This was posted on From The Horse’s Back last October, but it was too good to not revisit!  Hope you enjoy…

You might be wondering why Grady hasn’t made an appearance around here lately. G-man has been laying pretty low recently, feeling kind of grumpy and sorry for himself. I guess the ongoing battle with the allergies is wearing on all of us. Last Thursday, I took him to the barn with me for some fresh air. We pulled in, and I let him out of the car as I always do, and I headed into the barn to groom and saddle Tiny. Little did I know that it was Grady’s naughty alter ego SlobberDog that was along for the ride. Now Grady is usually no problem at the barn – he sticks close by and spends his time sniffing around and begging for treats from the other boarders. SlobberDog is a whole different story – you never know what he’s going to be up to! As I finished saddling Tiny, I realized that I hadn’t heard from Grady in a little while so I went to investigate. What do you think I found?

Caught in the act!

Umm....Are you sure you should be doing that?

You got it! Grady, up to his armpits in Emma’s trash that he had so carefully removed and spread around the yard (so sorry Emma!!). The worst part is this was the second time that week that he had done this. The first time, I blamed the neighborhood dogs because my sweet Grady doesn’t do bad things like this anymore! Yeah. Right. Well, I caught him red-handed. So what did I do? I snuck over to him on Tiny (yes, my dog was so immersed in the joys of last night’s dinner that he didn’t even notice the giant horse approaching him!), screamed at him (so sorry neighbors!!), and chased his butt back to the barn where he promptly got tied up. And I got to clean up trash for the second time in a week.

Fortunately for me, I haven’t seen SlobberDog since, and I’m OK with that. I was kind of growing fond of the good Grady. But I’m sure that naughty boy will be back….it’s just a matter of time.

THIS is my sweet dog!

Enjoy the Hop!

Today is Saturday and that means it’s time for the 2nd weekly Pet Blog Hop, hosted by Two Little Cavaliers, Nip and Bones, and Life With Dogs.  We had such a great time last week and couldn’t wait to join again!  Welcome to all you new visitors and thanks for dropping by.  If you like what you see, please subscribe!  (Grady feels a little sad that he doesn’t have many readers yet!)

This week, we have a special surprise to share with all of our new and old readers.  We can finally tell you all a little bit about our special new addition and Grady’s new sister, Hazel!  As some of you might know, 4.5 weeks ago I came across a skinny, frightened little dog on the side of the road.  I plopped her lovely little butt into my car and she came home with me.  The past month has been….interesting, to say the least.  She was quite obviously an outdoor dog, likely abused by a man (with a hose), and is extremely fearful.  Despite this she has a gentle, sweet demeanor and is quite possibly the best cuddler I’ve ever met!  The situation has been further complicated because I can’t keep her with me at the moment, she has exhibited erratic aggression towards G Dog at times, and she’s not completely housetrained.  Soo…..I haven’t talked much about her yet because I wasn’t sure if she was staying.  I’m still not, really, but we’re taking steps to make it happen.  She got spayed recently and has been hanging out with a good friend of mine while I work.  He’s a guy, so she’s quickly overcoming her fear of men!  She most always loves Grady now (how can you not?) and has learned to coexist with other dogs and cats quite nicely.  On Monday, she goes to foster care where she’ll spend the weekdays until I can take her home with me in August.  If she works out well there, she’s all ours!  If not…..well I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.  In the meantime, here are some photos of her darling face….

Hope you enjoyed!  Please visit these great blogs at the Hop and join up if you have a pet blog!

Grady and I are pretty fortunate to live near some great dog friendly beaches.  Not long ago, we took a day trip to St. Augustine for some beachy fun….

We warmed up with a shoreline stroll

...then Grady went for a jog, which ended pretty quickly when the goobers started flying!

Wanna run some more?

I think that would be a resounding NO!

Afterwards, we headed to downtown St. Augustine for some lunch and a cool gelato.  Grady attracted admirers like ants to a picnic and he was basking in all the attention.

We took a rest after all the gelato and admiration before heading home.

We’re excited to be participating in the first Pet Blog Hop today! Check it out!

I’ve blogged recently about the Blog Paws 2010 convention I attended in Columbus this month.  What I haven’t yet mentioned is the powerful, exciting, grassroots movement that was spawned there and is still going strong today.  Be the Change Challenge was the brainchild of several amazing women who presented their case at the conference.  Dorina Wagner (Your Daily Cute), Lynn Haigh (pawpawties), and Dr. V. (Pawcurious) – and moderated by Jane Harrell of Petfinder – combined their genius minds and came up with a challenge to the convention attendees.  The idea was simple:  a charity was chosen at random (the winner was Pets Without Parents) and the challenge was put out to all attendees to spread the word and raise money and awareness for unwanted animals.

The weeks since the conference have been filled with a number of events, but the fun is not over.  Donations can still be made by clicking the button below.  The cause has already exceeded the goal by leaps and bounds and continues to grow.  Donating money is not the only way to help!  Consider donating old bedding, towels, toys, or other items to local shelters in need.  Sign up to be a volunteer for your favorite rescue.  Spread the word on your own blog and among your friends.  Anything you can do adds to the growing momentum of this wonderful cause.  Remember that an ocean is made up of billions of tiny droplets – be one of those drops!

If you’d like to know how I am making a difference, visit my other blog From The Horse’s Back.  There, you can read about Hazel’s story.  In addition, I am going to sign up as a volunteer for Pet Rescue By Judy, a local no-kill shelter that is a superstar saver of unwanted animals.  Finally, if you have an idea for change or have contributed in some way, comment here.  Happy Changing!

Each of these beautiful dogs is unwanted and awaiting adoption at Pet Rescue by Judy. Photos courtesy of www.petrescuebyjudy.com

Well, I’m finally back and in the swing of things!  My trip to Columbus was exciting, eventful, and productive.  Slobber Dog had a great time hanging at his second home with his buddy Bella, and everyone was happy to see me when I got home!  So why the delay in posting about my wonderful adventures?  Well….I’ll leave that story for another day, but suffice it to say that I have a houseguest at the moment!

Anyway, back to BlogPaws.  I found out about this convention of pet bloggers quite by accident just as I was getting ready to leave for a horse convention being held in the same town at the same time!  Tell me THAT’S not fate?  So I signed up to go, and boy was it worth it.  I met some really fantastic people while I was there and got tons of great information about blogging in general and specific to pets.  It was held at the Westin and was entirely pet friendly.  I saw cats and dogs by the dozen and they even had a little doggie daycare service for those pets needing a break from the blog talk.  All in all it was a great time, with over 200 attendees.  The seminars they held were:

• Tips, Tricks, and Habits for SEO and Traffic Stats – this session was incredibly helpful and I could have sat through another 2 hours of it.  Stephan Spencer, in particular, was extremely helpful in guiding bloggers to success.  He even critiqued some of the audience’s sites and gave tips on improving traffic.
• Fair, Focused, and Fun Product Reviews
• Book Publishing in a Digital World
• Sponsorship and Advertising on your Blog
• Building your Blog Strategy
• Leveraging Social Media:  Using Today’s Interactive Tools – This was another helpful session for a social media newbie like myself.  Sure, I have a Facebook page, but I don’t use it for blogging purposes.  And I’m brand new to Twitter and just learning the ropes with it.  It was fascinating to hear how these tools have made critical differences to many bloggers in terms of their popularity and success.
• Business Blogging
• Be The Change You Want to See
• Contests, Sweepstakes, and Promotions – This was another good one!  I hadn’t given much thought to the legal aspects of contests – in fact, I’d just posted a contest on my other site, From The Horse’s Back, before leaving for Columbus!  It was very helpful to learn some of the regulations and tips to making sure contests stay fun. 

These four legged attendees cruised BlogPaws in style in their very own Pink Catillac!

If all this information gathering wasn’t enough reason to attend, the swag they gave out sealed the deal!  Huge bags filled with treats, toys, cleaning products, books….you name it!  I can’t wait to dig into it, it’s almost like Christmas!  As you can see, there was a ton to see and do at this convention!  Anyone that has the chance to check out the next one should definitely do it.  Meeting all those awesome pet bloggers has reminded me how great pet lovers are and reinforced my commitment to creating a successful online pet community. 

Click the link if you’re interested in checking out information about Blog Paws or want to see the slides for the presentations.

I have some fantastic news I want to share with all of you!  Things have been humming behind the scenes, while I’ve been working with the creators of The Foodie Blogroll to unveil something new and exciting to the pet blogging community.  That something is……..(drumroll please)……. Pets Blogroll, a brand new online community dedicated to bloggers that love their animals. 

You might be wondering, Why a pet network?  I have to tell you that I am really excited about this site and all it has to offer.  It’s a great way for all of us pet bloggers to stay connected and motivated to keep writing.  There are also many other benefits:

• Contests and Giveaways - There will be numerous cool prizes awarded to bloggers that join the network
• Browse for Blogs and Members in our easy to use search fields
• Meet and connect with other bloggers that love pets too
• Favorites allows you to save and follow your favorite blogs in one easy to use location
• Rate blogs and vote for your favorites

Joining the network is easy and fast and only requires the installation of a widget on your sidebar (and meeting a few basic criteria for pet blogs).  I truly hope that you will check the site out and consider joining the network! 

This site launched last month and we’ve already gotten great response from our new members.  So far we’ve already given away a copy of Susan Wilson’s book “One Good Dog” and there are other giveaways going on too!  In our first month, we’re already averaging 1,500 hits per day!!! Members’ traffic is increasing and people are making connections.  If you have a pet blog, please check it out!

Grady and I visited Fleet Peeples Park recently to enjoy our the warm spring sun.  He had a great time playing along the lake shore and making lots of friends…

I'm ready for my closeup now!

 There were good times to be had by all…

There were chasers...

 even the lazy pooches!

...and sunbathers!

The water lovers were having a great time enjoying the warm sun…

But the boy that had the most fun of all was Slobber Dog!!

I came home from work yesterday and there was a note on my door. “Please contact me as soon as you get this letter. I need to speak to you in regards to your pet.” Signed the Property Manager. Uh oh… What has Slobber Dog done this time?
I’ve had a pretty busy week and haven’t spent as much time with Grady as I normally do. Plus he seems to have sprained his shoulder or something so he stayed home from daycare on Tuesday. Could he be releasing some pent up energy by chasing the cat? Could he have been barking while I was at work? Not something he normally does, but….you never know.
So I trekked over to the office anxiously, wondering what in the world Slobber Dog could have done to warrant a letter from management. What was it? Barking? Nope. Even better.

My dog is probably the ONLY dog in the world that gets a complaint from the downstairs neighbor saying that his SNORING is keeping her awake at night. Um, yeah. You read that right. His snoring. Grady actually spends 23 hours per day snoring, so I’m not really sure how to resolve this one. In fact, he’s napping on the couch right now and guess what the soundtrack to this post is? Yep, you got it.

Anyone ever heard this one before? I’m open to suggestions, as I’m fairly sure they don’t make Breathe Right nasal strips for dogs!

It’s hard to believe that today Grady is 7 years old!  Yes, he’s a St. Patrick’s Day boy, all the way!  I’m sure if I gave him the choice, he’d be all about the green beer.  This is going to be a birthday week celebration for Grady.  It started off with a fun beach day in St. Augustine on Sunday, then fun at Doggie Daycare with Teena and the gang at Doglando, and we’ll be hitting Fleet Peeples dog park this coming weekend (and maybe the Arts festival or farmer’s market too).  Keep watching for more posts about Grady’s birthday week adventures!