Monthly Archives: January 2012

Snow Dogs and Resolutions

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Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution to blog faithfully four times a week or something like that. Because, as you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been a blogging slacker for the past week or so. But I’m trying to get back on track with a twice-per-week blogging schedule.

Also, I did finally settle on some dog-related resolutions, as I discussed in my first post of the year. So here they are:

1. I resolve to walk better. I want to find more places where I can walk the dogs off leash (and maybe I’m cheating a bit because I’m making this resolution after I’ve made strides on this first part–see below). I will register Gertie and Duke for the local dog park. And I will find other new places for us to walk.

Snow tag

Above: I loved watching Gertie and Duke run free in the snow this afternoon. I’m not going to divulge where I found this off-leash spot because I’m not really supposed to be walking my dogs there–off-leash or otherwise. It’s our little secret.

2. I resolve to volunteer more. I plan to contact Cedar Rapids AniMeals, the organization that provides dog food for owners who need assistance. And I am mulling over ways I can use my new-found love for photography to help dogs needing homes (a subject I’ll be posting about soon). And, as I mentioned in my resolutions post, I will help Mid-Iowa Boxer Rescue if they can use me.

Feel free to bug me about whether I’m keeping up with these resolutions, especially since I’ve been so resolution-shy in the past. I can use all the help I can get to stick with these goals!

And now, since I have been a slacker, I have a few other items to discuss. First, winter has finally come to Iowa. I just thought you should know. Duke is loving the snow. He runs and hops and spins, periodically dipping his head to chomp a mouthful of the white stuff. Gertie’s a little less enthusiastic about the snow, especially when it’s deep or crunchy, but she does enjoy romping with her brother and sometimes digging in snowdrifts for a toy.

Little Snowbeard

Catching snowflakes

And last, but certainly not least, I have been honored with a couple of awards from fellow bloggers.

First, the Iowa Dog Trust, a blog dedicated to the well-being of dogs in Iowa, awarded me a “Pawlitzer Prize” for Dog Blog Journalism. You can read more about the award. They recently created this award and say, “By doing this we hope to encourage more bloggers to help dog owners around the corner and around the world by offering them quality instruction, information and guidance.” You can read more about the award and see the other nominees here.

I also feel lucky to have been nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award by For the Love of My Dogs. I just realized, however, that I have some thinking to do about the seven items I will share, as well as the other blogs I plan on nominating. So I will officially accept this award in my next post.

How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? Do your dogs enjoy the snow?

The Post You’ve Been Waiting For

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Ok, that might be overstating it a bit. But I did promise to share our holiday card with you.

So here is the 2011 (Belated) Viner Family Holiday Card! (We technically sent them out in 2012, but I’m still holding out hope that we can get holiday cards out again before the end of this year, so Belated 2011 Holiday Card it is.)

To get the full scope of our holiday cheesiness, check out our previous holiday cards here.

Do you incorporate your dogs in your greetings (holiday or otherwise)? Do you dress up your dogs for photos? Are you going to report me as an animal abuser for putting Gertie through all of these cards?

BARKing about Magazines: Shameless Self Promotion

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As you may or may not know, I’m a freelance writer, and the New Year has brought my first national publication–in (what else?) a dog magazine! I have a story featured in The Bark (the story is not online, but you can read the introduction to the issue by clicking the link). It’s called “Abilities Through Agility: Program transcends the sport to improve kids’ lives,” and it profiles a unique program in the Des Moines area that pairs kids who require physical, occupational, and speech therapy with dogs on an agility course. The program is a partnership between ChildServe and Paws and Effect (which I have added to my Causes page). If you’re not familiar with The Bark, I hope you’ll check it out. It’s a dog magazine with literary flair.

In other New Year’s news, we have mailed our belated holiday cards, and I will post the card here soon to share it with you, my e-friends. I hope your 2012 is off to a good start!

What dog-specific magazines or websites do you read (besides all of the wonderful dog blogs we know and love!)?

Happy New Year!

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Happy New Year from Iowa Dog Blog! Well, I took a little more time off for the holidays than I had planned, but I’m back! Back in the U.S., back to blogging, and back to my boxers. (I spent the end of 2011 and the turn of the New Year in Turks and Caicos with Tom and his family.) I was so happy to be reunited with Gertie and Duke–wiggles, and hops, hugs, and kisses all around!

They had great fun at Grandma and Grandpa’s–romping at the farm and in the meadow, cuddling on the couch, and apparently eating their fair share of deer dung (sigh). My dad joked that their natural buffet was coming to an end.

Once we got home from Grandma and Grandpa’s (with two sleepy boxers in the backseat) and unpacked, the boxers needed to smell our stuff to sniff out what in the world we could have been doing. Of particular interest were the shells:

Well, let me see how this 'ol conch tastes.

Duke mainly just sniffed our shoes and our bags. He had no interest in our shells, only our returned presence.

So we’re back, and it’s 2012. Resolution time. I normally don’t make resolutions. I think I try to avoid them because I hear about resolution-failure too often. But I think I have also just not wanted to hold myself accountable, which is not a good reason to avoid resolution-making. So I’ve been mulling over some dog-related resolution possibilities (and others as well). I think I will make resolutions about walking the dogs (either length of walks or location of walks, like trying out new walking areas or routes) and volunteering more in dog-related capacities (such as with CR AniMeals, the local group that provides pet food for owners who cannot afford it, and pitching in for Mid-Iowa Boxer Rescue and other groups if they can use me).

What are your resolutions for 2012? What suggestions do you have to help reluctant resolution-makers like me succeed?