Naughty or Nice?

It is that time of year again. The walker dresses me up in silly outfits and takes pictures for the christmas card. I better be good or Santa will put me on the naughty list. What do you think?

Halloween Howler

Frosty Paws in the French Quarter

As you know from previous posts, I am a big fan of La Divina Gelateria on Magazine Street. I love their sweet cream gelato and get the walker to drive me there on hot days when I need a cool treat. Unfortunately, it is too far to work into my daily walk.

Luckily, the feeder was in the French Quarter checking out good things to eat this weekend. She came across the NEW location of La Divina Gelateria around the corner from the St. Louis Cathedral. I love to walk to Jackson Square, check out the artwork and bark at the pigeons, so this new addition is great news for me! The feeder also found that the gelateria is stocking their own Frosty Paws popicles just for doggies like me! I tried them and would highly recommend them to Quarter pups and tourist doggies, too.



When I returned from the gelateria, I made the feeder get in the kitchen and discover the secrets of these frosty delights. Her version is very good but I will continue to go to the French Quarter for the real thing.

If you don't have a La Divina Gelateria within walking distance, get your feeder to make this recipe.

Homemade Frosty Paws

32 oz. plain yogurt
1 banana
2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. honey

Mix all ingredients in a blender. Pour into ice cube trays. Freeze. Pop out of the trays as needed.

You may also freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker for 10 minutes. Spread thickened mixture between two sheets of waxed paper and freeze. After the mixture has frozen completely, use cookie cutters to freeze into fun shapes (like bones or paw prints)!.

LA Assisted evacuations

We evacuated on Friday afternoon with the felines.  As I rode out of New Orleans, I was comforted by seeing other dogs in cars evacuating with their walkers.  A boxer sat in the passenger seat of the car next to us, waiting for the traffic to end.  We had a few problems on the road as the walker ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere.  He almost had to walk to the nearest gas station but we managed to start the car on fumes and coast into the next station.  The felines decided to wake and explore at that point, which seemed to stress the feeder out tremendously.  We arrived at Boo Boo & Papaw's house near midnight.  Evacuating is exhausting!

 

My walker and feeder have been monitoring the weather on the news.  I noticed many pets made the news.  They were boarding buses with their walkers & feeders.  I just wanted to commend the state and local workers for the great job they did in evacuating so many pets and their people.  It looked like a very organized operation.  Certainly, many of those people would not have evacuated if they could not bring their pet family.  I understand that many of the people working were volunteers.  It was really touching to see that much effort being exerted for animals. 

 

Thanks! 

Posie

Hurricane Preparation for Dogs

My walker & feeder are monitoring the Weather Channel 24/7 right now, so I thought it would be about time for a Pet Service Announcement. You should make sure that your walker and feeder have the proper pet supplies for an evacuation. These supplies should include:

- a pet carrier for each animal (We just throw all of the felines in one big carrier. They get along pretty well.)
- leash
- collar
- pet medications
- travel bowls for food and water
- water for 5-7 days
- wet & dry food for 5-7 days
- proper identification on your collar (in case you are separated from your walker & feeder)
- immunization records (will be required if you are going to a public shelter)
- pictures of pets
- doggie "business" bags (make your walker clean up!)
- toys & treats!
- pet bed

There are several pet-friendly hotel chains. My favorites are: Drury Inn (may want to call and check - New Orleans location is pet-friendly, but I don't know about the others), Kimpton Hotel group (mostly larger cities), La Quinta hotels and Best Western hotels. For a more comprehensive list, check here.

Check out these other useful links:
NOAA Hurricane Preparedness website
Disaster Prep for Dogs
LA SPCA Pet Evacuation Guide

Posie, the author

I have not abandoned you, readers! I have been busy writing a book about my adventures in the Big Easy with my 3 feline sidekicks. It tells the story of how a ready myself to lead the canines of the City in a parade. It is only available for limited distribution (total: 1 book). Maybe I will revise it and make it available for a wider release eventually. Maybe a book tour where I will paw all of the books and dogs will line up just to see me....

Here is the cover:

Project Dogway?

The feeder has a new toy. It seems that she fancies herself something of a designer for diva dogs like me. Do I look like a guinea pig? Gosh, I hope not!

Her first creation with this monsterous machine involves me in a cowboy-inspired Hello Kitty-on-a-hobby-horse print, complete with polka dot bows and ribbons. Have I mentioned that I don't really like clothes? I'm a wind-in-my-hair-free-and-natural kind of girl. I will tolerate hair bows because they do keep my long locks of of my eyes, but that is it.

Next, she'll require me to wear cowboy boots and bark along to "Desperado". I will end up on some lame reality TV show hosted by Paris Hilton's dog, Tinkerbell, modelling doggie chic designer duds and hoping that this won't be the week that I get "sent to the doghouse".

Driving dog

This picture was taken on my cross-country (I mean, state) trip to north Mississippi. It was a long drive - almost 6 hours! I did very well and was excited to see Boo Boo and Papaw! I also visited with Mary, Stephen and their son, Robbie, in Meridian. They lived in my old neighborhood a few years ago!

Streetcar rider!

Streetcar-inspired sculpture in Lafayette Square

The Young Leadership Council has sponsored streetcar sculptures all over the City. This is the streetcar in my park, Lafayette Square. It is a happening place! YLC also sponsors a concert series in May & June there. There are always lots of dogs walking there. The Lafayette Square Conservancy maintains the doggie "business" bags stations. I am glad to see that they have even added a water fountain for dogs, too!

Pie in a tutu

Peach Pie has dreams of becoming a ballerina someday. She does all sorts of acrobatics around the house. She can jump anywhere. Sometimes she even jumps through hoops! Maybe Miss Pie will end up in the circus!

Small Dogs - Just Like Me!

Last Saturday, I attended my first Small Dog Play Group. I love dogs of all sizes, really, it is just that big dogs don't understand me. Sometimes, bigger dogs get upset because I bark to let them know that I am there and I would like to play. I bark because I am petite and they might not notice me. They might step on me, if I didn't let them know.

All of the dogs with their walkers and feeders

May 10, 2008

The Small Dog Group event was last Saturday at Jefferson Feed. It was a 1st birthday party for a toy fox terrier named Sam. Sam was a great host. He played with all of the dogs and made sure that there was enough water and treats for everyone. He is really talented. He can go through tunnels, play on the see-saw and walk up ramps! He must be very popular because his birthday was very well-attended. There were about a dozen dogs at the party, all under 20 lbs. Everyone played very well together and even shared cake! It was a costume party, too! There was a hot dog, an indian and princesses. I wore my festive pink cherry polo with matching bow. What a wonderful event! I cannot wait until the next Small Dog Group meeting!


I learned several rules of pet-tiquette:


1) To follow in the footsteps of Scarlett O' Hara, always "eat a sweet potato" before the party. It would not be polite to eat all of the host's food, so have a snack before you go to the party to control your appetite.

2) Do "the business" before the party to minimize opportunities for "accidents". Don't sniff "accidents" and draw attention to the culprit.

3) Have your walker bring poop bags, paper towels and accident cleaner. Sometimes we get excited to see other pups. Accidents may occur!

4) Dress for the theme. This was a costumed birthday party. I was going to wear my Saints cheerleader costume, but it was too hot for black velvet and gold sequins. My Hawaiian shirt was cool and festive!

5) Make sure that the other dog's feeder approves treat sharing. Share treats with a generous heart. There is more wherever it came from (my feeder).

Furless Felines

I do not know what is going on with the felines lately. The feeder took the crate out, so I thought that I would be going out. The feeder packed all of the felines into the crate with no room for me and they left. They were gone all day. At first, I was happy to have the house all to myself, but I began to wonder what kinds of adventures they were having without me.

Then, they came back. And they looked funny. Like lions or poodles or aliens. They said that the feeder told the hairdresser to do it. I've been to the hairdresser but she did not do anything like this to me. Now, I'm worried. Maybe this haircut is "all the rage" at the beauty salon. Maybe she will think that I need to look like a lion-poodle. The felines like their new cuts. They say that they aren't hot and don't have any tangled hair anymore. I'm not sure about this. I might stay away from the beauty salon for a while. I really need to learn to bark-spell, so that I can tell the hairdresser, "puppy cut". The feeder better not tell her "poodle cut" for me. Yes, I must learn to bark-spell or find someone other than the feeder to take dictation.

la divina doggess

I have found the most wonderful place in the world! It is called La Divina Gelateria. It is on Magazine Street. Sometimes they make gelato especially for dogs, but I prefer the sweet cream gelato and the creole cream cheese gelato! While I am not supposed to go inside (darn rules), I do eat on the table outside, where, if I pause to notice, I see less fortunate dogs (I usually call them mutts, but the feeder says that's not politically correct) being walked. If their feeders were with them, they might get to stop and have this gelato stuff too. Walkers don't always understand the importance of snacks. Being on the table lets me look down on the less fortunate, but it makes me sad. I bark at them sometimes, "Better luck next time, mutt!"

Good thing the feeder doesn't understand barkenese.

The Rufus, on Fire....

Ms. Barbara & Rufus (Shar-pei)

An unusual thing happened to me last week. I smelled something funny in the hallway. I always hear sirens but this time they came very close to the building. Someone opened the door, but it wasn't the walker or the feeder. It was the nice lady from upstairs who walks and feeds me sometimes and who brought me out to the country once. Her name is Ms. Barb. She was very upset and yelling to me, "Posie, come, now!". At her side was Rufus, the big dog from down the hall. I was really excited because I love Rufus. I ran around and around because I was excited to see them but Ms. Barb said that we had to go right now. I ran right to her and jumped into her arms! I thought that we were going on a walk but we weren't. Outside there were lots of fire and police trucks with loud sirens. I've heard that fire trucks carry handsome white dogs with black spots, but I didn't see any dogs at all.

Rufus told me that his walker had accidentally set the curtains on fire, it started raining in the bedroom and his walker started throwing the curtains out the window. That is when Rufus went to find Ms. Barb. She walks him, too, sometimes and she would know where to go. That is when they came to my rescue!

My feeder ran up to Ms. Barb and picked me up. I barked to let her know that I wanted to go back to see Rufus, my hero. He is so brave!

No one was hurt. Unfortunately, Rufus' bed was ruined and his house had fire and water damage so it will take a while to fix it.

Many thanks to Ms. Barbara and Rufus for coming to get me! I would have been very scared alone and my feeder would have been worried.

The Walker Marches through Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is a big deal where I live. There are parades every night for 2 weeks. My Boo Boo and Papaw said that they came for the parades but I know that they really came here to see me.

I made an appearance at one of the parades and everyone waved and cheered. Lots of girls crowded around me to admire my hair-do and bow. Then, Papaw wanted to walk me. He likes attention, too. I ate lots of king cake but didn't get the baby this year! There were lots of beads all over the house but my favorite throw was the red feather boa! It looks great on me!

The walker was very busy this year. He and his friends made lots of noise with the big metal things, "practicing". They practice making noise a lot. I guess that walking me twice a day was not enough exercise for him because he felt the need to dress up in a ridiculous costume (note: I wouldn't be caught pooping with him in that outfit!), make lots of noise and walk around ALL DAY for Mardi Gras!