Just when the ice and sleet and snow were getting us down, Misaki, from the Misadventures of Misaki, bestowed on us a wonderful Field of Flowers Award. How nice is that.
Thank you lil’ Misaki. You have grown up to be one beautiful Husky.
In the spirit of thankfulness I will pay it forward to the following furries:
May spring find you, wherever you are.
This is part of the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop from PepiSmartDog.com
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
I am thankful that the DogDaz blog was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by a cat lady “in training,” wine drinking runner, who hates brussel sprouts, Magdalena Vandenberg. She is a writer with a wonderful zest for life. Please do go visit her blog and say hi! Thank you very much Magdalena, you brighten our blog with your connection to us.
The Very Inspiring Blogger Award Rules
1. Display the logo on your blog – Done
2. Link back to the person who nominated you – Done
3. State 7 things about yourself
♥ My dogs get away with much more than I should let them. But they know that.
♥ I just got laid off (last Friday) after 18 years with the same company (reduction in workforce). Looking forward to new opportunities (when I get over the shock).
♥ I try to always look at the bright side of things. (see above)
♥ I smile often, but that does not mean that it is safe to piss me off.
♥ I am at my calmest when I am walking a dog or petting a cat.
♥ I love to blog and I love to read blogs.
♥ I am gluten and dairy free and have not eaten red meat (beef, pork, etc) since I was 20, though I do eat poultry and fish now. I have lots of allergies and feel much better eating this way.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award (Only 15 – that is hard.)
5. Notify your nominees
Here’s my 15 nominees for The Very Inspiring Bloggers Award:
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I’m also thankful to be home in my own bed, though vacation to the Carolina’s was very nice.
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This is part of the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop from PepiSmartDog.com
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
We are so excited to be co-hosting today’s Follow-up Friday with Jodi from Heart Like A Dog. Thank you. We are honored to be helping co-lead the fun today.
Last Mischief Monday, when Sofie was eating cat toys, we found out that a lot of dogs like cat nip. I was wondering if there is anything similar for dogs, like DOGNIP, or will they eat cat toys anyway just because they belong to the cats? Sofie actually sucks on the cat toys (not chew). Maybe it is catnip tea?
Spring has sprung here in Annapolis, so on Tuesday we showed off the fresh blooms through the reflection of our front door (with animal noses). But Sofie is not enjoying the pollen. Everyone was pretty amazed on Wednesday with the PINK SNOW. It is actually cherry blossoms, which are a big favorite here in the Washington, DC area.
Chidorigafuchi_sakura
Internet photo
“Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.”
Thursday brought us our weekly thank you, especially for all the wonderful awards we have received. Our blog friends are the best and we love you. Even the cats are kissing dogs these days…
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing along with us. Check out the hop below and you can go play with others.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog. and DOGDAZ.
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Today is Follow Up Friday, where does the week go?
We are so excited to announce that we received not one, but two, I AM PART OF THE WORDPRESS FAMILY AWARDs this week! WOOOOF! We are so grateful. Thank You Thank You Thank You!
We received the first Family award from Vicki Flaherty at This Abundantly Delicious Life. Vicki is actually a colleague of mine and I am so impressed with her view on life, No matter what is in her way, she has found a way to look on the ‘bright side’ of the day. Vicki is new to the blogosphere and has jumped in with both feet. I am glad to be part of her cyberfamily and definitely recommend you hop on over and get a taste of her delicious life.
Then yesterday we received a wonderful second Family award from Misaki, The Misadventures of Misaki. We blogdogs go way back and we are so glad she includes us as family (thanks for not coping out, Misaki). She lives in the UK, which seems weird for an Alaskan Malamute, but I guess her ancestors got around. Follow her daily misadventures.
This is an award to celebrate those other WordPress bloggers who inspire, help and encourage us – just like a family does:
Rules:
1. Display the award logo on your blog – done.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you – thank you Vicki and Musaki.
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your WordPress experience and family
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them
5. That is it. Just please pick 10 people who have taken you as a friend, and spread the love
My blog family is very large and I know that rule said to nominate only 10 blogs that inspire me, but I could not get it down lower than 14 sorry (and that does not including the 2 that nominated me who are family too):
(1) Speedy The Cheeky Rex Rabbit
(2) Bassa’s Blog
(3) Dakota’s Den
(4) bumpyroadtobubba
(5) Cupcake Speaks
(6) Heart Like A Dog
(7) The Cat From Hell
(8) Long Life Cats & Dogs
(9) My Three Moogies
(10) Golden Woofs
(11) Pepsi Smart Dog
(12) jmgoyder
(13) Gizmo
(14) EasyRider
I love reading your blogs, and though I may not have a lot of time to comment, I am there in your visitor stats, behind the scenes, every week.
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To recap the week:
Last Caturday, we went sailing with Nine in the SS Stella. Everyone loved the boat I built. I found the kit at PetSmart. It took about 40 minutes to put together and a month until the cats trusted it enough to play in it. I think that toys like that really add to an indoor cats enjoyment of life.
Sunday’s Black and White picture of The Muffin Man and Sofie in the kitchen window brought back sweet memories of a great cat.. We don’t seem to have any lap cats now and that is makes us miss the ones that have passed on. Muffy, Zack, and Cuddles all were lap sitters, the current crew are not.
By the time Monday Mischief came around the cold front had past and the windows were open again. Stella and Nine are still waiting for the skinks, which should be out shortly, but he was chasing dandelion fluff on the windowsill this morning, which I think he thought was one.
Monday’s Contest – No winner, sorry. But several of you were close. The little critters were….. drum roll please ….. baby muskrats! So cute!
Tuesday had the dogs basking in the sunshine and enjoying the slow coming spring. But by Wordless Wednesday they got busy and started doing the job a dog should do: guarding their toys from intruders. Readers were very creative in what they thought they were doing, but most people agreed that Sofie and Louise traded guard duties at noon. Barking Out Loud. 
We found this incredible story on Thursday about Wild Dogs in Moscow that ride the train to find food. We are grateful to the people of Moscow that let those strays have a calm and full life. (I do wish they had homes though.)
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog.Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
As you know last week, K8’s friend died in a car crash. He was a volunteer fire fighter and there will be a full-out fireman’s funeral for him this Saturday. It is very sad to lose a young promising person. I find it so hard when you must wait to bury the dead. I like the Jewish tradition where the deceased is laid to rest within 24 hours (where possible). It is just hard on the loved ones. We had to wait a month between when my father-in-law died and when he was interred because it was a military burial at Arlington Cemetery, that was endless sorrow. Anyway, this weekend, hopefully, K8 and Tyler’s family and friends can move on with the rest of their lives.
Everyone enjoyed exercising on Saturday with Noel. Even some of the dog bloggers stretched with her.
Monday was the terrible day of the Boston Marathon Bombing. But we did not know that yet, so we were definitely doing Mischief, which is our Monday way. We were playing hide and seek down by the water. Sofie discovered she could hide in the sand by the picnic tables. The osprey did not like us being so close and were squawking at us. Mom made us pose for yet another picture, because she liked the spring flowers.
On Tuesday. Mom answered an interested question for a friend about dogs eating cat litter. Many people, even Mom, did not know how dangerous cat litter could be to the inside of dogs. We are glad that everyone learned something from the question.
By Wednesday, the dogs were so exhausted all they wanted to do was sleep on the couch. They are great snoozers. Many people mentioned that it’s definitely a ‘dogs life’ around this house. There is always a lot of sleeping going on between frantic walks and tug of war. Oh yes, and the occasional cat chase, which is not supposed to go on, but Sofie and Nine seem to ignore the rules.
This Thursday, we wanted to show our gratitude for all the people who have helped us in our lives, and for those that helped in Boston and now also in the Fertilizer Factory Fire in Texas. People really connected with the quote by the late ‘Fred Rogers,’ on ‘finding the helpers.’ I was so glad to see that dogs are getting into the help act. Look at these beauties that just arrived in Boston to help the wounded. Please check out their K9-Parish Comfort Dogs Facebook page
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing and praying along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog.Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Go Home, Lil’ Baby
Spring/Summer hit the Mid-Atlantic big time this week. So the girls and I were down by the water a lot. The week started out with all this very terrible squirrel activity, and my little murderers monsters sweet doggies were not aware of the havoc they reeked for their tired sensitive animal loving Mom. I find it interesting that we brought squirrel baby #2 to the park to find a safer nest and ever since then Sofie has refused to walk to the park with me. Maybe she does not want to bump into the baby she almost killed. (I am only just now thinking of that).
I haven’t been blogging about Sofie’s difficulties this week, but I have posted them on Facebook. Do you follow DOGDAZCATS2 on Facebook? It is nice to also have that avenue to actually have conversations with other pet lovers outside of just the comments in a daily blog post. Please do come visit our page and LIKE us so that we know who you are and we can LIKE you back. A ‘Like’ in Facebook, is a ‘FOLLOW’ in WordPress.
Sofie has refused to walk down the block to the park. She started this on Monday. She gets half way down the block and sits down (little stubborn Sheltie thing that she is) and wants to go home. It has gotten hotter and hotter each day, but I don’t think that is it because if it was that bad outside, I would not have gone for a walk. We even walked with Mojo (her buddy). But no go!
The interesting thing is she will take the similar distance walk in the other direction, to the river. Go figure? Is it the baby squirrel sending psychic messages to turn back?
I started her on 50 mg of Benadryl (antihistimine) just in case it is allergies (1 mg for every pound of dog the vet says).
Thank you Readers for liking the games we play down by the water, especially when we found Lucy, our neighbor’s Jack Russell Terrier at the dock hiding in a boat.
I am sorry to report that my stupid state of Maryland was not able to agree on the bill that would have saved many Bully Breed and Bully-Mix owners from having to possibly give up their pets because of Breed Discrimination in the state. It was all because of one sentence that the Senate and House differed on. I am just appalled and ashamed at the things that lawmakers sometimes do.
Dean Russo Art
My step-daughter lost her best friend’s 18-year-old brother on Wednesday in a car crash with 3 other boys. The cause – excessive speeding. Please remember that nothing is worth driving that fast for. Speed kills so many people, animals, and ruins lives forever. Talk to your kids, today! And talk to yourself too!
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog.Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Today is Follow Up Friday. I am not sure how that came up so fast. It seems like time is flying and it was just last Friday. I guess I am becoming a little overwhelmed by all the work I have done lately; days turn into nights, and one blog runs into the next. I just launched a business blog, thedigitalattitude.com, which focuses on people’s journey to their social self, basically helping people figure our their personal brand and how to leverage it online. Come visit me, I am a social butterfly. Anyway, I would love your opinion pet-friends, but won’t bore you here with my business stuff so back to DogDaz (already in progress).
Everyone loved the Catlegs on Caturday, and Easy Rider dubbed it a CATINET. Love that, thanks Easy. The cats do like to play with our secret other pet, Dust Bunny, so I guess that is what they were doing.
Dust Bunny Cartoons
http://shadowness.com/bnspencer/grumpy-dust-bunny-2
Are there really any coincidences in life? I did not realize when I posted the Monday Mischief: Play Ball that it was actually the first day of the Major League Baseball season in the United States. My Dad was a big baseball fan and had season tickets to Shea Stadium where the New York Mets play. I grew up with baseball but never was very good at it. Louise on the other hand would be a great base runner, don’t you think? She showed you her moves in the Thankful Thursday: A Moment In Time video, where she was actually running on the baseball field.
Many readers thought it was really neat that Sofie and Nine could be so cuddly. I guess since I have always had cats and dogs, I expect a certain amount of play. They, however, are the cuddliest two I have ever had.
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog.Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Imagine my surprise this week when Friday and Saturday were the biggest blog days of my blogging career. I didn’t know what was going on. What I figured out is that someone on Pinterest, repinned a blog I did last August on Hornero Nest Building. So for 3 days my blog traffic went through the roof. And I thought maybe I was hitting Rockstar status, but luckily, DogDaz is back to normal. Thank you to my true followers, YOU, for being here with me through the statistical ups and downs.
Overall it was a quiet week at the zoo. People really connected with the shadow dogs on Sunday. I guess shadows are part of how we know we are alive. I think shadows are cool and when you walk alone, or travel to a lot of places by yourself, sometimes they are the only document of the fact that you were really there.
We had our first snow storm on Monday, now that it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere (go figure that out). The cats really enjoyed looking at it. The dogs enjoyed eating it. Sofie did not like the icy slush on her paws, but it was over as fast as it came. By Tuesday all had melted.
As we told you, Sofie was very busy down by the beach and found the remnants of a fire in the horseshoe pit and broken glass. This is a sad state of affairs and many people shared our anger that a few rotten eggs seem to spoil the fun for everyone. I don’t think we are every going to change that anywhere in the world, there will always be spoilers, but at least, we don’t have to be one of them and the dogs and I try to leave places BETTER than we found them.
The girls and I have been walking everyday but it is not always easy and rarely pain free. Thank you all for your care and concern. I do tend to do to much walking, especially when it comes to the dogs. ICE is my friend. Actually, I should go get some right now since we just came in from our afternoon jaunt……
I am back. A nice ice pack on the knee makes a world of difference. Well, that’s it for the week here at the DogDaz Zoo. Thanks for playing along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog. Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
What a week it has been. The animals, and humans, gave me the best birthday ever. We ate a lot. Played a lot. And cuddled much. That was perfect. Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes. That was so nice.
I am glad to say that I am back to walking my mile with the dogs, even though it hurts. I am trying to accept that maybe, from now on, my knees are just going to be a constant reminder that I am alive. As long as the pain can stay on the nagging side and not the screaming side, I guess I will have to learn to deal. At least no surgery! Louise and Sofie are so happy to be back on the road with me. And we even are walking with Mojo rising occasionally (Louise’s boyfriend from next door).
Peanut left last Sunday to go back to school, so of course, Nine ended up locked in her room one night this week mysteriously. I swear that cats can teleport through closed doors, but it seems they can only go one way; they do not seem to be able to teleport out. He was around for dinner and snack, but V found him in the morning frantic. We did not hear a peep all night though. I do wonder what he destroyed in there (sorry Peanut, I will go check).
Many blog friends were worried that Noel would hurt Sofie with her menacing glare. Let me assure you everything is all right. We have never had a cat to dog fight in this house. Only cat to cat. Noel could do some damage if she were to get angry, so I never want to cross her.
Weather has been crazy but we are going down to the water more and more. The Osprey have returned and their nest is up and ready for the family. Amazing. I just read an article that the Bald Eagle population of Maryland has grown tremendously in the area. I haven’t seen any by me yet sadly, and I am wondering if maybe the Osprey keep them away. They sure don’t keep the Turkey Vultures away (wish they did).
Baby Stella has fallen in love with K8 and won’t leave her alone. She is in her room all the time now. I think she needs to be separate from her brother Nine, to have any chance at a voice. She did a great job of playing tag on Thursday with Little Binky of AngelWhisper.
That’s it for the week. Thanks for playing along with us.
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog. Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Two follow ups for this week. First is on the post I did about Blog Fishing. We got wonderful comments from so many people on what they do to try and handle all the blogs they want to read. Jodi, from HeartLikeADog, suggests Google Reader, so I am going to give that a try. Lots of people say they read only what comes in their email. These are all great ideas to Blog Fish. Thanks for the comments.
And secondly this week we received a lovely “Why I Love Thee” award from our little friend Kirby, at Kirby’s Dawg Blog. Kirby is just the cutest little thing. He is about 10 months old, and he and his human, Lea, really enjoy all things blog. It looks like they have a lot of fun. Thanks for the award, we are honored to be chosen.
The rules of this award are quite straightforward.
First you thank the friend who passed the award to you – thank you very much, Kirby! And link to their blog – see above.
Then, if you’re an animal, you tell everyone why you love your bipeds (your people). If you’re a biped you tell why you love your animal(s), or why you love animals in general, or anything you like about love. (Clowie, of Clowie’s Corner, who gave Kirby the award, who then gave it to us, added the last two because, she said that not all bipeds are lucky enough to have animals living with them.)
Then you pass the award on to at least one other blogger.
Why I love my bipeds – by Louise (aka Lulu Belle)
I love my bipeds because they make me feel safe. Mom taught me that not every biped is cruel and will hurt me. The family, especially the little big bipeds, give me a tons of cuddles and let me sleep on their beds. The best thing about my family is that they are mine. I know that they will always be with me and that they will always protect me, and I them. Also, they brought me my little sister, Sofie Bear, that I love very much. (But Mom, I could do without the felines!)
Now I pass it on to 4 blogs that I love:
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Follow Up Friday is part of the blog hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog. Check out the other blog hoppers:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 