Bark Slope's Blog

Did you know that the real Duke from the popular Bush’s Baked Beans commercials is a real dog that was adopted by Jay Bush?  He is and he has written his own book to help raise money for the American Humane Society.  His goal is to raise at least $50,000 to help bring awareness to pet homelessness and help more pets find a happy home just like he did with his adoptive family.

I’d love to hear your dog’s adoption story!  Just post the story in the comment section below this post or email me at blog at barkslope dot com and I will send you a free copy of Duke’s book, it’s that easy!  Who doesn’t love FREE and a good adoption story?

I saw a post on the Chicagoist today about the Furry Friends Foundation closing shop and the need for adoptive homes for their remaining dogs and cats.  Please visit their site for available animals who need to find a new home by October 15th.  If you know anybody in the Chicago area that is looking for a new furry companion this is a great opportunity to help those in need of a forever family.

 I want in on this joke!  What could be this funny to a pair of dogs? 

Image courtesy of “This Year’s Love” on Flickr

The worldly folks at Luxist just did a post stating that Pitbulls are the “it” dog in Hollywood this summer.  They mention that celebrities such as Jamie Foxx own Pitbulls, but according to Pit Bull Rescue Center (PBRC) the Pitbull “trend” has been around long before Mr. Foxx and his two dogs.  PBRC states that well-known individuals like Madonna, Jon Stewart, David Spade and Usher have all brought Pitbulls into their homes as pets. 

How refreshing to see Pitbulls making the news for the wonderful creatures that they are!  I’m sure big dog owners are also happy to see a larger breed get some recognition after the small dog craze brought on by Paris Hilton and company.  Bark Slope realizes that big dogs can be just as “trendy”, so make sure to check out our Big Dog Clothes for that very purpose!

Let’s make sure that breeds such as “Pitbulls” can continue to make the trends by fighting Breed Specific Legislation to ban “dangerous” breeds in our cities and our homes.  Some popular links on the subject:

• http://www.understand-a-bull.com/
• http://www.stopbsl.com/
• http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/dangerous_dogs.html

This is a cat’s version of Samuel Jackson’s “Snakes on a Plane” horror movie. 

On a topic completely not related to dogs, you HAVE to check out the Snakes on a Plane website (http://snakesonaplane.varitalk.com/).  You can set up a personalized phone call from Samuel Jackson to any of your family or friends.  I must warn you that it’s pretty addictive!

If my email date stamp didn’t say it, I wouldn’t believe it is already Thursday.  It has been one of those weeks that flew by and I wonder where all the time has gone.  Then it got me thinking that maybe this is what it is like to live your life in “dog years”, kind of like going through a time warp.  Of course dogs don’t have the hectic schedule we do so you would think this whole Dog Years thing would be reversed and we’d be the ones who age prematurely due to stress and not taking the time to enjoy the little things (like the ladybug that had Kiku perplexed for a good 30 min. last night).  Luckily we have our dogs to help us slow down and remind us that even the smallest things like a ladybug or the person walking in the door can be just as important as our deadlines and making the traffic light.

Now that I’ve taken the time to actually take a breather from this fast paced week I’m having, I thought I’d share a fun little Dog Years Calculator I found:

Dog Years Calculator

I like this one a lot better than the standard 7 years for every 1 human year, although I’m not sure which one is most accurate.

I can’t believe our puppy is 2 today!  Having a dog in your life is so much fun and I know I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Kiku and her friend Rontu took a birthday trip to the dog beach this morning, we got her a new Bowsers bed and later on we’re getting Kiku a special treat, although I’m nervous b/c she has her photo shoot tomorrow and I don’t want any digestional problems!

So here’s a big Happy Birthday to Kiku!  I want to wish her littermates Chucko and Sophie a great 2nd birthday too!

Anybody with a mischievous dog can relate to this story about a “guard dog” named Barney going on a teddy bear massacre and destroying Elvis’ $75,000 teddy bear.  Oh how I wish that there was a survelliance video!  Maybe it was a set-up and the cat did it.  Here’s the full story from MSNBC with a video interview:  Guard dog rips head off Presley’s $75,000 toy in stuffed-animal rampage

P.S. Take a look at the photo, the dog is eyeing up his next teddy bear victim!

According to a survey conducted by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) among pet owners in Canada and the United States, 37% of dog owners let their dog sleep in bed with them at night. 

As hard as it was, Kiku has been banned from the bed due to her unrealistic view of her standing in my marriage with my husband.  It crushed me to have her sleep on the floor next to the bed instead of in the bed with us, but I quickly realized that it was more my issue than Kiku’s.  She would get just as frustrated with my restless sleeping as I would and often we’d hear a VERY loud “pfff” from the bottom of the bed when she was trying to make that point.  

Another concern I had was that our bed was really high and she was such a little dog that loved to jump.  I’ve heard too many cases where a dog either broke a leg or at least twisted something by jumping from a high spot.  If Kiku is ever allowed back in the bed we will definitely be getting her the new dog steps that we added to Bark Slope.  Typically dog stairs only come in one bland style, but the new ones that we have come in a variety of colors and sizes that would actually match our bedroom.  I know I usually don’t brag too much about our boutique offerings, but I really love these new steps and I know that they can help alot of small dogs that share their owner’s bed.

Do you allow your dog to sleep in the bed with you?  Have you found that it’s caused any issues with your sleep or your dog’s behavior?  We had enough of an issue with our 9 pound dog being a bed hog, anybody have a bigger dog that does that too?