THURSDAY MAY 5 THRU FRIDAY MAY 13, 2011

OUR VACATION IN THE SIERRA NEVADAS

While I was in Austin, Bill called and said wanna go on vacation? I said I'm ON vacation. He said how about a 10-day vacation in the Sierras? I said sure, when? He said as soon as you get home and you don't have to do a thing (isn't he a good guy?), I'll make the resos, we'll put Andi in the van and we'll go. So off we went!

Thursday May 5th
First stop was the Sequoia River Dance Bed and Breakfast in Three Rivers. What a spectacular setting right on the banks of the Kaweah River. And pet friendly so we didn't have to sneak Andi in, not that we could, Andi's a 25 lb. sack of potatoes and she wouldn't stay zipped in a bag for all the treats in Petco!

(click photos to enlarge)

Sharon, one of the owners, told me this used to be a convent that was converted to a B&B before she and her husband Dave bought it 7 years ago. (I'm sure my eyes got big as saucers when she said that. Just my Catholic upbringing coming back and biting me in the butt. I shuttered to think that the spirits of those nuns might rise up and haunt me in the nite. Fortunately they didn't.) Sharon and Dave also live there and as you can see, the large size of the great room and guest family room generously accommodate a lot of people although there was only one other couple staying that nite so we almost had the place to ourselves. And what a bed we had! They had it custom made and we slept so well that I wanted to have it shipped home. The next morning Sharon made the best French toast I've ever tasted. I read the reviews about her French toast and they're absolutely true. It's the best. Click on the last photo — can you guess her secret?

Saturday May 7th
Yosemite! What could I possibly say that hasn't been said a gazillion times? It's a little bit of heaven on earth. More than a little bit. Yosemite is huge and it makes you realize how tiny you are. It lends itself to taking photos and these are my favorites of our whole trip!

(More to come as I get time!)

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011

THE YUMMIEST KITTY TREATS EVER!

My sister-in-law Julia went to a cat show and bought some kitty treats and gave me some to try and they changed my Augie's life. No kidding! Augie's 9 and has never liked a cat treat of any kind in her entire life (except of course the kind she catches haha). Then she tasted these chicken treats (100% chicken) and you'd think they were made of catnip! She's CRAZY for them! I just ordered and received two big bags from the nicest gal who's the distributor in the San Diego and Los Angeles area. Because the treats are so amazing and because Joanne is so nice, I just had to put a note on my website. Contact Joanne and get a small bag and see for yourself . . . you'll have the happiest cat ever.

Contact Joanne Eichler
Hugs N Purrs
760-580-6663
www.hugsnpurrs.com
hugsnpurrs@cox.net

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2011

ANDI'S ATTEMPT AT BECOMING A THERAPY DOG

You know the one thing I didn't like about our trip to the Sierras? Dogs aren't welcome just about anywhere in state or national parks. We even got shooed out of the inside of a ranger station, for heaven's sake!

We did learn, however, that the exception to this (crummy) rule is that service dogs are allowed anywhere. I'd heard of therapy dogs and service dogs but I didn't know the difference, so I checked and found that service dogs are those that provide one-owner-one-dog assistance to people with disabilities, and therapy dogs provide generalized comfort to the sick, injured, hospitalized, or elderly.

I'd always thought my previous little guy Bailey would have been the perfect therapy dog, and now this led me to thinking that maybe Andi would enjoy being a therapy dog, with the added possibility of taking her places dogs couldn't go because if I didn't know the difference between a service dog and a therapy dog, maybe other store owners etc. wouldn't know either. Just a thought.

So I made an appointment with a dog trainer to get Andi evaluated to become a therapy dog. Andi is very well-trained, and she knows and responds quickly to commands, and she knows a lot of tricks and she'll do them for other people too, so I thought she had a very good chance of passing her evaluation.

WRONG!

A therapy dog needs to sit and wait to be greeted. Well, you have to know Andi. She wiggles when she's happy. I don't just mean her tail wiggles, I mean her whole back end wiggles from her waist to the tips of her toes and at warp speed. I think this is one of her most endearing traits because people instantly know that she's friendly and deliriously happy to see them. However, this means that she can't sit and wait to be greeted because it's totally impossible to sit and wiggle at the same time.
Failure #1.

A therapy dog needs to be able to leave its owner and walk away with another person. Well, again, you have to know Andi. Andi is my protector. She never leaves me. Wherever I go, she goes. She's never been neurotic about this, and my friends and neighbors have taken her leash and walked away from me, but when the trainer took Andi and walked away, Andi freaked. Really. She started pulling on her leash and barking and crying — it was embarassing. Andi didn't know the trainer and she wasn't familiar with the environment and she wasn't going anywhere without me with anyone she didn't know! (Isn't this what you teach your children?)
Failure #2.

Other than these two things, Andi did everything that was asked of her. She was wonderful and lovable and great with other adults and especially children. Andi loves children. But for the moment, I've set aside the thought of making Andi a therapy dog. I know I could fix the separation anxiety issue but do I want to stop the wiggle? Never! Maybe one day I'll have Andi re-evaluated by a different trainer who isn't insistent on the four-on-the-floor greeting. We'll see.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011

The Laughing Dog Inn
3362 Cajon Circle
Santa Rosa, California 93010
Phone 805-798-2457
Email contactus@laughingdoginn.com
Website www.laughingdoginn.com



The Laughing Dog Inn. Isn't this a great name for a dog kennel? It fits perfectly because everyone here — all the dogs and the people too — are happy and smiling.
It's privately owned, just a short drive from home, and it turns out that many of my friends have taken their dogs there and I didn't even know it 'til now.

Finally I have a place to take Andi when I'm going to be out of town and she just can't come with me. I know she'll be happy. It'll be ME who has the separation anxiety!

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011

What a way to start the day!

I love love love my mornings! I get up about 5, feed Andi and Augie and let them outside, then get a big cup of coffee and crawl back in bed. For the next hour or so I read the news on my iPad and like clockwork, Andi and Augie come back to bed with me and snuggle in for an extra snooze. See why I'm Linda with a Smile?

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my Augie Augie
who starts every morning and ends every evening in my lap in bed
I can't imagine beginning or ending a day without her



Get Augie's
favorite kitty
treats from
Joanne Eichler
Hugs N Purrs
760-580-6663

Artwork by
my favorite artist
Maggie Crawford
 
 
 
 
 
 
You can find
Maggie's artwork
on her
tangerinestudio
website
and on her
beecharmer
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Graphics on this page by pcCrafter.com, The Graphic Station

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