Random Days of Christmas: Day 14

Day 14: You Need a New Sofa When...

The greyhounds prefer to rearrange the cushions so they are actually being eaten by them.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 13

Day 13: Reindog

Seka is a certified therapy dog. Most of the time we go to the nursing home alone, but we've recently become active with a local therapy dog group in Dublin - which is about an hour away from us. When Seka was younger she loved going to the nursing home and didn't really like visiting with kids. As she has aged, she doesn't like the nursing home so much and prefers to hang with the youngsters. Maybe she thinks I'm going to leave her at the old folks home. Or maybe it's because kids are sticky and taste better than nursing home food.

We were a part of Santa and his reindogs visits this year and of course, Seka made the best reindeer of all. In fact, maybe a little too good. A few of the residents thought she was a real reindeer.

These antlers were given to us years ago and she wears them like a champ for about 30 minutes. The bell collar - not so much. I do have to admit, from far away she looks rather real.

Happy Holidays to each of you!!!

Random Days of Christmas: Day 12

Day 12: Ornamental Objects

I have always felt like holding a Christmas ornament is like holding a memory in your hand. One of my favorite parts of Christmas growing up was the trip to the Hallmark store where my sister and I could select one ornament each that would represent "us" for that year. Whether it was Miss Piggy or a cheerleading bunny (both of which I still have and hang on my tree), those ornaments represented an interest at that point in our lives. One year I picked a penguin on a block of ice. I have no idea what that was supposed to represent for 1982.

Our tree holds many of my childhood ornaments as well as those from our many travels. I have a shell from Aruba, the Golden Gate Bridge, Hawaiian flip flops, and of course numerous Red Sox ornaments (thanks to Kev's students).

Of course our babies are all depicted on our tree as well. I cry a little each time I hang Boo Radley and Nomie's ornaments on our tree. Laugh as I hang Sam's ornament - one that I got in 1985 - as it is a bit cross eyed, just like she is. Clyde has a saddle, complete with stirrups. Good greyhound ornaments are harder to find. Seka's ornament looks just like her. Roxy, is depicted in pewter.

Our collection grows every year. I'm always on the lookout for new animal oriented ornaments in the hopes that one day we can have an entire tree dedicated to our babies.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 11

Day 11: Opening Presents Takes Practice

Roxy is becoming a pro...

Random Days of Christmas: Day 10

Day 10: Dear God, Make Me a Cat, So I Can Get Out of Here

We have had a lot of work done to our home in the last month an a half. New roof. New hot water heater. Fixing of leaky pipes (3 of them). Merry Christmas!

All of these required the dogs to be stowed away so they can be out of the way of the men as they went back and forth to their truck for whatever they needed. Sometimes they got stuck up stairs with an ex-pen blocking the stairs. Other times we all spent the day in the basement together. The girls didn't mind either of these options.

But for quick visits (an hour or less), I just shut them in our bedroom. Within 10 minutes of being stuck behind a closed door, Seka began devising a plan to shrink herself and escape. Despite the fact she is less than small boned - she has a super tiny head!

Random Days of Christmas: Day 9

Day 9: Attack Cat on Duty

We don't have a garage door at our house. At first I thought that I'd miss being able to close my cars in a safe little compartment each night. Kev continues to remind me that we live out in the country and to stop being paranoid.

Now I really don't think twice about it and in fact it becomes handy when the holidays come around and all of my online shopping is delivered. Nothing gets wet or damp. And as I discovered a couple of days ago, it allows our attack cat to guard the packages until one of us arrives.

At 15, Walter does not mess around. I've seen him chase dogs four times his size out of our garage and send them screeching in fear. Other cats and night critters do not dare step foot in our garage without paying a high price. I am convinced he is really a small wolverine.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 8

Day 8: My Greyhound Snores Louder than Your Honor Student

This has been happening for quite some time. We'll be watching tv and suddenly we hear the rumblings of a growling bear. The tv is instantly muted so we can decide where the attack will come from and I begin to mentally review all of the survival skills I've learned by watching When Animals Attack and then we realize it is just Roxy napping.

Can greyhounds have sleep apnea?

Random Days of Christmas: Day 7

Day 7: Greyhound Mayhem

We stopped crating the girls about a year ago. It started out leaving them out for about 10 minutes at a time, earning their trust little by little. On days when I'm on the road for work and Kev is out of the house for long periods of time, they still get some crate time just to keep Roxy in check.

But, as you can see, Roxy got bored while we were at dinner the other night and decided that the newspaper can be recycled much easier when pre-shredded and my Red Sox visor looks way better with teeth marks.

You know the holidays are stressful. Ripping something to shreds (or beating up your sister) makes you feel better.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 6

Day 6: Oh, the Greyhound and the Kitty Can Be Friends

Emma is 14 years old and continues to grow more stubborn every day. She may lack a tail, but she has a lot of attitude and isn't afraid to show it. Lately, Emma has decided that Roxy is her personal heating pad. No matter where Roxy beds down, Emma is right behind waiting to make her nest cuddled up right next to her.

At first there were some grumbles on Roxy's part. She doesn't like anyone in her face - that includes me and certainly not a kitty. But for some reason she has decided that Emma isn't too much of a bother and I think she actually likes the added warmth the little fur ball provides.

As you can see, humans have been officially removed from the sofa and all is right in the world.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 5

Day 5: Sam Loves Dry Cleaning Bags

Kevin has exactly 58 dress shirts in his closet. They are all different colors and patterns and he never wears the same shirt twice. After he gets home from school, he places the used shirt into the dry cleaning pile that he takes to our friends at Love Your Clothes Dry Cleaning once every 3 months. This always freaks them out that we have 58 pieces of clothing to be cleaned at once. We pick up every shirt he owns three days later and the cycle starts all over again.

When removing 20 or so dry cleaning bags before putting the shirts in the closet, it never fails that Sam buries herself in the bags as deep as she possibly can. I have to work my way into her little kitten fort to be sure she has a hole to breath out of. I guess the dry cleaning chemicals are like cat nip to her. She is a Siamese so there's really no explaining her behavior.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 4

Day 4: 2 Broke Girls Love Greyhounds

If you've not checked out the new CBS comedy 2 Broke Girls, you're missing out on one of the funniest shows on television right now. If you like tongue-in-cheek humor, double entendre, and genuine characters this show is for you.

I was pretty psyched last Monday night when the two main characters go into a jewelry store and the set was decorated with a huge picture of a greyhound in a diamond collar. Greyhounds show up in the elevator scene too.

I mean if you have a golden retriever, you can't get excited when you see one used on TV or in a movie - right? When greyhounds appear on the screen, I like to think some greyhound-lover is working on that show or movie and went the extra mile to give us greyhound owners a secret shout out.

Random Days of Christmas: Day 3

Day 3: Seka and the Sunshine Band

We had a huge tree removed from the front of our house in early fall. We really like the way it opens up the front of the house. The animals love the way the sun shines right in on them 90 percent of the day. Seka has taken advantage of these day-long sun spots more so than any of the others.

As you can see, she's into contortion to make sure she suns all sides of herself evenly. When she is done baking herself her fur feels like it could be 100 degrees. What is it about these black and sunning themselves until they cook?

Random Days of Christmas: Day 2

Day 2: Trent Reznor Rocks
Oscar-winning composer, Trent Reznor raises money for greyhound rescue auctioning off Nine Inch Nails memorabilia on Ebay. That's right, Trent Reznor, has greyhounds and uses his fame and the cult-like following of his band to give back to greyhounds. If you follow him on twitter (@trent_reznor) he often posts pictures of his dogs and encourages his followers to adopt a greyhound.

I will admit that I was never a Nine Inch Nails fan. I mean the scary kid who smoked dope and wore all black to school sported a NIN t-shirt frequently. To be fair this was my only reference and I didn't really fit the NIN demographic. But his work on The Social Network (for which he won an Oscar for best original score) and his lates work on Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (out next week), is exceptional.

So, follow Trent Reznor on twitter and support his work for greyhound rescue. Maybe when he wins his Oscar in 2012 he will give greyhounds a shout out in his acceptance speech.

Random Days of Christmas - Day 1

I've been MIA. I know it. Getting into the Christmas spirit is a lot of work - decorating, baking, shopping, eating... and I've neglected my blog. It's not for lack of topics. I have plenty. So in an effort to make up for lost time I present to you the Random Days of Christmas 2011. All random. All the time.


Day 1: Roxy Takes a Shower

I walked into our bathroom a few days ago and found Roxy standing inside. Maybe she wondered in there to lick the floor? Maybe she couldn't figure out how to turn around? Maybe she was hinting that I really need to clean the shower door? I can't be sure the reason. All I know is she had to be picked up and turned around to escape the glass box. Silly pony.

Honor Roll

I've never been a bumper sticker kinda girl. It is true that at every greyhound event I go to, my car is one of the very few without a greyhound-something stuck to it. But if I were to put a bumpersticker on my car, I would absolutely get the one that says "My greyhound is faster than your honor student." Don't you think it would look especially awesome when parked in the teacher's lot of a middle school?

On Tuesday, Seka was presented with an award from Dr. Hottie and company. She is officially the Pet of the Month for November 2011. The criteria for such an award is a bit fuzzy, but I've come up with a short list that may be applied for such a prestigious honor:

• I had the biggest bill of the day on November 1. Pulling six of Seka's teeth surely put us on the top end of that list for Tuesday. 
• This is the craziest owner we have at our practice and we know she will put this magnet on her car and drive around with it there for the next five years which will result in a lot of free advertising. 
• We would like to continue to be bribed with sweets when her diabetic cat is boarded, so let's give her something. 
• Maybe if we give Seka an award she will stop worrying about her having the big C and believe us when we tell her that it is Seka's arthritis causing her to limp. 

In reviewing this list, I realize that all of these reasons for Seka receiving the award have to do with me. Seka is okay with that. She says they told her the reason why she got the award is because she is the easiest patient they have. I'm sure they wish her mother was the same.

In leaving the office Dr. Hottie took a picture of me and Seka. He didn't mention what he was going to do with it. Kev thinks he keeps pictures of his "favorite pets"on his phone for personal reasons. I'm guessing it will be up on their Facebook page eventually. It was a great excuse to get Dr. Hottie to pose with Seka so I could have a picture to exploit as I see fit.

Whatever the reason Seka received this title, just like those proud honor students' parents, I snatched that sticker and put it on the back of my car before I pulled out of the parking lot. Take that smart kids!

PS: I was reminded that Seka and I are actually the original Greymates for August. I wonder if Dr. Hottie knew that, we'd get pet of the year?

Is There Something on My Face?

One of mine and Kev's post-meal rituals is to do a teeth check as we leave the restaurant. Yeah, it's gross, but when you have big chompers like me, having something stuck in your teeth is quite noticeable. And what good is it to have a husband if he won't tell you that you have saved some salad in your teeth for later?

Seka isn't as worried about such embarrassing situations. It was time to wash the evil Orvis bed's cover last week. This is a task I don't do very often because those stupid pellets that stuff the bed seem to escape and make my living room look like a snow globe that needs to be shaken.

The evil Orvis bed has become Seka's favorite. I have no idea why since she avoided it for the first six months it was in our house. Trying to be a nice mommy, I brought the bed back upstairs after removing the cover so she could have her mid-evening (7p-9p) nap in her favorite spot.

I didn't think much of it until a loud noise on the TV woke her up  and I caught a glimpse of her face. Instead of being a good mom and immediately removing the embarrassing white balls, I grabbed my camera (I was a good blogger instead).

Survivor

If you are a fan of the reality-television shows Survivor and Big Brother, like I am, you know all about the crazy challenges they put contestants through to test their endurance. Stand on a four inch platform while it spins in melted butter - sure no problem. Balance on one leg on a fence post in 1000 degree heat - no worries. Hold 10 plates above your head for as long as you can - you betcha'. I'm unsure how these shows could come up with anything else for people to do for extended periods of time, but there are some sadistic creative people who come up with new stuff year in and  year out.

This little guy was on his on private game show tonight in our pool. Who knows how long he was balancing on a piece of a broken pool step in our back yard?

I'm sure he leaned in a little too far to get a drink at some point during the day or last night. He was at least smart enough to make it to something to stand on out of the water. I bet he wished for a mouse life jacket more than once while he was on there.

We tried to keep him out of the water when we scooped him up with the skimmer net, but fear made him swim for his life. I was able to capture a few of pictures of him doing the mouse-paddle.

He was so cute. I really wanted to touch him, but like all the other adorable wildlife that somehow finds its way into our yard, I thought he might have rabies. Why does everything cute have rabies?

Needless to say, after being plucked out of the pool and placed safely in the grass, he sat there totally still. I thought he might have had a heart attack (who knows if he was conditioned for that sort of swimming - he was bit plump), but once he got his wits about him and realized he didn't have to stand on a half-inch sliver of plastic for safety, he ran as fast as he could into the safety of the under brush.

I guess he won the mouse equivalent of $1,000,000 - life. Now that's a real Survivor.

Cinephile

I love a good film just about as much as anything. I love the experience of sitting in a cold, dark theater with other people experiencing the same emotions at the same time. I love talking about a great film with friends over a drink. I love it when a film has a greyhound in it.

I never quite understand why greyhounds aren't used more often in movies. They are beautiful. They are skinny. They like to sit around and do nothing. They are like little movie stars in fur coats (real fur at that). Maybe they don't work well with other divas?

I was really excited to see that Seth Rogen's new film, 50/50, has a greyhound in it. This film is based on Rogen's real life and relationship with his best friend who was diagnosed with cancer and how a guys help each other through diagnosis and treatment. I have no idea if his friend really got a greyhound or why Rogen chose our fabulous breed for the film, but the name Skeletor is a pretty funny, skinny dog name.

Check out this clip of when Skeletor comes home:

Skeletor the Healing DogShawn Williamson, Jonathan Levine

Other recent movies where you can catch a greyhound glimpse:

Charlie Wilson's War
Young Victoria
Sunshine State
Good Will Hunting

I know there are several old movies that feature greys as well. Let's see how many we can come up with shall we? I'll create a running list in the sidebar with links to these grey-friendly flicks!

Seka's Impression of a Dalmatian

This is more of an inverted Dalmatian interpretation. Black is way more slimming anyway. Yes, she was very proud of her decorative coat.

Friday Funnies

Has anyone else had the longest week on record? I'm so happy to have an extra day this weekend, so in celebration I share with you a Looney Tunes classic. I wish the greyhound didn't look so mean and those dogs certainly shouldn't be eating so close to race time, but I need to remember the Road Runner never died after falling off the cliff. Enjoy!

Dirty Dog

My girlfriends and I used to make prank phone calls when we had sleep overs. Nothing nasty or dirty - well, maybe a couple were PG-13 - but most were just calling a cute boy and hanging up when they answered. I'm guessing now days kids have a much harder time pulling off a good prank phone call. Caller ID has totally ruined the art of prank calls and the hang up.

I guess Seka would prefer to make dirty prank phone calls since she obviously has the art of heavy breathing down - all be it a bit too fast to qualify for pervert status. Now if she could only convenience the cat to dial the phone for her.

BTW - this was taken just after she had her nails trimmed at the vet and we were waiting on Roxy to finish up. Seriously, people in the waiting room were staring at her incredibly loud panting. You would have thought she was having a doggie heart attack. Drama queen.

Lookout! Dogs on the Diamond.

I love minor league baseball. I love the silly promotions. I love watching guys playing the game just hoping they make an impression. I love Thirsty Thursdays (2-for-1 drink night at most minor league parks).

So when the Chattanooga Lookouts hosted Dogs on the Diamond night last week, we knew the girls had to make an appearance.

We made donations.

We made friends.

We made an impression.

Yes, she is standing on the table. 

We made a mess.

And we made the local news and I have no idea why the sound didn't record. We still look cute all the same, so just for fun, you can do your own voiceover script!

So Thin. So Elegant - Art Experts Say So

I travel to New York at least four times a year on business and I always love to see dogs walking with their owners in the city. In my numerous trips, I've never seen a greyhound on the city streets. I guess I need to track down where the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art's curator of Nineteenth-century, modern and contemporary art, Gary Tinterow, lives. I'm sure it's fabulous - and even more fabulous because he is a greyhound owner.

This piece, posted on The Met's website, is narrated by Mr. Tinterow and shows amazing works of art featuring greyhounds throughout history. As all things at The Met - this three minutes is incredibly fabulous and a must watch for any greyhound historian.

I have to admit, I love that this was produced by The Met. It only solidifies what all greyhound owners know - our dogs are timeless works of art. Enjoy.

Water Bugs

I can swim, but I really don't love recreational activities that involve water. I'm not a stick in the mud. I will boat, swim and jet ski, but it's not my first choice of fun. My idea of enjoying the water is laying on a blow up raft, my drink secured in a koozie, a good book to read and suntan lotion on my skin.

On our recent vacation to Tampa we took the girls to Fort Desoto dog beach. This off-leash dog beach for well-mannered pups who like to swim is fantastic for dog lovers. The beach was clean. The sand was soft (not too shelly). And the people (and dogs) were really friendly. Of course we were the only greyhounds in sight, so we got a lot of attention, even when we were just watching all the other dogs swim as we lounged in the shade.

Despite the fact that we have a pool in our backyard, my girls have never had a swimming lesson. Seka fell in on the day we moved and has never been near the edge again. Roxy is way too cautious to even attempt to lean over into the wild blue yonder, either that or Seka told her horror stories of what happens when you do get too close. Both girls have been to the beach before and they really didn't like it. Seka has NOTHING to do with the water. In fact, she does everything she possibly can to get as far away from the foamy waves as she possibly can, which makes morning walks on the beach really not fun. Roxy would run in with me about ankle deep and spaz around, but that's about it.

I'm not sure if it was watching all the other dogs splashing around or if it was the 90+ degree temperatures at 10 a.m., but both girls wanted to get in the water. On our second outing, Roxy even went in deeper with Kev and actually got her doggie paddle on. She didn't like the waves getting water in her ears, but she kept going back out and trying it over and over again. I was very proud of her.  Next time I will bring her inflatable e-collar to help her keep her ears water-free, but then again, I don't want the other dogs to make fun of her.

Seka, on the other hand, takes after her mom. For the first time ever she braved the scary foam the waves made on the sand and submerged herself in the water! She had zero interest in moving her legs and attempting to swim, but she seemed to get over her fear of the ocean so that was a huge step for her.

The other great part about swimming with your greyhounds is that it totally wears them out. Sure they are all sandy and sticky from the salt, but they don't have the energy to track that stuff anywhere but to their beds! Now we can plan more beach vacations and I feel like they will enjoy it, but until then the plastic baby pool we purchased will have to serve as their personal doggie spa.

Silly Girl Turns Seven

Happy Seventh Birthday to my sweet, silly and snuggly Roxy girl. Thank you for making me smile every day.

Vacation Vet

Roxy doesn't feel well.

Some of you know that the location of my summer vacation often revolves around where the Boston Red Sox are playing. We've seen the Sox in Oakland, Seattle, Phoenix and of course Boston. Now you can add Tampa to the list. Most of the trips often require air travel, so the girls do not tag along. But this year's trip only took 5 hours in the car, so we officially enjoyed our first family vacation.

While there was beach time, baseball and of course a celebration centering around the Boston Bruins winning the Stanley Cup, we had a bit of drama just prior to Wednesday night's game. It was wicked hot in Tampa on Wednesday and we spent a bit of time with the girls lunching at John's Pass and then spending a few hours in the ocean (a swimming lessons post will follow - stay tuned). It was HOT. There was NO BREEZE. But, the girls seemed comfortable soaking in the salt water and chillin' in the shade.

Upon leaving the beach Roxy took a tinkle. Of course all crazy good greyhound owners inspect what goes in and out of our dogs, so you can imagine my horror when her urine was black/red. Not cool, but my skills as a amateur veterinarian diagnosed it as a UTI. After a call to Dr. Hottie back home, he confirmed my diagnosis suggested we seek medical attention as UTIs/bladder infections get bad pretty quickly.

Now comes the tricky part. It's 4:15p on Wednesday afternoon. Google maps (thank you iPhone) found four vets within miles of where we were.

I thought this was vacation?

• Vet Number 1, didn't have time to see us. Thanks for nothing. 
• Vet Number 2 wasn't open after noon on Monday, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Who keeps these crappy hours? 
• Vet Number 3 didn't answer the phone. I guess I got the message. 
• That brings us to Vet Number 4 - The Animal Hospital of Seminole. Fabulous service. Friendly people. An Auburn University trained vet who is familiar with greyhounds. And they took us without hesitation. 

Roxy had a nasty bladder infection. She's never had any urinary tract issues in the past, so this was a bit unexpected. According to the vet, low squatters (Roxy fits that description) can pick up bacteria much easier than other dogs. She could have gotten it in the water, on the beach or in the tall grass at our condo. The only concerning result in her urinalysis was even though we could see the blood in her urine, there were no blood cells present in the sample. According to vacation vet, this is a sign of overheating in a greyhound, as the heat destroys the red blood cells in their bodies. Basically, I'm a bad mommy.

A shot, a week's worth of antibiotics, instructions to keep her inside the next day and a charge on the debit card later, we were out the door. I figured this was the last time we would hear from our friends at AHS.

Nope, their fabulous customer service didn't stop after I signed the debit card slip. They called to follow up the next day. How fantastic! And then I received this birthday card especially for my sweet little girl via e-mail yesterday. You must check out the link as it is breed specific! Ok, I know it's a whippet, but it's pretty close.

So any of you Florida folks are looking for a new vet or are in the St. Petersburg area and need a vet, I highly recommend The Animal Hospital of Seminole. For our next family vacation I will print out a list of vets prior to our arrival just in case. You can never be too prepared.

Happy Birthday Heart Dog

Happy 8th Birthday, Solitary Seka.

You are my sunshine.

Mommy's girl.

Seka last week at Mountain Hounds.
She does not use Just for Greyhounds coat color. My girl's got good genes. 

Summer Sun

My friend Denise posted this pic of her greyhound, Peanut - aka The Nut, soaking up the summer sun today. It make me laugh in the middle of a very busy afternoon and I just had to share it. Move over Spuds MacKenzie, here comes The Nut!

Cube Dog Takes Over Your Phone!

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

Do you remember those key chain pets that were so popular back in the late 1990s? I was in college when they were all the rage and I got one as a gag for Christmas that year. Little did that gift giver know that I would play with that thing until the battery died. And no, my "pet" did not die. I kept it fed and watered, thank you very much. 

Today, I would feel foolish with a little electronic egg hanging on my keys, but I still like having something to play with/distract me when I'm waiting at the doctor's office or for the car to be serviced or for my plane to board. It never fails that when I start a game on iPhone, I get called back and of course I was having the best game ever only to be interrupted. Now I have my Cube Dog.

A sponsored review, I know, not like me. But when I had the opportunity to try out the new iPhone/iPod 4 app called Cube Dog, I knew there were several of you dog lovers out there who would love to take a cute cube pup along with you. It's not like the electronic pets of 1997. Cube Dog allows you to create a pup, play with it and - this is the coolest part - take pictures of your Cube Dog right where you are! 

Here's how it works. You create a 3-D dog using a set of cubes and options for you to choose from. It's super easy and you can even change the color of your little friend. There's a store where you can buy other Cube Dog parts to add to your pallet, but I felt like I had plenty to choose from. Once you have your pup looking like you want, you can play with him or her. 

Your Cube Dog can do lots of tricks. My favorite is that it can call you from it's own iPhone. Seriously, your screen looks like you're getting an incoming call and I was highly confused when it first happened. Of course you can rub it's belly and play fetch with it. The responses are really cute and made me smile - which is exactly what I need when I'm waiting in an airport for hours on end. 

My favorite part of the Cube Dog app is the ability for you to take pictures of your pup right where you are and send them to Twitter, Facebook or e-mail to friends. Pinky, my Cube Dog, spent some QT napping with Seka and seems to have the hots for Emma. 

This app would be a lot of fun for kids of any age. If you can block access to the store, I would before handing your iPhone or iPod 4 (with camera) over to your child. It's too easy to access the packages to buy and you may end up spending money that you didn't anticipate because your son or daughter wants his or her Cube Dog to hide in a coffee cup or have round ears. 

Oh, did I mention that you do not have to feed, water or play with your Cube Dog to keep it happy and healthy? So there's no threat of doggie loss. It is simply a fun distraction that you can take with you on the go. I can't wait to see the pics of where your Cube Dog shows up.  

Check out Cube Dog on Facebook to enter into a cool contest during the week of June 6 - 13. Check out this YouTube video for more details about the app, which is free right now in the iTunes App Store.

While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I've expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Raw Rules!

The Mountain Hounds greyhound gathering in Gatlinburg, TN, starts tomorrow. One of the fun parts about any gathering weekend (besides the wine on the balcony with great girls) is attending seminars that are geared to crazy greyhound people. Yeah, I'm a school nerd, so sitting in a class about massaging your greyhound or basic greyhound first aid is exciting to me - don't judge. Even more exciting (and flattering) is I've been asked to conduct a seminar on Saturday morning for beginning raw feeders.

If you're a regular reader, you know I started feeding BARF/raw three years ago and have never looked back. This unique way of feeding bases the dog's diet on wild dogs and/or wolves. As the name suggests, the meat is raw - never cooked - and bones are a part of the daily menu. This freaks a lot of people out, but for those of us who feed this way, we wouldn't go back to commercial kibble even if it was free.

And because I'm one of the few seminar junkies at these things, I'm not beyond a little bribery to increase my attendance. So, tonight I sat down at my embroidery machine and created these little Raw Rules! feeding towels. There will be eight lucky winners on Saturday morning. So, if you're attending Mountain Hounds and you want to learn more about raw feeding, join me at 9:30a just outside of the vending area.

I feel it is only fair for my readers to receive a little inside information. So to win a towel you've got to get a sheet with color - and that color is pink of course! See you guys there.

Sleeping with Seka