Everything Pawsible, Inc.

We are more than thrilled to announce that Everything Pawsitible, Inc, of Salem, Oregon has become our newest store-front retailer!

Everything Pawsitible is a really great little shop--not only a beautiful, locally- and independently-owned dog-oriented pet shop and gift boutique, but also features day care, training, and the only canine therapeutic swimming pool in this side of the state.

Aside from outstanding training and canine physical therapy services, they've got a really great array of unique dog-themed gifts with at least one item in the store featuring almost every breed. I didn't spot any dogo stuff, but it sure was neat to see things like a little pewter Ibizian hound, or a piece of art with a smooth collie--breeds you don't often see featured!

We couldn't possibly be more thrilled to be aligned with such a shop, be sure to drop by if you're in the area!

Fun projects, big things on the horizon!

I'm sitting down at the computer for a moment, taking a breather. We had a rockin' April, with a couple of really neat projects to keep us busy.

Remember those nice McNab mixes I mentioned? I had the privilege of gearing out one of the pups, named Diablo. He's got an interesting Phoenix ascending his back, and in that spirit, here's what we came up with.

The lead has a matching triskele concho on either side of the base of the handle, and green phoenix feathers coming up the handle itself on both sides that mirror and continue the line of tail feathers on the collar. We're really pleased with the set and can't wait to see Diablo filling it out!


Also, we had the pleasure of hearing from Masako and the lovely Winnie, for the building of a custom harness to match her nifty two-tone lead:


It'll take a bit of tweaking for a perfect fit, but definitely a fun project--and nets us smiling Shiba photos, which is always a nice perk.

In tangential news, we've upped production approximately 6000% in the past couple weeks, with a couple neat discoveries.
First of all, http://librivox.org is a free source for public domain recordings of public domain books. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I likes me some literature, and all the sudden here's all the Twain, Dickens, Wodehouse, and Thoreau you'll need to keep you busy for a good while. You got'cher Oscar Wilde, yer Leo Tolstoy, and yer H.G. Wells. Edgar Rice Borroughs brings us the amazing Tarzan books, there's Dr. Dolittle, Sherlock Holmes, and a hefty lot of Oz books. I'm pretty sure Mr. Armadillo is quite (Plato!) through with hearing me randomly (Tom Swift!) shouting out nice finds throughout the last week or so (Dostoyevsky!).

I love to have an audiobook running while I work. It keeps my mind busy and I love to spend an afternoon tuned into a reading while making neat things. Audiobooks are hard to come by, though. They're pricey to buy, and it's hard for me to get them back to the library on time. Plus, our little branch has a pretty dismal selection, and the good ones can be hard to get ahold of. Finding LibriVox is like I've suddenly fallen into this amazing treasure trove, I can't even adequately describe how tickled I am over the whole thing.

I've already signed up to volunteer a reading, and I've got a really neat little collection of very old children's and young adult literature that will be fun to share, most are about dogs or horses or general adventure-type stuff, pirates and shipwrecks. If you know anyone with a Scottish or English accent that would be willing to do a reading, I have copies of Bob, Son of Battle and Greyfriars Bobby that I would give a great deal to hear properly read. Bob, Son of Battle is written in the Cumbrian dialect, but I imagine any English accent is going to do it more justice than my profoundly American voice.

The other fun thing I found was an el-cheapo set of public domain TV westerns on Amazon.com. With 300 episodes of a giant array of classic TV westerns like The Lone Ranger, Annie Oakley , Sugarfoot, and Wagon Train, this has been a fun find, too.

In other news, trapping season opens the 17th and we've got big plans for the late 2007 passage red tail population of Salem, Oregon. We are hoping for (predicting?) an according sharp drop in production, briefly following ;0).

And speaking of taking the occasional Saturday off...

I woke up this morning to a frickin' winter wonderland out there. Snow! I decided on the spot it was a good Saturday to stay home and catch up on some sewing. We're a bit swamped at the moment, and have some really neat projects in the works, to boot. So, in the interest of spending a quiet weekend rockin' the Juki, see you next Saturday!

Looking for a dog to keep you on your toes?

There's a couple of McNab mix pups in California looking for a good home. Mama looks like a shepherd cross; in an early post they call her a Canaan dog, but no real way to know. Mama was found roaming, in wretched shape. In being nursed back to health, she began to look a little suspiciously puffy around the middle, and a phone call confirmed she'd been consorting with a ranch dog in the area where she was found. In speaking with Jon, the owner, it sounds as though he's done a thoroughly conscientious job in raising and placing the puppies, and with two left, I offered to help spread the word.

McNabs are smart, busy, and serious working dogs. They need a job and to be provided with both physical and mental stimulation. These likely won't be "easy" dogs to raise, but put in the effort and you'll have an unparalleled companion. Plus, look at the faces on these guys!

Hercules and Agamemnon (AKA "Aggie"):






















Click here for the full story and more information on these guys!

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday Market!

Yesterday was Raw Dog's Eugene Saturday Market season opening day. Actually the second weekend for Market, but due to the addition of Wags to our roster, we bowed out of the first weekend.

Yesterday's weather was pristine--a gorgeous, clear and sunny, mid-seventies, perfect-for-misplacing-your-shoes April Saturday. I started out the market day by snagging the very last 4 x 4 space available, but ran into Jacqui of Rory's (delectable) Doghouse Cookies, with whom I share the Holiday Market booth. Jacqui's Saturday Market space is a lovely little inside corner with open space on one side, a rock wall and trees all around and behind. It's shady, across from the fountain, and at the cross of a T intersection. Also, it's a corner space so she's got two open sides. It's a sweet piece of Market real estate, and we're thrilled to be invited to share.

What this means is through this Market season you'll generally find us at Market space 39, on the fountain block. If you're crusing around the sidewalks, turn South at the pie lady, but don't forget to stop and buy all the blueberry pie she's got on hand. Trust me on this one; if we haven't cleaned her out, you'll want to get in on that action. We do occasionally take a Saturday off, especially likely when the weather is miserable, and if Jacqui's taking the day off we may take another booth space. If you need help finding us, you can always ask at the Info booth, on the Courthouse corner. Just keep an ear out for the drum circles if you misplace the info booth. ;0)

Meanwhile, highlights of the day kicked off with a cup of Dana's Cheesecake Factory's delicious hot chocolate and a chance encounter with a girl fairly new to the area who'd bailed out of New York City a few months ago, evidently having decided there were better things found elsewhere. In the first few sun-shiny market days, it's hard for new vendors to actually set up a booth space. Space allocation is done by seniority, and early (high-traffic) days are more likely to see vendors actually show up. And show up they do, everybody and their dogs.

Well, not their dogs, because believe it or not, the City of Eugene doesn't allow dogs within park borders. Let me say that again. A park that doesn't allow dogs. But, I digress.

So between high attendance among the veterans and scads of plucky new vendors yearning to hawk their wares, there are just aren't enough spaces available for all, and dozens of folks who took their market point and spent the day in the crowds, instead. My spunky East Coast friend managed to wrangle my empty 4 x 4, so more than one of us won out, there.

Other highlights of the day included RollerGirl Susie B. stopping by for a visit, Market lemonade and barbecued asparagus, the sweetest bluegrass I've heard in dog's years, and the chance to buy a hand-knapped obsidian skinning knife which hopefully will be seeing some use here, soon. We sold gear for a bloodhound, two dauchsunds, several labs, and a herd of pits, amstaffs, a toy poodle, and bulldogs of all types.

All in all a great kick-off to the season. Folks were out in droves, we ran into a bunch of old friends and made several new ones. We did one of our best days of business at Market in over a year, but it's a great way to spend your Saturday even when sales are slow. Come see us!

Onward and upward!

Today Raw Dog picked up a third retail account.
Wags, on Coburg, is now carrying Raw Dog gear!
It's a gorgeous little shop, check them out!

Welcome to Scrabulous.com

As though I needed another way to use up my time...
http://www.scrabulous.com/ --an online scrabble network!

I... really did not need to know that website existed, but now that I do I think my life is just about complete =D