Walk the Dog Blog: 2009

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Friday, December 11, 2009

this week's cell phone snap shots

Well, it's officially sweater weather...

Here is Rocky rockin his camo gear:

Monday was NASTY...

But one nice thing is that the strand

(or "my office" as I like to call it)

was totally empty.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

smile!

This is hilarious. I was digging thru my old cell phone pictures and found this treasure.

How happy are they?

Monday, November 16, 2009

Ginger is getting accustomed to her new life and new home.... But unfortunately would NOT walk with us. (We've been trying for the past week.) Today Penny showed up wearing a sweatshirt with a pocket for your hands (not sure what they are called)... Anyways, as you can see Ginger LOVED her "pouch" and happily enjoyed the scenery as we walked her friends. Finally, on the second half of the walk she was comfortable enough to walk along with us. We were so proud of her. She wasn't fearful at all! Her tail was wagging and she was loving it. It may sound silly to those of you that don't know her, but what a BIG day for Ginger!

Thank you Penny for ripping your sweatshirt so she could fit! Your the BEST!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Today....

Luckily, today was pretty relaxed and I was able to take a few pictures along the way... Here are my favorites! Hope they make you smile, because I just adore these animals.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Possible New Dog Run at Polliwog Park

Just got an email from Marty Friedman (he runs FIDO) with some exciting developments for MB dog owners:

"The Community Dog Advisory Committee will present a proposed dog run in Polliwog Park at the Parks & Recreation meeting on Monday, October 26th at 6:30 pm. I don't appreciate too much opposition, but it is always helpful to have a bunch of dog owners present to demonstrate support for additional recreation opportunities for our dogs. We are supposedly the first idem on the agenda, so hopefully we will be on at 6:30 and finished by 7:15.

Assuming the Commission recommends approval, we will try to get on City Council's Agenda in one of the two November meetings.

Please support us!"

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

More Zero pictures!

This past weekend Zero stayed over.

Luckily he doesn't mind the camera..... I went a little crazy with the picture taking (click on pictures to enlarge, if you'd like):

Little dog, BIG shadow:

He couldn't be happier than when he's playing fetch...

But sometime he also looks a wee bit crazy obsessed over it all...

But it does look like he is smiling!

Peter Zippi Fund

This past weekend at the Hermosa fair, I had the pleasure of seeing Leslie at the Peter Zippi booth. Leslie & I know each other from my past days of working at the VCA Animal Hospital. If you know of anyone ever wanting to adopt a cat, I can honestly say this organization is amazing. I can HIGHLY recommend them.... They have such a fantastic group of volunteers that work so hard to make sure each and every one of these cats have a loving home. They are very meticulous and make sure all the cats are current on vaccinations, deworming, are spayed/neutered, and are overall loved & healthy.

Thanks Leslie & your amazing team for doing so much for these homeless kitties. You are such an inspiration.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Meet Skipper

Skipper is a sweetie... She may only have 3 legs but she is FAST.

I just adore her. I was able to snap this picture earlier this week...

Thought you'd like to meet her.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

HEAT!

This week I've been asked twice on two separate occasions: "How can you walk dogs in this terrible heat?"

Here is my answer for those of you that are curious....

Obviously our #1 concern is safely for the animals. We stop for water several times, and are constantly seeking shade. I've found that the east side of Ocean Ave is perfectly shaded by the houses from the strand.

We tend to walk slower when it's THIS hot... It's pretty easy to just follow the pace of the dog (they certainly appreciate it)... We also are checking the heat on the ground. Some surfaces like black pavement are hotter than lighter colored concrete... We pay close attention to these details and try very hand to accommodate these necessary precautions.

When possible, we move the walking schedule around so that walks can take place in the early morning or late afternoon....

And the #1 thing we do to keep the furry ones comfortable: Pour fresh cool water on their necks & backs. At first they don't like it (but with a little neck massage, they love it).

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Time to hire a new person!

Over the last 3.5 years, Walk the Dog has grown and grown... I'm so thankful and appreciative of all the fantastic clients I have (the 4 legged - and 2 Legged ones). It's amazing that I've been able to grow this business solely on referrals and a few business cards at the VCA animal hospital. I'm truly blessed.

I love my "job" and the work is incredibly rewarding ... So working 7 days a week (and holidays) isn't really a big deal for me. But there's only so much that Penny and I can do in a day. We looked into scheduling our time based on a 26 hour day, but the logistics involved for slowing the earth's rotation seemed a bit daunting. Looked into cloning too, but apparently that's still only an option for sheep that live in the Netherlands. Ha Ha Ha....

Our research left us with the slightly more conventional conclusion... it's time to hire a new crew member.

It's going to be a hard task of finding someone I trust. I'm really a picky person when it comes to interviews. When I hired Penny (over a year ago), I went thru over 100 applicants. Phone interviews first, then face to face interviews, endless question asking, checking references... Then finally background checks & possibly even a drug test (I'm slightly neurotic when it comes to hiring someone who is going to be representing ME!).... We're looking with someone who is trustworthy, has a love for animals and their well being, has general common sense, is able to stick to a schedule, has above average communication skills, has an honest & general kind soul, can function as a team player, is respectful of our clients homes & personal lives... just to name of few... In other words, on a scale of 1-10, they've got to be a 10!

Initially, our new hire will be helping carry the load on weekends and holidays... Once they get into their groove, we'll be looking to you, our clients, to help spread the word about Walk the Dog to your friends and family in the South Bay.

Thanks again to every one of our loyal clients who trust us day in and day out with their 4-legged babies. I'm confident that whomever joins our team will be able to help us to better meet the needs of our current clients, as well as help serve the needs of other loving pet parents across the South Bay!

Wish me luck, the search is about to begin!!