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Thursday, February 28, 2013

It's A Dog's World And You're Just Working Here!

TGIF everyone!! :-D


It's totally been one of "those" weeks, so I can't wait to just sit back, relax, and chase a ball!! :-D

Some of you might remember, last year I wrote a post about Taking Your Puppy To Work with you...well today, I'm going to add a little bit more! You see, my Domeek is trying to change the course of her career a bit, so has just started to interview with a whole bunch of companies!

Since we live in Silicon Valley, we're lucky to have companies that have completely awesome and random perks to the job - anything from personal chefs, to complimentary espressos made by baristas (she just interviewed with this one...muahaha), to budgets of $10k per employee to personally outfit their desk area (wtf?!)...but the one that really excites both of us is the "everyday is Take Your Dog To Work Day!!"

Oh yeah pups and kittens!!! :-D

The great thing is...this type of corporate philosophy is spreading across the country! Companies are finally starting to realize that their employees will work longer and harder if they don't have to worry about their fur children and that animals add to value to the entire office environment! Score!

So, how can you find those dog-friendly offices? Great question! Well, while Domeek was doing a whole lot of research for our specific area...she came across a great site:

Freckles the Dog

SimplyHired and Dogster have partnered together to come up with a fantastic job search site that only looks at known dog-friendly employers! ;-) Just take a look at what they have to offer!

Another fantastic site is DogFriendly.com, showing all kinds of dog friendly companies in 42 out of the 50 states!

Freckles the Dog

You might think that only start-up style businesses are offering these perks...but you'd be wrong! ;-) Here is a few companies that are emphatically pro-pup:

  • Clif Bar & Company - Emeryville, CA - Organic energy and nutritional snack company
  • Amazon - Seattle, WA (plus various domestic and international locations) - Do we really need to say what they do?
  • Bissell - Grand Rapids, MI - Consumer products ranging from vacuums to cleaning supplies.
  • Google - Mountain View, CA (plus various domestic and international locations) - Search, Big Data/Advertising, Communications, Mobile...you name it! ;-)
  • Ben & Jerry's - Englewood Cliffs, NJ (plus various domestic and international locations) - Um, can you say "delicious?"
  • P&G Pet Care - Mason, OH - The brand behind Iams and Eukenuba!
  • Autodesk - San Rafael, CA - World leader in 3D design software for manufacturing, building, construction, engineering and entertainment!
  • Build-A-Bear Workshop - St. Louis, MO - Stuffed bears, animals, and puppies!!
  • Klutz - Palo Alto, CA - Product lines including childrens toys, crafts, books, and games!
  • Wonderware, Inc - Newton, MA - Software company specializing in applications for manufacturing and infrastructure operations.
  • Printing for Less - Livingston, MT - The nation's first commercial online printer.
  • Zynga - San Bruno, CA - The world's leading provider of social games services.
  • One Call Now - Troy, OH - The leading provider of routine and emergency voice, SMS text, text-to-speech, and email messaging services.
  • Oregon Research Institute - Eugene, OR - Research center that is dedicated entirely to understanding human behavior and improving the quality of human life.
  • Yammer - San Francisco, CA - An easy to use software that is designed for company collaboration, file sharing, knowledge exchange and team efficiency.

If any of you have some more to add to this list, I'll happily sign them up too!

Freckles the Dog

I know the economic times are crazy right now...but, if you are lucky enough to be able to be picky about the next position you chose, perhaps you might want to check out all these fabulous companies before venturing further!! I can guarantee that your pups would be happy!! ;-)

Oh and if any of you want to write a pawesome reference for me regarding my absolutely stellar personality and abilities I would be more than happy...after all, I really don't have that much "work experience" this side of Destructo Puppy tendencies and crazy ball throwing antics!! ;-D

Have a great day everyone!!



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

...New Addition...??

Happy Wednesday Everyone!! :-D

Thankfully I'm finally feeling almost normal again, unfortunately I've had an icky tummy and an out-of-sorts last couple of days...boo! Thanks for the Facebook love though! :-) 

Freckles the Dog

This was me last night, yep...I was definitely feeling sorry for myself! ;-) Almost 100% better now though, so woohoo!! 

So, on Monday night Domeek came home with this...

Freckles the Dog

I might not have been feeling awesome, but I certainly knew something was up!!! "What the heck is that?" :-/

I now refer you to Exhibit A - my Halloween photo:

Freckles the Dog

And, this is what was under that bandage:

Freckles the Dog

Muahahaha...I'm not only fabulous, but now I'm permanent art!!! :-D 

Yeah, don't worry about the red puffiness, this was taken the day after...ow! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

A little closer this time! Oh and I don't have a funky nose, Domeek just had to hold her arm in a weird way in order to take a photo herself...kind of difficult! :-)

In case you can't tell, Domeek got herself a pawesome new tattoo addition with moi's photo etched in a cameo heart (awwwww!!!), the empty frame below and one on the front of her forearm (yeah, you can't see that one) are going to have two of my brothers' images in them (Hahaha, Ginger didn't make the cut), she just has to wait a couple of weeks. :-D   

Well, I hope that you all have a wonderful Wordless Wednesday! Take care everyone!! :-D

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Weekend Catch-Up Time

Happy Sunday Evening Everyone!!

I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend! :-D And, perhaps, are watching the Academy Awards as I type (I'd just like to ask what the lady who won Best Make-Up thought when she dressed for the Oscars? Hehehe!)!

This weekend was an awfully busy couple of days for me...I started off on Friday, going to the doggie park where I met up with an old puppy friend of mine, Summit, who is a miniature Australian shepherd. I haven't seen him in a few months, so it was great running around and wrestling with him!! :-D Then we met another mini called Mondo, who absolutely adored me, so all three of us went nuts around the park!! We must have spent two and a half hours at the park, personally not enough time in our minds! ;-) Hehe!

On Saturday, Auntie Nilla and her family came over and helped Domeek and I fix up the backyard and patio area! There were so many people in the house, I couldn't even count them all (um, ok...there were 6...but that's a huge number!) They weeded and then painted the concrete and garage, of course, I supervised and barked at everyone! :-D They wouldn't have gotten anywhere with out little old me! ;-)

Then this morning, we went to Holbrook Palmer Park to check out all of the cherry blossoms that are blooming super early this year! :-D

Freckles the Dog

Sorry for the bad, shaky camera photos...I was yanking on the leash! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

There are always tons of great smells at this park, so I love coming here!!

This afternoon was my first Intermediate Agility class too!! Oh man, I was kind of nervous cause it's been a few weeks since doing any kind of agility training...but we immediately did a few hurdles then the table and voila, I fell right back into it! :-D

Hessie, Millie, and Zoe were all there too, along with a couple of new dogs from Miss Rachel's other classes at different schools, including: a huge, white fluffy dog called Michael, a golden retriever who's name escapes me, and an Australian Shepherd called Teddy. A couple of the newbies were a bit nervous, but everyone kicked agility tush! :-D

This week we learned the weaving poles...um, these are challenging to say the least! There's a specific way that you have to go in and out of them, which was a bit weird to pick up...but they were pretty fun and I got tons of treats! Hehehe! Then we learned a different way to do the hurdles; instead of going in a straight line or adding a curve, we did them in a serpentine arrangement...meaning that I had to follow an S pattern without Domeek running me through them, she just directed me with her arms! I excelled at this one! ;-) Oh Yeah!

By the end of the class we were combing 12 different stations including the table, hurdles, dog walk, hoop, and tunnel! :-D Man, were we all super exhausted by the end!!

Freckles the Dog

So, I'm napping while Domeek watches the Oscars!

Well, there you go...you are all caught up on my busy weekend! I hope that you have all had a great time too...see you tomorrow! :-D


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

February 20th =

Love Your Pet Day!!!!

Freckles the Dog

I personally believe that everyday should be Love Your Pet Day, but...make sure that you give them a little more lovin' and snugglin' today!! :-D

Freckles the Dog
Baby Goose getting some lovin'

Need some ideas on doing something special with your pet? Check out Purina's PetCentric post on all things fun! :-D

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!


Monday, February 18, 2013

It's BarkBox Time!!

Oh yeah...it's that magical time of the month again...you know, the one where I open my front door and get a wonderful surprise left on the door step!! :-D

It's BarkBox time!!!

Freckles the Dog

Ahhhh...open the box...open the box!!!

Freckles the Dog

Come on man...urg!!!

Freckles the Dog

OMD, just check out the awesomeness that is this month's stash!! :-D

Freckles the Dog

This is my new favorite toy...a squishy, funny sounding newspaper that squeaks! Hehehe!! I love it!!! It's from a company called Pet Qwerks and it's supposedly not a chew toy...but you can't put squeakers inside of a doggie toy and not expect us to chew! Duh!

Freckles the Dog

Little Bit tried to steal all the goodies...hm...I don't think so!! Well, except for the dental chews by N-Bone, she can keep those!! ;-) I also got two sets of cookies from Wet Noses! I can't wait to try them out!

Freckles the Dog

See how cool the newspaper is? Oh and this is a very nifty organic chew toy from Aussie Naturals...I've already destroyed that one, even though it's apparently tough! Muahaha!

Oh and I just realized that I didn't show you all my awesome Valentine's Day goodies...here are my three new toys: Loofa Dog with a heart, a bone that says I <3 U, and a paper sounding bone with lots of little hearts! I love them all!!

Freckles the Dog

Well, I hope that you all enjoyed your President's Day! :-D Man, I have so much chewing to do...

See you soon!!


Saturday, February 16, 2013

Hiking Through Stulsaft Park

Happy Saturday and Sunday Everyone!!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend so far! :-D

This morning we started by doing a little yard work and home improvements (boring)...but then this afternoon we went to a new park! It's called Stulsaft Park and it's in the hills where the mountain lions live, aka we lived on the edge of danger! Hehe! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

There are three different areas...our first trek included doing a trail that led us through the steep hills, into the trees, and down to a creek! We were the only ones on the trail, so it was incredibly peaceful, just listening to the rustle of birdies and who knows what...

Freckles the Dog

Just look at that view...gorgeous!!

Freckles the Dog

Thank you Mr. Sign...I will!! :-)

Freckles the Dog

Spring had definitely sprung on our trail, there were fields of new clovers and flowers!

Freckles the Dog

Going Down!

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Photo Op...

Freckles the Dog

Check out the gnarly trees that were in the middle and along our trail...it was pretty hard to see the path in certain places!!

Freckles the Dog

Urg, Domeek...put the camera away dude!!!

Freckles the Dog

This was the nifty creek that was at the bottom...I was thinking that my friends: Goose, Murphy & Stanley, and Bert would love to run through the water and go fishing...I however was the complete opposite, I just wanted to get the heck away!! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

Run AWAY!!!

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Yet another view...Domeek loved this place!

Freckles the Dog

Freckles the Dog

Check out the moss on this tree...awesome color and sooooo cool that it's only on one side! Weird!!

Freckles the Dog

See...fields of pretty and smelly clovers!! :-) I loved them!!

Freckles the Dog

The second area of the park included an amphitheater, a picnic area, an off leash dog area, and lots more trees, creeks, paths, hills, and smells!! It was soooooo awesome! Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to go off leash...but we still went off-roading into the wooded area! :-D We found this tree that had fallen over during one of the storms, it was in the process of being broken into pieces...such nifty smells!

Freckles the Dog

I swear, I had the perfect afternoon!! :-D

I hope that you all had as awesome of a day!! See you all next time!


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you wonderful pups and kittens out there! Enjoy yourselves at the Party...but don't do anything I wouldn't!! ;-) Hehehe!

Freckles the Dog

Valentine Friend

A Valentine friend is someone you choose
To share your life with you,
Someone who is always there,
Whether you’re happy or blue.

With a Valentine friend, you can be yourself
You don’t need to pretend;
When you’re careful to choose a compatible match,
You create a perfect blend.

With you for my special Valentine friend,
My life is full and bright;
You bring contentment, joy and peace;
You’re my Valentine delight!

By Joanna Fuchs

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Wordless Wednesday...Night Crawl!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Today we got some awesome news...Domeek and I are hitting the road in March and heading to Napa Valley's Pawsport event!! In honor and support of the Napa Humane Society, we will be drinking and enjoying the splendors of the beautiful wine country in the only dog friendly winery event! I'm very excited!! We'll be staying at this pawesome hotel right next door to the Napa River, eating at some amazing dog friendly restauarants, and tasting treats made at puppy bakeries! Eeeekkk!!

So tonight we celebrated by going on a sunset/evening walk! :-D

Freckles the Dog

I call this Goose Ballet! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

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Freckles the Dog

Then it was off to Bow Wow Meow to pick Cousin Pippi up some Valentine's Day cookies and me a new ball!! WooHoo!! It's called the Jive ball and it's from the same company that creates my Hurley bone, which means that it's guaranteed to last! ;-) I can't wait to try it out!!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!! :-D


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Monday Mischief: Roughing It...My Best Options!

Happy Monday Everyone!!

Well, since it's Mischief Monday, I thought I'd show you some of my favorite toys that allow for crazy terrier style play! ;-)

As you all know, I can brake (aka, make perfect) a toy within about 5 minutes, :-) I'm pretty proud of myself, these toys can be stuffies, balls, plastic, rubber...

There have only been a few select toys that I haven't been able to turn Destructo Puppy on...and I'm still working on them!

Freckles the Dog

The first toy and the oldest in my collection is Mr. Squeakers! Domeek got him for me when I was a wee pup of 10 weeks old (awwwwww)!

Freckles the Dog

As you can tell, Mr. Squeakers has been through a lot and has seen his fair share of action...but he remains perfectly whole and still squeaks on both sides!! :-D

He is from Petstages collection and we got him from Target, but it looks as though he has been discontinued (that's so sad). You can now buy an alligator that is the exact same style though for a whopping $6.99 .

Freckles the Dog

My second toy, I got from one of the Bark Box sets, is a Hurley from West Paw Design! This is a bouncy, apparently floatable, indestructible bone! Oh yeah, it really is a tough cookie - the company even guarantees that it's durable! Whoa! As much I try, this sucker won't even leave teeth marks in it! So, for $8.00 it's an incredible deal!

Freckles the Dog

Next up is my Dragon!! :-D Auntie Nilla bought him for my birthday in October! He might look like a stuffie, but he is stuffing free and has a squeaky! He is from the Sherpa Go Dog collection and has chew guard technology...ooooooo...awwwww!! He's also made of super soft fabric and comes in tons of different colors and styles (once again, my Dragon has been discontinued)!! Depending on where you buy him (they are available at PetSmart, Petco, and online) they range from $12 - 20! So far I've only been able to rip open his teeth...so he's definitely a tough little dude!

Freckles the Dog

This is my favorite ball...ever, he's the perfect size for my mouth, he bounces in different directions when you throw him, you can use him as a treat dispenser, he's completely and utterly indestructible, and he's dishwasher safe! Crazy useful!! :-D He's a small Nebo ball from the Dura Doggie collection of toys ($6.99)! Domeek got him for me when I was really young, so he's been around almost as long as Mr. Squeakers!

What we love about Dura Doggies is that 20% of everything you buy goes to one of four different charities and you get to chose the charity! My ball is blue because we chose to donate to saving animals in shelters...but you can chose saving the planet, diabetes, or breast cancer!! :-D We love them!! Domeek also got cousin Pippi a large Beba toy that's perfect for the bigger pup!

Freckles the Dog

My last toy is the KONG!! As all of you know, this is seriously the greatest invention! I've had my small Kong since I was 5 months old and all it has is scuff marks! WooHoo!!

Well, I hope that you learnt about a couple of new toys...or at least got some reassurance on their toughness! I'm still trying to get a job as a dog toy tester, but those are apparently hard to come by! ;-)

Freckles the Dog

Little Bit and I say, have a great day everyone!!