Therapy Dog once again!

Now I remember why I LOVE to volunteer as a therapy dog team.  


Prior to tonight, I haven't volunteered in months.  At first it was because life was so hectic, I hadn't finished the renewal process.  And then once Jasmine got recertified, I was so busy with our travels that I just hadn't had time!  


March/April was our participating on the Animal Planet show "Who Let The Dogs Out'.  (Which was a ton of fun!)  This ended with performing live at Universal Studios for the finale.


The month of  May was our trip to New York to be on Good Morning America.  (in addtion to local news stations.)  And last but not least, we just got home from a wonderful trip to Utah where we were speaking at the BlogPaws conference.  

So, we really have been really busy.  But I've missed it.  So tonight we went.  And as usual, there was just something special about it.  The most memorable was a 2 1/2 year old girl named Bella. (I make my rounds on the pediatic/oncology floors.)  As I was going from room to room, I could hear a little kid crying very loudly.  The nurses take them to a separate room to do blood draws, treatment, etc.  She was having a rough time.  By the time she came out of the room, she was screaming.  


Her mom was holding her, and they were going across the hall to go pick out a new toy.    It was very drastic.  She went from crying very loudly to suddenly quiet.  It was when she saw Jasmine.  I was pushing her on her cart down the hall.  The little girl just stared at us.  As I came closer, I asked "Do you like doggies?"  


The mom said yes, they had a dog at home.  Bella pet Jasmine, and watched enchanted as we did our little trick show routine.  And she laughed.  Because we were in the hall, more people gathered around to watch Jaz.  One 4 year old was imitating the tricks I was asking Jasmine to do.  It was quite amusing.  Everyone was smiling or chuckling.  By the end, Bella had completely forget about her previous experience.  The entire situation was turned around.  All because of one little furry dog.  What a difference a dog can make.  


That's why I like to volunteer with Jasmine.  It reminds me of the Emily Dickinson poem,
 "I Shall Not Live In Vain".  

"If I can stop one Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one Pain
Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again
I shall not live in Vain."

Life is great... Dogs make it better.

 

I found this sign- and I just love it.  It's true!! 

 Life is great. But dogs do definitely make it better!!

Case in point:  Jazmataz  (see below)   Silly girl.  

Always can bring a smile to my face.  :)

Photo Credit:  Rebecka Jeffs

Blogpaws- w/ Tillman, the Skateboarding Bulldog

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs   

Lauren and I (as well as Paige and Jasmine) were really excited about our 1st time at BlogPaws!   We got there early on Thursday, checked into the hotel, and had to attend a meeting for all speakers.  (We were giving a presentation the next day about "The Power of YouTube".)

I was pretty impressed with the hotel!!  We stayed at the Sheraton SLC.  Having traveled a lot with Jasmine, I have stayed at a lot of hotels that claimed they were "pet-friendly".  (Which meant they technically allowed pets, but weren't real happy that you brought one.)

However, the Sheraton SLC was by far, THE MOST PET-FRIENDLY HOTEL I've ever stayed in!!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

It was crazy how warm and friendly they were to us!  (and our pets!)  (Now, granted we were there for a pet convention, so they knew we were coming!)  But I was still impressed with the set up!

We had a room on the first floor.  There was a sliding glass door that led out to a grassy courtyard in the middle of the hotel!  So when Jaz had to go to potty, it wasn't a big ordeal to get her from my room to the outdoors.  It was just like being at home.  It was SO NICE!!   So a big THUMBS UP from me to BlogPaws for the hotel selection!!

Opening night of the conference was pretty awesome!  I had seen the Natural Balance tour bus in the parking lot, so I knew these dogs were here somewhere!!  For the BlogPaws opening ceremonies, Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog, and Norman, the Scooter Dog showed off their stuff!

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

They're not kidding when they say Tillman loves to skate!!  Ron (his owner) had to take the board away from him at the end so Tillman wouldn't try to keep riding it!  

The rest of the night was just socializing and waiting for the rest of the BlogPaws guests arrive.  Here's one of our friends, Niqqi!!  (Who looks like a living teddy bear!)  Just adorable!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

Here's another one of our friends- Sheldon!  I know his dad Rick, but it was fun to meet Sheldon in person!  He's so soft!!!!  Very friendly and sweet!

 Here's a new friend we just met!  It's Zoey!  A beautiful white pitbull.  Such a friendly dog.  She was so great!!!  I just love that pittie smile!

 I have great news!!  I got to interview Tillman and Norman on camera!!  I'm going to be posting the videos in the future.  But rumor has it, there is going to be a Season 2 of "Who Let The Dogs Out"!!  (That's the TV show that Jasmine was on back in April.  Tillman was searching for America's Most Talented Dog.  Jaz came in 2nd place!) :)  We had a blast participating in the show- so we know how fun it will be for next season's contestants!  It's cool watching watching Tillman on all his adventures... traveling the country, searching for talented pets.  So I can't wait to see what the next season holds!  I'll keep you posted!!!

This is Norman and Jaz... posing for some photos!  Norman's such a goofy dog!  He likes to ham it up! He's fun to be around!

OK, speaking of people who like to ham it up... check it Eric.  (He's on the Natural Balance team.)  We were waiting to interview Tillman, and so he and Jaz decide to have a trick contest.  So- who do you think does this trick better??  ;)   He cracks me up!

By the way, all of the really good pics in this post were taken by Becka Jeffs- a very talented photographer who lives in Utah!  If you want to see her other BlogPaws pics, check out her Facebook Page!   https://www.facebook.com/photographybybecka  She was nice enough to let us share her great pics!

When it doubt, here's how you tell you took it:

  If the pic has a zombie dog with glowing green eyes, I took it!  ;)

If the pic is great quality, with artistic style, Becka took it.

Now you can tell the difference!!!  ;)

Also- if you want to see more cool pics from BlogPaws- here's our post about the Red Carpet Awards Ceremony on Sat. night!

http://myfavoritepup.blogspot.com/2012/06/blogpaws-red-carpet-award-ceremony.html

BlogPaws' Red Carpet Award Ceremony

Photo credit:  Rebecka Jeffs

On the last night of BlogPaws, they had a formal banquet and awards ceremony.  This was so much fun!

We all had a chance to walk down the red carpet, and get our pictures taken. 

Jasmine and I spent most of the conference hanging out with my friend Lauren and her trick dog Paige!   

 This is my friend Rick- (who works for Natural Balance). The picture unfortunately turned out blurry, so you can't really see his dog Sheldon (a black standard poodle).  He's in the picture too!

 

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is my friend Diane Silver and her Havanese named Cosmo!!  We were in the Havanese Club!  :)  (I just made that up!)  But as far as I know- Jasmine and Cosmo were the only 2 Havanese at BlogPaws!

 After a delicious dinner, they had an awards ceremony.  Jasmine was nominated for "Best Video" for her "Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper" movie!  But I honestly didn't think she was going to win, considering who the other nominees were!

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

So I was shocked when they said My Favorite Pup Jasmine was the winner!  I had to go up on stage and give an acceptance speech.  (Which I was completely unprepared for!)  I didn't know what to say!   And I actually can't even remember what I said.  I'm hoping it including the words "Thank You."  LOL  I was shaking when I first walked off the stage... (because that kind of stuff makes me nervous!)  But once I was breathing normally again, we had a good time.  And it was a lot of fun.  The rest of the evening was just a party.  :)

Photo Credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is Jasmine and her buddy Preston (from PrestonSpeaks.com).  (with Lauren and Paige in the back!)










Now THIS was a cute puppy!!

Cue Music!  Everybody Dance Now!

It was great meeting up with everyone!  It felt like a reunion, even though we had never met before!  (We had only known each other online!)

Jaz was SOOOO tired at the end of the night.  Trick shows, award shows, classes, interviews, pictures...
 It's hard work being this cute!!  (Actually we were both pretty tired after this pet convention!)  But wow, what an experience!  It was awesome!!!  :)

#BLOGPAWS pics

Where to even begin??

Jasmine and Paige met up in the SLC airport.   For some reason,

 Lauren and I both had the song lyrics "Reunited and it feels so good"...

 stuck in our heads!!!!  :)

Then we got our rental car.  Who hired this driver??  If we never make it to BlogPaws, you know who to blame!!  ;)

OK, we made it.  (But Jaz doesn't use her turn signals!) 

 (Just kidding- she can't reach the gas pedal, so I had to drive.)

We attended a "Speaker's Meeting"... and saw the room we would be giving 

our presentation in tomorrow (Friday) on "The Power of YouTube", 

and basically how to make your dog a YouTube Rockstar.  :) 

Then look who I ran into!!  It's Sheldon!!  (a.k.a. @SheldonGryiffin from Twitter!)  I've always wanted to meet him in person!  He's very soft!!  And loves to be scratched on his neck.

We saw some of our other friends too!!  It's Norman the Scooter Dog!! 

We sat around talking with Ron and his skateboarding bulldog Tillman.  

(Who has got to be exhausted from all the skateboarding he did today!!!)

Who does the trick the best??  Eric or Jasmine??   I think Eric is hilarious.

 Paige & Jasmine.  #Best Friends.   Enough said.  :)

So... that was Day 1 of BlogPaws.  It's been awesome.  I'm having a fantastic time.  We've seen a bunch of friends from all over the country.  Lauren and I have picked out the classes that we want to attend tomorrow.  I can't wait.  It's going to be great!!  :)   

Going to #BlogPaws!!! :)

Well, it's FINALLY HERE!  After looking forward to this for what feels like forever, BlogPaws has finally arrived!  I am SOOO excited to go to Utah and meet up with my friends from all over the country!  (and learn a lot too!)


I was looking at the BlogPaws website, and check out who's video was featured!!  Jazmaztaz!!  :)  
http://community.blogpaws.com/





This is going to be such a fun trip!!  Lauren and her trick dog Paige are coming too!  It's a Jasmine/Paige Reunion Tour!! :)  :)  :)   


We'll be giving the presentation on Friday afternoon about "The Power of YouTube".  (Since both of our dogs have very similar stories!  They're just regular dogs- who have had some amazing opportunities just because of some simple YouTube videos!)  


I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  It's going to be a blast!!  I'll keep you posted!!  :)

Doggy Body Language

This is spot on!!


If you ever wished your dogs could talk to you... they can.  You just need to learn to speak their language!  


Jasmine's favorite pose is the "Hello, I love you" greeting stretch when I come home from work.  We run around a while.  (She has a squeaky bone in her mouth, and wants to be chased.)  (See "Overjoyed/ wiggly")  Then once she's run several laps around the coffee table, then it's time for the "I love you, don't stop" scratch.
  
Great chart.  This was made by Lili Chin.   http://doggiedrawings.net/

My Sweet, Loyal Dog

Last week, I had to go out of town for a few days.   

My roommate told me how much Jaz missed me, 

but I didn't realize quite how much until 

I saw her pictures!!

When I didn't come home at my normal time 

that first night,

 Jasmine planted herself on the couch arm.... watching the front door....

My sweet, loyal dog stayed there, waiting for me to come home.   

My roommate tried to explain that I would be back in a few days, and coax her to come to her room.  But Jaz still waited there!    

Poor dog!  Finally, around 3:00 am, Jasmine concluded that I wasn't coming home and went into my roommate's room to get some sympathy. (She won't sleep on my bed unless I'm at home with her.)    


What a sweetheart.  Now you know one of the many reasons why she's My Favorite Pup Jasmine.  <3

Best Friends Pet Care Finalist!! :D

I have exciting news!!!!  Jasmine was in the "Be Your Own Dog" video contest- sponsored by Best Friends Pet Care!  They asked people to submit a video to their facebook page that showcased their pet's personality.  


Here's the one I made of Jasmine:

And here's what was posted on their Facebook page today!!!

We have narrowed down the top ten finalists in the Be Your Own Dog Video Contest. These ten will receive a gift certificate for a free weekend of boarding at Best Friends Pet Care! One of these ten will also be awarded the Grand Prize- A billboard of their dog in their hometown. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on June 26th. Congratulations to the top ten (in no particular order):

-Jasmine's Personality
-Snickers Loves Bubbles
-I Keep Telling You It's a Cat Toy
-Possession is 9/10 of the Law
-Snow Jovi
-Sookie and Her Car Seat
-Chillaxin Like a Bulldog
-Roxi's Little Room
-Houdini Dog
-Max the Pug

WE MADE IT TO THE TOP 10!!!  :)  :)  :)   :)   

So... now we just have to wait patiently until June 26th to find out who wins!!  With so many cute dogs, it will be hard to choose!!   I'm just excited that we're even being considered!!  Pretty awesome!!!   :)

And the #BlogPaws Winner Is.....

I can't believe it's almost time for BlogPaws!!  And I had an extra ticket to give away!  We get one because we're a speaker.  (We're giving a presentation next Friday about "The Power of YouTube".)   But then earned a 2nd free one because Jasmine's video "Santa's Little Helper" was nominated for a "Best Video" award.  (If you remember the video from last December!)


If you have just stumbled across our blog, and have no idea who "My Favorite Pup Jasmine" is or that we make YouTube videos...
Here's a little sneak peak at our history...

So... back to the exciting part!   Last week, we had a raffle to help pick the winner of the FREE ticket to BlogPaws.   

And the winner is....

SUMMER!! 

Summer has a blog about crafts, recipes, and life.  
Check it out!  http://summerscraps.blogspot.com/

She also has 3 kids and 2 dogs who keep her busy!

When I wrote to Summer to tell her she had won, she wrote back:

"CJ I am so excited!!!!  Some of my friends are going to blogpaws but I wasn't going to be able to go because it wasn't it my budget.  That is so awesome that I was able to win the conference pass!!! 

Jasmine is such a cute dog and my kids just love her tricks.  I am so excited to be going to BlogPaws!  Thanks so much!!!!"


If you don't know, kids and dogs are my two favorite things ever!  


So of course, I wanted to hear all about her 2 pups!

MEET MAX and JACK!

Max is our German Shepherd.  He will be 2 in October.  His full name for any who are curious is Maximus Vanhelsing (named after a famous gladiator and vampire hunter) :)  Max is very loving and even though he is huge always wants to sit in my lap.  He is very loved and a bit of a sissy, but becomes quite protective when strangers are around.  He is fun and cuddly and lets our three children cuddle with him constantly.

Jack is our Jack Rat (part Jack Russel and part Rat terrier).  He will be 4 in July.  He is named after our most favorite pirate Jack Sparrow - yup we love movies around here.  Jack is a bit tempermental and even though he is sweet I keep him away from small children just to be safe.  He kind of reminds me of a cat - he will sleep the afternoon away or can be found sunning himself in a sunny spot in the house.  Sometimes I can't find him and he will be curled up and sleeping under a blanket. 

I haven't really blogged about my dogs on my blog and am considering it since they are part of the family as well.  

 

I can't wait to meet you Summer!!   CONGRATULATIONS!!!  See ya at BlogPaws!!!   :)