GORDY UPDATE: scenes from mcgolrick

It took some time, but Gordy has finally embraced the dog park.

yoghurt voor hunds

Yoghund!

Frozen yogurt. FOR DOGS. And in Gordy's case: it's great to be alive.

We took a long, hot stroll to and from PS9 this afternoon and at some point I decided Gordy was worthy of such bourgeois dog treatment. I was intrigued by Yoghund's organic content and I bought a box of four tiny Ben&Jerry's-esque cartons... and admitted to myself the possibility that it was maybe because it was I who was so secretly craving Banana and Peanut Butter Fro-Yo. But that's neither here nor there...

He, of course, LOVES IT. Right before I offered it to him, I reflected on how ornery and independent he has become as of late and I briefly imagined that he'd take a few licks of this frozen goodness, walk away, and give me the hairy eyeball as if to say, "His Majesty requests a turkey sandwich now, please". But au contrair. The only hairy eyeball I received was to seemingly ask for another.

And guess what? I can, in the future, should I need or want to, buy party sized packs and year long supplies and they will come shipped to me packaged in dry ice in a reusable container. Gordy can only dream...

www.yoghund.com
$6 and up

(photos from yoghund)

GORDY UPDATE: memories of puppy k

Some of you have been wondering what became of young Gordon's scholarly pursuits, a.k.a. Puppy Kindergarten. It's true, our young son graduated about a month ago. With honors, no less. Above you can witness him facing opposition, i.e. unfamiliar sights and unfamiliar walking terrain - simulated with big plastic bags, skate boards, and tipped over ex-pens (very common in Brooklyn?). And, come time for finals, he was a star...i.e. puppy pushups, sitting when asked, sitting the most out of any other puppy in the entire class... BOOYAH!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean... ahem... he did very well. Below: Diploma.



What we'll really miss from Puppy K are the good times with friends great and small. Here's one last romp outside with the Adonis of All Dogs: BOSS. I like to hum the theme song from Chariots of Fire (option+click if you please) whilst browsing these...






So long, Puppy K! May we reunite for Puppy K II or Small Dog Tricks. Love ya, Boss. Stay the same, Never change. Maya: L.Y.L.A.S.

www.empireofthedog.com

neem me up!

Neem is very dear to our hearts right now. Used for centuries in India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and beyond, we are happily reaping the benefits stateside in this sultry, bug ridden New York summer. No longer does my little man awake in the morning with an unsightly bump on his tiny forhead or chin. And we owe it all to Ark Naturals Neem Protect Spray.

Now, I'm no scientist, but I do know how to read and Google up a storm so I can inform you that scientific studies have determined that neem plants contain compounds that are unpalatable to biting insects. Oh yes. And furthermore, neem oils also have anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties so it's pretty much.... awesome.

Ark Naturals was kind enough to combine it with citronella and other extracts into a convenient lil' spray which I then squirt on my hands and rub all over Gordy's little body when I deem him to be in high risk insect situations. Otherwise, I spritz a little onto his bedding and voila! No bites come morning time!

I don't know much, but I know that we have truly noticed a difference. So, yeah. Basically, I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF NEEM.

Thank you, nature!

www.arknaturals.com

GORDY UPDATE: mystic gordy

Gordy enjoyed a romantic weekend near Mystic, Connecticut recently. While I marveled at all this tiny coastal town had to offer (farm fresh ice cream, stars in the sky, pretending I too was a down and out poor girl on the verge of womanhood a la 1988's Mystic Pizza) it was little Gordy's first opportunity to run free, sans harness, sans limitations.. and, dare I say, sans bravery. The reality was he could have ventured off into the wilderness at any moment and made buds with all manner of snake and furry wildlife. I wielded him around on his leash for awhile (much to the amusement of the people living nearby, I might add) before we determined he was too chicken to stroll out of eye site. And what resulted was the best weekend of our little dude's life. And wouldn't you know, a romance sparked...



They met without fanfare but Daphne's owners commented it was a good sign that she was neither barking or trying to bite off Gordy's face. A love affair ensued that lasted through the weekend. Witness the romantic splendor in the grass:







I guess one of the most touching things about this series of photos is that Gordy seems to quite literally be floating on the wings of love throughout.

He will spend the next few days back in Brooklyn, brooding over love lost. If you're wondering why Daphne looks a little hateful in these photos, it's because she sort of is. Mostly towards new people and, as we soon learned, SLR cameras? Her owners claimed it might remind her of her electric fence. Oh.

GORDY UPDATE: picnic

A scene from our picnic last week celebrating a legal marriage. This was just the way Gordy decided to nap at that particular moment. What can we say? We've always known he was classy.

GORDY UPDATE: turd warz

Since Gordy's arrival, we have gotten a lot of helpful hints from the neighbors. Like the time I was informed in all seriousness that Gordy would be better off using a litter box because he's small, like a cat. Or when I was called crazy for taking him out more than three times a day when his bladder was still the size of a marble. So yeah, we're like, really grateful.

Usually people don't get mad. But sometimes they do. Like when Gordy took a big ol' surprise number two in front of a little old lady watering her flowers (handsomely planted in an old toilet, I might add) and we got sassed for not curbing him. What irritated me was not so much her crotchety accusations but more just the relentlessness of it all especially in lieu of my husband's repeated and kinder than necessary apologies. Curb this, Curb that, When I had a dog I CURBED HIM!!!! Blah blah blah, until I said something unfortunate about us not being mind readers and the lady resorted to using the term DOG SHIT at a louder than necessary pitch. But that's beside the point...

We're actually very responsible with our dog's defecation. We have never ever just left it sitting and we have felt deep sorrow during the Wellness days when we couldn't totally clean it up. For that matter, just a few days ago, my husband both scraped the sidewalk and cleaned Gordy's little butt with an expired I.D. from a tech conference he attended a few weeks ago. If that's not love, I don't know what is...

But meanwhile, that little old hag has put the fear of god in us and now we're obsessed with CURBING. Oh, kill me...

CURBING, dontcha know, actually means I should toss ol' Gord into the street. Not just making him go closer to the curb as I had interpreted it in a more naive state of mind. I'm sort of thinking to myself, HA!!! YEAH RIGHT!!!.... but apparently this has been the law since the 1930's.

Long story short, I spent the next few days avoiding that old woman and everyone else like the plague for fear of someone calling 311 on a cute little creamy dude who shat smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk. Futile efforts were made all the while to wrangle him to and fro, but come on, he barely wants to walk as is.

But then, lo and behold, it turns out that the so-called "Poop Scoop laws" (i.e. if you get busted not cleaning up your dog's business, you get slapped with a fine) actually REPLACE OR AMMEND previous curbing laws. Mostly because corralling your pup onto the pavement was deemed cruel by certain animal organizations. Therefore, in the face of justice, we're doing just fine. So curb that, Grandma!!

Okay, okay, I recognize it's still socially responsible to not encouarage my little mister to take a big dump right in front of someone's point of entry... but it's nice to know I am, once again, SO RIGHT AND SHE WAS SO WRONG.

She'll be happy to note, however, that Bloomy has supported upping the initial $25 fine to something like $250... so she can peacefully continue having nothing better to do than get angry, swear, and water the begonias.

Other reading:

New York Times DNA of Dog Dirt

"1978 Pooper Scooper" Law

www.newyorkshitty.com

sushi pups

OH, now we're talkin': Sushi shaped doggy toys. It's all a little wrong but I have no doubt in my mind little Gordster would heart these bigtime. You got yer Bone Maki, yer Uni, Tamago, Tuna, and Hand Roll! Or whip them up into little combos (as seen above) complete with plastic grass. Uh..... Yummy?!

www.sushipups.com
$7 and up

(photos from sushi pups)

i want to bed my dog.

You think you know everything when you first get a dog, but you're wrong. You're all, My dog will soooooooooo love this cuddly donut-y style bed from some place like Bowsers because it's all snuggly, warm, and safe like the wombs from which we were all sourced. And in our case, maybe he sort of did for awhile. At least those times that he sampled them in stores. Whilst strangers took photos, I might add. However, the reality is that he ultimately prefers the flat, welcoming arms of the shirt or towel you left on the floor. Or sometimes he likes to take it up a notch and sprawl flat across the decorative pillows strewn either on or off the couch. So Dog, I might give in.

I have already been browsing the fine World Wide Web (have you heard of it?) and have found many contenders. No decisions have been made but I am at least thus far impressed with what's out there. For example, Jax & Bones's fine line of customizable doggy comfort. Square, rectangular, round. What seems like a million print options. Removable, washable covers and all of it proudly made in the US of A.

I am still looking for earth friendly, sustainable options, however, so the quest continues... Gordy, meanwhile, has settled onto a pink and red Orla Keily towel which I will now be forced to donate to him and has never been happier.

www.jaxandbones.com
$102 and up

(photos from jax & bones )