Behold the desert savannah. Usually a placid Garden of Eden for goldenbeasts and jungle ocelots alike, this tranquil landscape has been torn apart by a rare and brutal lashing from Mother Nature.
How does the mighty Goldenbeast adapt to disruption? Can he survive the transformed landscape?
When I was given the opportunity to review a selection of dog toys from the Kyjen company, Brody shot me a look that said, “You’d better take this one, lady.” Not that he isn’t as spoiled as they come anyway, but I’ll admit the majority of his playthings are the usual easily destroyed types that I get at the store. I was already interested after so many of you raved about the line when I was looking for suggestions for the Holiday Guide, so this was a no-brainer.
They sent a large assortment for our perusal.
From left to right, we have an Egg Baby, Huck Em, Magic Hat with Rabbit, Hard Boiled Softie, Squeaker Mat, and a Bottle Buddy (which is a cool way to recycle plastic water bottles.)
Before poor Brody even got a chance to investigate the booty, I had to play with them and do a squeak assessment. My three year old helped out. We decided the squeak mat was as delightfully loud and cacophonous as promised. (Which is a good thing, 3 am excepted of course.)
The true squeaky winner, though, was the Hard Boiled Softie- an unassuming penguin with a really hard rubber squeaky ball inside. When squeezed, he lets out a gasp not unlike a dying rhinocerous collapsing on top of an accordion, loud and drawn out and melodramatic.
Needless to say, Brody loved this one. He took it and followed my husband from room to room in the house going “squuEEAAAAAAAKKKKKkkkaaaaaaaaaa” over and over until it was confiscated. In other words, an enormous hit.
We did a few side by side comparisons to see if any of the other toys could compare to that one, as well as to his favorite toy, a large stick from the backyard out of frame on the left.
Hmm.
Well, I am a retriever after all, so let’s check out the other bird.
He liked this one well enough, until I pointed out to him it was STUFFED with SQUEAKY EGGS! Then the party really started.
He fished them out, threw them against the wall, chased them down the hill, and buried them in the holes he dug while I was setting up the camera.
Squirrel!
Then he carried it around and snuggled with it.
Hey kid, you’re blocking my light.
I was trying to get him to pick which bird he liked best, but then he saw an egg in the distance:
So intent on the egg was he that he didn’t even notice his ear flopping in the breeze.
Boy, did he feel dopey when I told him.
Brody hasn’t put a dent in any of them, but he is a little more gentle on toys than some other dogs. So, I’m going to pass these out to some friends with aggressive chewers, who have given up on finding squeak toys that last more than a day. We’ll see how they do.
I’d like to give at least one away too, but I can’t promise being organized enough to send it right now so I’ll probably hang onto them and give some away later this month.
A 5 Grody Rings outtake:
He looks rather intellectual, no? I call this one, “Hairy Potter and the Order of the Chewstix.”
There is absolutely nothing in it for you except tidings of comfort and joy. And lots of squeeage.
I was thinking about doing the Twelve Days of Christmas leading up to the holiday, because as anyone who knows me will confirm I really just adore the holiday season. But a series of twelve with just Brody wouldn’t be near as much fun as incorporating anyone else who was game!
You would get one of the twelve days as an assignment, to interpret photographically in whatever manner you see fit. So “six geese a laying” could be “six treats a-eatin” or “six hounds a braying” or anything, really, and upload it to a flickr group I create or e-mail it to me.
Anyone up for it? (It’s open to any non-Christmas celebrating types too who just like sharing pictures of their awesome pets!)
OK: Here is the updated list:
12 Drummers Drumming- Lisa
Eleven Pipers Piping- Susan
Ten Lords a Leaping- Elizabeth
Nine Ladies Dancing- maybe Annette?
Eight Maids a Milking- wikith
Seven Swans a Swimming- Deb
Six Geese a Laying- Ashley
Five Golden Rings- Dr V
Four Calling Birds- Kari
Three French Hens- Darci
Two Turtle Doves- Rwan
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree- Dr V
In honor of the halfway mark, how about a Brody picture post? He revealed his superpowers to me (he has more than one! More on that later!) last week.
(If you like what you see, please donate! And to those who have already, thank you so much! This is already way beyond my expectations!!!!!!)
Meet Brody, mild-mannered Goldenbeast by day.
Until he sees the beast-signal up in the sky!
The Evil Boy Blunder has chucked a defenseless little puppy into the lake! He’s in desperate need of help!
Never fear, it’s SuperBrode to the rescue!
I see the Boy Blunder has erected barriers to stop any rescue crews. But he didn’t plan on having a superhero around with superpowers!
He glides over the waves and barriers with the greatest of ease.
“Curses!” cries Boy Blunder as the wayward pup is deposited safely on shore.
I said, DEPOSITED safely on shore!
Don’t bury him! He’s not dead! Bad superhero!
All in a day’s work, ma’am.
The puppy got in trouble chasing Cat around the house.
so off we went to take a walk to let the kitty grouse.
With collar on and leash attached full time for him to drag
With lesson learned I set aside my stylish new poop bag.
We stole a drink-or two- or three- from sprinklers on the corner;
A busybody lady glared at me but we ignored her.
And for the coup de grace we stopped at Old Man Johnson’s yard;
His pride and joy and us’lly manned with full time armored guard-
‘Twas Emmett’s favorite place to stop for leisurely latrine,
He somehow always snuck a quiet poop in there unseen.
And guided thus by wagging angels woofing in the clouds,
Dear Brody stopped to honor him and make old Emmett proud.
In this episode of On Safari, we follow a curious young Goldenbeast cub as he explores the world around him.
Behold the mighty Goldenbeast. Part Golden, part beast, all hunter.
We first spot the notoriously elusive beast at the water hole.
We sneak in for a better look, trying our best to be quiet.
But our paltry skills are no match for the mighty beast’s superior hearing! He licks his chops in anticipation!
And he springs into attack mode!
Oh no! Tell the cameraman to RUN!
Fortunately he is easily distracted.
Exhausted from this 10 second burst of energy, our predator returns to his nest for an afternoon siesta.
September 13th marks the third annual National Pet Memorial Day. I didn’t even know there was a National Pet Memorial Day, and it took a bit of digging to determine how this day came about (it appears to have been designated by the International Association of Pet Cemeteries), but just so you know, it’s the second Sunday of September.
I wrote a post about Emmett’s last trip to Dog Beach before I knew it was his last trip to Dog Beach, and I never did post it. It seems like as good an excuse as any to finally get to share it:
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We call this “living life to the fullest.” Otherwise known as, it’s another gorgeous day so why not hit the beach again?
We were joined in the adventure by my trusty tech Amber, and her wirehaired dachshund Sergeant.
He likes to play hula hoops with his frisbee.
It was busy, per usual.
While Sergeant was content to watch from the shore, Emmett plunged on in. The water was fine.
This dog won the award for coolest looking dog at the beach:
So, I’m assuming basset and dalmatian. He definitely had a Basset demeanor (fortunately). 
A good time was had by all.
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