Francesca's Squirrel and Rabbit Volksmarch

Today, I Francesca, went on a volksmarch put on by the Vancouver USA Volkssporters right here in Vancouver where I live. I got excited as we drove across town. We pulled up in front of Clark College. That's a place with lots of trees and grass... ripe hunting grounds for rabbits and squirrels.

Here's where the bunnies live. They are probably educated bunnies!

My owner made me stay in the car while she registered. This was a special event with four 5K loops. I requested the one with the most bunnies and squirrels on it... that was the green route. They had marked it with arrows and ribbons.

Finally I got out of the car and we were off.... The first thing I saw was a bunny in the grass, right behind the start/finish point. Woah! This was a GOOD volksmarch! But, since it was 5K, we had to keep walking.

Here's the old cemetery where the disrespectful squirrels live

Soon we arrived at an interesting old cemetery. It was a the old City Cemetery that was established in 1867. Now cemeteries are supposed to be quiet but this one had some very lively squirrels in it. I pulled and wanted to go chase them. But my owner kept me behind a fence so I couldn't go hunting. I suppose it would be disrespectful to the people who were buried there. So we kept walking.

Here I am trying to get into the cemetery to
chase the squirrels.

We walked to a park with several squirrels. I barked and pulled and howled my head off. I have to say, I was really annoying. So we kept walking.

Here's where I want to go eat sometime.

We saw an ice cream place called Igloo. I loved the retro look and thought, perhaps, we could stop for an ice cream! But it was closed. I noticed there was a patio in front where, hopefully, dogs can sit with their owners for a burger and shake. Sometime....

Here's that retro bowling sign.

And, we saw a retro bowling alley sign too. Vancouver has some interesting history, both old and not so old. I liked the Igloo restaurant the best and told Cinnamon all about it.

There were overgrown yards with flowers.
I knew interesting things lived in the weeds and grass there.

But then it was off to finish the walk. We were on Mill Plain Blvd. which was lined with huge trees. And you know what lives in trees, right? SQUIRRELS! I made a fool of myself once again barking at a squirrel and pulling on my leash. I was getting tired. It felt like a 10K by then!

I spy yet ANOTHER SQUIRREL!

So I didn't get to go chase ANYTHING and we were finished with the walk. I was so tired... mostly from pulling on my harness and barking at the wildlife. But I did get credit on my volksmarch list! Thank you Vancouver, USA Volkssporters!

When I got home Cinnamon was all full of energy and wanted to play. I felt sorry for her so played with her a little bit and told her about the ice cream place. But now... I just want to take a nap.

Love, Cinnamon

Advice to Dogs: What to do if you hear thunder

Everyone knows I hate fireworks. But there are fireworks in the sky sometimes related to weather.

Last night I heard a big boom and crack and headed for my bunker (aka the master shower) and then when I heard more.... I sought even greater protection.

I gathered up Francesca and we both headed for the garage. We scratched at the door to the garage and our owner opened it for us. Then we both wanted in the car. So our owner let us in. Francesca immediately went for her crate which we keep in the car and I, smart dog that I am, headed for the drivers seat and waited for the keys!

Here I am in the drivers' seat.

Francesca wanted to go in her crate.

So why did we want to get in the car? Well, according to accuweather.com, "A fully-enclosed, all-metal vehicle is very safe, but don't touch interior metallic areas on a vehicle, Richard Kithil, president of the National Lightning Safety Institute, said. The lightning charge goes around the outside of the vehicle, creating a Faraday effect and protecting the occupants inside."

We were so comfortable there that we stayed there even after the storm passed. Our owner had to coax us out with treats!

Now, of course I knew that and that's why we wanted into the car! Now that's one good place to hide in a thunderstorm but between you and me.... just go hide where you feel safe. That's the trick.

Love, Cinnamon

Hot Day: Excuse to go off my diet BIG TIME!

It was so hot. Francesca and I were just laying around. I got on my iPhone and checked my twitter feed. And there it was! @SheridansVanWa was tweeting that they were giving away free doggie cones! FREE! And then I found out they were just up the street from us.

So I begged my owner to drive me up there because it was too hot to walk. We saw it... Sheridan's Frozen Custard. Now I had never tried a frozen custard or even an ice cream. My owner told me it would be full of calories. But I didn't care. IT WAS FREE!

Here's the shady patio at Sheridan's

So I ambled up to the nice shady patio and looked over the menu. They had everything that people would like and more. But I was concerned about my weight so I hoped the dog cone was something simple! I wasn't sure how to eat it either.

Here's their menu of sweet delights!

So we talked to a nice lady who brought out the dog cone, a simple cone, for ME! I got confused and didn't know what to do. But I soon found out! You lick the frozen custard... carefully. I got the hang of it and pretty soon it was all over my mouth! When I got down to the cone, she let me bite and chew that. YUM!

Here I am getting my FREE cone. Do I bite it?

So then it was time for my owner to buy her dessert. She selected chocolate. Dogs shouldn't have chocolate. She said it was very, very good.

I finally figured it out. You LICK it! I LOVE Sheridan's!

So that was a great thing to do on a hot afternoon. I think I'll go take a nap now!

Oh yes, they give out free dog cones every day so head on over to: 14389 SE Mill Plain Blvd. in my town, Vancouver, USA!

Love, Cinnamon

Recovering from the Country Club

By now you all know that when our owner goes out of town to a place that doesn't allow dogs, we get shipped off to the Doggie Country Club. Now Francesca and I love it there. We rush right in and don't even say good-bye to our owner.

So what happens at this place? Well, there are 20 - 50 dogs there at any given time and we play with a select group. What's a select group? Well, they pick the dogs for us. The last day we were there Francesca and I played with a "Doodle" dog and had so much fun. I've always liked dogs with curly hair.

When our owner came to get us we were really dirty from playing. Well, Francesca was dirtier than I was because she just doesn't care! When we got home we had our dinner and went to bed early. We were tired!

Lazing around the deck - in recovery!

So the next day, was recovery day. We just lazed around in the sun. I am sure glad we're home. Sometimes boring is very restful and that's just what I needed!

Love, Cinnamon

Wordless Wednesday: Cinnamon's Toaster Likeness

They made ME out of a TOASTER!

Country club shenanigans lead to a trip to the vet

Hi, it's me Francesca. I just got home yesterday from the Doggie Country Club where Cinnamon and I stay when our owner goes out of town. It's a great place where I can play, roll in the dirt and get fed on time. What more could a dog want?

Here it is... our Country Club.

Well, I have a tale to tell. The day before we went home I was moving toward Cinnamon and she saw me out of the corner of her eye. All of a sudden she whirled around snarling. I don't know what happened but she thought I was going to steal something from her. Her teeth were bared and she growled at me. I just stood there in awe. Come to find out that was a big mistake. She knashed her teeth and lunged toward me. And, she caught a piece of my face in her huge canine tooth.

It was right under my eye. Her bite tore a little hole in my face. The lady at the Country Club called to us... "Break it up girls... stop that right now!"  And Cinnamon stopped.

Nobody looked at my injury. Nobody seemed to see that, under the broken skin it was all red and ugly. I slinked off to bed to soothe myself.

The next day our owner arrived to pick us up. Cinnamon trotted out like nothing ever happened. I sniffed around the reception area hoping to find some loose kibble so no one noticed my swollen sore.

That night we had dinner, played in the yard and were happy to be home. I was lying on the couch and my owner looked at me. "What happened Francesca? Poor girl," she said. She couldn't really tell how bad the injury was but it was puffy. She called the Country Club and asked if they had seen it. They said no.

This is my hurt face before the skin fell off. It's ugly.

So that brings us to today. This morning the skin fell off the sore and everyone could see that it was red and puffy. So off to the vet we went. I was excited and trotted right in. I noticed they had some gorgeous new treat jars! They were stainless steel with pet designs on them. The nice ladies got me a treat right away!

Here's my eye after the torn skin fell off. Feel sorry for me!

Then it was time to see the doctor. I never like to see the doctor. He looked at my eye and pressed it. "Hmmmm," he said. Turns out he suspected a little infection had started. He prescribed antibiotics for me. Now I don't mind medicine because I always get my medicine wrapped in something DELICIOUS!

This afternoon I laid in the yard in the sun with my sore face turned upwards. I think it helps the healing. I know I feel better.

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Hi everyone. It's me, Cinnamon. I DIDN'T DO IT! She just hit her face on something and made up the whole sordid tale to get me in trouble. I'M INNOCENT!

I didn't do anything!