My Birfday!

Today I turned eleven and some wonderful friends came over and shared it with me.

 

Thank you Jaclyn and Andrew for the wonderful birthday cake!

My buddies Louis and Chico joined me in the festivities. 

 I had to take a rest after the party before I got my Parma ham bone!

 Cheers everyone!

My nightly ritual with the pink monster toy!

Lounging at Boreal Coffee

Thank God for Boreal Coffee!  I went and hung out there while major construction was happening on my building today.  They hooked me up with some comfy pillows and I was fast asleep after this photo.  

Winter dog park action.

It was a bit of a mud slog.

 

But I made friends with Cosmo the Brussels Griffon.

He was VERY hard to photograph. 

But a good time was had by all!

Christmas Travels Part 4 - South Kakalakee and beyond

On the way to South Kakalakee, we stopped in St. Augustine.  

And visited the oldest house in America.  

 As well as Savannah and their lovely squares.

 

Then we crossed into South Kakalakee where we enjoyed a lovely rest area.

 And I cruised around with my dad in the woods.  

At the river. 

The Edisto.

Visited my cousins.  This is Oliver. 

In true southern spirit, Oliver is even sporting a Christmas sweater.

Meet my XL cousin Titus. 

Way down yonder in the land of cotton!

Saw some interesting signs.

Gone to heaven?

They have grocery stores called Piggly Wiggly in the South!

And of course they sell hunks of cured pork fat.   I could smell that in the collards but never got to taste it!  Such a shame.  Maybe next time the rents will throw some down to me.

 

For the finale of the trip, the neighbors had raccoons for pets!  These things were about double my size and I wanted nothing to do with them.  Thank you very much, but NO way did I want them free roaming anywhere near me.  They really wanted to check me out and actually reached out and touched my front leg!  

 

 The neighbor also had a dog named Blaze that was thankfully nice to me.  He has been known to chase people off the property so I was happy not to become lunch.  I was glad he was friendly.  I wasn't so sure when I first saw the Rebel flag.  

I'll leave you with the tail end of the raccoon reaching out to me. 

Christmas Travels Part 3 - Neptune Beach/Jacksonville

Dogs are allowed on the beach before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.   What a pleasure it was to run free!

 

Meet Daisy!  She was a gracious host in Jacksonville.  What a life she lives! 

She lives right on the beach, has lots of lookout areas, gets to go boating, and has an amazing family.  Thanks for sharing it all Daisy!

I forgot to mention Daisy's giant bean bag as luxuries available to her!

 

I met this sweet pug in Jacksonville.  

 

When it was time for us to leave, Daisy came to see us off.  Thanks again Daisy for all your hospitality.  

I'll leave you with the sunset view from Daisy's deck. 

Farewell Obi 1994-2010

My Alaska friend Obi passed.  He will be missed terribly.  McCarthy won't be the same without you. 

 Farewell my friend.  

Christmas Travels Part 2- Key West

Viewing from a state park on the way down to Key West.

The famous roaming Roosters in Key West!  At first I thought they were strange looking dogs but then realized they were birds!

I made it to the Southern Most point of the USA!

I had to walk by this pug puppy for sale everyday.  It was so hard not to buy her. 

 

 Of course there were dogs with Christmas sweaters on!

Lots of decoration as well. 

Our guest house allowed dogs as well as supplied this doggy stroller if anyone needed it!  Now, that is service!  Stayed tuned for Christmas travels part 3 which will include St. Augustine and Jacksonville Florida.

A working dog in South Beach.

I believe this dog is really contributing to his owners daily income.  He walks up and down through the outdoor cafes and lots of people donate dollars just to see him pick it up and place it in his bucket.

Christmas Travels Video one - South Beach Biatch

Christmas Travels Part 1 - South Beach

My travels started with a pleasant surprise, a service animal relief area!  I had no idea!!!  You may be wondering exactly what this is.  Turns out, after there was a lawsuit regarding the discrimination of service animals at airports, it is required to have an area for service animals to potty within the security areas of all US airports!  This is going to revolutionize my plane travel.  There are two in the Washington Dulles airport and I took full advantage when I landed from my long 8.5 hour flight.

Nice signage to help you find it. 

 A nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The floor rinses the astro turf after you press the red button so things are pretty clean.

South Beach was Fabulous!

Great pathways.

Beach Volleyball on the sand.

Incredible beaches.

Not busy at all!

I got lots of attention on the trip too!

 News and Cafe was always welcoming to me. 

Great architecture.

Of course South Beach lived up to its reputation as a hipster hangout in every way.  My room had great design.

How could I not post a Tatoo shop and one tough little min pin.

Dog Bar Miami was a great little pet boutique that carried a nice selection of dog food and treats.  They had my freeze dried Stella and Chewy food so I was happy.

Knitted bike?!

Unfortunately I didn't see that many pugs in South Beach.

Ha!  I did see a shiba though!  I'm sure my friend Toko and Shiba 1 and 2 would have liked it.

Here's a pic for my friend Louis who is currently in the states and hopefully staying warm.  

Down by the marina was a great area for dogs.

This pic goes out to my friend El Roy.  May you never have to be subjected to this haircut.

Sunset,  beer, and your dog - what more could you ask for?

How about a fashion shoot!

Thanks for reading my blog everyone!  Ciao for now as I'll post the videos in another entry.  Happy Holidaze and stay warm!