Changes

I've had to simplify and focus my efforts as of late which will impact, in a small way, Raising Indiana.  To learn more about that, please read http://2dogs2000miles.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-am-2-dogs-2000-miles.html

1. We're moving the podcast schedule from every Thursday to every other Tuesday at 8 PM EST starting  April 3rd with Dr. Jean Dodds with Hemopet.  

2. Sheila Rinks is no longer affiliated with Raising Indiana.  We thank her for helping launch the podcasts and wish her very well on her new life endeavors.  

3. We will have a co-host(s) moving forward and we hope to develop more creative and controversial content for the podcasts.  We feel the show needs a new direction to best serve our audience.  

4. The Finding Fuzzybutt Four blog will be shutting down.  After we adopted little Indy, my original vision was to help find homes for other rescued Pyrenees and mixes and be a resource for new parents.  I think we accomplished that but there are other more effective sites out there.  Thank you to all of the many contributors to the engaging and informative content.  

Tune in Tuesday for the next episode of Raising Indiana.  

Keep the faith & puppy up & support your local shelter or rescue!

Update and Piedmont Dog Park Videos

No podcast tonight as we're making some changes to Raising Indiana.  In the interim, please enjoy some videos shot recently at Piedmont Park in Atlanta GA, one of the most expansive off-leash dog parks we've ever been to on our travels. 

I was so absolutely if not astonishingly pleased with how well socialized the baby 'Moose' has become and it was like it was my snowflake's first day of school.  You see, all of the wise and wizened trainers, dog psychologists, and other people who have dope slapped me in the head have helped produce tremendous results and our relationship becomes richer by the day.  Thanks and the podcast will return next week as well other exciting news.  

Even when this little guy, Ramses starts butt humping Indiana and does it over and over again due to an inattentive father, Indy keeps his cool.  What a good kid!

Podcast: PETS LLC

Where did my dog come from? And how did it get here? That may sound like a Talking Heads song but it's the charter mission of Peterson Express Transport Services (PETS LLC). If you adopt a dog halfway cross country, Kyle Peterson, the owner and operator, makes certain she gets to you safe and sound.

There's a backstory here, too. My first encounter with Kyle and PETS was just after the walk was completed in June 2010, I stopped over in Maryland to help a family for a week. From there I had to get back to Hudson and Murphy who were in Memphis and the folks at PETS gave me a lift and they were courteous enough not to make me travel in a kennel.  

Our producer, Sheila, has a more recent experience and in her words, "In October we adopted a rescued dog out to a young couple in CT and Kyle transported the dog, Sonic, for us. Sonic's new mom, Emily, wrote a short blog about adopting Sonic and his transport with PETS that's on Finding Fuzzybutt Four. And this Friday we are sending our latest foster, Lissette, with Kyle to her forever family in New England!"

PETS was part of a Reality show called Last Chance Highway and they've helped a whole lotta companion animals out.  Hope you enjoy our show with them.  

Podcast: Valentine's Day Special with Sheryl from Leashes and Lovers

"When you love someone eternally, having them in your life one second short of that is not long enough"

It's our Saint Valentine's edition of Raising Indiana and we have with us the 'Dog Lover's Matchmaker', Sheryl Mattys, author of the book Leashes and Lovers and a web based dating site by the same name.

We talk with Sheryl about how dogs can help us become better companions, whether single puppy parents should even try to date, and a cute but kinda creepy celebrity story.

Late last nite, I signed up to Leashes and Lovers and our profile name is, not surprisingly, TheFuzzybutts. Will we find a Mommy for Indiana there? If we do, we'll post it here on Raising Indiana.

FLP

If you've never read Michael Crichton's autobiography Travels you should.  In it, he talks about some of the curiously inane traditions of doctors, one of which is their use of secret acronyms to describe patients.  Like FLK for 'Funny Looking Kid'.

Breakfasting with Kerry and Robin at PJ's Pancake House last week in Princeton, it became apparent that their Newfoundland puppy, Beanie, is going through the same  awkward growth stage that Indiana is - where he's all knees and elbows.

So we decided Beanie was a FLN 'Funny Looking Newfie' and Indiana is a FLP 'Funny Looking Pyrenees'.

What's yours?

A New Year, A New Look, and a New Home

And a Bigger Purpose!  

Welcome to Raising Indiana v2.012  - formerly a podcast about the joys and pains of puppyhood.  When the new year comes it's always a good time to take stock of things and Sheila and I spent some time talking over the holidays about where we're going with the podcast and what do we want it to be when it gets all grow'd up.  

And, perhaps, more importantly, when does a puppy stop being a puppy and become a dog?  And when Indy does become a dog is that the end of the podcast?  Have we served our purpose and time to move on?  I get a little existentialistic during the silly season.  

Why not instead use this platform to follow his entire life since, as pet parents, there never really is an end to learning and growing and even though the relationship changes over time it still requires lots of work.  

As I am writing this blog I've realized how fortunate we are that we get to experience every phase of dog's life, an impossibility within species.  

And that's what we're going to do here at Raising Indiana.  Every happiness and hardship; every adventure and challenge will be posted here as well as our weekly podcasts with pet experts and people we meet on our travels.  We hope you'll be with us on our journey...