An award!

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker! 

And I'm blown away!  (Get it?)

Why, you ask?  Well, it's because Rama and her Mama of Raising Rama gave us an award!  This one right here!

We appreciate it very much ... especially since Mom hasn't been feeling super inspired, let alone inspiring, lately.  Which is the main reason why we've been neglecting our blog recently.  (It's also why we are recycling this old photo, but hey, why point fingers ... er paws.)  It's certainly not my fault ... I am ALWAYS inspired.  (And inspiring, too, I think.)  I have lots of good ideas about the blog, but somehow Mom always seems to be too busy to help me with them.  

But I digress.

Anyway ... the rules about accepting the award are as follows:

1) Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post.  

Rama (and Mama) we sincerely thank you for this award.  We don't feel deserving of it, but we are very appreciative nonetheless.  (Our link back to your blog is above.) 

2) Share 7 things about yourself.  

I'm going to share some about myself (Tucker) and also the other pups, kitties, and peeps in my family.)

I, Tucker, am a a Canine Good Citizen.  I passed a test, and have a certificate stating it.  I also have a bandana that says Canine Good Citizen on it, but I hardly ever wear it.  

 Olivia turned eight years old in April.  But I don't think she looks a day over four.  

Tanner sometimes drools when Mom scratches him under his chin.

One of Phoebe's favorite things to do is roll in the grass! 

Finn HATES to wear a collar!  So right now he's not wearing one.  

Mom (not pictured) is an animal lover from way back.  Her first dog was a cocker spaniel mix named Sassy.

3) Nominate other bloggers we admire: 

This one is tough ... we have so many blogs we love and admire, that entertain and inspire us, that choosing was REALLY hard.  But here they are: 

Rescued Insanity  - Kristine is the human and Shiva is her "tornado on a leash" rescue pup.  Kristine was literally the first person to ever comment on one of my posts when I first started blogging, and once I started reading HER blog, I was hooked.   If you've ever struggled to overcome problem behavior in your dog, and you want to be entertained as well as inspired, you need to go visit Kristine and Shiva! 

Cult of Otis - Otis, Brother Henry, Mama Cat, and the entire cast of characters over at Cult of Otis never cease to entertain us.  And we love how Otis always closes his blog entries with "So Sayeth Otis."  If you're a cat who wants to rule the world, or at least your own little corner of it, you're sure to find inspiration here!

Love And A Leash - We first discovered this wonderful blog through yet another wonderful blog, Two Pitties In The City.  They were spreading the word about a LAAL foster pup who needed some help from the blogosphere.  Now that one of those fosters has become a permanent resident, the parade of fosters formerly to be found at Love and a Leash is no more, at least not for right now.  But seeing how happy Numero Uno pup, Chick, is with his  formerly foster but now forever brother The Doodlebug, it is hard to be anything but happy about this turn of events.  These boys are so cute together!  

Two Pitties In The City - One of our all-time favorite blogs, it features A & E and their pitties Miss M. and Mr. B.  Whether it's founding and growing a pack walking group in Chicago, or just finding and sharing ways to successfully live in the city with pit bulls or pit type dogs, we find this blog very inspiring! 

Shutter Hounds and Greyhound Gardens- It's a little known fact that I'm kind of a sight hound freak ... and I just adore greyhounds.  In fact, I volunteered for a greyhound rescue group some years back, and almost adopted one, but the boy I had my eye on wasn't small animal safe.  I still think that maybe one day I'll have a greyhound, and meanwhile I never miss an opportunity to lay my eyes on one, even if only in photos.  The reason I grouped these two blogs together is that they are both devoted primarily to greyhounds / sighthounds, and the photos these bloggers put up just blow me away sometimes with how stunning they are.  In fact, you could say that they inspire me to take better photos myself.  Or at the very least they inspire me to WANT to.  

Romping and Rolling in the Rockies - I think most of you are probably familiar with this blog, as you should be, especially if you love looking at amazing photographs of beautiful dogs and seldom seen wildlife.  As, obviously, I do.  Romping and Rolling in the Rockies is the blog of KB, which chronicles her adventures with her two amazing pups, K and R.  K got a very serious diagnosis not long ago, but is, right now, doing very well, for which we are so thankful.  KB and K's commitment to living well and fully in the moment is, to say the  least, inspiring.  

Urban Hounds - The authoress of this blog is "a dog obsessed, semi-reluctant urbanite" who shares her home with five dogs, three cats, and her husband, and whose goal is to "give my city dogs the best life possible and to ensure they take advantage of everything an urban area has to offer canines."  Every now and again, you read a blog by a complete stranger and think "I could be friends with this person in real life."  And so I often think when I read the blog of Urban Hounds.  Her philosophies on feeding, vet care, and other things usually seem to dovetail closely with my own, and I often find myself nodding in agreement as I read her posts.  She also has a new Pug puppy named Weasley, and since I'm a big Harry Potter (and Pug) fan, I have to love that!  

Success Just Clicks - Tena is a Pittsburgh, PA-based positive reinforcement dog trainer and her blog is chock-full of useful and relevant information on a variety of doggy subjects, but obviously focuses mostly on training.  Tena is big on being an advocate for your dog in all situations, and on building a stronger bond through positive reinforcement / clicker training.  Need inspiration?  Just click ... on successjustclicks.com! 

I would encourage anyone not familiar with any of these wonderful blogs to visit them today ... and prepare to be inspired!  And thanks again to Rama & her Mama for gifting us with this award!