Schnauzer and Schnauzer!

Izzy Miyake.....

2012-01-29T09:15:00.006Z

JD - ".....this is JD - YOUR JD! Since the moment I first saw you my heart was yours - your sweet eyes and most gaw-juss ears made me melt and your sweet nature captivated me totally. I dream of you at night, I think of you during the day and I drive my brother up the wall by talking about you ALL the time!!"

Sweet, sweet Izzy!

Max - "Oh, he does Miss Izzy, he DOES!!"

JD daydreaming of Izzy!

JD - "Max - please! I'm nervous enough without you interrupting me!"

Max - "Sorry bro'!"

JD - "Izzy - as you know The Crossed Paws 'All In The Name of Love' auction goes live tomorrow - we are SO excited about it! There is so much love in the air - lots of auction items are coming in and everyone is showing just how much they care - which is a LOT! It is wonderful!"

Max - "Sure is!"

JD - "MAX!"

Max - "Well, will you PLEASE get to the point JD as you're, like, taking FUR-EVER.....!"

JD - "Okay, okay - but I'm nervous, this isn't easy you know......"

Max - "You're doing great JD! Come on - keep going, just like we practised, you're nearly there...."

JD - "Right! *Cough!* Izzy Miyake - you mean the World to me. So on the eve of The Crossed Paws auction, where we show ALL of Blogville just what love is all about, I would like to say to you....

I want to lie with you in green pastures,
Swim with you in fresh, blue water.
I want to hold you until all times end,
I want to know you forever and be your friend.
Kiss me, love me, my love for you never dies
Like a candle that never goes out,
My love for you burns on and on.
Please say yes as I ask you this,
Sweet Izzy, my soulmate, pure precious dove,
Will you MARRY ME my love?

Quick Auction Update!!

2012-01-23T19:33:00.003Z

Don't forget the Crossed Paws 'All In The Name of Love' auction

30th January to 6th February

For a SNEAK PEAK at all the exciting items that you can bid on

click HERE!!

We need more items to make this a huge success for our friends

The Houston Pittie Pack

and to help sweet Ava have a life of love that she deserves

PLEASE contact us at 'crossed-paws@gmx.com' with your auction items

THANK YOU!!

A very belated Happy New Year!

2012-01-22T21:46:00.004Z

(This post has also been published on the Crossed Paws site!)

Hello everypawdy! We are very sorry that we haven't posted for ages and AGES but 2012 hasn't so much started with a bang for us but with a whimper!

Hello everyone!

Since Christmas we've had our Crossed Paws PayPal account hacked and money stolen - it is now all sorted and thanks to our insurance we've got all the money back but as you can imagine this took quite a lot of time - and we didn't really want to mention anything until it had all been sorted.

Linked to this we also had a virus wreck our Crossed Paws e-mail (AND our personal 'justdogandmax@gmail.com' e-mail) so we've lost all the mails we got after the auction - plus all our contacts! It's been a nightmare (and we feel so rude as we got some lovely pressies from pals overseas for Christmas but we don't know their e-mail to let them know just HOW much we loved them!) So if anyone has mailed us and was wondering why we haven't responded this is the reason. Our mail accounts are now secure so if you DO need to get in touch with us please do so via 'crossed-paws@gmx.com'.

We've also had a bit of palaver at home!! Some bad storms took out some trees and fencing in our garden and we're sure you realise how long these things take to clear up.

Also, poor Max has been very ill - it involved a mad dash to the emergency vet and him being kept in on a drip, having tests and generally being a very unwell boy. He's fine now thankfully but it was all very scary at the time. And then just after that JD needed some dental surgery - he's okay and did very well, but it's been a worrying time all round!

Max being brave with a drip in his leg!

And - probably as a result of the stress of all this - last week our FH came down with shingles - on her FACE (ouch!) She's feeling much better now but still looks a bit hideous, he he he! We're sorry FH, but you DO!!

So, all in all the start of 2012 has been a bit of a faff and this is the reason why we haven't had a chance to post until now. Anyway, things are getting back to normal so - even though it's about a month later than we intended - we want to announce a new auction!

Now, most of you know about the heartbreaking tragedy that our friends The Houston Pittie Pack endured just before Christmas. We were SO proud to be a part of Blogville as we witnessed how everyone came together to help.

So we want to run a new auction with 2 aims which means that the money that we raise will be split in two as follows - firstly, we want to raise some money to add to the donations that have already been pouring in for The Houston Pittie Pack.

And secondly, to honour the memory of sweet Shelby, who sadly lost her life in the tragic fire, we wanted to raise money for another bait dog who so desperately needs help, just as Shelby needed help all those months ago.

So we would like to introduce you to Ava - she was rescued in Chester, SC. This precious little girl, only about 18 months old, was rescued by the wonderful people at Noah's Arks Rescue.

Sweet Ava - victim of cruelty by the hand of man

Poor Ava's face has been shredded to the point that a large part of is completely missing. Her sinus cavities have punctures and her throat is torn. Her entire little body show the ravages of the attacks from the fighting dogs who were being trained to kill another dog. She is emaciated from starvation. Yet through it all, Ava only wants to be loved. She never stops wagging her tail and wanting to show that love, even in the face of the excruciating pain that she is in. This beautiful spirit reminds us so much of our beautiful Shelby. We could not think of a better way to honour her memory than to raise money for Ava. After all, if it wasn't for sweet Shelby, Crossed Paws would not even exist!

So, down to business! We would like to run an 'All In The Name Of Love' auction - because we love The Houston Pittie Pack, we've totally fallen for Ava and we love Blogville! The auction will open on 30th January and will close one week later on 6th February - that way we can also put some romantic items into the auction so that everyone can hopefully get their items in time for Valentines Day!

'All In The Name Of Love' Auction!

So - we need your help! Crossed Paws is only a success because of Blogville! Do you have something you can donate? Can you design a badge for the auction? Can you spread the word about the auction? Do you have any birthdays coming up that you need to buy for - why shop when you can bid?! Everyone can help - and your help makes such a difference!

Let's show The Houston Pittie Pack. how much they mean to us, let's give Ava a chance to live the life she deserves and let's all have some Blogville fun with an auction that is all about love!

If you have any items to donate please e-mail a short description plus a photo to 'crossed-paws@gmx.com' (we promise it is all secure now!) Please also let us know if you're able to design a badge - and can we please ask you to promote this auction as much as you can!

Many thanks everyone - with much love from JD and Max!

The Crossed Paws Chrismtas Auction

2011-11-13T19:09:00.003Z

JD - Hi everyone! We just wanted to check in to let you all know that we're SO excited about the Crossed Paws Christmas Auction that we've published the current auction index to give you all a sneak peek of just what's available at the moment!

We bet you really, really wanna see what's available at the Crossed Paws Christmas Auction - are we right or are we RIGHT?!!

Max - This auction is going to be GREAT! And a huge success! And it's all going to be because of you wonderful blogville pups and kits out there!

JD - Also - don't furget the great raffle - just LOOK at what you could win!

You could be the lucky winner of this great pendant - although it would have YOUR photos etched on as opposed to ours of course!

Max - We bought some tickets for some of our pals! I bought a ticket for the most beautiful security gal in the World, my gorgeous Maisie!

JD - And I bought a ticket for my sweet and beautiful and lovely Izzy!

Max - And we bought a ticket for our US little sisfur Tessa!

JD - And we bought a ticket for our US big schnauzer bro' Oskar!

Max - And finally we just HAD to buy a ticket for our BFF Syd - he'd love to win it for his human!

Introducing our BFF Syd the greyhound - isn't he pawsome? Don't we just make the most handsome trio you've ever seen?!

JD - Please DO go and check out the Auction - it opens for bidding on 19th November so go and have a browse!

Max - And if anyone has any items they'd like to donate just e-mail The Crossed Paws organisation at 'crossed-paws@gmx.com' with a photo, a brief description and the starting price you'd like the bidding to start at!

JD - Thanks everyone - woof soon!!

Long time no woof.......

2011-11-08T21:19:00.006Z

HELLO!!!

We're still here!

How YOU all doing?! As the title says - long time, no woof!

OMD - we miss blogging and we miss our pals - we sure hope you haven't forgotten all about us!

We hope to be back to blogging properly soon - this is just a little 'teaser' to say 'hi' and to pass on a very, VERY impawtant message....

....about the 're-launch' of Crossed Paws!

It's very exciting stuff - there's going to be a Christmas Auction and there's a fabulous re-launch raffle!!

But we need your help to ensure that Crossed Paws continues to be the success it has been up to now and to ensure that pups ad kits in need continue to get the help they deserve.

So please DO go and check it all out right HERE - right NOW!! And please spread the word and share the link to the new site!

And we'll be back at 'Schnauzer and Schnauzer' with a full post before Christmas!

Woof soon!

In the meantime - JD just wanted to declare that he's TOTALLY in love with Izzy!!

Apologies for our absence....

2011-06-18T11:00:00.006+01:00

Hi everyone! We're sorry we haven't been around for ages - we've got some 'stuff' going on here that the humans need to work through which means no time for blogging so we won't be around for a while, although we DO hope to be back by the fall. The humans are fine and we're fine - it's just that human 'stuff' can be quite tiresome and time-consuming - sigh!!!

What do you think of our pawmanship?!

In the meantime we are still proud members of blogville's Crossed Paws organisation and have been a part of this weekend's amazing 'Picnic in the Park' - please check out the dunk tanks and sack race here and offer your support to this amazing event!!

So in the meantime, (as Arnie used to say!) - 'we'll be back!'
(If you really, REALLY miss us please 'like' our 'schnauzer and schnauzer' page on Facebook as FH updates it regularly - she's able to do this during our walks on her smartphone, although we admit it's not the same as having our own blog!)

The BEST day EVER!!

2011-04-23T19:33:00.006+01:00

JD - Hello everypup! We've had just the BEST day!

Max - We're absolutely exhausted now, but we just HAD to show you some snaps of us at Ronnii's barkday pawty!

JD - We could feel Angel Richie and Molly watching over us, there was so much love in the house!

Max - We were really lucky that the roads were so clear as it only took us about 2 hours to get there which was fortunate as today has been SOOOOO hot in the UK!

JD - We've never been on such a long car journey before and it was very exciting - there was so much to see that we refused to sleep!

Max - And then we were there - at Mama Tea's house!

JD - After FH and Mama Tea had hugged and hugged for what seemed like furever (he he he!) we finally got to meet the most gorgeous Miss Ronnii.....

Beautiful Miss Ronnii, proudly hugging her popster! She wanted us to know that he's HER popster and she would have no popster-hogging in her house - tee-hee! We think the popster is amazing - he's the ONLY person we've ever met who knew the origin of JD's name - how COOL is that?!

Max - She was most gracious about having a couple of nosey boys in her house!

JD - She followed us around to make sure we knew where everything was - she showed us her garden but it was a bit too hot out there so we all came back inside.

Max - FH was delighted because when she crouched down to get something out of her bag little Miss Ronnii snuggled up against her legs!

Miss Ronnii is the master of the snuggle! FH thinks she is adorable - well, she IS!

JD - We were so hot and I was starting to pant a bit so Mama Tea whipped out some super-delicious frozen yoghurt and peanut butter noms for us - OMD it was so GOOD!

JD nommed his frozen treat on the couch - he absolutely LOVED it!

Max slurped his frozen treat on the floor - he dragged it out of the bowl and licked it all across the floor but Mama Tea and the popster were very kind and didn't mind!!

Miss Ronnii tried to bury her treat on the couch - FH thinks she's really smart as FH likes to hide her favourite treats too, he he he!

Max finished his treat first and kindly offered to help JD eat his - it's what brothers are for!

Max - The treats were absolute HEAVEN! We've never had anything like that before so we've told FH in no uncertain terms that this is the type of treat we'll be expecting from now on!

JD - Then it was time for a little posing for photos! We LOVE this photo as we're all in it with the two mamas! Just LOOK how much I'm smiling as I've got the PRIME spot on the sofa and I'm enjoying ear scritches from BOTH the mamas! Am I a smart pup or what?!

Say 'cheese'! JD looks VERY pleased with himself!

Max - As I was in the mood for posing I did a little photo shoot of my own and 'worked it' for the camera....

Am I a handsome pup or what?! He he he!

JD - I was very tired - I'd woken up at 5.00 am because I was SO excited about the visit today and I hadn't slept since I'd got up so I remained curled up looking cute on the sofa....

Cute puppy alert!

JD - ....and my cute 'act' sure worked on the popster, who couldn't resist coming over and giving me a bit of a fussing....

JD had the popster wrapped round his little paw, he he he!

JD - ....and even Miss Ronnii wanted in! She hopped up on the couch and gave me a little snuggle!

Max - I was snoopervising the whole time and I'd just like to reassure Mr Pip that this next photo was just a photo opportunity for the blog!

A bit of a snuggle between Ronnii and JD - just for the cameras though, Mr Pip has nothing to worry about!!

Max - It was too much for me - I wanted in on the photo TOO!!

Max hams it up for the camera! They both loved all their fussing from the popster!

JD - And then - it was time for CAKE!

Max - And OH!! WHAT a cake!!

Miss Ronnii's most pawsome barkday cake!

JD - We had never seen anything like it before - and when we were offered a slice it didn't take us long to tuck right in....

"Nom, nom, nom......!"

Max - All too soon we had to leave. The whole visit was wonderful and we had SO much fun!

JD - We simply collapsed into the car and snored the whole way home! What a fabulous day!

Max - We can't thank Moma Tea and the popster and sweet Ronnii enough! They made us all feel so welcome....

JD - ...and FH says thank you VERY much for the yummy human noms. She sure polished off that chili sweetcorn and chocolate eclair very quick, he he he!

Max - We can't wait to visit again, it was great!

JD - Before we leave just a reminder to leave a comment on our 'commentathon' post below if you haven't already - thank you!

A story of friendship and love and the power of the paw

2011-04-19T20:16:00.011+01:00

There was a full moon on the night of Monday the 18th April but at first we didn't notice it because we were both feeling very sad. Our good friend Richie had gone to be with his sister Angel Molly at the Rainbow Bridge and we were both missing him like MAD.

Cute Richie and his teddy - we miss you little guy!

FH had been trying to cheer us up and had just given us a special treat of a really nommy biccie but our hearts just weren't in it.

"We're sorry FH but we're just not hungry." we told her.

"What are you on about?" she said. "You've just eaten your biscuit!"

"No we have NOT!" we exclaimed indignantly.

"But it's not there any more." she pointed out. And you know what - she was right. We were perplexed. Perhaps FH had dropped it? We knew that WE hadn't nommed it - so we set about looking for it.

Suddenly, we heard a happy crunching sound complete with muffled giggling coming from the garden so we rushed outside to investigate and there, in the silvery light of the moon, we saw Richie and Molly munching our biccie with obvious relish!

We love the moonlight as we know it is magical!

"JD! Max!" woofed Richie wagging his tail excitedly. "Boy, are we glad to see you guys!"

"Tasty nommy!" interjected Molly, who looked absolutely beautiful in the pale moonlight, "I've always been partial to a really crunchy nom!"

"But, but, but.....!" we spluttered.

"Hey, I know, I know, it's a bit of a surprise!" said Richie, skipping around joyfully (his legs really were strong and springy!) "But we just HAD to visit you guys to tell you that I'm okay. You see, I did try so hard to hold out for the barkday pawty on the weekend but you know, when the call comes from the Bridge it's just too sweet for any pup to ignore."

"He's right." said Angel Molly. "I've been waiting for some time now for Richie to join me here and today was his time. Oh JD and Max! It's so wonderful here! There's no pain or sickness and LOTS of our pals are here. We run and we play and we never get tired and we all watch over those we love - we're never far from your sides."

Our tails were now wagging furiously.

"But we miss you so much here!" we exclaimed. "Did you really have to leave us?"

Richie and Molly looked at each other when we said this. "Oh boys!" Molly said softly, "You're both so young and we know you find it difficult to understand, but it's the circle of life."

"That's right!" said Richie. "We were lucky enough to share our lives with the most amazing momster and popster when we were down here and they looked after us and showed us what it is to live and to love. But sometimes a pup just has to leave - it's just the way it is."

When the Rainbow Bridge calls its beautiful siren song is impossible to ignore

Our tails had stopped wagging so Angel Molly said, "Please don't be sad boys! Just look at us! Look how healthy and happy we are! We'll always be watching over you. And - um - if you don't mind leaving out one of those delectable biccies from time to time too we'd really appreciate it!"

By now the patch of moonlight on the grass was starting to wane. "That's our ride!" said Richie, "We have to be leaving you now boys, but before we go we have a special message for you."

"That's right!" said beautiful Molly. "We wanted to tell you how amazing Crossed Paws have been. You have done so much for our wonderful momster - she had been so stressed about the vet bills and how she was going to afford them - I could feel her worrying all the way at the Bridge and it was awful just knowing she was so upset!"

"But then Crossed Paws stepped in to paid the vet bills." continued Richie, "which meant that my last few weeks were pain-free because I was able to be treated. And it meant that our Momster didn't have to stress any more about us because our wonderful vet could be paid. After all, what would any of us be without our vets?!"

They were now skipping up the stream of moonlight as they made their way back to the Rainbow Bridge.

"Please continue the good work at Crossed Paws!" they both shouted to us! "It made all the difference to us and we know you can make a huge difference to lots of other pups and kits!"

And with that they were gone!

Well! We looked at each other in disbelief. "That DID just happen, didn't it?" we asked. But the evidence was there in front of us - the biccie crumbs!

As we made our way into the house we started discussing what we could do next for the Crossed Paws organisation.

"Hi boys!" said FH suddenly appearing in front of us. "Hey, do you want to put this photo on your blog?" We looked at what she was waving in front of our faces - a photo of two extremely British cushions and a very British doggie toy!

A couple of cushions - for you or your humans - plus a doggie toy (stuffie union jack heart with rope) could by YOURS!

"Eh?" we asked.

"Well, it's the Royal Wedding next week!" she exclaimed. "I thought you could run a competition on your blog with these as the prize!"

"Ooooh!" we said excitedly! "What's the competition?"

"Well," said FH, "it's simple really. All anyone has to do is leave a comment on this post and if they do they'll be entered into a prize draw for these items. And for every comment left I'll donate £1 to the Crossed Paws fund - up to a total of £200! What do you say?"

We looked at each other and our tails started wagging furiously. We knew that Richie and Molly would approve! "We like, we like!" we said!

So everyone - that is what we are doing! Please help us to raise £200.00 for the Crossed Paws organisation. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you COULD even end up with a prize by doing so! We'd love it if you could also spread the word - we're not sure if we can get 200 comments on one of our posts but we're gonna give it a go - we have until 29th April to achieve this as we'll draw the winner on the actual day of the Royal Wedding. So please help us help carry on some good works at Crossed Paws by dropping us a comment - easy-peasy!

Back home!

2011-04-16T09:12:00.003+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! We're all back from our holidays now!

Max - We had a GREAT time at the kennels! Unfortunately, the humans didn't have such a great time in Egypt.....

JD - It started off well apparently, but then they both got violently ill and spent the last 4 days in the bathroom - bleugh!

Max - FH said to us that next time THEY'RE gonna go to the kennels and we can go off travelling instead, he he he!

We're fine - shame we can't say the same for the humans!

JD - They're only just back on their feet, it really did knock them sideways and apparently the journey home was - erm - challenging to say the least!

Max - FH says she has LOTS of people and pups to contact as we had lots of amazing goodies arrive whilst we were all away. She apologies for being so behind and she'll be in touch with all you wonderful folks very, very soon - it's just that she's found it difficult to even get out of bed so just hasn't been able to manage it before now!

JD - But we'd just like to say that WE'RE fine and we had a BLAST at the kennels! And we're terribly excited as we're now counting down to next Saturday when we get to meet Richie and Ronnii IN THE FUR!!!

FH speaking! (Now with photos!)

2011-04-08T19:10:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone - FH here! Greetings from Egypt!

Now, I didn't want to take over the boys blog with my holiday witterings so this quick post is to say that if anyone wants to read about my trip to Luxor you can do so by clicking on the photo of me and my boy Ramses below! (I finally got the photo uploads sorted!)

We're having a very relaxing time although I'm missing the boys a bit. They did their usual of running off without a backward glance the second they got to the kennels - in fact, the moment we turned into the road where the kennels are they were trying to get out of the car they were that excited! But I'm pleased they're like this otherwise I'd have a dreadful time every time we went away worrying about them! Mind you, I AM counting down the days to my next schnauzer snuggle, he he he!

Out of office

2011-04-03T09:03:00.004+01:00

JD - We're off to the kennels in about an hour - woo hoo!

Max - The humans are off to Egypt again and we've told them that Egypt is a bit too hot for us so we asked if we could holiday at our favourite kennels instead!

JD - FH finds it very hard when we go into the kennels as she misses us so much. She stands there trying to act all brave, but we're SO excited about being there....

Max - ....as we get three walks a day, hand delivered treats every night at lights out and morning and afternoon play dates with the pretty kennel girls.....

JD - .....that we simply dash in without a backward glance the second we get there. Um, sorry FH, it's just such a fun place to be!

Max - Yeah - and wouldn't it be worse if we didn't want to go in?!

"See you soon!"

JD - We'll see you all when we're back from our holidays!

Max - Take care everyone - we'll woof soon....!!

Beach Bouncers!

2011-03-29T20:25:00.004+01:00

JD - It got a bit wet here over the weekend so FH insisted on us wearing our raincoats - sigh...!

Max - But she does say we look like security pups when we wear them which I like, he he he!

JD - Halt! Who goes there? You want entry to this beach?
Max - So what's the password? We don't let anyone though without a password!!

JD - Hey, in case you didn't realise we were lucky enough to have the winning bid at Richie and Ronnii's auction for Khyra's pawsome Khanine Rescue Transport!

Max - We were SO excited! Click here to check out the amazing post her mom did about it and to see the wonderful pups that were rescued and are now on their way to a brighter and happier future!

JD - Thanks Khyra and your mom - the World is a better place because you are both in it!

Security breach!

2011-03-25T07:38:00.004Z

Can you see why we're super excited? Biggify the picture to find out...

Happy Birthday FH!

2011-03-23T07:40:00.004Z

JD - Today is FH's birthday - she is 294 years old - good grief!

Max - We suppose she looks okay on it but we're just glad that WE'RE only in our early twenties, he he he!

JD - Anyway, because it's FH's birthday we especially wanted to thank her for all the great snuggles she gives us....

Max - ....and thank her for all fabulous walks she takes us on every single day.....

JD - ....and thank her for all the love that she shares with us! She says that her life is wonderful with us around but we just wanted to tell her that we love her too!

Max - Yeah - she's our favourite FH in our household!

JD - MAX!!!

Max - Oh alright then - she's our favourite FH in the whole world, he he he!!

UPDATED!! - Let's ROCK with PAWSBANG at the Kissing Booth Closure Pawty!!

2011-03-21T08:05:00.001Z

JD - Hi everyone! The kissing booths are now officially closed with 371 smackers being purchased - wowwww!!

Max - Everyone was smooched several times but we'd like to announce that KING of the Kissing Booth was Levi Mac notching up 42 smackers - way to go dude!!

JD - As we paw this Pawsbang are playing a live gig for us to celebrate the kissing booth sucess - please join in the fun with everyone below. Um - Morgan? Would you care to dance.....?!

Max - For more pawty fun pop over to Pepsi's blog and carry on the celebrations there!!

UPDATE!! - Hi everyone! A quick update!! As PAWSBANG are obviously SO popular they now have their very OWN SITE so dedicated fans can follow them!! Click here for more exclusive pictures of the pawsome Kissing Booth Gig - and to meet the band!!!

Let the PAWTY begin!!

2011-03-19T12:58:00.008Z

JD - Hi everyone! We're kicking off a weekend of celebrations for Blogville's Crossed Paws Organisation to officially mark the end of a very successful fundraising event for Richie and Ronnii!

We're proud, proud, PROUD members of Frankie's cabinet! Our aim is to help out - one paw at a time!

Max - It's been a JOY to be a part of the fundraising, which has consisted of a prize door banquet raffle which raised $400.00....

JD - .....an amazing auction which raised $1,715.75 - please check to see if you're lucky enough to be a winning bidder as PayPal buttons have now been set up against each of the 76 items donated....

Max - ....and the kissing booths which will close tomorrow at midday GMT and which have so far raised a whopping $361.00!!

JD - Please note that the bake sale is an on-going fundraising project for pups and kitties in need so we are not including the totals in this event.

Max - Thank you to everyone who has donated recipes - we haven't had a chance to concentrate on this much because of the auction and the kissing booths but we plan on working in pawtnership with Oskar from PBU to run this site as well as a pet recipe cook book to raise money for pets in need so watch this space!! So if your recipe hasn't appeared on the site yet please bear with us - they will soon!

PBU - a pawsome site for pet bloggers!

JD - So, the grand total raised so far, including donations from some wonderful people out there (who wished to remain anonymous but you know who you are!) is....

Max - ....and this is truly stupendous!!!!....

JD - ......$2,501.75 - wow, wow, WOW!!

Max - So here's the 'finance bit'!! To ensure everyone is aware of what happens to all funds raised by Crossed Paws here is what will be happening with the money that you have so kindly pledged....

JD - Firstly, as we are using PayPal to collect all the funds we do need to remind everyone that 10% of everything donated is kept by PayPal - sigh! But as Frankie wisely said 'to make money sometimes you have to spend money' and PayPal is the most reliable way for us at Crossed Paws to collect funds.

Max - That does mean that our useable total raised is $2,251.58 - but we still say WOW!!!

JD - Now, the outstanding vet bills for Richie is $1,320.00 which means we can pay this off - YAY!!

Richie is ready to pawty, pawty, PAWTY!!

Max - This still leaves a whopping $931.58 raised for Richie and Ronnii! As you all know these two cute furballs have known health issues so we wanted to raise extra monies to hand (or should that be 'paw'?!) over to their vet to ensure mama Tea doesn't have to worry about the future.

Ronnii is catching up on some zzzzZZZs ready for the pawtying ahead!

JD - However, mama Tea is so kind and generous and knows that there are other pets in need out there. So she would like to pledge $425.00 of the monies raised to Miss Judy which she so desperately needs at the moment to help with her kitties - and hey, we're not speciest, he he he!

Max - Which would STILL leave mama Tea's vet with AT LEAST $506.58 in reserve. (We say 'at least' because of potential donations that could still come in!) This means we've helped mama Tea, her furbabies AND many kitties - wonderful! We sure do hope you're happy with how these funds are being used.

JD - So - onto the celebrations! Yeah!!

Max - We now officially declare the auction closed! So we ask those of you who have winning bids to use the PayPal buttons that have been set up against your item to pay - this makes it easier for us to keep track of your details to enable your item to reach you quicker!

JD - As a HUGE thank-you to everyone who has taken part in this event - which will be those who bought tickets for the raffle, those who donated items to the auction, those who had winning bids at the auction, those who were in the kissing booths and those who purchased smoochies from the kissing booths - we will be running a prize draw.

Max - The name of one lucky pup or kit will be drawn - by our very own Richie and Ronnii! - and will win a tag of their choice from Sugar's Paw House, which has been donated by the beautiful and huge-hearted Sugar!

One lucky pup or kit could soon be the lucky owner of one of these pawsome tags! (Click on the piccie above to find out more about the very talented Sugar's Paw House)

JD - We will be sending a list of names through to Richie and Ronnii and they will make the draw next weekend!

Max - Tomorrow we will be closing the kissing booths and to mark this occasion the hugely talented PAWSBANG will be playing live so please DO drop by for this pawsome gig!

PAWSBANG will be playing out the official closing of the kissing booths JUST for you - make sure you don't miss them!

JD - We LOVED the kissing booths - what an amazing idea that was of Frankie's! And to think that smoochies are STILL coming in - what a hot blooded lot you all are out there, tee hee!

Max - Oh gosh yes, that was a GOOD afternoon! We visited ALL the ladies for a super-smooch - well, it WAS all for a good cause, tee hee!

JD - I visited Morgan for smoochies twice - *blush!*

We crash out after a WONDERFUL afternoon at the kissing booths!

Max - And I visited Christmas and the Girls AND Minnie twice - *wistful sigh.....!*

JD - In total Blogville has notched up three hundred and sixty one smoochies - hubba hubba!! Well, it IS almost spring we suppose, he he he!

Max - Please DO swing by tomorrow for the kissing booth party - we can't wait to boogie along to PAWSBANG, he he he!

Excuse me.....

2011-03-14T21:08:00.004Z

...... but I think you'll find that this is my tummy.......

Max patiently tries to train the humans in the skillful art of tummy tickling!

.....and it's available for tickling IF it's not too much trouble!!

The Great Blogville Bake Sale!

2011-03-07T08:04:00.004Z

Max - Hi everyone! Now, have any of you noticed that my brother is - erm, how can I put this politely?! - FREAKISHLY large for a miniature schnauzer?

JD and Max - or as FH now calls them, the Little and Large show!

JD - Well, if that was the POLITE version I'd hate to know what you'd have said if you HADN'T held back bro'!

Max - Sigh - I'm just a bit envious JD! Is there anything I can do to grow as big and tall and strong as you?

JD - There sure is Max! You can visit Blogville's great Bake Sale and buy yourself some healthy and nommy recipes for seriously yummy nommies that will surely build you up!

Max - Oooh, sounds like a plan JD! How do I do this?

JD - You simply click on the picture below and the rest is easy. Each recipe is the bargain price of just $1.00 and all the proceeds go directly to the 'Crossed Paws Organisation' that is being run by Frankie's cabinet to help pups and kitties in need. And what's more, if you donate a recipe then we'll include a link to your blog in each one that is published - full (and easy!) instructions are on the site below!

Max - That's brilliant JD! I'm heading over there RIGHT now! See you there everyone.....!

The power of Blogville!

2011-03-02T08:01:00.004Z

JD - Hi everyone - firstly an apology! The last post we did we promised to return in the evening to update everyone on the auction site for Mamma Tea and her furbabies as well as some of the other pawsome ideas that have been put into action to raise funds....

Max - .....but then we never came back! We're really sorry about this but the reason is you lot out there, he he he! We have been so inundated by items coming in for the auction that we've been totally knocked off our paws!!

JD - Yup - we're really sorry for not giving you any links or anything but we've been concentrating on the auction site - which you can find here!

Please copy this picture to your sidebar and link to the auction - thank you!

Max - Thank you everyone for your kindness in offering such amazing items (and they are all really AMAZING!) and for your generosity in bidding.

JD - Please keep those auction items coming in and please keep those bids rolling in - this is so much fun! If we don't get round to sending you a response e-mail for a few days or listing your items for a few days please bear with us! FH does insist on going out to work - sigh! - and there's so much stuff coming in that we're actually getting a bit behind!

Max - But because of this we advise you to check the auction site daily for exciting new items! Thank you everyone, thank you - we really can't say that enough!

JD - We're also going to be running an on-line bake sale - yummy yummy! - and we need your help for this! Please send favourite recipe to 'pawsofpeaceATgooglemailDOTcom' along with a photo of yourself that you don't mind us using on the blog (preferably one of you nomming the treats!)

Thank you everyone!

Max - We're setting up a special recipe page where we'll post your photo and title of your recipe and from there lucky pups WORLDWIDE can can buy a recipe for the bargain price of $1.00 each. Purchase of these items will be by PayPal.

JD - Frankie, Puddles, Minna Krebbs, The Slimmer Pugs and Mr Pip have also come up with the PAWSOME idea of a kissing both - va va voom!!

Max - Please click here for details of how you can take part - please do, we've been dreaming of certain lady doggies and oohhh, what we wouldn't give for a smooch from you!

JD - The kissing booth will work the same way as the bake sale - a special page is under construction as we type! - and you simply choose who you want to smooch, pay the BARGAIN price of $1.00 via the PayPal button thing and 'M'WAH!' - a great big smacker will be coming your way!!

Max - So what are you waiting for! Get those auction items in, get those kissable face photos in and get those recipes in!

JD - Thank you ALL. We are SO PROUD to be joint holders of the 'Help and Humane Services' with the pawsome Slimmer Pugs in Frankie's cabinet!

Max - We sure are bro'. Blogville is making a difference and that fills us with great joy!

We're BAAAACKKKKK!!!

2011-02-24T07:55:00.004Z

JD - Hi everyone - have you missed us?

Max - Gosh, we've missed you all!! We've been visiting blogs as you know but there's nothing like having your own place to woof about life = don't you think?!

"Hello peeps!"

JD - FH sorta kinda tried to refrain from blogging but you know what - there are pups and kits out there who need our help so we're shrugging off all previous negative comments and we're gonna concentrate on those who NEED us....

Max - ..so here we are as we just couldn't keep quiet any longer! We're back - and with a bang as the most pawsome Richie and Ronniee need our help!

JD - They sure do! The Little Dog Rescue is struggling to pay their vet bills and poor Richie was denied treatment when he needed it last week!

Max - Now, we just can't have that! So we're coming together with Frankie Furter, The Slimmer Pugs, Mr Pip and Puddles to host an auction as well as a whole load of other fun fundraising events! It's gonna be pawsome and it means we'll be able to pay the vet - after all, where would we ALL be without our vets?!

Just a photo of us running - no real reason why!!

JD - We'll be adding to the end of the blog post tonight with actual details of these events - FH has to 'go to work' so doesn't have time to do it right now - such a feeble excuse!

Max - Yup - pathetic FH, pathetic!

JD - So please do check back later for details and start to think of items you could donate to the auction or of any fundraising events we could hold! We'll be back again soon.....

Sorry! We're having serious Blogger issues & can't publish posts or even our poll! We'll open votes to name the venture below as SOON as we can!

2011-01-23T10:46:00.007Z

An exciting new project - please help!

2011-01-12T20:29:00.005Z

JD - Hi everyone - we're currently working on a new project and we'd like your help!

Max - A while back we mentioned to Frankie and The Slimmer Pugs that we were thinking of setting up a site dedicated to hosting auctions for pups or kitties in need and we're now ready to start doing it!

JD - We're gonna set it up in WordPress as FH found a neat little app that should allow us to host the auctions more professionally and more easily than we have been doing in Blogger (well, it will do once FH figures out how to use WordPress and the app - he he he!)

We need to give FH a chance to get used to WordPress - humans aren't the brightest species after all, he he he!

Max - But before we set everything up we'd like everyone to help us choose a name for the site - we can't set it up without a good and appropriate name!

JD - We also want to use this site for raffles, for uplifting stories (such as Shelby!) and possibly even to request help for transport runs and to help find lost dogs/kitties and foster homes - we need to see how it all comes together.

Max - So please consider these things when thinking about a name for this site. Our FH is not very imaginative and could only think of 'Power of Paw Auctions' or POPA for short, so this is where you come in!

We'd love this project to become a 'coast to coast' thing with pups and kits from all around the world coming together to help those who need it! So here's us on one coast waiting for other coasts to gear up for it!

JD - What we need all you good pups and kits of Blogville to do is to suggest a name for the site in the comments section of this post by 21st January and we will then put your suggestions up for everyone to vote on over the weekend of 22/23rd January - the popular vote gets it!

Max - We plan to have the site up and running by end February (this will give FH a few weeks to work on it) and our current plan is to host a fun 'launch' for it over the last weekend in February with a competition, a raffle and a few guest bloggers providing us with some inspirational stories.

JD - We aim for our first auction to be an Easter one - who the auctions will be for will be deccided upon by all you pups and kits of Blogville - this really will be a community effort!

We're very excited about this - we hope you are too!

Max - So get your thinking caps on everyone and start leaving those name suggestions now!

Our tribute to cinnamon swirls!

2011-01-09T18:07:00.009Z

JD - This is a VERY important post in which we're going to talk about something that is very close to our hearts....

Max - ....and that thing is cinnamon swirls! We think that cinnamon swirls are the BEST thing in the ENTIRE world! They're delicious, they're delightful, they're sweet and gorgeous....

JD - ....and we ALWAYS want to have cinnamon swirls in our life! Let us show you a cinnamon swirl right now....

A delicious, nibble-able cinnamon swirl!

Max - What's that? Oh - you thought we meant one of THESE cinnamon swirls?

Another type of delicious, nibble-able cinnamon swirl!

JD - Well, we suppose it's an easy mistake to make. But to us cinnamon swirls can only mean ONE thing and that's our great pals George, Gracie, Lily, Toby and Mimi from The Slimmer Pugs!

Max - These five puggies are just the sweetest and so we can't help referring to them as our little cinnamon butts as their cute little tails look JUST like yummy cinnamon swirls! We love them to pieces and are over the moon every day that they're our furiends!

Five sweet treats all in one place!

JD - So let us tell you why we think they're soooo great!

Max - Firstly, they are just the kindest set of pups and peeps EVER! Shelby's auction and Blueberry's auction would not have been possible without them and they also helped us promote the raffle we ran for Shelby. So they've helped raise over $3,000 for pups in need AND we know they've also been involved in OTHER auctions too. They are so kind both with their time AND with green papers.

JD - Secondly, they've all spoiled our FH absolutely ROTTEN and anyone and anypup who makes our FH smile makes US happy! After Shelby's auction closed they sent FH a treat package which had some of these goodies in it....

A beautiful angel candle holder - FH adores it! It came with lots of sweet smelling candles - yummy!

A pawsome draft proof candle holder - also with a variety of candles!

JD - ....and when FH placed a bid in another auction not only did they send her the item that she had bid on that they had donated (which was a STUNNING piece of jewellery which FH wears every single day now!) they also sent her even MORE goodies such as....

A seasonal snowman candle snuffer - we bet Frankie would LOVE this!!

A beautiful hand-made mat - this is Max modelling it!!

A pawsome candle trio-set that even matches our kitchen colour scheme (note the mat in the background with FH's model of a dalek on it!!)

Max - Thirdly, they have worked in cahoots with us during the auctions to help us surprise some of our pals! They are great at keeping a secret and were just amazing at taking the time to pass on our messages when they packaged and posted the wonderful items they had donated to the auctions - we just can't thank them enough for this!

JD - And finally, they are simply ADORABLE!! So sweet, so cute - oooh, we just to crawl into the screen and snuggle and snuggle them all!!

Max - If you don't know The Slimmer Pugs then please do swing by to say hi as they are one of the shining lights of blog World and we feel happy every single day that they are our furiends!

JD - We sure do - Slimmer Pugs - we LOVE you!!

Slimmer Pugs - 'mwah, mwah' to you ALL!

FH - Yes, we DO!!

Bend it like - er - Max!

2011-01-06T20:19:00.007Z

JD - Er, Max?

Max - Whassup bro'?

JD - Um, well - are you comfortable? You don't have a crick in your neck or something do you?

Max - I'm VERY comfy thanks JD! Why do you ask?

JD - Oh - er - no reason Max, no reason......!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-03T19:55:00.000Z

JD - We've been meaning to do this post for a few days now...

Max - ....but FH went and got something called 'flew' and O-M-D the FUSS she's been making!

JD - We'd have thought she would like having this 'flew' thing and would enjoy being able to float around and fly here and there, but ALL she's been doing is moaning and whinging and lying in bed - she's SO lazy!

Max - So we've been having fun with MH - all boys together! He's been taking us on our daily walkies and has been giving us our food and has been really generous with our treats....

JD - ....and now we're starting to wonder what it is that we actually need FH for - he he he!

JD gives one of his new Christmas stuffies a piggy back ride!

Max - But now we know! FH is getting better and is now out of bed and now WE'RE poorly with very bad tummies! Me especially - I've been barfing for a whole day now....bleurgh!

JD - Well, I'VE been a bit icky too - bleurgh!

Max - So now we're glad we've got FH back in action as, you know, she's REALLY good at clearing up after us, much better than MH apparently - well, according to us and MH anyway!

JD - So you see FH, we really HAVE missed you and we think we did well to hold off being poorly ourselves until you were well enough to take care of us - we're good like that!

Max - Anyway, we're finally going to show you a video of us opening the Christmas pressie that we got from FH and MH - we apologise in advance for FH's constant squeaking during it!

JD - And yes, you DID notice correctly that our pressie was wrapped in newspaper! We so enjoy tearing the wrappings off a gift that FH and MH now just wrap the majority of our pressies in newspaper - they claim they're saving the planet....

Max - ....but we know they're just tight, he he he!

JD - But regardless of our stingy humans we LOVE our new giant octopus - he's fab and REAL fun and VERY noisy. FH didn't realise quite HOW noisy he was when she got him for us - ha!

We show off Olly - he is totally COOL!

Max - However, even our fabulous new giant stuffie wasn't our main Christmas pressie!

JD - We're still so excited that we can hardly begin to tell you what it was that we got for Christmas!

Max - You see, our gift was the culmination of 2 years hard graft!

JD - Yes indeedy! After 2 years of living with our humans, of training them on a daily basis, of constant tutoring and patient guidance we have finally - FINALLY - got our humans well behaved enough to allow them to sleep in the same room as us!

Max - This is something we've been wanting to do since we first arrived here on the 19th December 2008, but we knew that the humans were FAR from ready!

JD - It has been a labour of love but they finally got there - we never lost hope!

FH - I'd just like to say that I've wanted the boys to sleep in the same room as us for a while but it's taken us a long time to get the house suitable as well as getting the boys comfortable enough with it. JD likes to sleep in his bed by the side of our bed - I now often wake up to JD staring at me - he's a good boy and waits for permission to hop up on the bed for a cuddle. Max likes to sleep at the foot of the bed draped across any convenient foot, which is especially nice at this cold time of year! Before they were allowed in the bedroom I'd been getting up at 5.30 am every single day as they used to make such a racket at that time . I now realise I have a couple of dogs who are very happy to sleep in and on Christmas Day I was treated to a lie-in until 8.00 am which was absolutely wonderful! So I'm pretty over the moon about this situation too!

Max - Okay FH, enough of the 'blah blah' - this is OUR blog we think you'll find!

No real reason for this photo except that FH really likes it - and we think our tails look pretty nifty too!

JD - We hope that everyone had a happy new year! Unfortunately FH was too poorly to enjoy it and says that we're going to celebrate next weekend instead!

Max - We think that means she's going to open some bubbly and wear something other than sweats with dog-slobber on....

JD - ....which means she'll expect us to be on our best behaviour - sigh!!

Images (and a few words!) of Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T18:28:00.006Z

JD - Hi all - we hope you've had as fun a Christmas as we have!

Max - Here are some snaps of what we've been up to over the past few days....

All shook up! A new Elvis squeaky chicken from our blog sweetheart Sasha!

Plus a cool squeaky Roo - he's a tough little fella and has resisted our chewing thus far!

December 2010 has been the coldest in the UK since records began in 1910! We wanted a drink from a water trough whilst out on our Christmas Eve walk and FH managed to heave the top lump of ice off it for us to have a slurp from the cool, unfrozen stuff underneath. Here's JD posing with the ice!

Max ambles alongside the frozen river!

JD totally freaks FH out by walking on the frozen river - she was squawking and shrieking at him to 'get off NOW!' (The odd box thing you can see in the river is a hide for otters - don't forget, we walk at a nature reserve!)

Our advent calendars!

Us waiting for a nom from our advent calendars!

We open a Christmas pressie - ripping the paper off is great fun!

FH tortures us by making us wait to open a pressie from our great pal Syd, a rescue greyhound!

The torture continues as FH makes us pose with our fab new stuffies from Syd!

At last - let the playing commence!

Beach sunrise, Boxing Day morning

A well earned rest after so much excitement!

JD - And we haven't even showed you what MH and FH got us yet - can you guess what we got?!

Max - We can't wait to show you - it's JUST what we wanted!

Winners of Shelby's Christmas Raffle!

2010-12-11T21:18:00.004Z

JD - Hi everyone! The humans are back from London and we're back from the kennels so we can FINALLY do a post about Shelby's Christmas raffle!

Max - We're sorry it's a bit late - the draw WAS supposed to be last weekend but had to be put off until the 8th because of the bad weather we've had in the UK.

JD - And then as soon as the draw happened the humans went to London and we went to the kennels - it was all a bit up-in-the-air we're afraid! So we mailed the winners to Mona so that she could get the word out about who the lucky winners are.

Max - But, without further ado, here - at last! - is the photo edition of Shelby's Christmas raffle!

JD - On Thursday morning FH wrote down the names of everyone who had entered together with who had purchased the tickets - she wishes she had printed it out as it took her nearly 2 hours to do this, he he he!

Max - We then chose a box for her to put all the tickets into....

We thought this was a most suitable container to hold the tickets!

Just LOOK at all those tickets!! Thank you so much everyone who purchased a ticket!

JD - As quite a few of the prizes have been supplied by Lily's human Jo we asked Jo if she'd draw the 4 winning tickets and were delighted when she said yes!

Our beautiful and generous GSD pal Lily - isn't she just gorgeous?!

Max - We LOVE Jo - she makes such a fuss of us and gives us treats and cuddles and tells us we're good boys and handsome boys - sigh! She's our most favourite human in the whole wide World!

FH - Um, Max?

Max - Oh, er, yeah - I meant our most favourite AFTER you and MH - ahem.....

JD - Nicely backpawed there Max! Anyway, Jo is great! She doesn't blog so we also figured she'd also be a really 'impawtial' person to carry out the prize draw!

We sit like good boys for Jo and get a yummy treat as a reward!

Max - "Jo, Jo! You love ME the most don't you?! I'm sure you're giving ME the biggest cuddle!"
JD - "Nice try Max, but just look how well I fit into Jo's side and look how tightly she's holding me - I'm OBVIOUSLY her favourite!"

Max - After all the obligatory cuddles and smoochies with Jo we waited patiently whilst she drew out the 4 prizewinners!

JD - We gave the box a huge shake between each draw - and these were the tickets that came out.....

1st place winner - Trixie and Minnie with a ticket that Barbara Bassett had bought - well done!!

2nd place winner - JD and Max with a ticket from Oskar! We were so excited, but FH pointed out to us that it was highly likely that Santa Paws could be bringing us some of the items in the prize packages so we agreed that the 2nd place ticket should be drawn again. But we want to say thank you, THANK YOU to Oskar! He's just the best - so generous to get us a ticket and help Shelby - this is why he's our best-est blogging pal! If you don't know Oskar (then you've probably been living on the moon!) then please do visit him, he has such a fun blog. AND he also runs PBU (Pet Blogs United) with his mom person, which is a great blog-forum to meet pals - you really should check it out. Yup - Oskar is the best and we're so happy to be able to call him our best pal!

2nd place winner - Maggie Mae with a ticket that Mona and The Mommy had bought - woo woo!!

3rd place winner - Scampi with a ticket from JD and Max!!

This is Scampi - isn't he cute!! We purchased some tickets for some of our local pals and were delighted when Jo picked out one of these in the draw! Scampi doesn't have a blog but he has appeared on ours a few times - when he knows what he's going to get for his 3rd place prize we'll post some photos for you all to see!

4th place winner - Miss Mayzie with a ticket from Mona and the Mommy!

Max - Thank you so much to everyone who took part in Shelby's raffle - we had a lot of fun hosting it and we raised lots of green papers for Shelby and that's the main thing.

JD - And well done to all the winners! These are the prizes so please look below and let us know what you'd like.....

Puppy pack - medium stuffie octopus toy and lots of doggie toys and treats!

Pet's Eye View Camera and doggie chew toy!

Puppy pack - with giant stuffie octopus and a great selection of doggie toys and snacks!

***HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY 1ST PLACE WINNER - GREAT CHOICE TRIXIE AND MINNIE AND VERY WELL DESERVED!***

Digital photo frame complete with 1gb memory card
***HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY 2ND PLACE WINNER - GREAT CHOICE MAGGIE MAE!!!***

Max - Winners can check this post below for more details about the prizes if they need to!

JD - We hope you all enjoyed reading our post about the raffle as much as enjoyed doing it!

Max - We need the winners to let us know what they'd like as a prize - please leave a comment below with an e-mail contact.

JD - Before we leave we'd like to remind everyone about Blueberry's Christmas auction which ends in less than 24 hours! Be quick - get your bids in to avoid severe disappointment!

Max - At 12 noon GMT tomorrow the auction ends - we will temporarily disallow all comments and will then post a list of the lucky winning bidders in the afternoon! Good luck everyone!

JD - Thanks again! We're sorry we haven't had a chance to leave comments on your blogs recently - the raffle and the auction have taken up all our time, but rest assured we're still visiting and will start leaving comments again in a few days time - please bear with us!!

Wordless Wednesday - we woz 'ere!!

2010-12-08T07:35:00.002Z

Yo-Ho-SNOW!

2010-12-02T19:42:00.006Z

JD - Hi everyone! It's been VERY cold and snowy here in the You-Kay! Even our beach walkies have been a chilly affair!

FH does insist on wearing daft things on her head claiming that it keeps her warm! Here we all are mid-walkies on a rather snowy beach.

Max - Mind you, we LOVE the snow! It's so much fun to frolic in - and it's wonderfully refreshing to nibble on too!

We pose next to some snowy rocks - Max was rather proud of his ear standing to attention in this shot!

JD - The only thing we don't like is the ice balls that form on our paws when we go out - sometimes we end up looking like we're wearing moonboots!

Can you tell which pup had just been sampling the snow in this shot?!

Max - Mind you, one of the BEST things about the chilly weather is getting warm and snugly again after our walkies!!

Cosy and warm again - snow is tiring stuff you know!

JD - We hope all you pups out there are keeping warm and toasty and safe....

Max - ....and before we leave we'd like to thank everypup for their help in Blueberry's Auction. It's so exciting - fabulous items are coming in every day for listing, pups are already bidding left, right and centre and everyone's doing a great job at getting the word out.

JD - Thank you all SO much!

Max - And finally, here's a short video of us on the beach earlier with FH.

JD - Even though it was near blizzard conditions she still insisted that we carry out agilities - can you believe that?! She's a slave driver!!

Please help!

2010-11-28T19:22:00.008Z

JD - Hi everyone! We're sorry we haven't been around to visit you recently but it's because we've been busy on something very important!

Much as we like to spend most of our time at the beach we have recently been working on other things too!

Max - Yup! Our beautiful pal Blueberry recently had surgery for cancer and the huge hearted Frankie Furter had the wonderful idea to hold a Christmas Auction to help raise funds for her treatments.

JD - Frankie and the Slimmer Pugs got chatting about this and asked if we'd host the auction page, as we did for Shelby's auction earlier this yer.

Max - Well, we were honoured to be asked and immediately agreed so we've been spending the past week setting up the auction site.

JD - It's now live so please check it out by clicking on the piccie below!

Max - We need your help to spread the word about this, to bid on items if you can and to donate items for it if you're able!

JD - We've already had some AMAZING auction items donated - the kindness that's out there in the dog-blog community is just PAWSOME!

JD cosies up to his beautiful GSD pal Lily! Just like the dog-blogging community Lily is very generous too - she recently donated some items to Shelby's Christmas Raffle. Don't forget to buy some raffle tickets - click on the picture above to link to the amazing prizes you could win! Closing date for Shelby's Christmas Raffle is 4th December.

Max - We're hoping to add items to the auction fairly regularly so please do keep on checking back. Why struggle with busy shops for your Xmas shopping when you could buy something amazing at Blueberry's auction?!

JD - One thing we'd like to ask is that you check out the 'thank you' page of the auction site as it's our shout-out to everypup who has made this wonderful event possible - we think you're all great!

Max - Blueberry's Christmas Auction will run until 12th December so we probably won't get a chance to blog much ourselves until then as we'll be concentrating on the auction site. But being part of the auction is great fun so we don't mind!

JD - Oh! Before we go we just HAD to share how excited we are that we've gone into triple figures with our followers for 'Schnauzer and Schnauzer' - wowzers!

Max was so stunned to find that 'Schnauzer and Schnauzer's' followers had gone into triple figures that he keeled over, he he he!'

Max - 100 followers - we're beside ourselves with excitement! Seriously - our tails nearly wagged OFF when we realised!!

JD - In the meantime please DO check out Blueberry's auction. You can help by spreading the word or by bidding or by donating items. Everything helps!

Wordless Wednesday - NOT spoiled!!!

2010-11-24T08:14:00.002Z

The sun always shines on the righteous - he he he!

2010-11-16T20:32:00.006Z

JD - Hi everyone! We wanted to share some photos with you that FH has been taking of us over the past couple of months.

Max - As Winter draws in the days are getting shorter and we now have to go for our walks in the dark - boo!

JD - However, before this happened FH and us really enjoyed watching the sunrises so she took lots of snaps to remember how beautiful the start of each new day is, er, was!

We wait patiently for FH to take our photo!

Even though we're just small silhouettes in this photo (when we should be the featured stars of the show!) we still really like this photo of low tide and the pier

A bit of a 'windy woozle' situation in this photo!

FH LOVES this silhouette photo - just look at how blue the sky is! JD is enjoying an early morning paddle on this very clear, very COLD morning!

The boys take a brief breather as we all wend our way home after a very enjoyable morning romp!

This was one of the last sunrise photos that FH took of us - we were on our way home and more than half of our walk had been in the cover of darkness. Two weeks later FH took the photo below, in the EXACT same spot at the EXACT same time....

....obviously, we were facing in the other direction for this moonlight shot, but it is the same place (well, okay, we were at the bottom of the hill in this photo, in the one above we were at the top of the hill!) As FH says - the World turns, same time, same place, different season!

And to finish we leave you with a sunset photo, just for a change, he he he!

Max - And hey - we've started to notice a strange phenomenon in our photos, which is that in 90% of them my brother JD is ALWAYS on the left with myself, the handsome (and modest!) Max, ALWAYS being on the right.

JD - It's not ALL the time. For impromptu snaps, like our last Wordless Wednesday, we mixed it up a bit with Max on the left and myself on the right! But it seems that whenever we're called upon to pose for a photo we insist on ME being left with little bro' right!

Max - Well, people and pups often say they can't tell us apart - even though my brother is practically a GIANT....

JD - Hey!

Max - ....so we thought this would be a good way to help everyone to identify us, he he he!

Wordless Wednesday - boys will be boys!!

2010-11-10T07:41:00.002Z

A happy and uplifting photo story

2010-11-07T20:09:00.007Z

Hi everyone - JD and Max here! We asked FH if we could please do a cheery, uplifting post as we notice there seems to be a lot of sadness and pain out there in the blogging World just now. So we'd like to share this with you - it's a great story without a word being said apart from the dialogue at the end.... you might have already seen it but even so we think it's great and worth seeing again and it may just bring a happy tear to your eye...

It was a German tourist who jumped in and saved the dog. Upon getting back up on the bridge he checked the dog out and told the owner "zer dog is okay and vill be fine!" So the owner asked if he was a vet?

He replied "Vet? VET? I'm soaked!"

A Christmas Raffle for Miss Shelby!

2010-11-04T22:59:00.002Z

Hi everyone - JD and Max here with a VERY quick update! Work is still going on at our house and FH has informed us that it's probably going to be another 2 weeks before we can start blogging again properly - phoey!

"Hi everyone - how YOU doing?!"

Anyway, in the meantime we wanted to alert you to a very exciting event that we hope you'll pawticipate in if you're able to - it's Shelby's Christmas raffle!! Please click here to find out ALL about it - and if you wouldn't mind could you please also help us to spread the word!

Thank you everyonel!

Missing you all!

2010-10-23T08:52:00.006+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! Gosh, we're missing the blogging world loads and loads - sigh....!

Max - So much so that we begged and pleaded with FH to please, PLEASE help us with a quick post!

JD - And she said yes! She's a good human sometimes - we've trained her well, he he he!!

Max - So, even though FH is still busier than usual at work and even though both the humans are spending loads of time on the house renovations, they still make sure they find the time to take us on our usual daily walkies so we're doing okay!

Playing chase on the beach!

Cannon balling towards the humans on the beach!

Frolicking in the park!

Perfecting the 'ear flap' whilst running!

JD -The next photo is especially for Miss Maggie Mae! It's our new pal Lacy who is a very pretty boxer girl.

Max - She's so cute!

Our pal Lacy - isn't she beautiful?!

JD - And here's a photo of us playing with our beautiful blonde bombshell pal Abby!

JD - "Tag! You're 'it' Abby - he he he!!"

Max - So even though we're missing you all loads and loads as you can see we're doing okay!

JD - We hope to be back to blogging fully again in a few weeks time - and when we are we'll show you some photos of the new den that the humans are building for us!

FH - Er - 'your' new den boys??!!

Max - Yes FH, OUR new den. *Rolls eyes!* Sheesh, sometimes humans are a bit slow aren't they JD??!

JD - They sure are Max, they sure are!!

Max - In the meantime FH has promised to help us 'do the rounds' this weekend so we'll be visiting your blogs shortly - woo hooo!!

We are TWO today!

2010-10-04T20:11:00.006+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! We know we're on a blogging break....

Thinking about our blogging buddies!

Max - ....but we insisted that FH post some photos TODAY because it's our 2nd birthday!

JD - And we wanted to share with you some of the great pressies we got!!

Max - Because our wonderful, beautiful, generous blog sweetheart Sasha and her dapper, dashing and kind brother Rupert sent us some really fun gifts!

JD - They did, they did! And we LOVE what they sent - check it out...

JD - "OOOH - for ME??!! Really??!!"

JD - "Why, I don't mind if I do!!"

JD - "Now THIS is what I call a cool starfish stuffie!"

Max - "Oh, oh - I wanna play too - gimme, gimme!!"
JD - "Oi, gerroff!! S'mine!"
Max - "I think you'll find Sasha and Rupert sent this stuffie for BOTH of us JD....!"

Max - "Humph - well, if you're not going to share the starfish stuffie then I'M going to claim this cool moo-ing cow stuffie - so THERE!"

Max - "Um - MH - you can let go of the cow stuffie now, there's a good human.....!"

JD - "Ooh, THAT looks fun too - oooh, let me have a go on it too!"
Max - "Hey, not FAIR JD! You wouldn't share the starfish - gerroff my cow!"

Max - "S'mine!"
JD - "No - S'MINE!!"

Max - Sasha and Rupert - we can't thank you enough for these amazingly cool toys - they are SO much fun!

JD - You are the best-est pals a couple of schnauzers could have. And the prettiest (with gorgeous eyes!) and most dynamic (and licky!) pals too!

Max - Yup - you two ROCK!

JD - We also got a new toy from FH and MH - it's real fun to play tug and chase with - check it out here....

Max - "Um - what exactly IS it JD?"
JD - "I'm not really sure Max, but there's lots of ends for us to grab hold of which should make it fun to run around with!"

Max - Also, even though it's not HER birthday FH got a really special parcel a few weeks ago from The Slimmer Pugs! We helped her to open it - we're good like that, he he he! They had sent her some really wonderful pressies. We're going to do a proper post on them when we're back to blogging, but in the meantime here is a picture of us helping her to open the parcel!

"Oh wow - there is SO much great stuff in here FH.....!"

JD - FH got a bit leaky when she opened the parcel as she was so blown away by how kind and sweet The Slimmer Pugs are. Thanks guys - you are so wonderful it makes FH all smiley and us all waggy just thinking about you being our pals!

Max - We were hoping that FH would help us to visit your blogs over the weekend, but we're afraid she had what she called 'the mother of all migraines' and couldn't even get out of bed yesterday.

JD - She was rather ill - couldn't eat or walk or anything. But we rather enjoyed it because after each walk that MH took us on yesterday we were allowed to join FH on the bed to keep her company and look after her - that's a rare treat for us, we're not usually allowed on the humans' bed.

Max - MH thought it would be an early treat for us for our birthday, as well as helping FH to feel better, so we were more than happy to oblige, he he he!

JD - So we're sorry we haven't visited yet since our break - we hope to next weekend!

Max - In the meantime we'd like to say we miss you all very much - thanks for all the kind comments you left on our last post, the house renovations are going slowly (and noisily and messily!) but the humans seem to be happy with the progress....

JD - ....and FH's work is still crazy, but she says she can see 'light at the end of the tunnel' and hopes to be managing a much less crazy schedule by November.

Max - Which - all in all - means we hope to be back to the blogging World by then.

JD - Paws crossed and all that! In the meantime thank you again Sasha and Rupert!

Max - And thank you The Slimmer Pugs!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder - we hope!

2010-09-25T18:29:00.003+01:00

Hi everyone - JD and Max speaking as one for the moment! Due to some things that are happening here we're going to have to take a little break from blogging for a while - we sure hope you won't forget about us whilst we're away!

"Please don't forget us!"

We're not taking a break for any horrible reasons - it's just that FH's job has gone CRAZY recently and any spare time she has she's spending on the laptop doing stuff for work instead of helping us with our blog - phooey!

"We'll promise to save all our noms for you if you promise not to forget us!"

PLUS FH and MH are also doing something called 'working on the house' - it seems like they're just making loads of mess as far as we can see, but again, it's taking them away from helping us with our blog - sigh.....

Max - "How could you forget these eyes?!"

We won't be away for TOO long - we hope to be back again at some point in November. But we didn't just want to disappear so we thought we'd let you know we're going to be popping off briefly..... And we might have to INSIST that FH does a quick update post at some point next week as we'll be turning a whole TWO years old then and we're sure the flashy box will feature heavily at some point during the celebrations!

JD hopes you won't forget his athletic prowess....

We also hope to be able to visit you at some point whilst we're away, although we can't guarantee it - well, you know how unreliable humans can be - sigh! We're gonna miss you all SO much!

....but he wouldn't mind if you forget about his bath humiliations!

We're so worried that you're going to forget all about us - we'll be back soon with lots more history posts (JD was thrilled that you all seemed to like his last post!) and suspense stories (Max guarantees he will have solved many mysteries by the time he's back!) and loads of photos of us just being cute! In the meantime, we hope these photos here will keep you going. So, until we meet again......(sob!).....

"We demand new staff - our current FH is failing us with our blogging endeavours!!"

A local history lesson - by JD Schnauzer

2010-09-21T20:08:00.011+01:00

Hi everyone - it's JD here. Now, since my brother took over our blog recently to boast about his amazing detective skills in 'The Case of The Mysterious Blue Pelican' I thought it would only be fair for me to take over a post of my own to let our pals know a little bit more about where we live. This is because we both love our home town and we'd like to share a little bit of its history.

As you probably all know we live in a place called 'Clacton-On-Sea' but what you probably don't know is that the name of our town dates back to 500 AD - I don't even want to think about just HOW long that is in dog years, suffice to say it was a very, VERY long time ago! Anyway, in 500 AD Saxons - under their leader Clacc - set up residence and named the place 'Clacc Inga Ton' which translates as 'the Village of Clacc's People'. The 'On-Sea' part of our town's name was added by more modern humans, probably to make sure there's no confusion about what all that blue, wet stuff is that floats along side our town, he he he!

I'd like to do a few posts like this about our local history so I've decided to impart a juicy little snippet of information like this each time and then add some photos of historic local landmarks. But do let me know what you think of this post okay? As I wouldn't want to bore you all with local history if you don't find it interesting....

Anyway, without further ado, here are some photos of remaining memories of World War II that we have dotted around our town. These are look-out towers that can be found along Clacton seafront.

A World War II look-out tower - a genuine piece of local history!

Although a bit of scaffolding has been added to this particular one (as it's now used as a bird watching tower by local twitchers!) you can see the series of small 'windows' where the soldiers would have stood to watch the seas for approaching enemies. This particular look-out tower is on the highest point of the coast and is set back slightly further than the others, on the top of a hill. Because of this high vantage point it is in better condition than the others - and it also offers spectacular views, so it is very popular with twitchers and walkers alike. We like it when FH picks us up and puts us on the very top of it....

"Don't look down Max!!! Gosh, it's kinda high up here......!"

...because it means we can really appreciate the amazing views! From this look out tower you can look directly out to sea....

Amazing sea views from the look-out tower, even more spectacular when the weather is as beautiful as it was on this day!

....or you can look over to the nature reserve behind it, where there is a small lake where lots of geese and some herons live! (If you biggify the picture below you can see the bird hides in front of the lake.)

Nature reserve with small lake and lots of very noisy geese!

There are several other look-out towers that were built directly on the beach - because of this they are not in such good condition. These beach-front look-out towers have now been incorporated into our modern-day sea wall defences - we suppose it's an agreeable compromise to ensure a bit of local history isn't destroyed.

Another look-out tower as part of our sea defence wall! If you biggify the picture above you can see the two of us checking out pee-mail alongside it - there's always some really good messages left here!

Even though these other look-out towers are hidden behind the sea defence walls we still think they're fascinating and really appreciate that we live in such an amazing place.

JD checks out the view from a rather crumbly looking look-out tower!

How to be a good puppy - aka 'Write a Post, Help a Dog!'

2010-09-18T17:27:00.008+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! As you all know we are VERY good puppies!

Max - Well of course we are - it almost goes without saying bro'!

JD - Er, yes Max. But nevertheless I thought that it would be fun to do a quick 'how to be a good puppy' post to help demonstrate just HOW good we are!

Max - Great idea JD! Can I kick it off? Right, here goes - good puppies NEVER scavenge, so of course we would NEVER be caught doing anything like that.....

NOT scavenging by the sea-front!

JD - Most definately not! Also, to be a good puppy one must NEVER be a sofa hog! We ALWAYS remember to leave enough room on the sofa for our humans.

NOT being sofa hogs!

Max - That's right JD! It should also be mentioned that good puppies like us would never DREAM of chewing on items that don't belong to us, such as - oooh, I don't know - socks for example.....

NOT sampling a sock!

JD - Well said Max! And finally....

Max - ....probably the MOST important way that you can be a good puppy.....

JD - ....is to help puppies who are in need! And that's what we're doing right now by joining in with Pedigree's wonderful 'write a post, help a dog' project!

Max - So, how can YOU help puppies in need too? Just do what we're doing and write a post between September 16th and September 19th and Pedigree will donate a 20-pound bag of food to an animal shelter. Just include the bullets listed here, and add the direct link to your blog post to the Blog Hop in the post below.

Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.

This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a "Fan" or "Likes" the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated.

Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive through September 19, PEDIGREE will donate a bag of its new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It's simple: Write a post, help a dog

When you are done writing your post head over to Life with Dogs and join the special PEDIGREE Blog Hop

JD - So what are you waiting for? Hop on over today and be a part of something really great!

(Blog hop pawticipants listed in post below!)

2010-09-18T08:39:00.001+01:00

Spoiled? Us? How DARE you!!!

2010-09-14T18:09:00.004+01:00

JD - We'd just like to point out that we are NOT spoiled! We just get a bit chilly from time to time now that Autumn is creeping in.....

Max - ....plus we find it a bit hard to sleep if we haven't been tucked in first - what's wrong with that??!!

JD - We're only helping our humans keep their fuel bills down - if we're blankie-snuggled we're nice and warm so the heating can stay off!

Max - You see how thoughtful we are? Um FH, my pillow needs plumping, there's a good human!!

JD - And MH - my blankie has come un-tucked, if it's not too much trouble!!

(PS - we apologise for our absence recently - we've had real trouble with our Internet connection over the past week. Now it's working again we're going to concentrate on catching up with you all!)

The case of the mysterious blue pelican!!

2010-09-04T15:27:00.013+01:00

An exciting mystery/suspense story by ~~Max~~ Sherlock Schnauzer!

To the unobservant pup it would have appeared to be a day like any other, but from the moment I put my nose outside the door on my way to carry out my morning ablutions I knew that this day was going to be slightly different. There was something in the air - the promise of a secret yet to be unfurled. As I watched my brother sniff excitedly around the garden - no doubt checking to see if the neighbours' cats had partied here the night before - I knew that this 'something' had eluded him. But to me - the great Sherlock Schnauzer! - this 'something' was as clear as if it had been neatly packaged and placed in front of my very woozle!

A post breakfast chat with Olly and Squeaky!

Myself and my brother ate a hearty breakfast and then settled down for a morning chat with Olly Octopus and Squeaky Chicken whilst FH busied herself with one of her usual morning rituals - emptying the dishwasher, emptying the washing machine, doing some ironing - to my mind humans are very talented at filling their time with very tedious pass times! After what felt like an age FH finally straightened up and announced it was time for our morning constitutional - at last! We went to the nature reserve and spent a very happy hour romping in the fields and running along the beach - we met up with our great friends Molly the Doberman and her 'big' sister Tammy the Yorkie and all of us had a wonderful game of zoomies before we finally arrived back home slightly damp, very sandy, delightfully tired and extremely happy!

Sadly, FH had to leave almost immediately upon our return to go to work but I admit I hardly noticed her depart as I was filled with intrigue about what the day would bring. I knew that something exciting was very, very close, so as my dopey brother settled himself down for a snooze on MH's foot with a contented sigh I couldn't help but observe him with a touch of pity. It must be a shame, I thought, not to know when something BIG was just around the corner. It was as I was walking away from him - sadly shaking my head - to carry out a garden perimeter check, that it happened....

Security breach at 9.00 o'clock! Awooga! Awooga!

There was the tread of a familiar footstep on our garden path, the sound of our front porch being opened and the ring of our doorbell - then the hurried sound of our postman putting our post down before they bid a hasty retreat, no doubt scared away by my butch and manly schnauzer barking as I ran through our house raising the alarm by shouting 'Mail alert! Mail alert! Step AWAY from the door Mr Postman, we have you covered!" As I was running through the house I noticed that my brother hadn't even moved from his recumbent position on the floor - sigh....!

We ensure we give the mailman prior warning - bwahahahahahaha!

MH collected the mail - the usual selection of envelopes, plus a box - THE box! I knew that this was what I had been waiting for. My very puppy being yearned for MH to open it - after all it was addressed to 'Mr Jones' so why wasn't he ripping it apart to discover the wonders that waited within?! But he resisted - he put it on the side and wandered off back to his laptop, inserting his foot under my brother as he sat down as he knows how much JD loves to snuggle on people's feet - can you believe that my brother was STILL slumped on the floor? It's a good job the postman hadn't been a genuine security threat!

Another busy day - it takes a LOT of effort to look THIS relaxed you know!

Myself and my brother had a very full day of snoozing in various locations around the house, playing with Olly in the front room, snaffling a light lunch of plain yogurt with a drizzle of local honey (to help a certain brother with his tiresome allergies to pollen!), playing hide and seek around the garden sheds and waiting for FH to return home. Of course, I ensured that regular perimeter checks were carried out throughout the day. Finally, FH remembered that she had a husband and two cute puppies waiting for her and deigned to come home. I greeted her as if we'd been apart for months whilst my brother sat quietly to the side waiting his turn to greet her.

When all the 'welcome home' dances and cuddles were over FH noticed the box - THE box! - and asked MH why he hadn't opened it as it had 'Mr Jones' on it. He commented that it had come from Dogs Trust and as he hadn't ordered anything from Dogs Trust he thought maybe it had been a typo and the box was meant for FH. She said that she hadn't ordered anything either so opened it to see what was inside.

Behold the wonderous pelican! Just look at those cool rope legs!

And what a wonderful treasure that box held, just as I knew it would! From within its depths FH pulled out the most amazing pelican stuffie - oh gosh it was wonderful! A large beak that had a squeaker in it just asking to be pressed by a nose! A cute head that had a bell in it that tinkled in the most provocative of ways for a puppy! Rope legs that were just asking to be chewed! And a contraption in its tummy that made the most delightful 'gurgling' noises whenever it was moved. Oooh, I wanted it, I wanted it, I WANTED IT! But did FH pass this wonderful toy onto myself or my brother? She did not! Instead she searched through the box, found no note or message, so she put the pelican on the sideboard and told us we were not allowed to have it until she had found out where it had come from. Nooooooooo!!!!!!!

"But why can't we have the stuffie?" asked my brother forlornly, who - let's face it - is usually a little behind in the proceedings.

"Because the humans are too slow to figure out where it's come from!" I exclaimed! "But it will take me less than 5 minutes to figure out who sent it! A-ha dear brother - the game is a-paw!"

"Eh?!" said JD.

JD - "Awww, go on FH, give us the pelican, pretty please!"

"Well," I continued, "we have a great mystery here in front of us. And when solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards!"

"You-what?!" continued my somewhat slow brother.

"Let us examine the facts!" I ploughed on, hoping that my brother would eventually catch up. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?!"

"Um - never?" stuttered my brother looking totally confused.

"Yes, well - that's as maybe!" I stated boldly, "but we need to figure out where this amazing stuffie has come from otherwise we will not get to play with it and that, dear brother, simply can not be!"

"Oh, I'm with you there!" said JD, finally cottoning on. "So Max, who do you think sent this delightful gift to us?"

I paced up and down in front of the stuffie. "Let us lay out the facts as we know them!" I said. "The stuffie has come through the post - that eliminates all the pups and kitties we know first-paw! We know that the pups and kitties that we know first-paw would simply leave a gift in our porch, they would not use the postal service!"

My brother looked suitably impressed so I continued. "The parcel in question has come come from Dogs Trust - it has come from somepup who obviously wants to help doggies in need."

"Well, doesn't that cover ALL our pals?" interrupted JD, somewhat annoyingly. I stopped my pacing and glared at him.

Max - "I declare the case of the mysterious blue pelican CLOSED! Now HAND IT OVER!!"

"You SEE yet you do not OBSERVE dear brother!" I exclaimed. "The distinction is clear! I know that all our pals are kind and generous - that is not in dispute! What the contents of this parcel tells us is that the sender is thoughtful through and through - observe!" I snapped, as I turned to face the pelican. "The stuffie in question is quite large and we are a breed of limited stature."

"Hey, now come on....!" my misguided brother - who likes to think he is the size of a wolfie - started to grumble, so I silenced him with a glare!

"Enough! The size of the pelican is, of course, a trifle. But there is nothing as important as trifles! If the stuffie is large and we are small then it goes without saying that this toy was selected by some pup who knew we would enjoy playing with it together. They bought us a toy big enough for two! The pup in question appreciates the enjoyment a shared toy can bring, with the dual chasing and the dual tugging! I conclude therefore that the pelican came not just from one pup but from TWO!"

My brother remained impressively speechless so I continued....

"So! The pelican was sent from an overseas pal, from two pups not just one, and most probably from somepup who is themselves a rescue which is why they appreciate the good work that Dogs Trust is doing! I conclude that this spectacular pelican was sent by somepup who recently used Dogs Trust, probably to make a donation, which is how they became aware of this most amazing stuffie in the first place."

Tantilisingly close - our paws are just itching to grab it!

I could see that my brother was impressed.

"Wow!" he said, "I'm impressed!"

I was pleased at this turn of events so let him continue. "So, um, who exactly sent the pelican then?"

This was the moment I had been waiting for - I puffed up my chest, I lifted my head as high as it would go, I cleared my throat and I announced, "It's elementary my dear JD! This stuffie came from fun Booker and sweet Asa! Let's look at the facts." I had started pacing again, the better to help me explain my reasoning. "Booker and Asa live across the pond. Asa is a rescue doggie. She has a brother who knows how much fun it is to have a sibling to play with. We played paw-it-forward with them recently and they kindly donated some money to Dogs Trust. I conclude that it is more than possible, it is in fact probable that this stuffie came from them!" I stopped dramatically (as my brother can confirm that I can never resist a touch of the dramatic!) and turned to face my brother.

"I have heard your reasons and regard them as convincing and adequate!" he proclaimed excitedly! "Let the stuffie be freed to our clutches and let the playing commence!"

At last, the stuffie is ours, OURS!! Let the fun commence!!

And that, dear readers, is how I, ~~Max~~ Sherlock Schnauzer, single-pawdly solved the case of the mysterious blue pelican.

It is, it's TRUE!!

Oh - and before we leave today please DO read our thank you post here for everyone who was part of Shelby's Auction - which is basically ALL of you!!

(Note from FH - thanks everso much to Booker and Asa for sending such a wonderful gift to the boys. If I had let my boys try to figure out who had sent it they probably would have managed it much quicker than me, we're sorry we had the stuffie for so long before you had to actually tell us it had come from you! They absolutely love it - JD especially has a penchant for rope toys so he usually chews the legs whilst Max is busy pressing the beak - he loves squeakers! They run up and down the lounge with it and they absolutely love it! You are wonderful pals!)

Wordless Wednesday - Stand Back, Schnauzer Coming Through!!

2010-09-01T02:08:00.001+01:00

We officially announce Shelby's auction OPEN....!

2010-08-28T00:01:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone - we're pleased to announce that Shelby's auction is now officially open!

Here's how to take part:-

1 - Browse through available items and bid on the ones you like by leaving a comment. If another pup has already bid you will need to outbid them to secure the item. Please don't feel bad about outbidding your pals - it's all for Shelby and that's the important thing!

2 - The auction will close at 5.00 am on Monday, 30th August, GMT. At that time the 'comments' section will be deactivated and no more bids can be made!

3 - By noon on Monday, GMT, we will publish who has secured the winning bid for each item. We will ask the lucky bidders to pay via the paypal 'donate' button already published on the auction site, with the request that they quote the unique 'TS' number of item(s) they have bid on.

4 - Once payment has been received we will contact the pup who donated the auction item and inform them how they can get in touch with the winning bidder and arrange for the item to be sent off!

5 - There are also a few 'buy it now' items which will be available to buy from midnight on Friday, GMT - if you wish to purchase one of these items just hit the 'paypal' button on the item in question!

6 - Please DO remind your blog pals about this auction! And if anyone has any questions at any point just let us know!

We want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to EVERYPUP who has generously donated items to this auction as well as a huge thank you to EVERYPUP who has already placed a bid. And finally a big thanks to EVERYPUP who has helped us to spread the word about this auction - we couldn't have done any of this without you all!

Good luck and happy bidding!

The eternal circle of snooze!

2010-08-26T07:38:00.004+01:00

We're baaaack!!

2010-08-23T19:17:00.011+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! We hope you're well - we're back from the kennels now!

Max - Well, DUR JD!!

JD - Humph - no need to be so RUDE Max!

Max - He he he - sorry bro'! Our humans had a GREAT time in Edinburgh - they were only there for 62 hours from touch-down to take-off, but still managed to pack in 15 shows during that time....

JD - ....they say they're still recovering! Well, so are we - we had a BLAST at the kennels! We mixed with some real cool doggies and were exhausted when we came home.

Max - "Gosh JD, I'm SOOO tired! JD? JD???!!!"
JD - "ZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ!!"

Max - We're afraid that our humans were so manic with shows during their brief stay in Edinburgh that they didn't take ANY photos of the city for us to show you. We apologise - we think we might need to employ some new staff, sigh....!

JD - The next few photos we have posted especially for Oskar! He is a master schnauzer nest-builder and has offered us much scholarly advice on this subject as we've been growing up!

Max - We wanted to show him how accomplished we have become at nest-building under his wise tutelage!! We have been nesting non-stop since we got back from the kennels trying to get our energy levels up again!

Exhibit A - Max snuggles into his 'Schnauzer property laws' cushion, whilst JD rests on his 'hammock-style' cushion-pile that he arranged earlier. Sadly you can't see it in this photo, but he's resting on top of the red and blue cushions that Oskar sent them last year - they're SO comfy!

Exhibit B - The boys REALLY show off their nesting skills in this truly impressive 'double-decker' combo! Max is snuggling into FH whilst JD has fashioned a nest around him with an oversized cushion direct from the sofa-back!

JD - We're going to try and catch up with all your blogs this week! We wanted to over the weekend but the humans were rather busy - something about having been married for 18 years and wanting to celebrate....

Max - ....such feeble excuses!! And now they're back at work - sigh!!

JD - We're also doing the count-down to Shelby's auction this weekend! We're SO excited, everyone has been so generous and we can't wait for the event! We'll be posting more information nearer the time.

Max - Items are still coming in so make sure you check it out and don't miss out on bagging yourself some pawsome items!

Out of Office!

2010-08-17T19:55:00.005+01:00

JD - Hi folks! We're off to the kennels tomorrow for a few days whilst our humans go gadding off to Edinburgh for the festival.

Max - Sigh - yes, they're abandoning us again as they go on their annual jaunt. Sure, we love the kennels and get very well looked after (okay, spoiled!) but we feel that is HARDLY the point!

JD - We sure hope you don't forget us whilst we're away! When we're back we'll be updating Shelby's auction page first off as we'll be on our final count-down to the actual auction weekend - it's very exciting! But this does mean it might be a while before we can leave you all with proper 'woof-back' on your blogs...

Max - Please bear with us! In the meantime here is a photo of us having a snooze with our octopus - we just thought you'd like it!!

Dreaming sweet dreams of visiting all our blog pals in pupson!!

Shelby's Auction - Quick Update!

2010-08-12T19:47:00.006+01:00

JD - Hi everyone - I'd just like to quickly report that my paw is now completely healed and I'm able to scamper around and play FULL bitey-face and zoomies once more!

Max - It's fab to have a full time playmate again - I'm SO happy!

JD - I have quite a nifty scar now - I'm hoping I'll impress the ladies with it!

Max - Er, yes JD, whatever!! Anyway, we wanted to give you all a quick report on Shelby's Auction - we're thrilled with how it's all going!

JD - Firstly, we've been blown away by how generous all you pups and kitties have been with donations of items to auction - thank you all so much, there are some great items up for auction.

Max - Although the auction date is officially set for 28th/29th August bidding HAS now started. We made an official decision to open the items up for bids with immediate effect as we hoped this might help bring in more money for sweet Shelby!

JD - We're also considering changing the 'doggie romance pack' that we've putting forward from fixed price to an auction item as we've had quite a bit of feedback on it! As it's so popular we thought we'd try what we could to bring in more green papers for Shelby!

An unrelated photo of us showing off our ear flappage skills - just so you don't forget how cute we are!

Max - Also, we are thrilled to announce that one of the items that has been donated by Mona and her mommy has turned out to be a rare collectible - click here to view the details.

JD - An identical item is up for auction on E-Bay for $255.00! Mona's mommy suggested we start the bidding price at $150.00 but we're wondering if anypup has any ideas on how we can promote this item so that other interested parties can become aware of it? Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Max - We'd also like to report that our pals Buddy and Ginger from India wanted to bid on an item but were concerned about us spending money on postage to where they live, so kindly agreed to donate but forfeit their package - isn't that kind?

JD - Buddy and Ginger even offered to give up their doggie noms for a year if they could help Shelby! We were so impressed that we've agreed to send them a special, surprise package for their donation that is extra light so that they don't feel guilty!

JD - "Hey Max, doesn't FH look a little windswept to you?!"
Max - "YIKES!! You'r not wrong JD! Blustery weather does not suit her!"

Max - Some of their friends are also going to make donations to Shelby's fund - sweet Shelby has touched so many people, it's simply wonderful!

JD - We're trying our hardest to keep up with the auction site and we think we're just about managing it! But we'd like to aplogise for sometimes not getting in touch immediately when we've been e-mailed with questions or donations. The time-zone difference adds a few complications too!

Max - We'd also like to thank everyone who has helped us with suggestions for auction design and for making grab buttons for us - it's really appreciated!

JD - As we type this message the total money raised so far from Shelby's Acution site from bids and pledged donations is $203.00! We think that's a pretty cool amount at this early stage in the auction!

Max - But we'd still like to urge you all to go and outbid all your pals - he he he!

JD - Oh yes - do it for Shelby!!

Max - Finally, if anypup has an item they'd like to add to Shelby's auction please let us know about it as soon as possible!

JD - Thanks everyone! We're sorry we haven't been leaving comments on your blogs recently as much as we'd like but it is because we've been busy with the auction and we're sure you all understand.

Max - We miss you all but we ARE still reading your blogs! Please bear with us until the end of August - we're trying to leave a few comments and we're still reading your blogs, we just haven't had the time to give you any woof-back.

JD demonstrates how he outwits FH!!

2010-08-09T21:40:00.004+01:00

Amazing pressies from our best pal Gus!

2010-08-06T19:42:00.011+01:00

JD - We have had SUCH a fun few days!

Max - It all started when our neighbours brought round a parcel they had taken in for us. They were very apologetic as they'd had it for nearly a week!!

JD - But the main thing was that we finally got it! Gosh, we were SO excited when we saw our names on it - who could it be from?!

Max - *Sniff! Sniff!* "This smells schnauzer-ish JD, I think it's from one of our blog pals!"
JD - "Oh wow, oh wow, OH WOW!"

Max - We opened the parcel and immediately pulled out a note! It was from Gus, our great and extremely handsome black schnauzer pal from across that big pond thingy!

JD - He explained that his FH had made some gifts especially for our FH and that he had paw-picked some gifts especially for us. Well, we were beside ourselves!

JD - "Oooh, doesn't Gus have wonderful paw-writing Max?!"
Max - "He's obviously a pup of many talents JD!"

Max - The first item we pulled out of the parcel was a bag of noms!

JD - Milk bone biccie noms - they smelled GOOD!

"Open, open, OPEN!!"

JD - "NOM!"
Max - "I want one, I want one, I WANT ONE!"

Max - "At last - NOM!"
JD - "Best just check for crumbs....!"

Max - FH always rations any new noms - sigh, she's SO militant!

JD - So we turned our attention to the next wonderful item out of the parcel - a new stuffie each!

JD - "FH gave me the goose that she said matched my collar!"

Max - "Ooh, ooh! JD, JD!! The geese squeak! They do, they really do! Go on, press it with your nose, it's really fun!"

Max - "Um, I think you'll find you've got MY goose there bro' - hand it over!!"

Max - "Grumble! I'm taking MY goose off the sofa so JD doesn't try to STEAL it again - humph!"

Max - There was also a new doggie tennis ball in the parcel for us!

Max - "S'alright JD - I'm QUITE happy to try the ball out for you. No no - no need to thank me!"

Max - "Surrounded by our new goodies - now THIS is living!"

JD - We told FH we were more than happy to check out her gifts too - we're kind like that!

JD - "Oooh, cool bag FH! Did you put our milk bones in here - hang on, just let me double-check....!"

Max - Look at this cute bag that Gus's FH made for our FH! FH can't even sew a button on straight so she's so impressed at how talented Gus's human is!

One side of the bag with a cute button and bow detail!

Max - "Here's me enhancing the button detail!"

The other side of the bag with a cute black doggie and bone detail!

Max - "And here's me enhancing the cute doggie and bone detail too, he he he!"

This detail proves that we have a 'Designer Gus' exclusive product! The black doggie with the red bow is so cute and look - Gus even had the bone engraved with the message 'best friend'! That Gus - he's SO cool! He's the best pal a couple of doggies could have!

Max - Gus's FH also made a cosmetic bag with some cute doggie material!

A close-up of the cute doggie material!

Max - "Eh? What do you mean it's a cosmetic bag and NOT a new toy for me? FH - you're such a spoilsport!"

JD - There was a also a glasses case made from doggie paw-print material!

You can't blame US for THESE pawprints FH, he he he!

Max - And finally Gus's FH had made our FH a really sweet tissue holder out of some really cool 'Java' material.

JD - It has a tie-up front and Gus's FH has suggested that we could also use this to keep our noms safe when we go out - we think this is an EXCELLENT idea!

JD - "Isn't the design brilliant?! I especially love the idea of this holding our noms in the future....!"

Max - We were thrilled to receive such wonderful gifts from Gus and his FH. Thank you so, SO much! We've been having so much fun with our new toys and FH has been showing off her new items to everyone!

JD - Yup, she's taken her new bag nearly everywhere with her since she got it, she absolutely loves it! Thank you SO much!

JD - "We're so pleased we get to have our photo taken with handsome Gus!"
Max - "Gus - thank you so much for ALL our goodies! You ROCK!"

Wordless Wednesday - the tasty edition!

2010-08-04T01:53:00.002+01:00

(Aside - we apologise for not getting round to leaving comments on your blogs as much recently - we've been overwhelmed by the generosity that's being shown for Shelby's Auction and we're spending our time updating the Auction site. If you'd like to donate something to be auctioned please pee-mail us at 'schnauzerandschnauzer@googlemail.com'. Anyhoo, we hope you 'bear with us' during this time and don't abandon us!!! Yours a tad dramatically - he he he! - JD and Max!)

Weekend wrap-up!

2010-08-01T22:28:00.000+01:00

JD - Hi everyone - just a quick update today as we've been very busy working on Shelby's auction page - please do go over and have a nose around if you haven't already done so!

Max - We've got some great stuff coming in for it - we're very excited! We're also going to have a raffle - prize to be announced! - which will be picked out of a hat. Everyone who becomes a follower of Shelby's Auction Page will be entered into the raffle so make sure you become a follower!

JD - It's taking us a bit longer than we thought it would (like most things!) to get the page set up, what with having to link e-mails and add PayPal buttons and that sort of thing but we think we've got a layout that works now! We just need to drop in all auction items now, so please keep your generous contributions coming in!

Max - Also, we've been a bit pre-occupied because JD had his stitches out and his cone off on Friday - we had the GREATEST walk ever straight afterwards, but sadly JD started limping again on Saturday. FH and MH took him straight back to the Vets who couldn't find anything wrong with him. They were told that we might have overdone it with playing like maniacs straight after the removal of the cone and the stitches!

JD - I still can't walk very well - my paw is very sore but I'm not sure why. I just hope I don't have another seed in it that's going to fester and flare up. The humans can't see anything wrong on any part of my leg or paw and neither can I...

Max - ....I can't either and I've checked your paw a few times!

JD - I just know it hurts and I wish it would stop 'cos I wanna play zoomies and bitey face again. It was SO much fun playing with you again on Friday! Here is a photo of us playing 'mad bitey-face' around FH's legs, he he he! We often play around her feet as it's our way of inviting her to join in, although strangely she never takes us up on the offer.

JD - "Take that Max, bwahahahaha!" Max - "Come on FH - join in!"

Max - It was wonderful! We were so fast we were a BLUR! I miss bitey face - sigh....!

JD - Me too Max. The humans know I'm not faking the limp as they've seen me do it on puppycam (the indoor security camera they use to tune in on us whenever they have to abandon us to do un-puppy-related activity!)

Max - Before we leave we wanted to show you a photo of the type of horrible grass seeds that we get here that cause huge problems for us puppies.

These particular grass seeds are like darts and they're barbed too so once they've pierced the skin they can burry deep -ouch!

JD - Apparently, removing grass seeds is what pays the Vets mortgages during the summer in the UK, it's SUCH a common problem! They get in paws, noses, ears, armpits - it's horrible!

These seeds can be very large, as FH demonstrates here! They're particularly dangerous when they've become crispy in the sun as they are so dry they become as sharp as needles.

Max - Finally, here is a photo of a jellyfish we found on the beach on Friday, before JD started limping again.

JD - FH kept shouting as us to stay away from it. Well, considering it looked like something she' just sneezed up we were VERY happy to oblige!

"Atishoo! Bless you FH!! He he he!!"

Max - Yeah - as if I was going to put my nose into THAT! Sheesh - humans!!

Paw it forward update AND an auction to help Shelby!

2010-07-28T01:34:00.011+01:00

JD - Hi everyone! I'm due to have my stitches taken out tomorrow morning so I should be able to FINALLY lose my cone!

Max - "You'll never sucessfully go undercover dressed like that JD!"
JD - "Er - well, it's a good job that YOU'RE the security doggie out of the two of us then Max!"

Max - Thank doG for that!

JD - We'd like to thank everyone for taking part in our 'Paw It Forward' game - we loved hearing all you pups shouting out that we're cool dudes, he he he!

Max - It seems that quite a few of you are either playing 'Paw It Forward' at the moment or have played in the past so we actually only had 2 pups coming forward to play.

JD - This is fine with us as we don't want to force anyone to play again!! So what we did was go to FH and explain the situation. We told her that we didn't want Dog's Trust to loose out and we gave her our HUGE puppy dog eyes so she said she'd have a think about it.

Max - She visited the Dog's Trust website and had a browse through it.....and she gradually formulated a plan!

JD - And it was a pretty cool plan! She said that as we only had 2 'Paw It Forward' to do she would still send the lucky pawticipants the Dog's Trust portable drinking bowl but she would NO LONGER donate £10 to Dog's Trust on behalf of each of them.

Max - We were horrified - HORRIFIED!! UNTIL she explained that what she would do instead of also providing the noms to each of the pawticipants was to SPONSOR A DOG for them for a year instead!

JD - We were VERY pleased with this and we are sure that Miss Zona and Miss Tessa will understand and be just as excited! After all, as the wise Miss Khyra recently pawed to us, we all have enough treats but some poor doggies are not always sure they're going to live until tomorrow.

Max - So, for the pretty Miss Tessa we have sponsored the pretty Miss Belle! Isn't she sweet? She's too nervous to ever find a furever home so is reliant upon donations to keep her feel safe and secure at a Dog's Trust centre.

Cute Miss Belle

JD - And for sweet Miss Zona and her family we have sponsored the handsome Master Jason - like Miss Belle he's too nervous to ever find a furever home.

Handsome Master Jason

Max - Miss Tessa and Miss Zona, as soon as we get the details about the sponsorship through we'll post it onto you (along with your portable drinking bowls) so you can read all about your sponsored doggie! So could you please pee-mail FH at 'schnauzerandschnauzer@googlemail.com' with your snail mail addresses?

JD - Now, before we leave today we'd like to explain to you why we haven't got round to visiting your blogs much this week. We're sorry and we miss you BUT we had an idea last weekend on how we might be able to help Shelby and we've been kind of busy setting it all up!

Max - We've been in touch with Mona and her mom and we've been working on another blog page - please click on the picture below to link to it!

JD - We've been inspired by so many other doggies doing so much to help Shelby and we wanted to help too! So we're going to be hosting an auction on 28th and 29th of August.

Max - We have some items to auction and we're hoping you will add to these too. The auction page explains everything (and will continue to be built over the next few weeks as we hopefully get more items to auction being added to it!) but we've copied the overview for you here - we DO hope you pawticipate so that together we can help sweet Shelby.....

Sweet Shelby has been the victim of cruelty by the hand of man. Abandoned, left to die in a parking lot, dear Shelby was touched by an Angel. She is making good progress and amazingly she still has a trusting nature. But she still has a way to go so please find it in your heart to help Shelby with her dog-tor bills by helping us to raise green papers by becoming part of 'Team Shelby's Auction' on 28th and 29th August. This auction has been inspired by the great GABE event hosted by the wonderful Miss Twinkie earlier this year and by the kindness of so many other bloggers who have come together to help Shelby. Become a part of Shelby's auction by bidding on items AND/OR by providing items for others to bid on. Come on - let's join paws and help make the World a kinder place!!

How can you become a part of Shelby's auction?

Getting involved in Shelby's auction couldn't be easier! There are 3 ways that you can help:-

1 - Provide an item to be auctioned! Remember the great GABE event earlier this year? Shelby's auction will work along the same principles, except instead of generous doggies giving great gifts away for free you will auction them via this page for a for a small amount (we thought we would limit all items to a $8.00 maximum). Simply make up a treat bag, e-mail a photo of the item(s) and description(s) to us (via our pee-mail address on the right hand navigation bar) by 21st August latest ready for the live auction on the weekend of 28th/29th August. Please send information about items to be auctioned as soon as you are able to allow everyone enough time to browse at what is available!! We have started posting our auction items below so please look for inspiration! We're going to add to the items we'll be auctioning over the next few days/weeks - we'll be including human treat packs as well as doggie treat packs so you can bribe - erm, we mean spoil! - that 'special someone'!

PLEASE NOTE!! After feedback received please note that treat packages we are providing cost more than the auction cover price - all items are new but they're things that our hoarder of an FH (female human) has accumulated over several months so we've decided enough is enough, we need to free up some space in our house, he he he! So those bidding will be getting a bargain whilst also helping a worthy cause. We view this auction rather like a 'bring and buy sale'!!

PLEASE NOTE AGAIN!! After further feedback received we are now thinking of adding a 'de-luxe' section for treat packages that VERY special and will command a higher price than $8.00! So, if you are providing something EXTRA special please DO feel free to add a higher bidding price! We had initially wanted to keep the costs low so that lots of people could contribute during these lean times without breaking the bank, but we realise that some pups will want to purchase early for Christmas so we're going to take the opportunity to widen the auction a little!!

2 - Bid on an item!! We're hoping that by 28th/29th August Shelby's auction will include a wide range of items so there'll be something for everyone! Why not surprise someone and order them a treat pack? Why not do some early Christmas shopping and bid on a few items to store away? We will be requesting that all items are paid for at the auction via PayPal so that the money can go directly into Shelby's account and we will publish bidding instructions nearer the actual auction.

3 - Advertise Shelby's auction on your blog! Please help us get the word out about Shelby's auction by telling everyone about it on your blog! The more people who know about the auction the more items we'll get to auction; the more items we get to auction the more green papers we'll get for Shelby!

Thanks everyone - let's see what the 'power of the paw' can achieve!

**UPDATE!!**

JD & Max - Any Q&A's you might have about Shelby's auction please ask and we will answer via a 'Q&A' section on the auction site. Also, any suggestions you might have about the auction PLEASE let us know! For example, Mona asked us if we'd informed 'Dogs with Blogs' about it - *smacks heads with paws!* - we hadn't even THOUGHT about that! So please help us to make this event GREAT - we'd really appreciate it!!

Paw it forward!!

2010-07-27T20:43:00.005+01:00

JD - We are very excited because we got to play 'paw it forward' with the Booker Man!

Max - Booker and his family are VERY generous because they're going to donate $15.00 to Dog's Trust - isn't that wonderful?!

JD - So, we now get to play 'paw it forward' too - how cool is that?!

Max - As we're such big fans of Dog's Trust (click on the link to find out why!) if you play 'paw it forward' with us we will donate £10.00 (as we're English puppies!) to Dog's Trust on your behalf and we'll also send you this super-duper Dog's Trust portable water bowl!

Small enough for your humans to put in their pocket this dinky yellow pouch has two handy clips so your humans can attach it to their bag....

...and then they can unclip it, unzip it - and out folds a large drinking bow! Never go thirsty on a walk again!!

JD - We'll also include a special pack of noms for the lucky 'paw it forward' pawticipants - we won't tell you what it will be as we'd like to surprise you!

Max - We will aim to match relevant noms to relevant doggies! Cheese lovers will get cheesy treats, those who delight in fishiness will get fishy treats, those who love crunchiness will get crunchy treats.....well, you get our drift, he he he!

JD - So, how do you get to play 'paw it forward' with us? Well, if you want to play just leave a comment for us and woof 'JD! Max! You're two cool schnauzer dudes! We wanna play 'paw it forward' with you!'

Max - The first three to leave this comment will get to play!

JD - Before we sign-out today I'd just like to leave you with this picture of me and Max playing 'bitey-face' this morning - as you can see, I'm not letting my cone slow me down at ALL!

Max - *Grumble!* Your cone gives you SUCH an advantage - it's SO not fair! I can't wait until your cone is removed for good.

JD - He he he!!

JD - "Take THAT Max, bwahahahahaha!!"
Max - "What-the-heck?!! Arghhh - gerroff me with that cone JD!!"