Happy Adoption Day Nova Bear!

I can't believe it has been two years since Nova came into our lives.  Two years since she was handed to me at a vets office as they warned me not to take her.  Two years since her bony little body shivered in the back of my car crate and I put on gloves to get her out.  Two years since we realized she was not adoptable, she was not a foster dog- she had landed in her forever home.  Two years ago we wondered if she would ever stand up straight, if she would ever eat in front of us, if she would ever pick up a toy.  Looking back on that time I'm not sure exactly what we were thinking was going to happen.  Personally I did not have a lot of faith in what kind of dog she was going to turn into.  I just knew that there was something about her that I knew deserved a chance, I knew Copley loved her immediately and more unconditionally than any dog he had ever met before and I knew she was family.  Not even metaphorical family- she was found within a mile of where Kerri was dumped and other than her height they look identical so who knows?

I was worried about her, and worried she would never adjust to living inside with humans.  I talked to our trainers and they helped, our vet came the house and had so much faith in her- maybe the most of anyone.  Still, the first week we had her this was what we saw-

Then she started standing up and walking around so we expanded her world to this pen-

Where she made a best friend

 

Then relaxed just a little bit and celebrated her first Christmas inside with a family.  She had a stocking and her Grandparents sent her gifts.  More importantly to her she was warm, and safe and full

 

Then tail tucked, backed into a corner she started eating in front of us

Four months later she played with me for the first time- with that green bone.

Slowly but surely she made progress.   Every day we worked on clicker tricks and she got more and more confident.  Then one day she let me pet her.  Just a little scratch under the chin.  Then a little later she sat next to me on the couch.  Then I pet her some more and before I knew it she was coming over to be pet every day.  Finally one day about a month later she realized she was not just a feral dog, she was a chihuahua!  And my lap has looked like this ever since-

With her nickname being changed from "Cheney" to "Snuggle Muffin" she celebrated her second Christmas with us.

 She even had a Secret Santa-

 

Then she started taking fun trips to the park

She took her first vacation- where we broke down and everyone got a little bit hot

Next she graduated obedience class

And finally she is all snuggled up ready for her third Christmas as a member of our little family

Some things are still a struggle for Nova but every day she gets better, even now two years later.  These days more often than not she is frolicking with her sister, cuddling on my lap or dropping all the toys in the house behind the couch.  She knows many tricks and loves learning so much I have to hide the clicker when we are not using it.  There is barely a trace of the scared little dog I brought home that first day.  I am so grateful to be Nova's person, she has taught me so much as we worked together to turn this scared dog-

 Into this silly, happy, smart and beautiful one!  (Who is perhaps a little pushy when she wants to play with her sister)

So happy adoption day Nova!  Also thank you to everyone with A Home For Spot (who still know her as Tire Store Chihuahua) who helped trap her and get her to me, particularly Diana, who trusted me with the more difficult dogs like Nova.  I am also forever grateful to my husband who slept on the ground in her pen for a month when she was too scared to go upstairs but unhappy when she was alone and loves her just as much as all our other dog even though she still wont let him pet her.

P.S.- For more adorable Nova pictures follow us on Facebook or Instagram @doginthedesert  In addition to being cute in real life Nova is very photogenic and gets a lot of posts dedicated to her adorable face on there!

Things only Tiny Dog Owners Need To Worry About

Most people who own dogs from the toy group enjoy them for their size not in spite of it.  After all people have spent hundreds of years breeding an animal that naturally weighs 30 or so pounds to be the size of a loaf of bread, we must have done it for some reason.  I love my 6 lb dogs for a lot of reasons- portability, how cheap they are to feed, how little and adorable their faces are...  Needless to say there are plenty of good things.  With that small size however comes a set of special worries reserved for owners of dogs less than 8 lbs.*

1. Birds of prey.  That's right, my dog is hawk bait!  I don't let my chis off leash in wide open areas because they can easily be eaten by any number of raptors.  Being the same size as, but slower than a rabbit makes them an easy meal.  Also to all the people who think I am crazy on this one- IT HAPPENS.  I personally know one yorkie owner who lost their dog to a bird of prey and a chihuahua owner who's dog was attacked by one while on the end of the leash. Still don't believe me, try these articles from various local new stations: Hawk Flies Away With Family Pet, Hawk Tries to Fly off with Toy Poodle, or from the AKC a few stories of people whose dogs have been attacked are in this Q&A.
2. Peeing in tall grass.  When grass is just a little too high my female chis have a hard time peeing in it because when they squat down the grass pokes them in the tummy.  It is pretty funny to watch, but they never really get used to it.  Luckily in my backyard my dogs pee on the rocks so it is not a problem.
3. Doors slamming shut on them.  When it is even the slightest bit windy my back door can blow closed if not stopped properly.  That door slamming shut on my chihuahuas would end them for sure, no matter what part of their body gets hit.  Same thing with my garage door.  That one has a spring closure, so if you open it and let go it naturally falls closed behind you.  We stop and close that door by hand every sing time we open it because of the chihuahuas.  While it probably would just bounce off a bigger dog, or the dog would hold the door open, it would be sure to crush a tiny chihuahua.
4. People picking them up without permission.  On several occasions people have reached down and picked Kerri up without asking my permission.  Two people have even continued to grab her after I told them "don't pick up my dog" usually telling me "it's ok, I love little dogs!"  I know it seems like I would really have to not be paying attention for this to happen but it is just so fast.  I only have to turn my head for a second and suddenly a person who was walking by is picking her up.  For a lot of reasons this is really unnerving.  Particularly the people who pick her up even after I tell them not to.  One women even refused to put her down and I reached over, put my hands around Kerri and told her if she didn't let go I was going to start screaming for the police.  Actually my plan was to start screaming and kick her but luckily she just let her go and I walked off.  I don't think she meant any real harm (although you never know) but she just didn't see what the big deal was picking her up.  Personally I think it is very reasonable to keep your dog out of the arms of strangers.  They could easily drop her, or otherwise injure her.  Also Kerri loves being picked up by anyone but that is not the case with all dogs.  Going around picking up strange dogs is certainly going to get you bit eventually.  This is not to say that I don't want ANYONE to pick up Kerrigan.  After all she does love it.  I don't mind my friends picking her up, or my neighbors when we see them out on walks.  There are also a few people at the library where we do therapy dog visits who pick her up every time we visit, but those people I know and they were given permission to pick her up.  For some reason I don't think that Mastiff owners have this problem.
5. Rolling over/sitting on/falling on them.  I check under throw blankets before I sit down on the couch, I don't fall hard onto my bed and I have to watch where I step around the house.  Having a dog that could be fatally crushed by you plopping onto a couch cushion they have burrowed under just changes how you do things.
6. Keeping them warm.  I know people often judge "dressing up" small dogs, but as I have written about before, we have bred dogs to be very tiny.  So tiny that in some cases they are no longer able to regulate their body temperature as well as "full sized" dogs.  In the case of my 6 lb dogs and many other small dogs they need to wear sweaters for most of the winter.  Even in a mild winter like we have here.
7. Finding treats that are small enough.  I do a lot of training and also a lot of hiking.  These are both activities that require a lot of healthy, small treats.  I need them for training to keep her interested and for hiking to keep her energy up.  Unfortunately most hiking food is GIANT and even training treats are absurdly large for my dogs.  To give you an idea Kerri could not eat a regular sized milkbone because she can't get her mouth open wide enough to get a piece off of one (not that I would feed milkbones anyway).  I buy cat treats, make my own treats and also have found a few select dog items that work great for training.  I find myself using freeze dried just meat treats a lot because I can "count" them as part of my chihuahuas meals.  With them eating so little food in a day every little bit counts and sugary or starch filled treats can really add on the calories for the day for a tiny dog.  A friend of mine used a training treat for their high energy mastiff puppy and three of them equaled Nova's entire caloric intake for the day!  Those are even healthy treats that work great for their training, but as you can imagine they would quickly be a problem for us.  In other news I am an expert in how much dust comes off every commercial dog treat available when you break it into 8 pieces...  Some hold up better than others.

I don't mean to say that little dogs can't do what big dogs do- because they can!  Kerri can do a six mile hike like a champ, eat an entire raw game hen and run an agility course.  She just needs a little extra thought when it comes to certain things.  Anyone else have a particular challenge with their little dogs?  Feel free to share in the comments!

*I didn't mean to exclude anyone here, many people probably have these worries with slightly bigger dogs too.  HOWEVER I am tired of hearing from beagle owners about how tiny and fragile their dogs are.  I own a 18lb dog.  I also own a 5.75 lb dog.  There is a big difference between your worries with a 6 lb dog and a 20 lb dog.

Beautiful Nevada

 Valley Of Fire State Park (You can click on the pictures to see them full size)

A lot of people like to talk about how miserable this state is.  Particularly after the horribly hot summer we just had (are still having?  It was 94 today).  I must admit I often wish there were are few more trees around or at least an ocean BUT Nevada does have it's great qualities.  I was looking through old pictures and have stumbled across a few that really capture how great The Silver State is.  Here they are!

A STREAM at Red Rock National Conservation Area

A beautiful campsite on BLM land near Searchlight, NV

Another BLM campsite at Wee Thump Joshua Tree Forest.  The largest old growth Joshua Tree forest in the world.

Valley of Fire State Park

More Valley of Fire

A final shot at Valley of Fire

Wildflowers on BLM Land near Zzyzx

Not my best picture but a great one of a favorite trail on BLM Land outside of Red Rock National Conservation Area

Moapa

A trail between Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Valley of Fire State Park

 Same trail as above

Ben and Copley forging an icy river (yep, it does get cold enough here to make ice!) at Red Rock

A Confused Stranger

 Watching the bass at Bass Pro Shop

I am an avid Bass Pro shops shopper.  I buy camping food and cast iron skillets, clothes and boots, fishing poles and firearms.  I am about 6 blocks from one and I go there almost every week.  While I prefer REI for a few camping things and anything for backpacking I do spend A LOT of money at Bass Pro.  So much money that I am a premium member and they have special events with food and specials for only like 15 of us.  It is so like me while my friends have personal shoppers at department stores I am the one getting special invites in the mail from the fishing and camping store.

Well I was at one of these events the other day with Kerrigan (our local Bass Pro is dog friendly- not sure if that is a national thing or not) and she was getting a lot of attention.  We were sporting our DreamChii bag, in a camo fish print and making a lot of friends like Kerri does.  There were a lot of  the regular "look how well behaved that chihuahua is" and a few kids petting her and the one stranger making kissy noises at me who I almost punched before I realized he was directing it at Kerri.  We did meet two people that left an impression and I thought I would share.  One was kinda hilarious and good the other is a scumbag.

Riding the escalator in her fish print camo bag

I will start with the hilarious guy.  I will call him "The Defensive Raw Feeder."  He came up and asked to pet her, where she was from and all that.  It turns out he had a rescue at home too- a fox terrier mix.  He showed me pictures on his phone while we sat waiting for a raffle.  He at one point said "yeah, all I feed my dog is raw meat, he is so healthy we never have issues and it is so great."  I was like- "Me too!."  That is where he got really confused, as if his brain could not process the fact that other raw feeders exist in real life.  Here is how that went;

       "No, I mean I just feed them raw meat, bones, organs, and a little bit of veggies I put in a blender."

       I respond, "Me too, they eat a lot of beef I get from a rancher in southhern Arizona, and actually I use a lot of game hens cause she is so small."

        Clearly still confused he continues, "Look, what you can do is go to the supermarket and they sell frozen chicken backs, then buy those tubs of liver and try an ethnic market for other organs.  She can eat chicken bones, don't worry."

       I have to admit I was becoming frustrated.  "I know.  I have been feeding raw for over 4 years, since before this one was born.  I try to get as much locally and pasture raised meat for them as I can but it does get tough with the bone.  Have you ever fed rabbit?"

       Still in shock the stranger keeps going, "Rabbit, no?  I mean I feed them RAW meat and organ, that's it.  I give them veggies every so often, but remember no onion.  They love apples and carrots."

       Finally I just about had it.  "I feed EXACTLY what you are describing.  I have for years, in fact I have a blog where I talk about it a lot.  This dog right here has never eaten kibble in her life.  You don't run into many raw feeders in person do you?"

From there the raffle happened (I actually won a $300 rangefinder I have little use for) and that was pretty much it but I think he finally understood me.  Really I think he has so many conversations with clueless people about raw that his brain could not comprehend a conversation with someone who actually already fed it.  He did seem nice though, and clearly loves all dogs so he gets an A-OK in my book.

Now moving to the other notable encounter.  Kerri was walking on her leash and a few kids were petting her. As that group of kids walked away a boy, probably 10 or 11 walked towards her, his Dad saw the kid too (I assume Dad, it was an older adult man with him).    As the kid was going to move towards us the Dad said in the most exasperated and disappointed voice "Don't pet that gay little dog."  Something about the way he said it, like he was embarrassed that his kid would even look at a chihuahua.  Honestly it was the homophobia if it that bothered me more than insulting Kerri.  People think that chihuahuas are mean, or that they bite and are scared of letting their kids near them and that I can work with and educate about, it does not offend me.  This was different.  This idiot was suggesting that his kid was somehow less of a man for just going near my little dog and that pissed me off.  I looked the Dad in the eyes and said "jackass" loud enough for him and the kid to hear me then I walked away.  Honestly I feel bad for the kid.  Even if he is naturally the most masculine boys boy out there and the constant reminders to stay that way don't scar him I bet it is not fun to be raised by a bigoted idiot. 

That's it for story time, but I want to remind you all to follow me on Instagram @doginthedesert, Facebook, and Kerrigan's twitter account @doginthedesert  I am doing a great job with this blog thing according to my little google dashboard but the other social media not so much.  Let's change that people!  Go follow me- I promise it is both cute and informational and you won't regret it.  In the next month or so I am going to be hosting a contest on my social media and you would not want to miss out would you?

Copley Has A Great Picnic

A few weeks ago we attempted to go on a picnic with some friends (human and canine).  The picture above is what we ended up doing instead.  By "we" I mean me, Ben and Kerrigan.  Copley had a great day enjoying a picnic with his friends in a beautiful mountain meadow.  At least one of us got to enjoy the day.

We had packed up Copley, Kerri and a giant picnic to take up a mountain an an effort to get out of the impressively oppressive Vegas heat.  We met some friends and started a caravan up the mountain to meet even more friends, then our car broke down, then another car broke down.  To make a long story short we ended up leaving Copley to have a fun picnic with his friends Harvey and Mosby.  It is times like this that I am so grateful for amazing friends that I totally trust my dog with.  We were looking at the prospect of a tow truck ride in 100 degree heat and a long day at a car dealership- neither things that having a full sized dog at really seemed like a good idea.  Since then I have realized it is not normal to trust your friends so much with your pets- but I know that not only was Copley in good hands, but he enjoyed hanging out with some of this favorite dog buddies.

While Copley enjoyed his picnic we took Kerri on her first tow truck ride (the driver also has a chi at home and was so nice) then she took her first trip to a car dealership (where she was a big hit- they even brought her a little bowl of water in the waiting room).  Luckily the car only needed a little bit of warranty work and we were out for free in less than two hours.  Later we ended up picking Copley up at our friends house where he was having a great time barking at the neighborhood cats with his buddies.

So it may have been a bit of a bust of a day (and I had like cooked for days for this picnic) but it left me grateful for a few things-

• A dog that is so well behaved that she is not trouble inside a car dealership
• Friends who I trust totally and completely with my dogs
• Hyundai warranty and roadside assistance
• My new camo chihuahua sling by DreamChii that we not only used that day in the tow truck but have since taken hiking and to stores and we LOVE.  It both holds the dog close enough to your body that they don't swing around but also folds up tiny and looks like a tote bag for when the dog is just walking around.  Since I am a believer in my dog walking where ever she can I like a bag that just looks like a bag, not a giant dog purse when the dog is not in it.
• Also a husband that thinks gender norms are stupid and chihuahuas are cool so he is willing to wear said chihuahua bag out in public.  Then let me post about it on the internet.

So not all bad right?  We are going to try to do another picnic again soon- please put a good word in with the universe for us on this one.  I really would like to spend the day relaxing in a meadow.

Taking Risks in the Outdoors

Recently I saw a picture on facebook of a dog in a Ruffwear climbing harness doing some serious mountain climbing.  Ropes and all.  My first thought seeing this picture was how cool!  In fact it still is.  Based on the reactions of the comment section of that picture it was in fact not the reaction of others.  People called it animal abuse, cruel and dangerous.  After some googling I learned the dog's name is Whisper and you can check out more info and some really cool pictures on her owner Dean S. Potter's instagram here.

I get a little defensive about this because I am someone who regularly is criticized for the activities I choose to do with my dog.  Maybe it is because I have a small dog, but we are often stopped on trails and told how cruel it is to take a chihuahua out into the wilderness.  People thought that backpacking is too much for her too.

In fact some people in the toy dog community think it is too dangerous to ever let a dog on the ground outside because they could be taken by a bird of prey or attacked by a bigger dog.  I have met multiple people IN PERSON whose little dogs never leave their house.  They potty inside, they live inside and that is it.  Do I judge the shit out of those people?  Yes.  Do I think many of their dogs are simply miserable and neurotic for being stuck inside all the time?  For sure.  In the end though I am perfectly ok with these people owning dogs.  Caring, loving and doing the best you can is what matters when it comes to owning a dog.  Those little ones that never see the outdoors are probably happier than many dogs that are chained up, ignored or otherwise actually abused.

Then there are the people on the other end of the spectrum.  The people like the owner of that mountain climber.  Their dogs go everywhere with them, get to sniff and hike and see the outdoors.  They have the sun on their back and their people at their side.  The main argument people seemed to have against this climbing dog was that she didn't get to choose to take the risk.  It is ok for people to do risky activity but not dogs, because they have no choice in the matter.  Well a few thing there-

• We made dogs.  Dogs exist because we bred them.  Huskies want to pull because we bred them to want it, chihuahuas want to cuddle because we bred them to serve as hot water bottles for us.  Collies want to herd because we needed them to move our food animals and pointers want to point because we wanted help spotting game birds.  They don't just wake up one morning thinking "geeze I really want to dedicate my life to the human race."  They.  Just.  Do.  We took their choice out of the equation when we domesticated them.  
• Dog's do not exist autonomously to people.  Except for the very rare occasion of a feral dog or a street dog they are totally reliant on people in every way.  They don't make any decisions about their healthcare, food, or even about their friends.  Even when dogs are given choice (and I do think that is imporntant) we are deciding that this is something we are going to let them choose about!  If my dogs had a choice in the matter one would eat all day then die of bloat and the other one would collect every person she ever met and glob them into one pack that never separated and all slept together in a cave with her eating nothing but pork.  If you believe that domestic animals should not exist (I'm looking at you PETA) then ok.  Valid argument, I can handle that even though I don't agree with you.  If you are however a person that ever takes your dog for a car ride then how can you say anything about choice?  Does your dog know how many roadway deaths there were in your state this year?  Do they weigh the pros and cons of a harness vs a crate vs just being free in the car then decide the method that they think is the safest?  I don't think so.

That pretty much sums up what I feel about that subject.  Then I saw another picture of the same dog, Whisper, BASE jumping.  You can see a picture of her and read about her owners rationale on that here- http://deanspotter.com/2014/05/23/when-dogs-fly-philosophy-history-and-safety/

Seeing that made me have a lot of complicated feelings.  BASE jumping is not an activity that I have a lot of respect for.  I personally have never met a BASE jumper that I felt was an emotionally stable person (they may be out there but not that I've met).  It is a dangerous sport- so dangerous that people tend to say it is not "if" you die but "when."  There are very few activities that I would put the foot down and stop my husband from doing but that is for sure one of them.  To me it is right up there with  those preachers that handle venomous snakes.  I don't care what BASE jumpers say- people who are BASE jumping are doing it knowing that no matter how careful they are they might die.  You can read this study where they find the fatality rate of BASE jumping is approximately one in sixty participants.  That is part of the rush, if they didn't have at least a tiny death wish they would be skydiving or climbing or white water rafting or any other of hundreds of outdoor adrenaline junkie sports that are not as death wish-ey.  Those may be my feelings but I am for sure not going to stop anyone from doing it as long as they are an adult and their insurance pays for the search and rescue.

I can just hear people reading this thinking I am some sort of couch sitting outdoor hating person who "just doesn't understand."  I guess I can't really prove to the internet that is not true except to say that I just made a holster for my bear spray and I travel in circles where the pros/cons of BASE jumping is something that actually gets discussed.

But we still have the idea of that DOG jumping.  It bothers me a lot.  I would not do it.  Why can't he just leave her with a friend at the bottom of the mountain?  Hire a dog walker?  His rationale of either with me or locked in a car he gives in his article is nonsensical to me.  You could arrange for an activity for her while you base jump for sure.  HOWEVER- after thinking on it- I say good for her owner Dean.  That dog loves them and loves the outdoors and as he said in his article she would rather be out base jumping with them than stuck at home.  In the event that she goes splat on the wall of a canyon with her owner it would be unfortunate.  Thing is that dog has a better life than so many others out there and she would go down with her best friend doing something that she obviously loves to do (even if it is just because her owner loves it).  Above all else I believe in personal choice, leaving risk assessment up to individuals and enjoying life- not living in a padded room.  I can not very well in one breath defend taking a chihuahua camping in rattlesnake territory because "what kind of life would she have locked inside away from all danger" then tell another person that they can't base jump.

I just had to get out my opinions on this one.  Please share yours- I really want to know what people think about this!

Backpacking Chihuahua!

Kerrigan went on her first overnight backpack about a week ago!  Overall I think she had a good time, although I was not there so I am getting all of this second hand.  Ben and a friend took her to summit a mountain in the desert near Searchlight, NV.  The main complaint I heard about Kerri was that she was slow moving.  Since there was no trail she had to navigate through all the small brush that the people were just stepping over and that took her a while.  The other issue is that no one makes actual boots for small dogs so they had to stop a few times to remove little spines from her paws, a problem that would have been totally fixed by something like Ruffwear Grip Trex Boots in a tiny, tiny size.  Sadly there is no good outdoor gear for tiny dogs so we have to pick her up from now on when there are spiny areas.

Another challenge was that we usually use Zukes Power Bones as trail snacks, but now they are owned by Purina and I don't give Purina money, nor trust them with the health of any member of my family.  So instead I sent her with boiled chicken hearts with honey and coconut oil as an energy snack and it seemed to work out great!  Not sure if it will be a permanent solution or not, I will have to see how it holds up on longer trips.

Getting ready to leave

I was a little worried about this trip, but in the end I do think Kerrigan had a good time even if she slowed the people down a little bit.  Just goes to show chihuahuas really can do anything bigger dogs can!

About to head out.  Also I am in love with that truck.  It is an International Scout and I want one really, really bad.

Kerri helping with breakfast

On a final note KERRI has joined twitter @doginthedesert  I am too long winded for twitter so I am letting Kerrigan take care of the account.  You should follow her if you want- but be warned, she is telling it like it is and might get political, so follow at your own risk.

Dog Friendly Sedona!

A few weeks ago Kerrigan, my Mom and I went on a trip to Sedona, AZ.  It was a lot of fun, and very dog friendly!  We stayed at a hotel called the Sedona Real Inn, and we give it 4 out of 5 paws up.  The dog friendly rooms were on the ground floor, all tiled and they had an off leash park area with a grill, fire pit and plenty of grass so you could easily get some down time with your dogs.  They also gave you a collapsible bowl, leash and a few biscuits when you checked in.  I would count this hotel as one of the actually dog friendly ones out there, as opposed to the places that say they are dog friendly but you feel like the whole time they are just angry you brought a dog to the place.  The staff was friendly too and the breakfast was delicious.  The only reason I would not give this place a five paw stamp of approval is because they have no view whatsoever.  Their website shows nothing but beautiful views of the red rocks, but it was just about the ONLY PLACE in the entire city of Sedona without a great view.  They even have a post card in the room showing the hotel with a great view behind it- but neither me nor my Mom could figure out how they took that picture.  Must have used a helicopter- because not a single room in that place had a gorgeous panoramic view from what we could tell.  

We spent one day exploring the national forest and the little shops around town, then the other day we went on a little hike.  The National Forest there is really nice, and very diverse.  In the area around Sedona it is actually a forest, thick with trees and plenty of creeks.  In the valley it was more of a desert terrain with lots of red rocks and rock formations.  Expect to see plenty of cacti all mixed up with forests as evidenced by this picture of Kerri at the start of one of our hikes.

 The town was very nice and a lot of the stores were dog friendly.  We always had one of us wait outside with Kerri and went into the stores one at a time, but often the people in the shop would see that's what we were doing and invite us all right in.  Kerri also attracted a lot of attention from chihuahua lovers- who seemed to be everywhere around Sedona.  Several were amazed that I got such a small chi as a puppy from a shelter and I told those people if they are looking for a chi they should check out Las Vegas's kill shelter The Animal Foundation because they are literally packed full of them!  It is just crazy to me that there are some places in this country where chis are the hottest dogs in shelters, all being adopted within hours of showing up and here in Las Vegas they are being euthanized by the hundreds.  I wish that people would know what was going on and we could just get these dogs into the hands of the people who want them.  To me it does not seem like a numbers problem, it is a marketing and transport problem.  Maybe just a marketing one because most of these people in Sedona seemed to think it would even be worth the drive to Vegas to get a chihuahua.  Anyway, I digress...

We ate at several restaurants with dog friendly outdoor patios.  I had two favorites, one called Ken's Creekside actually had a dog menu with both cooked and raw food options.  I ordered Kerrigan raw ground beef and an egg (I think they called it steak tartar).  It came in a great dane sized bowl that Kerri literally had to climb into to eat, but other than that I thought it was great.  I brought freeze dried food with me, and I probably could have gotten beef from the supermarket for cheaper, but it was just so convenient.  The people food was great too.  My Mom is a vegetarian and she ordered the vegan tomato soup and a hummus plate (they had a whole vegetarian menu available) and I had some pork ribs dressed up as buffalo wings.  It was all fresh and delicious.  

My favorite restaurant had to have been the first place we ate- Rene at Tlaquepaque.  It was just delicious.  Not often do you find great gourmet restaurants with local wines and fresh foods that also have a dog friendly patio, but this was for sure that.  There was one other dog there (raw fed I believe- the movement is growing) and her people told us the pecan pie was to die for.  I believe them but unfortunately we were too stuffed from pasta and duck to even think about desert.

We ate a few places without Kerrigan too, but honestly Kens and Rene were the best places we went to with or without a dog!  Kerri was a real trooper, walking around all day, even getting up for the sunrise but at night she was just as pooped as the rest of us.  Here is what it looked like both nights as soon as her head hit the pillow.

One warning I have about Sedona though- it is not Las Vegas!  It was downright chilly there at night compared to Vegas.  I thoguht we were going to the same climate in the next desert over but I ended up sorely unprepared.  Kerri only had one sweater with her and she would have been much better off if we brought a few t-shirts and a few more sweaters for the humans.  All was well in the end though, there was a fireplace in the room.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of Kerrigan enjoying the sunrise and then our hike.

(P.S. If you don't already follow us on facebook please do.  Facebook.com/doginthedesert )

St. Thomas

The abandoned town in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  Not the US Virgin Island.  It is a pretty cool place, the government kicked everyone out so they could flood it when Lake Mead was made.  In the late 90's when Lake Mead's water level began to drop this area of the lake dried up and now you can visit what is left of the ghost town there.  Honestly ghost towns are not really my thing, but it was a nice walk and a friend took a bunch of pictures that turned out great so I will share them with you all.  Unlike other ghost towns it is covered with clam shells from when it was underwater.

Also it appeared to smell REALLY GOOD there.  Kerri was constantly trying to dig little holes and sniff the ground.

This engine block was obviously used to anchor a buoy when there was  water covering the place.

Kerri was doing tricks for pirate booty for a friend that came with us.  Usually she is not crazy about cheese puffs, but that day she was going crazy for them.

Kerri sniffing the air.  Lots to sniff at this place I noticed.

A shot of a little river at the end of the hike.

More sniffing.

That's all I've got for St. Thomas.  But I also wanted to remind you all to follow us on instagram @doginthedesert  If anyone knows of other cool people to follow please let me know!  I LOVE instagram and would love to follow others.  So leave a comment with your instagram and a few of your favorite other people to follow!  I am not just following dog owners either, I would love more outdoors stuff, feminist, people braking down gender stereotypes, cooks using local veggies, artists or really anything at all interesting.