Life on the Leash

I think it’s impossible to see a dog this adorable and not resort to baby talk.

Wittle bitty sweet baby doggie!

Decorating my windows takes a fair amount of planning. Some windows really work, like the dog-in-a-bubble-bath grooming window, while others fall flat, like the dogs-out-to-a-romantic-dinner window, which no one really “got.” Thinking of fun stuff in between the holidays is a challenge, but now that we’re up on Halloween, I was good to go.

I had a vision: Spooky Forrest. I wanted twisty black trees as the focal point, but I wasn’t sure how to make them. Enter, Dad. I explained the concept and he immediately got it. “I’ll just build you a base and then find some branches and secure them in there.” A few days later, the Spooky Forrest was born:

I always try to throw in some silly stuff, for the people who stop to really check out the tableau. This Halloween they get an excess of eyeballs:

(The rat’s gleeful expression cracks me up!)

And a murderous Springer-Spider:

Halloween is just kicking off here at LOTL … check back for the hilarious costume fittings!

We shot some more videos for www.petside.com here at the store on Monday. This time we branched out and included KITTEHS:

The video was about helping your cat learn to love his carrier. My little partner was adorable if a little squirmy, so I started out the clip holding him as I talked about the basics. I let him nibble on a little salmon treat I was holding as I talked (and forgot my lines, as always) … everything was going fine …squirm … nibble … nibble … CHOMP! He missed the treat and took the first knuckle off my finger!

This was only the second video of five we had to film, so see if you can spot my co-star, a bloody bandage, in the rest of the vids when they come out next month. (Oh, and yes, the bite is infected now. No improvement by Friday and it’s off to the doc I go. )