The stigma against pit bulls....

Occasionally, we receive calls from clients, or potential clients, who have pit bulls as pets. I can't tell you how many times I've answered the question, "Do you care for pit bulls?" I always say yes -- but, as with any pet-related business (especially pet sitting), I let them know that we prefer to meet the pets first. It isn't because of the pit bull, though.....we do an initial meet and greet with all of our new clients.

Today, we met with a new client who has a pit bull mix. Her name is Sydney (the dog, that is), and she's honestly one of the most beautiful pits I've ever seen -- white with gorgeous steel gray spots -- and eyes that suck you right in. Her temperament is docile -- she barks when the doorbell rings like most dogs -- but her owner has experienced the "pit bull stigma" firsthand. She and her boyfriend are moving to Denver as soon as they find a house -- but, they have to live OUTSIDE Denver due to a pit bull ban (yes, a total ban) within the city. Apparently, if you own a pit and someone decides to report you, authorities will come to your house, take your dog, and euthanize it. No questions asked. I don't understand where this law came from, and I think it's utterly insane.

We have four or five pits on our roster, and all of them are sweet, loving, playful animals. They can be rambunctious, and they're strong as oxen, but they have a gentle nature. They may have "small dog" syndrome -- that is, they don't realize their strength and size -- but they aren't nearly as vicious as many people believe them to be.

If you've ever watched the shows "Pit Bulls and Parolees" or even "Pit Boss" then you know how many stray pit bulls are out there. People don't want to adopt pits. They go to the shelter and pass right by the sweet pit bull in the corner cage.......the dog that will probably end up euthanized due to lack of interest. If you've ever visited the website for the Humane Society of the US, you know how serious dogfighting is -- who doesn't remember the whole Michael Vick debacle? What I love about the HSUS is that they provide education about this misunderstood breed and dogfighting in general. They attempt to change legislation and have helped develop dogfighting laws. But the problem still remains -- pit bulls are shunned, abandoned, and discriminated against.

We love our pit bull clients. I feel pretty passionate about them......being the "underdog" and all. And many times, the "underdog" prevails. I hope that's the case one day.
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This week thus far.....

What day is it? Tuesday? It honestly feels like five days crammed into two.

We got three new clients yesterday -- one who lives in Florida and will be visiting for her daughter's wedding. She also gave us a fantastic business idea -- kudos to her for suggesting it! It's always great to find new ways to promote -- always interested in broadening our horizons here at Red Dog and love new opinions! Here's to new and interesting ideas!

I've been walking the sweetest dog the past two days -- she's a beautiful German shepherd mix -- and such a joy to walk! She loves it so much......all of the new smells, sights, sounds.......you can't help but be happy with her.

Today's been just as busy -- cranking out newsletter stuff, doing the email and text thing, and I took one of our pooches to the vet. Funny how you sit there for over an hour only to spend 10 minutes with the vet. But, regardless of how busy our vet is, she always makes the time to answer questions. And I usually have a few. Luckily, Cassie is fine -- good weight, heartworm free, great health all around. :)

That's about all for now. I'm doing better at keeping up with this blog thing this time. Hope everyone who reads it enjoys it, because I really do enjoy writing it. More soon.....

The random quirks of pets......

We take care of so many animals -- but, we also have nine (yes, NINE) of our own to care for at home. If you have pets, you know how different they all are.......how they each are special and have certain quirks. Imagine having nine different animal personalities at home......and if you're not absolutely appalled at that number, read on........

I bought Snoopy, our schnauzer mix, some booties at PetSmart earlier today. One of his quirks is that he likes to dig in the dirt........he's not digging for bones, or bugs........he just kicks his feet around. He must think that this makes him look more macho........he's got two girl dogs as family members, so he has to exert his manliness. ;) As soon as I get a picture of him with the light blue booties on, I'll post it. Trust me, you'll smile.

Snoopy has some other random personality quirks, but I have quite a few (ahem) others to mention, so I'll move on to........Cassie. She's our Heinz 57 girl -- we don't really know what kind of mix she is -- she's black and tan, with a bit of white on her belly and chest. Some jerk abused her when she was a puppy, so she is our timid one. Cassie, if confronted with a firm tone of voice, or too much activity, or even a weird noise, gets this frightened look on her face.......like doggie apocalypse, I swear. When she's scared, out comes the belly. She rolls over, belly up.......and you just can't resist (because all the while, she is also staring at you with the biggest puppy dog eyes known to man).

Mouse Man is one of our cats. He's a handsome fella, and very alpha. I have to say, though, that he has the strangest habit of all. Whenever Karl and I get into bed, Mouse gallops across the bed, settles himself on Karl's left side, and proceeds to suck one of his toes. He prefers that someone hold his leg so that he can reach this toe better........he did this with me once for about 10 minutes straight........needless to say, he reverts back to "womb mode" and kneads on your hand and arm the entire time. Yep, my left arm is still healing from those scratches.......

Rudy, another of our cats, is just rolly polly. Well, okay, he's just fat. Can that be a quirk? He's also a belly cat -- loves to have his tummy rubbed. Every time we come home, he expects a treat and will torment you with a loud MEOW........the fact that we leave and come home various times during the day doesn't matter to Rudy. Just so you know, he does NOT get a treat every time we come home. Please feel free to make comments about how he's too large and should lose weight -- trust me, we know......

Twitchy is just a scaredy cat (literally). Nah, that's too soft a term.......he's just plain horrified. He rarely comes out, unless things are quiet (usually when we're in bed).......he was semi-feral as a kitten but just never completely got over that. So, we hardly see him. If you approach him in a manner he sees as threatening (which is pretty much always), he hisses and growls.......so, not exactly Mr. Lap Cat.

Izzy is our dachshund. To say that she has quirks is a total understatement. She is hyper, silly, needy, and the bark that comes out of her is amazing considering she's so little. She is the princess of the household and totally knows it -- spoiled and sometimes quite bratty. She loves to burrow, plays fetch like there's no tomorrow, licks faces and jumps all over people. Izzy also has a habit of eating her treat first, or her rawhide stick, then coming back and hovering over the other dogs, hoping to catch a random crumb. That girl is all over the place. :)

Carson and Josie were my cats before we got married -- the other four were Karl's (Rudy, Mouse, Twitchy, and Herman). Carson has a dog personality -- and is the ultimate escape artist. Anytime we come home, we have to crack the door and make sure he isn't hovering, waiting to dart between our legs and explore the outdoors. He's succeeded quite a few times. Carson follows me around everywhere and we "talk." Any of you who have cats know about these "conversations." Josie is Carson's sister (from another mother), and she's the only female cat in the house........which means that she's really had to adapt. But, her way of adapting is to torment the other cats, especially Twitchy, who she has backed into a corner more than once. Her other quirk is that she will jump on the bed as we're trying to go to sleep........she proceeds to give herself a bath and make her dough.......which of course makes the bed move (very frustrating when you're trying to drift off into dreamland).

Herman........sweet little Herman. The only thing I can think of is the way that his face looks -- he's a beautiful cat, part Maine Coon, but has this odd line around his mouth.......the only way to describe it is that he looks clownish. It's as if he's escaped from the circus and forgot to take off his lipstick. Oh, and he never meows. Ever.

Let's see.......did I forget anybody? Rudy, Josie, Mouse, Carson, Twitchy, Izzy, Cassie, Herman, Snoopy. Oh, and Karl. I'll blog on his quirks later. ;)

We're so lucky, you know? We have all of these great pets at home, and we love them despite all of their issues and hang ups. Our house is always teeming with activity, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Just imagine when we have kids........

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Testing blog email thing!
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Testing the text blog thing.....

Some pics to peruse......

On the right, see Snoop (and Cassie freaking out). Below, three-fourths of the kitty posse......

Wow, two days.......it's a new record!

It’s another day here in Alabaster…….and I’m very impressed with myself! I’m actually posting on the blog today, and it’s only been two days ago that I started! Kudos to me…….

Karl and I are at home doing nothing. Kidding! He’s pecking away at the computer keys while I write this — it’s the time of the week where we contact our weekly clients to check on the next week’s schedule. So far, no surprises with that. So far today, I’ve emailed a few people, typed up a pet info form, and had about 3 or 4 cups of coffee……..

I completely forgot about the biggest news! Our new website, Red Dog 2.0, is UP! Same URL, totally different look. We are absolutely ecstatic — the site is an incredible improvement on the original, but we’ve still managed to keep it from looking too stiff. There are pictures of pets, plenty of links, AWESOME testimonials, a whole new “about us” story, and much more!

We’re about to celebrate one year of business, and so much has been accomplished……..looking forward to seeing what 2010 has in store for Red Dog.

Back into the world of blogging......

I’d started a blog back in February or March, hoping to keep it updated……we’d just started our business, though, and things rapidly began to change and grow! Most people probably don’t even realize that I had a blog. Hopefully this one will be interesting and chock full of Red Dog News……we’ll see if this is a good start. :)

A little history, first of all — my husband Karl and I started Red Dog Sitting Services back in February 2009……..we are about to celebrate a year in business, AND over 100 clients! Red Dog is a pet sitting company…….although that is a very broad term, because we do so much more than pet sitting. Basically, we visit folks’ homes while they are away, checking on pets, plants, collecting mail, etc. But, our main focus is and always will be the pets. We do dog walking, pet taxi……basically whatever instructions our clients give us, we follow! Our mission is to maintain a routine for pets……..keeping them at home where they are most comfortable and most happy. Our clients love to come home to happy pets, and many have had horrible boarding experiences…….

How to sum up the past year? So much has happened, and each day something new comes up……..we meet a new client, play with a new dog or cat, make connections with animal shelters and animal advocacy groups, text like mad, email constantly, and occasionally get to take a nap……..

We’ve done oodles of marketing on the Web — we now have Facebook, Twitter, and updated LinkedIn profiles — we’ve passed out thousands of well-printed and perfectly cut brochures (this is a science according to Karl, ha) — we even did a direct mail campaign about a month ago. Google has been our best friend this past year — the majority of our business comes from there…….

Red Dog has a photo archive now of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of photos — we’ve met so many awesome people and fantastic pets! We’ve been playfully nipped at, peed on, jumped on, covered in dirt, knocked over, scratched, barked at, meowed at, and we’ve stepped in more dog poo than we can remember. The ultimate fun for us is getting to hang out with these great animals every day!

This is just a small intro to what we do and will continue to do. Cross your fingers (or paws) that I will keep this up!