Cremation Jewelry: A Unique Way To Remember Your Pet Forever

Typically, the ashes of our loved ones are tucked away in a decorative urn or box and are soon forgotten but what if I told you that you could discreetly carry a small amount of your loved one's ashes in a pendant, ring, or small urn instead? 

It is possible to keep your loved ones close with cremation jewelry and one company that I recommend is Queen City Eclectics, a small but steadily growing E-bay store based in Manchester, New Hampshire.

 

If you are wary of buying jewelry on Ebay you aren't alone but I can assure you that Connie gained her jewelry experience while working at Kay Jeweler's and went on to become a certified gemologist and engraver before opening Queen City Eclectics. In fact, she was recently ranked as a top Ebay seller and she is proud to be of help to grieving pet owners from around the globe!

Simply put, cremation jewelry is a unique and beautiful way to help you keep your beloved pets close to your heart forever. 

Tell me, dear friends, would you prefer to wear cremation jewelry or would you rather keep your pet's memories in a box or in a frame? How do you honor your pet's memories? Please share your thoughts! I'd love to read them! 

Daisy and Buster: Synchronized Sleepers

Is it just me or do our furry companions know exactly when to strike a pose in order to make their owners late for an important meeting? In my opinion, Daisy and Buster knew that their picture purr-fect pose would take my breath away on sight and they were exactly right! And speaking of "exact" please notice how their heads and front legs are in the same position! Like sister, like brother is all I can say!

I spoke too soon....Buster couldn't hold that Daisy-like pose fur long. He just had to move that 20 pound body for relaxation purr-poses, of course!

By this point, Buster knew he was a plus-sized model for blogging purrposes so he struck a pose to mimic his sister, Daisy, and I think he did quite well, don't you agree?

Leave it to Daisy to ruin a picture purr-fect moment by suggesting that I hurry up and get to my 1:30 meeting on time by raising her head to give me "that look" but how can I help being distracted when my fur-babies  pose like this?

What We Learned About Bengal and Savannah Cats

What a treat it was to pay a visit to Cougah (the Savannah kitten who is front and center in the picture above, and her older Bengal sister, Jeetah) last week! In case you were wondering, these exotic cats originated from hybridizing a domestic cat with an exotic cat; with the Bengals it was with the Asian leopard cat and the Savannah's were mated with the African Serval. It is much harder getting the Savannah’s than the Bengals thus the huge price difference; Bengal Kittens range in price from $400 to $700 and Savannah kittens range in price from $1,000 to $22,000.

  

Jeetah amazed us right from the start because she absolutely loves to play fetch! In the picture above she is watching us throw a ball and seems to be working out a game plan to retrieve it. Believe it or not, she could play fetch for hours just like we would do with a dog. Jeetah also loves to open door, cupboards, and windows and because of that Jeetah's owner had to install child safety locks to stop her from getting into anything that would cause her harm.  If you want a very active, vocal, intelligent, agile cat then the Bengal may be the right breed for you (if you can afford one, that is)!

Like her Bengal cat sister, Cougah has dog-like characteristics; she will come when we call her and she will play fetch. Savannah cats are known to be the tallest and longest cats in the world and recently one cat, Scarlett's Magic, was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records for measuring 17.1" tall! To us, one of the most amazing things about Savannah's is that they can be trained to walk on a leash! We've never had the opportunity to walk Cougah but *paws crossed* we will enjoy a stroll with this beauty someday!

Another great thing about Savannah and Bengal cats is that they can learn how to feed themselves by turning the carpet covered wheel of their very own Gumball Machine! Exotic cats are very independent, that's furr sure!

We did find it a bit odd and a bit convenient at the same time that we did not have to scoop the kitties litter boxes. Instead, we had to flush the toilets and we had to make sure the toilet paper wasn't strewn all over the bathroom floor. Can you imagine walking into your bathroom to see your cat on your toilet seat? In our home, we'd rather scoop our cats' litter boxes, thank you very much!



And if you haven't seen enough of the talents of exotic cats, please view Jeetah's amazing tricks in the video above!

Thankful Fur 3 Thursday Blog Hop

Welcome to Thankful FUR 3 Thursday Blog Hop! Why did I create this Thursday blog hop, you ask? Simply put, my three kiddos (Henry, Buster, and Daisy) want to meet three or more friends on their favorite day of the week and I thought their idea was pawsome!

This pet friendly blog hop is for every two-legged and four-legged blogger who wants to meet new and old friends alike. If you are not a fan of blog hops and do not wish to add your link below, we invite you to simply have fun, leave a comment (or not), and meet new bloggers who might strike your fancy.

Here are the guidelines of the Thankful Fur 3 Thursday Blog Hop:

1.  We love your pawticipation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we are giving today's Google Friend Connect followers, RSS reader subscribers, and e-mail subscribers a chance to be featured in next Thursday's blog post by doing the following:

a) Become a Google Friend Connect follower or an e-mail subscriber or subscribe in a RSS reader.

b) Leave a comment letting me know that you want to me to post a write-up (along with a profile picture and link back to your blog) for next Thursday's Blog Hop. When you comment please let me know what type of follower you are along with your blog address.

2. To join in the Thankful Fur 3 Thursday, include your link in our list and follow me and my co-host, Kelley from Feeling Beachie.Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other!

3. When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Thankful FUR 3 Thursday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers for pawticipating, and it’s a win-win situation.

4. Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “GET THE CODE HERE…” at the bottom of the list.
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As promised, we are THANKING and SPOTLIGHTING 3 of our newest blog followers and I am SPOTLIGHTING one more because I promised to feature them and realized I'd forgotten. My apologies to Kelly for the mix-up! Please introduce yourselves to the following new friends:  

1. Hilary is a 36 year old beach loving gal who lives in  Long Island, New York with her husband and their elderly cat, Alex. She is practically brand new to the blogger community and I think she's got a lot of talent and humorous stories to keep us entertained for a long time to come. Her blog address is: http://wwwfeelingbeachie.blogspot.com/.

2. Erin is a 21 year old girl who is in college studying photography (I should be Studying) who is owned by two dachshunds who are her forever buds (Two Dachshunds & Co) She also volunteers with the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and is raising my fourth puppy (Pompei's Progress). I am amazed (and a little envious) of her ability to managed and maintain 3 blogs PLUS concentrate on her studies but she does it all very well!

3. Since we didn't have a third Google Friend Connect follower during last Thursday's blog hop I decided to randomly introduce you to a new follower named Little Miss Jada Kiss. Since her name is so long, she requests to be called Jada. She is a friendly pup who enjoys being the center of attention. While some may call her spoiled, the truth is that she's just well taken care of!

4. How our Canadian newcomer, Kelly, manages to blog in a household full of  a husband, 2 chldren, 2 cats, and 2 dogs (Holly and May) is beyond my understanding but she does and we enjoy her posts immensely.





 






 

Wordless Wednesday

Remember Your Pets Forever With Custom Name Frames

At the Hopkinton Fair in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, we discovered Memory Mats,a small business that caters to those who want to showcase their hobbies, family, and friends,  

                                                             granddogs
                        
                    and

                     cats

We also loved reading about the meanings of loved one's names  

because one very special name,Bo, will always be in our hearts and in the heart of his owner, Sunny. 

When we presented this custom frame to Bo's owner she was comforted and touched to have such a thoughtful keepsake that she will cherish forever. 

For further information about ordering your very own Memory Mat, click here and enjoy your shopping experience!

                                                                      

Why Buster Deserves A Nap

I tried to wake Buster several times today but he just wouldn't cooperate and the reason for that is because it was Cat Week at RiverDog Prints this weekend. Because he spent a lot of time stalking cats, rolling in catnip, and meowing at the top of his lungs he was pulled aside for an interview. In case you were wondering, interviews can be mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting especially for cats because cats aren't used to sitting in chairs AWAKE for long periods of time and they have a hard time keeping their paws to themselves, for that matter. Fortunately, Buster was a good boy during the entire interview and you can read all about it here.

Another reason why Buster was invited to Cat Week was because he is a huge (all 20 pounds of him) fan of Cyn's purrsonalized notecards. As you can see, he ordered a set for himself and I am sure he is going to use them for PR (Pawsonal Relations) purposes soon.

Another good thing that came out of his purrsonalized card shopping experience was that he had a dream that one day Cyn would give cat's a chance to be interviewed. Buster didn't think it was fair that dog's were the only ones who were given interviewing rights so he brought this up with The Riverdog Print Lady and the rest is history. So meow away, kitties, and get your interview scheduled today by sending an e-mail to scout [at] riverdogprints [dot] com and you will be seen AND heard in Blogville!

Accident Prone Is My Middle Name

In case you were wondering, my middle name is Lynn but I am certain my parents chose the wrong middle name for me and I am sure you can see why. For a clumsy, devil-may-care gal like me, I deserve not one but two middle names and those names should have been "Accident Prone". Say it with me. April Accident Prone McLeod. Don't those four names sound good together?

Now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way let me tell you why how I wound up in the emergency room one year ago and let me tell you why I had sheepish grin on my face, despite the circumstances.

Because I had blood streaming down my face when the accident occured I had to revisit the scene of the crime many months afterward. This photo depicts what should have happened on September 7th, 2009, but sadly that was not the case.

On our rare day off, Amos and I decided to go for a hike with our coonhound, Daisy, and her foxhound friend, Jesse. All was going well until.....

Jesse jumped into the water

and then Daisy followed right after her. Since Amos and I were determined to turn Daisy and Jesse into bosom buddies we were thrilled that they were finally bonding in a pool of water but I didn't need to celebrate with them, for goodness sakes.  Not listening to Amos' warning about the slipperiness of the rocks, I held onto Jesse's leash and hopped from rock to rock until.....

I slipped into the water and my nose suffered the consequences. When my nose hit the rock I happened to be wearing wire framed aviator sunglasses and that was a poor combination for my nose. As a result, part of the skin on my nose was hanging off my face as we exited the trail. Hikers probably wondered why I had a t-shirt held tightly against my nose but the people who wondered the most about my situation were the nurses in the emergency room. Let's just say that the nurses suspected Amos of domestic violence, poor guy, and I can't say as I blamed them! I did look pretty ruff! Hee-Hee!

I've Been In A Pickle!

I'm sure everyone has heard the phrase, "I'm in a pickle", and I have to say that I have been in a pickle for weeks and weeks because of my darned computer! If it wasn't for my dear blogger pals I wouldn't have known that you were having so much trouble uploading my website, leaving comments, or simply viewing my blog  and I want to thank you for pointing the issues out so that I could correct them. Because of you and because I do not want to lose my sanity while blogging, paying bills on-line, etc, I have done some computer "housekeeping" and I suggest you take my advice and do the same if you have experienced computer problems as well. Here are a few of my housekeeping tips:

First of all, remove unnecessary clutter on your sidebar but if you would rather not then please make sure the widgets and buttons and website links are free of viruses or else they could cause your computer to slow down or worse. Unfortunately, many of us are not aware that our blogs are full of viruses and thus we could be infecting other blogs without realizing it. Scary stuff!

After I decluttered my sidebars I contacted Stopzilla by phone to ask them about their anti-spyware program and I have been impressed so far! Here's hoping that Stopzilla continues to keep me virus free and happy forever and ever, Amen.

When my Stopzilla scan completed its task I was surprised to find out that my Pets Blogroll widget went into hiding. Apparently, Stopzilla did not appreciate the viruses that Pets Blogroll had to offer and kicked them to the curb. While I enjoyed networking with the bloggers from Pets Blogroll I removed my blog from their website or else I would be in a pickle again and again. I have nothing against Pets Blogroll (and I told them that, too) but I think the website got infected because other blog members have unknowingly brought their viruses to the site (and I was one of them).

So, dear friends, I hope these 3 housekeeping tricks have been of some help to you and if you have any housekeeping tricks up your sleeve, please share them. Thank you!

 

What Trees Mean To A Coonhound Named Daisy

When Daisy was a puppy, she was supposed to learn how to "tree" a coon while out in the woods of North Carolina with her previous owner but Daisy preferred to tree squirrels instead. Her previous owner was frustrated with her lack of treeing skills so one day he left her in the woods to fend for herself. She never saw her owner or her little sister again, poor thing!

While it was very sad that she was abandoned, I am proud of  Daisy for having no interest in terrorizing raccoons.

However, I do not appreciate it when she lunges towards trees to terrorize squirrels because I know what is going to happen next!

She is going to bark very, very loudly and she will also attempt to climb a tree! Don't think a dog can climb a tree? Watch the video below to see that treeing walker coon hounds really do live up to their reputation!



Trust me, if Daisy does climb to the highest limb I will capture the moment on video and share it with you! In the meantime, for the sake of those poor squirrels, I hope she keeps her paws on the ground where they belong!

Thankful Fur 3 Thursday Blog Hop

Welcome to Thankful FUR 3 Thursday Blog Hop! Why did I create this Thursday blog hop, you ask? Simply put, my three kiddos (Henry, Buster, and Daisy) want to meet three or more friends on their favorite day of the week and I thought their idea was pawsome!

This pet friendly blog hop is for every two-legged and four-legged blogger who wants to meet new and old friends alike. If you are not a fan of blog hops and do not wish to add your link below, we invite you to simply have fun, leave a comment (or not), and meet new bloggers who might strike your fancy.

Here are the guidelines of the Thankful Fur 3 Thursday Blog Hop:

1.  We love your pawticipation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we are giving today's Google Friend Connect followers a chance to be featured in next Thursday's blog post by doing the following:  

a) Become a Google Friend Connect follower

b) Leave a comment letting me know that you want to me to post a write-up (along with a profile picture and link back to your blog) for next Thursday's Blog Hop.

There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love)!

2. To join in the Thankful Fur 3 Thursday, include your link in our list and follow me and my two co-hosts, Maggie Mae, and Gardening With Wyatt.Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other!

3. When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Thankful FUR 3 Thursday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers for pawticipating, and it’s a win-win situation.

4. Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “GET THE CODE HERE…” at the bottom of the list.

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As promised, we are THANKING and SPOTLIGHTING 3 of our newest blog followers and we are thankful they stopped by last Thursday to meet us! Let us introduce you to.....

1. Brian lives in South Carolina with four feline sisters and two humans. Not only does he manage a blog but he also keeps up with his friends via Facebook and Twitter! He knows how to keep up with his furends, that's fur sure!

2. Traci is 43 years young and works in Illinois as a childcare provider but she also enjoys learning about different companies and the products they have to offer. She like doing reviews but loves to offer giveaways as well. If you own a business or have products that need to gain some exposure please ask Traci to help you spread the word and she will get the job done!

3. Unfortunately, I only received two requests fur a day in the SPOTLIGHT so I decided to introduce a Google Connect follower who joined us last Thursday and his name is Tank. This very intelligent and very opinionated Lhasa Apso owns the Arboretum/Botanical Gardens in Overland Park, Kansas. Apparently, every tree, bush, and leaf has been marked by Tank!

Wordless Wednesday

Goodbye, Sweet Bo

It is with great sadness that I write this post about our dear friend, Bo, who passed away unexpectedly on the evening of September 4th, 2010. 

While it was comforting to know that he died in his sleep while lying beside his loyal companion and owner, Sunny, it still hurts. He had a fatty lipoma (benign tumor) between his front leg and chest that was diagnosed two years ago. Apparently it grew deeper inside and was blocking his respiratory efforts causing his breathing and walking to be labored.

  Because Bo's mom is a traveling nurse, he had the opportunity to visit 39 states and we were thankful that the twosome visited New Hampshire three times since November 2007.

 Daisy and Bo did not have the opportunity to meet until July 4th, 2010, and their friendship was immediate. As you can see from the picture above, Daisy was quite amused with Bo's fluffy eyebrows and well groomed beard and who wouldn't be? He was absolutely adorable and we loved his wise old man features!

We also loved his antics. He often decided to climb on top of rocks to get a better view of his surroundings and he would often refuse to come down until he was good and ready to do so. Bo also enjoyed rolling in the grass and when that happened Daisy joined right in on the fun wagging her tail continuously.  

We tried to distract ourselves from our grief on Sunday by heading to the Hopkinton Fair but that did not last long, especially when we discovered the Memory Mats booth. We knew right away that a personalized frame would make a perfect condolence gift for Sunny and we hope she agrees.

Bo's name means: "There's always excitement when he's around. Bo is kind and very thoughtful. Always has the best of intentions. Charms his family with his caring ways. Believes in taking the path of truth and fact. He's admired for his self control. He enjoys an evening of entertainment. He is ethically upright and noble."

We couldn't think of a better way to describe our friend, Bo, and we will miss him dearly. Goodbye, sweet Bo! Rest in peace, little man! You are forever in our hearts!

Your pet sitters,

Amos and April (and Daisy too!)