Chili's Theatrical Debut

It's not surprising for you all to know I LOVE my dog Chili! She's my little baby, I treat her like a child, and Jim and I are totally obsessed with her! So the clip above is her cute little behind in the Christmas Play at Pilgrim Chapel. Check her out at the 5 minute mark, she's the first dog and the donkey!

For a puppy I think she did pretty well. It took lots of treats and lots of love but her first theatrical debut was amazing! I know, I'm weird.

Dog Park Days

Having a dog means you scout out good dog parks. Here in Cincinnati, we have quite a few. The new upscale Wags out in Batavia, Otto Armleder near Lunken and then other smaller parks scattered across the city. I have not been to Wags yet, but with an annual fee over $300 and being more than a 30 minutes drive from my house odds are I may never make it. I frequent the Otto Armleder park, it's free, clean, big and about 10 minutes from my house.

With the weather warming the dog park has been jumping (no pun intended). I've begun to notice common trends each time I go there that I find funny. So here you go, things to be aware of if you go to a dog park:

1. Make sure I get plastic at the grocery store. These are free pooper scoopers which in the end makes it earth friendly! In the summer the “supply” provided is always empty. I don’t want to be the as$h%le that doesn’t pick up her dogs’s biz and casually looks the other way as if engaged in the birds flying overhead. Nothing is worse than running through dog poop or even worse, your dog rolling in it.
   


2. Create an escape plan from the single men that go there purely to hit on women.You know who you are. Every time you encourage your dog to play with mine or another woman standing alone and then walk over and strike up a conversation. This without fail turns into “you live around here” sort of situation. If you know me, I’m nice, I don’t like to be rude and I tend to fall into this trap. Two hours later I’m the girl faking a phone call to escape. I need to have a plan.



3. Prepare an avoidance plan from #2 when you see them immediately upon your next entrance (because you have for sure disclosed when you come to the dog park and they now have your schedule).



4. Remember dog names better. Every time I go the same dogs are there with the same owners and Chili, like me, appreciates a friendly face. She will run up to the dog, chase them around and off they go. Which leads to conversation with the owner and they always remember Chili’s name…and I am the jerk saying, what’s your dog’s name again?



5. KNEES BENT I’ve seen people be taken out on stretchers and knocked on their butts. Chili has a really bad habit of running into the back of people’s legs – which has caused quite a stir when she took out some chick once, I felt bad, but it’s a dog park – KNEES BENT and be alert.



6. Let dogs be dogs. They growl, bite, drool, wrestle and much more…it’s all part of the game. It’s like a bar, if a real fight is brewing, other dogs will circle and then you know to pull your buddy away. I don’t like people who are too concerned when their dog growls or wrestle and immediately pulls their dog away and gives you a mean look. Clearly rookies!

So, to my long afternoons where a strong wind blows in the scent of overheated dog poop, dog drool on my pants is the norm and strategically avoiding people is my M.O.

A Christmas Miracle

Whew, back in the Nati and it feels good- Christmas is only a few days away. We had an awesome time in Colorado - more to come on that later.

As I logged in this morning an article popped up on my AIM that had a dog standing upright so immediately I clicked. The article is very touching and truly a Christmas miracle for a dog named Faith and the peoples lives that she touches.

You can check out the video below to view the dog walking and click here for the full article but a brief recap is below.

Faith was born on December 22, just days shy of being a true Christmas miracle, with 3 legs and 1 of which was badly deformed. After being with her owner a few months they had to remove the badly deformed leg, leaving the dog with only two hind legs. After many peanut butter treats and encouragement, Faith's owner taught her how to walk on her hind two legs (it's amazing the things a dog will do for peanut butter, trust me)!

Now Faith has fully adapted to her lifestyle and Faith and her owner travel the country visiting army vets and hospitals to give hope to those who may be suffering from lost limbs or other disabilities. It's just amazing how animals can touch our lives and this dog is helping inspire and motivate others in ways that humans may not be able to.

Obessed, I Think So?

I just saw this and cracked up!!! It's totally me right now, but that's because my whole life is my dog!

So, Chili has been cleared by the vet and has gotten her Rabies and other vaccinations to interact with the real world. She's gone to dog parties and even swimming at the Gilday's pool parties on Sunday!

But, poor little Chili couldn't be on any other medications because of the pneumonia that she got a case of tapeworms :( It's like one thing after another for the little pup! But we've got her on medication and started her flea treatments so she's on her way to perfection!

Tonight is her first obedience class so hopefully soon enough she'll be the perfect little pup. But honestly, she is so good without the obedience I can't complain. She's sweet, doesn't potty in the house, usually only chews her toys but sometimes still gets snippy so we have to nip that in the butt ASAP (no pun intended).

Duel Personalities

So, with all this sad dog talk I thought I'd switch it up and post a lighthearted blog. I wouldn't have thought to post about this funny conversation, if it wasn't for Paul who is obsessed with my blog and it's all he ever thinks about.

So today at work we got talking today about dogs and how you can totally tell a lot about the dog owner by the personality of the dog. I'm sure you've heard of this, right? Like, somehow magically the dog owner and the dog share a bunch of tendencies.

It's totally true, think about every person you know that has owned a dog for awhile and then think about the personalities of each of them. I'll give you some examples. Take Paris Hilton and Tinkerbell, or Jessica Simpson and Daisy, Perez Hilton and Teddy - the list could go on and on. So, I began to think about people I know and what their dogs would be like...I mean we did this for hours so I just wanted to name few. After reading this blog, immediately waste some time thinking about the people you know.

I decided that Jim's dog, if he had his own and didn't share one with me, would be the dog that likes to seclude himself from others and is always getting into the liquor cabinet and is absolutely appalled by rolling in the dirt. Paul's dog would be the dog who is always trying to clown around for everyone and make them laugh, you could also find these dog running the streets alone late at night looking into every one's window. Annie's dog would be the one who's sweet in front of all the owners, but as soon as it is just the dogs and no humans, is the biggest trouble maker. Finally, Emily's dog would be the one who tries to sell you drugs and later cuts you with a switchblade.

Again, I could do on forever but I do find it to be a very interesting fact and very true. PS, if you don't know Emily and you meet her on the streets run the other way.