We've been back in Nashville for a month and I'm JUST getting around to sharing this?! What's up with that?! Well, here it is: the video of Claire's first time at the beach back in August! Love seeing this girl so happy!
I apologize for the poor video quality. Blame the iPhone 4.
One a month, my girls and I get together to have dinner and talk about life. I absolutely love these sweet friends, and I cherish the time I get to spend with them amidst our busy lives. Tonight was our January supper together, and I found myself laughing so hard that I cried. We got to talking about Claire, and the following conversation ensued:
-- AE: "If you ever need someone to pick her up from daycare, let me know."
-- Me: "Aww thanks! But umm... You don't have a cat, do you?"
-- AE: "No!!!! I love Jesus!! Cats are the devils spawn!!"
[I am pretty confident that Claire would agree. And by the way, Rachel was the only one who was offended by AE's statement.]
Following that conversation, I stumbled upon this fantastic video when I got home from dinner - this one is for you, AE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbycvPwr1Wg&sns=em
'Nuff said.
** To all you cat lovers out there, please note that 70% of me is posting this in jest. The other 30% is completely serious.
I was doing a little browsing last night before bed, and I have to say that I found some pretty share-worthy things - just in time for today's post! I've also read a ton of great books lately that I wanted to let you all know about, too! Grab a pen and paper, and get ready for information-overload...
Life+Dog posted this article about how to recognize anxiety in dogs and how to help them.
Tails Inc. featured a video that our dear friends Lauren and Dexter made - and Paige made an appearance too!
Tatiana Garrett wrote a fantastic article for Tails Inc. entitled "Animal Lovers Must Love People Too", which I completely resonated with, as both a social worker and animal lover.
Ashley and Winnie from Hot Diggity[one of our favorite pet boutiques back home on Cape Cod - you know, aside from The Black Dog] have started a new weekly blog featuring cool new products at their store that you should definitely check out. And yes, shipping is available!
HuffPo recently posted an article about why dogs sleep curled up, and they linked to VetStreet's article about why dogs sleep belly up. Both are questions that I've wondered myself...
Thanks to our friends at Dog Milk, I came across this dog tag, which is perfectly fitting for Claire. It's been added to our wish list, of course, since Christmas is just a few months away!
I found two new sites that I quickly became obsessed with: Hugs and Inubar, which are definitely worth checking out for an assortment of toys and other designer products for your pet.
Lastly, some books that you absolutely must pick up, simply because they are amazing:
Remember my awesome friend Lauren who I met at the BarkWorld conference along with her dog Paige? You know, they are the talent behind the 1-800-Pet-Meds and Nylabone commercials! Wellllllll, Claire and I went to visit them (and Paige's brother Dexter) in DC over Christmas on our way back to Nashville from Cape Cod.
Claire, Paige, and Dexter hanging out together in DC!
At the time, Lauren said that she and Paige were getting ready to start canine freestyle [I totally wish we had classes like this in Nashville because I would love to try it!]. And hey, they just won first place in their first competition! Available for your viewing pleasure, here's their winning routine, performed to "I Love a Rainy Night!" Choreography by none other than Miss Lauren herself!
Want more Lauren&Paige? Check out more amazing videos from our pals here!
Claire is exhausted right now. I think she might sleep straight through the next few days, actually... It's just that the weather was so beautiful this weekend, that we absolutely had to take advantage of it! We spent a couple hours at the park this afternoon and then we went for a three mile walk around the greenway with my friend Melissa and her [incredibly adorable] little boy.
Because Miss Claire spent so much time on her feet today, she needed some TLC when we got home. So... [and I feel sort of ridiculous admitting this] I gave her a puppy massage. Some people say that she's spoiled, but she's not, she's just very well loved! And who doesn't want a massage, right? I mean, if she had opposable thumbs, I'd train her to reciprocate.
Anyway, Claire loved it. When I stopped to go and make dinner, she followed me into the kitchen, laid down on the floor, and rolled over on her back for more. And yes, I did lead her back to our room and oblige. Now she's sprawled out on my bed, fast asleep.
If you want to be known as a crazy dog lady too try it out on your pup, watch this video first to learn some techniques. I promise that you will have the happiest dog ever. Or the most comatose. Whichever comes first.
I have been home sick since Wednesday. One thing that you need to know about me: I hate being sick. I'd much rather use my sick time for "mental health" days, because then it can be quite enjoyable. But using sick time when you're actually sick is NO FUN AT ALL. I've slept the past 48 hours away, and my head hurt so bad from this sinus infection that I couldn't watch TV or use my laptop. Thankfully my headache has eased up today, which is why you get to read this new blog post - lucky you!
I dragged myself out of bed on Wednesday morning so that I could take Claire to daycare. She's very sweet and snuggly when I'm sick, but that only lasts a couple hours. Then she wants to play. And I needed to sleep. When I dropped her off, she was a little reluctant to leave my side, but once Stacey and I assured her that I was just going to go rest while she had fun with her friends, she was all right. I drove home, climbed back into bed, and slept for the next nine hours.
Claire was very happy to see me when I went to pick her up - she squealed, she jumped, she kissed me... the whole nine yards. [I love it! It never gets old!!] I don't put a leash on her to get her from the front door of the daycare to the car because it's such a short distance and she usually just hops right in the front seat. But on Wednesday night, she smelled something interesting and followed it through the hedges into the next yard.
I walked down the hill to go around the hedges, and I spotted Claire on the other side of the neighbor's driveway. Now [picture this with me], their yard is on a hill, so on both sides of their driveway, they have walls that are level with the top of their parked cars. I was standing next to one wall, and Claire was across from me near the other. I called for Claire and told her that it was time to go home and eat dinner. She stopped in her tracks and looked at me, then looked down the hill, and then looked at the car that was parked between us in the driveway. [It can never be good when you see a dog stop and think]. And then:
...she started running as fast as she could...
...and she leapt over the wall...
...and landed on top of the car...
...and then took another huge leap to get across to me.
I'm not kidding. I mean, forget agility classes - I think she was telling me that she wants to learn how to parkour.
Here's Claire's fifteen minutes four seconds of fame! Our pal Kelsey has a Great Dane puppy named Bishop who is absolutely gorgeous. Kelsey and his wife are videographers, and they brought aaaaaallllllllllll of their equipment to our favorite dog park a month or two ago to get some footage of the dogs playing. They also hooked up a camera to Bishop to get things from his perspective. You can find Claire at 42-46 seconds doing some kind of ninja move, but I think you should watch the whole video anyway because it is awesome!
I don't often post videos of dogs other than Claire (well, it is her blog, after all!) but from time to time I come across a video that is really touching or really hilarious that I consider it worthy of a feature ;) Today someone sent me one to file in the "hilarious" category, as I was laughing so hard watching it that it made my stomach hurt. Meet Willow, who will stop at nothing to find her ball - and for the record, the girl cracking up in the background only adds to the humor!
A friend posted this video on Facebook and I cried through the whole thing. [I know, surprise surprise, right?] And as I try to think of ways to introduce it, I find that I am speechless. The best I can do is to tell you that this video depicts true love. So bring out the tissues and watch. Then share your thoughts - if you can formulate them despite your tears!
Erin&Jake's sweet little Darby underwent The Surgery last week, so the poor thing had to balance play time with Ollie and Claire and resting in her play pen. Claire got a little curious about Darby's new digs, however, and while Erin and I were in the midst of some girl talk, Claire leapt over the baby gate to check it out for herself! I managed to grab my iPhone in time to catch her escape on camera! She's got to have springs in her feet or something...
Claire and I trekked out to the park today in the pouring rain. I sent this video to my mother:
Mom's response: "Hope it's clean in your car before I visit on October 22nd!" I think I might clean the whole car except for the passenger's seat... ;)
Nothing compares to reuniting with a loved one after time spent apart, no matter how long that time apart is. Obviously (and understandably) this includes the most loyal member of the family: your beloved dog.
I arrived back in Nashville late last night after spending an incredible week at home with family and friends. I wasn't ready to leave them, and I wasn't ready for vacation to end, but I was more than ready to see Claire. When I walked in to Bark-O-Lounge to pick her up, she was standing on her hind legs, resting her front paws on the top of the baby gate in the next room; she always likes to see who is coming and going. When she saw me, her ears perked up and she started wagging her tail like crazy. Stacey let her out into the hallway where I was, and she started running in circles around me, jumping up, giving me tons of kisses, and crying and crying - she wouldn't stay still long enough for me to hug her because she was so excited!
It just warms my heart.
I love her so much.
Claire's welcoming reminded me of this video that my friend sent me a little while ago. Aren't dogs the best?! They don't speak our language, but they still manage to tell us - in a variety of ways - how much they love us.
Every morning, when I am getting ready for work, I tell Claire that it would be great if she could work for me so that I could stay and rest for her. A friend showed me this video tonight, and my first thought was: this is the perfect job for Claire! Check it out! Also, and most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!
