Phillies Fans are Everywhere!

     This pic comes to us from a friend who has rescued a dog or two.  The cute little Phillies fan below is Colie and she is named for none other than one of the Phillies 3 aces Cole Hamels!  How cute is she?!?!

Stolen Puppies

          I recently got an email from someone who reads my blog.  She informed me that there are two men stealing pit bull puppies in Eddystone PA.  I don't want to guess what their motives must be, but the fact that they are stealing pit bull puppies, I can only think the worst.  So if you are in the area keep your eyes out, and if have a pit bull, keep your eyes out and make sure you don't let your dog out of sight.  If anyone has any further information, please feel free to e-mail me.  Sometimes its up to all of us to make sure dogs in our area stay happy and healthy.

Nick Carreno
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Bouncy Jacks

                 I have to admit, I had no idea what this article was going to be about.  I was at the beach, totally relaxed, with not a care in the world.  I sat down to write this article several times and I was drawing a complete blank.  I sat and looked at the empty screen and try as I might there was nothing.  I put this down to being at the beach house with all of the beach visits and relaxing why should I think of anything.  That is when it happened.  I was outside charging the AC for my truck when out of nowhere this little Jack Russell dashed over to me, tail wagging, happily bouncing in place.  Those that own a Jack Russell can attest to the bouncing in place.  My dogs were in the back yard at the time and as soon as they saw this little guy they went nuts.  Jasmine (my black lab), to my amazement, forced her large frame under the fence and came running over to meet my new found friend.  The Jack Russell didn’t run, or even flinch at the sight of this big dog bounding his way.  He just turned toward her and continued to bounce in place.  Jasmine and the Jack Russell took turns sniffing and they hit it off, it looked like Jasmine made a new friend.   Frankie (our husky) remained in the back yard with little interest in anything happening on the other side of the fence.

                The little Jack Russell was friendly, obviously well fed, yet he had no collar.  I stooped down to pet him and he began to bounce higher, I didn’t think it possible, in place eating up all the attention.  I picked him up and was greeted with a barrage of licks.  At this point my wife, Nicole, came out to see what all the fuss was about.  She saw me holding my new friend who was now going out of his mind to meet the new human on the scene.  Nicole looked at me and said, what do we do now?  She gathered up a very happy and excited Jasmine and put her in the back yard.  I took our new friend to meet Frankie in the back yard.  Frankie sniffed the much smaller dog looked at me and wandered to another part of the yard with a very happy Jack Russell in tow.  Frankie was being her usual aloof self.  I swear Frankie is more cat than dog sometimes.  With all three of the dogs out of harm’s way in the back yard, I began to formulate a plan of action.

                For those of you who are regular readers of my blog you will know that I wrote an article on what to do if you find a stray dog.  I thought this the perfect opportunity to put that article to the test.  The fact that the little guy didn’t have a collar was going to make things difficult.  I knew he must have been recently lost because he was well fed and groomed, he was obviously not a vicious dog, he was however very bouncy, but that was kind of endearing.  I figured his owners were frantically searching for their lost bundle of bounce.  I got in my truck and slowly went up and down the streets expanding my search outward from where I first encountered the Jack Russell.  I asked everyone I saw.  I asked the man up the street who was watering his garden, he said the dog wasn’t his but he would ask around.  I pointed him in the direction of my house.  I asked a couple out for a stroll and they gave me a similar response.  I saw an old man in a truck, and he seemed to be looking for something.  I pulled alongside and asked him if he lost his dog.  He said no, he was just out for a drive.  He had a poodle mix in the front seat with him yipping away.  He said he would keep his eyes out.  I continued my search for another 10 minutes, I doubled back to retrace my route thinking I may have missed the searching owners.  I again passed the man who was watering his garden when my phone rang.  I answered it and it was my wife.  She was frantic and dogs were barking.  She said come home ASAP.  I sped off before I noticed that the man watering his garden was trying to get my attention.  I felt bad just leaving but my wife sounded like she was in some kind of trouble.  That’s when I passed the old man in the red truck.  He beeped at me and I slowed.  He said those people lost a dog and I sent them to your house.  I couldn’t believe it.  My wife was frantically trying to control our two dogs while greeting the couple at our back gate.  As it turns out, they were neighbors from up the street.  I have known them for a very long time.  I did not know they had recently gotten a Jack Russell named Mickey.  I thanked the man in the red truck for his help then it dawned on me, the more people I told about a lost dog, the more people were out there looking.  It gave me such a sense of community to know that neighbors still help each other in this day and age.  I am sure the man that had been watering his garden was trying to get my attention because he knew the owners had been found.

                I pulled up and greeted our neighbors and helped my wife settle our two dogs who were obviously very upset that Mickey was leaving.  I chatted with the neighbors and they thanked me for keeping Mickey safe.  Later that evening our neighbors showed up with a thank you treat for our dogs.  All was right with the world and I had my article.  Thanks for reading and remember to keep your furry family members healthy and happy, and on occasion help your neighbor to keep their dog healthy and happy if they need a hand.

Nick Carreno

DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Did someone say bacon?

Our Top 10 Dog Movies

This was a difficult list to make.  There were so many good movies to chose from and we found ourselves in disagreement quite a few times.  The list below probably contains movies you may be familiar with and maybe some that you are not, if so check out the ones you haven't seen and let us know what you think.

1.  Lady and the Tramp
2.  Old Yeller
3.  Eight Below
4.  Rin Tin Tin
5.  Marley and Me
6.  101 Dalmations
7.  Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
8.  Lassie
9.  Benji
10.  The Doberman Gang

Nick & Nicole Carreno
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Nicole's Homemade Peanut Butter Treats

We like to make our own peanut butter but feel free to purchase creamy or chunky for this recipe.

Homemade Peanut Butter:
15 ounces of unsalted peanuts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1.5 teaspoons honey
1.5 teaspoons peanut oil
Place peanuts, salt and honey in food processor.  Process while drizzling in all of the oil slowly. Scrape down the sides and pulse to mix.  Store in an air tight container.

Peanut Butter Treats:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the flour and oatmal together then add the peanut butter and hot water. You might need to add flour if its too sticky.  Knead the dough well and make into balls, big or small depending the size you want.  We like to do ours golf ball size.  I place them on a greased cookie sheet, flatten with a fork and bake for 40 minutes.

Nicole Carreno
doggiediaries4u@gmail.com

Review – The Huck

                    I have always intended to make reviews an integral part of this blog.  I did a couple of reviews and found myself having to put the reviews on the back burner.  The time constraints along with the rigors of everyday life have made it difficult.  I am going to try once again to start a reviews page.  I hope you will check back often to see what is being reviewed.  

               This past weekend my wife and I were in Cape May, NJ for a little relaxation.  As we wandered the outdoor mall we came across a great little store called Dog Days of Cape May.  It was full of all kinds of doggie goodies.  I started to think about the reviews page of this blog and decided to give it another try.  We looked around the store and found a couple of great things.  We ultimately decided on a ball called Huck.  At $12.99 we thought it a bit on the expensive side for a ball of this size.  The package said Huck was made with tough material and it had a guarantee that said the ball would be replaced if there was any dog damage.  This is what got my attention.  My dogs have been destroying every toy I have ever gotten them with in a 3 day period.  So I figured what the heck, it wasn’t so expensive that I would forgo a challenge like that.  So we got the ball and off we went.

                I decided to wait until we were home to give the ball to the dogs.  I took the ball out of the wrapper and that got all the attention.  As soon as I started to remove the ball from its packaging I had three very attentive doges staring at me.  Once I got the ball out of its wrapper Jasmine (the lab) went bonkers.  No surprise there, she loves any kind of ball.  The husky on the other hand didn’t react much.  No surprise there either.  I don’t think huskies have the ability to fetch, or at least mine doesn’t.  I have tried throwing a stick for Frankie (the husky) and all she does is watch it fly through the air and then look at me as if to say… Are you going to get that?  Then there was Scarlet (the pit), she may have been excited, but I can’t be sure because she was blocked from my sight by an enormous bouncing black lab. I tossed the ball in the air and you would have thought it was the tip off for the doggie basketball league.  Jasmine and Scarlet both went for it, although Jasmine is twice Scarlet’s size so there really was no contest, Jasmine caught it and played with it.  What I found interesting was when Jasmine would drop the ball it would bounce in a totally random direction and she loved it.  She kept tossing it and chasing it.  That is right my lab was playing fetch… with no one.  Strange dog but very amusing.   After about an hour of this, Frankie chased after the ball.  I could not believe my eyes.  She was actually chasing a ball.  When she got it the chewing began.  This is how the destruction of all toys begins… in Frankie’s jaws. She will nibble and chew until whatever she is nibbling and chewing deteriorates into many little pieces that I inevitably find myself picking up by hand for the next couple of days because Frankie will spread tiny toy parts all over the house.   After about two hours of her gnawing on this ball I decided to take a look, it still looked brand new, aside from the dog slobber and fur of course.

 

                We have now had the ball for about three days and as you can see below there is a little damage, but the ball is still in one piece.  I must say I am impressed.  All three dogs love it, Frankie still will not fetch the ball, but she does still pick it up and chew on it for hours on end.  Scarlett has gotten into the habit of bringing me the ball when she wants to play.  And Jasmine is Jasmine, the big lovable oaf that LOVES to fetch, even if she is all by herself.  We give the Huck 4 wags out of 5, and that is pretty darn good.  I would recommend Huck to anyone who has a dog that loves to chew or fetch or both.  Huck floats so it’s great at the beach or the pool if you are lucky enough to have one.  Huck does take a beating and holds its own.  This toy will surely keep your dog’s happy!

Nick Carreno

DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com