and street address on the flip side.


Remember, you want to tell them anything that is absolutely necessary and then let them know they have a positive reinforcement coming their way for getting in touch with you.  People love incentives and usually act upon them.  :)


Now, other than someone calling Tabitha "Reward" for a while after meeting her and reading her tags instead of asking her name, it's been a pretty fool proof plan for me.  Although, I don't have many mishaps with my dogs, so I might not be the most reliable source on the subject.  Like I said, just thought it worth a mention for the next time you make up tags.

Playgroup additions

So you know who has gone and how much we miss them, but how about who is new and how much we are enjoying getting to know them?  I feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of dogs.  Everyone is so well mannered and kind and the dogs coming in just make the playgroup even more of a pleasure.  

And now!...  drum roll please...

Paddington joined playgroup a little while back and he is a great addition.  He's a mellow dude who will play here and there, but mostly enjoys roaming about, starting the occasional pee war, and hanging out in "dog fort".  He's a no nonsense type of guy, but underneath that aloof exterior is a heart of gold and a super affectionate demeanor.

Don't worry Paddington, you constant adoration will be our little secret.  Until I blog about it anyway...

Next up is little Henry.  Last week was his first week in playgroup and I was a little leery.  Sometimes very young puppies can disrupt a group of adults with their endless puppy antics, but Henry is fitting in so perfectly it's unbelievable.  He's great at respecting boundaries and watches the others for cues and he is a champion player.  He, Anna and Riggins are like the three Stooges, running around with each other having the time of their lives.  I am truly enjoying Henry and I am so glad I gave him a chance.

Henry:  Too cool for school, but never too cool for playgroup.

The grass sometimes is always greener

Another one of our best players has moved on to a life with large grassy backyards and a freedom that simply isn't found this close to the city.  It's funny, because when I say best player, I mean best player.  Black Jack is one of those guys who is always up for a good time.  He's the "I'm in" guy.  Whenever anyone wanted to romp, all they had to do was look in Black Jack's general direction and he was ready to go.  He will be sorely missed by us all, but most of all to those of us who were in constant need of a good hard romp about the yard.  We have been assured we will see him again for things like boarding purposes and I for one am looking forward to that time.

Did someone say let's go outside and play?!  

As for other breaking news on the Happy Dog front, there is now a new fence that helps keep the more active merrymaking to itself until it becomes more of a dull roar.

That orange construction fence was just so...    Let's put it like this:  I'm not even putting a before picture, that's how much I didn't like it and I don't feel like you should be subjected to it's ugliness.  There, I said it.  And of course there was the occasional bump by a large body that quite literally snapped the posts.  They were old and thin, and serious horseplay does nothing good to old wooden fence posts.  So up went the other and I have to say, as much as it was a heap of hard work, I like it.  I no longer need to be worried about any type of destruction caused by the simple action of leaning too hard and they no longer have to listen to me fret over something silly.  That's a win/win in my book.  Unbridled, laughter inducing fun is so much better than the type of fun where someone keeps saying "careful now, come on now, over here, no no now, play over here you guys..." wouldn't you agree?

This isn't goodbye

I am truly feeling a little emotional while I enter this blog post.  Some of our clients are moving (or have moved) away and I am surprised by how effected I am.  Now don't get me wrong here - I get emotional after dropping anyone off after a long stay with us.  I get attached and I am not ashamed to say so.  I would rather it be this way to be honest.  It shows me just how much the pets mean to me.  The day I stop getting a little choked up, is the day I stop providing pet care.  That said, I don't see that day coming up any time in the near future.  I love what I do and the emotion is a huge part of it.  There is no passion without some kind of emotion right?

What is ridiculous is that I know I will still be used for boarding and other things that come up along the way that I can provide for.  Still.  I have known some of these dogs for years.  It's like a friend moving away.  Scratch that - it is a friend moving away.  You know you'll see them again, and you're happy they are moving on to a new and exciting adventure, but you're going to miss them like crazy.

Mel & Daisy

Mel is one of the first dogs I knew through Happy Dog years ago when I first walked for Mike.  I have known Mel since he was a young buck and I have loved him since the day I met him.  Mel just wants to be loved like crazy and even if you don't have the time to have your hands all over him, he's nearby loving you as hard as he can until you find the time.  I got to know Daisy when she joined him a few years back and she is such a feisty, fun little girl.  Daisy is super at teamwork and she always knows her job description which usually means she sits super still while you do the work.  She is especially great at helping around the office.  They are a great pair.  The most awesome part of them is how intensely Mel has Daisy's back.  He is the ultimate big brother, and she knows it.  Nothing will ever happen to Daisy so long as Mel is around.  We even refer to him as Super Mel Defender of All Things Innocent.  Daisy got the name Daisy Raises Sunshine and it fits her perfectly.  They were with me five days a week and I will miss them both tremendously until their next stay with us.

Josie

Ah Josie Josie Jose.  Josie is the perfect little girl.  Always so happy and wagging her tail while looking at you with the sweetest expression.  She joined us for playgroup every week and to have her go is heart wrenching.  I have only known Josie for a couple of years now but I feel like I have known her for much much longer.  She's got that personality you immediately click with and feel at ease around no matter the circumstance.  I truly miss watching her sunbathe in the yard or romp about in the yard with the bigger dogs.  Josie might be on the small side, but man can that girl play hard.  I know she's moving on to bigger and better, but there is definitely a huge gap that will be very hard to fill.   

LILY JEAN!

When I got the news that Lily Jean was moving, I immediately thought "oh my god, please make this nightmare end" and seriously had to take a moment to collect myself.  She is another dog I have known for almost a decade.  Lily and I have history people.  I have so many pictures of Lily, in so many different places, it's kind of shocking even to me.  She's practically Happy Dog's mascot.  James lets her ride shotgun with him and that is unheard of.  She is right now pressed up against him and he's not moving away.  They love each other and it's not surprising.  She is the pug that launched a thousand ships, conqueror of the heart, the light that overcomes the darkness by mere existence.  Lily Jean radiates.  In short, she is the ultimate little dog and anyone who meets her immediately knows it.

It's like Josie's mom said, this isn't good bye exactly.  I know I will see them again, but I want you all to know their absence will not go unnoticed and no one can take their place.  Not now, not ever.  

4th of July (7/4/2012)

This is just a reminder that we will be off for the 4th of July.  Again, this does not effect boarding dogs.  For anyone who ends up needing care, the holiday charge of $20 per scheduled service will apply.

Thanks!