Mystic Mutts of Revelry

The Haven raised over $7000.00 from the parade with 198 registrants (one being a cat). There were over 200 dogs with all the special guest dogs and over 400 people. All of the money went to the Haven (a no kill shelter).

This is awesome! We're proud to have been a part of this wonderful group of dogs and people who have in common the interest in the welfare of animals without a home and those that HAVE found a home.

I hope in the future there are more events like this for animals and their people.

Mardi Gras - Laissez Las Bon Chiens Rouler!

Mardi Gras time for the Mobile area

A no-kill shelter in Fairhope was hosting a really cool parade for dogs and their owners! We convinced Mom and Dad to go to the parade.

I went to work with Mom like a big boy thinking I was just going to hang out with her during the day, but an hour after we'd gotten there, she dropped me off at a groomers. ERG! MOM!!!!

Mom went back to work and fretted all day. I'd left all my cool toys, my bowl of water, a cookie and my towel in her office for her to watch and some of my drool and hair even graced the carpet in her office. Had to make it feel like home. Mom thought it was funny (my hair is still in a little pile next to one wall btw).

They tried to trim and file my nails, but my feet are sensitive. Mom told them that it was okay if they couldn't trim them that day. (Dad did them last night, grrrrrrr) They wiped my ears out - ICKY! and squeezed my butt to see if my glands needed cleaning - double ick! shampooed, conditioned and dried me. I smell so nice and my hair is super clean and soft. Mommy gave me lots of hugs and kisses cause I'm so handsome.

I was such a good boy and super laid back, so they put me in a big play area with puppies and other small dogs. Lots of people came into see me cause they'd never seen a dog as big as me. They also took a lot of pictures of me. I'm such a cool dog :) I saw Mom as she came up the sidewalk and they let me run into the main part of the store to hug and drool all over her. I was totally exhausted and ready to go home.

Sophie was all jealous that I had my hair "did" by the ladies at the store. She bopped me on the head a few times with her big ole feet and asked me to play. Mom and Dad had something in store for her before the parade too :) So we ran to their bedroom and played with squeaky toys and had some treats before I had a long nap.

On Saturday, Mom and Dad got out their Mardi Gras throws from a couple years back, tried some costumes on us (I was too big for mine :( ) and brushed us. Sophie had to have a bath so she was as good looking and smelling as me and we went for a "ride" We like "rides".

We saw 100's of dogs. A small dog about as big as Mowglie smelled me then got very rude and snapped at me. Thankfully, Mom told the lady that her dog was being "bad" when the lady asked who had snapped at who. The lady took her pup away. I don't know if he liked me because I'm so big. Dad had put one of his T-shirts on me and Sophie was dressed like a Princess with fairy wings on. Maybe he was mad because he didn't have a shirt like mine? We looked so cool and a lot of people wanted to see us.

I met an elderly lady who had something wrong with her hands. Mom said it was arthritis. She was very nice and so happy to see me. She rubbed my hair on my head, neck and shoulders and told me what a pretty boy I was. She was very happy when Mom told her I wanted a hug from her. It made Mom emotional. I was just happy this nice lady wanted to give me some lovin's. I think I made her very happy.

We hugged a lot of kids and sniffed a lot of butts but we got very tired too. So Mom and Dad took us back to our van and we took a "ride" home where we slept for the next two days. Mardi Gras is so exhausting! But we give it two paws up.

Mardi Gras 2 yrs ago

Laissez Las Bon Chiens Rouler!!!

Sophie becomes an Alabama dog

This is my story...

I was born in Colorado. I'm a Landseer. My folks think I'm a European Continental Landseer due to my body style. I'm a big paw, a Newfoundland.

I was born in October of 2005. Mum and Dad speculate due to my unusual coloring that my doggies parents were a brown and a Landseer Newf mating. I'm a Bronze Landseer. My first home after leaving my littermates and doggie Mom were in Colorado having fleed from something called Hurricane Katrina. They brought me home to New Orleans where I lived for 2 months.

My vet records say I was heavily medicated due to skin issues as a result of being outside in New Orleans after the messy aftermath of the hurricane. I had a little girl as a friend but she became scared of me and my first Mom decided to rehome me. I think they also shaved my hair because I didn't have fluffy puppy hair except on my ears and tail when my forever Mum and Dad came to pick me up.

A nice lady from Houma took me in while she looked for someone who wanted to become parents again. She had some dogs and cats and we played hard. I got into a sharpie the weekend my new folks came to get me and I still had ink all over my short hair. We drove all the way from Houma to the beach road in Pass Christian to see the devastation the hurricane left behind. At one point, we got out and walked on the beach and I barked at my new dad...Mum could tell I didn't know how to walk on a leash too well.

Everyone mistook me for a Springer Spaniel until I started to grow. :)

I was a chewer and destroyed shoes, hats, toothbrushes, dental floss, and a silk tree. I finally figured out that Mum and Dad LIKED those things and that eating them didn't make them happy. Woops - sorry about the tree! If it makes you feel any better, it was more fun to play with than all the toys you left for me the first time I was allowed to stay out of my crate while you were at work :) They were laughing at me while they took these pictures btw. See all those icky toys around my mass destruction? :)

I have been with my forever family for 3.5 years and love love love my Mowglie (aka "The Toof") and my biggest brother, Bava. I'm the queen of the house, but I let my two brothers push me around. I am a princess and love to be the center of attention. I have my own Coolaroo bed in Daddy's office where I sleep while he works. He tells Mum I snore sometimes. Princesses don't snore! Mum tells me I'm a Daddy's girl....I think I am :)

Mowglie's New Home

I just killed a flower pot and life is good:)

Where do I start? Kinda hard as I didn't have what my Mum thinks is a "great beginning". I was born under an office building in a rough part of town where people would drop dogs off and other people would pick them up to use as Pit Bull bait dogs. My doggie mom was a Spaniel mix and we didn't know what a human was until we were about 6 weeks old. After we could walk and emerged from underneath the building, we were brought to a ladies farm where a bunch of other dogs lived. My Mum and Dad don't really know all the details of our time "on the farm" but have some speculations of their own how it was. They sometimes get sad when they talk about it.

I'm a sturdy fella weighing in at 65lbs. Stocky :) My new folks brought my brother Bava with them when they came to meet me and I didn't know what to think of him. He was so much bigger than me, but I think we're the same age. He kinda scared me and I showed it. I was labeled as a Newf Mix which they scoff at. I don't look anything like a Newf. They talked to the ladies who had brought me to meet them and decided they'd take me on a trial basis. I'm so happy they did for I don't know what would have happened to me if they hadn't. My brother Luke went to another family and I heard he's doing well shortly after he went to his home. Same with my sister who my first family called Daisy. I hope they're as happy as I am now.

I get scared easily and bark a lot at stuff I don't understand. Mum put me through doggie boot camp in my new backyard after I did some stuff I shouldn't have done and I LOVED having the direction I was lacking. I became a GOOD BOY. No one other than my parents had done anything like that for me and I love being given a job to do. They keep me and Bava apart now because I don't like boy dogs too much, but we still see each other every day and I lick the glass of the doors when I see him. He and I take naps together on either side of the glass doors.

I know a lot of tricks and Mum wants to train me to do some agility to keep my mind busy. I'm built for it! I'm also very fast. I caught a rabbit once and made Mum mad :( I gave it back even though I didn't want to.

I have a big fenced in back yard to roam around in and for a while, I went to work every day with Dad who used to work in the basement of our house until he switched offices. I had my own pillow, but I wanted to be outside more than being inside. I have a job to do; I have to patrol the backyard and keep the squirrels from taking nuts and stuff from the yard. Pesky little chippies! So, Dad would keep me in with him for a while, then he'd let me outside for a while to patrol the yard, then I'd go back in. Eventually, my sister Sophie would come outside with me to play and we'd get worn out racing around the yard playing chase and wading in our pool.

I have a huge deck that I protect and my own table that I like to nap on. I don't think I'd be a happy dog if I had to stay inside all day. Mom thinks that's the mix of dog breeds in me.

Me and Bava my first day home... (October '05)

Taking a nap while at work with Dad.

Beginnings

I am a Newf. My name is Bava (Italian for drool or literally, 'dribble'). I'm almost four years old and LOVE my life.

I started out being born to my doggie parents, Pebbles and Prince in a town just south of Memphis. My new Mum and Dad had been looking for a new puppy after their Sheltie had passed away earlier in the year. Mum had always wanted a Newf for as long as she could remember and Dad wanted a big dog too. They did a LOT of research and weighed the pros and cons of the breed and talked to a few breeders, joined some clubs online to learn about us as a dog and finally decided to come talk to my first human Mom, Jeanette.

I knew if Jeanette liked them I'd love them. I was in a pen with my only remaining brother (all the other puppies in my litter had already found homes) and three other puppies. I was "Green Boy" and my brother was "Red Boy". We ran all around the pen and climbed in their laps and had fun while they decided which of us puppies they wanted. I kept running up to my Mum and Daddy said, that's the one we should get. I was what they called "Full of Beans". I didn't know what beans were, but they seemed to like them.

My new parents went to look at the kennel and talk to Jeanette, her daughter and son and meet my folks who were in a pen together. Mom was shocked at how big my dog Dad, Prince was. He's a BIG boy. Then they came back, picked me up and after saying good bye to my puppy brother, we went into the house and they talked to Jeanette some more. They gave her some papers, she gave them some papers and some of my puppy food and we got in Mom's car for a "ride".

They stopped for me to tinkle and I started to learn about my new life and some cool stuff that I would be doing with my new family, like "Foot"

It took us about 10 hours to drive back cause we took a wrong turn, but we made it and I slept the whole night through. Mom and Dad couldn't get enough of my antics. Here's a shot of me with my new Mom in the front yard. I was doing raspberries the first 42 hours I got home :)

More in a bit!