Friday, September 23, 2022

Custom Pet Portraits are the PERFECT Holiday Gift!

 If you are anything like me, you take TONS of photos of your pets. Out of 100s of photos there is a good chance that maybe a handful of them would be photos that you would like to keep forever. Printing photos at home s great, but wouldn't you much prefer turning those pet photos into art?

Through the years I have had a number of custom pet portraits done, that I cherish.

My Quirky Kitchen!!

 I've also gifted myself cuddly cat pillows that look like my pet. Other items I've gifted myself (or have been the lucky/grateful recipient of) include phone cases, mugs, candle holders and more, all made from photos of my pets.  My custom pet portraits that are displayed throughout my home make me smile on a daily basis, they remain my favorites!

It's nearly the end of September, the holidays are right around the corner!!! Get a jump on holiday gift giving NOW for the pet lovers in your life!!!  WHAT ABOUT GIFTING YOURSELF? We are always thinking of unique gifts for the holidays for our pets,    and others, but we shouldn't forget ourselves either!!

Roary the BOUNTY HUNTER!!
My Portrait is a 9x12


I was recently afforded the opportunity to have a custom pet portrait designed by a company called Mr&MrsPaw. (I was contacted by Responsival, the agency who represents  Mr&MrsPaw, I was not contacted by Mr&MrsPaw).

 ABOUT MR&MRS PAW:

"Mr&Mrs Paw creates pet portraits to celebrate your furry loved ones! Mr&MrsPaw creates personalized pieces of art to commemorate your pet. Besides canvas, customers can also receive customized phone cases, throw pillows and mugs. Best of all they offer unlimited revisions until you are happy with your artwork!"

Mr&MrsPaw care about animal welfare. They are proud to be a named partner of The Humane Society International.

The process was easy:

  • You choose your costume/theme
  • Upload Your Photo
  • Place Your Order

 EASY PEASY!! Deciding on a theme was the most difficult part, there are sooo many to choose from!!  It was important to me to take Roary's personality into account when deciding what theme on their website would suit him best. Finally, I decided on the Bounty Hunter because Roary LOVES to hunt and kill bugs! It's perfect!

Once I decided on my theme, it was time to choose a photo.   I already knew I was choosing a custom canvas portrait and once I chose the photo, I was ready to roll. 

I was sent a proof to view before I confirmed the order, (I DID have difficulty viewing the proof initially, which could have been a computer glitch on my end, but the designers worked with me and ended up sending the proof in a format that I COULD open.)

Once confirmed, it took approximately two weeks for my portrait to arrive (WHICH IS WHY YOU NEED TO GET A JUMP ON YOUR HOLIDAY ORDERING NOW!!). It was WELL WORTH THE WAIT!! The Bounty Hunter portrait of Roary is displayed with pride among my other collectibles in my kitchen.


I couldn't be happier with it! I'm hoping you will visit Mr&MrsPaw and gift yourself or the pet lovers in your life with one of their most unique creations!!!

FTC Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Responsival. I received a complimentary canvas portrait and financial compensation for featuring  Mr&MrsPaw. That has no influence whatsoever on this review. I am always committed to sharing the good and the bad of all the companies I feature, regardless of compensation. I only share information about products that I have used or would use and only share a product if I feel it is of relevance to my readers.

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Happy 2nd Adoption Day to Our Roary!!

 It is so hard to believe our adorable "marshmallow boy" Roary has been with us TWO YEARS!!! It's time to celebrate!!!  I had introduced you to Roary quite some time ago and for this post there will be a mix of his intro post and some new photos! Hope you enjoy!

Two years ago, I believe in August I thought I might be up for adding a kitty to our family again, I wasn't sure, but I subscribed to a number of sites and figured if it was meant to be it would be. One day after meeting two other cats that were instantly obvious, they were NOT the right ones, I saw this:


Yes, Roary began his life as a "Felix!" I saw this face and instantly fell in love. I decided to send Lenny to PetSmart to check him out in his cage first, just to see if he was friendly. Lenny came home with a great report, "Felix" held his paw out to Lenny and proceeded to work his way into his heart. I promptly filled out an application, they checked my references, and an appointment was made to meet "Felix" on September 21, 2020.


The rest is history! "Felix" instantly was named Roary, (after the Detroit Lions mascot), and we promptly adopted him. Roary was born June 10, 2020. He was a little over 3 months old when he joined our family. What strikes me as strange is Dakota was diagnosed with cancer on June 8th, we found out Cody had to have biopsy surgery on June 9th and Roary was born June 10th. It certainly seems that a higher power had a plan that I knew nothing about.

The original Roary and I at a game on my birthday

Our Roary, a friendly, playful, adorable bundle of fur came into our house like a terror. He was into EVERYTHING (and I DO mean EVERYTHING!) From getting behind the washer/dryer, to getting stuck under our china cabinet (or so we thought, until we called the Fire Department and Roary came out 2 minutes before they arrived after being under it for nearly an hour) .......we knew we had a real character on our hands. He went from being UNDER the china cabinet to scaling it.




Roary LOVES to give kisses, he LOVES being held, cuddled and petted. NOTE: BY HIS DADDY!!! Roary is the ONLY one of the three cats I have had that really isn't into ME!!! Don't get me wrong, he loves me, (mostly for food lol) and talks to me. But for Roary, the world revolves around his DADDY and yes, even Levi. BEFORE ME!!






you will be seeing this photo again
on Cat Daddy Day!! (Stay tuned!!) 
Thanks, Ann, (Zoolatry)for the great editing job!!



Unlike Cody who was completely disinterested in boxes, Roary has yet to meet a box that he DOESN'T like!










Roary and Levi get along much better than they did a year ago. We still can't allow Levi to be out of his crate ALONE with Roary if no one is home, because Levi still plays too rough. Levi feels that Roary's HEAD should be in HIS MOUTH! (I know Roary looks delicious and ready-to-eat, but we don't want Levi taking that literally!!)

Roary was a most darling kitten, and he is an adorable cat. He has grown into his body, but his head seems surprisingly small. It's as if his body grew but his head decided to stay the same! 






 

Look at the above photo and check out the photo on the left with the blue socks in it. Roary's latest obsession is OPENING MY SOCK DRAWER and he TAKES OUT THE SOCKS!!! Every day I find socks that Roary brings to me in the kitchen. He doesn't just play with them, he DELIVERS them to ME.  I'm assuming that this is the way that he shows me he loves TOLERATES me.


Every day we are grateful for our fun, adventurous, mischievous Roary. He is truly a special boy. He's kind, patient and extremely intelligent. We love our "Marshmallow" boy and wouldn't trade him for the world!

Happy 2nd Adoption Day Roary!!!
xoxoxo
Love, Mom, Dad and Levi



Tuesday, September 20, 2022

My 2nd Birthday Was Pawtastic!

 


Hi everyone! It's Levi and I just wanted to thank you all for my birthday greetings on the 17th! I had a most pawsome birthday!!

Mom went to my school (Canine College) in the morning and bought me scrumptious cookies (see photos) and a bag of birthday cookie treats!

I got tons of treats ALL DAY! Anytime I wanted them!

I also got tons of kisses from Mom and Dad all day!

At night Mom made me my first hamburger (she chopped it up and only gave me half with my kibble because I am not used to human food.) It was delicious!

Then I chewed on my beloved bully stick.

It was a most pawtastic birthday!

Thanks for sharing it with me!

Love, Levi 

Monday, September 19, 2022

Meow and Woof Like A Pirate Day!!! #InternationalTalkLikeAPirateDay




 "International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon, who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirateAn observer of this holiday would greet friends not with "Hello, everyone!" but with "Ahoy, maties!" or "Ahoy, me hearties!" The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy." (from WikiPedia)


It would not be right on

International Talk Like a Pirate Day
for me NOT to repeat the
catabulous photo made for me by
Mr.Puddy !!!
I mean seriously,
why mess with PURRFECTION??





Be sure to visit the Pirate Day
Spokesdog and Spokeskitty below!

Saturday, September 17, 2022

You Made It Levi!!!!! (and we did TOO!) HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!!

 


Once upon a time, TWO years ago today, a certain Sheltie was born. His original name was "Robbie". He was the FIRST born of his litter, he was the LARGEST of the litter, and I am pretty certain, the CRAZIEST of the litter!

(Photos courtesy of Greyfyre Shelties)



Levi GREW.

(Photos courtesy of Greyfyre Shelties)



AND GREW.



AND GREW.

AND GREW

 until he couldn't grow anymore!!! (at least I'm hoping so!!!)

(the photo top left and on the right were
taken by Alyssa Paris at Canine College)


No longer a puppy, Levi is now a full-fledged doggy!!!!! (No longer can any of us use the excuse, "well, he's STILL just a PUPPY!!) Levi's physical appearance is regal and simply magnificent.

Levi is super confident, bold and can be impulsive and brash. He doesn't watch where he's going. He will literally jump OVER me while I am sitting on the couch, (he will run and leap like a deer right over me!)  He stands like a monument when you want to go around him (I often say he should have "wide load emblazoned on his rear end). He often gets a bad rap. He greatly prefers PEOPLE to other dogs, but occasionally a dog will catch his eye that is more active and mischievous and that will be the one he will engage in a good game of chase with.

bad photos because I took them from
watching Levi at school on the camera
He took a particular liking to the dog in the sweater
that Lenny and I nicknamed ("Sweater Boy")
We later found out his name is actually "Rocky!"


Overall, Levi is OBSESSED with people. (Ask the staff at Canine College who one of their biggest "shadows" is and I am pretty certain they will say Levi.) If there is poop to be picked up, he will happily follow whoever is picking it up!!

Levi wants the entire world to know that he exists,

Sorry about the bad photo, took it from my computer
while watching Levi on camera at daycare


 that's why he may bark and jump at people whom he encounters, (he has gotten better about that but sometimes he just gets carried away). Because he has a deep bark and is larger than most Shelties, he sometimes makes some people a little nervous. Dogs can sense if someone is afraid or if they just don't like dogs, and a dog will react accordingly. (and often not in the most positive way)

While Levi is a rather anxious dog some of the time, he DOES possess the ability to relax and "chill" and is doing that more and more since he has gotten older. Levi is also exceptionally loving. He is a MAJOR CUDDLER!!!

I will say there is never a dull moment with Levi around, and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

(Photo courtesy of Canine College)


Today, in honor of his birthday his Daddy and I will drive him over to Canine College's Bark Shop to pick out a special dessert and I will be making him either a special hamburger for dinner, or a doggy meatloaf (not sure yet!)

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY to my CRAZY, LOVING, SILLY, "SASSY", BRILLIANT AND WILD SHELTIE BOY!!! Daddy and I LOVE YOU!! (Roary does too, but in his own strange way!)



Keep marching to your own drummer my crazy boy!!! We will all catch up with you one of these days!!!!! Much Love from Mom, Dad and Roary




Thursday, September 8, 2022

We Grieve with the World #QueenElizabethII

We are extremely sad. Queen Elizabeth II, who ascended the British throne at 25, has passed away at the age of 96. The queen has reigned longer than any other living monarch. She reigned over the British Isles as well as 15 commonwealth countries. What an incredible life she had, sharp as a tack until the end. A feisty, classy, strong woman, who was a huge dog lover as well. What an incredible life she lived! She was enormously popular. I seriously thought she would live forever

🙁 I extend my sympathy to the Royal family and to all who are deeply touched and grieving her today. R.I.P 🙁 xoxo