Apologies, Blogaverssary Teaser, and Cute Photos of Winnie! Oh My!

I am so sorry, I have been a BAD pet blogger! The last post here was in July! The time flies but I have an excellent reason for slacking on the blog...the BF and I got hitched in August!

This is us at sunset on the big day.

Winnie is quite perturbed that she has not been in front of her adoring public in nearly 2 months so I promised her something special for her blogaverssary (how in the world do you spell that word sandwich anyway!?). Stay tuned in the next few days for our big announcement to celebrate the big day.

Until then, please enjoy these photos of Winnie Cooper from the past few months (posted to Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram (@WinnieCooperShihtzu) but sadly never making it to the blog, until now!).

Naps.

Naps again.

Oh wait, more napping.

Just woke up from a nap.

Snugs.

Kisses.

Quelle Surprise! Another nap.

Sharona!

Nap prep.

Oh hai! I am totes awake in this one!
xoxo Winnie

Meeting Fans- Greeting Strangers

Winnie and I experienced a first for the blog this week, we met a blog fan! A friend and former co-worker  was in Vermont for a wedding and emailed me to ask if her seven year old daughter, Helena - could meet Winnie Cooper. Of course we couldn't pass up the (photo) opportunity to meet and greet a faithful super fan like Helena. Plus, no one likes to disappoint a seven year old girl, that is just not good karma!

Winnie has no idea that she's not
the cutest thing in this picture.

Winnie is quite used to getting ooohed and awwwed over as she walks about town, truthfully I think she has come to expect it. When we walked up to meet her super fan and Helena shouted out "Winnie Cooper!" as though she was meeting a real celebrity- well Winnie was not phased one little bit! She wagged her tail and greeted Helena warmly with smiles and licks. Winnie is well aware that her target audience is little girls and older/elderly folks. She always greets people that fall into those categories happily, while she is less likely to be so excited when she sees little boys.

Still working it.

Even while we sat and enjoyed some ice cream, another little girl came up and asked to pet Winnie - and a Mom and toddler at the next table came over to gave a few pets. By this time, I could see that Winnie was reaching her limit of being fawned over so I let her get on my lap, and reminded myself that we need to get out for more socialization (with children and other dogs). When I first adopted Winnie, she had zero tolerance for children (probably one of the reasons she was given up), so she has come a looooong way, but she still needs to brush up on her manners around the wee ones (don't we all? I think I dropped the eff-bomb a couple of times in front of my nephews the last time I saw them, what can I say, we don't see kids on a daily basis!).

Posing for pictures is one thing Winnie does really well.
Practice makes perfect, of course.

Join us on the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop!

With a name like Winnie Cooper, it seems obvious who should play Winnie in the movie of her life.

Of course I can only mean, the original Winnie Cooper; Danica Mckellar.

It's like a mirror image.

Winnie Cooper the shih-tzu has big beautiful brown eyes and she thinks Kevin Arnold is the neatest (oh wait, I am mixing her up with Winnie Cooper the character from the Wonder Years again...). A movie about Winnie Cooper the dog's life, would give Danica the chance to reprise her star making role of Winnie Cooper.

BTW, If you step into your way back machine you can read more about how Winnie and her namesake are the same but different (that would be this link- here.).

So, what do you think, would Danika Mckellar be perfect for the role of Winnie Cooper in the movie of her life, or is that too easy? Suggestions welcome!

Daily Cute

I can even make this crappy
apartment carpet look good.

Who is walking who? The art of walking a shih-tzu

I will go out on a limb and guess that most of Winnie Cooper's blog readers are pet owners and probably a majority are specifically dog parents. But I would be very curious to know how many shih-tzu caretakers there are reading this blog. I am no expert on the breed, but from what I have read, I think Winnie is a very typical shih-tzu.

According the the American Kennel club website shih-tzus should be;

"outgoing, happy, affectionate, friendly and trusting towards all- and although this dog is sweet and playful, he is not afraid to stand up for himself!"

Winnie certainly fits that description and HOW. Here's some evidence from our walk on Friday afternoon. It's July in Vermont, thus it is hot and humid. I made sure Winnie had plenty to drink before we left and we walked on the shady side of the street- that is when we were actually walking...Winnie decided it was a great day to rest and take a number of extended breaks in the grassy areas we came across...extending a fifteen minute walk to 45 minutes. 

This grass is perfect, look at it Mom!

Seriously, have you ever seen grass this perfect?!

I am totally going to marry this grass.

And we're back--just in time to celebrate the Petfinder Big Birthday Adoption Weekend!

So I've been a lazy blogger lately. To be fair, work has been bonkers, then Andy and I took a vacation, and finally I have been a little pre-occupied with planning a little something called a lifetime commitment party...that's right blog readers (hi Mom!)- we are getting married (well sort of...long story short, we're not doing all the legal/ceremony stuff, we're just having a party to share our commitment with all our besties and families)!

Anyhoo, we've just been busy all around, but I finally shook out of it because I wanted to post about the Petfinder Big Birthday Adoption Weekend! All weekend long, shelters all over the US are having a adoption drives, hoping to get to the magic number of 15,000 adoptions (to celebrate Petfinder's 15th Birthday of course!).

Double-y exciting is that one of the participating Vermont shelters is the Kingdom Animal Shelter (KAS), where our very own Beau was adopted from! For the adoption weekend and throughout all of July, KAS is having a special adoption rate for their cats:

• Adopt one cat for $60 or get a two-fur (ha, see what I did there!) for $100. 

I was particularly enthusiastic about the 2fur deal because I recently read a great blog post over at Pawcurious about the benefits of having a pair of pets that are bonded, titled It's better in pairs. As the parent of a pair of bonded pairs, I wholeheartedly agree- it is better in pairs!

If you are in Vermont (and honestly, I really don't know WHY you don't all just move here, it's pretty much the best state ever)- please consider adopting a kitty this weekend from the KAS (1664 MEMORIAL DRIVE, ST. JOHNSBURY CTR.).

Here's our most recent photo of the big boy, Beau Bridges (taken just a few days ago):

Our handsome Beau-Beau

PS I promise to post photos of Winnie ASAP.

The Petties! The Oscars of pet blogging.

This is my first year as a pet blogger- and the first time I have heard about The Petties. Which so far, look to me like the Oscars of pet blogging. How exciting! I can't wait to find Winnie Cooper her couture gown!

The awards are hosted by Dogtime.com and here's what they say about the whole thing:

Be a part of the 2011 Petties Awards, Dogtime's annual celebration recognizing excellence among animal-loving bloggers of all stripes. The Petties are the only awards nominated by, voted for, and presented to individuals in the pet blogging community. The best part? Winners are honored with a $500 donation to the shelter of their choice -- it's our way of saying thanks for making a difference!

You have until June 29th to nominate your fave pet blog (ahem!) in the following categories: Best Dog Blog, Best Cat Blog, Best Rescue/Cause Blog, Best Designed Blog, Best Social Integration Blog, Funniest Blog or Blogger, Best Overall Pet Blog.

I am just kidding about nominating The Other Winnie Cooper blog, I don't think we've come far enough in this first year of blogging! It's something to strive for next year-- Perhaps they will add a "Cutest Shih-tzu in the Universe blog" category next year, which I would feel very confident campaigning for.

I'd like to share with you some blogs I just nominated:
Best Overall Blog: Two Pitties in the City
Best Cat Blog: Romeo the Cat...and Pugsley too!
Best Cause Blog: The Bad Rap Barn Blog

Please check these blogs out and if you feel inspired, nominate them, because, the finalists are determined by the four bloggers with the most nominations in each category. There are many other deserving blogs to nominate, so I will probably have to return and continue to fill out the ballot.

How about you guys? Tell me your favorite blogs and why? I've got an RSS reader full of my favorites, but I can always add more!