All They Want for Christmas and Kayla's Adoption Story

Thanks to Frankie and Minna Krebs for hosting this awesome Thanksgiving DOUBLE Post - one post for What We're Giving Our Pawrents for Christmas and one for An Adoption Story.

Okay – here’s what we want to get our pawrents for Christmas, but shhhhh, it’s a BIG surprise (huh, it’ll be a SUPER big surprise if they really get these, hehe).

For DAD –

A vintage Gibson Melody Maker electric guitar – we’re hoping if we get him one of these, he will write a famous song – or at least play better. Just kidding, Dad. We LOVE your playing!  The real reason we want to get Dad one of these is that he had one as a kid and is always looking for another just like the one he had.
[Sidenote to young people – if you have something you really, really like – KEEP IT! That way your family doesn’t have to hear everyday about how you WISH you had kept your favorite this or that. Just saying.]

And here’s the best thing we want to give Dad –

That’s right – his very own mountain with a river (for us to play in)! A BIG mountain – out WEST, not a little hill mountain in the East. He misses the mountains a LOT since we moved to Coastal SC, which is at sea level – um, sometimes even BELOW sea level. We’re thinking if he had his very own mountain, he could go whenever he wanted (and take all of us and Mom, of COURSE!) and we wouldn't have to wear leashes 'cause there would only be US.  Hey, this is a great present for ALL of us!

For MOM –

Our Mom has very simple tastes and she likes sparkly things. We thought she might like this –

Pretty simple, huh?

And as much as Dad loves the mountains and the cool mountain air, Mom loves beach-type places that are WARM. Now it gets hot as BLAZES where we live and sometimes it’s SUPER crowded with people – it’s a tourist town, after all. SO – we figured she would like her very own Caribbean island where the weather is perfect – WARM but with nice ocean breezes – and no other people, except US and Dad, of COURSE! Again, water to play in and NO leashes.  This works out pretty good for ALL of us, too!

Hmmm, this has a mountain. Dad would probably like this, too!

And we'll need one of these for ALL of us to get back and forth between Dad’s Mountain and Mom’s Island.  We haven't decided, we'll have to take them for a test drive.  We'll choose the one that gets the best gas mileage, of course.

So, whatta ya think? It’s not a LOT of things, but we think they’ll be happy with them.

PART II - Kayla's Adoption Story

We decided to share Kayla’s story today. Here's how it happened -

Once upon a time, Mom was living in GA and working for a holistic vet (in the office, not as a tech – she’s gets faint at the sight of blood). It was late one workday and the office was winding down when one of the vet techs who was off work that day came in bringing a little puppy that she had found. The tech was in the process of moving and had taken some stuff to the local dump (that's where people throw away stuff they don't want, like food, yummm.  What?  Oh, yeah - the story).

There she found what appeared to be an adult female Shepherd mix under a cardboard box. This pup had met with a very unkind fate (apparently having been shot for some unknown reason). She heard a noise and after looking around, found a tiny pup (about 3 months old) hiding behind the dumpster. The tech figured this must be the "Shepherd's" puppy. 

The tech brought the puppy to the office to have her checked out and, hopefully, adopted. The tech took the pup into the office where Mom was finishing up and getting ready to go home. She knew Mom kinda had a soft spot for Shepherds and also that Mom had "SUCKER" tattooed on her forehead. 

The pup kept grabbing Mom’s skirt hem with her teeth and pulling and playing. Mom kept saying “No, I’m not taking any more puppies!” Even though Mom and Dad weren’t living in the same state, they each had two dogs. So, when we all got together – we were four. They thought this was probably enough for the moment.

Fast forward approximately one hour from Mom seeing the pup. She’s driving home and can’t stop thinking about the adorable thing. By the time she arrived home, she had decided to name her Kayla. The next morning, the immediately went into the kennel at work where the pup was being kept and changed the sign on her cage from “NEEDS A HOME” to “HAS A HOME.” And, the rest, as they say, is history – or rather, HERstory.

Oh, yeah, Kayla might have had a Shepherd mix for a mom AND she might have brown and black and tan fur, BUT that's where the similarities end! 

PeeS - We are out in the boonies pretending we're like the Pilgrims, so we probably won't be able to visit your blogs until this weekend.  We hope you have a WONDERFUL TURKEY DAY!

The Road Dogs

We had planned a different post today and might even do it later, BUT Mom read something so funny today she insisted we tell all of you about it.  Now, we didn't get what was so darn funny about it but she laughed so hard Dad had to close his office door 'cause he was on the phone and she was cackling like a hyena.  So this is our good deed for the day.  You're welcome.  Now GO - READ - LAUGH

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

The  Road Dogs

Little Dog on the Prairie

Dad just got his All Animals magazine from the HSUS and they had a big story that reminded us to post pics we had taken on our summer road trip of these guys -

Can you see him?

How about now?

Here's a hint

Apparently, all roads lead to Prairie Dog Town!

And they even have their own State Park.

The first pics were taken in our favorite town - Ennis, MT - right next to the post office.  This empty lot had several prairie dogs popping up.  But, they got kinda shy when Mom pulled out the ole camera and tried to take their pictures. 

When we got on the road headed to the next place, we saw all these signs for Prairie Dog Town.  Lucky dogs!  They have a town all their own AND a State Park!  Bet they don't have to wear leashes! 
Just saying . . .

But, we didn't have to stop in Prairie Dog Town to see tons of prairie dogs.  Mom spent like the next 1000  100 or so miles trying to get pics of prairie dogs.  Here's some of what she got.  We had to finally stop her and hide the camera.  We promise we won't show all of them!

Can you tell Mom is a little insane over the Prairie Dog?  Guess she likes any kind of dog :)  If you love Prairie dogs and you're interested in reading the HSUS article on Prairie Dogs, click here. 

The Road Dogs

Holiday and Ski Wear

Okay - we know we need to stop with the window shopping, but   Mom's been wanting some fingerless gloves. (Yeah, we know, what's the point, right? Hmm, maybe she's doing a remake of Oliver Twist?! Whatever.)  Anyway, she thinks they're cool.  She found a shop that makes things for humans AND dogs and fell in love with these -

Fingerless Santa Gloves by A and B Originals

Matching Santa Sweater by A and B Originals for Dogs

Well, then she was on a roll and it just went downhill from there.

Apres Ski Outfit by Hatz 4 Brats - that means after skiing which means sitting around a warm fireplace sipping something hot.  Think we'll skip the ski and go straight to the apres.

Elf Hat by Hatz 4 Brats

Okay, now we think maybe this is just wrong, but it cracked Mom up.  She was tempted to have a contest to see who would put this on and send a pic, but we talked her out of it. Thank DOG! 

(Actually, this shop makes really cute costumes for all occasions if you're into dressing up. Just saying.)

The Road Dogs (your personal shoppers)

Corgis Can SO Counter Surf

We know it's not unusual for our long-legged furiends to counter surf on occasion - especially when the folks aren't around.  But who would've thought the more "vertically challenged" of us could counter surf with the best of them. 

Now, granted, Kayla is NOT pure Corgi, but there's no doubt that she's got a lot of short breeds mixed in there.  We've identified a number of traits in her from various short breeds - she yodels like a doxie, she has bassett "ballerina" feet, definitely has corgi ears, perhaps even some beagle in there.  Kayla likes to keep all four on the floor most of the time 'cause she's very protective of that incredibly long back.  She started visiting the chiropractor vet when she was just a pup.  BUT, if there is food just out of reach, she can stretch like rubberband.  Just shows you what a bit of determination can do. 

Here's the FULL KAYLA - she's about 34 inches from nose to base of tail.

She's only 13 inches at her shoulders or approximately the height of three large bags of dog food.  

See my "ballerina" feet?  This is "first" position.

See the similarity?

This "counter" is approximately 35" inches tall - that's almost 3 feet!

Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do :)

This presentation was NOT staged just to torment poor little Kayla or make her do unnatural things with her back!  Mom had bought a box of Milkbones to use as a background for a jewelry display photo shoot.  She turned her back on the Milkbones and Kayla was all OVER them.  Since the camera was handy, she got this pic. 

The Road Dogs

Vote for Peace

We sent Mom & Dad off to the polls to vote last week 'cause, well, we thought it would be FUN for them.  Here in blogville, we're always voting - for tongues, tails, costumes, shelters.  You name it, we vote on it, right?  Apparently, voting for politicians isn't quite as fun and exciting, but they did their duty and now just have to sit back and wait to see how the South Carolina politicians are gonna embarrass our fine state for the next few years.  Oh, well. 

Speaking of VOTING - Corbin and Fred would appreciate your votes, too.

But, one thing it seems we all agree on around here is PEACE!  We've noticed a couple of peaceful events coming up in the near future --- BlogBlast for Peace HERE and Worldwide Moment for Sending Love and Support (we originally typed "Supper" - must've been hungry:) HERE.  Check out these links for more info.  Who couldn't use a  little more Peace, Love and Support?

You probably know how we like art and creative endeavors in our house, so we searched around and came up with some cool PEACEful items that we thought we'd share with you.  You might even find some great ideas for gifts.  Plus, some of these shops donate a portion of sales to animal charities - so you can shop and donate at the same time.

We think this is just too cool - wrist collars for humans from Peace Dog!  Now we can match!  Mom really loves this logo (pssst - she kinda wishes she had thought of it first :)  Hmmm, wonder if they would consider making these for DOGS?!  You could even clip essentials to this while out walking if you don't have pockets or beltloops.

And for our Greyhound furiends - here's a PEACEful Martingale collar from Greyt Creations -

Here's a cool dog shirt from Wren Willow -

A PEACE collar for the rest of us from roc star dog boutique -

Peace dress from The Doggie House -

Peace tag from BowWowzerZ - proceeds benefit 4 Luv of Dog Rescue

RescueMeTugz - proceeds benefit Great Dane Rescue

Blue Peace Harness by 3Poochys

Peace Love Weiner Dog painting by Chloe the Hot Dog and Friends

Peace pajamas by Cody and Company Pet Products



Peace Love Paw canvas tote from The White Dog Puperie

Okay, that's probably enough for now but there's lots more! 

Disclaimer - All of these shops except Peace Dog are Etsy shops!  We received permission from Peace Dog to post pics and a link to their site.  We've notified all the other shops on Etsy that they were featured on our blog today.  We're pretty sure they will wag their tales over this.

The Road Dogs - PEACE

Show and Tell

We've never been that big on Halloween before we started blogging.  After all, what's in it for us?  We can't eat the candy, all that doorbell ringing and invading our yard sends us into a frenzy and most of us aren't particularly fond of wearing clothes, except Taz who does love any kind of clothing.  Cooper let Mom put those ridiculous cowboy boots on him once and he said, "THAT'S IT! No more clothes!"  But, we have developed a genuine appreciation for seeing OTHER dogs in costume.  So, we went out and scouted some Halloween costumes in our own town.  Here's what we found:

COSTUMES - PART I

Here are some scenes from a Halloween Open House / Costume Contest / Dinner by L.I.M.E. hosted by our vet (Sun Dog Cat Moon) to benefit the Charleston Animal Society.  There were treats galore and a special dinner for dogs and their humans.  And, of course, the costume contest although there were only a few costumes - most efurrybody was there for the FOOD!

Elvis is IN the building.  Check out the sideburns!

Okay - I was promised TREATS if I did this. Hand 'em over.

Getting ready.

OMD - Don't take THIS picture!

This is SUCH a DRAG!

Really? He gets to be ELVIS and I have to be a PUMPKIN!

Dude!  You're nekkid!

Pre-dinner snacks by The Good Dog Bakery.  Yummmmm . . .

Take a closer look - is your mouth watering yet?

Prizes for Costumes and Games

Treats and Toys for Efurrybody!

 

This event was all about the dogs, but they still had to eat out of dog bowls on the floor.

In case you were wondering - ELVIS won Best Costume.

COSTUMES - PART II

A couple days later we spotted these costumes at a local watering hole (yeah, they serve beer too, Puddles).  This contest was supposed to be a dog/human lookalike affair, but we couldn't always figure out the connection.

See if you spot a familiar face that appears in both contests :)   Here's a hint -  it's not the Pumpkins.

I raided Cher's closet for my lion mane.

Yes, these are matching dresses made from Crown Royal bags.  Mom's considering making these for her and Kayla.  Of course, it will be more like a Crown Royal moo-moo.  Um, sorry Mom, just kidding.

  

What!? Like you wouldn't wear this for $500 worth of treats?!

That's RIGHT, Ice Man!  I AM dangerous!

I've got stars in my eyes - even if I am wearing a scrubby on my head.

We're a Pumpkin Patch - did you get that?  And we're not related to that other Pumpkin up top.

Pirate I

Pirate II - it's Electrifying!

Riddle - What do a COW and a Buccaneer have in common?

Answer - We have no idea whatsoever :)

I'm a little angel - short and sweet.

Here are my wings - and here are my feet.

Really, I'm too dignified for this nonsense.

Will the humiliation never end?

 

My future's so bright - I gotta wear shades.

That's right - this dude is also known as Elvis.  We think maybe he spent the last couple of weeks going around the Lowcountry winning costume contests.

So that's it for this edition of Halloween in the Lowcountry.  Obviously, we don't "do" Halloween as good as a lot of you out there in Blogland.  Maybe it's 'cause it's so darn hot down here.  It was 85 degrees the day of the dinner!  Now, if you wanna have a SWIMMING contest, we've got the perfect place!

The Road Dogs (observing and reporting)