Living in the city with a dog can definitely be a drag sometimes, especially when your pooch is a little stir crazy. As the weather warms, take a drive to Elm Bank. Approximately half an hour from Boston, Elm Bank not only welcomes dogs, but provides doggy poop bags to encourage visitors to pick up after their canine companion! Chopper had a blast running at full speed!

Hi Readers!

Elizabeth here! I had the most AMAZING weekend because I got to spend it with my favorite pooch, Emperor Chopper! Having Chopper around is great not only because he is a ball of fun, but because he is teaching me about being a responsible dog owner.

Chopper, giving his best “look back” pose.

On Saturday, we had a bit of drama. We had to take Chopper to the Veterinarian’s office! Friday night, Chopper started to make funny noises; he would elongate his neck and snort. Being the overprotective nervous type, I rushed him the emergency room only to learn that Chopper was “reverse sneezing.” Reverse sneezing is something can be set off by a myriad of things including eating, excitement, even pollen! These spasms are most common in Pugs and Boxers because they have “flat faces”. Chopper’s spasms appeared to be from a slight cold he had developed. Just to be safe, we took it easy Saturday night and watched old movies.

Despite being a bit under the weather, Chopper was his chipper and handsome self. We had a marvelous weekend and I cannot WAIT until he stays over again!

After a sneak preview of spring last week, it seems like we might finally have some warmer weather coming our way.

We thought it was perfect timing to start talking about getting outside to the local dog parks again!

On this blog you can look through our old posts on dog parks and don’t forget to check out our map of all the local parks

What park will you be taking your dog to once it starts getting nicer out?

UPDATE!!! Pictures in this blog are courtesy of Michele Biscoe, Chairperson of Somerville Dog Owners Group. All of her pictures are available for viewing.

We’ve talked about getting professional pictures taken for your dogs before (La Muse is a great choice!) but we received an email this morning that we had to pass along. This weekend there is a really fun charity event where you can get pictures taken of your dogs- just look at these beautiful examples:

This Saturday, the 5th of April from 9:30 to 3:30 at the Children’s Art Center (36 Rutland St. in the South End) you can get Dog Portraits taken by Mim Adkins.

Proceeds of this event benefit the ARL and MSPCA - so everyone should participate!

If you are interested in getting portraits of your dog, call 617-233-9057 for an appointment

Our friend Amanda, who helps organize the Boston Yorkie Meetup, sent us some really cute pictures from the party she threw this weekend, celebrating her Yorkie Hudson’s 3rd birthday.

The party was held in one of the play rooms at Doggie Day Care in the South End.

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All the lucky dogs at the party feasted on the special dog treat cake- seen here:

And there was also an amazing cake for humans too, featuring the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday Hudson!

The Animal Rescue League is holding its 3rd annual “Paws for a Cause” event this Saturday Feb. 9th 2008 in Brewster on the Cape.

Click on the image to download a flier

This wonderful event is a fundraiser for homeless pets on Cape Cod and will be held at the Ocean Edge Resort from 7 to 9 pm. Tickets are $35/person. For more information, please call the Brewster Adoption Center at 508-255-1030.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re really excited for the Patriots big game today, but Animal Planet is hosting the 4th annual Puppy Bowl this Sunday at 3pm.

So check out the website and make sure not to miss the greatest pregame show on TV this Sunday.

Go Puppies! And GO PATRIOTS!