Happy Easter!

Easter is really bumming me out because my humans are enjoying their chocolate treats and they can't share them with me. I know dogs don't even taste sweet and chocolate is "doggy death" but I just feel left out. Mom and dad gave me extra treats of mine but it's not the same.

 This is me moping around

Mom explained to me why Easter is happy and really has nothing to do with candy, and she also said something about me being self-centered, whatever that means.

So to cheer me up and all my other pals feeling the same way, here is a great Snoopy video. Mom loves those eggs you look inside so she really likes this video too.

I Love Dean Koontz

Mom and I have a favorite author of all time and that's Dean Koontz. We love his books because of the characters. He is known as a horror writer but his books are so much more than that. He also has lots of really good dog characters.

His non-fiction account of his life with his beloved Golden Retriever (A Big Little Life), Trixie, is a book we highly recommend. I knew from the beginning that Trixie was already OTRB with so many of my other friends but mom and me still cried our hearts out for Dean and Gerda Koontz and all who loved Trixie when she went to the bridge. Definitely a three handkerchief ending!

Dean and Gerda are huge supporters of Canine Companions for Independence, a wonderful organization that trains service animals for people with disabilities. Their dog Trixie was a CCI dog who had to retire from service due to elbow surgery. Their current dog, is a descendant of Trixie.

Dean doesn't do many interviews so I wanted to share this one with my pals. He was on CBS Sunday Morning last week.




If you have never read Dean Koontz before, here are some great ones with dog characters to check out. You can find more info on all of these on his site.

Watchers

The Darkest Evening of the Year

Breathless

One Door Away from Heaven

Fear Nothing

The Taking

Relentless

Mom's absolute favorite is one of Dean's earliest books: Lightning


Check out Dean Koontz on his website, Facebook and Twitter. There is also an App and he has a You Tube page. Trixie has her own page and you can link to that from the main website. When you watch the video you will see that Dean isn't on the cutting edge of technology (really, did you see that 'puter?) but someone who works for him definitely is as he has some cool sites!

Blog the Change - Stop Breed Specific Legislation

Today is the big "Blog for Change" day and mom and me thought really hard as to what issue to talk about. We have several issues we believe in strongly.

Pet adoption

Spay and Neuter

Chain Free Dogs

But the recent plight of poor Lennox in Northern Ireland made us decide to write about Breed Specific Legislation again.

We have written on this subject even before we heard about the Lennox story but we did not know about the laws in the United Kingdom then. Mom and I think we need to talk about this issue more or we may have more laws in the United States to ban dogs by breeds.

I understand that some humans are afraid of being attacked by dogs. Some dogs too. I know our good friends at Two Little Cavaliers were victims of an attack. But just like there are good people and bad people there are good dogs and bad dogs.

In this great article about famous Hero Dogs there are a lot of dogs on Breed Specific lists. Yes some of these breeds have attacked and even killed people. Yes the same breeds have saved people. 

I also think insurance companies, apartment complexes and neighborhoods need to find a different way to address the issue and deal with bad behavior not discrimination. In Furginia we have dangerous dog statutes that register and list dogs who have bitten humans. Mom knows about this because her sister had a dog that was declared "dangerous." It was rough punishment for a dog that barely broke the skin and we believed that it was even a case of mistaken identity but he had managed to escape the yard with his sisfur. But even as harsh as the result was for my cousin Bear, he was not euthanized.

We have two pitbulls that live in our house with my mom's niece. Here's the picture of me and Honey I posted in my last blog on this subject.

My Spring Avatar

I have had several comments about my new April/Spring Twitter avatar so I have to tell you that there is a story behind it.

First, for my pals not on Twitter that read my bloggie, here is the picture.

The story was way too long for the Twitter 140 characters and some of you haven't made it over to my replacement legal Facebook Fan Page, so I thought the bloggie was the best place for the story.

My mom used to be afraid of sunflowers. Yep, isn't that funny, I hear you all laughing. She is a bit sensitive about it now and has a hard time explaining why. Something about how tall they get and the fact they grew in her backyard and when the wind blew that got really spooky looking. She says it's also that big section in the center that looks creepy. It's kind of like faces.

The funny thing is she never really told anyone about her fear until about 5 years ago. Her mom was in the hospital in a town away from where we live and she and her two sisters were staying nearby. They went out to dinner at a Cracker Barrel and mom made the big mistake of mentioning her fear. Of course her sisters bought a giant sunflower to tease her with. She says she is over her fear but I see her shudder when she doesn't think anyone is looking. They had a bunch of really big ones by the drive thru of our drugstore last summer.

The other funny thing is my picture in the center of the sunflower. It's my picture where it looks like I'm sneezing. Well, mom gets seasonal sneezy - less from flowers more from from the yucky green pine tree pollen, but this is the month for that stuff!

So that's why the avi is a joke on mom.

Photo by Jim Simonson (rocketjim54) used under Creative Commons License

Sigh, Another Stuffie Bites the Dust

Duh Duh Duh Duh another one bites the dust ....

I was just chatting with my pal Teeny the other night on Twitter about how we had finally found some indestructible stuffies. I have all kinds of strong toys that last a long time but not really any stuffies. Mom read about HuggleHounds on a blog she reads occasionally and decided we would try some. After all, they were using a patent pending tuff toy process.

I had my HuggleHounds Octopus and Reindeer (it was on sale and I don't think they are just for Christmas) for a whole month and I was having fun and there wasn't the slightest hole.

Here are some of the pictures mom took of me with them.

I'm munching on the reindeer's ear and the octopus has rolled over

This is a good shot of the Octopus (well, the before shot anyway)

The very next night, I am not joking, mom comes home and is starting to relax. She picks up the octopus and there is a HOLE IN HIS HEAD!

You know what this means? I must be a ZOMBIE because apparently I like STUFFIE BRAINS.

BRAINS, BRAINS ....

Well mom does what she normally does to save a stuffie for a while. She removed all the stuffin' and let me have the Octopus back. Sadly the best squeaker went in the drawer. It's my favorite kind of squeaker, the one they wrap up with cotton around in plastic so it is real sounding squeak. It is a very well made toy though because all of the Octopus tentacles are still self contained with their knots and squeakers in tact. So, there is still lots of fun left in the ole' girl.

I probably shouldn't say anything but the reindeer is still fine .... for now.

These toys are really well made and it has been a long time that any stuffie lasted anywhere near this long so I give them two paws up! To give you an idea, here is a glimpse of the stuffie destruction I am responsible for. These are the toys that I am still allowed to play with. Many others have gone to their grave (put out of their misery). Teeny do you see the beaver? That is Justin2.

Anipal Photo Hunt - What the heck is that thing?

Okay, so I know what this is but really, who needs it? It makes a lot of noise and it removes really cool things off the floor I like to investigate like crumbs. Even my kitty sibs agree with this since they like some of the stray stuff on the floor too.

Save Lennox!

If you have not heard about Lennox yet, please read this. Lennox is a mixed breed and according to officials in Ireland too close to one of the breeds considered illegal. His punishment? Death. Please join us and fight to help Lennox's family save him.

We have written against breed specific legislation in the United States (click here for one post) and we want to extend that world-wide AND help save Lennox.

Bad enough they took Lennox from a family who loved him 

but they also have to keep him in this horrible place. 

And ultimately they want to kill him.

If you are a blogger, blog to save Lennox and join the Blog Hop here. Post about it on Facebook and Twitter, help spread the world. As mai pal Frugal Dougal says - we'll be Paws Around the World and making a difference!