A Story with Heart

A friend's Facebook post about finding a pile of pine needles near her barn that were blown into the shape of a heart, reminded me of something that happened about six years ago.

I've had dogs for most of my life, but when I was 28, I decided to get a kitten. Her name was Baby. When Baby turned 17, she developed mammary cancer, although she lived pretty much unaffected for over a year. One day she was having a health issue (unrelated to the cancer) and I decided to bring her to the vet for him to take a look at her. While we were there, Baby started having respiratory problems - she was really laboring to breathe. As most of us do, I have a very difficult time in making life and death decisions, and trusted my long-time vet to tell me when "it was time". Well, it was time.

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Fix Blue or Green Eye in Pets with Pet Eye Pilot

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Take lots of pictures of your four-legged loved ones?  Do they come out looking like aliens?  Then this product is for you!

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It's easy to fix red-eye in pictures of people these days ... almost every software out there has a "red eye button".  But those of use who take more pictures of our pets than people know that blue or green eye is not so easy to fix!

Pet Eye Pilot now makes it incredibly easy to get the blue or green out!  Only $29.95, it works as a stand-alone, or as a plug-in to most photo editing software, including Adobe Photoshop and Corel Photopaint. Free Trial available.  Click here to visit Two Pilot's website for more information.

Teacup pigs are so cute - where can I get one?

• If you cross your eyes, they'll stay that way!
• Swallowed gum takes seven years to digest.
• Dropped food will stay clean if you pick it up within five seconds.
• Touching a toad will give you warts.

All of the statements above are old-wives tales or urban legends - look them up - they just aren't true!  Well, similarly, the teacup pig just doesn't exist.

We have been loyal fans of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother" ever since it debuted, but found ourselves greatly disappointed at last evening's (March 1, 2010) episode. It portrayed a cute "little" Teacup Pig. Well, don't be fooled - it was just a BABY PIG!!! Admittedly, the tiny pig shown on the episode was adorable. 


*** Update - on July 20th, 2010, Jay Leno gave a piglet to Joey King on "The Tonight Show" ... although they didn't call it a "Teacup Pig", they did say "Tiny Pig".  It was also a very cute little pig, and Joey seemed truly thrilled to have it. The sad part is, however, that now millions of little girls (and boys) will also want one.  ***


So where can you get a tiny pig or a teacup pig?  The simple answer is ... you can't. Just like many urban legends, they don't exist!

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Agility, Flyball, and . . . Cake?

Most of us appreciate the unusual.  And some of the things we come across make us smile, some make us think, and some are truly astounding.  For example, this past weekend, Stacy, one of the competitors at our Flyball Tournament in Lakeland, Florida, and not a professional decorator, baked this very cute tennis ball cake to celebrate her team's debut, the Barkaholics from Sarasota/Manatee.  (It was also pretty darn yummy)!

We were reminded of Sue, another local cake decorating hobbyist, who did this cake as a wedding surprise for two of the people on her flyball team (the Barkaneers of St. Petersburg, FL). Complete with Border Collie, jumps, flyball box, and a basket of tennis balls - this was a true work of art.

These are two excellent examples of a creative outlet that many share: cake decorating.  We've probably all tried our hand at it at one time or another in our lives.  You buy a tube and some icing and try to write "Happy Anniversary" or "Happy Birthday" on someone's cake, and you may have found that it's not as easy as it looks like it would be (at least for me it isn't!).

Well, if you haven't heard of the Ultimate Cake Off (aired on TLC), prepare to be amazed.  This video was brought to our attention recently, dealing with a reality TV show / competition wherein three teams of professional bakers / cake decorators competed to create agility-themed cakes over a nine-hour period.  All three of the cakes produced were mind-blowing, involving rotating motors, sculpted dogs, illuminated logos, and more. They were as tall as eight feet and weighed upwards of 500 pounds each.  The winning cake was displayed at the 2009 AKC Invitational in Long Beach, California, as the centerpiece of the competition.  The winner took home a $10,000 prize, but we'd bet if they were selling these cakes, they'd likely command even more than that.

Take a look!  http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/ultimate-cake-off-top-dogs-full-episode.html

Three Dog Night??

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No, not the rock band, although it is noted that they did take their name from the well-known phrase. Do you know the origins of the phrase "It's a three-dog night"? If you have pups at home, you probably already know, even if you don't think you do!!

Although there is a bit of controversy over where it originated, the more popular belief is that it started with the Aborigines in the Australian outback. The expression is used to connote a night so cold that one needs to sleep with three dogs to generate enough heat for comfort.

It must be an awfully cold night to need THREE dogs, as we know from experience that one small, not-very-hairy dog generates plenty of heat under the covers (thanks, Lili)!!

Greyhound Rescue

DogShirtStore.com is so proud to announce we are the exclusive supplier of GREAT-Greyhound.org wear. Greyhound REscue & Adoptions of Tampa Bay is a wonderful organization that has placed over a thousand Greyhounds since 1990, and we're pleased to be able to donate a portion of sales of GREAT-wear to them! Please check out all of our new Greyhound designs and help support a GREAT organization! www.DogShirtStore.com

Keeping Your Home Safe When You're Not There

For most dog-sport enthusiasts, travel is part of the game. Thanks to Reader's Digest, here are some things to consider when getting ready to leave our homes unattended (don't forget, for most of us, we take our "burglar alarm systems" with us: ruff - ruff!):



13 Things a Burglar Won't Tell You
From Reader’s Digest, September 2009
Interviews by Michelle Crouch

Should you spend your money on a home security system? A look inside a burglar's mind might help you decide:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

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DACOF - Dog Agility Competition of Florida

One of the most appealing aspects of running agility is the fact that it's an activity between just you and your dog, creating a wonderful bond. However, there is annual event in Florida where being a participant is very exciting. It is called DACOF (Dog Agility Competition of Florida), which embraces all Florida agility clubs.

If you run and/or train agility in Florida, whether you prefer NADAC (www.nadac.com), CPE (www.k9cpe.com), AKC (www.akc.org), or any other agility organization, this competition is open to you!

The teams consist of a minimum of six dogs/handlers to compete, and the scores from the dogs are added together to get a team total. There must be two novice, two open, and two excellent dogs on each team, and a club may have multiple teams. If you have three dogs per level on a team, you can drop the lowest score and keep only the best two.

We have attended as competitors since 2006, and as a vendor in 2008 and 2009. This year's event will be June 26 and 27, 2010, which is a departure from the traditional Independence Day weekend (July 4th). Once again we plan to attend as a competitor and a vendor ... if you're going to be there, please stop by our booth to say hi and enter our give-away drawing! DACOF will be at the Silver Springs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. If you want more information, the best place to get it is to join the DACOF Yahoo group, at http://pets.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/DACOF/

Here's a video we shot of one of Trooper's DACOF runs in 2009, and a couple of pictures from the event; one a general shot of the arena, and the other is our vendor booth (while we were in the process of getting set up).

Extreme Agility and Obedience

This is amazing! As agility competitors, safety of the dogs and their equipment is always a concern, but these people and dogs take it to a whole new level. We certainly have a new respect for police dogs and Belgian Malinois!

You Asked for It - You Got It!!

We've had so many requests for blingy shirts, that we have finally acquiesced! We have two designs so far, made with Swarovski crystals, and more to come soon. One is a new design called 2010 MMX, and the other one is our most popular design - NKJD (No Kids Just Dogs). Come take a look - just click here .
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