George Bailey is Bustin' Out!

"No, no... I, I want a big one!"

You see, George Bailey wanted a suitcase as large as his dreams. He had plans to shake the dust of that crumby little town of his feet and see the world! But, what George didn't realize is that God had already seen his dreams and knew his purpose. Of course God lays out a plan for us that is so much greater than what we could envision for ourselves. Yet, we know that God put that desire in George's heart. Why, do you think, God put the wanderlust in George's heart... only to never fulfill that in him? I know there have been many times in which I have asked God for something only to receive the answer, "No." At that moment in George's life... God was saying "no," but with the help of Clarence... he was preparing a marvelous work in George's life. Is God preparing you for a marvelous work right now? One that might be different from what you have planned?

Your Celebri-dog!

Recently, I came across 2 really interesting contests for people who love pooches. The first is an annual contest that I have loved for a while, but never entered. Orvis, a purveyor of fly-fishing and hunting gear, is once again taking submissions for their 2009 "Cover Dog" contest. Orvis has some of the most wonderful dog products such as beds, toys and crates and I have used their fly-fishing products for years too. Orvis is looking for photo submissions of your dog, living the "Orvis" lifestyle... in other words, doing what dogs do. The winner will be the featured cover photo for the 2010 Orvis Dog Book and will receive a $500.00 Orvis gift card. If I won that, I would buy 3 of their top of the line dog-nests for my beloveds! Check out this link for more details...http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?dir_id=1633&subject=6335&CampaignID=1069&ADV=106177&cm_ite=T1&cm_ven=orvisemail&cm_cat=PET_09_10_09&cm_pla=01

I spyed this contest, this past weekend while perusing the pages of the October issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. The Halloween Pet Costume Contest is pretty self explanatory and offers a really great prize. The winner will receive airfare for 4 and a 5 night stay at Seattle's Hotel Vintage Park (pet included,) with $2000.00 cash and more! I know that a lot of us love to dress our buddies up for Halloween and this is a wonderful way to reward you and your pet for your creativity! This one is open to all "pets" apparently, so if your pack includes cats, rabbits reptiles, skunks? Here is the link with more details...

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/pets/

Just click on the link for "3rd Annual Halloween Pet Costume Contest," for rules. You will also find some other really good dog related articles there too, so look around. Good luck to you all! I know there are some fabulous pups out there... with a real shot at bringing home the prizes!

Wordy Wednesdays

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight- it's the size of the fight in the dog."

-Dwight D. Eisehower

Lovely day... me and my "muley friend" Frankie. I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder but, he's cute no?

Autumn... Time to Start Thinking About Christmas.

Is it too soon to start talking about Christmas? Maybe. Is it too soon to start talking about the best Christmas... nay... the BEST movie ever? Certainly not.You see, every Thanksgiving my sister and I have a tradition of watching "It's a Wonderful Life," while eating pumpkin pie and coffee. It's what we do. So, in that Thanksgiving is in Autumn... "It's a Wonderful Life," is part of Autumn too. Okay I'm getting excited just thinking of it so, I think I'll dole it out... bits at a time. This way we savor the joy, like so many pieces of Thanksgiving turkey! In these weeks leding up to Thanksgiving, and the first viewing of the movie for the season, I want to discuss with ya'll what it's all about. We'll break down the scences, bit by savory bit if we must, to get to the meat of it... what's it all mean... what can we draw from the characters? I'm looking forward to it and I hope ya'll can join me for an online discussion of one of the greatest movies of all time! See ya soon.

"In the Womb-Dogs"

Recently, the National Geographic Channel ran the most amazing series! It's called "In the Womb," and it uses 4-D ultrasound technology to look at the gestation of various animal species in ways that we have never seen before, from inside the womb. This past Sunday they featured dogs in this series and I have to tell you it was amazing! I know that many of you are breeders of pups and have had some pretty personal experiences in whelping but this program offered a view from the inside of gestation... amazing. For example, did you know, that at 20-someodd days of gestation a fetal pup is already practicing running and panting behaviors? Fantastic! The program also gives a glimpse into the gestation of the wolf while showing at what point the domestic dogs veers away from his wild predecessor in the gestational process. Awesome. They even have film of a whelping wolf in her den. Cool. I don't know if my international readers will be able to view this program, but I do hope so. And for all of you locals out there... this episode will be airing again on the National Geographic Channel... Sunday, September 6th @ 12:00 P.M. eastern (set your DVR if you're at work then.) I know all dog lovers will enjoy it as much as I did.

Wordy Wednesdays

"They're not dogs. They're art."

-Rachael Leigh

photo; William Wegman