Shopping Local for #StellaandChewys During #SmallBusinessWeek

National Small Business Week is April 30 - May 6, 2017. I love shopping small, shopping local, and prefer to do it every opportunity I can.

Neeko and I recently visited City Dogs Grocery in Indianapolis to purchase some Stella & Chewy's Meal Mixers SuperBlends. City Dogs Grocery has two locations, one on Mass Ave in downtown Indy, and the other in Broad Ripple Village on the north side of Indy.  The princess and I visited the Broad Ripple location.

My Rotten Dogs are Stella & Chewy's ambassadors. We are being compensated to help spread the word about Stella & Chewy's, but all words and opinions are strictly our own. 

One of the great things about supporting small businesses is that you often get to meet the "boss." Neeko and I were greeted by Christi, the owner of both City Dogs Grocery locations. She was gracious and welcoming, and eager to show us the location of the Stella & Chewy's products we were seeking. She was also knowledgeable, sharing with us the benefits of the Meal Mixers SuperBlends.

Neeko, socialite that she is, walked in like she owned the place. She did a quick customs inspection on everything. City Dogs Grocery carries a variety of goodies, gear, and other necessary supplies for dog ownership. It is also spacious, clean, bright, and super cute.

We purchased our Meal Mixers, and were happily surprised to learn that they are currently BOGO! Buy one get one free. I couldn't believe my luck, and honestly should have purchased more. Because of course, I also purchased three bully sticks. Neeko talked me into them.

We had a great time. I got some needed supplies while supporting a local small business, and Neeko got to meet a few new friends.

Both locations of City Dogs Grocery are located in hip, urban areas with lots of other small, locally owned businesses nearby. If you are in need of goodies, food, or gear for your dogs, check them out!

Are you looking to purchase Stella & Chewy's from a local small business? If so, use their store locator to find one near you - Store Locator.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Stella & Chewy's. The opinions and text are all mine.

2014 Indy Mutt Strut-Indy Dog Friendly

Today, for the fourth year in a row, we attended the Indianapolis Mutt Strut, benefiting the Humane Society of Indianapolis. This year, we took both Neeko and Faolan.

It was nearly an hour drive for us, and Faolan did great in the Jeep.  I think having calm Neeko in the car with him was helpful.

Neeko always does well, as long as other dogs do not immediately get in her face.  This is the largest event Faolan has attended, and he did phenomenal.  I couldn't be prouder.  He did exhibit a couple of anxious behaviors three or four times, but they were short-lived, and overall he was a sweet, social, well-behaved boy today.

Once, while walking through a very crowded corridor of vendors and people, he sat down for about 10 seconds, but stood up and began walking without encouragement.  I praised him immensely.  He was willing and eager to greet almost everyone, and most other dogs.

Before we actually started the walk.

This is a yearly event taking place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, always occurring the last weekend in April, as the track is busy the entire month of May, in anticipation and preparation for the Indy 500.

We met up with some friends to walk this year, and I ran into some other friends as well.

Charity and Jeff, with their dogs, Mina and Halo.

The 500 Festival Princesses saw Faolan from a distance, and came running over to see him.  He is such a lady's man.

I ran into Bruce's "breeder", and he was actually very nice.  That still doesn't mean I agree with what he does.  He was there with a woofer of his, a handsome, well-behaved boy named Apache.

Bruce's "breeder."

It was a gorgeous day, and I feel bad about leaving Bruce at home, but he does not do well around this many other people and dogs.  Neeko and Faolan are passed out, and tired dogs are good dogs.

Myself, Les and the pups on the track.

Home to the "Greatest spectacle in racing" and the "Greatest spectacle in dog walking"

My pretty princess.  We use a yellow ribbon on her to hopefully keep other dog owners from immediately letting their dogs get in her face. 

Makes me so happy!!

 

Relaxing in the shade, after we completed our lap around the track.

I loved this Great Dane, and he was certainly getting a lot of attention!

This is a yearly event for us, and benefits a good organization.  Indy Humane is NOT affiliated with HSUS, and they do not euthanize for space.  This is their largest fund-raising event each year, and I am glad to be a part of it.

Reunited, and it Feels so Good-Indy Dog Friendly

Sorry for the corny title, I couldn't resist.  On Saturday, I took Faolan to an event, K9's fore Nine, co-hosted by the amazing shelter I adopted him from.  I have mentioned it before, but I truly love them.  Wolfdogs are legal in the state of Indiana, and their is a stigma of sorts surrounding them.  Many shelters will not adopt them out, and I have read horror stories of them being euthanized upon arrival at some shelters.

Anyways, it was a gorgeous Spring day in Indiana.  We saw many of our shelter friends, and he was excited to see them all.

He did surprisingly well in the one hour plus car trip there.  Upon arrival, he did not show any fear, and wanted to greet every dog we saw.  He was a bit hesitant toward a few strangers, but seemed to recognize everyone associated with the shelter and was offering up kisses, tail wags, and happy jumps.

Faolan and Debbie.  Debbie is incredibly sweet, and cares about all the animals.  I am happy to have her as my friend.

There were a few vendors, exhibitors, and rescue organizations present.  One gentleman runs a reptile/amphibian rescue, and brought a few of his animals out.  Faolan did not know what to think of this tortoise.

A bully breed rescue group was present, and had a kissing booth set up.  I pretty much made out with a pit bull, and loved it!

Pit Bull kisses!!!

Some search and rescue folks were doing a demo, and one of the gals from the shelter's daughter was the person being "found."  Michelle asked me to take some pics for her, and offered to hold Faolan while I did so.

He did great, as long as he could see me.  Debbie held him for me while I ran into the clubhouse at one point to use the restroom.  Because I was out of his sight, I was told that he whined, yawned and cried a bit until I came back out.  Poor guy, he really is a momma's boy.

I am impressed with how much progress he is making on our social outings.  The plan is to take him, and Neeko, to the Mutt Strut next weekend.  This is a HUGE event, and will really be a test of sorts for him.

I cannot say enough about GHAM, and all the work they do for all the animals.  I really do love these folks, and wish I had taken more pictures of Faolan with the other shelter staff members.

2013 Great Indy Pet Expo-Indy Dog Friendly

For the third year in a row, I have attended to the Great Indy Pet Expo.  This year it is November 9th and 10th, at the Exposition Hall at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  In 2011 and 2012 I took Neeko with me, but this year I chose to take Faolan, based on how well he did at the GHAM Dog Days of Summer event a few months ago.  Once again, he did fantastic, interacting nicely with dogs and humans.



He may have been just a little too friendly with these nice folks...

"The mission of the Great Indy Pet Expo is to promote the health and well-being of Indiana’s companion animals; to educate Indy pet owners on the importance of spaying, neutering, and regular veterinary care; and to encourage pet ownership as a lifetime commitment. The Great Indy Pet Expo shares the joy that our pets offer, while showcasing a variety of new products and services."

In my opinion, this event is exceptionally pro-rescue, which means the world to me.  It also provides small business owners and artisans the opportunity to promote their goods, while giving the general public information on various foods, groups, and products they might have not heard of otherwise.

There were various rescue groups, vendors, demonstrations and exhibitions, contests, giveaways, and other goodies to be had.  Some of the booths at this year's event included

• Several local rescues!! (Great Danes, Beagles, GSD's, non breed specific, bully breeds, EVEN LLAMAS, etc.)
• Pet food manufacturers (Blue Buffalo, Holistic Select)
• Photographers and artists.  I actually paid for a mini session for Faolan with Razberri Photography today, and should receive my images in a week or so.
• Collar, treat, and toy makers.
• Trainers.
• Those who offer other dog services such as clean up, memorials, etc.

The owner of Pet Portraiture was there.  I really liked her work, and will probably order something from her in the future.


Pet Portraiture.

Another vendor I found particularly interesting was the Dogger Jogger.  I know of several people who bike with there dogs, but I have never felt there is a safe way for me to do it, owning dogs who are mixes of breeds that are bred to pull.  I had to stop by this booth, and they actually took Faolan and myself outside with a bike, to try out their product.

A full write-up on the Dogger Jogger is forthcoming, but my initial impression of it is that I am quite impressed.

Faolan made several new friends, and I was able to admire all sorts of various dogs.  My friend Michelle came, bringing Jackson and Lexus with her.

I also ran into my awesome neighbors, but didn't think to snap a pic.

Several pictures from today:

Llamas!

A VERY large, beautiful Great Dane.

All kinds of goodies!

Pit Bull kisses.  : )

Little boy, chilling.

A group of gorgeous German Shepherds.

A group of stunning Siberian Huskies.

Once again, we had a great time.  If I had unlimited funds, there were plenty of items and products I would have purchased.  I was introduced to some artists and crafts, along with products, that I not heard of, surprisingly.  This is definitely a yearly event for us.

GHAM Dog Days of Summer-Indy Dog Friendly

 Greenfield-Hancock Animal Management (GHAM) is the shelter we adopted Faolan from last summer.  I have stated it multiple times, but I really love them.  Today was their third annual Dog Days of Summer event, at Riley Park in Greenfield, Indiana.  Les and I attended last year, with Neeko and Faolan.  This year Les was unable to go, so just Faolan and I attended.

It was packed!  Plenty of people, dogs, rescue groups and vendors. The shelter was helping to do low cost rabies vaccines and microchipping.  I believe last year they did over 250 rabies vaccines at this event.  Faolan did amazing, greeting dogs, playing with a couple dogs, loving on people, and staying calm.  Regretfully, I did not get any pictures of him doing so.

There was a ton of Great Pyrenees present!  Gorgeous dogs!

A somewhat blurry pic showing just a sampling of the people.

A French Bulldog kissing booth!!  Squeee!!

I had a freakout moment, when I briefly thought I saw Neeko (my dog) there.  A lady was present with three of her dogs, and one of them, in the face, was Neeko's twin.  It was eerie.  Neeko has black ticking on her sides, and this dog had a full black saddle.  Same unusual blonde/biscuit coloring, tall and leggy as well.  The picture is slightly blurry, but an accurate representation of what caused me to do a double take.

I bought some homemade (small business) treats from a couple of different vendors.  Limited ingredients, and yeast free.  Both vendors were extremely nice, and willing to talk about their products and ingredients.

I have a soft spot for Bully breeds, and could not resist this shirt...

There was an artist there, doing characters of humans, dogs, or both, for a donation.  I chose to have a character of Faolan done.

It kind of looks like him...but very cute, still.

Hancock County Search Dogs, Inc was there with one of their bloodhounds, Magnus.

They did a demonstration with him.  A lady walked a weaving path, laying down a scent trail.  Of course, he found her.  This group recently got a super adorable bloodhound puppy named Garrison.  I am enjoying watching him grow up on Facebook.  They are having a dog-friendly fundraising event next month, and we are definitely going to try to attend.

We had a great time.  The weather was perfect, the crowd was nice, and Faolan did great.  I am hopeful that the shelter I love so much benefitted immensely from this event.

Hiking at Fort Benjamin Harrison-Indy Dog Friendly

Faolan and I met up with my friend Shannon and her dog, Oliver today.  She has seen my many recent posts on Facebook about hiking with Neeko and Faolan, and wanted to do it together.

Shannon is 25 weeks pregnant with she and her husband's first child, but is already a mother to 7 year old Oliver, a Beagle-Basenji mix, and 6 year old Storm, an English Mastiff.

We decided to go to Fort Harrison, an Indiana State Park located on the northeast side of Indianapolis.  It is frequently called "Fort Ben" by locals.  Obviously, it is named for President Benjamin Harrison, and is an Army post that is no longer used as such, but is a very nice park and surrounding area.

The weather today was absolutely perfect for the 7 miles we hiked.  About 70 degrees, with a slight cloud cover.  While completely shaded, I was actually almost chilly.

The pictures are somewhat blurry, as most were taken on the move with my phone.

Part of one the trails we hiked runs adjacent to Fall Creek.  This picture was taken from an observation deck, though we did venture down to water's edge, where Faolan splashed around a bit.

Sweet Oliver

Faolan and Oliver got along well.  Oliver is a nice, mellow guy, who didn't mind Faolan's rude initial greeting-ears and tail up, like a brat.

Shannon was kind enough to snap this picture of Faolan and I.  I am very fortunate that both he and Neeko (and occasionally Bruce) trust me enough to get on things and pose on objects.  He did slip around on this boulder upon getting up, but was able to settle nicely and sit.



 We had a wonderful time with Shannon and Oliver.  Little boy was quite tired and happy to nap once we got home.

Urinalysis Update:  I called the vet's office on our way home, having not heard back from them.  I spoke with a technician, who was surprisingly somewhat short and rude with me.  She simply stated his UA was "fine" and refused to tell me specifics, though I asked twice.  She did state to call if any symptoms return.  He has not had an accident in the house since Saturday, which is when he finished his antibiotics.  So I am hopeful it was an atypical UTI, that is now cleared up and we can move on.

2013 Mutt Strut-Indy Dog Friendly

As in 2011 and 2012 we participated in the Indianapolis Mutt Strut.  It is a fundraiser for Indy Humane.  Loads of fun each year.  We only took Neeko, with hopes of taking Faolan next year.

We met up with a couple of Les's coworkers/friends and their dogs.  We also ran into quite a few people we know. 

We did one lap around the famed track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is 2.5 miles, and did several laps through the vendors section.

This year was a bit disappointing in regards to vendors and exhibitors, but we still had a great time.



Butler Blue III, mascot for the Butler Bulldogs.



Me and my girl, relaxing prior to walking.

We saw several different dogs and people.  Mutts, purebreds, the whole gamut.

A handsome Basenji.

A friend of ours, with her rescues, Rebel and Lucy.

Pretty girl Mina, who belongs to a coworker of Les.

Its SO hard to be Neeko.

Yorkies!!

Her durr face on the Yard of Bricks.

Les and his coworkers, with their pups Mina and Halo.

A pretty Dalmatian.

Neeko begging for some hamburger.

I had to laugh at this tie-dyed dog.

Pretty pibbles!!

Corgis!!

All in all, a great time!