Pearl's Story

A feel good adoption tale in time for the holidays.

Crating 101

My new post on Team Unruly.

Two Years of Julio

A slightly overdue TU post.

And You Look Like a Pit Bull

My latest Team Unruly post.

Low Cost: The Medical Side

My latest Team Unruly Shelter Medicine post.

Shelter Medicine: Low Cost Clinics (Client Relations)

It has been a very difficult weekend. Two of my very best friends were involved in a fatal car accident two nights ago. They are both alive and stable, but it has been terrifying. That coupled with the fact that we've had no internet due to the recent snow storm means that I've been scarce around here. I have a lot to post about, but I'll start it simple.

Here's my latest installment of the shelter medicine series on Team Unruly.

Shelter Medicine: An Intro

The start of a series of posts I'm writing for Team Unruly.

Good Dog Habits

Team Unruly Post

The Tale of Toes

...is up on Team Unruly.

All About Farm Dogs

My latest Team Unruly post.

And be sure to check out the other recent posts! Our authors are really coming out with some great articles! I am so honored to be part of such a knowledgeable team. Their know-how humbles me.

A Year With Julio

A Team Unruly entry reflecting on our first year with Julio. He currently has his nose plastered to the window fan, smelling all the things at once (in fast forward).

Renting With Dogs

My Team Unruly post about renting with dogs.

Donut's Story

Whatever happened to that neurological chow mix?

Dogs and Gratitude

A Team Unruly post about Julio and his new lease on life.

The Official Announcement You've All Been Waiting For...

About that Julio dog...

Herbie Learns to Swim

The latest Team Unruly post. Fun with lots of photos.

Sato Rescue

Team Unruly post about the satos.

Comfort Dog

Another Team Unruly post. This one about how awesome Herbie is in my time of need.

Team Unruly: Dog's Best Friend(s)

New post about Herbie's various friends on Team Unruly :)

Herbie's Secret Santa

The Team Unruly authors did a Secret Santa this year. I usually avoid SS because I'm not very organized in my free time and I'm always worried I'll let someone down or not know what to get, but with an awesome group like this, I couldn't resist. I'm mailing my SS tomorrow (the deadline) because I had to wait for one last special addition to the package. Herbie's, on the other hand, arrived last night.

I came home to a few packages on the back step, all addressed to me. I put them down inside while I took my riding boots off, and Herbie was obsessed with the package on top. It wasn't until I took a second look at it that I realized it was from Bex, and most likely for Herbie! She knew it was for her, though, and I had to hide it until Mike got home.

Here's a video of Herbie getting her presents:

The gift that she did her snatch and go with is a Happy Howie Doggy Burger. She had never had one before, but they were an instant hit, and I suspect I will be buying them in the future. Here's a video of Herbie devouring it in less than a minute.

The box was full of lots of other yummy treats, but I didn't pull them all out because I don't want to tease her too much. As it is, she knows the package is on the kitchen table, and keeps staring longingly at it and making me feel really guilty.

But the biggest hit in the box was definitely the penguin toy... a plushie sleeve with a plastic bottle inside of it. Ever since she was a puppy, Herbie has LOVED the crunch crunch crunch of plastic bottles. She will actually pick up litter when we got hiking just to play with it. I used to joke that I should stop buying her toys and just put her to work on litter patrol. Whoever decided to use that idea for a toy is a genius, and it makes me feel better that my dog is not the only one out there with this obsession.

Here is a video of Herbie being introduced to the Penguin. Excuse our hoarder-esque house, please. Not a lot of room to run, but she still enjoys indoor fetch.

So then I teased her with the penguin and tried to video tape her face. She got these giant saucer eyes on when I held it and made her wait. Her pupils are HUGE. I also love the lip quiver.

It wasn't long before she was totally into the toy, running all over the house, shaking and crunching it. I do think it's going to be a 'supervised toy' because I think she'd be tempted to rip it open to get the crunchy out, but she doesn't shred it outright, so that's a good sign that it may be around for more than a week.

So there you have it. Christmas came early for Herbie :)