Exploring the world with Terrier Torrent!

Recently, I signed up for the Pet Blogger Gift Exchange that Pamela of Something Wagging This Way Comes and was paired up with the very fabulous Beth and Gizmo of Terrier Torrent. Beth and Gizmo have been on the pet blogging scene much longer than I have (though that's not saying much at this point), and have a fun and thoughtful point of view. What I love is that it's written both from both Beth's and Gizmo's perspective--who doesn't want to see life from a spunky terrier's viewpoint?

Gizmo! I could just scoop him right up.

One of of my favorite entries is about homemade liver treats. It is written with much humor, and just shows how loved Gizmo and his friends are. In a more recent one, there aren't as many words as there are photographs of lovely Sandhill Cranes. As of the new year, there is a new feature on the blog called "Behind the Paw" (how cute is that?), which highlights weekly events in Gizmo's world.

A little about Beth and Gizmo: they hail from Central Florida and love to explore the great outdoors through hiking and geocaching. Beth writes extensively on Florida's natural life, and pairs her entries with wonderful photography that just makes you wish you were there. I know a couple geocachers, but no one has a cool little doggie pal that accompanies them.

Gizmo with his geocaching loot

Gizmo was a shelter rescue from a kill facility. Of his adoption, Beth says, " He was dumped at our animal conrol (read: kill)shelter when he was about 3 mos old...I had lost my beautiful Bruno about a month earlier and was feeling pretty low...I just can't live in a dog-less house...I went to the shelter with nothing in mind other than finding the dog that needed me most and downsizing a bit...Gizmo was tiny (11 pounds...Bruno had weighted in at 105#) He was in a cage with another dog...The other dog was all happy and bouncing when I walked by, but Gizmo was wet, hairless (bad care and bad nutrition) and curled up in a quivering ball at the bak of the cage...seemed like he'd given up...so yes, of course that was the dog for me:) We took hi to the meet&greet area where he began to respond to me...That was it, I made my decision and never looked back..."

Lovely words for a lucky dog. :)

Be sure to add Terrier Torrent to your feeds! You can further connect with Beth and Gizmo through these channels:

Facebook: Gizmo's Terrier Torrent
Twitter: GizmoGeoDog
Google+: Gizmo Geodog

Review: December BarkBox!

Penny has been a devoted BarkBox subscriber for the past 6 months now, and we have yet to be disappointed! Yes, I said "we". Human confession #1: I avoid all types of possible spoilers and look forward to Penny's BarkBox more than I look forward to any of my own subscriptions (which include Birchbox and Glossybox, things a gal should be pretty excited about).

First, let me tell you that every time a BarkBox arrives, Penny follows me around like a 70-pound heat seeking missile, her nose jammed up to any of the box's open crevices. She KNOWS that brown box is for her. Even if she is in her crate when I am holding the box, she will instantly perk up. If that doesn't tell you how awesomely curated this box is, I don't know what will!

1. Bocce's Bakery FEAST

We love Bocce's Bakery in our household. It's a small business run by fun people, and they have the most amazing flavors, ranging from Maine Lobster Roll to Truffle with Mac 'n Cheese. All of the ingredients they use are human grade, and the folks from Bocce's Bakery say that they often snack on the biscuits themselves! Feast is a special holiday concoction made with chicken, pumpkin, and cranberries. Penny really liked it (she has yet to turn her nose up at any Bocce's Bakery treat). She liked it so much, I hid it and now can't find it for a photo. Instead, enjoy a photo we took for the K9 Scrub Club Bocce's Bakery contest we won a while back:

2. Oatmeal Shampoo from Fresh Dog

What I love about BarkBox is that the items aren't just for your dogs to enjoy, they are also useful things for us humans to use in our every day "dog husbandry". Fresh Dog is a dog and cat shampoo company and smells absolutely yummy! We had the hardest time finding a good smelling oatmeal shampoo for Penny's itchy skin, and finally settled on TropiClean, which has served us well so far (Human confession #2: I actually had to steal Penny's TropiClean oatmeal shampoo once because I accidentally left my soap at a hotel while traveling, and have allergy-prone and dry skin that needs soap-less bathing supplies. It worked well and I smelled pretty good!). We'll be using the Fresh Dog Oatmeal Shampoo for Penny's next bath, just to see how it stacks up. In the meantime, I'm interested in the dry shampoo Fresh Dog offers, for those times when John and I don't have the time and/or energy to wrestle a soapy, wet dog in the bathtub.

Courtesy of FreshDog.com

3. Puppy Cake Wheat-Free Cake Mix (Red Velvet)

I may have squee'd a little bit when I pulled this one out of the box! Penny's birthday is next month, so we're saving it for that occasion. This cute little red velvet cake mix can either be baked or microwaved, and comes with a packet of yogurt frosting. Their online shop is adorable, and they have other tasty cake mix flavors like Banana and Peanut Butter. I'm probably more excited about Penny's birthday because of this cake than she is (if she knew what birthdays were)!

Courtesy of puppycake.com

4. Holiday Moose with Movable Limbs from Simply Fido

Simply Fido is a New York based company that uses organic materials for their products. True story: I was looking at one of the labels on the toy and planning on giving it to Penny with her Christmas presents when she appeared out of nowhere and snatched the toy. This dog is not good at sneaking, but she still took me by surprise like a little canine Jaws. I wish I had some pictures of her playing with this poor little moose (he never had a chance), but it would have looked like a giant brown and white blur. I don't think I need to elaborate on how much Penny loved this toy. The arms and legs slide back and forth for great tug o' war action. The moose was adorable....while it lasted.

Courtesy of simplyfido.com

If you have a dog and haven't subscribed to BarkBox yet, I highly recommend you try at least a month! Subscriptions are $29 if you pay month-by-month, but as low as $17.50 when you pay for six months at a time. The best part is that 10% of the proceeds go directly to local shelters and rescues.