Canines & Cocktails for a Cause

This is in Annapolis, but it sounds like fun so I think we just might pack up the pooches, drive the 30 miles (with barking all the way), and check it out.

The Paws Pet Boutique is teaming up with dog-friendly Loews Annapolis Hotel for a series of special Friday evenings throughout the summer. They will meet on the outside patio of the Weather Rail at Loews Hotel from 5 to 8 pm on May 30, June 27, July 25, August 22 and September 26. A portion of the drink sales from each evening will be donated to the non-profit cause featured that night. It's free and the fun includes raffles for prizes.

The May 30 event supports the Humane Society of Prince George’s County and celebrates “Black Dog Night”! Pam Townsend, the author of the book “Black is Beautiful: A Celebration of Dark Dogs”, will be available to sign books, along with her black dog cover model, Samba.

"Pam published the book to tout the beauties and desirable traits of black dogs, which tend to be the least likely to be adopted." A story about Pam, a College Park resident, and her book appeared in the Prince George's Gazette on March 27.

All the profits from the book sales are donated to the PG Humane Society, and dogs of all colors are welcome!

Parking is available for $2 (self-parking) at Loews during the event. Metered parking and several garages on West Street are also options.

Dog Walking, Hiking and Play Groups

If you're looking for fun things to do with your dog in the Columbia and Howard County areas--and you enjoy meeting other dog lovers and their dogs, there are a number of groups to check out.

Columbia Dogs-on-the-Go
This Meetup group (organized by this blogger) schedules walks, hikes and other activities in and near the Columbia and Howard County areas.

K9 Trailblazers
A dog hiking club located in the Baltimore/DC area that holds monthly, leashed hikes on dog-friendly trails in the area.

The Annapolis Active Dogs Meetup Group
Schedules activities in the Annapolis area, with lots of regular visits to the Quiet Waters dog beach.

The Baltimore Off-Road Dogs Meetup Group
Features dog hikes in the Baltimore area, and also plans visits to fenced off-leash parks, and maybe even a "canoe ride and camping trip every now and then..."

The Bethesda Active Dogs Happy Hour Fun & Play Meetup Group
Features dog hikes and indoor dog play times in the Bethesda area.

The DC Doggie Happy Hour Group
This group has a large membership and features happy hours at dog-friendly establishments in the D.C. area. (I haven't been to any yet, and am curious as to how it works out with 40-60 people and dogs attending.)

The NOVA Trail Dogs Meetup
Features day hikes in the D.C., Viriginia and Maryalnd, "but we'll have some overnighters thrown in there too."

Meetup.com also lists many other dog groups not too far from Columbia and Howard County. Some are for specific breeds and activities. Certainly worth checking out!

Pets on Wheels. Do it!

Cody has been a Pets on Wheels volunteer for Howard County for some time, but admittedly not a very consistent one. Pets on Wheels Howard County is an association of volunteers who take their own pets to visit nursing and assisted living homes.

Cody enjoys it immensely since he loves nothing more than meeting and greeting people. The problem is that he is quite a handful in the car and it's been a little difficult to get him to and fro--especially if Riley is not with him. (And unfortunately, Riley, who has other fine qualities, is not a good POW candidate.) Plus, I've had a few sinus and eye infections this past winter that I didn't want to bring into the home.

But enough excuses! We are going to get back on track! This is such a great activity for anyone with a friendly dog. The people enjoy it so much. And the organization has been so great about showing its appreciation of volunteers.

Tricia Summers is the program's director. Her dog Harry, a Great Pyrenees, is a volunteer--a Gentle Giant who is a sight to behold.

For those who think their dogs may be a good candidate, Pets on Wheels Howard County has program introductions and dog evaluations on the first Wednesday of each month. Call 410-313-7461.

Canine Haute Couture - Japan Style

I haven't really been seeing as many dogs in Kyoto as I expected. Maybe it's because dogs seem to have so few places to shop here. I've been doing miles of shop-walking and so far only saw this one shop--which the dogs had to share with "baby kids."

The shop had a selection of bowls and leashes alongside baby toys and gear. Come to think of it, this was the only child store I saw also (so far).

I was beginning to wonder if it were possible that the Japanese were not as devoted to their pooches as we are, when I came upon a bookstore and a pretty wide selection of dog magazines. This one was all about "wear, accessory, and goods" and came with a large packet of patterns and instructions.

There is everything in here from beach wear to a "layered look tee" and a camisole(!), and things you can make out of your own clothing.

Corgis and dachsunds seem to be popular here, along with the shitzus and lhasas that I expected to see.

A Dog's Eye View of Japan

We're here in Kyoto now, so my next few entries may be from here. I thought perhaps that Columbia had a "sister city" here in Japan, so I could keep up the Columbia theme of this blog. This doesn't appear to be the case, so my temporary theme will be "Columbia Dog Lover Misses Dogs while in Japan."

I get such a kick out of the little characters on the graphics and signage here, like this one reminding you to scoop your poop. I asked for a literal translation and was told it means "You're forgeting someting here!"



I'm not seeing as many dogs as I expected, but I've seen a number of people walking threesomes of the same breed--3 corgis, 3 poodles, 3 lhasas.

Our guide, Sakae, has a corgi so we had fun sharing our pictures--like pulling out photos of the grandkids. Nothing like the universal language of "love my dog."

30-Day Challenge

Here's an interesting idea I found on another blog called That Mutt. The blogger, Lindsay in North Dakota, decided to take her 2-year-old black lab, Ace, to 30 new places in 30 days, starting May 1. Her idea is to train him to "chill out" by exposing him to as many places as possible so he learns to behave in different environments. Some readers commented that they liked the idea but couldn't think of 30 different places to go where they lived.

Well, I had no problem here in Howard County, and pretty quickly came up with a list of almost 30 different walks in this area. I couldn't do them in 30 days, . . . but maybe sometime in 30 weeks!

Hand-painted Pups!

OK. I wanted to wait at least until October to post this one. But, I couldn't. I just thought these were so darn pretty, I wanted to show them NOW!

On our Sunday stroll through Ellicott City's Main Street, we stopped in several shops with "pets welcome" signs. One was Wreath and Basket, where we found a treeful of these personalized hand-painted ornaments. Sherry Kendall, the shop owner, is also a professional illustrator and creates the ornaments from photos of your dog--supplied by you or taken by her.

We'll have to stop in again--but maybe without 5 tails wagging at once!