Unkie Rob Arrives!

Woohoo! Keeley is so thrilled that his Unkie Rob is visiting for the weekend! He lives in NYC so we don't get to see him very often. We went to the airport to pick him up last night (yes, Keeley too!).
We've taken Keeley into the airport before but usually get told to leave because he's not a working dog. So this time Keeley and I waited for Rob outside in the car. Keeley gave Rob a kiss as soon as he saw him.

This morning we went for a walk at Lake Park. If there's no one on the tennis courts, then we take Keeley in there and let him run around off leash.
Here he's running around chasing his Unkie Rob.
Usually, I have to do the running so having Rob there was a nice break for me.
Keeley had so much fun! Look at his tongue hanging out!
I think Keeley looks like a happy pup.

Happy Anniversary H-D!

This weekend is the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration. Keeley is wearing his H.O.G. bandana in honor of the event. (He has a Harley tee shirt too, but Keeley prefers bandanas.)

We live really close to the Harley-Davidson Headquarters; it's easily within walking distance of our house. The motorcycles began showing up yesterday already. They come from all over because it's a pretty big party. All night long we heard motorcycles driving down our street. I shipped Keeley off to doggie daycare today because I thought all the noise would be too stressful for him.

Political Animal

Do dogs watch TV? Keeley does! Mostly, he likes shows with animals in them (especially dogs). However, this week we've been watching the Democratic National Convention and Keeley is oddly mesmerized by it. So far, Keeley has liked Mark Warner's speech the best. For some reason, Keeley hung on that guy's every word. I'm waiting to see what he thinks of Bill's speech tonight.

that evil lawn mower

Keeley is still not fond of things on wheels. Among the most hated are the lawnmower, the vacume cleaner, and his grandma's Vespa.

Keeley can be pretty sensible about choosing when to fight, flight, or "get easy". But when it comes to these things, he tends to choose to fight. It's pretty silly watching him growl warnings at and trying to bite the lawnmower. Here they appear to be having a stand off.

Doggie Dip at Jackson Park

Today was the 4th Annual Doggie Dip. We went to the one at Jackson Park.

The Doggie Dip is a fund raising event for ROMP (Residents For Off-Leash Milwaukee Parks). On the last day that the public pools are open, and after the human swim is over, they open the pools to the dogs for a couple of hours before shutting down for the season.We had to wait in this long line to get in. But once it started moving it went really fast.
All the dogs were very anxious to get in. Here's Keeley waiting in line with his PFD on. We had to get one for my peace of mind after what happened last year.
First off, Keeley had to run a couple of laps AROUND the pool.
Once he got the lay of the land, then he was ready to observe the goings on.
He loves meeting other dogs!
Then Keeley considered checking out the water, but decided against it.
After another CRAZY lap around the pool, his grandma made use of the handle on the back of his PFD and PUT Keeley in the water.
He wasn't too thrilled about that but quickly got used to it.
If I jumped in first then Keeley would follow me. I wasn't planning on getting wet but Keeley really liked me to be in the pool with him.
It wasn't long before he was doggie paddling all over the place.
Everyone loved his life jacket. It was surprising that no other dogs were wearing them.
Keeley and I both had a great time! We were there for 30 minutes and the time just flew by. It was so much fun!

I decided it was time to leave when I started noticing some poop in the water. Ewww, gross! If I can watch my dog the whole time, why can't other people do the same?

There's another Doggie Dip next weekend at Cool Waters in Greenfield Park. We plan on attending that one too!

Romare visits!

Woohoo! Romare and his dads stopped by for a visit today! Romare is always so happy to see us. His butt gets wiggling so much that it looks like he's going to throw out his tail if he's not careful.
Almost right away, the boys got into some bitey face action. Keeley puts forth a good effort but at twice his size, Romare is clearly in control of the situation.
We took a walk to Highland Pies & Cafe for lunch. It was delicious! They have seating outside and they brought out a bowl of water for the boys.
On the walk home, Keeley had to find the biggest stick he could carry.
Romare has a weird little quirk, he's scared of bugs! Really, if he sees a bug, he will put his tail between his legs and go to the door and beg to be let inside.
The boys had a great time together. They act just like brothers. Keeley is the little brother and all he does is follow Romare around, watch him, and copy whatever he's doing.
Last night I went to World Market and got these cute fortune cookies for dogs. Keeley and Romare both enjoyed a couple of them today. They're really cute because the fortunes are written for dogs. Keeley got one that said "Confucius say, Shitzu happens." and another one that said "If you break a mirror, you will have seven years of bad luck - the longest twelve months of your life." Romare ate his fortune.

keeley & his grandpa

Irish Fest

Keeley's grandma and I went to Irish Fest today, but because there are "No Pets Allowed", Keeley went off to daycare so that he could have a fun day too. Even when I'm apart from him, my sweet little pup is always on my mind. As soon as we got there, we went right to the dog area.

Now, I know I said that the rule is "No Pets Allowed" but Irish Fest always has an area to showcase the various breeds of Celtic Canines. It's by invitation only and I'm pretty sure you have to be part of a club too.

There are Irish Setters, Irish Wolfhounds, Irish Water Spaniels, Kerry Blues, Soft Coated Wheatens, Glen of Imaals, and of course, Irish Terriers. Irish Fest is where I first discovered Irish Terriers and where I decided that it was the dog for me.
For a while we watched this cutie run around the agility ring making her own course.

There was a sign by the Irish Terriers that said: "In the body of every Irish Terrier is the spirit of a Leprechaun. If you look into the soft, brown eyes of an Irish Terrier you'll see someone looking back at you. People watch dogs, Irish Terriers watch people." This is certainly true for the Keeley pup. He loves people watching.
We checked out the other dog breeds too but most of the time we stuck with the Irish Terriers.
There's lots of other stuff to see at Irish Fest too (besides the dogs) such as watching Irish Dance, Irish Music (both traditional and rock), watching Tug of War, Hurling, and Currach Races, Plays, Contests, Food, a Parade, Shopping, and more! It's definitely one of our best ethnic fests.
Of all the fests, it's also the most kid friendly. In addition to the children's play area and fountain, there also a children's activity area with projects and games.
When we got home (after picking up Keeley from daycare) we gave him all the Irish goodies that we had gotten for him.
Keeley's grandma got him this Paddy McFest stuffie and a new Irish Fest bandana to add to his collection.
Keeley really seemed to like the stuffie!
Keeley's grandma also got this pillow for herself because she thought it was very fitting.
I got Keeley this Irish tank top. He's not too thrilled to be wearing it, but sure does look cute!

Another Award!

Gosh, Keeley is so honored to receive another award from his good pal Kirby.


This card has some rules for passing it on:
1. Only five people allowed.
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award.

Well, some of Keeley's most dedicated followers of this blog are: Maggie, Rocky, Noah, Jackson, and Scottie.

I'm pretty sure that they've all already received this award from other dogs out there, but we hope they know that Keeley and I truly appreciate their dedication and friendship.

Presidential Pup

Hey, in my AKC newsletter it says the Obamas are going to be adding a dog to their family. It's down to 5 breeds. You can cast your vote here for which breed you think would be best for their family.

Here's what the little blurb in the newsletter says: "The AKC launched www.presidentialpup.com after reports that – win or lose – the Obamas promised their two daughters a dog after the presidential election. "

Keeley and I cast our vote for the Miniature Schnauzer. We think the Obama girls would like a dog like that. But right now the Poodle is in the lead.

OMDog! Keeley won a silver medal in the Pawlimpics!

Keeley and I were very surprised to find out that he won the silver medal in the Pawlimpic Bitey Face competition with his pal, Oliver.

Keeley tries very hard to get Oliver to play bitey face and to play chase. He play bites at Oliver's neck and at his front legs, but Oliver doesn't seem to get it. He just looks at us like "Come on people, a little help here? This pup is like nuts or something. He keeps biting at me!"

We tell Oliver he should bite back at Keeley but instead he just tries to ignore Keeley, like he's doing in this picture.

Trip to Muttland Meadows 2 weeks ago

I guess this is just another example about how I've been falling behind on Keeley's blog. I suspect it's only going to get worse as this month goes on, so some posts may be a little late like this one.
We haven't been to Muttland Meadows for several months! Keeley had to check everything out as if it were new.

This is a very small dog park but it's very cool too. There's lots of nice trees, cute signs, and great pathways to walk on.
And of course, the best thing about going to the dog park is the opportunity to meet other dogs!

Washington Bark Dog Day 2008

Bogart is always reporting about totally pawesome dog events in the Portland area. Well today, it's Keeley's turn to report on Washington Bark Day.

It's an annual event that takes place each August here in Milwaukee. All the proceeds benefit Washington Park which is where the event takes place. There's lots of cool dog stuff to do and see, including lure coursing and a parade.

Keeley scored lots of free stuff from this Petco booth as soon as we got there.
However, Keeley was much more interested in meeting other dogs.
And of course there were so many smells to sniff too!
We stopped at the Residents for Off-Leash Milwaukee Parks booth where we learned that there are plans for an off-leash park within the city coming soon. We think that would be very cool because then we wouldn't have to drive so far to get to one. Right now all the fully fenced ones are outside of the city and at least a 30 minute drive from us.
We got to meet some more dogs! This event is about the dogs afterall.
Look at all these delicious cookies! If it weren't for Keeley's wonky belly, I'm sure he would have tried to gobble some of these up. Lucky for him, his grandma bought some special treats for him for later in the week when he gets feeling better.
The Wisconsin Humane Society had a booth too. So many of the best dogs come from them.
Take a look and these crazy pups! Keeley doesn't even know what to make of them.
Well, you don't see many of these guys around. Keeley had to say hello to this Chinese Crested because they're rare like Keeley pup. There's a big variety of dogs at this event!

Keeley's daycare provider, Central Bark Tosa, also had a booth. Keeley visited with the people he knew there and even posed for a picture but unfortunately it didn't turn out. (My flash apparently didn't work.)

There were lots of games for dogs to play too such as "Bobbing for Hot Dogs" and "Find the Treat in the Hay". There was also food for the humans to purchase. And some wading pools and sprinklers for hot dogs to cool down in. And a dog fashion show and costume contest were scheduled for later too.

Keeley had a great time and after awhile, we decided that it was time to head home. We only live a few blocks away so we walked.
When we got home we took a look at all the cool free stuff that Keeley scored. That's a pretty good haul, wouldn't you say?
Keeley looks pretty satisfied. That was a fun event!