Let’s Not Forget About The Buddy Poppy This Memorial Day Weekend

For some reason I don’t ever remember seeing the buddy poppies when I was young. I’m sure they were there, I just don’t remember them, but ever since I met my my husband the buddy poppy has become an important symbol in my life.

I remember the first time we encountered the buddy poppy together and my husband told me, “Whenever you see these, you get them.”

His Dad was a veteran and that’s the way it was and ever since then I do as I was told and it’s become tradition that every Memorial Day Weekend I am responsible for getting the buddy poppies at the grocery store where they are being distributed by veterans.

It’s my pleasure.

The site of the buddy poppy bouquet always brings a smile to my face and it saddens me when I see tons of people pass by the display and not even look twice. Maybe they already got their poppy, maybe they don’t know what the buddy poppy means, or maybe they have forgotten, and maybe they are too busy planning their long weekend to stop for a brief moment.

It saddens me to think it might be the latter.

In case your not familiar with the buddy poppy here is a brief history:

“Among all the flowers that evoke the memories and emotions of war is the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of a poem written by Col. John McCrae of Canada. The poem, “In Flander’s Field,” describes blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.

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The Terrible Ticks

I remember seeing articles pop up a few months ago that this was going to be a bad year for ticks.

Warmer winter, the use of fewer pesticides, the increase in white-tailed deer, the migratory pattern of birds, etc, etc.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

They’ve been saying that for the past 5 years.

Fast forward a few months and now I believe it.

This month at work I’ve already seen more ticks on dogs than I did all combined of last year and now I keep telling my husband, “It’s gonna be a bad year for ticks. We have to keep the grass short.”

Just yesterday at work we had a lady bring a small tick in to the clinic in a Ziploc bag. “This was on my dog. Is this a tick?”

It certainly was. It wasn’t a big tick, just a little guy but the fact that it was on this ladies little Shih Tzu that goes to the bathroom in the house on a wee-wee pad and has certainly never seen a heavily wooded area before, is a bit concerning.

Then there was the Lab that we pulled a tick off of and on day that I wasn’t at work I heard they pulled several ticks off of another dog.

And…………… the week before that we pulled this slightly engorged guy off the vet’s dog, which we found by accident when petting him.

Yep. Now I have proof. It’s gonna be a bad year for ticks.

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That Awesome Feeling Of Being Missed By Your Dogs

I was gone for 4 days last week and while I had a complete blast at BlogPaws I missed home.

I’ve always been a homebody.

Home is where my family is.

Home is where my bed is.

Home is where my dogs are.

I love home and home loves me and I love home even more when I know that it and all of its occupants missed me when I was gone.

I know Gracie missed me because she sent me a text every morning and every night telling me so.

I know Bobby missed me when I saw him for the first time after 4 days and he had the biggest smile on his face that I’ve seen in quite awhile and he actually hugged me out in public.

I know my husband missed me, just buy the relieved look on his face and the enormous pile of laundry that was sitting there waiting for me to fold it, and the mail unopened but separated out into piles all over the kitchen table, and he gave me a big kiss.

I know that Sherman missed when he just melted when I waked in the door and rolled over on his belly for a belly rub.

It’s been 4 days since anyone has rubbed my belly and wiped my slobber!

And Leroy.

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Snoutstik. Nose Balm For Dogs

A dog’s nose is at least a million times more sensitive than our own noses. I mean think about how much your dog’s nose goes through a day. All those wonderful smells it finds, all the mud it finds when digging, all the kisses it seeks out. I mean a dog’s nose gets a work out 24/7 and is one of the most important part of a dog’s body so imagine how painful a dry or irritated dog nose can be.

I love Sherman’s nose. It’s a gorgeous big brown nose and it is one of the most photographed parts of his body but lately it’s being covered in mud and I haven’t been able to see it much until last week when I wiped his nose with a warm washcloth and I noticed the little cracks on his nose.

I was a little bummed to realize that it was actually a dry cracked nose and NOT dried mud, but have no fear because as luck would have it, I had just set up a review through Sweet Relish to do a product review for Snoutstik^® by Opie & Dixie and the nose balm was in route to my house.

Snoutstik^® was created to help alleviate dry dog noses caused by exposure to the elements, allergies or heredity, and has a core combination of healing, natural sunscreens, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil and Jojoba Seed Oil.

Snoutstiks^®come in 3 different formulas for your dog:

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BlogPaws Bound

On Thursday I’m heading to my first ever BlogPaws conference and I am SUPER excited.

The conference this year is held in Tyson Corner, Virginia and is THE biggest blogging conference for pet bloggers.

For those of you who are not familiar with what BlogPaws is, let me explain that first:

“BlogPaws is a Social Media Company focused on teaching pet enthusiasts how to use social media effectively. They also work year round to connect bloggers and micro-bloggers to the brands they buy every day. Their online community site is for pet bloggers, pet enthusiasts, pet people on Twitter and Facebook and brands eager to tap into a growing, vibrant, vocal community of serious writers, bloggers, tweeters.”

They are the go-to resource for pet people and brands to partner on projects and campaigns, to be educated on social media, and to arrange face-to-face meetings all over the country.

Additionally, BlogPaws is committed to supporting bloggers and pet enthusiasts everywhere, and brands that embrace the Be the Change for Pets channel. BlogPaws supports many efforts across the web that help pets in need, they work to bring attention to issues surrounding animal welfare and to show the world that “pets are people, too!”

Now about the BlogPaws Conference

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Stringy Things Stuck On My Dogs This Spring

Every Spring we get these stringy things in our yard.

I’m pretty sure that they come from our oak tree and I think they are called catkins, but don’t quote me on that.

What I do know is that they are a BIG mess and they get stuck everywhere on Sherman and Leroy and they clog my drain on the patio.

If they are stuck on them then they track them through the house on my carpet, in my vents, in my bed and just about anywhere they go.

They kind of gross me out because they remind me of worms.

I’ve been doing my best to try and get them picked up every time I got outside but we had a pretty windy weekend and they were just literally flying off the tree and the dogs were doing just a fine job sweeping them up with their fur.

It was like their fur was velcro for these stringy things.

My house is messy enough. I don’t really need stringy things stuck on my dogs that look like worms, to make it even worse.

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10 Ways My Dog Tries To Wake Me Up In The Morning

This year Leroy has become very comfortable with jumping in my bed in the mornings.

He use to never jump in bed with me. He use to just sit at my bedside and breathe hot air in my face but I guess that got boring so now he has decided that jumping in bed with me is a way better approach to waking me up.

The thing is, I’m a pretty heavy sleeper and most of the time, unless he misjudges his jump and lands on me, I don’t even know he’s in bed with me.

Just like a few weeks ago. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck when I was sleeping and I assumed it was my husband but when I rolled over I realized it was Leroy.

He was laying just like my husband, head on the pillow, all sprawled out and sound asleep.

Weird but cute.

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Squeak Me

I brought Leroy home a squeaky toy from work yesterday.

He loves squeaky toys, but they have to be squeaky toys that are shaped like a bone and the squeaker has to be in the middle or they are not squeak worthy.

He absolutely loves his new pink squeaky bone toy.

He has at least a dozen squeaky toys shaped like a bone, but none of them are pink and only cool boys can be comfortable squeaking pink toys.

He laid in the grass for hours last night just squeaking away.

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When All Else Fails, Excavate.

We had another super busy weekend filled with soccer, baseball and a very special occasion with Gracie making her First Communion.

What’s that?

You’d like to see some pictures.

Well o.k., maybe just one.

Or two………………

That’s Gracie’s cousin and my niece Eileen. They made their First Communion on the same day and then we had a big party to celebrate.

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A Dog Tag Fit For A Newf

Sherman and Leroy don’t wear dog tags.

They only wear their collars when we go somewhere, and we go somewhere they are on a leash, so I’ve just always figured they don’t really need a dog tag, but maybe I’ve been wrong all these years.

I mean why shouldn’t my dogs have a little bling bling on their collars when they are wearing them?

After all, dog tags aren’t what they use to be.

These days you can get a dog tag for just about any dog that says just about anything.

That’s why I was super excited when Paul from Packleader asked if I would be interested in doing a review of their dog tags that were originally designed for their Newf Heidi, who is constantly swimming in the sea, and needed a tag large enough to be visible and withstand the constant submerging in water.

I was sent 2 dog tags to review. One for Leroy and one for Sherman.

Out of several designs to choose from I of course chose the one with the brown Newfoundland displayed on it, although the Newfoundlands Are Kind Of A BIG Deal one was pretty awesome too.

I had a their names, addresses and my cell phone engraved on the back.

I was really impressed with the quality and size of the 45mm brass tags. Big enough to be seen on a large Newfoundland, but yet not so big that it gets in the way or looks awkward.