I have claimed my second park

We are having the most beautiful sunny day - only 70 degrees so Mom said let's forget about the unpacking and go walkies. We were in the car before Mom could blink. So off we went in search of another park for me to claim and we found one. This one is about a 10 minutes west of us and is a combined park and sport area - there are soccer grounds, football, frisbee golf, tennis, basketball, skating, a 1.7 mile paved walking trail and much more. Thankfully those are all in the center of the park and the walking area and doggie park on the outer edge. Of coarse being a week day there was just some walkers there today and guess what - everyone we passed said 'good morning' to us - it made Mom so happy and we even got some pats from people too !!!!

Now the park is called the Ed Austin Regional Park - which I have renamed the Ed Austin Cowspotdog Park and it is now under my care and protection and I have peed there (LOTS) so therefore it is mine :) Trust me - I will have my work cut out for me for we have never seen so many squirrels in one area and they cheeky too - they seem to know just how long our lead is and stop just out of our reach !!!!!

So let's begin our tour - first we head down the shady trail - isn't is neat. Mom loves that it is paved and she doesn't have to worry about us stepping on stones and hurting our paws and we can walk on this no matter what the weather is. As you can see - there are lots of grassy wide open spaces too.













Now one thing we have discovered is Floridians (at least around here) are Frisbee Golf crazy. At MY new park the are 3 courses people can use for free (the whole park is actually free.) These are some serious players, they wear fancy team t-shirts, have Wheelie Frisbee Golf Bags and heaps of different kinds of frisbees. The second picture shows one of the fairways.













These next pictures Mom wanted to show the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees - there are a few trees that have it but not all that many and Mom wondered if the moss prefers to grow in certain types only. And of coarse - there are so many different types of palm trees, tall ones, short ones and everything in between :)













And then there is this pawsome leash free dog park. It has one section for small dogs and one for larger dogs. It is completely fenced, lots of shade and lots of water. We said hello to some doggies through the fence but Mom didn't want to stress the Denny so we didn't go inside today. That reminds us - Mr Denny is doing just fine, no temperature, poop was normal and his pee tested normal too. Hopefully in a week or so once he feels safe in his surroundings he should start to feel less stressed.

We are back !!!!!!!!!!!

Woooo hooooo we finally have our internet up and running. It has been a crazy few days with Mom busy unpacking and trying to find just the 'right' spot for everything. Sadly the move has been really tough on the Dweeb ......he has hardly eaten in the last week and Mom had to spoon feed him water to get him to drink - he didn't even want to leave any pee mail !!!  Mom got really worried yesterday as he was throwing up and had the runny poopy butt thing going on. Mom made him some boiled chicken and rice this morning and so far things seem to be back to normal but we have an appointment with our new vet tomorrow just to make sure everything is okay.

MIA until Thursday

We will be back on Thursday...Monday and Tuesday our furniture is being delivered and we should have the Internet on Wednesday afternoon. We are sorry we haven't been able to leave comments - the Internet at the hotel is terrible and it takes us nearly an hour just to get a post up on our blog. It won't load pages or load photos of others blogs so we haven't really been able to see what is going on in Blogville.  We hope everyone is doing well and will have lots of stories to share we we are back.

Beach Day and MY New Park

Today we went to check out MY new house and back yard - it meets with MY approval although I did have to have words with those pesky Geese about being on MY pond. Next we went to visit Hanna Park which I have now renamed Hanna Cowspotdog Park - I have peed there - therefore it is now mine :) It is a huge park and I am going to have my work cut out for me looking after it all.  First we went to check out the beach that is part of the park  - it is long and sandy and seemed to be lacking very much to sniff at. There was one nice dead smelly jelly fish but Dad wouldn't let us anywhere near it. I must admit I was not too impressed by the beach ..... Mom says it will grow on me - eventually. There was hardly anyone there - just a couple of fisherman and some hardy would-be surfers. It was a kind of gloomy overcast day so it was probably keeping peeps away - or maybe it was just to early for them :) We followed the beach for a while and then headed up the boardwalk over the dunes and into the main park. Now this is what I was waiting for - we headed around 'cowspotdog' dog lake and there was so many wonderful smells. We probably only saw a teeny tiny part of the park so we are going to have lots of fun exploring it in the coming months.

Day Two of Our Adventure - We Have Arrived !

We are pleased and VERY relieved to say we have arrived in Jacksonville safe and sound. Today was overall a much easier drive - there was LOTS of rest stops (which made us super happy) and lots of beautiful scenery. Thankfully most the BIG cities we passed today we got to go around due  to some well designed bypasses. By far the scariest part was when we hit Jacksonville itself and Mom says that if she could of driven with her eyes closed she would of.  There is a lot of construction happening in the downtown area and the roads were so confusing even Dad (and the GPS) got lost. He got us back on track quickly but even so - with bumper to bumper traffic it was the scariest part of  our entire drive. We pick up the keys to our new house tomorrow and our furniture will be delivered on Monday and we should have the internet connected on Wednesday and then we will be able to share lots of photos. Until then - we miss you all and won't tell you about the beautiful sunshine, warm weather and all the wonderful palm trees :)  Dad says tomorrow we are off to see the beach and Mom says she can't wait to see our reaction.

 

Day One of Our Adventure

The first leg of the trip is over for the day - we are settled in our hotel suite, have the air conditioner on high and have a big bowl of cool water and just finished our dinner.  Today in just over 7 hours we have been through 4 states Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. We are so proud of our Mom because what you don't know is as she has NEVER drivin in any BIG cities before - in fact the thought of driving in them in terrifies her but today gripping the steering wheel in a death grip and clenching her teeth until her jaw hurt she followed Dad as they drove through Memphis, Birmingham and Montgomery. (The worst was Birmingham - Mom says that was sooooo scary.) We of coarse didn't notice any of this because we were safely clipped into the back seat and happily snoozed most the way.......but there is one thing that we are REALLY annoyed about and that is that between Memphis and Montgomery (a distance of some 400 miles) there is only 1 rest stop - can you believe that just ONE whole rest stop!!!!!!! We were so disappointed not to get any decent sniffing in and because we didn't really stop anywhere we didn't get ant photos either. We are off to have a good nights sleep and then tomorrow we do another 7 hours of driving to finally arrive in Jacksonville.

We will be back soon

Today the moving company will arrive to pack up all our stuff and tomorrow we will be on our way to Florida. We pick up the keys to our new house on Friday so we won't  have any internet for a few days (unless we can use it at the hotel) Please keep your paws crossed for the Dweeb and send him LOTS of calming vibes - he has never stayed at a hotel before and all this change is going to really freak him out.  Mom consulted with our vet and worked out a slightly higher dose of his "chill pills" to help him through this next week.  We think as soon as we are in our new house and he has his familiar things around him he will settle down again. As for me - I am an old paw at staying at hotels so they don't bother.  Dad has this week off so it will be like a mini vacation for all of us and it will give us a chance to explore our new surroundings and find out where everything is. We hope we will be able to share some photos of our adventures along the way but if not - we will catch up with everyone in a week or so.

One thing we wont miss!

Mom says there is one thing we wont miss about living in Arkansas and that is the GIANT Mosquitosaurus Rex'es  - truly those things are so big they can drain a pint of blood in 1.3 seconds flat! We were surprised when we went through the woods today that they are already out in full force and they even had us shaking our heads as they buzzed around our ears.

Now we have heard Mosquito's can be pretty bad in Florida too but we are hoping their sting doesn't hurt like the ones here do - Mom has a really bad reaction to them and always had to use so much bug spray just to go outside.

Happy Birthday Denny

Today is the Den Den's 4th birthday - he is still our weird scared little dude but we love him so much and even though everything scares him he is also the sweetest and cuddliest little guy (but cat like - he only likes cuddles when he wants them). He's a doggie that lives by a routine and seems to have an inbuilt alarm clock - 6.00am on the dot is whinge whine for breakfast, 3.30 pm is whinge whine for dinner. 5.30 and 7.30pm  is whinge whine for Daddy cuddles and 9.00pm is whinge whine for bed time cookie. He doesn't like change and knows if something is even a few inches out of it's normal place. He is without a doubt our special little boy - Happy Birthday sweet little Denny Whenny :).

YOWIES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 little Yowies

So there was Mom at the grocery store  - she had gone to buy some packing boxes and was waiting in line to check out when she happened to glance at the candy display (you know - the ones that always try to tempt you while you wait !!!!) Well Mom suddenly did a double take and couldn't believe her eyes - right there in front of her was a box of YOWIES.

Now you are probably thinking - what the dog is a Yowie? Well they are something Mom to use to buy all the time when she lived back home in Australia - they are kind of like a chocolate egg (or a Kinder Surprise) with a little collectable inside. Mom picked one up to check it really was a Yowie and before you could blink - she grabbed the entire box!!!

Now Mom is a great believer in 'signs'  those little clues in life that tell us we are on the right path and she took finding these as a sign. Not only did she find the Yowies - she also noticed they are distributed here in the USA by a company in St Augustine, Florida - a town Mom loves and it is only half an hour from where we will be living and if that wasn't enough - the first one she opened had a wombat inside it!!! (They contain endangered animals from all over the world).

Oh - we should explain about the Yowie  - it is one of several names given to a mythical hominid creature reputed to live in the Australian wilderness. The creature has its roots in Aboriginal mythology. 

No fun Mom - we can't eat these!

Cracking open the chocolate Yowie

What the DOG is that !

It's a wombat!!!!!!!

Saying Goodbye

Mom says we only have a few more days here - the moving company will arrive on Monday and by Wednesday we will be on our way to Florida. We had been hoping to spend some quality time at MY parks but alas it has decided to rain most of this week. In between showers we have been able to sneak in some short walkies and I am leaving LOTS of pee mail with instructions for other doggies about how to look after MY parks.

Wacky Words of Wisdom - Wednesday -1

Musing on Monday

We know some of you had trouble finding ME in the photo - so here I am. Mom says I gave her a scare when she turned around and couldn't see me but I always come when she calls and she laughed when  my head popped up from behind the little hill.

Many of you also asked about Mrs Goose and whether she gets hot up on that tin roof. We have noticed that every year she builds a nest up there while it is cool but her 'real nest' where she lays her eggs and hatches her babies is one a little island in the middle of the lake. Last year she had 5 little ones and Mr Goose does an excellent job of protecting them.

And finally we can share a picture of our new home in Florida. Mom loves the bright cheerful color and we love the big backyard - we can't wait to get there and check it out for ourselves. We are hoping to move the last week of April. And yes - it does have a pond behind it but there have never been any gators in it and it is actually a closed off pond so there is no way for gators to get in it. Dad says when he went to see the house that he did see some Geese on the pond - we will have no trouble telling them just who's pond it is when we get there :)

Can you find Reilly?

Can you find the Reilly in this picture :)

What a silly Goose

Every year for the past four years this lady goose has made her nest on the roof of this lookout but maybe she isn't such a silly Goose as look how well she blends in with the tree branches that has collected on it. Can you see her hiding in there?

Chewy.com Review - The FURminator Brush

10 th of April 2015

Today thanks to Chewy.com - the best and most well known online pet food, treats and goodies store we are reviewing the new FURminator dual sided brush


Here are the basics
A well groomed pet is a happy, healthy pet. But, there are many reasons that frequent visits to your pet stylist aren't always possible. With FURminator's new line of professional quality grooming tools, you can get near professional results at home. The FURminator is currently on sale at Chewy.com for $9.94

Key Benefits of the FURminator Brush

• Helps remove mats, tangles and loose hair
• Features a pin brush on one side and bristle brush on the other
• Pin brush works on long coated dogs
• Nylon bristle brush is an excellent all round brush that can be used on almost any coat type
• Removes debris from short coated dogs
• Finishes the coat and creates a natural shine for long coats
• Designed to follow the natural contours of pet's head and body

Our Review - The Positives and Negatives

• The handle was very good - it gave excellent ergonomic grip and control
• Sadly we didn't find this particular brush very useful for our type of thick double coated long fur.
• It didn't go through our coats
• It didn't remove much hair
• The cover was a very poor design and wouldn't click or stay together
• Mr Reilly didn't like the feel of this brush at all

Rating
We will have to give this only a 1 paw rating for the ergonomic designed handle - it just didn't work for us.

Disclaimer 
Chewy.com sent us a  FURminator dual sided brush  in return for an honest review. We were not paid or compensated for our review in any other way and our opinion is purely our own.

All too real

The "For Sale" sign went up in our yard on Monday and the papers are all signed for the real estate agent to list our house - suddenly it became so very real - we are moving. Last night we even had our first showing! It is bitter sweet to say the least as this is the first house Mom has ever owned and it is a beautiful house but Mom says she doesn't want to ever own a house again as it is such a lot of work when you want to move.  Our other good news is we have a house to rent in Florida - Dad put in application on Monday and we found out today we got approved - it is only about a 12 minute drive from the beach and the 447 acres Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. 

Time for adventuring to begin

It is getting warm enough that we can do some adventuring and the first coarse of action is to do my 'after winter' check on all MY parks. Today we headed off to my small walkway in the tree tops park. Even though this is a small park it has a wonderful trail through the woods and hardly anyone ever goes there so we can use our 'invisible' leashes. As you can see the trees are starting to get their green leaves and the grass is starting to turn green too - all of which makes Mom so happy. We are just happy that there are lots of wonderful smells. The fourth picture shows the look out - we have often climbed to the top to check out the view but there is not much to see except for rice paddies for miles and miles (we are in a big rice growing area and this area is home to Riceland rice)