Help the Military Families Who Need it Most with Hike for Our Heroes Canine Cocktail Pawty

Snickers and Emmie, two Shiba Inu's,
met last month during Troy's hike.
It was then that Snicks mom Jenna
 was inspired to help Troy in his
quest to make a difference. 

Veteran Troy Yocum is hiking 7,000 miles across America and back, to raise funds and awareness to help military families in need. With his wife Mareike and his two dogs, Emmie and Harley, by his side, he took the first step of his 16-month journey on April 17, 2010. 

Now, our pal Snick the Dog and his mom Jenna are throwing  a very special Canine Cocktail Pawty to honor both Emmie and Troy and their cause - Hike for Our Heroes. 
Troy and his family will be walking into New York City on June 15. His dog, Emmie's, birthday happens to be the 17th, so Jenna and Snick are hosting a charity cocktail party on the 17th to celebrate her birthday and to benefit Troy's cause. 

What you can do to help:

• Buy tickets: http://www.caninecocktailpawty.org/tickets/
• If you can't attend, but would still like to help, please make a donation: http://www.caninecocktailpawty.org/donate/
• If you own or work for a company that would like to show support and potentially benefit from some advertising at the same time, click here to read about available sponsorships: http://www.caninecocktailpawty.org/sponsors/
• Post, retweet and share this message

A message from Troy...

Swimming with Cosmo Havanese: Happy Summer!

Cosmo gets into the swim of things during his recent outing to The Canine Ranch in Canton, Ga. Think Canyon Ranch, except for dogs! Hmmmm, how about a spa for humans and their doggies? Now, THAT would be cool, wouldn't it?

After a day of herding and luring, Cosmo cooled off in the dock diving pool in the video above.

There also were plenty of wading pools for cooling off. That's an agility ring in the background.

Chicken legs!

Sheep get ready to be herded!

A disc dog team gets in some practice after the flyball demo, in the background.

 Cosmo Havanese says stay cool and enjoy the weekend!

Havanese and Herding: It All Goes Back to the Family Poultry Flock in Cuba

The Havanese: A small, sturdy dog of immense charm who herded the family poultry flocks in Cuba. That's right! Havanese are known to have some herding instinct so Cosmo and I put it to the test on our recent outing to The Canine Ranch in Canton, Ga.

Here, Cosmo tries his paw at sheep herding. Wonder how he'd react to a poultry flock?!

From the AKC Havanese breed Standard:

The Havanese is a small sturdy dog of immense charm. He is slightly longer than tall, and covered with a profuse mantle of untrimmed long, silky, wavy hair. His plumed tail is carried loosely curled over his rump. A native of Cuba, he has evolved over the centuries from the pampered lap-dog of the aristocracy into what he is today - the quintessential family pet of a people living on a small tropical island. His duties traditionally have been those of companion, watchdog, child’s playmate and herder of the family poultry flock.

Cosmo tried all sorts of new activities last weekend. Check out his lure course run here!

Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday: Squirrel Chasing in Lincoln Park

 Cosmo's in hot pursuit of a squirrel. Think he's up here...

 Let's try to get a closer look!

Time to find the next squirrel...!

Lure Coursing for All Breeds

Cosmo got to try his paw at lure coursing during a fun day at The Canine Ranch in Canton, Ga. recently.

Lure coursing events and trials were created to offer sighthound owners a way to test their hounds' coursing instincts and those characteristics for which they were originally bred, to be able to hunt by sight. The sighthound breeds are: Whippets, Basenjis, Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, Afghan Hounds, Borzois, Ibizan Hounds, Pharaoh Hounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Scottish Deerhounds, Salukis and Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

Cosmo rests between lure course runs

Now, all breeds, including mixed-breeds, can enjoy the fun and excitment of lure coursing, just as Cosmo Havanese displays in his exhuberant run in the video above! This was Cosmo's first time on a lure course, though years ago he had the chance to try the Doggie Fun Zone, a lure-motivated obstacle course. Ever since Cosmo displayed an extraordinarily enthusiastic urge to chase the lure at the fun zone (his head about spun around), we wanted to check out an actual lure course.

Some other helpful links about lure coursing:

• AKC Launches Coursing Ability Test for all dogs
• AKC Coursing Ability Test Links
• Upcoming Coursing Ability Tests
• Getting Started in Lure Coursing - For Sighthounds

If you're in the Atlanta area, we thoroughly enjoyed our day at The Canine Ranch. The schedule for upcoming fun days and lure "happy hours" can be found here.

May #Pawpawty: Anipal Superheroes Raise Funds for Young At Heart Pet Rescue

Cosmo Havanese helps protect the anipal community
by serving as quizmaster and DJ at monthly Pawpawties.

Some of the biggest superheroes I know are the anipals who every month tirelessly raise funds for animal charities across the globe. That's why it's only fitting that this month's theme for the Twitter #Pawpawty is "Anipal Superheroes!"

The May #Pawpawty is this weekend, and you can still join in the fun on Twitter by following the #pawpawty hashtag until 2 p.m. ET today, though often the anipals stick around for an after the pawty, pawty!

Each month features a different charity, and this weekend the anipals are supporting Young at Heart Pet Rescue, located in the Chicagoland area (my kind of town, Chicago is!). Founded in 2005, Young At Heart rescues and rehomes senior dogs and cats age 5 years and older (eeks! In dog years, I thought 5 was the new 3!). 

Find out more about Pawpawty and how to support our shelter-of-the-month here.

And for your Sunday morning listening pleasure, here's the Superheroes Pawpawty playlist Cosmo Havanese assembled for this weekend's pawty!

Now, let's go to the Pet Blogger's Blog Hop!

Wordless Wednesday: Cosmo Yoga Dog Perfects a New Pose

Using his new P.L.A.Y. bed as a prop, Cosmo invents a few new restorative poses as part of his yoga practice.

 Cosmo's take on a modified Uttana Shishosana or Puppy Pose.

Excellent form! Rear legs straight, toes pointed and feet together.

Don't forget a neck stretch... and it's always helpful to have a chewbone nearby for sustenance.

Ommm...

Win an EYENIMAL Pet Cam on FIDO Friendly!

Imagine what this would look like from a dog's-eye view?! 

We've always thought it would be pretty cool to strap a camera on Cosmo and see the world from his short and fluffy point of view. So we found the EYENIMAL pet cam review on FIDO Friendly Blog particularly interesting.  (Check out the video from the Dexter Cam, pretty darn good quality I'd say!)

And our ears perked up even more when we heard FIDO Friendly is hosting a chance to win an EYENIMAL from DOGTEK -- the contest runs through June 17, 2011 and all the details on how to enter are here.

Is a Cosmo Cam in the future? We sure hope so. From Cosmo's travels to his athletic pursuits, we'd love to see Cosmo's view of the world!

Wordless Wednesday: Yoga Dog Pose With Cosmo Havanese

 Cosmo has perfected his version of Threading the Needle or Sucirandhrasana pose.

zzzzzzzzz...

Friday Fun With Cosmo Havanese in Hats!

It's been a week since the Royal Wedding, but it's never too late to have fun with hats. Here, Cosmo Havanese shows some of his favorite uses.

We think Princess Beatrice's hat makes a fine agility obstacle!

Here, Cosmo models a look he created for last week's Atlanta Brave's game.

Happy Friday and have a lovely Mother's Day weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Atlanta Braves Bark in the Park

We had a great time at the Atlanta Braves Bark in the Park event on Saturday! Cosmo enjoyed a great view of the field... and the ballpark hot dogs!

We sat in the upper deck, in a section reserved for dogs on this special day at the Turner Field. The view was spectacular and all the dogs were so well behaved.

The entire midway outside of our seats was designated the doggie paradise, complete with wading pools! Cosmo didn't hesitate to jump in and enjoy a nice soak.

Afterward, he was refreshed and ready to go!

There was plenty of fresh water for the dogs.

And lots of vendors to visit... including an mini agility area... this one compliments of Canine Ph.D. Dog Training in the Inman Park area of Atlanta.

And lots of treats, naturally! These were from Nature's Variety.

Later in the game, we found a nice shady spot to sit. It was all general seating in the doggie area, but finding good seats was easy.

The stands were filled with dogs, large and small!

The Braves did a terrific job making this an enjoyable event for all.  The next Bark in the Park is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011. We'll definitely come back!

For more photos from our fun day at the Braves game head to our To Dog With Love Facebook page!

Now let's hop on over to the BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop for more photo fun!