Dogs in Engagement Photos

House, wedding, house, wedding - right?  Since we're about 8 months away Chris and I have started to dig into the wedding planning.  We've got the big stuff done (all except what we're wearing) and are hoping to chip at the to do list week by week.  Last weekend we crossed off engagement photos and soon we'll be crossing off "send save the dates".

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

When we were first engaged I was mostly excited about thinking about ways to incorporate Harry into the event (see Dogs in Weddings).  I've still got to train him to calmly walk in-between chairs surrounded by the familiar smells of all his people to ensure he can actually be a part of our ceremony, but as a prelude he helped us out in our engagement photos!

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

In an effort to stray from the traditional, Chris and I will be having donuts from our favorite spot in Philly in lieu of a wedding cake.  A well kept Pennsylvania Dutch secret, Beiler's donuts in Reading Terminal Market are donuts on crack.  They're sweet, usually warm, and stuffed with thick sweet cream that will definitely make you sick after half a dozen...but you want to eat half a dozen.  

For our photo shoot I wanted to highlight the donut theme from our wedding (aka I wanted to eat donuts) and I also wanted to include Harry in some shots.  We combined the two to make for a seriously fun shoot.

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

Our pictures were taken by the super talented Erin Pitts of Erin Pitts Photography whom I found through the Philadelphia Improv Theatre (more on that in the future).  She made us feel so comfortable that I didn't feel insecure housing donuts with my dog on the floor of my kitchen.  

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

I created our backdrop using crepe paper streamers and painters tape and then used a rolling cart draped in a table cloth to place the donut trays upon.  Our special edible save the date was made using a catering lid and some hot pink Pilsbury frosting that actually came with edible sparkles.  The cake trays are flea market finds that I keep collecting in hopes of using them all on our dessert table spread at the actual event...plus they just make regular food look fancy.

I made Harry's bow tie using this great tutorial I found on YouTube.  I amended her ways by using velcro as an attaching device instead of elastic.  Harry had two to choose from for our shoot and chose the green and creme one to match my dress--how thoughtful!

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

We had such a great time with our pictures and are so happy with how they turned out.  I highly recommend using Erin for any photography needs be it engagement, family photos, or new baby - she really let us run amuck while providing helpful tips on posing as she found the best angles to get a great picture.

Credit Erin Pitts Photography

Dog Beach

My California travels have shown me that the West coast is exceedingly dog friendly.  The city of San Diego especially with its dog friendly bars and dog friendly beaches left me full of envy.  Only in the past year has a dog beach in the Philadelphia/South Jersey region become available to pet owners like myself.  As the summer comes to a close, we took a weekend trip to make sure Harry got to experience the sandy salty fun.

The beach, known as Longport Dog Beach, is located in Somers Point right next to Ocean City, NJ.  Parking is available in a smaller lot preceding the beach.  Make your way through a jungle-like sandy trail and arrive in a puppy paradise swarming with happy go lucky dogs.  Retrievers are usually out in the water enjoying a peaceful swim while other water loving dogs play fetch in the waves.  

Harry's not a big fan of water as I tend to take all my dogs when they are way too young into my parents pool for "swimming with Mommy".  In the past three dogs I've raised, the experiment has always resulted in a water loathing animal.  Naturally Harry is an example of the experiment gone wrong.  He didn't mind trotting through the water following me and the fishy smelling shell I was baiting him with, but he wasn't in awe of the crashing waves or even the slightest sea foam that threatened his paws.

Checkin out the blonde babes...

What was enchanting for Harry was the unlimited opportunity for digging without consequences.  He'd start digging and as he got more voracious he'd smush his face into the cooler damp sand and promptly sneeze, observe, and repeat the process.  A park without boundaries is always a thrill for dogs who spend most of their lives in some form of captivity - home, backyard, dog park, leash.  When there's a huge open area to safely run free, Harry takes full advantage.

Taking Harry to the Longport Dog Beach was one of the highlights of my summer.  I love watching him have fun and of course he was super tired when we got home.  If you need to fill your Labor Day weekend with one last bit of summer, the dog beach is an awesome way to do it!

Snow Dog

It's been a hard winter, right?  Snowstorm after snowstorm is preventing Harry and I from getting in our much needed runs and all of us from getting along since we're stir crazy and grumpy.  The only cure for a grueling winter (besides an early summer) is watching your pooch go nuts in the snow.  

One of the best things about the dog park is that it's not plowed.  Which means when we go we get to watch all the dogs play in the snow together.  It's like a totally new dog park!  

Yippee I'm in a Winter Wonderland!!!

While we froze on the sidelines, Harry scrambled around and around the dog park encouraging his friends to chase him.  Since snow covered the entire surface of the dog park, there were no more boundaries.  Benches were definitely base as usual, but there wasn't a differentiation between turf and non-turf so mutts were everywhere.

With the new terrain pooches were slipping, sliding, and tumbling in the snow.  Yellow snow was made additionally yellow as other dogs noticed it, which made for easier navigation than usual for us humans.  

A couple weeks later when it snowed almost a foot in Philadelphia, Harry and I visited an open area so he could run around.  Harry likes deep snow a lot more than regular old snow, and had a great time romping in it.  So although the weather makes us grumpy, we might as well enjoy it while we have it, like Harry does!

Harry goes NUTS.

Do with your Dog: Paw Print Ornament

We have been pretty busy prepping for Christmas and dealing with yet another allergic reaction from Harry.  It turns out he is severely allergic to Blue Buffalo dog food and has rubbed off most of the fur on his neck as a result.  Cone dog for Christmas!  Before Harry's body revolted, we had a chance to make some Christmas memories by making a paw print ornament for our tree.  I purchased a kit at the end of the season last year at Bed Bath & Beyond for $2!

Someone is in my bed, Mom!

The kit came with mold-able dough, a mini rolling pin, ribbon, a straw to poke a hole with, and a circular cookie cutter.  To start, knead the dough a for about a minute, and then roll it flat onto a hard flat surface covered with foil.  I used a hardcover book.

When you've got it at an even thickness, clean your dog's paw and attempt to press a print into the dough.  If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.  It took us about three tries and lots of treats.

Once you've got a good paw print, center the cookie cutter around it and press down.  Remove any excess from the sides.  

I took this time to write in Harry's name and the year with a toothpick.  Then you can take the straw and poke a hole for your ribbon to go through.

Remove the cookie cutter, and let it air dry for a day.  Then peel it off the foil and let that part air dry for a day as well.  It might take up to three days for the ornament to dry completely.  Once it's dry you can thread ribbon through and hang it on the tree!

This is our only ornament that Harry made himself, but we were gifted a bunch last year that Harry helped hang on the tree.  He loves Christmastime!

First Day of School

There's a thing that's sprouted in Philadelphia.  It's called "Dog School".  It makes me want to clap my hands Molly Shannon style and do a Dog School chant it's so fantastic.  For $30 your dog is in daycare and can be there from as early as 7:30am to as late as 7pm.  They sold a Groupon a little while ago that we promptly bought so we could treat Harry to a fun day with new friends...while we got the house painted.

Walking to school!

Because it was Harry's first visit, he had to be one of the first dogs there so he wouldn't be overwhelmed.  None of us were nervous, we were all really excited...especially Harry who immediately made friends with the arriving dogs.  Dog School extends as far back as the first floor in a row home and has some stairs and platforms for your pooch to climb up, jump from, use as base, or command their clique.  

It also features (at least the one on 2nd street) a street level window where you can see them playing from outside.  Harry watched us walk away from said window. 

Throughout the day, Harry played and we received updates via text or through the Dog School Instagram account.  These were the two we found of Harry:

From their second post of Harry yawning, we knew he was having a good time.  He probably didn't know when to stop playing!  During the day the Dog School employees will take the pooches out for walks with a buddy and they also take that time to text Mommys & Daddys to let them know that everything is ok.  No snacks or meals are served at Dog School which was fine for us since Harry's diet is all specialty hypo-allergenic for now.  Apparently classmates can get jealous over treats, so all special treats and even toys need to be left at home.  The employees keep track of dogs, leashes, and collars on the chalkboard by the wall.  It reminded me of cubbies from pre-school.

Mom?  Dad?  Is that you?  Are you picking me up already?

We know Harry had a wonderful time because when we picked him up his tail was wagging and by the time we started the car he was already laying down.  After his dinner he promptly got himself into a proper Sound of Music Live viewing station, and passed out.

Dog School is tested and approved by us!  They have three locations in Philly with the same business model and hours.  Definitely treat your dog to a few days!

Harry's Green Thumb Part II

By now you've noticed that the weather is making a turn for the worse.  These past few weekends we've enjoyed the best days ever...highs of 70s and sunny days.  If you remember back in May Harry helped me create a roof deck garden.  This October, he helped me rip it all out and replant for a winter garden.

Some pretty fascinating stuff happened while we were up there.  We found all the evil squirrels' hiding places for the tomatoes they steal from me.  Exhibit A (this pot was on top of a high shelf...sneaky squirrels):

And we also noticed some plants growing that we hadn't planted.  Exhibit B:

When squirrels were eating our ripened tomatoes I chucked the bits they leftover into a pot full of dirt hoping they'd compost or something.  Turns out that they turned into tomato plants.  We assumed it was a weed and after inspection saw that it was growing through a tomato that was tossed.  Seriously...we were fascinated.

We picked everything that had grown and we ripped out the plants we knew wouldn't be able to produce fully grown fruit before it got too cold.  Then we fed the dirt, raked it around, and planted our fall/winter garden of radishes, beets, carrots, and garlic.  

We also planted tulips that I brought over from Amsterdam on my Eurotrip.  The squirrels have taken a few hostage.  It's fun to keep up the habits instead of waiting around until May and we've never tried growing root vegetables, so it'll be cool to see how things turn out!

The Rescue Run 2013

One of the first things Harry and I did together upon returning from vacation (besides snuggling) was participate in the first annual Rescue Run benefiting the Monster Milers, a charity organization dedicated to volunteering at animal shelters across Philadelphia.  

Harry was ecstatic about going to the race.  He briefly saw me off at the Philadelphia Marathon in the morning, but this time he was able to see me start, finish, and celebrate post race.  Unfortunately Harry couldn't run the race with me, and I'm ok with that.  When Harry runs with a group, aka one other person besides me, it takes him at least 10 minutes of spastic shouty (I'm the one who's shouty) running to realize that he can't jump all over the person joining our run.  And it's not really any fun for our third party either...getting jumped on that is, running is hard enough on its own.

The Rescue Run was an out and back style 5k where everyone started together and ended whenever.  It was pretty casual but also timed for the serious runners.  The race maxed out at 500 runners - a sell out for year one, yahoo!  Since dogs weren't allowed to run on the course, they spectated, making it a very exciting day for Harry as he thrust himself forward to greet any and all fur-beasts in sight.  

As far as human spectators go, there weren't many.  Since the race was in the Navy Yard, most spectators were cheering racers on at the start/finish line rather than outside of their houses like they do for bigger races in the city.  One sign stood out that read along the lines of "Run faster!  There are puppies waiting for you at the finish!".  If only every race could give me this kind of motivation.  

The 5k was harder than I planned on, likely due to me not running a single mile over the two weeks I was in Europe.  But I think for me I got a respectable time that I will not share with the blogosphere because I prefer not to be judged.  We wrapped up the race by attempting to take a picture in front of the sweet logo wall.  Unfortunately all we really did there was embarrass ourselves in front of the well behaved pooches.  Perhaps next year Harry will be a bit more mellow.

Races benefiting dogs are amazing and this one in particular sponsors an awesome group of volunteers that I actually used to be a part of a couple years ago.  It's where I got my Harry-fix pre-Harry.  Consider joining or adopting from one of the many shelters in Philadelphia they volunteer in:  PAWS Wellness Clinic, PAWS Adoption Center, and Street Tails Animal Rescue!

Doggy Dining: Unleashed by Petco

This weekend was our last before the boo and I explore Europe and drop our pooch off with his fur-cousin and human-Aunt.  We vowed to make it extra special and Harry filled, which pleased Harry but in my opinion made him extremely suspicious given the concerned expressions I received this morning.  

The Granary (located off the Ben Franklin Parkway) is finished and leasing, and the retail spaces below have started to open up.  Over the weekend we visited Pizzeria Vetri sans Harry and saw that the new pet store, Unleashed, had opened up as well.  While we waited for a table at Vetri, we perused the store.  There were so many grand opening deals, I returned with Harry the next day to pick up a present for his fur-cousin Jager as a thanks for putting up with me wanting to play with you for 264 hours gesture.

Although we are huge loyal fans of the Fairmount Pet Shoppe, Unleashed offers more room for your pet to walk around without bumping into displays.  There's also a less likely chance that your dog will unintentionally shoplift a bone or jerky stick since they have more room to store those items up high while Fairmount Pet Shoppe uses every bit of their small space.

Harry began his shopping adventure by perusing the aisles of pet supplies.  We started with the ample array of water bowls, food bowls, and filtered water fountains.

Moving onto things that smell better, Harry veered towards the dog food.  Unleashed has all the brands you need including ours, Blue Buffalo.  There was no price difference between the Fairmount Shop and Unleashed on our brand - in case you were hoping for a new deal.  

We also smelled all the doggy shampoos just like I do when I shop for human shampoo (the best part of buying shampoo).  Petco had a huge selection - an entire aisle - dedicated to grooming.  They also offer a $10 do it yourself dog wash.  This is free in my house and called a bathtub, but for those with a shower only situation, this is a great option.

Eventually we made our way to the toy aisle and picked out a present for Jager.  The toy section was heavy on the stuffed animals, which is good for Harry's fur-cousin...a giant German Shepherd with a preference for fluffy toys that he takes care of for years...but not the best for Harry the destroyer.  As you can see behind him, there are definitely some heavy chewer Kong items, and there are less of the rubber chicken/rubber foot/rubber hot dog type toys.

The absolute best part of Unleashed is their candy store style cookie bar.  The treats are all labeled with ingredients and their special features - like bone health, or gluten free - and they're made with all natural ingredients.  They even taste good!  I tried them.  Harry will do anything you say for one of the treats in the cookie bar, and the staff at Unleashed had fun watching him swallow cookies whole.  

On opening weekend, our purchase included a free 1lb bag of a variety of cookie bar treats...we took advantage of this twice in one weekend...a free frisbee, a free tote bag, and our purchase of Jager's toy (a stuffed Chewbacca) included an additional free item that Harry kept.

May the force be with you!

We're definitely going to visit Unleashed for treats on a regular basis.  It makes for a good walk, and if Pizzeria Vetri ever gets outside seating it will make for a perfect doggy date.