A Springtime Stroll

It's finally starting to look like Spring (even if we did have a snow squall yesterday morning on our walk!) so I thought I'd take you all along for a little walk in my neighborhood. Sn

Look at this cute Easter display at the pharmacy right outside my front door! I like to go in here and sniff around, but they never have any treats so I don't linger (unlike the Mailboxes Etc. and the Bank on either side of the pharmacy which ALWAYS have cookies for me!)

Speaking of cookies, let's start off at one of my favorite places...the Coach Store on Bleecker Street! Hey, is this little golden dog edging in on my territory? (I always like to check out the latest in canine fashion.) Hmmm, if I lost the pink trim, I could wear this on Rosie's blog for Black and White day!

Ah, here's the lady I was looking for! The Coach girls are so nice, I always drag Mommy across the street to go visit them and get a cookie or two...or three. It all depends on how many Coach girls I can charm!

Look at me! I've even doing one of my best treats for a cookie from this cute cookie!

Then we walked past Tommy Hilfiger and I gasped! "Mon Dieu!" Is this one of those snooty French poodles that Eric's  Square-Mom and Square-Dad met on the Portobello Road??? Just look at this pink fop staring down his nose at me!

Take a look and let me know what you think! I love real poodles, but these faux ones are scary.

Yummy! The Ralph Lauren ladies store (there's also a Ralph Lauren men's store, a kids' store and a blue jeans store - all on Bleecker Street. Enough already, Ralph!)

C'mon Mom, I mean it! Snap, snap. There are cookies waiting for me inside. 

(Sidenote: When the first Ralph Lauren store opened on Bleecker Street, we stopped by to check it out. OF COURSE, the sales people asked if they could give "that adorable puppy" - me - a cookie. Mommy said "sure" and started browsing through the racks. When she looked down, I was eating another cookie. Okay, she figured, someone else had given me a cookie. Then she saw me walk boldly behind the counter and help myself! She later figured I'd had about 5 cookies! That night, I farted like Tanner on burrito night. And as Mom points out, it did NOT smell like Polo cologne!)

"How do you do, nice Ralph Lauren lady? My name is Petey, pleased to meet you. What? Why yes! I'd love a cookie! Thank you very much!"

Wowza! That's a whole lotta flowers! This entire store window was packed with a variety of (fake) flowers. Sure they're fake, but they sure are pretty.

It was at one of the FIVE Marc Jacobs stores in the neighborhood. Mommy calls this the Marc Jacobs Dollar Store because they have lots of cheap items, like key chains and canvas tote bags.

It used to be the fancy Marc Jacobs handbag store and I'd always stop to visit my pal Otis, the black miniature poodle. He'd grab me by the leash and show me the latest merchandise in the store, then we'd both try to sneak downstairs where I was convinced there was a mountain of Snausages.

For years, Marc Jacobs would have characters in their shop window during the Christmas holidays and around Easter and invite everyone in the neighborhood to come in and have their photo taken. They'd give you a copy and put the other in the window. By the end of the holiday, the windows would be covered inside and out with literally hundreds of photos. 

Here's mine from last year...

And the year before...what can I say? I'm a chick magnet!

(hehehe, those look like "before" and "after" haircut photos!) Sadly, the fun photos have been a victim of the recession. Hope the economy picks up by December so I can get my photo with Santa again.

So on we go down Bleecker Street. This is the window at Mulberry. I love all the ribbons! Looks like the trophy room at Mangominster!

Mmmm, what's that's delicious scent you're wearing? Chewnel #5? Oscar Mayer de la Renta? Pawda? No...it's Brooklyn! Now, no offense to the outer boroughs, but does any one really want to smell like Brooklyn? Maybe it smells like Junior's Brooklyn Cheesecake...that would be delicious. This is the storefront for Bond No. 9, one of the few artisinal perfumeries in the United States. All of their scents are named after places in New York. There's even one named Bleecker Street. (No, they didn't use my contribution in their mix!)

Speaking of cake, let's see what's cooking at Magnolia Bakery! Don't these cakes look scrumptious? This place was briefly shown on an episode of Sex & The City and ever since then, there have been hoards of people (tourists, mostly) lined up around the block for cupcakes. They even have a bouncer to monitor how many people come into the store at a time.

Now this is pretty and colorful...can you tell what these are?

They're stacks of cheap and cheerful backpacks at yet another Marc Jacobs store. I always like to visit here because the sales people never seem to tire of dropping everything to get me a cookie. Unfortunately, they were all out of cookies this day. 

Now before I head home, I want to pick out some posies for my Rosie... These are pretty, but they don't seem quite right...
Mommy loves these soft-as-kittens Pussy Willows. We're going to get a big bunch to welcome Sei-Chan the kitten, she's the latest addition to my French friends at The Pouponette!

 
Ahhh, tulips... and how I would like to press my two lips against Rosie's... but no, they're not right either!
Now this is more like it! Sweet and beautiful, just like my Rosie-Posie girl!!!

Hope you enjoyed your tour! Did you pick up some nice things? Maybe a new collar at Coach, a doggie polo shirt at Ralph Lauren, a vanilla cupcake at Magnolia and a squirt of Eau de Dog Run at Bond No. 9?

See you soon! Don't forget to send your tennis balls and hard rubber toys to 4 Paws For Ability!

Let's make a BIG difference

As you know, thanks to my pal Clive's blog, I've learned a whole lot more about assistance dogs and autism. Clive is from Ireland and is sponsored by Irish Guide Dogs. On his blog, he explains how expensive it is to train autism assistance dogs (over $51,000!) yet guide and assistance dogs are provided free of charge. That's why Clive's Mum is very involved in fund-raising.

Here's a great photo of Clive and his little man.

 So I decided to find out more about autism assistance dogs here in the United States.  I discovered 4 Paws for Ability. They were the first agency to place trained autism service dogs and continue to be the largest organization in the United States and the only organization placing autism assistance dogs in other countries.

We've probably all seen Seeing Eye guide dogs (I'm ashamed to admit I once did my "Cujo" bark at a Seeing Eye dog -- I couldn't help myself, it was a scary black lab. But Mommy was mortified). But I wasn't sure what Clive and other autism assistance dogs do. 

So Mommy and I watched this video. ("I dare you to watch it dry eyed," says Mommy.) It explains why a dog like Clive can be so important to an autistic child as well as his or her family. We wanted to do something to help!

On the 4 Paws site, we found out that they have an ongoing need for crates (mostly Large and Extra Large Vari-Kennel type) as well as DOG TOYS!!! Kongs, tennis balls and Nylabones in particular. (No rawhide, please.) 

Now I'll be the first to admit it—I've got a lot of toys. More than one little doggie could play with in a lifetime. So I'm going to box up a bunch of tennis balls (yep! It's for a good cause!) and other hard toys that I don't play with and get Mommy to buy a couple new ones the next time she goes to Beasty Feast.  And we're going to send them to 4 Paws For Ability.

That's when I had a GREAT IDEA!!!

Since this is Autism Awareness Month, what if lots and lots of Dogs With Blogs all sent toys to 4 Paws for Ability? Wouldn't that be cool if they were just overwhelmed with love and appreciation from other dogs???

Here's the address:

4 Paws For Ability Training Center, 207 Dayton Ave. Xenia, Ohio 45385

Now, some thank you's are in order. First off to Clive for bestowing this cute award on me:

The two blogs I can't miss every morning have to be Aunties Martha and Bailey and the priceless wisdom of Joe Stains. 

I also have to thank all of you who nominated and voted for me for the Awesome Blog Award AND the Post of the Month for Beagadoon! It meant more to me than winning an Oscar. (It was even better than winning an Oscar Mayer!!!) Thank you so very much.

It's been quite a month. So now, let's make April really sensational for alot of hardworking, deserving Autism Assistance Dogs in training by showing them our support and sending them lots of fun toys to play with in their down time. Please check out the 4 Paws For Ability site -- maybe you can help sponsor a dog or foster a puppy until it's old enough to go into training. 

In advance of your goodwill and generosity, I thank you.

P.S. I just heard back from Karen at 4 Paws and all the dogs there are so excited about getting some new toys from you. THANK YOU! Please go visit Gracie and Piper - the Papillions who are the official mascots and marketing directors for 4 Paws at www.4pawsdogs.org. I am so proud of all of you!!!

My wonderful Spring Break!

Boy oh boy did I have the greatest time this weekend!

I went to Bucks County, PA with Mommy and one of her oldest and dearest friends who has an amazing old mill house there.

I did a bit of the driving on the way...

Here's the entrance to the house. It's hard to tell in this photo by there was a white tulip magnolia tree in bloom that was really beautiful. Okay, wipe off your feet and come on inside.

Here's the bedroom where Mommy and I stayed. Isn't this the cutest, sweetest room you've ever seen?

And here's the view out the window. Those white rocks are where the old creek bed went when the house was a working mill.

When you walk outside the bedroom on the second floor, there's this cool bridge that overlooks the living room. Let's go downstairs for a better look, okay?

Isn't this a pretty room? This is where I'd hang out when the 2-leggeds went out at night.

Mommy's crazy about this pale sage leather armchairs. They were normal brown leather chairs originally but the sun bleached them this gorgeous color. And look at the blossoming pear branches! It really is Springtime!


Okay, my tongue's hanging out I'm so hungry! Let's head downstairs to the kitchen and dining room...
Since our kitchen at home is literally 5' by 8', this kitchen with all those lovely tiled counters is dreamy. 

Here's the dining room with the great fireplace. Those are two pews that were rescued from our friend's church after a fire. 

Okay, enough with the house, now let's go outside and see the REALLY good stuff!

Grab your tennis ball and follow me. Don't forget to close the gate behind you!

Wheeeee! Look at all this lovely lawn to race around on. Look Ma, no leash!!!

My wise-ish Auntie Bailey has told me that these muddy streams are great fun to roll around it....maybe a bit later. Don't want to be a bad houseguest.

Now folks, just what you've been waiting for...Petey in action! Just watch me dash after that brand-spanking new tennis ball!

Even though I was racing after my tennis ball at the speed of sound, I still found time to stop and admire the beautiful crocus scattered randomly around the lawn. 

C'mon, I'll show you around the property...

There are lots of comfy places to hang out. Like this really mossy chair!

Isn't this cool? It's a terracotta tile from a building on the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. 

There are several of them scattered throughout the garden. They're about 2' across.

Himalayan prayer flags and the roaring waterfall!  Are we in Pennsylvania or Tibet?

Time for another break. Touring six acres off-leash is exhausting! Need to kick back and enjoy the fresh and balmy spring air.

Here's another view of the old creek bed. That window on the top floor is our bedroom window.

They'd had  1 1/2" of rain the day before, and about that much the day we arrived so the creek was furious and flowing like rapids on a river! There was even a waterfall cascading down the hill—it sounded wonderful but that meant no river bank exploring for Petey!

 

Sure Mommy and her friend went to lots of parties and saw lots of friends, but we don't have any photos of that. Or of the two dogs I met - one was a 3 year old Westie named Piper. I asked, but he didn't know Hamish. The other was a Briard with lots of lawn to run around on, but nobody to play with. I felt sorry for him. We went on two mile walks every day. 

(Phew, am I tired tonight. Mommy said I was snoring up a storm last night.)

But it wasn't all fun and games... we did some very important shopping at Target and here at Lowe's. "Cute dogs, Aisle 12!"

"Mommy, don't forget to load me into the car!"
All in all, it was a sensational weekend! Now I'm back in the city and can only dream about having cool green grass under my paws again....

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, too!

Thank Dog I'm a Country Boy!

"Green acres is the place to be...land spreading out so far and wide...keep Manhattan just give me that countryside!"

We're off to the country tomorrow. Mommy's oldest friend (seriously, they went to kindergarten together and now he's her dentist! How weird is that?) has invited the two of us to his fantastic home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for the weekend. It's a gorgeous old mill that's been renovated into a beautiful home. (That big window is two-stories high and overlooks the creek from the living room. Downstairs is a huge kitchen and a dining room with a big fireplace - all the walls down there are stone.) 

When I'm home in the city, I usually like to sleep in until 9:00 or even 10:00 am. But in the country, I like to get up early and chase some squirrels around, sniff all that green stuff, and of course, chase down some tennis balls! There's over six acres for me to explore and I never have to wear my leash! 

I can be a real doggie dog and nobody complains! Lots of long walks and exploring the creek and now that Eric has told me all about deer poopies, a new delicasy to sniff out (kinda like a truffle hound...)

There's no internets out there so I won't be able to blog or keep up with your bloggies until I get home on Sunday night. And then I'll have loads of NEW photos of me as a country dog. 

Ahhh, the only way this weekend could be any better is if all of you -- Rosie especially -- were there with me! Have fun!

Makes you proud to be a dog!

I'd like to introduce you to one of my newest bloggie friends. This is Clive, he's a four-year old Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever/Poodle) who lives in Dublin, Ireland. Doesn't he have a great, sunny face? You just know he'd be loads of fun to play with!

But unlike most of us lazy pups, Clive has been working for 3 of his 4 years. You see, he is a fully trained assistance dog from Irish Guide Dogs who works with a 10 year old boy with autism—his Little Man.

Here they are at an art show together. Clive has very important work to do, but it also means he gets to go to lots of places with his Little Man. Please be sure to visit his blog!

Today is a very important day for Clive and I know he'd appreciate hearing from all of you. First off, he's undergoing surgery to remove some ingrown eyelashes. (Ouch.) Needless to say, this has his Little Man quite distressed about his pal, so please send him some good wishes.

Secondly, today is also World Autism Awareness Day. You can learn more about the rights of people with autism here. 

Anyhow, I'm so proud of all of Clive's hard work and efforts to help people understand more about Autism. He really is a very special fellow who makes me proud to be a dog. 

I want to be more like Clive - how about you? What special thing are you going to do today to make someone's life happier? Let me know!