Can you believe the weather?

Hello all my furr guardians, how did January treat you. For those of you who are new to this area, I must ask...are you enjoying the weather or what!?!?!? As a native Californian I must caution to not get the idea that this is the way it is every winter, but enjoy it while it's here!

We have had one puppy filled January, and yes, it's as fun as it sounds. Last week I started doing mid-day potty break visits with Bolt, who is a 12 week old Shiba Inu and as cute as they come!!!! He is the new "Brother" to Toshio a handsome 3 year old Shiba Inu, and let's just say...he's not too thrilled with the new addition. Of course anyone would be jealous of a sibling who comes in and tries to play with all of your toys, gets all the attention, and who is a bit rambunctious. When Bolt tries to pounce on or play with one of his toys Toshio will give him a quick growl and either knock little Bolt over or snatch his toy out of Bolts mouth. It doesn't phase Bolt at all...he knows that his Big Brother is there for his pleasure and is just playing "hard to get". The Boys had me rolling on the ground laughing the other day when Bolt continued to lick Toshio's mouth as he was growling up a storm. I think deep down Toshio liked it, but of course could never admit to it!!!! Once Bolt gets the hint that his Brother isn't interested in playing he happily runs back over to me and attacks my shoe laces. Here is a short video I shot showing this cute little Boy and a "not so happy" Toshio in the background. Don't worry...I give Toshio plenty of attention once the little one is back in his pen.



I wanted to make sure that I mention the awesome upcoming fundraising event for 13th Street Cat Rescue! It is the "13th Street Cat Rescue Tea" and it's being held on Saturday, March 14th at 2:00pm. The tickets are $25.00 and this includes a full afternoon Tea at a historic private residence and San Jose Landmark. This tea will have a delicious selection of savory tea sandwiches, mini quiche, scone with butter, jam and lemon curd, petite dessert, handmade chocolate, fresh fruit & nut cup. All served accompanied by a lovely selection of teas. The seating is very limited, so please reserve and purchase your seats early, (should Saturday sell out, they may add another seating on Sunday, March 15th at 2:00pm). They recommend that you place your orders as a group, so that they can ensure you are seated together. This will be really fun, and it will be a chance to not only enjoy this event but also to see myself and Nanny Katy. You can find the information for this event by clicking on this link http://www.13thstcats.org/ If you cannot attend this event, but would still like to donate to this wonderful organization you can do so through the same link. Hope to see some of you there!

I was at PetSmart the other day and came across something really cool that I had no idea existed! I'm not sure if everyone knows, but PetSmart has it's own charity division and they donate to many wonderful causes. I normally donate a dollar each time I make a purchase, but then I came across a display full of pre-paid mail bags. You can grab one of these bags and send them your eligible inkjet cartridges and Digital Cell Phones! There are some restrictions, but I have been sending in my empty ink jet cartridges that normally I would toss out. They also say that if you purchase recycled Inkjet and Laser cartridges through this company PetSmart Charities will receive $2.00 to $5.00 per purchase! Not a bad way to donate, especially if these items would be trash otherwise. The website for this company is http://www.cartridgesandphones.com/ and PetSmart Charities is http://www.petsmartcharities.org/

My Mom gave me the most wonderful San Jose Mercury News article last week! I'm sure many of you read it, but I wanted to mention it for those who like me, who did not get the chance to see it. It was an article about this wonderful woman named Lynea Lattanzio, who founded "The Cat House on the Kings". It's a rescue like nothing I have ever seen! This woman basically converted her home and 6 acres of land to a no kill cat, (and dog) rescue facility. The crazy thing is, that she has around 700 kitties residing in this facility...no cages, no boundaries and they all live in harmony...even with a couple of dogs running about! It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen, and although she has helpers this organization is relatively unknown. Here is a video about the facility:



If you would like to visit their website you can find it at http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

If the video of the cats didn't warm your heart enough, I thought I would post the wonderful video produced by my friend Seth Casteel, who owns Little Friends Photography. I know I have mentioned this before, but Seth donates his time and materials to professionally photograph shelter dogs to give them a better chance at finding a forever home. His photos bring out the personality of these pups, and just take a look at their big sweet smiles.



It's wonderful knowing that people like these are roaming the world, and making a difference in animals lives.

Just so you all know, I have been taking videos of some of your furr kids. I have them posted on my YouTube page which you can find by typing in svpetnanny in the search field. I know that I'm not an expert videographer, but I've been having a lot of fun doing it!

Well, I guess that's it for now. I hope you and your furr kids have a wonderful weekend and enjoy this lovely weather! Give your furr kids a big hug and kiss from their nannies!

Happy 2009 everyone!

Hello all my furr guardians, how are you enjoying this AWESOME weather!!!!! I guess this is why we pay the big bucks to live here, not too many places are 70+ degrees in January. Blackjack really enjoyed being on the balcony today...nice and sunny. Don't ask me why black animals enjoy to bask in the sun for hours...I would burn up, but he loved every minute of it. He's now snoozing on his chair...yes, he has his own chair in the office...he's my mascot, what can I say.

I hope you all were able to get out and enjoy the weather, and hopefully your furr kids did too. I had a great weekend full of kitty merriment. Actually the fun all started on Thursday when I met nanny Chandel at one of our newest furr guardians houses. She just started doing daily visits with an 8 week old Maltese Poodle named Chloe, and OMG...she takes the cake for being one of the cutest puppies I have ever seen! She basically looks like a snowball with eyes!!! She romped around the floor as we gushed over her, and took full advantage of having two sets of hands and two faces for her to lick. She is quite the smart girl too...at only 8 weeks old she can sit AND she knew to use her potty pad when she had to go. Nanny Chandel said "I just want to eat her she's so cute"...it sounded much cuter when she said it. She is pure white with a black nose, black eyes and black lips...really, a snowball with eyes. As we sit there gushing and playing with that little sweetheart, we both looked at each other and said "this is the best job EVER"...and it is!

I also had the pleasure of visiting Oliver and Autumn, two of the sweetest kitties I have ever come into contact with. Oliver, (a Maine Coon mix) must weight close to 22 pounds and is the first cat I have ever grunted while lifting. What a cool kitty he is...talkative, sweet, HUGE, and very smart. His "Sister" Autumn is quite the beauty, and she knows it! She was named after her autumn like coloring, and is soft as a bunny. We don't get too many kitties that like to sit on our laps, especially when they first meet us, but then there was Autumn. As soon as I sat down she made herself right at home on my lap, and WOW she was the best hot water bottle ever! Unfortunately she was not interested in sharing my affection with her Brother Oliver, and if he tried to get in on the action she gave him a swift swat on the head. So, poor lovely biggallute Oliver kept a safe distance all the while talking to me, between quick glimpses of Autumn making sure he wasn't in for another swat. Here is a picture I took of this very thing...Autumn is on my lap and just look at Oliver's nervous face. Don't worry though, I made plenty of one on one time with my big guy Oliver, so he only had to endure this for about 5 minutes. I'm sure they both will be thrilled to see their guardians, however I wish I had a bit more time to spend with these two lovely kitties.

I am very excited about the new furr kid that I will be visiting Monday's and Thursday's starting this week. Her name is Nomi, and she is one of the smallest Yorkie's I have ever seen! Sweet as sugar this little girl is, and loves to be held like a baby. Her guardian calls her monkey, which is funny because that's what I call Blackjack, so this nickname should be easy for me to remember. During my meeting with her guardian, she went and got one of her favorite toys, which was about twice as big as her!!! She played fetch with this toy like it was no problem at all, but to see this tiny girl lugging around a large squeaky toy really made me laugh. I will make sure to post a picture of her as soon as I'm able to snap on.

So, we took the Christmas in the Park tree down on Friday, and although it had been through some pretty rough rain it held up remarkably well!!!! The ornaments were a bit dirty, but in great shape! You know, I was going to send all of you furr guardians your kids ornament, but I have decided that I enjoyed being a part of the community and having a tree, so I am planning on reusing their ornaments next year. Of course you are welcome to have your furr kids ornament if you would like...just let me know and I will send it to you ASAP. But, if you would like another year of your furr kid being a Christmas star you can opt for me to keep the ornament to use next year.

I'm really excited about 2009, and hope to add a lot of new fun stuff to the website. Of course we will be at Bark in the Park 2009, and possibly a couple of other events. I'm working on getting new t-shirts, and potentially doggy shirts...I'll keep you updated.

Remember that if you would like your pet(s) to be the next "newsletter pet" just drop me an email with a cute story. I'm most likely going to go green with my newsletter and instead of a physical paper version doing an e-version. I know that this isn't ideal for everyone, so if you would rather have a paper version just let me know and I can print a small amount of them.

Also, if you do not see your furr kids picture on our site feel free to e-mail one to me. I want to make sure all of our furr kids get the chance to make their debut on the website, especially because once we visit them, they are a part of our family.

I guess that's all for now, but I will make sure to post soon.