Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Erin

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Bragh

Friday Feature: So You Think You Want a Saint Bernard?

Saint Bernards are awesome puppies. They're friendly, inquisitive, rambunctious, and easily worn out. At least mine was.

And then they grow.

And keep growing.

So make sure you have enough room in the house. And a spare bed.

That, by the way, is a double bed she's lying on.

And be ready for the snoring. The jowl flapping snores are reminiscent of Three Stooges movies.

And let's not forget the drool-factor that comes along with a tongue the size of Wisconsin...

And the occasional eating of non-standard food items, like books...

But. She's a really good sport, and has been since puppyhood. She puts up with a lot from the kids, and seems to enjoy it.

So, would I recommend Saint Bernards for everyone? No. You have to be ready for a strong, stubborn personality, who is more like a 150-pound toddler than a dog. That said, if you're up for the challenge (and have a big enough house) Saint Bernards are awesome to have in the family.

Celebrating National Dog Week ~ Sharing Puppy Tales

My post on Sunday explained how the last week in September is designated as "National Dog Week," and that it's been a "thing" since 1928. When Tiffany from Dropcam sent me an email alerting me to National Dog Week, it got me thinking about all the crazy things my dogs have done over the years ~ some funny, some not so hilarious.

In my latest novel, MY KIND OF CRAZY, the main character fosters a Saint Bernard as a favor to a friend. The puppy causes a few problems - from running through a screen door to tracking fresh paint all over the second floor... and some of the "attitude" the dog has in the book is directly based on my own Saint. It's a unique breed in that they are very stubborn and independent, but at the same time very sweet and loving. The sweet part is important, or no one would put up with the behavior!

When Puppy was young, she had a bit of a chewing problem. Books were some of her favorites- which was a real moral dilemma for me as an author! But luckily, she grew out of it. Eventually.

There were a few instances when Puppy sat in things she shouldn't have, or ate things that weren't for her, or got into the kind of trouble that required veterinary assistance...

Stealing stuffed animals...

Caught tasting the Christmas decorations...

The inevitable cone....

Despite the problems, the trouble, the expense.... I wouldn't have it any other way. Puppy is a big part of our lives and a big part of our family - and not just because she's big. If you have a dog - any breed of dog - you know what I mean.

What's the funniest thing you're dog has done lately? (And did you take the time to snap a picture?)

Happy National Dog Week!

Celebrating National Dog Week

National Dog Week is celebrated during the last full week of September each year - this week! And yeah, it's a real thing.

First established in 1928, the idea is to celebrate responsible dog ownership as well as those cute little pups we bring into our homes and families. In my latest book, MY KIND OF CRAZY, my heroine agrees to foster a Saint Bernard puppy, adding more craziness to her life. The dog in the book is based on my own experiences with our Saint Bernard. They start out sooooo little and cute... you fall in love way before you find out just how stubborn they can be and how much havoc one dog can cause...

My Puppy at 6 weeks old

Actually, I'd never heard of National Dog Week until I received an email from Tiffany at Dropcam, a home monitoring company that sells wifi security cameras with fun features to make it easy to check on our homes while we're away - and even see what the dog is up to while we're at the office. As in are they protecting the home, or did they invite all their buddies over for a wild dog party?

(Dog Party in the mud hole! Yuck!)

 

(One look at that smile and you can guess who started the mud party...)

Tiffany even forwarded a funny graphic with the different categories of Dog Personalities...

My Puppy ranges in personality, actually, from pretending to be the "Bouncer" to actually being a Social Butterfly... to her favorite Couch Potato mode. There are very few people she doesn't like - so when she gets all "Bouncer" we know something is wrong.

We never had an issue with dogs being a "Fence Hopper" or acting like a "Barking Buzzer" - well, at least not until this past year of home renovations, when the comings and goings of various construction and remodeling people got both dogs into the barking habit. But Puppy's natural state is definitely Couch Potato, and she especially likes to slide into empty beds after the kids have left for school...

What about you? Does your dog fit into one of Dropcam's categories? Do you know what your dog does when you're not at home?

I'm visiting the SMART GIRLS READ ROMANCE blog!

Today I'm over at the SMART GIRLS READ ROMANCE blog, chatting about - you guessed it - MY KIND OF CRAZY. The ladies asked what my inspiration for the book was... so I told them the story of my own Saint Bernard puppy...

Come visit and hear the story of the crazy spring that turned into a crazy, bestselling romance book!

(yes, I hit the best seller list during the last week of May so now it's ALWAYS going to be called my bestseller, from me, the bestselling author! *woohoo*)

If you haven't grabbed your copy of MY KIND OF CRAZY yet, there's a link to the Amazon page at the top left of this blog. And I'm sure the Smart Girls blog will have a link over there as well, so come on over and join the party!

Puppy Tale Friday: The Yin and Yang of Waiting

It's been cold this winter.

Everybody who lives in the northern hemisphere can probably agree with this statement, even those of you living in "warmer" climes - that aren't so warm this winter. Even my inlaws who live in Georgia are tangling with snow days and dangerously icy roads. Unusual winter, to say the least.

The days we get to the beach are good ones. But at the moment, it's just not my first priority.

Puppy isn't deterred by the polar vortex, and is actually quite put out that I'm not taking her on her customary two or three walks per day. In fact, she's lucky to get One. This is not to say she's not a whiny mess, begging for me to get the leash out and go for a spin around the block.

She does. I resist.

I can't walk them by myself, and the thought of multiple walks makes me shiver before I even get my scarf around my neck. So we wait for the kids to come home from school to help.

Puppy and her sister take it well most days. In fact, their usual position is now the Yin and Yang of patience - they share the one dog bed, and wait patiently for the kids to come home.

This too shall pass, as the saying goes. The weather will warm up. The beach walks will resume.

Meanwhile, it's just the Yin and Yang of waiting.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day! Another exercise in patience, as my husband has been away on business all week long! We'll celebrate tomorrow, I guess. But for all of you lucky enough to have your loved ones at home - enjoy the day!

Puppy Tales: A New Home for Zoe

Zoe came to live with us in June, at the start of summer, after her owner passed away suddenly. Her owner was a close friend of my husband, and he didn't want the dog to be further traumatized by a shelter or foster home.

As it turns out, we were only Zoe's foster home.

Already ten years old, little Zoe lived by different rules than our big dogs do. And the big dogs didn't understand why the little one could sleep on the couch but they couldn't. The little one couldn't understand why we didn't put out a box for her to "do her business in" like she'd had in her apartment back in New York. Can you imagine a Saint Bernard using an indoor doggie box?

When she came to us, she was an apartment dog who loved to "visit" the outdoors. Over the summer we visited countless beaches and lakes, took her to Vermont to my sister's farm and swimming hole, and took many long walks around Cape Cod. She got in great physical shape and was able to keep up with the big dogs, but still craved more attention than we were able to provide with our busy lives.

Enter the retired home economics teacher who just recently lost her own beloved dog. She was visiting the local shelter, looking for an older dog to lavish attention on. "Not a puppy, but someone to wag their tail at me all day long," was her requirement. My friend who works at the shelter knew our situation and gave me this woman's name and number. Zoe and I went to visit and the two were almost immediately smitten with each other. I left her at the woman's home in Brewster last Friday, for a "trial sleep over."

Another friend who volunteers at the shelter ran into the woman and Zoe on Saturday and she said they both seemed "smitten" with each other. That was great to hear, for as much as the little dog was difficult at times, I still missed her when she was gone.

This week marked our friend's birthday, as Facebook reminded everyone. He would have been 49. I was the one who received a huge vase of flowers on his birthday - with a card that reads: "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for a match made in heaven!"

Puppy Tale Friday: One Hundred Sunrises

It's official. Since the start of our house rennovation project at the beginning of May, Puppy and I have watched 100 sunrises from our beach during our morning walk. This takes into account the days we've been off-Cape and the two days it was raining too hard to go to the beach.

One hundred sunrises.

Some mornings it's been too cloudy to see the sun. Some mornings we've slept a little later and the sun has already crested the horizon on its upward ascent.

But most mornings she and I watch the new day break together. Some days we have company - just yesterday, someone's houseguest was on the beach when we got there, big camera in hand waiting for the red sun to rise up. Most days, our company is in the form of sandpipers, sea gulls, terns, and the great blue heron who moved into the neighborhood just this summer.

It's been interesting comparing sunrises, seeing if the old maxim about "Red Sun in Morning, Sailors Take Warning" rings true (which it mostly does -- orange skies herald the best beach days.)

One hundred sunrises. I'm not going to post all hundred, but a few of my favorites for you to share in the beauty that is Cape Cod at dawn. Have a great weekend - and maybe catch a sunrise or two yourself!

Puppy Tales: How to be Happy, Puppy-Style

How do you make Puppy happy? Easy. Just add water.

Dirty water or clean, it doesn't matter all that much.


Oh, and food. Food makes her happy.

And car rides. She loves to ride in the car. She doesn't have to "go" anywhere. Just as long as she's allowed to hang her snout out the window and feel the breeze...

Life is good if you keep it simple.

What makes you happy?

Puppy Tales: Down on the (Organic) Farm

My sister owns an organic farm in Northern Vermont, where she grows all kinds of wonderful veggies, herbs, blueberries and flowers. She sells to local restaurants, at local farmers' markets, and through the Deep Root Coop, an organic collective that ships to supermarkets like Whole Foods.

It's a long drive from Cape Cod, but we try to get up there to visit once or twice a year and she tries to get to the Cape once or twice a year. We love visiting her farm in the summertime.

 This year we even planned to help harvest blueberries, but our helping time was limited by rain that was sweeping through New England. We managed to pick several containers full in between storms.

Even my dad got into it and helped pick berries...

Puppy's favorite part of the farm - besides hanging out with her cousin Louie - is the swimming hole.

Our newest addition, Zoe, wasn't too sure about the rushing river. She watched for a long while before venturing down onto the rocks.

 Zoe inched closer, watching from atop different rocks until she was right at the edge. And then she took the leap!

We all cheered, and then watched her try to swim against the current - or swim at all as the rushing water swept her clear across the swimming hole to the line of rocks across the river... where she was finally able to grab hold with her nails and scrabble out of the water to safety.

(She stayed on the edge just watching after that, but was all like, yeah, I already did that. I swam. Been there, done that.)

Puppy, however, couldn't get enough and just enjoyed her spot in the deep water.

 ...And then Puppy found her new favorite spot. 

 Happy Puppy.