Little Girls Trying to Make a Big Difference

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with two spirited and charming young ladies, Daviana Englander and Emily Larabee, ages 10 and 11 respectively, who have founded Bow-Wow, Inc. for the sole purpose of raising money to for animal shelters.

Daviana and Emily, founders of Bow-Wow, Inc.

I met with the girls to gather clues as to why the started this venture, what their goals are, how they make their goods and how you can support their effort.

Daviana’s (Davi, for short) and Emily’s mothers had met years ago but the girls only became friends around 2008, when they met playing soccer.  From there the girls have clearly grown to be close friends.  (evidenced by goofy behavior that often arises when girls of 10 and 11 get together for an afternoon of interviews and smoothies – giggles, teeth chattering, talk of Guinea pig tutus, et cetera) …read more

No, I’m not being flip with that title…Do You Mind? is the name of a game for people and their dogs!

Photo courtesy of Darf, Inc. – Avalilable for $24.95 – Click to Purchase

Read more to see why this game has been Gift Detective APPROVED!

I first saw the game advertised in a dog magazine and, being the curious sort, I wanted to learn more. Would it be fun or is it just trying to fit into a niche? I knew that Isabelle’s fabulous trainer, Bette Yip, would be the first person I asked about it.

Well, Bette had a game called Funagle, by the same company, …read more

Today is Isabelle’s birthday!!!!

For any of you new to the blog, Isabelle is my Service Dog – 18 pounds of pure delight packaged into a warm, fluffy body that is full of intelligence, sensitivity, kisses, wiggles and wags. She is wonderful and not only is she a great help to me, I also happen to love her a whole hell of a lot!

Because it is Isabelle’s birthday I figured it might be an appropriate time to blog about one of Isabelle’s favorite group of “toys” – agility equipment.

One of Isabelle’s favorite pieces of equipment – the tunnel!

Dog agility is a sport for dogs and their handlers wherein they run an agility course and get judged on accuracy and time. An agility course is like a combination of an obstacle course and a playground for your dog. I …read more