How to Celebrate National Dog Day

"Are you serious with this whole waking up thing?"

Me: “Good morning boys!  It’s time to wake up for a special day.”

Bentley: “MOM!!  I am still in a deep Basset sleep.  Is it my birthday?  Are there presents?  Can I sleep another eighteen minutes?”

Pierre: “Welcome morning!  Hello sunshine!  S’up new day?  Hey Bentley!  Good morning Gramma!  Did I hear something about it being a special day?  Is it my birthday?  Are there presents?  I love greeting a new dawn.”

Bentley: “MOM!  Please make Pierre Peppy Toes stop.  His joy is making me tired.”

Me: “You silly boys.  It’s not your birthdays, but you may get a few extra goodies today.  I can’t believe that y’all don’t know what we are celebrating.”

Pierre: “Hey, wait just a cotton-pickin’ minute.  Is today August 26^th?  Lord have mercy, Bentley!  It is National Dog Day.  Do you know what that means?”

Bentley: “Ugh, it obviously means that I have to wake up at 6:30 a.m.  Don’t we get to sleep in on holidays?  Pierre, you’re doing it wrong.”

Me: “Well, that’s fine.  You just stay in the bed and I’ll make Pierre some bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Come on Pierre.”

Pierre: “Yippee!  I love bacon so much.  You snooze, you loose Bentley.” *snicker

Bentley: “Oh for the love of dog.  Y’all wait I’m coming.  Who ever heard of waking up on a

Celebrating National Dog Day! photo via JibJab

holiday at 6:30 a.m.?  *Grumble, grumble  Mmmm, bacon…Happy National Dog Day to me.”

Me: “I’ll bet y’all are wondering how this day became a national day to honor dogs, so let me tell you.  It all started with a very well respected animal behaviorist named Colleen Paige.  She decided that a special day should be set aside to pay homage to all of the dogs that serve humans.  We depend on canines with the police and military, guiding the blind, offering assistance to the disabled, and countless other jobs.  Then, she wanted to remember how many other dogs are suffering and losing their lives to overpopulation and homelessness.  This is the 10^th year of National Dog Day.”

Pierre: “Oh, Miss Colleen Paige is the Editor-in-Chief of Pet Home Magazine.  I keep meaning to send my photo to her for consideration as a centerfold.  Not nude, I'd be stylishly dressed by Colleen, of course.  She wrote the book on good behavior book for dogs.  It’s called “The Good Behavior Book for Dogs.”  *Snicker  She is the brainchild behind several worldwide trending holidays, like National Cat Day, National Puppy Day, and of course, today’s National Dog Day.”

Bentley: “Cool!  I want to start a holiday.  National Basset Hound Day has a nice ring to it.  I need to write the President, the Pope, and Ellen to get this new holiday moving!  There are bunches of Basset Hounds in shelters and they all need homes.  That’s it!  I’ll start a National Adopt a Basset Hound Day!  Do y’all know Oprah’s address?”

Me: “Slow down Bentley.  We can help many ways around our city.  Our Humane Society of Northwest Louisiana has 41 homeless pets and is $1,000 in the red.  This summer has been really tough because of the intake of several dogs infected with parvovirus, and a litter of puppies with respiratory problems.  Getting these pups back to health has racked up a lot of vet bills.  You know I got Miss Gitty at the Humane Society when I was only eighteen years old.  They have been around a long time.”

Rock a LA. Humane Society T~Shirt ♥

Bentley: “What can we do to help them?  Should we bake cookies to sell?  How about a lemonade stand?  Let’s sell Humane Society t-shirts!”

Pierre: “According to their Facebook page, they already have some really cool looking t-shirts!  All we have to do is buy them.  Hey, if any of our friends would like to buy one, here is the link.  The total cost is $25.00.  Of course, they will accept any donations too.”

Me: “I will definitely be ordering one for myself.  We are going to contact the Humane Society to see what else we can do to help.  Not every city has a Humane Society and we need to work to keep it open.  They save a lot of lives and they have found homes for about two hundred dogs this year.”

Bentley: “I think that it would be great to help the Humane Society.  Until then, what are we going to do to celebrate National Dog Day?  Did you get us any special treats in celebrate?”

Me: “It just so happens that I do have a little something for y’all.  We won the Jones Chews

We LOVE our Lamb Lung Puffs! 

Giveaway from our friend Elizabeth Keene at Chronicles of Cardigan.  If any of our readers don’t know Elizabeth and her great Corgis, you’ll want to go visit because they are great fun.  Anyway, Flea is the voice of Jones Natural Chews and she sent us two gigantic bags of Jones Lamb Puffs.”

Pierre: “How long have you had those two bags hidden?  Hurry, I need to taste the lamb lung.  I have heard about Jones Lamb Puffs from some of my other dog friends.  They are supposed to be amazing.”

Bentley: “This may be the most delectable taste sensations that I have ever experienced.  Did you mention that Miss Flea was coming down this way when football season starts?  I shouldn’t have to remind you that LSU kicks off this Saturday.  Woo Hoo!  We have two 8 oz. bags of Jones Lamb Puffs for the game!  She will need to head this way pretty soon though.  We have today’s celebration, then LSU on Saturday, the Saints on Sunday, and then there are the other days of the week where we will just need to eat some lamb.  These two bags are going to be gone in no time.”

Pierre: “I’ve heard that Flea travels with an armored car full of Jones Natural Chews.  We will have to beef up our yard perimeter searches when she visits.  I don’t want any of these local dogs horning in on our supplier.  Ya know what I’m saying?”

Me: “Y’all have been reading way too many of those dog gossip magazines.  Flea does not drive in an armored vehicle full of treats.  I do hope that she is able to come visit us this fall.  She will probably bring you both a treat if you are good boys.  All of the treats that we have tried from Jones Natural Chews have been great.”

Bentley: “I know why they taste so good.  Look on this bag at the ingredients for the Lamb Lungs…100% lamb lungs.  That is pretty dang simple, not like some treats with those additives that nobody can pronounce.”

Pierre: “Since it’s a holiday, shouldn’t we also take time to say thanks to all of the service dogs

♥ Happy National Dog Day♥

and K9s that make life better for everyone.  We salute you all.  *Both boys salute

Bentley: “We wish a Happy National Dog Day to all of our friends.  Ask your human to try tospend some time or money to help your local shelter.  If you don’t have one in particular, please consider helping the Northwest Louisiana Humane Society.”

Me: “I’m sure that your dogs are treated like every day is National Dog Day, but give them an extra hug, and thank them for being your best friend.  It is a National holiday after all. ♥

Tuesdays are always special to us because we are able to share shelter information and pets with our friends Dogs ‘N Pawz and Talking Dogs on the Tuesday’s Tails blog hop.

~AND~

We are joining Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever for their Tasty Tuesday blog hop.  These two friends always have terrific recipes and ideas to share.  Hop over and say “hello” then visit the others Tasty Tuesday bloggers.