Today is our Uncle Bills’ Birthday!
Uncle Bill is one of the BIGGEST
Doggy Lovers that we know!
He is also super kind to kitties too!
Uncle Bill and his doggy “Brewster” blowing out candles on his birthday cake!
Oh and Mom and Dad wish you the HAPPIEST of birthdays too!!!
They are looking forward to
celebrating with you SOON!
Barks, licks, kitty kisses and LOVE!
Dakota, Cody, Caren & Lenny
Hi everyone! It’s Dakota, and today I am gonna do something super brotherly (but don’t you dare tell that I did this!) You see, my brother, Cody is participating in a contest, and since he is NOWHERE near as adorable as I am, (BOL!), he NEEDS VOTES!
Look at this face:
Pretty pitiful isn’t it? Can’t SOMEONE teach this guy how to SMILE? He has an expression like “Uh, duh…did you call me?” BOL!
The contest is being held by AmazeCats.
Who is AmazeCats? Glad you asked! AmazeCats makes:
The famous cats of the internet that we all know and love are coming together to help cats in need. Our feline friends have joined forces to bring you a cool deck of playing cards featuring their adorable photos on each card. You can play cards, hang out with your favorite internet cats and donate to a great cat charity all at the same time. How neat is that?
Isn’t that the most EMBARRASSING THING EVER?
Do you feel sorry enough to vote for my slightly rotund feline family member?
If so, you can vote once a day UNTIL MARCH 29th! Cody has a few blogging buddies who are also in the contest and they would love to make it into the top 32 as well! The cool thing is you can VOTE FOR MULTIPLE CATS IN ONE DAY! So when you vote for Cody you can vote for them too!
To vote for my brother Cody, click here
To view and vote for the other kitties click here
Sorry to ruin your day with a kitty on the blog, but sometimes with family you just gotta do what you gotta do!
Thanks for your support!
Barks and licks and love, Dakota
Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend!
My brother Cody and I have had discussions about being left when Mom goes to the BlogPaws 2012 conference. We didn’t like that kitties and doggies from all over the country (including my buddy Snoopy!!!) get to go to this spectacular conference and we can’t go!
What in the name of a bag o’ bones is wrong with THAT picture?
Cody and I are the ones that work til the wee (and I don’t mean peeing!) hours of the morning on our blogs! All Mom does is type the info that we give her, she makes that appear as if it’s a big deal cause she likes to moan and groan about all that she does, but Cody and I know differently!
We didn’t earn the right to go on this trip?
Without Cody and I Mom would have no blogs! If Mom had no blogs, she wouldn’t be going on a trip to BlogPaws which is only the best blogging conference on the Planet!
Somebody needs to be barked at… big time!
Cody and I decided to take matters into our own paws and take a look at what we did!
We had ourselves turned into PANCAKE PETS!!
Also known as Flat Pets!
Don’t we look realistic?
We’re pretty smart huh?
Now we can go to BlogPaws with Mom
and REALLY stir up some mischief!!!!
Ohhhh…we’re gonna have FUN!!!
Do YOU wanna stir up some mischief?
Ohhhh I know you wanna!
Visit Pancake Pets right here and you can go anywhere that your pawrents go!
Now if you will excuse me, I have to go and pack! I have a lot of toys, treats and Nutrish
to fit into my bag!
I have eaten Nutrish for all of my five years, and my Mom won’t let me go to BlogPaws? When there is Nutrish around, this Sheltie will NOT be denied!
This bag is wrinkled because I EAT this food and have been for the past FIVE years!
(By the way, Nutrish is a Silver Sponsor at BlogPaws…click on Sponsors to see the entire list of TONS of BlogPaws Sponsors! )
Let the mischief begin!!
Watch out Salt Lake City, here we come!!!
Click the logo above to visit Salt Lake City’s Facebook Page!
Barks and licks and love, Dakota
Hi Everyone! It’s Dakota!!
BOL!! I fooled you! That’s not really me! That’s an Avatar of me that my friend’s Mom made!! As you know, I love the kitties since I have a kitty brother named Cody. Well, Oui Oui is a kitty and Oui Oui just happens to have a blog called Twinkletoe Tails (click Oui Oui’s photo to visit it!)
Oui Oui’s Mom knows that my Mom is pretty inept to say the least, so she was kind enough to make an avatar of me for my Mom! Isn’t it cool? She also wrote a blog post about how to make an avatar which you can read by clicking here, the title mentions how to make a KITTY avatar, don’t let that throw you, you can make it for woofies too!
Now, on to some more great news! Mom recently read and reviewed the book, The Dog That Talked To God By Jim Kraus and we had a give-away!
Mom is a little sad because this book was simply MARVELOUS and she can’t believe that such a small number of people read the review and entered. That is a shame. The book is superb and deserves to be seen!
It blows Mom’s mind that TONS of people enter to win bones, but books? Not-so-much. That’s sad, terribly sad indeed, but I digress, at least ONE lucky person entered the contest and won the book! (Thanks to my other loyal readers who entered, we apologize that you didn’t win, but there will be other give-aways for sure!)
The winner is:
DEBBY
CONGRATULATIONS!
Mom will email you for your name and address
so that she may mail you the book.
if Mom does not hear from you
within 48 HOURS after she emails you,
the second place person will win the book
Barks and licks and love, Dakota
The full line of Hill’s® Prescription Diet®
and Science Diet® Healthy Advantage™
pet foods are now part of the Trupanion™ Pet Insurance coverage!
I have featured Trupanion on my other blog, Cat Chat, quite regularly and was pleased when I was contacted by Hill’s to see if I would be interested in sharing some new information!
Trupanion just announced this week that the company’s dog and cat insurance now includes benefits for veterinary therapeutic pet foods, including the full line of Hill’s® Prescription Diet® pet foods, and veterinary exclusive preventative nutrition, Hill’s® Science Diet® Healthy Advantage™ pet food. The insurance covers half the cost of therapeutic pet foods including Hill’s Prescription Diet pet foods for two months followed by a discount on the monthly insurance premium for continued feeding of the therapeutic pet food, available exclusively through veterinary hospitals. Veterinary healthcare teams can find out more about the program through their Trupanion Territory Partner or by calling 1-800-569-7913 (then pressing #1).
“The high cost of medical care is a part of everyday life in human medicine, and insurance coverage can help offset that burden,” said Howard Rubin, COO of Trupanion. “We’re offering a similar plan to assist owners in giving their dogs and cats what they need to have a better quality of life.”
Trupanion’s dog and cat policies offer one simple plan with 90 percent coverage and no annual, per claim, or lifetime payout limit. With a veterinary physical exam, Trupanion also offers a 30 Day “no obligation” Trial for pet owners, giving them time to decide if the plan fits their needs and budget. The 30 Day Trial waives typical waiting periods so coverage is effective immediately.
“It makes sense for us to get the news out about Trupanion’s new coverage. This helps pet owners be in a better place to comply with a recommended veterinary therapeutic pet food and supports the healthcare team’s action plan when it comes to nutrition for every pet,” said Janet Donlin, D.V.M., chief veterinary officer at Hill’s.
For more than a decade, Trupanion has offered affordable pet insurance coverage for cats and dogs that enroll between the ages of 8 weeks and 14 years of age. Trupanion offers pet owners one plan that covers accidents, illnesses, medications and lab work. In addition, Trupanion never penalizes pets for aging or being unlucky enough to file a claim.
About Trupanion Pet Insurance
Trupanion pet insurance is available for cats and dogs in the United States and Canada. Trupanion is underwritten by its’ affiliate, the American Pet Insurance Company, allowing Trupanion to offer a customizable pet insurance policy with no benefit schedules. Trupanion’s mission is to protect the cherished bond between pets and their families by ensuring that pets are able to receive optimal veterinary care. For more information about Trupanion, call 800-569-7913 or visit Trupanion.com. You can also follow Trupanion on Twitter or Facebook.
About Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. manufactures Hill’s® Prescription Diet® brand pet foods, therapeutic pet foods available only through veterinarians, and Hill’s® Science Diet® brand pet foods sold through veterinarians and finer pet specialty stores. Founded more than 60 years ago with a unique commitment to pet nutrition and well-being, Hill’s is committed to its mission to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets. Hill’s produces high-quality, great-tasting pet foods owners can trust and give to their canine and feline companions as part of a veterinary health care team recommendation. This ultimately improves patient health and the health of the practice. For more information about Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. and Hill’s Evidence-Based Clinical Nutrition™ visit HillsVet.com, follow us on Twitter or visit us on Facebook keywords “Hill’s Pet Nutrition.”
I was not compensated for this post. I have featured Trupanion and Hill’s in the past and was happy to do so again. I believe in sharing information that might be of value to my readers.
Last night Mom & I sat down to begin to make a long-overdue trip around the Blog-o-sphere to try to catch up reading the posts of our buddies, and boy oh boy were we ever shocked and honored with what we found!
Leslie and Bella over at the superb blog Bringing Up Bella had given us the Versatile Blogger Award!
Here is some info about Bella and her “Mom” Leslie:
“Bringing up Bella is a journal of sorts about my beautiful, crazy, smart (and crazy-smart) rescue dog, Bella (and other doggie stuff).
Bella is both fearful and reactive and I hope these stories will highlight her amazing resilience, joy and growth as well as my own learning curve as her guide through this life’s journey.”
Mom is tickled and grateful, I on the other paw, am shocked! Us? “Versatile?” Ummm…have you seen the ridiculous amount of product we have featured on this blog in the past few months?
The fact that Leslie and Bella, whose blog is impeccably organized, beautifully written and evokes complete and total feelings of love to all who read it, thinks we are “Versatile” is the greatest honor indeed! We thank you from the tip of our ears to the end of our respective “tails.” We are shimmying, shaking and spinning with delight! THANK YOU!
All awards come with rules and this award is no different. The rules involved in accepting this award are:
1) Thank the award giver and link back to them (check)
2) Share 7 things about yourself. Ok here we go. Mom wasn’t in a mood to reveal much about herself so she is passing the keyboard on to me.
Here are my 7 things:
1) I love to be brushed. Yes! I am a vain little guy! If you have a brush, are ready, willing and able, I will stand and be brushed for however long you are willing to do it! If I were a woman I would be one of those 100-strokes-a-day-kinda-gals.
2) I can talk. Mr. Ed isn’t the only one who can yakety-yak all day, the incredible Dakota has something to say!
Mom engages me in conversations while she is cooking. She asks about my day, my thoughts and I respond, ( I am doing it now but you can’t hear me BOL!)
3) I can spell. I know how to spell “D-I-N-N-E-R”, “P-E-A-N-U-T B-U-T-T-E-R” and “B-O-N-E” (it is important when one is spelling that they include the dashes as well. BOL!
4) I can read lips. Mom almost fell over with this one. She was playing harassing me one day, and was trying to get me riled up, which doesn’t take too long. She started mouthing all sorts of words. I barked at just the right time and at each proper place, for each and every word.
5) I am crazy at home but a perfect gentleman at the Vet. I love my Vet and the entire staff. The Vet always marvels at how “calm” I am. Mom says I am like the little kids that act up at home for their parents but at school they are perfect angels. In my opinion when someone is standing there with a needle in their hand, poised to give me a shot in the butt, it behooves me to be on my best behavior. I’m no fool!
Instead of "reach out and touch someone", I thought they meant "reach out and EAT someone or some THING!"
6) I once ate part of my Mom’s cell phone-ummm…we won’t go there
7) I prefer to sleep on the floor and not sleeping in a dog bed. My poor Mom has bought me so many beds because she says she can’t bear to watch me sleep on the floor. She is afraid that if people see photos of me sleeping on the floor they will think she is an awful Mom. Mom will purchase every bed that strikes her fancy and I have yet to sleep in ANY of them. Oh yes, I have eaten a few, but sleep in them? NOPE. Not ME! My kitty brother Cody has inherited the majority of them.
See what I mean?
The last rule involved in accepting this award is to pass it on to 15 other bloggers. Mom and I always feel so bad when we are asked to do that.
There have been all sorts of things in the blogging world that maybe myself, my brother Cody and my Mom have been included in, or not, that can often cause hurt feelings, albeit usually unintentionally.
We have experienced seeing lists, events, or whatever that we thought maybe we would be included in, for a myriad of reasons, and then for reasons that we often don’t understand, we find that we have been excluded. OUCH. Whether you want to admit it or not, when it happens to you, It hurts.
We all like to be recognized and to feel as if what we do is important.
We have experienced feeling like the odd-one-out in the schoolyard who is picked for a team last, it is a stinky feeling and we don’t want to make anyone else feel that way.
Also, some people don’t like to receive awards because they feel obligated to blog about them, and we know how so many of us are pressed for time, so we don’t want to unduly cause more stress, or have who we chose be upset that we chose them, or not.
Let’s just say we LOVE and APPRECIATE all of you! All bloggers bring their own unique talents to the table, we all have something special to offer, no two of us are alike, we work hard at doing what we are doing, whatever that is, and we all deserve to be recognized for our efforts!
So to our blogging buddies, if you haven’t received this award, grab it……you deserve it!
Barks and licks and love, Dakota and “Mom”
I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself! I am spinning and barking to beat the band! Why? Because a couple of weeks ago I received my FIRST blogging award!!!
I couldn’t believe it!
My brother Cody has received many blogging awards and always brags about that fact to me, but up til this award I have won NOTHING! NADA, ZIP, GOOSE EGG!! That is probably partly due to my Mom and Cody always monopolizing the computer with their feline follies but that’s a story for another day. All that matters is that I received my FIRST blogging award!
I am honored to have received it from a blog that I follow that is simply superb. That blog is called Roxy The Traveling Dog (click on the name to check out her blog if you haven’t already!) Mom and I think highly of Roxy and her Mom so that makes this an extra special honor!!
When you receive this award the first requirement is to name who gave you the award (check!) Then you list 10 things that you may not know about me (or Mom or both!)
1) I sort of gave it away but for those of you woofies who may have Mommies who like cats, Mom and my brother Cody have a blog called Cat Chat (you can click on the name to check it out!)
2) My Mom and my Dad were show dogs!! That partly explains why I am so handsome!! It would also be due to the fact that Shelties are just downright handsome or beautiful to begin with!
3) My Mommy’s name was Tula, here is a photo of her that my first Mommy Sheila Ellis took of some other brothers and sisters of mine that were born way after me!
4) Whenever my Mom and Dad come home from ANYWHERE (even if they have been gone for 30 seconds) I run and pick up my favorite toy (my red, white and blue Dollar Store toy, go figure!) and I run around the room with it in my mouth while Mom sings “Hooray for the red, white and blue.” No one understands why I do this. I won’t tell Mom and Dad but I don’t understand it either!
5) I kiss my kitty brother Cody ALL the time! I love him so much
6) I live in Michigan
7) I am an obedience school drop-out. Just call me a “Sweathog.” (For those of you that might be too young to know that term, it came from the TV show from the 70s, “Welcome Back Kotter”)
8) I don’t like sleeping in a dog bed. Yep, that’s right! Mom has bought me at least FOUR beds and I want nothing to do with ANY of them! Cody ends up taking them ALL. Mom wishes she could find a bed for me that I would actually LIKE. She doesn’t know that I LOVE sleeping on the carpet either under the coffee table, dining room table or on the floor by the baby gate in the hallway.
9) I am a very loud dog at home but I am a perfect gentleman at the vet! I truly am! Everyone there talks about how “calm” I am. I have ’em fooled don’t I?
10) I have only had my blog since April. Mom and Cody have had theirs for slightly over two years. That makes me extra grateful for this award because Cody has THOUSANDS of readers and me? I have around 200 if I am lucky!! No matter what, I love each and every one of my readers and I am super grateful for all of you.
Another requirement when you receive this award is to pass it on to 6 other blogs. Well, Mom, Cody and I have a “thing” about that. We follow over 300 blogs (yep we sure do!!!) and we can’t narrow it down to choosing just six. Plus, some people like receiving awards and some don’t cause they just don’t have the time to blog about it which is a requirement of getting an award.
So, if you read this and you haven’t had this award yet you definitely DESERVE IT and should grab it and make it your own!!!! Blogs take a lot of time writing, posting, editing, and tons of other stuff and anyone involved in blogging knows this to be true! If you are a blogger I want you to have this and tell your friends that Dakota gave it to you with LOTS of BARKS, LICKS and LOVE!!!!
I love how things in life work. Sometimes coincidences are just delightful!
Today is the perfect example of that.
Author/Illustrator Wendy Wahman
Last summer I had the pleasure of reviewing two delightful children’s books by author/illustrator, Wendy Wahman.
The first book of Wendy’s that I had reviewed was “Don’t Lick The Dog” , you can read the review here
The second book of Wendy’s that I had reviewed was actually reviewed on my other blog, Cat Chat. The title of the book is “A Cat Like That” and you can read that review here
You can also visit Wendy’s website here
As you have probably already figured out…
WENDY WAHMAN is the winner of “Menagerie” (as chosen by www.random.org)
CONGRATULATIONS WENDY!!
Please email me your complete mailing address to cgittleman @ mi dot rr dot com
Dakota's Den 