Photo Shoot (mini) on a rainy day!!

December 29, 2016-

Today, before we go further into our BIG adventure........I want to show you some photos of a mini photo shoot from the rainy day, we miss the rain in the morning......but it rained the rest of the day.....

Okay let's share some shots of my new friends and of course me!!

I just look so handsome, yes I must question Pam's authority, I am a questioner of authority!!

After playing with Freedom for hours a pup can get a bit pooped!

I can take that BIG GSD easily, I have her hiding in the corner!

We took over the bed here, SORRY PAM, you get the floor, don't you know that's where people belong?!?!?

Yes, this is the GSD I can take down!!

I think this is a good shot of me.....comfy on the bed, now if Pam lets me lose the harness, that by the way she took off and put on WRONG!!  Agghh....my mom can put it on right when she gets back! You can really see my awesome dog tag that says my name that my Smiley sister and trainer gave me- I miss her so much- SHANA, come HOME to me now!! (whimper whimper!!)

Hey SHANA, Freedom said I can tell you her secrets but Pam needs to be in the dark here!

Don't worry I'm only telling so much to Freedom, actually I'm declaring my love for her here!

The BIG world is waiting for me to grow into a big dog!

What did you say?....Really?...Do you really want to go there Pam?.....I'll talk back to you if I want to1!

Say what ?......You want to here about my REAL BIG ADVENTURE, Tomorrow for sure......Pam has to get the pictures ready to include as I write all about it!! Comeback tomorrow to hear about my adventure!!

Spotty the 103rd Dalmatian 

Am I the 103th Dalamation?

December 28th, 2016-

Okay so welcome everybody to my very own blog, it may be short lived or maybe not so short lived.....but at least for the rest of the year I will be blogging about my adventures on my mini vacation!!

My family took a short vacation for a few days so they left me with my newly found friends, Scout, Liberty, Justice, and FREEDOM! And Benji and even Monty.....First let me tell you about Scout and Liberty- they are American Foxhound mixes (Pam their human companion likes to leave off the mix part there because of the history of that breed) anyway- they are really welcoming and friendly hounds. Then there's Justice, she's a GSD or German Shepherd who I can literally bark into a corner (in fact I did just that last night!) Then there is my new girlfriend, FREEDOM who is a shepherd/ lab mix, (formerly known as Sierra)...... Benji (a lab/ catahoola mix) lives next door with Monty (who used to be my famillies dog until they had no choice to find him a new home, my family still loves him and you know I love him to even though he has a thing for puppies.....Hey maybe in a year or more we can be great running buddies- ya never know!!

Ok, so I loved coming in the yard and running around with Freedom for hours- oh it was late so we ended up coming inside and running around as well.....

Pam thinks I am the odd one from the 103rd Dalmation movie- in the movie, because in the last movie one of the dalmations was born without any spots- he was named Oddball....could I be his offspring? Can I be the next Dalmation movie star? Maybe Pam will write the next 101 Dalmation movie with me as the next STAR......Pam wants to make me a STAR!!

Maybe a mix of the movie 101 Dalmatians and the Secret Life of Pets....I can see it now.......


Ok, so let's get to my adventure......

It all began when my human Mom dropped me off for a few days to be with my fellow canine friends, and oh yeah that crazy dog girl named Pam...she's not so bad, she just likes to put the canines in the world (no all animals first).......

Freedom and I took off after one another chasing each other in the yard.....I have to admit chasing  Freedom throughout the yard in the dark, I don't remember my Mom leaving- I keep looking for her but she is no where to be found.  Pam keeps assuring me that she'll be back with my sisters in a few days- or as she laughs next year!!  Next year- nooooo........

Freedom told me she'll help me find my family as she told me people leave and don't come back.....Now this is really where my story starts.......or rather my adventure........So when Pam went for a walk, we tricked her and ran free to start our search......So the next few days, I will continue to tell you my adventure as I look for my family, check back and see what happens next.......It's really a tale to tell!! Oh yeah, Pam was tailing us the whole way but because we're dogs and she's only human we're always four paws ahead of her two feet!! She can't catch us- haha!! Stupid humans!!

Until tomorrow.......

Enjoy your day,
The 103rd Dalmation Hound Mix!!
Spotty signing off for now!!

New 10 mile run

A new 10 mile run!

 

 Sunday, January 10, 2016- So because of the overwhelmingly tough time people have to race to just register for the Run for the Brewery race next weekend. Karol  Kalin-Holmes started a new option this year, it was a great run NOT a race! BUT it was great, there was a small fee to run with the group, but she provided water, Gatorade and a few snacks at the turnaround point  (about 4. 5 miles through the run) And in my case she made sure that my dog Scout had something to do some extra carbo loading on there, not sure how she did it but she did! Check this out:

 

This reminded me of the movie you've got mail when Tom hanks character says his dog likes to eat bits and pieces of bagels and pizza off the sidewalk but he prefers to buy his!

Karol put in the perfect  weather  and apparently told the powers that be to hold the rain off until the next day, she had volunteers to help guide people unfamiliar with the course.  And at intersections that were or could have been dangerous otherwise…..although as I was rounding out my 10 miles I swear I felt a few raindrops that amounted to nothing unless there was a breeze that stirred up a little dirt or water from somewhere else!

As Scout and I started early we came across a lot of people walking their dogs or just out for a walk on their own or with a friend so of course Scout had to stop and sniff a few butts- of the canine kind! He had to check out all of his surroundings  and let the world know he was there with his bellowing howls! Did you hear him howl, China called and asked me to keep him quiet as we were running!

But he loves running the Greenway “trails” even though they are paved trails, they have the benefit of the hills and safe cross walks that the walker, runner or cyclists control by just walking through  the scensors  I mean how awesome is that!.....Scout likes the control of doing that, and so do I….although you still have to proceed  with caution as some drivers will not pay attention to the flashing lights that are provided for our safety!....

We started running there last year, the end of last year and we vow to be back.

Along the way we saw someone along the side of the trailway, off  to side a bit, who obviously couldn’t handle the hills….they are obviously not a part of the Selden Hills group! They were just lying there….oh don’t worry it was just an old scarecrow that’s been there since we started running there! Check this out:

Obviously this course is not for the faint of heart and one should proceed with caution! It runs from Stony Brook to Pt Jeff, with nature surrounding you most of the way. When you leave the train station within the first mile you have a smallish hill leading you to the entrance of the parking lot to the Greenway Trailways!.....the trailway is paved and has a lot of turns and hills but very animal friendly and people friendly, if nothing else I was happy that Karole and her crew introduced us to the trail way, although we would rather actual trails than pavement, I  have to add if one chooses one can opt to go off the pavement and hit the actual trails right next to the paved trails…….but we stuck to the paved way for the 10 mile run!

When we got to about  8 and 9 mile point we started running with the faster runners who had caught up with us as we started a good half hour or so before hand…….and check it out I ended up running FOUR PAWS ahead of some of LI’s fast runner s to include Bill Flemming and Jim Murray, without Scout tethered to me I would have never been able to keep the pace to run FOUR PAWS ahead….ok, Scout was the one ahead of us all I was in line with them but once again……how often can I even come close to that claim!

I may have been most improved runner back in 2010,but since then in 2015 I lost two of my senior dogs  who motivated me to run and run well and trained me. So without my Skyler and Sandy I’ve slowed down and Scout  and Liberty are trying to get me back to my running performance that I once had…..give me some time!

Karol and her crew collected a small fee for the run- hey she provided water  and cupcakes and beer at the end! And plenty of volunteers to help the runners be safe and sound!.......Where it truly counted too!......And therefore was able to collect a few hundred dollars for Kent Animal Shelter (where Scout and Liberty- my dogs came from) and I believe one local shelter…..what a heart we have in our club- I guess Scout was the poster dog for the day for the run, or as someone called him the mascot- he would be proud to be the “mascot” next year as well……

Just a note Kent is undergoing some tough times as they try to rebuild the facility to be more environmentally nice and nicer for the dogs, the Pine Barrens Assoc. is giving them trouble in rebuilding, no one else but them they have all other permission but cannot rebuild because of the opposition from one organization- the plans are VERY MUCH SO ENVIRONMENTALLY sound! So  maybe if we can help them raise enough money that money can do the talking for the Pine Barrens and the comfortable living conditions of those cats and dogs  awaiting their new homes! You can find out more about this at www.kentanimalshelter.com

We finished the last ½ mile or so on the Stony Brook campus, crossing over the railroad tracks and running alongside the ball fields……going out wasn’t bad coming back there was  a slight incline to run coming  back to the station!

But once we finished we went across the street to THE BENCH where there was water, Gatorade, CUPCAKES ( I had to keep Scout away from that table because he wanted those cupcakes, which in this persons opinion will put the cupcakes at the end of the Aspire Run to SHAME!- no offense Glen!- but these were homemade to begin with and they had happy face, they had Nutella (Fran- you missed these- I thought the Nutella would be calling you to run there), they had Oreo cupcakes which come to think of it are vegan- ok, junkfood vegan but nevertheless VEGAN!- YES OREOS are VEGAN people….but the sugar in thecupcakes truly is not good for dogs- ( I think our GLIRC resident Veternarian can vouch for this fact!)……although one cupcake may not have hurt Scout after 10 miles, so next year with Dr Monaco’s approval I will allow Scout a cupcake!.....Or have doggy cupcakes ready for him and those four legged runners that come one down……even if they only run part of the course- YES, I’m thinking of Dukey- or as I call him the Duke of Melville!..........If we can raise more money for Kent or another shelter  next year or even again this year,and we get more dogs to run- I’ll make the doggy cupcakes and get Dr Monaco’s approval of the recipe beforehand as well……another run this year or next year- have a set a challenge up for Karole or what?!?!?!

 

Oh I have to mention the app which I ran with…..called Walk for a Dog App…..it’s free to get and easy to use, you can run, walk, or ride your bike with the app…..you can use it with or without a dog…..and you can see your walk/ run/ or ride mapped out later……and it will give you how far you went and how long it took, but of course it’s not necessarily for runners so the info is limited……you can use other apps while using this one if you choose…..I’ve never listen to music while using this app because I tend to have my dog or dogs by my side and I like to talk to my dogs without yelling but I think listening to your tunes is easy enough! I mean if I can take a photo or go onto FB, I should certainly be able to listen to my music!