Thursday, January 31, 2013

MaggieMoose: I Can Do Something

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."


  Maggie and I are sending out our last minute pleading request of her followers & friends to vote for her in the Super Dog Sunday football photo contest. Maggie is #24. The vote is to bring awareness for homeless pets (and preventing euthanasia) through the Petfinder Foundation. Yes, Maggie is competitive and likes a win here or there, but she wants a win-win. It's not all about her. In her #24 photo she looks super cute in her SF 49er football scarf. Hello, 2013 Super Bowl is this weekend.... Maggie realizes she gets to watch the big game lounging in a warm & cozy fleece by my side while many pets can only dream of such comforts and happiness. Help make those pets' dreams come true. Support this seemingly silly contest that packs a big punch for animals waiting to find their forever humans. Each vote counts. Petfinder Foundation not only assists with placement of pets, but people can sponsor pets too if they're unable to adopt. There are many ways to help. Maggie says word of mouth works too. Tell a friend about Petfinder Foundation. WOOF WOOF. As we get ready for the 2013 Super Bowl in the Big Easy Maggie and I remember to not let pet homelessness take a bite out of any of their happiness. We care so, we share. Will you?


Maggie is only one, but she can do something. She's not letting what she cannot do interfere with what she can do. Won't you help? VOTE NOW. VOTE FOR MAGGIE #24. VOTING OPEN THRU SUPER BOWL FEB. 3RD. IT'S FOR HOMELESS PETS. PLEASE CLICK THE LINK: http://www.dogtipper.com/giveaways-contests/2013/01/superdogsunday-kickoff.html WOOF WOOF .... many humble thanks.


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

MaggieMoose: Temptation At Knotty Oak

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places."


  Maggie and I walk by many oak trees. One oak tree in particular is a haven for small black squirrels and gray squirrels. We can see why. The ground below this oak is littered with a plethora of acorns. If I'm daydreaming as we walk my attention is quickly alerted by Maggie. She instantly changes her body language. Oh ya Maggie, squirrels ahead. We have worked through the "squirrel thing" to get her to calm down, relax, no need to chase and so forth. It's tempting seeing those squirrels. I think Maggie's obsession has transferred to me. Now I tense up for different reasons.


I have been trying to get the perfect photo of a black squirrel with my iPhone. I know, it's probably impossible, but Maggie and I don't know the word impossible. We do have tons of attempted squirrel photos. It's become a daily ritual on our walk to try one more time. When we hit this patch of acorns beneath the knotty oak we prepare for the shot. 


Maggie stays close to my side. We tip toe in slow motion trying to get close enough for a great shot. Maybe a non-blurred one? We park beneath this mighty oak as the squirrels run up the tree through the branches and leap to the other oak trees. Thoughts pound in my head seriously squirrel, can't ya just sit still once? Heavens no. The squirrel looks back at Maggie and I with the look of catch me if you can.... Maggie, we've done it again. We've parked at tempting parking places. We will attain success! Maybe not today.... WOOF WOOF


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

MaggieMoose: Art Lesson

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."


  In between the rain Maggie and I scurried out to get our walk in. The acorn lined pathway was wet. The sky was misty and clouded over. As we walked down the pathway we came upon a woman with a overpowering and interesting hat. Our view was like a piece of artwork. Gray mist was everywhere. The green grass bordering the pathway framed her slight figure. It was a special moment that caused Maggie and I to freeze. We gazed while art came towards us. We wondered if we had been transported to another land? Perhaps somewhere where the Hobbits live? Alice in Wonderland? We had just witnessed art candy come alive. Blessed. Maggie and I are in full agreement with Pablo Picasso. Art really does wash away the dust from everyday life. They should let dogs in art museums. Maggie just might stuff her soul with all the art candy. Me too. WOOF WOOF


Monday, January 28, 2013

MaggieMoose: Four Paws & A Tail Wag Away

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new."



  Maggie is getting excited. She's four paws and a tail wag away from watching Who Let The Dogs Out on TV. Season 2 debuts Feb. 1st on the Hallmark Channel. No, Maggie isn't really a TV goer. In fact if the tube's on that's her clue to snooze. Paws run a muck besides me while I watch my favorite shows and she dreams of running to far off places. Tillman, the skateboarding Bulldog will be hosting the show. We love Tillman. He's a buff Bulldog with some super hot talent! He surfs too! Maggie's a California girl so, we're talking home turf talent. WOOF WOOF! What captured Maggie's attention to set her DVR for Who Let The Dogs Out is their first show will tell us about Lucca. She's the military dog honored for her courage in the 2013 Rose Bowl Parade. Maggie and I wrote about Lucca and those heroic military dogs in Roses For Canine Courage. Maggie's human sibling saw Lucca in the 2013 Rose Bowl parade. Her sib came home to tell us all about it. Amazing. So, the DVR is set. We'll be popping the popcorn with our fleece blanket cozy ready. Maggie's excited to see her kindred four pawed spirits on the tele. Lucca is proof in the joy of deeds well done-she lost a leg and saved human lives at the same time. Tillman is showing there's a place for pets and humans to see moose size pawsabilities in the world by sharing Lucca's story. True happiness does come from the joy of deeds well done. WOOF WOOF! Maggie promises to wake up when it's time to watch. SNIFF. SNIFF. Oops, I better guard that popcorn too! 




Friday, January 25, 2013

MaggieMoose And Her Adventure Subbie

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face."


  Rain doesn't stop Maggie from going anywhere. Rain or shine she's ready to go out for an adventure whether out for a walk or in her Subbie car (2011 Subaru Forester). It gets her excited! Adventure girl rocks! Like yesterday, the rainy weather came back. I needed to do some last minute running around. It's almost dark. Maggie's piercing eyes spoke volumes to me. I read her mind and it tells me I wanna go too. OK girl. Rain drops on our faces. Pronto! I snatch a blurred photo of Maggie in front of our Subbie car. Drum roll ... this is where the infomercial comes in. I have never driven a safer car in the rain (inches of pounding rain) than in our Subaru Forester. It literally hugs the road like Velcro. It's an amazing feeling to feel so safe in stormy weather. As Maggie is my prize love bug I want to know that I can keep her safe & happy. The backseat is where she goes with Dora the Explorer. (Yes, the Stanford students got a kick out of riding with Dora too. LOL) 


Maggie rides many ways; harnessed in, laying down with some zzz's, upright or to the back of the Subbie in her crate. The crate is kept in the car if she needs to be confined for any reason. A good example of how she used her crate was when Maggie needed to wait her turn when she did human scent tracking training. 

Back to the rain and darkness.... We took our walk, it rained on our faces and nightime was upon us. Together we smiled with our wet faces. Maggie's lip kinda curled up with her antsy let's go look and we drove away in the Subbie to do our errand. It's happy trails for us rain or shine. We know we'll get back home safe & sound.


till the next adventure....
WOOF WOOF


Thursday, January 24, 2013

MaggieMoose Credo: Live To Play

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"Life must be lived as play."


  Maggie's three favorite things to do are walk, play, cuddle. Yesterday's trail of toys said what she felt on our rainy day. She lived to play. In every room in our house there were other smaller trails of toys where Maggie had either followed me or gone off on her own play venture. The best thing I did when Maggie was a puppy was teach her how to get her own toys out of her toy bin. It's called entertain yourself. If she looked bored I tell her go get a toy. She always pranced off like I handed her the most genius idea. Win-win. I felt good, and she felt good. 


When folks came to visit I'd warn them watch your step. As quick as the toys were cleaned up they were back. We have a daily land mine of toys. OK with me. Maggie is one happy girl chasing, chewing, snatching and sleeping with her toys. In the Depression era there was a slogan used called a chicken in every pot. It was used to highlight the then political party's promise of prosperity for Americans. In our home, it could be replaced with a toy in every room for the key to a prosperous play life. Maggie lives by the credo a life must be lived as play. I agree.


Wednesday, January 23, 2013

MaggieMoose Attends The Pawty

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun."


  Today Maggie is recharging her batteries the best way she knows how-upside down. Maggie's calendar has been full. It's the day after her birthday celebration, a couple days after her SF 49ers football team won their play off game (Super Bowl 2013 here we come), and a few days after Maggie attended her first ever blog pawty on Twitter. The social media darling of the pet world Blog Paws hosted this fabulous pawty. At first there was a little awkwardness. Who were these cats and dogs? Maggie warmed right up when she saw the bulldog celebrity Tillman (skating dog). WOOF! WOOF! Then she recognized another pet friend from her Twitter world. It was RumpyDog! He was serving up drinks & appetizers in his role as one of the Barktenders. Might Maggie like a Wigglebutt Whiskey with a side of ham? Maggie passed on the drink, but definitely took the ham offer. YUM. Catnip concoctions were served up for the kitty kats hanging out. Another drink that was popular was the Cocker Rocker. Baconbeer, tuna cheezecake and waggie drinks populated the blog pawty. Tillman talked about Season 2 of his Who Let The Dogs Out? It starts on Feb 1st on the Hallmark channel. Maggie met many new friends too numerous to mention them all. Names like CarmaPoodle, Cokie the Cat, Fidose of Reality, or Life with Beagle had Maggie's head buzzing. The most important part of the whole blog pawty was the mission to raise money for pets in need. Maggie thanks the Blog Pawty Team for a great pawty. New friends, quizzes for prizes and pawards just added to the merriment. Maggie also learned some new words at the blog pawty. BOL means bark out loud and MOL means meow out loud. Friends make life more FUN! How about Maggie's new word she made up? FUN.

FurryFriends Understanding Needs....   


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

MaggieMoose Forever And Always: HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
'Cause I'm keeping you
forever and for always
We will be together all of our days
Wanna wake up every
morning to your sweet face--always

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE!
2 years old today

doogie birthday cookie

Yum

In your arms I can still feel the way you
want me when you hold me
I can still hear the words you whispered
when you told me
I can stay right here forever in your arms

And there ain't no way--
I'm lettin' you go now
And there ain't no way--
and there ain't no how
I'll never see that day....



Monday, January 21, 2013

MaggieMoose: Purpose of Pawsabilities

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"I have decided to stick with love...."
  We were asked What is the purpose of your pet blog? Where do we begin? Let me count the freckles all over MaggieMoose.... This past year we have shared many purpose filled pawsabilities around the world. We've highlighted animals, nature and people. Sometimes serious and sometimes silly. Maggie and I believe in living life with moose size pawsabilities. It's pawsable. We wrote of the Lakota children in Soaring Spirits and Juri & her service dog Galvin in Free Bird "Because I Can". Sometimes our path was about family love like in MaggieMoose Grandma Love & Cookies. Maggie's Play Day said it all from her perspective. Who knows, maybe we're stitching a moose size quilt of pawsabiltites in global proportions? True to my girl's sweetness she remembers her fellow animal pals in MaggieMoose Update: Want love? Add Dog & Cat. It starts in our home with Maggie's turtles Timmy & Tui who Color Outside The Lines in pawsability living. We have decided to stick with love in our messaging in the pet blogging world. Maggie believes her humans' heartbeats count too. 



PS. Happy Birthday Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday, January 18, 2013

MaggieMoose: Super Dog Sunday & Petfinder Foundation

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know, than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world."


  Maggie carries in her heart the SF 49er football team. Dreams of her home team playing in the 2013 Super Bowl Sunday game get her all misty eyed. A football fan to the core, Maggie cheered on her local Stanford University football team to win the 2013 Rose Bowl so, why not continue the cheering for her local NFL team, the SF 49ers? Oh, and her SF Giants baseball team won the 2012 World Series too, but that's another dog tail. This coming Sunday on Jan. 20th, the SF 49ers have an important playoff game. It is also an important day for Super Dog Sunday. This is a photo contest with a football theme which benefits the Petfinder Foundation. It's hosted by Event Barkers. Maggie loves her warm & cozy home. She wants all homeless pets to find their special homes with their forever humans. Petfinder Foundation has moose size pawsability thinking, one pet at a time. We like. WOOF! WOOF! Their compassionate goals are to ensure that no adoptable pets are euthanized. They work collaboratively with shelters, rescues, and other animal organizations to meet these powerful goals. After careful reflection, Maggie tossed her photo in the Super Dog Sunday hat. 


We entered Maggie's most recent SF 49er photo of her 2013 Super Bowl dreaming. While Maggie might look like a sweet girl, she's also a tenacious one. She's hoping to take a bite out of unwanted homeless pets just like she grips her football. Serious business. We agree, we rather see portraits of pets in forever homes, than on the streets or in some shelters waiting

GO SF 49ERS! GO PETFINDER FOUNDATION! WOOF WOOF









Thursday, January 17, 2013

MaggieMoose: Sustainability Is A Warm Puppy

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"Happiness is a warm puppy."


  As the cold blast our area for another day (of many) I consider myself lucky I have a MaggieMoose to keep me warm. She's an instant warmer upper. Most older places out West in CA aren't prepared for our current weather of 20's-30'sF. Somehow the cold gets inside no matter what I do. I don't like sleeping with the heater on at night either. I might change my mind. Last night was the kind of night that went burr. I thought I heard the weather person say it's warming up. It only warmed up to 30F from 29F. Surprise, I woke up and it's freezing again. In these days of sustainability and thinking green, I highly recommend a warm puppy. There are plenty of warm and fuzzy dogs in the world waiting for cuddle up homes. Although Maggie is almost two years old she's still a puppy in heart and spirit. My armor of flannel pajamas, robe, socks & slippers still required a little something more. Maggie is all about adding some extra warmth. We're about sustainability, the gift that keeps giving. Some of Maggie's byproducts are warmth, love, licks & hugs, creator of hysterical laughter and surprise. Did anyone say tennis ball? She'll chase that too! I know we've said it before, but happiness is a warm puppy or maybe a cat or bunny, etc., etc., etc. OK lapdog Maggie, let's turn the heater on.... a girl's gotta get to work.


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

MaggieMoose Meditates

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"Meditation is all about the pursuit of nothingness. It's like the ultimate rest. It's better than the best sleep you've ever had. It's a quieting of the mind. It sharpens everything, especially your appreciation of your surroundings. It keeps life fresh."


  I purchased a meditation file from Trella of Access Your Answers. I believe it's good to get grounded and quiet the mind. The file was on my iPad located somewhere in cyberspace. Well, I finally tried it out the other day. Boy, Maggie and I got more than we bargained for....  At first, as I sat in my chair with both feet firmly planted on the ground Maggie laid across from me perky and curious. As the meditation file started her quizzical look said plenty like what the heck are you doing? I felt relaxed and drifted off into the land of imagination and wonder. As the meditation MP3 slowly started wrapping up there's a part where Trella says in her soothing voice now open your eyes. Oh my gosh. Although Maggie's eyes were slightly ajar, she was passed out in a deep sleep. I think Maggie agrees that meditation is the best sleep she's ever had. Thanks Trella! Now I know dogs meditate too. WOOF WOOF


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

MaggieMoose Update: Want Love? Add Dog & Cat

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day: 
"I believe in animal rights, and high among them is the right to the gentle stroke of a human hand." 

B from Boston moves to New York City

  Last summer we participated in the Blog the Change, for animals. Maggie and I wrote a post called: Want Love? Add Dog. Our story was about some of Maggie's animal friends who were adopted. Dogs given a second chance. We highlighted B from Boston. She was a Pit Bull mix puppy found wondering the streets of Boston alone. Luckily, the local shelter rescued her and she was adopted. Most Pit Bulls don't get a second chance. B has had a good life with her forever family. She's also provided her family with a ton of fun and lots of loving licks. Boston was her residence last summer, but she recently relocated with her family to New York City. While back in Boston, Miss B learned how to play Fetch Hockey and became a master of holding not one, but two tennis balls in her mouth. 


We shared some of Maggie's other friends too. We wrote about the cute little adopted Daisy, the Yorkie who thinks she's Great Dane size. She's still living the life with her adopted family. Maggie and I think she looks marvelous in her pretty pink sweater upon her human. A little girl's gotta keep warm.



Then there was Daisy's newly adopted sister Bella, the tiny Chihuahua who really needed a second chance. Last year "skin and bones" best described her. Now she sits plush upon the furniture.



Bella's forever family fattened her up with much needed nourishment of food and love. Together Daisy and Bella make a sweet sisterhood of pink. But, it didn't stop there. Drum roll please Maggie.......



Enter the new boy in the house. Oscar the cat. He's an 8 year old beautiful cat who rules with purrfection. This household of adopted love found out they can't live without his many purrs and regal looks. He, who rules, has stated age doesn't matter, love last forever when you're purrfect.


It's such a small world. We came to find out that Maggie, Daisy and Bella share some things in common. Maggie's birthday is Jan. 22nd, Bella's birthday is Jan. 23rd, and Daisy's birthday is Jan. 24th. All three of the almost birthday girls all love PINK too! Meanwhile, Oscar takes the fifth, his birthday is in May. Maggie and I believe all animals deserve a gentle stroke from a human hand. It makes the world go around a much happier place. WOOF WOOF



Monday, January 14, 2013

Happiness: Spa Day & Canine Conversation

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"True happiness arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select companions."


  The other day Maggie had her mani/pedi. No polish for her, just a nice filing and cuticle removal. Oo la la, this mani/pedi came complete with a scrub-a-dub of aloe & oatmeal shampoo. She loves getting a bath, having her nails done and chatting it up with her canine friends. Spa day! When I went to pick Maggie up one of her friends, the Golden Retriever dog was relaxing under the dryers. Some dogs shiver and shake when they enter the dog grooming building. They are usually the smaller dogs, but not always. The big dogs just prance in like they own the place. The look on their faces shows me they aren't bothered. Who cares if they're left for a few hours while getting fussed & gussied up? Maggie tells all. This pack of dogs chilling underneath the dryers or in the tubs are there to catch up with each others' lives. It's like a secret canine society us humans are clueless about. The password for entrance is WOOF WOOF. It's a different kind of day for canines who otherwise wouldn't get to see each other. When I come home after dropping Maggie off the house feels empty. I do things previously left undone and run errands. Before I know it, it's time to go get Maggie. Her groomer brings her out. She's all wiggles & giggles. I read her mind. Let's go! I want my treat! I'm handed the baton treat. We're off. Another fine day spent with a few select canine companions. It makes for a happy MaggieMoose girl.







Friday, January 11, 2013

MaggieMoose Enters The Pet Blogger Challenge

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:
"Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others."



  Late yesterday Maggie and I came across the Third Annual Pet Blogger Challenge. The due date mentioned was Jan. 10th. We were too late for that date since Maggie was out on a twig exploration. We read the fine print of this pet challenge and realized we still had time to enter. The format for the Pet Blogger Challenge is a question and answer one. As we understand it, the goal is for other bloggers and readers to get to know what your blog is about. I discussed it with Maggie and she's game to answer the big nine questions. 

MaggieMooseTracks is #99 on the BLOG ROLL that follows this posting. Here we go:

1. When did you begin your blog? 

On February 7, 2012, we began our MaggieMooseTracks Wordpress blog. It's almost a year ago. This date was a good friend's mom's birthday. We thought it was a fortuitous date. We were right. WOOF WOOF

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?

Maggie and I are all about living life with moose size pawsabilities. Anyone check her paws? We wanted to share our pawsability living with one moose size pawsability thought at a time. It's all about sharing pawsitive news and eliminating the negative, just like the old song Accentuate The Positive.... and latching onto the affirmative-don't mess with Mr. InBetween. Spread some MaggieMoose JOY! 

3. Is your current purpose the same? If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals? 

The purpose of MaggieMooseTracks remains the same of spreading joy with moose size pawsabilities-life without limits. On January 1, 2013, the tally of worldwide countries reached one pawsability thought at a time was 78 countries on 6 continents! We are thrilled! A big WOOF WOOF from Maggie. Our goals are almost met for our initial start of having a global presence. There is still room for growth. We would like Antarctica to become our Followers & Likers in order to complete our global outreach of 7 continents. Of course, we want to continue to spread the MaggieMoose joy to many more countries. Our MaggieMooseTracks link is FREE, pass it on.

One moment of paws. 

Maggie & I want to thank our many fellow bloggers and friends who made this all pawsable for us. All of our blogger awards or accolades are so appreciated. If we can bring one big MaggieMoose smile or two to another soul, our hearts sing with joy. We are humbled. We are grateful. Thank you all.

4. How often do you post?

Maggie thinks this is a good question. We use to post 7 days a week, excluding personal vacation time. Maggie wanted us to cut back to a Monday through Friday schedule. Recently, I obliged Maggie in order for us to share off camera personal time together. While on vacation we might tweet or give a shout out on our MaggieMooseTracks Twitter account, our Mari Maggie MooseTracks Facebook friend account (it's Public), or on our MaggieMooseTracks Facebook page.

5. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you? If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic? If you don’t publish on a schedule, why? How do you think your decision affects your audience? How do you know when a topic is “post-worthy?”

Whoa, rapid fire questions.... Our loose format is to blog Monday through Friday, because our followers want to know the latest zany antics of MaggieMoose and her friends. Our inspiration comes from "waking up" or our "out & about" adventuring. Maggie supplies me with plenty of material. Ask her friends. MaggieMooseTracks is never dull. Hopefully, after one reads our blog they leave with a smile or two....and tell their friends.

6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your tips for staying on top of it all.

Maggie and I spend the amount of time needed to write our moose size pawsabilities one moose size thought at a time. We don't watch the clock. We wake up with the roosters and just write. Or we might write the night before posting. We just follow our bliss and get lost in the process.... For us, the best part of our blog is we aren't claiming to be experts on anything, including ourselves. Since we come from this stance, it frees up our creativity and flow. Blogging without limits or maybe even without correct grammar! 

7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)? Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?

We measure the success of our blog postings by first, how we feel about what we've written and then second, by the comments received from our wonderful Followers or folks who give us plenty of Likes. It gets us excited realizing that our MaggieMooseTracks blog has been read in 78 countries and is growing daily. In that aspect, numbers are great, but we aren't ruled by them! We are ruled by our hearts. 

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?

We would ask the pet blogging community to come visit us at MaggieMooseTracks. We would like more Followers & Likes. WOOF WOOF

P.S. We don't know all the techy blog questions or answers of blogging technology so, hopefully we can pull this pet challenge off! Please forgive us if our paws get in the way.

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?

Our goals for MaggieMooseTracks in 2013, are a continuing worldwide presence. Love, caring, and sharing are universal concepts. Maggie and I believe the world likes living life with moose size pawsabilities-without limits. We're here to share one moose size pawsability thought at a time. We have a target date of Feb. 2013, to shift our Wordpress blog format onto our web page at maggiemoosetracks.com. Our web page is currently being redesigned by a professional. We realized our shortcomings as web page techies so, we'll leave it to the web pros. COME SEE US! Again, thanks to all who see and believe in our pawsitive value. 
WOOF! WOOF!

We believe life is exciting. It's more exciting sharing it with others!




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