Peticures by Tess

I get asked by a lot of people why I have my nails painted when I am not a girl. I will explain why but just to give you a quick background regarding my health, a couple years ago I was diagnosed with IVDD (Interveterbral Disc Disease). It got to a point where the pain became so extreme and I lost my appetite. My human was scared that I wasn't going to make it. I won't talk about it too much right now but the important thing is I got better. You can read more about it here.

Anyway, we noticed that everytime I get my nails done at the vet, my back hurts after. We didn't think too much about it at first but noticed that it always happens after having my nails trimmed at the vet. When my back hurts, it really really hurts and I sometimes even scream/yelp in pain. We think that I probably resist too much when the vet trims my nails which eventually leads me to having back pain.

My human researched for pet nail trimmers in San Diego and she found out about Peticures by Tess. It's very close to our house and she has a lot of good reviews. The only problem is that she is always fully booked and it took a couple of phone calls before we were able to schedule an appointment with them.

Petco Foundation's 7th Annual Hope Gala 2015

I was invited by Petco Foundation to attend their 7th Annual Hope Gala and takeover their Instagram account. They asked me to take pictures of me enjoying the event. I wanted to look presentable so I went to Petco and was able to find a tux. 

Petco Foundation Hope Gala

The 7th Annual Petco Foundation Hope Gala is the foundation's biggest event of the year. It will be on June 20, 2015 at the Grand Manchester Hyatt in San Diego.

I love helping out the animal community in my own little way so I was happy that I was invited to do a takeover of Petco Foundation's Instagram account and report live from the Hope Gala. I will post pictures of the event where you will be able to see me have a good time. 

Dan Cohen, morning anchor on CBS News 8 in San Diego will Chair proceedings at the event. 

Dog Beach: Ocean Beach

I've been living in San Diego for 5 years now but haven’t been to the dog beach yet. One day my human decided to take me to the beach during winter time here in San Diego. We left a little bit later than planned and the sun was going down but we decided to still check out the beach anyway. We went to Ocean Beach which is located at the end of Voltaire Street. They have a big parking lot so we didn’t have any problems finding parking.

Ocean Beach is known to be one of the first official leash free beaches in the United States. Dogs can run freely on the beach and surfers will be able to catch some waves. It's a pretty big area so you don't feel too crowded when you are there.

Therapy Dog Volunteer: Mission Hills Library

Did you know that reading to dogs can help children boost their reading skills? There are different libraries that offer this kind of program to help kids with their reading and also help with their social and emotional skills. 

Young kids are scared to make a mistake when reading. They feel embarrassed and feel like they will be laughed at. Having a dog program where kids can read to dogs changes everything. Kids will feel more at ease talking to a furry dog. They find comfort and enjoy reading to the dogs.

Volunteering at the library was my first volunteering job as a therapy dog. My human called Mission Hills library and asked if they were interested in having a therapy dog. The manager said yes so we set up a time and date for our volunteer session. They even made a flyer with my picture on it.



Dog Yoga Guinness World Record 2015

Sorry for the late post about this event. I've been too busy... sleeping.

On Sunday, January 25, 2015, dogs and humans participated in the dog yoga event hosted by San Diego Humane Society and Leash Your Fitness. They hosted this event to break the Guinness World Record for most dogs and people doing yoga together in one place. My human registered 2 days before the event and I was so excited to do yoga.

We arrived at Carmel Valley Recreation Center at around 9:15 AM. We went to the registration booth and signed up. There was no fee for the registration but the suggested amount for the donation was $10. While we were signing up, there was a girl from San Diego Humane Society who asked me if I was the Chargers fan that was featured as the last Weekly Fluff for 2014 on Instagram. Yup that's me. Go Chargers!

I'm scared. Will they ask us to do a handstand? 

Barking Beast Fashion Show 2015

I love attending dog events especially if it's an event that will benefit rescue dogs. I was very honored to be part of the Barking Beast fashion show that took place on Friday, February 20, 2015 at Westin San Diego. Tania Milberg of Barking Beast organized the whole event and it turned out amazing. It was only $20 to get in the event and it included a complimentary buffet and unlimited drinks (score!). Proceeds from the event were split among Rancho Coastal Humane Society, SD Humane Society, 2nd Chance Dog Rescue and Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego. 

I was one of the 4 celebrity dogs featured on the show. The other 3 dogs were Chopper the Biker Dog, Dozer the Surfing Dog and Faye and Mochi, the Ballistic Racers. The celebrity judges for the fashion show were Mike Costa (1360 Fox Sports), Maria Arcega-Dunn (Fox 5 News Anchor), Thomas Keiser (NFL Linebacker), Geena the Latina and Frankie V (93.3 Radio Hosts).

Barking Beast Runway Show

Do you want to have a great time and help shelter pets at the same time? Tania Milberg from www.BarkingBeast.com is hosting a charity event to raise money for San Diego rescue organizations. Your donation of $20 will gain you free entry with complimentary dinner buffet & cocktail drinks. The event is from 6:00 pm – 9:30 pm and will have models walk on the runway with dogs available for adoption. The celebrity judges will be Mike Costa (San Diego Fox Sports Host), Maria Arcega-Dunn (Fox 5 News Anchor), Thomas Kesier (NFL Linebacker) and Geena the Latina & Frankie V (Chanel 933 Radio Hosts). Oh and did I mention that I am going to be part of the event as well? I am one of the 4 celebrity dogs that will make a special guest appearance on the show. To know a little more about the pets who will make appearances, check out this article by Tania Milberg of Barking Beast.

The event will be at Westin Downtown San Diego – 400 West Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101.  

Happy Dogs Dining Out 2015

Save the date! On February 4, 2015, more than 20 restaurants in San Diego are going to donate a minimum of 10% of their proceeds to 4 local animal rescue groups: Rancho Coastal Humane Society, Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego, Second Chance Dog Rescue and FACE Foundation. 

Therapy Dog

A lot of people ask me how and why I got my therapy license. As some of you may know, I had my worst episode of IVDD more than a year ago. It was very stressful and emotional and I wouldn't have gotten through it without the help of my family, friends and even strangers. I am all better now and very grateful that I am healthy. My human thought that the best way we can give back to the community is by volunteering. She knows I bring so much joy to people when they meet me in person. She cannot remember how she knew about therapy dogs because we didn't know of any therapy dogs before I registered to become one, I guess it's just meant to be.

A Day in My Life

Are you curious to know what a day in my life is like? I'm sure you think that since I am a dog all I do is sleep sleep sleep. That might be true on weekdays but on weekends my human takes me along with her.

10:15 am

I start my day with some yummy breakfast. My human gives me soft food mixed with liquid joint supplements. My problem starts after breakfast... I always have a hard time figuring out what to wear because I have a lot of clothes. I decided to wear my Santa hoodie outfit.

I have my own portable heater because I always get cold during "winter" in San Diego.

Balboa Park December Nights

It's that time of the year again. My human likes to go to Balboa Park December Nights and it only happens 2 nights in a year so it can get pretty crowded. I wanted to come but my human said it's not really for small dogs. My human always sees a lot of other humans bring their dogs to the park but she knows I will freeze. I will probably need at least 2 fur coats to keep me warm because I am always cold. My human said she saw more than 15 dogs tonight and one was even in the stroller.

I was upset my human left me so I got the party started.