Hawliday Hazards

Happy Happy Howlidays!

Thanksgiving is upon us. My girl human is busy baking while I scavenge for items that have fallen off the counter. It’s a wonderful time of year!

Since many of you are doing this same thing as you prepare for Thanksgiving festivities. So we thought it would be a good time to remind our friends about a few food hazards that are most common around this time of year.

In our house, specifically, we remind houseguests of these no-no’s for dogs:

•        Bones from food- these can break or fragment and get caught which can puncture internal organs.

•        Human food with any form on spice or sauce. i.e. not a “whole” food. Left overs are not a good idea for pets.

•        Xylitol- an artificial sweetener in many treats and most gum. Can cause seizures and even sudden liver failure.
•     Grapes and raisins- can cause liver failure.

•         Chocolate- the “darker” the more dangerous.

•        Poinsettias and mistletoe- these are toxic.
•     Yeast dough-can raise and cause pain and discomfort to your pet. More serious emergency issues can also arise if ingested.

Now, we recognize that not every household is the same as ours. These are hazards that could pose serious dangers to the canine types in our home.  Your holiday food and decor may be very different than ours, so we wanted to link an article that has a more extensive listing of dangers that may be more relevant to your holiday activities.

We found this very helpful article on rover.com

They discuss dog safe décor, props for ambiance that can be dangerous, plants, food, unsuspecting houseguests, and more. Not only do they point out so many potential hazards that we need to be aware of, but they have tips how to help. Keep your pet safe this holiday season by being informed. For more

If you suspect you pet has ingested something he/she should not have, then call your vet.

Pet Poison Helpline (855-746-7661)

A Canine Feast

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

And I don’t mean Christmas.

We love, and I mean LOVE Thanksgiving!

My girl human is no amateur to baking deliciousness for the canine types. In fact anytime a member of her family, both immediate and extended, see her in the kitchen they ask if it’s dog food or human food she’s making.  Luckily for her four legged children my human pretty much only steps foot in the kitchen to bake for us.

Thanksgiving pies have married the love of doing crazy dog things with the creativity my girl human lives for. The result…scrumptious! Honestly, I don’t care about what it looks like. Between you and me, she spends way too much time cutting out perfect little shapes and rolling out dough.  Does she think I care about aesthetics? I DO NOT. But hey whatever she needs to psych her up for days of baking. 

Here’s a photo of the pies the human made last year. Stay tuned to our instagram page next Thursday for this year’s edition.

The best thing about it (after eating my delicious food) is that we always bake a few extras to take to my doggie friends.  We don’t eat table scraps, we eat gourmet!

Do any of you have yummy thanksgiving traditions or recipes you'd like to share? 

Comment here or on our other social media outlets.  

Remember to check us out next week for a refresher on holiday hazards.

Hazel Baby

Hello friends! Have you missed us? We've missed you!!We have had a lot of exciting things going on that will be coming up in the blog. More importantly We have a special guest feature for you today!! Cue- rejoicing and partying.

It's our pleasure to introduce our dear friend Sarah and her company

  Hazel Baby Soy Candles

Hazel Baby started not long after I had my daughter. I have always been a little creative, with a background in floristry, and after buying a beautiful candle from a local market one weekend i thought 'I could do this"! At the same market I bought some prints from a local designer which led to the idea of the typographic labels. I ended up contacting her and was lucky enough that she was someone who totally understood my vision and was able to create the branding for my label perfectly. 

At the beginning I jumped head first into everything! I am not the kind of girl to do things by halves... I had the branding, fragrances and packaging sorted before I'd even made a candle, I mean how hard could it be right? Wrong! I cannot even begin to tell you how many hours I spent making candles that turned out to be duds, so much time, effort and wax down the drain! I had completed a course in candle making but was taught with completely different wax than I intended on using. So many times I was ready to pack it all in but eventually I found an amazing lady online who was willing to tirelessly answer all my frantic emails and cries for help and after a very long road I finally started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

After almost a year I am finally starting to find my footing in small business. It's hard juggling family, candles plus my day job but the satisfaction I get from what I do makes me so proud and happy. I draw inspiration from a lot of accounts on IG and I'm especially drawn to some amazing local artists like Yoko Home, Mogan Connoley and Harley Quinn and co. I love colour and typography and would give my write arm to be a great artist!

Pacho is well known for his infamous head tilt

Most of you know me as Hazel and Pacho's mama, and that job is still the most important one I have, but hopefully sometime down the track Hazel Baby soy candles will be successful enough so that I get to spend more time at home with my babies, that is definitely my long term goal. Pacho is still my number one boy even though I'm not able to spend as much time on his account as I would like to and as I used to. Many people told us when I was pregnant that Pacho would take a backseat to the baby once it came along but they couldn't have been more wrong. It was a little hard at the start when Hazel first came as newborns do take up a lot of mum's time but we made sure to still include Pacho as much as possible and tried not to change too much of his routine (walks, palys and where he slept etc). Now Hazel's old enough to start playing with him and we're teaching her to be gentle with Pacho which she's learning really well. We think it's important not to encourage her to play rough with him. Even though Pacho doesn't have a mean bone in his body, we know that that's not the case with all dogs so we figure if Hazel learns that she is to be careful with him, then she will learn to do the same with all animals. They really are gorgeous to watch together and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful kids and an amazing and supportive husband who's support I couldn't do any of this without.

Nannies - They're Not Just for Children

Let's talk nannies! Dog nannies to be exact. When we lived in D.C. we had friends watch our dogs when we went out of town, but in Portland we had a hard time deciding what the best solution was for us here. We toured a kennel, but honestly it just made me sad. And my ideal situation was the dogs being able to stay in their own house, not a sterile kennel with a bunch of other dogs. 

Then my fellow blogger, Chelsie, told me about Rover. Rover allowed us to find a number of people in Portland who watch and walk dogs full-time. I met with 3 different people and chose to go with our new favorite person, Casey. She treats our dogs like they are her own and they adore her. Literally. They like her more than they like me, I'm not exaggerating.

So we have dubbed Casey our Dog Nanny. Best. Decision. Ever. I'm considering putting her in our Will as their legal guardian if we die. She's that good. She takes them everywhere with her, including the beach, sends us regular updates, and watches our home, all at a VERY reasonable price! So if you are in the Portland area and need someone who will walk your dog while you are at work or stay with them while you are on vacation contact Casey at csquillacote@icloud.com. And if you're not in Portland then check out Rover to 

find your very own dog nanny! (Dog nannies are a real thing.)

Brunch time!

I told you they love her.

Don't forget to check out our Instagram and Facebook accounts!!

We're so excited to bring you our first feature article! 

Get cozy, settle in, and get to know our great friends. 

Sara, Julian, & Maurice

 

My name is Sara Villines, and I am a 30 something health care professional living in SouthWest Missouri with my two amazing Havanese boys; Julian age 2 and Maurice age 1. If I could pick one word that has defined my life it would be "Compassion." When I was growing up, compassion is something my parents strived to instill within me... I was the child who wanted to donate my entire piggy bank to organizations like Feed the Children, and who gave my toys to the less fortunate. 

It was no surprise then when I graduated high school and immediately began volunteering my time for a non-profit in Haiti, where my parents had adopted three children just a year prior. What started as a volunteer project trying to find homes for three orphans, grew into a 501c3 charity with three orphanages, a school, and many humanitarian projects. Here I found my first career. From 2002-2008 I assisted with international adoptions and humanitarian aid until the economy crashed, and the Hauge Convention outlawed independent adoptions.

Health care was something I had never considered until a friend was able to help me find a job in the field. I started out working with individuals with developmental disabilities. Something just seemed to fit in my new field, and so I furthered my education in the medical field. I have worked in many different specialties, each one enriching in a different way. I think that is perhaps my favorite part of health care, the ability to learn, grow, and experience new things daily, all the while helping others.

Julian and Maurice each have their own unique stories of trials and tribulation. Julian is a pesticide poisoning survivor, and I rescued Maurice via Craigslist from severe abuse and neglect. It was going through these journeys with both of them that inspired me to launch HavaHeart as a way to pay it forward for all of the blessings in our lives... We want every dog, and their family to be as fortunate as we are. "...Freely you have received; freely give." Matthew 10:8

HavaHeart, opening on May 29, 2015, sells top quality homemade treats baked with only the best cruelty free and organic ingredients. We also sell boutique items, many of which are also hand crafted in our home. We take a holistic and homeopathic approach to meeting your pets nutritional and health related needs, because they aren't just pets, they're family... 10% of every purchase is donated to an animal related charitable cause. You can find us online at: www.hava-heart.com

When We Can't Go Everywhere

Hello all! Just in time for your summer vacations, we have something fun to share...our first printable! Yippee!!

Packed and ready to go!

As a conference & meeting planner my girl human, on occasion, finds that she cannot take me with her on her travels. When she must leave me we have a ridiculous (cute or perhaps crazy) pet sitter instruction sheet I take with me. 

Racing to the door of my pet sitter

As most crazy pet parents can attest, leaving their lovable furry creatures is practically impossible to do. Luckily, after several interviews, lots of research, play date evaluations, and who knows what else, we found the perfect sitter! This was no small feat for my girl human. Once we get my belongings together we update our pet sitter document with all relevant changes. Take a look at this one from last fall.

For your free printable PDF version click here. 

We hope this will help ease your human’s mind the next time you have a stay with your pet sitter. Good luck!

A Day in the Life of Seattle

Over the holiday weekend we took our first trip up to Seattle! Luckily it's only about 2 hours from Portland. We hit Pike's Place, which was ridiculously crowded, (not sure what else we were expecting on a holiday weekend.), had some yummy food, and just walked around the city. We walked about 5 miles so the Littles were exhausted on the drive home. But it was a great way to spend a Sunday!

The drive on the way up!

Dave and Bianca's first time at Pike's Place Market

The famous Seattle library. It was the main event!

Bianca's favorite spot to sit. #dangerousdriving

True love. Also, Polaroids are so fun!

Gigi was exhausted on the drive home and just wanted to be held. It was the best.

 Are any of our readers from the Seattle area?

And don't forget you can find us on Instagram and Facebook! We'd love to hear from you!

This Canine Community

Aside from the fact that we LOVE all things cute, cuddly, and canine; supporting friends and small business is dear to our hearts. One of the visions for this blog is to honestly get to know our readers and support them.

The body shop we’ve referenced on occasion is much more to us than just our last place of employment. Alpine Body Shop is our family owned and operated business for over 30years. I (the girl human) grew up there.

Everyday was "take our kids to work day"

This girl loves her tools

I remember putting our handprints in the concrete as the foundation was poured for the office. As I grew, so did my parents business. Anyone with self-employed parents can probably attest to the ownership and satisfaction we to take part in as a family.

Without writing an entire novel on the life of a child of self-starters, I’ll sum things up by saying that supporting local and small business means a lot to me.

You might be wondering what has to do with the Particular Puppy?  We’ve been fortunate enough to become acquainted with numerous small businesses through our dog community. We’ve often been able to give input and discuss with friends as they begin the journey of starting their own business.

As I watch and encourage those whom I’ve grown to care about, I realized that the community we’re a part of is a special one. We do so much more than post photos and “like” to display our support. We have evolved to become a different kind of family. We rejoice together in personal achievements, reaching milestones, birthdays are celebrated, losses are mourned and sorrow felt more deeply than I would have ever imagined. We share our dogmas…and this has been done through our dogs.

As humans we’ve created unique bonds through the act of displaying and sharing our animals’ lives.

That’s an amazing thing! We share so much together.

I realized that we know a lot about each other through the eyes of our beloved pets, but we don’t know the human behind it all on a personal level.

I think we can do so much more together by learning about the friends we’ve inadvertently made through our pets.

I’m excited to get to know the professions we have represented. It would be a dream come true to work with you professionally, brought together by our mutual passion!

I’m excited to show off the talents you have to offer, support you in your business endeavors, and simply get to know who you are as a person, not just the human behind the dogs we love.

Feature articles are underway. Send us an email to be in a feature post, we’d love the chance!