Prizes from Isabella Cane!!!

Mama came home from work today to find a package on the doorstep. It was my 1st runner up prize for a dog photo contest that @IsabellaCane hosted! She sent two collars for Mugsy & I to wear, and they are beautiful. Check us out in our new finery.

If you haven't visited her site (http://www.isabellacane.com/), you totally have to - she makes the most gorgeous doggie products I've ever seen.

Thanks so much Isabella, we love our new collars!!

-SylvieDog

p.s. sometimes Mugsy makes me giggle

Day 2 of Toby's visit

Day 2 with our pal Toby was tons of fun! We played telephone - I told Mugsy a special message & he told Toby...

Then Mugsy & Toby told mama the message - "we need cookies!"

Mugsy & Toby played with squeaky toys

And just when Toby started to miss his mama, she came to get him!

Thanks for coming to visit, Toby!

-SylvieDog

p.s. come back soon!

Toby's visit

It's been a very exciting weekend here - our pal Toby is spending a couple days with us!

Some of you may remember that I first met my mama when I was visiting Toby's house one weekend. If you don't remember, go back & read my story. Toby & I have been good pals for more than 8 years now. Sometimes he stays at my house, sometimes I stay at his house. But no matter where we are, I'm always the boss of him (*snickers*). I thought I'd share some highlights from our weekend so far.

Toby arrived, and we all sniffed each other

Toby showed us his cool tongue trick

We begged for cookies

Toby & Mugsy lounged

Toby displayed his "Mr. Flatagains" pose

I did my Toby impression

And then I fell asleep sitting up

It's been loads of fun so far!

-SylvieDog

Cookie taste testing

Mama thought she'd set up some taste tests to see which cookies I prefer best. Today's bracket - brownies from @LaineysPawtique vs. good old-fashioned Milkbones:

Today's winner: brownies from Lainey's Pawtique!

-SylvieDog

p.s. I ate the milkbone too.

Alert! Raccoon! Alert!

I spent last weekend on #pussycatisland with my twitter pals. While there, I won a prize for knowing how old my pal @PetietheCat was when he found his forever home. It was so exciting! I've been waiting with anticipation for it's arrival. And today, it arrived!

Mama came home from work and found a box on our porch. She opened it and found a raccoon inside. Can you believe it?! A raccoon! For me! Being a treeing walker coonhound, I immediately tried to tree it. But it didn't listen to me.

Then Mugsy came over and stole it from me. The nerve!

I protested to mama

Mama tried to help, but Mugsy wouldn't let go.

You win this time, little dog.

Thanks for the prize, Petie! You're such a good pal.

-SylvieDog

p.s. Petie ordered this awesome prize from our pal @babypatches mama's store - @just4pets. They have lots of cool anipal stuff!

Spring break on #PussyCatIsland!

The boy kid was off for spring break this past week, so mama took the week off from work & papa took a couple days off too. And boy did we have a busy week! I started my own blog, I ate lots of cookies, I took lots of naps, I tweeted with my anipals, I relaxed with the boy kid, I went outside & inside & outside & inside & outside & inside, then I ate more cookies, then I took more naps. It was a fabulous week!

But the most exciting part of my week was attending a wild party with all my twitter anipals on #pussycatisland. It was 24 hours of non-stop action planned by my pals @babypatches, @rumblepurr, and @petiethecat. Twitter animals donned their best island gear (check out the swimsuits mama found for us!) to gather for games with awesome prizes, dancing to cool tunes from DJs, and drinks from a famous bartender (psst...it was me!).

In exchange for the barkaritas, catsmopolitanas, barktinis, meowmosas, and pina cataladas I served up, my twitter pals dropped tips in a jar to support Orphans of the Storm. Orphans of the Storm is one of the largest & oldest shelters in the country, and it holds a special place in my heart. Orphans took wonderful care of me before I found my forever home with papa & mama.

All told, 70 partying twitterers donated a combined $1050 to help the kitties & doggies at Orphans of the Storm. Donations came in from animal lovers as well as critters of all types - dogs, cats, bunnies, gerbils, and even a capybara!

Many, many thanks to all my generous twitter pals for helping me exceed my goal of raising $1000 to help Orphans of the Storm. You all are the greatest! If you haven't donated yet, it's not too late! Just visit my fundraising page: http://firstgiving.com/sylviedog.

-SylvieDog

p.s. can't wait for the next twitter party! But I need a little time to recover from this one first.

We're celebrating Mugsy's birthday!

Today we had a pawty to celebrate Mugsy's 3rd birthday. We got a special delivery from Lainey's Pawtique:

Mama opened the box and found this inside:

Can you believe it?! A doggie birthday cake! Mama lit candles & we sang to Mugsy

Then Mugsy blew out the candles (papa had to help)

It was Mugsy's pawty, so he got the first bite

Then Mugsy licked frosting off his lips while I ate my piece of cake

It was such a delicious cake! Mugsy & I think there might be more hiding somewhere... Mama tried a bite of cake & said it was yummy, but she couldn't convince my boy kid to try dog cake (*snickering*)

Happy birthday, Mugsy! And yummy thanks to my twitter pal @LaineysPawtique for making such a delicious cake.

-SylvieDog

#Pussycatisland twitter pawty!

Twitter anipals are gathering for another fun pawty this weekend! My pal RumblePurr made the following announcement via @BabyPatches:

The origin of #pussycatisland : my beloved brother @inigoflufflebum was trying to ship me off the other day ’cause I was chasing his tail. @BabyPatches was having the same problems with her brofur and sisfur… so we decided to take action and go to the amazing pussycat-island!

Details are: our lovely ship departs from it’s Twitter dock on Sunday at 10am New Zealand time (so that will be Saturday for most of you 3pm PST, 5pm CST, 6pm EST) We’ll hang out on the island and frolic in the sun till 8am (1pm PST, 3pm CST, 4pm EST) the next day so that everyone will have a chance to pawty! The amazing Hunkerbell (@Wildboutbirds) is also going to be running a ship as are the fantastic pups @scruffypebbles

What’s on the island: There will be lots of nip-based drinks, sun puddles, tuna fishies (but no eating @copious_tuna - he off limits) dancing and fun! For the doggies, there is a special Doggie Sandbar that will have steaks, rubber balls, Frisbees and dancing fun! For the bears, we have honey and for the bunnies we have carrots! We also has cheerios and brocolli for little gerbils. Everyone is welcome!

Fundraising on the island: @SylvieDog (that's me!) is running a fundraiser for one of the largest animal shelters in the country. Please donate to help her reach her goal, thank you! You can donate here: http://www.firstgiving.com/sylviedog

What to wear: Island wear! @BabyPatches has a lovely look at the moment (as she always does… hubba hubba!)

What we need: Bartenders and DJ’s! If you’re interested in doing a shift, DM @rumblepurr and any other help is totally welcome! This will be a fun day for all! And we could always use more prizes! So let me know if you can donate.

Many thanks to: @Petiethecat and @just4pets (who happens to be Baby Patches momma) who has offered to donate some prizes, @Brewskiebutt and @BabyPatches for getting the word out via bloggy goodness, @PerrytheBirman for just being a cool cat in his island hat! And thank you to @SylvieDog who has volunteered to serve drinks at the pawty!



p.s. I'm studying up so I can make some fancy tropical drinks!

Mugsy's Ears: A case study in possession

The day my people brought Mugsy home, I thought he was a perfectly nice dog. He wasn't the smartest boy, but he was good at snuggling.

Then I started to notice something odd. With his ears. They seemed to move on their own.

I didn't think much of it at first. You know, maybe he was just too young to control his ears. But then they started looking stranger.

And stranger...

And then today I saw this.

The only possible explanation is that Mugsy's ears are possessed. Anyone out there know how to perform an exorcism?

My story

My name is Sylvie and I'm an 11-year old Treeing Walker Coonhound who lives in Morton Grove (just outside of Chicago).

Papa adopted me from Orphans of the Storm in Riverwoods when I was about 2 years old. He picked me because I was the only dog in the shelter who wasn't barking. When he passed by my pen, I put my paw up on the fence to say hello. He knew right away that I was the dog for him. I've been with Papa now for 9 years, and we've been through a lot together. I always took care of him when he was feeling sad, and he always gives me tummy rubs when I demand them.

Seven years ago, Papa went out of town and left me at my pal Toby's house. Toby's mama had a friend from work over for dinner while I was there, and she was pretty great. I cuddled up next to her on the couch, and then laid my head in her lap and fell asleep (she claims I started snoring, but I doubt that).

Turns out that friend worked with Papa and was friends with him. Six years ago, she came over to Papa's house to hang out as buddies. I recognized her right away and was so excited! I knew this was my chance to get a Mama. I sat between them on the couch and demanded they both rub my tummy. Their hands touched, and they realized they could be more than pals. They got married a year later and then I had a full family.

I met Mama's son when he was 4 years old. He wasn't sure what to think about me in the beginning, so I just sat quietly next to him. After awhile he started to pat me on the head every so often. I always smiled and wagged my tail, and he'd giggle. Now my boy is 9 years old and he loves me so much that he gives me cookies and lets me sleep on his bed.

Life was pretty fabulous until January 5, 2007. For some reason, Mama & Papa decided I needed a friend to play with. And that's the day they brought Mugsy home. I was excited at first, because he was a hound dog like me. But then I realized that he didn't know anything about being a good dog. He did his business all over the floor, and he whined and barked a lot. So embarrassing. It took a lot of hard work, but I've finally taught him how to be a good boy. Don't tell anybody, but now he's my best friend. He even taught me how to twitter (although now I'm much better at it than he is).

Some of my likes include cookies, blankies, tummy rubs, cuddling, and naps. I hate baths and when I hear loud noises like thunder or fireworks I get all shaky and hide in the bathroom. Also, I don't know if I mentioned, but I like cookies.

-SylvieDog

p.s. COOKIES!