2012 Doggie Paddle Best Fetch Winner

Kirby has dabbled in rally and agility with pretty good results.  He's very smart and picks up quickly.  He enjoys agility which he can do pretty fast but he's not fast enough to seriously compete.

Swimming is where he excells.  He absolutely loves the water, spending every second he can in the water.  He swims, jumps, and dives with full abandonment.  Sadly it's not something he can compete in simply because there aren't any avenues open to him where we live.  However, once a year, he gets to play and compete at the Annual OCHS Doggie Paddle held in a real swimming pool.

Last year he won the Best Doggie Paddle.  This year he won the Best Fetch Game.  The first competition was for the small dogs.  Alas, Kirby was the only small dog who wanted to play which meant he would win by default.  That just didn't seem like much fun so we asked if he could compete with the big dogs.  We honestly didn't think he could win, we just wanted to see how well he could do.

He was amazing!  When they took off he was a few seconds behind jumping in but reached his toy about the same time as the other dogs.  It was the swim back to the finish that got exciting for us!  Inch by inch, Kirby began gaining on the other dogs as he passed one, then another, and then another.  In the last stretch he was neck to neck with another dog right up until the end where he won by a nose! Talk about proud pawrents!

On land the larger dogs can outrun him.  On land the larger dogs can outjump him.  Water gives him his edge.  His sheer joy is so evident as he seems to effortlessly glide through the water.  I think from all the events and experiences he has tried, being in water is paws down his favorite. Watch for my recap of this great annual event later this week.  Today we get to brag!

Here's the video of the race:

Does your dog love the water? 

Super Dog Sunday Photo Contest

It's almost time for the secondannual Super Dog Sunday – a fun football-themed photo contest and blog hop co-hostedby DogTipper and All Things Dog Blog  with some great prizes from Gringa Loka, PetHub, Tom Bihn, and Wag.

This special event is a charity fundraiser for PetfinderFoundation to help with their work to help homeless animals so you can also use a photo of anadoptable dog from Petfinder.  Check outtheir easy app, pick a dog you want to spotlight, then create a photo usingPhotoshop or a free online editor like ImageChef.com or BeFunky.com  Once you’ve got your photo readyplan to post it on your blog and link up to the Super Dog Sunday linkythat will be posted on Feb. 5 at both DogTipper and All Things Dog Blog.  

Meanwhile, they are giving away a prize set on DogTipper  AND on All Things Dog Blogso two bloggers have a chance to win this greatprize:

• Your ad on DogTipper.com or AllThingsDogBlog.com for one month
• A PetHub QR tag and gift card for your dog or cat
• A bag of Gringa Loka all-natural, Vegan, grain-free treats

What? You don’t have a blog? That’s ok too because youcan still enter by emailing your picture to eventbarkers@gmail.com alongwith your dog’s name or the name of the Petfinder dog and shelter or rescue you picked.  These photos will be posted at DogTipper and All Things Dog on the day of the contest for all to see! The deadline for submitting your photo byemail is kickoff time on Sunday, February 5, 2012.  You can enter photos of other pets too as longas they’re football themed but remember only one dog in each picture!

Be sure you check back here on Super Bowl Sunday to see the Kirbster's photo!  It may not win but it does have that Dorkie sense of humor! Then you can check out all the other great Super Dog Sunday photos by clicking on the individual Linkies. Kirby and I can't wait to see all your photos!

So start snapping those amazing pics today!  Good Luck and we'll see you there!!

Thanks for reading!

National Veterinary Technology Week "Fall Festival"

This past Sunday Kirby and I attended the First Annual Fall Festival at the Moncrief Dog Park in Starkville which was sponsored by Veterinarian Technician students from Mississippi State University. Other organizations represented were the Oktibeha County Humane Society, MSU's Pre-Vet Club, Bayer, and SCAVMA.

I didn't know about vet techs before today and so I was greatly impressed. The Veterinarian Medical Technology Program is in its second year here at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State and is the third college of veterinary medicine in the United States to offer a four-year Bachelor’s degree program in veterinary medical technology. Nationwide there are less than 20 four-year veterinary technology programs. The MSU-CVM Veterinary Medical Technology Program will graduate students who will fill positions associated with food animal, equine, and small animal practices; public health organizations; federal and state regulatory agencies; animal related industries; laboratory animal medicine; animal and biomedical research; zoo and wildlife practices; and shelter practices.

Veterinary technologists and technicians typically conduct clinical work in a private practice under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. They often perform various medical tests and treat and diagnose medical conditions and diseases in animals. For example, they may perform laboratory tests such as urinalysis and blood counts, assist with dental care, prepare tissue samples, take blood samples, and assist veterinarians in a variety of other diagnostic tests. While most of these duties are performed in a laboratory setting, many are not. For example, some veterinary technicians record patients' case histories, expose and develop x rays and radiographs, and provide specialized nursing care. In addition, experienced veterinary technicians may discuss a pet's condition with its owners and train new clinic personnel. Veterinary technologists and technicians assisting small-animal practitioners usually care for small pets, such as cats and dogs, but can perform a variety of duties with mice, rats, sheep, pigs, cattle, monkeys, birds, fish, and frogs. Very few veterinary technologists work in mixed animal practices where they care for both small pets and large, and non-domestic animals.

The festival had something for everyone, young, old, and canine. Face painting, bake sales, treats, games and activities, raffles for some amazing prizes, and a pet costume contest. Alas, Kirby didn't place in the contest but he had a lot of fun and attention. There were so many awesome costumes!  Mostly dogs but a few humans came dressed for the occasion as well.  (Next year we are so buying a costume for Kirby online).

Here are pictures from the day's event.

This pretty girl asked to take a picture with the Kirbster so I snapped one too.

These two beauties were posing for their picture

Mom and "daughter" in matching outfits.  So cute!

Kirby met Lucy, a bunny. I took this picture while holding Kirby back so he didn't scare Lucy and  didn't realize I didn't get her ears in the picture.

Ahoy Sailor!

Banana Split anyone?

Here's Lucy the angel - see her wings

We had a spookily fun day!

Thanks for reading!