Getting ready for the wedding, December 12th 2012.
We are getting ready for the 4th of July today by making our annual flag cake. Hopefully you have some great plans and remember to keep your pets safe!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Hello Basil friends! Happy July 1st! Happy Canada day for all our friends north of the boarder!
So, almost every day we get stopped on the street by people telling us how cute Basil looks in one of his many bow ties, (He really does!) and a lot of people ask where we get them. To be honest, we have really just stumbled upon each and every one of them. Three Dog Bakery has a good selection, any local pet store, and of course Etsy. Today LeLePets is offering a special on UsagiTeam collars, bow ties, and leashes. I went ahead a
nd ordered Basil a new collar, bow tie combo. We can’t wait to get it and show it off! Head over to LeLePets now (or very soon because the sale ends on July 4th) to get your very own bow tie. Your dog can look this cute too! 
http://www.lelepets.com/awardpoints/index/goReferral/referrer/16814
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Thursday evening was a blast! Basil is still recovering from the huge amount of friends and fun that happened during this months historic southend dog crawl. Hosted by the fabulous Club Fetch and sponsored by The Canine Cafe and The Unknown Brewing Co. Charlotte area pet parents gathered at Club Fetch and then made our way a mile down the road to The Unknown Brewing Co. The Canine Cafe provided dog food samples, puppy treats, and even a dog friendly birthday cake to celebrate the birthday of The Unknown Brewing Co.’s brew dog, Patton. New friends were made, butts were sniffed, and a good time was had by all! Basil can’t wait until the next dog crawl!
Thank Dog its Friday! Thanks again to Blaire, Jackson, and Julia at Club Fetch for this amazing event. Also, thanks to The Canine Cafe for the treats and The Unknown Brewing Co. for letting us take over your brew house for a couple of hours! If you are in the Charlotte area, go check out all these local businesses. Shop small!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Have you ever decided to take a casual trip to the pet store but once there found yourself standing in the pet food aisle dazed and confused?! Why is that aisle so long? Why are there so many pet food options? Every bag, box, tube, or container has a colorful logo and is doing everything it can to convince you that theirs is the best for your dog. How can you know what is BEST for your dog or cat? Who do you trust? I had all these questions and I wanted to be sure that what I was giving Basil was the best.
For today’s Basil’s Favorite Things I am going to share how we found Basil new dog food and why we truly think its the best pet food on the market. This is Basil’s Favorite Things — The Honest Kitchen. 
It all started a little over a month ago at the BlogPaws 2014 pet blogging conference in Lake Las Vegas, NV. (You may have heard me mention it…) The conference was full of pet blogger and a ton of brands. There was a whole huge conference room full of booths featuring brands from many pet food companies as well as everything else awesome for your dog and/or cat. This is where we met The Honest Kitchen. Their large booth and smiling faces first drew us in. Also, the fact that Basil somehow knows who has treats and will give them to him, also helped. Once at the table we met Kate, the digital storyteller for The Honest Kitchen. Kate provided Nate, Basil, and I with all the information about this unique pet food and let us go home with a lot of samples.
The Honest Kitchen is a dehydrated raw Human Grade pet food. It is the only U.S pet food company that is certified by the FDA to use the Human Grade seal on their packaging. This means that 100% of their pet food is produced in a human food production facility not a pet food plant.
This really stuck out to me. This mean all their ingredients are natural and if you wouldn’t eat it, your dog shouldn’t be eating it either. The ingredients used are real (free-range) chicken, real (cage-free) turkey, real fish, and real beef. They use natural whole grain, as well as fresh produce like potatoes, celery, carrots, and green beans. Kate also told me the all there food is personally taste tested by The Honest Kitchen’s employees. I don’t know about you but I’m 100% positive I would not taste test Basil’s old food but I would try The Honest Kitchen.
Once home from the BlogPaws conference we immediately switched Basil over from his old food (dry kibble) to The Honest Kitchen. We received a few different samples while at the conference so everyday Basil got to try something new.
For Basil, he receives 1 cup of food a day. 1/3 at breakfast, 1/3 at lunch, and 1/3 at dinner. So when we were making the transition from dry to dehydrated we just started with dry for breakfast and dinner and THK for lunch. Slowly we switched over and now we are completely off the dry kibble. Once the samples ran out, and we were convinced by THK, the plan was to find a local store that sold it. Lucky for us our favorite local little “mama & pop” pet store, cafe, and day care, Happy Dog Cafe, is a preferred seller of all things The Honest Kitchen.
The first box we brought home was Keen. A food made of cage-free turkey, low gluten oats, and garden vegetables. Basil doesn’t have a wheat or gluten allergy (knock on wood!) like many dogs of the bully breeds, so, our options are wide open. But if your pet does has a specific allergy, like gluten, or just does better without eggs or beef, The Honest Kitchen has a type of dog food that would best suit your needs. Basil loved Keen but knowing of all the great options THK has to offer we wanted to try something else as well. The next box we received is Force. 
Force is a little different. Made with free-range chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, and it is grain/gluten-free. The Honest Kitchen website says “Force is moderate in protein and fat so it’s perfect for adult maintenance, senior dogs and dog who need a lower calorie diet.”
This is perfect for Basil because at 25 lb. he is a little over the average for a fit Boston terrier. We would love to have Basil lose 2-3 lbs. just to become a little more health and little more crazy!
Another great thing about The Honest Kitchen is how simple it is to prepare. Being a dehydrated raw food it does not require refrigeration and just needs to be stored in a cool, dry place. To serve THK to your four-legged friend all you need to do is add warm water, stir, and wait. I think the waiting is the hardest part for Basil. From the second I get the box out of the closet and start running the water he knows its game time. The next 5 minutes are filled with crazy eyes, and sad cries. But once his full dish hits the mat he goes to town. One of my favorite things now is watching him eat. He loves his new food so much he actually lays down to fully enjoy his meal.
So, its been about a month since we started this new pet food journey and we couldn’t be happier. Basil already looks like his has slimed down a little bit and once his next vet appointment rolls around I’ll share with all of you our weight loss progress. We highly recommend heading over to http://www.thehonestkitchen.com and checking out this amazing food for yourself. You can also find a local store near you that carriers The Honest Kitchen or order online.
So recap: What is The Honest Kitchen?
If you would like to win a free 2 lb. sample box of The Honest Kitchen leave a comment below (using a current email address) telling me what makes your dog or cat special and I’ll pick 1 lucky winner at random. Giveaway closes at 11pm on Friday June 20th, so get your entries in now!
Hope everyone is having an awesome Friday and enjoy your weekend… you deserve it!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Happy Thursday everyone! Its been super stormy all day today so everyone has been staying in the house and trying to stay dry. We have a full house this week. Jack the golden retriever is staying with us and he is a little bit of a baby. (He is scared of thunder!) He has been hiding behind a trash can in our office for the majority of the day. Luckily enough it stopped raining right around our usual puppy walk time. We headed out for a wet two dog walk.
Many more photos of these two best friends coming later this week. Also, a new Basil’s Favorite Things tomorrow. Hope its sunny where you are!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Ps. More great content coming starting TOMORROW! I’ve been pretty sick lately and then super busy! New Basil’s Favorite Things! Giveaway! Crazy, silly, Boston Terrier photos! Its going to be awesome! Thanks for sticking with us! We love you!
This is what a happy dog looks like! #TongueOutTuesday
Hoping your day was just as happy as his!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
Its been 3 weeks since our amazing trip to the BlogPaws conference in beautiful Lake Las Vegas, Nevada and Basil’s first airplane ride. We think that Basil is now officially the amazing flying dog!
I wanted to share some tips and tricks that we learned from flying with a four-legged friend. As well as a photo or two. I’ll also give you a short review of the SturdiBag pet carrier that we used and that helped Basil take another giant step for dog-kind.
Tip 1: Give Yourself More Time Than You Think You Need!
When it comes to traveling on airplanes or just plain going to the airport, even when I’m traveling without Basil, I always show up WAY too early. I find that sometimes its a breeze and sometimes the line to just check-in is a mile long. Too many times have I been in line at check-in or for security and there is a frantic traveler in front of me yelling and complaining that he or she is going to miss their flight if they don’t get through this line NOW. I never want to be that person so I would rather be too early than too late!
As for traveling with your pet this tip is even more important. Most airlines do require that you make a “reservation” for your pet before your flight but this reservation is not a guarantee that your pet will be on this flight. When going to Las Vegas we flew on US Airways. They were great but they do have a 6 pet per plane max. This means if 6 pets show up to your flight before you do…Sorry, you are out of luck and that so called “reservation” means nothing! For our flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas for the BlogPaws conference I was slightly concerned, being that Charlotte is an US Airways/American Airlines hub, that there would be more than 6 pets on our flight. To make sure Basil made the flight and the conference we showed up the airport 3 1/2 hours early. This may seem like a lot but it was what made me comfortable and gave me a little piece of mind. As it turned out, we were the only pet on the plane that day but again, better safe than sorry!
Tip 2: Be Kind!
This one may seem like common sense but you would be surprised how many grown adults don’t follow it. Every person you have to deal with when traveling through an airport is just doing their job. From the clerk at the check-in counter to the person that scans your ticket at the gate and the flight attendants, they are all there to do their jobs and serve you. This doesn’t mean you can walk all over them! With just a simple smile and a thank you it really does make all the difference.
In our case, Basil and his pet carrier is slightly larger than the approved pet size allowed on most airlines. This means at any point before the plane takes off we could be confronted and asked to leave. I didn’t want this to happened and we were fortunate enough to not have any issues and everyone we spoke to had zero problem with Basil or his carrier. I do know, for a fact, that this would be a different story if I was overtly rude and chose to complain about issues that couldn’t be resolved. So, just remember to be kind and if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!
Tip 3: Know Where the Pet Potty is!
For this trip I booked a direct flight with no layovers so that Basil don’t have to “hold it” for too long but I know that sometimes that is not an option. Do research on each airport before you travel. If you can’t or forget I would recommend using the time once the plane touches down on the tarmac and they allow you to switch on your phone to look up where the pet area is in that airport. Will you have to exit the airport and go through security again? Do they even have a spot for pets? The last thing you want to worry about when in an unfamiliar airport is cleaning up an accident. I also have read a tip from a fellow pet blogger, Dog Jaunt that said to bring pee pads. If your pet needs to go while on the plane, this is a way to take your buddy to the tiny airplane bathroom and set up a pad. Also, if you are unable to get to the pet potty or maybe have a short layover, you have a back up plan.
Our first airplane trip with Basil was pretty smooth and what helped a lot was the SturdiBag pet carrier we had ordered. I choose this bag after doing hours and hours of research online and reading more than my fair share of reviews. I found the large size SturdiBag to fit our 20+ lb. Boston terrier perfect. Its soft sides make it fit nicely under the US Airways seats and the super soft pad inside make Basil feel comfortable. Disclaimer! The large size SturdiBag is 2 inches longer than most airlines listed max size. Please be aware of this if you do choose this bag.
The only down side to this fabulous pet carrier is there is only one door, on the front. If both front and back zipped open it would make it much easier for my dog to enter and exit the carrier. Other than that, I loved the bag and would purchase it again in a heart beat!
Hope you enjoyed this post and we can’t want to get back up into the friendly skies and log some more air miles under Basil’s collar.
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
I am calling this, wet dog… wonky ear… a beach story. Its art!
To those of you that are enjoying memorial day weekend from the beach, I hope the sun is hot, water is warm, and beer is cold. We are spending the rest of our weekend with friends, family, BBQ, and bonfires. Hope everyone has a great start to summer 2014! On ward and up ward!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil
It was the one year anniversary of The Boston Terriers of Charlotte meet-up group and Blaire, the owner if Club Fetch in Charlotte, let a heard of wild and crazy Boston’s take over his club.
Happy 1 year to Boston terriers of Charlotte! We are so happy to be able to be part of it! Also, huge thank you Club Fetch, Blaire, Jackson, and staff for the amazingly good time!
Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!
Travel well, nap well, live well!
-Abbey & Basil