Happy birthday, Primo!

I couldn't find doggie ice cream, but I think the puppy-friendly sprinkles are equally festive.

Plus One

Sasha?!  Who's Sasha?!

This is the refrain I imagine echoing through the homes of my friends and family as they stumble across my latest blog post and notice our new blog title.  Unless, of course, you read this blog via Google Reader and therefore probably won't see that the title has been updated to House of Primo and Sasha.  But now you're caught up and can also ask, Who's Sasha?!

Let me put these questions to rest with the following photo:

Primo and Sasha meeting for the first time.
It's like they've known each other furever.

Sasha is the sweet, little (ish) 9-month old Boxer puppy that will become Primo's sister on Friday.  She was surrendered by her previous family because of a medical emergency and needed a new home.  Our family thinks we're crazy for adopting another puppy that is sure to be as energetic and, well, nuts as Preems, but therein lies the genius of this decision.  They can be bonkers together.  R and I won't be the sole playmates anymore. We're thinking we might even be able to drop from two walks a day to one.  (That's my naive, optimistic side showing through.  Even I think I'm cute in that pat-on-the-head sort of way.)

We can't wait to welcome Sasha home and are busy getting everything ready, so stay tuned to see how it all goes.  I also have three Celebrity Guest Puppy posts from last weekend (Justice! Deja! Rudy!) and will write those soon. 

P.S. Special shout-out to Rudy's mom for coming up with some great ideas for names! 

 

Say Hello to Mr. September

Quiz time.  What do Primo and a hunky fireman have in common?  I'll give you a minute to think about it.

(If I were more tech savvy and less copyright fearful, I would have the theme to Jeopardy playing now.)

Ok, so, what do you think? 

Um, yes, that's true - they are both easy on the eyes.

And, yes, you're right - they both have a thing for hydrants.

Alright, alright, I'll just tell you.  They are both going to be featured in a calendar for 2013!

Preems will be the featured puppy for September in the Kloud 9 Boxers 2013 Calendar!  I would like to say there was stiff competition, but I think photo acceptance was based on the order it was received and the Kloud 9 people are also just really nice.  Either way, Primo's cute little mug is going to be gazing down at people as the leaves begin to change, the air starts to cool, and kids hop on the bus to begin another school year.

This is the shot we submitted:

If you would like to purchase your own copy of the the calendar, click here.  Calendars are $25 each and I believe Kloud 9 is accepting pre-orders through the end of September.

Celebrity Guest Kitty: Murphy!

I know I talk about all things dog here at House of Primo, but one of the first furry loves of my adult life was a little black, meowing furball named Murphy.  He lives with my parents now because his mere presence will make R break into hives/have a seizure, but I think about him all the time and have been known to call Preems Murph when he's misbehaving.  (I totally get why my grandmother called me by everyone else's name for most of my life now.) 

Here he is during a recent visit to my parents' Murphy's house:

Trust me when I say that
this photo is very slimming.

I think Murphy remembers me when I visit, but it's clear he is super happy in his new home.  He gets lots of attention, an abundance of treats, and my old queen-sized bed.  (He almost visibly scoffs when he walks past the old cat bed where he used to sleep in my apartment.)

Still spry like a kitty half his age.

I promise we'll get back to the dogs in the next post, but Murphy was overdue for a post here. I hope he and Primo get to meet some day - I will be sure to post video of that.  (Murphy may never meow to me again, but it will be good for him to get some exercise.)

Pure Joy

R took this during one of our slightly trespassory walks in the evening.  Primo loves to run and he really loves that horrid toy.  So adorable.

 

I should add that Primo never ever ever poops on this field and that, if he did, we would clean it up before the steam even stopped wafting.  (Scented poop bags are included in that diaper bag discussed in the previous post.)  And we appreciate the many garbage cans that are scattered about the property for when Preems poops outside of the gates.  Because he really truly does that.  He's a one-location-pooper on these walks.  It's actually kind of amazing. 

Why didn't I think of that!?

If you have a dog that gets easily dehydrated and you're obsessive-compulsive enough to carry around water for him or her, then have I got a solution for you.  (Side Note 1: I don't even carry water around for myself.)  I'm so annoyed that I didn't think of this!  I could have made millions... er, well, thousands.  OK, realistically, we could have at least offset Primo's vet bills a little.

During a recent trip to REI, we stumbled across a Gulpy, which is basically just a water bottle with a bowl attached.  Now, this may not sound like a big deal, but we actually have what equates to diaper bag for Preems and R has been exposed to significant ridicule from the neighborhood teenagers because it is not a masculine diaper bag.  (Although, are they ever, really?)  We tried to testosterone it up by calling it the satchel, but that just makes it sound like a diaper bag from the middle ages.  Regardless, what's more important is that the Gulpy significantly reduces the amount of junk in the bag.  And, while it won't take away from R's image problems, at least the bag won't be as bulky when he is taunted walking Preems. We might even be able to switch to a smaller bag - or just clip this bad boy to our belt (thereby solidifying our lameness). 

Before the Gulpy:

That's my lovely assistant checking the items in the shot.

The Gulpy (notice the streamlined bottle-in-bowl fit):

I guess the bowl might be better described as a trough, but you get the idea.

It's really quite simple - just flip the bowl out, squeeze the bottle, and your dog is essentially drinking from your hand.  This proved to be incredibly valuable today during our visit to a dusty, dirty dog park where I wouldn't have wanted to put his water bowl on the ground.

Here it is in action:

I just noticed that Preems wrapped his leash around his neck for this pic.

We're a gadget family, so stuff like this is pretty cool in our world.  I'm sure we'll test many more puppy-related inventions and will hopefully be able to give you a heads-up on those that are worth your investment.  (Side Note 2: We bought the large Gulpy and it was $9.00.)

R.I.P. Blue Dinosaur

You were a cute little toy and contained dramatically more stuffing that we could have ever expected.