Doggies & the new home...

After moving we had a lot of questions about if the dogs adjusted to the new home.  In short - the dogs love it.  They do get stressed during the move - it always starts with the packing of boxes but once we are unpacked they get that this is home and calm down.

They absolutely love having the deck off the kitchen and off the loft where they get to hang out.  There is a park about half a block away that keeps them content (although Lincoln Park will always be their favorite).  The stairs make Shelby happy as she has a spot to perch and keep on eye on things in the kitchen without being in the middle of the madness.  The neighborhood is a very active one - they like that as it is interesting to them to people watch and check things out.  Not having a shared entry with neighbor dogs makes them happy too.  Life is good for Eddie and Shelby.

Baby needs a new bed

Have you ever seen such a sad little state for a puppy bed? Most pathetic dog bed ever.

{Notice that she is stretched into the stuffing on both of those shots!}

Shelby was so offended by how hideously ugly her bed was that she worked extra hard at wearing it down so that she could get a new one.

So even if we might have been pushing the limits on our best doggie parents ever status... the new bed that I made this weekend surely makes up for it.

Happy Beagle-baby Anniversary

I just can't believe that it was eight years ago today that we drove down to Paragould Arkansas to adopt our little beagle-baby.  Someone had found a box of beagle mix puppies on the side of the road and taken them to the Paragould Paws.  I had just graduated from the University of Iowa and had moved down to Carbondale into Dan's infamous Sugartree apartment.  And I had my heart set on getting a dog. 

We decided that a beagle would be a good breed for us given that they aren't too big, are friendly, creative, and independent.  And holy wow are beagle puppies cute... those big eyes and ears sold me.

So we filled out the little application.  Picked up the basic puppy supplies at the nearby Wal-Mart (if you ever want to watch a very funny wild-eyed, speed shopper then take Dan to the Carbondale Wal-Mart).  And headed down to Paragould to pick up little Betty Lou.

The first item on the agenda was to pick out a new name as Betty Lou was not going to do.  Dan's version of picking out the name: Since Dan is quite the petrol-head, he suggested Shelby, after the famous Carroll Shelby...as in Shelby Mustangs.  I figured why not let him have this one. The real version: there was a song on the radio by some singer with the name Shelby, so I suggested it.  Dan immediately said "oh yeah, like the Shelby Mustangs" and thus Betty Lou became Shelby.

Shelby was hard not to love at 2 months- she was 5 pounds of big floppy soft ears, nose, and brown eyes with a dash of a white tail.  The adventures and laughs and snuggles began immediately...

When Shelby was only a few months old her favorite place to sleep was either right up against your chest or curled up against your shoulder...

Tonight to celebrate the eighth anniversary of Shelby joining our little family we just might have given her a few bites of her favorite shrimpies.

Love you beagie!

Dog Day Fest

Last Sunday after the half marathon, we found a bit of left over energy in our reserves to take the pups to the Dog Day on the Green festival at the Soldier Field grounds.  Even though our feet were tired, we had to take the dogs to a festival that was just for the dogs.

We of course got a little turned around and didn't know exactly which end of Soldier Field the festival was going to be so after a nice warm up walk we finally arrived... and the pups were all smiles.  They had a short little agility run and I took the pups through; Eddie just wanted to bolt to the sidelines where Dan was sitting but once Shelby got over her initial hesitation she loved it.  She even jumped through the hoop at the end.

It was quite the fun little afternoon activity.  All of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Italian ice for me, frosty paw for you

One of our favorite things to do during the summer is to walk to the Italian ice place for treats.  Back when we living in Lincoln Park we would do it quite frequently as a walk with the dogs and for dessert.  I am not sure if it is a testament to how good the pups' memories are or a sign that we were going to often but it got so that the dogs new exactly what they were going to get when we turned onto that street. 

When we moved to Roscoe Village I was really happy to see that there was a little local owned Italian ice shop here as well... and yet it is July and the sign that says " Closed for the season" is still up so it is probably safe to say that they are not going to open for the season.  We tried an ice cream shop in Lake View but it is a bit more kid oriented (like a Dairy Queen) and no frosty paw for our munchkins.  So during my few days off from work last week we headed back down to good ole Lincoln Park to our favorite little shop...

The dogs still remembered what tasty treats they get here and were thrilled that Dan forgot that they usually just share one and accidently got two... 

They seem to think that they have Jedi powers and staring intently enough will get it in their bellies much quicker...

But our city dogs are pretty accomplished at eating off a spoon...

Whether you are a kid, a dog, or an adult, frozen treats are one of the best simple pleasures during the summer... and they make for a cheap but sweet date!

A Sunday at the Doggie Beach

One of our favorite things about living in Chicago is the lakefront.  We have always loved taking the dogs over by the lake and running by the lake.  It is such an awesome way to spend a weekend afternoon and we feel so fortunate to have this type of free entertainment available to us during the summer months.  Last summer we made our first trip to the dog beach at Montrose Harbor and so we have been excited to go again ever since.

The dogs love it.  But they have totally different styles of what they want to do when we are there.  Eddie wants to swim after tennis balls until he can barely stand up.  Shelby wants to chill on a beach towel and soak in some sun while taking in all the craziness that goes on. 

It was so much fun and we thought that the little buggers would be pooped after such excitement leading to naps.  But after their bath they were so incredible wild that we had to go out for another walk.. it was a very good day for the dogs!

A Hot Summer Day at the Doggie Beach

It is somewhat amazing to me that we had yet to take our dogs to the official, off-the-leash, doggie beach here in Chicago. They love going to the North Ave Beach but that one is packed during the hot summer days so they don't get to go often. Our previous experiences with doggie parks is that they are most often dirty and full of snarky dogs. So we generally just avoid them. This past Labor Day weekend we packed up the car and headed to the Indiana Dunes as when we went there last summer they were low-key and pretty empty of tourists... but apparently Labor Day is when they get all their traffic as every parking lot for each one of the dunes was packed with a long line to even wait for a spot. Completely a bummer and after wasting a few hours driving... we thought what is one more and headed to the Montrose Harbor Dog Beach in Chicago. I think the dogs were ready to riot when we finally got there. It was a hot day and they were tired of the car...

As we walked over there we were both silently praying for it not to be a dump... and so maybe it was the low expectations but it was completely great! The dogs had an absolute blast. Eddie got to barrel through Lake Michigan after his beloved tennis ball and Shelby got to prance around the beach without being tethered to me... they loved it.

Well, they loved it for a while... Shelby was not really keen on going into the water and the third time that we picked her up and put her in the lake she was pissed. She hightailed it to the gate with her "I am not taking this crap" face. So it was time to head back to our exiled home in the burbs. All of us thinking why the heck hadn't we checked out the dog beach all those years while we lived downtown. It was a great summer day and we will definitely be making another trip there.

{Click on any of the above images to head over to our flickr account where there are a few more doggie beach photos.}