If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, I doubt Ollie needs an introduction. If you walk past us at the park, he most certainly does and it’s usually along the lines of…

Sorry, he’s a barker.
Sorry, he doesn’t like kids.
Sorry, he’s not very friendly.
Sorry, he’ll pee on you. (This one works especially well for keeping small children at bay.)

He’s not any of those things (okay, fine, he is a barker) but he does need his space. He’s small and fuzzy with big floppy ears and people want to cuddle the shit out of him. I can’t blame them, I do it every day, but Ollie is particular about who he snuggles with.

When I heard about The Yellow Dog Project at my vet a few months ago, I couldn’t have hopped on board any quicker. If you have a dog that needs some space, attach a yellow ribbon to their leash as a signal to others to BTFU, and tell everyone what the yellow ribbon means when they ask. Just because a dog needs a little room to breathe doesn’t mean they’re a bad dog, they just need a little more consideration on the walking path for any number of reasons — they could be training, or on the mend, or shy (or just a really good judge of character).

I love The Yellow Dog Project and think it’s a genius way to keep everyone — people and pets — safe and calm. Help spread the word and if you see a dog with a yellow ribbon on his leash, give them a little more room to pass and give their owner a thumbs up.

Do you have a persnickety pup?

Watching…I love watching TV on DVD an entire season at a time. I don’t have the patience to watch to week to week — I just want to watch every episode back to back to back — so I have Sons of Anarchy season 4 and all episodes of Call the Midwife is all queued up and ready to watch over Thanksgiving. Unlikely pair, right?

Reading…I’m working my way through a stack of books and just finished The Newlyweds, a really lovely “story of love and marriage, secrets and betrayals, that takes us from the backyards of America to the back alleys and villages of Bangladesh.” I don’t think the dramatic scenes were quite as dramatic as the author intended, but the story had a flow that was irresistible. I’m now diving into a galley of The House Girl (One of the perks of working in publishing – I get to read new books before they are published!) and all signs point to it being an excellent read.

Listening to…I really feel like John Mayer’s latest album, Born and Raised, got overlooked. It’s so mellow and groovy and has quickly joined the ranks of O by Damien Rice and the soundtrack to Amélie as the albums I listen to to chill the hell out.

Eating…Cuties. You know, those tasty and adorable little clementines. I’ve had my eye out for Cuties for weeks and I was so excited to see my grocery get a shipment last Friday. For the next several months I will literally eat a 5 lb. box a week.

Looking forward to…Tulum! No traditional Thanksgiving for our family — this year we’ll be celebrating together in Mexico. We’re having Thanksgiving dinner at a little beach-side restaurant called Hartwood and I’m so looking forward to it.

Dreading…Leaving my dog at the puppy hotel for eight nights. I hate being a big baby about this, but I just feel so bad that he has to be away from home for so long. Please tell me his tiny little pea brain thinks I’m just going to the store?

How about you? What are you up to?

Happy Halloween!

Ollie is never one to miss a holiday celebration (or rather, I’m never one to miss dressing him up for a holiday celebration) and he is looking fly in his Tootsie Roll costume. Since we haven’t had a single trick or treater all night, we have to share our holiday enthusiasm with someone. (That someone is you.)

Be safe, don’t run over any little gobblins, and take this opportunity to eat Tootsie Rolls till you puke (bonus if you get the rare vanilla Tootsie Roll). Yay!

Today is a lovely day to cast your presidential vote!

Polls are open for early voting in Austin until 6 pm this evening.

P.S.
Does anyone else sing “Rock the Vote” to the tune of this song? I did. The whole time I was in line to vote. I think it really lightened the mood.

In my early voting excitement, I grabbed the wrong stickers. Asi asi.

Dachshunds for Obama!

I think it’s well established that I am kind of a crazy dog lady (please search #ollieisadog on Twitter and/or Instagram if you need verification, but I’m telling ya, it’s true). Truthfully, I think I like dogs more than kids.

Which is why I probably pay more for doggie hotel/daycare when I’m out of town than most people pay for childcare. Please don’t ask just how much I pay for doggie daycare; I haven’t come to terms with saying the amount out loud.*

BUT THERE’S A WEBCAM! Multiple webcams! And I make no qualms about checking those webcams at random intervals just to see what Ollie is up to.

Home or away, this is how Ollie spends most of his time.

Treats and snoozin’. Snoozin’ and treats.

But during doggie daycare, he gets to romp (read: stand on the perimeter and judge) with dogs five times his size three times a day. Here he is surveying the play area and being eyed by a wild gang of Westies.

Go on and try something, Westies. I’m a Badger Dog.

And then sometimes, Ollie acts out. That poor woman? She’s cleaning up Ollie’s poop while he nonchalantly avoids the area.

Do-do-do-do-do.

Other times, Ollie’s just a jerk. Yup, that’s my dog in the top center. Lifting his leg and peeing in the middle of the floor while all the other dogs are distracted by the action in the hallway.**

Weeeeeeeeee. Literally.

But just like at home, Ollie makes up for being a little jerk by smothering people with kisses. The poor guy on doggie daycare duty didn’t stand a chance.

Are you a crazy dog person? Do you pay a ridiculous amount of money for something because you think your dog enjoys it more? I find this affects dachshund owners more than any other breed.

Do you make excuses for your pet because they’re just so.damn.cute? Hm. Maybe I would make a good parent.

*A little back story that hopefully justifies the cost of the doggie hotel: Last year I went out of town for a few days and Ollie got so worked up that he made himself sick. 2 days off work and $300 worth of vet bills sick. Not to mention everything was covered in poop. Including me. Now he gets a nice private room, playtime three times a day, and the boarding facility is in the same building as his vet. Totally worth the price of a stay at the Four Seasons to avoid that fiasco.

**More back story to justify my misbehaving dog: The boarding facility is in downtown Austin with an indoor “park” for the dogs to do their business. Ollie wants nothing to do with AstroTurf so they have to harness him up and take him outside. Clearly someone hadn’t taken him outside before playtime because he would never have gone inside unless it was an emergency. Read: IT’S NOT HIS FAULT!