Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

Why Pictures of my Dogs Make Me Sad

Beth left a great comment and many of you added your voices to hers. Some of you expressed sadness as well in regard to your pets. The reality is they are with us such a short time, we need to treasure every moment.

Thank you all for reminding me of that.

You Make Me Smile – May 31, 2015

Sue said, “We have a “dog couch” – meaning the dogs know they’re allowed on it, but not the rest of the furniture. Except the beds.”

THAT is the dog couch! LOL I like to keep a sheet on it so at Christmas or other holidays, I can take the sheet off and use it for people to sit on. But they do have to contend with Sampson and his stink eye. 

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “He likes it naked!!! ”

Apparently he does!

Jackie Bouchard said, “Cute! Rita likes to sleep naked, but she doesn’t get to sleep on the naked couch. We put a blankie on her corner of the couch and she knows she’s supposed to stay on her blankie.”

That’s a great idea. Sadly our couch is not big enough to hold two humans and two dogs. 🙁 I’ve been wanting a sectional with a chaise. I think it will fit at least one dog.

A Kite for Delilah

Paved by Paws said, “Hopefully next time Delilah goes to the beach – if there’s a next time 😉 – that she won’t pull you along like that!”

Hopefully the next time I’ll keep my head and drop the leash!

Mary said, “I have to laugh at the visual story you weave there. I think you need little dogs, LOL”

How small do I have to go?

Emma said, “Kind of like Bailie with more poundage?”

Well….Bailie’s strength took me by surprise. For such a small dog, she really gave me a workout. 🙂

Blueberry’s Human said, “Coyotes passed RIGHT IN FRONT OF US once and she went from zero to 60 in about 2 seconds flat”

Oh yeah. I was trying to find the best way to describe it. LOL It was horrible.

Hailey and Zaphod said, “LOL! That is exactly what would happen to me, except I would know that I should drop Hailey but would be too afraid she would run away.”

I think that was probably in the back of my mind as well. I mean the Outer Banks go on for a while. LOL

2 Brown Dawgs said, “A kite huh? Well I do love the photos so I am glad you landed long enough to take some.”

It was the best analogy I could come up with. 🙂 I’m glad you liked the photos.

And the Winner Is…

Chelsea Price said, “There were pickle chips?! How did I miss those?! We had a great time at BlogPaws but were sorry to have missed you.”

The pickle chips were at the convenience store we stopped at on Sunday. 🙂 I’m sorry I missed you also, there was so many people unless you planned somewhere to meet, it was terribly hard to find them.

Melf said, “Thanks for the shout out Jodi!…Thank you for the lovely acceptance speech you gave on my behalf. I am so glad you were willing to do it. Dill pickle chips? Doesn’t your face pucker up when you take a bite?”

You are very welcome Mel. It was a great post and very deserving of the award and I was happy to accept for you. The chips may make my mouth pucker, but they are worth it.

Jen Gabbard said, “Thanks for the shot out; I’m so disappointed I wasn’t able to attend. I’ve been browsing (stalking everyone) all the photos and it looks like it was so much fun. While watching the live streams I kept finding myself squeeing everytime I saw someone I “knew” even though most of the time it was purely recognition of the pets first. And dill pickle chips? I don’t know about that level of crazy.”

Oh there was squeeing in person also. 🙂 And the chips, they are a good level of crazy. 🙂

Sweet Dogs Make Great Posts Too – Barks and Bytes

Cupcake said, “Maybe Sampson was hoping to get a taste of the crow. Just sayin’…”

Oh Cupcake. Only you. 🙂

Carol Bondy said, “I always talk about luke in my group, not because he is bad, but because he is so goofy and weird and people ask..what about kayla…she is so good and sweet…and just a normal sweet baby..i sort of overlook her in my storytelling too…she eats, she sleeps, she plays, she loves…everyday….only so much you can talk about that…lol”

Exactly Carol! How many times can you write that? LOL

Flea said, “Oh, now see, I’d have taken the crow into the house. And I believe that the proper term is, “The crows were going apeshit.” Just sayin’. 😉”

Oh I know YOU would have taken the crow in the house. 🙂 And thank you for clearing up the terminology. I’ll try to remember that next time.

Jan said, “Sampson would have made a great doctor or nurse. My dogs are infamous for dispatching any bird that is foolish enough to light in the yard.”

Truthfully, I’m surprised neither one of them tried to eat/catch it. Not that it was putting up a fight or anything.

Elaine said, “How sweet! I think Sampson was watching over it to make sure nothing happened until Mr. Crow was able to recover. I’m an optimist though. :-)”

Thank you! That’s what I thought too!

Taryn said, “I think the crows were just yelling “Man Down!”…or in their case “Crow Down!”. Hopefully the poor thing had just bumped his head on a tree and was recovering from a bad headache. Birds on the ground don’t usually fare too well.”

Well I checked on it and it wasn’t there and I didn’t see any feathers to indicate anything nefarious had gone on. I’m taking that as a good sign.

That’s it for me. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight awesome comments, answer reader’s questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – May 10, 2015

Lauren Miller (ZoePhee) said, “Zoe will bring me the water bowl when it’s empty. ”

I love that. Did you train her for that, or did she just do it herself?

Jan said, “My dogs give the water bowl and their food bowls a swift karate chop making them land with a clang that is not to be ignored.”

LOL I imagine that gets your attention. Sampson used to paw it, there was never a question of what he wanted.

Jan K said, “Our golden retriever, Moses, used to pace in and out of the bathroom which is next to their water dish, when it needed to be filled.”

They sure find a way to communicate, don’t they?

This Means Socks

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom asked, “Tell me, Sampson, what DOES your Mama wear? ”

Would you believe she wears socks with sandals?

Linda Moore said, “EVERYONE loves Harry Potter! Remember Hermione knitting hats for the house elves at Hogwarts?!”

OMG yes. That was when she founded S.P.E.W. and remember the only one who would clean the common room was Dobby? And he wore ALL the hats!

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “And yes yes I have not ready any harry potter books or seen the movies.”

But why?

Monika said, “Those cute stripeys make him look like he’s in prison garb which, from a dog’s perspective, he probably feels like he is. On the bright side, at least it’s not the cone of shame.”

I think if he had to choose, he’d take the socks. He HATES the cone of shame.

Steven asked, “Callum, my eldest son is OBSESSED with Harry Potter and has just finished the last book. Now he doesn’t know what to do with himself because every other book is so BORING in comparison. What should he read next Jodi?”

Has he read the Percy Jackson stories? How about the Narnia series? Is he too young for The Hobbit? Those are some of my favorites.

Jan, I can’t tell you what Jan said, because she may have a bit of a spoiler in her comment, just in case you silly fools who haven’t read it decide you want to. But I do agree with you. Actually I almost never read the last book because of who she killed in book 6, but I’m glad I did. I think she wrapped it up beautifully.

Maggie said, “I will tell you over a beer why I haven’t read Harry Potter, but I don’t want you to un-friend me. I have seen the movies. Does that count? ”

I will not unfriend you, but you sure have some explaining to do. 😉 And it counts only if you don’t tell me you love the movies. Because in my opinion, if you read the books you cannot possibly love ALL the movies. Any of you HP fans agree with me on that?

DZ Dogs said, “And yes we love Harry Potter, I read all the books! But recently we’ve become huge Dr. Who fans!”

Is it a book, a show or a series? I might have to check that out.

When the Words Won’t Come

Emma said, “So far something always pops up, either Mom gets an idea from watching us or walking with us, or something comes in the email which gives us an idea.”

I typically get my ideas when walking too, my problem is I need to figure out a way to jot them down so I don’t forget them.

Jenna, Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady said, “I also have this sticky note app on my desktop which I have a ton of notes written down for ideas for future blog posts. ”

That’s a great idea! I need one of those for my phone, so I can jot down ideas when I’m walking.

Jen said, “I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a bunch of posts in draft! They are definitely helpful when I go through a dry spell!”

They sure are! More than once I’ve pulled up a draft and worked with it.

Mary said, “One thing I learned that applies to every part of life…….If you have to force it, it’s probably shit.”

Believe it or not, sometimes the posts I feel are the worse or the ones I feel like I put the least effort into, are the ones that generate the most interactions.

Blueberry’s Human said, “When the words won’t come? Well, I think you already know – I just completely shut down my blog. Problem solved. Hehehehe.”

Is that an option for me? 😉

Rebecca said, “I’m one of those 60% newbie attendees for the BlogPaws Conference but I’m only going to be able to attend on Friday.”

I sent you an e-mail Rebecca. Let’s make sure we make some time to chat on Friday. Maybe we can meet somewhere and grab ten minutes between sessions.

Jan said, “That is great that everyone wants to be in your session and you did it without bringing a dog. I think. You aren’t bringing a dog, are you? Wish I could be there…It’s hard to believe that you are stuck for a writing topic with your funny and creative inspirations around you.”

No I am not bringing a dog. Yes I have good inspiration, I need to find a way to record my ideas.

Jen Gabbard said, “I love learning from other bloggers and I feel like it’s helping me develop my own sense of writing style – or at least giving me the courage to try new things.”

That is the thing I love best about blogging, most bloggers are very willing to help each other out. And trying new things is good, sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t, but there is no harm in trying.

You Better Run Squirrel

Retro Rover said, “Eek we once had a mouse come in look around at all the dogs and cats and literally die of what I assume was shock”

You’re kidding? I’ve never heard such a thing!

Beth said, “We have lots of squirrels in our yard. They taunt Barley and Soth by running up to the French doors and doing a little dance on the patio knowing they’re safe. Barley caught one a few years ago and I thought about leaving its head a stake like Vlad the Impaler to serve as a warning to all other squirrels who dared to enter the yard.”

LOL that is how I feel about the chipmunks in our yard, I swear they know exactly when Delilah is watching. Do you really think a head on a stake would deter them?

Monika said, “Squirrels are destructive whether inside or outside of a home. The ones in my yard chew the tender twigs and bark of my trees. Attempts at relocating have been unsuccessful. Ours must be urban gang squirrels (are there such things as Crips squirrels?). I’m positive when I turn my back, they flip me off with those tiny fingers. Bastards”

Holy hell, I laughed out loud reading that. They are little bastards aren’t they?

Elaine said, “We just had the same problem with a critter in the attic! There’s nothing more distracting than trying to write a blog article while you listen to something partying in the attic above your head, yikes! Luckily, ours has been relocated now too. I read you have to take them at least 5 miles away from your home or they’ll likely find their way back.”

I’ve heard the same thing. Hubby took him to another town, drove him around for 1/2 an hour and let him go. I hope he didn’t find his way back.

Jan said, “You’re lucky. Some friends had a squirrel invade their home while they were on vacation and it did over $7000 worth of damage. They think he must have thrown an orgy for all his little woodland buddies.”

That is horrible. I’ve heard they can be destructive, but I wasn’t aware about the orgies. Thank God I got mine out when we did. 🙂

Jan K said, “The only squirrel we’ve had in our house was a flying squirrel that I think our cat brought in back when we had outdoor cats and a cat door.”

O.M.G. I can’t even imagine. We were lucky it was in the attic and not the house, how the hell do you manage that with dogs and cats? 

That’s it for me folks, thanks for hanging in there with me and for your incredible support. Have a wonderful weekend.