Archive | February, 2011

The Odd Couple

24 Feb

Every so often there is a funny pairing in the animal kingdom that just proves friendships can exist throughout different species. Case in point, last month was the ten year anniversary of a friendship between a goose and a Highland bull named Hamish.

(photo source)

It all started in New Zealand at the Knapsdale Eco Lodge. Two weeks before Hamish was born, the goose lost her mate in a tussle with some of the other inhabitants of the lodge (one of the emus remains under suspect). The night Hamish was born, the forlorn goose instantly became attached to him and has stayed that way ever since. Apparently the goose even has bouts of jealousy, going so far as to scare away the other animals if they get too close. Let’s wish this odd couple more wonderful years together.

Have you heard of any other interesting couplings in the animal kingdom?

Happy tail wags!

Source: Stuff.nz.co

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Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery

22 Feb

A few weekends ago my mom and I took a special trip to The Loyal Biscuit. Of course, any trip to the Biscuit is a special occasion because it usually ends in me getting something delicious and/or fun and squeaky. This time, however, I was on a mission; to discover a new delicious treat from a Maine company called Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery. Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery is a small owner-operated dog treat business based in Richmond, Maine. Run by a very kind human named Jenna, Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery is named after (and the pup who is also the face of the company) an affable pit bull named Zelda. The biscuits are all gluten and grain-free, are made out of as many locally grown ingredients as possible, and currently come in one flavor: peanut butter and honey. All orders are baked fresh and in small batches so nothing goes to waste (plus Zelda and her two other pup-siblings Oliver and Sadie are always on hand for quality control and to scarf up any leftovers). What’s also great about Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery is that 10% of all proceeds go to The Dog Rehabilitation Center of Maine, a behavioral rehabilitation, doggy day camp, and boarding facility located in Greene, Maine (and a topic of an upcoming blog post!).

I had been hearing a lot about Jenna’s treats and company during my many trips to the Biscuit. My mom was hesitant to buy me a bag because, as I’ve mentioned before, I can be very picky when it comes to treats. That was why we stopped by the day that Jenna had set up a nibbling table. Boy was that a good idea! Not only did I discover that I absolutely love the biscuits from Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery, but I also met Jenna and learned more about her pawesome, home-grown business. She even gave us the scoop on the next flavor she’s been working on and all I’ll say is that it involves cranberries.

So far the peanut butter and honey treats have not only been a hit with me (every time I hear my mom open the package I come a-running with my tail a-wagging) but the humans seem to love them too, or at least the smell of them. Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery peanut butter and honey treats smell just like the peanut butter sandwiches that the humans like to eat (and don’t like to share).

If you’re interested in purchasing a bag of Zelda’s Biscuit Bakery treats, you can check out the etsy site, you can email Jenna at zeldabiscuitbakery@gmail.com, or keep checking the website for a soon to be updated online store.

Happy tail wags!

 

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New and Improved

21 Feb

For the past month my blog has been a bit on the quiet side. Of course, my days haven’t been as quiet (meaning I have lots to share!) and neither have my mom’s. Which in itself is why I have been a bad little puppy when it comes to writing posts. If this sounds like something you’ve heard before, it’s because this isn’t the first (or most likely last) time I’ve been preoccupied with bones, walks, and other various adventures which have kept me from my blog. This time, however, the blame solely lands on my mom’s shoulders. No one warned me that human school takes up so much time and attention! Not to mention all the long nights helping my mom study and do homework (or, you know, help distract her from all that).

I mean who would choose homework over this adorable face?

Anyway, Of Cows’ Tails and Chew Toys is back with a new fervor! I’m going to make sure from now on that I keep myself and my human on track. You have my peppy little doggy word.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a post on a great new treat that’s made right here in Maine, my home state.

Happy tail wags!

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Vote Me for Barkwheats!

9 Feb

If you’ve never heard of the company Barkwheats, definitely perk up your ears! Barkwheats is a organic, grain-free, and gluten-free dog treat company based out my wonderful (though now freezing cold) home state of Maine. Founded in 2007, Barkwheats was inspired by two black-lab pups Baxter and Sabine. The founders wanted to produce a series of treat that were not only grain-free, but also included ingredients that, when purchased to be included in the biscuits, would help support organic, small-scale agriculture in Maine. In doing this, Barkwheats purchases their ingredients directly from family farmers. When Barkwheats wanted to expand their goodie repertoire to include a ginger based biscuit, an ingredient not easily grown in Maine, they found and met with a small group of farmers in Belize who agreed to help them out. Since these “Ginger and Parsley” biscuits are fair-trade certified, the profits gained help the farmers in Belize make a living. The same goes for the countless other farmers who grow the other ingredients for the three other flavors.

(photo source)

Barkwheats is now looking to expand their treat flavors even further in their new line of “Smokehouse Treats.” Of course, this means that there needs to be new, colorful packaging made by the very talented human, Abby Mcmillen of Folk Dog Art who has designs Barkwheats’ packaging. So, Barkwheats is now holding a photo contest to choose the next two pooch faces that Abby will turn into beautiful works of art. Yours truly just happens to be in the running! If you would like to vote for me, or check out the other contestants, please click my photo below. You can vote once every 24 hours (so if you vote at 4:00 pm today, you can’t vote again until 4:00 pm tomorrow). The two winners will be announced on the 14th.

If you are interested in purchasing some lovely nibbles for your pup, please check out either Barkwheats’ online shop or their list of stores that carry their products.

Happy tail wags!

Sources: Barkwheats

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Puppy Bowl VII

7 Feb

Super Bowl Sunday means a lot of different things to humans. For a lot of them it means various finger foods of varying degrees of greasiness (my favorite so called “human food” even though I’m never allowed to have anything of the sort. I have to resort to licking crumbs off the floor or my mom’s fingers), that funny smelling stuff in cans that makes humans loud and foolish, and yelling at the television. For my family, however, Super Bowl Sunday is really Puppy Bowl Sunday!

(photo source)

There are a lot of things about the Puppy Bowl I like: the water bowl camera, the funny ref calls and fouls, the chicken cheerleaders, the kiss cam. But really my most favorite part about the Puppy Bowl is that they are stress the importance of adopting your pets from shelters and rescues. In fact, all the puppy contenders are from pet adoption organizations and are looking for their furever homes. One of the toy footballs on the Puppy Bowl field even gave a shout-out to a great adoption resource, Petfinder.com.

This year’s Bowl was quite action packed. There were two standout players for me; the pugnacious and rowdy Calvin, a Border Terrier mix who “is a member of Oprah’s Book Club.”

(photo source)

And the speedy CB, a Shih Tzu/Beagle mix who “loves the Sunday crossword puzzle.”

(photo source)

I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought CB is the dog’s bark! He won Most Valuable Puppy as voted by viewers. I made my mom vote, though she didn’t need much persuading.

Anyone else watch the Puppy Bowl? Where there any pups that stood out to anyone?

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