Hello everyone!  Thought I'd add our most recent newsletter to the blog, in case anyone missed it.

Oh my, so much news to share! 

First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone! Yay for December! 

-Please let us know, if you haven't already, about changes to your regularly-scheduled walks over the next few weeks. As soon as possible would be good! Semesters are ending, vacations are happening, etc.!

-I've gone ahead and cancelled any regularly scheduled walks on Monday, December 24th, and Tuesday, December 25th. Please let me know if you do need something those days. There is a $10 surcharge for either holiday (but I only charge it once, so if you need us on both days it's still just the $10.) This year we are CRAZY busy those days so spare us if you can!

-Which reminds me, if you need pet care over Christmastime and you haven't already booked us, sorry, but you're out of luck! I'll be out of town as usual but the 4 sitters who are left will be very very busy! I'm cutting off scheduling early this year!

-New Year's time is less busy but we'd still like to know what you'll need those days. (Same deal about the surcharges.)

-In other news, we have a new sitter on the P.U.P.S. team! Julian Flores worked for Philapets for a few years and was their main West Philly sitter. Philapets recently went out of business, so we were lucky enough to get not only get a few of their clients (welcome, Philapets exiles!) but one of their best sitters! Julian has been doing a great job and has been super helpful for the past month or so. Your dogs and cats love him!

-Also, I, Sharon, am in the process of sort-of retiring, at least from walking dogs, at least for now. I'm almost 7 months pregnant! So it seems like a good time to slow down. Turns out the 3rd trimester really is exhausting! I'm down to 1-3 walks a day. Mostly I'm taking some time to stay home and do all the administrative work I've been too busy to keep up with for the past, oh, 10 years or so.  Which means soon you really will all get log-ins to our scheduling website, and soon, I hope, you'll be able to pay with credit cards. It is a long process though. 

-Now, don't panic, but I'm also moving out of Philly in the Spring. Don't worry, Puppy Uprising will continue here without me no matter what! We have a good, stable team here and they will be fully equipped to take over when I'm gone. We're still working out the details, but Greg Dean will have a prominent role for sure. I may continue to run things from afar, or maybe not. We'll figure it out and let you know, but for the most part, things won't change much for you. (If you're curious, I'm moving to the mid-Hudson Valley in New York State and buying a huge old farmhouse on a full acre of land in a small town. And yes, in one year's time I will have gotten married, gotten pregnant, had a baby, bought a house, changed my job, and moved to a whole new state!  A few minor lifestyle changes!)

Thanks everyone and Happy Merry Everything!!!!

Sharon

P.S.

Please enjoy a ridiculous holiday video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-0WVfj76bo

Happy Halloween!

Shadow, the senior foster chihuahua*, wore this to an adoption event this weekend! How dang cute is this?!?!?!?  Thanks to Chava for the photo!



* Yes, he is available for adoption! Don't you want him? Write me if you do!

Marlo!

OMG PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!! That is how I felt pretty much every time I saw Marlo last week!

Dog art

Baxter the Beagle's big sister, Nora the Human Child*, drew this amazing portrait of him in our notebook!  Isn't it perfect?




*No one calls her that.

Aspen

Everybody looks good in a yellow slicker, but especially Aspen!

Sterling

A hairless Chinese Crested? A puppy? With a sweater and blue hair? ARE YOU KIDDING?!!?!? He is amazing!!!!

Lola!

Tiny Lola is a dream to take care of! Her little tiny legs barely need walking! She's very happy to just play fetch inside!

Burt the beagle!

Burt is crazy on walks, but almost immediately goes and falls asleep on his person's bed afterwards!

Bella cat!

We got to take care of cute little Bella and her brother Rye in August while their folks were off getting married! Such a treat! What sweeties!

Kali!

Looks like I finally got a good picture of Kali, one of the greatest pups on Earth!

TANK!

 

This is by far the cutest picture of Tank I've ever taken. Beagles have great smiles!

Kaia and Aspen

Kaia is a nice older lady who lives in the same building as our fluffy little friend, Aspen! She was staying at his house for a few days so we got to walk them both! It was super super hot out that week so we did a lot of hanging out in their building's dog run. How cute are they?

 

Kaia!

 

Aspen!

Farewell, Ruby!

Oh no! Ruby moved to another neighborhood! Stop doing this to us, people! We loved this crazy adorable pittie so much! Good luck out there, cutie pie! Don't eat any cats!

Dru and Mr. Pants

Augh!

Roxie again!

Earnestly begging for a piece of my bagel. Sorry, dear, at your size, a crumb might make you gain a pound!

Madonna and Slaid!

I recently got to house sit for Madonna and Slaid, who are super fun! Madonna the Chihuahua is the tiniest little old dog! Here she is cuddling on me!

 

Slaid the poodle is a big old goofball, and so gentle with his tiny sister!

 I took a few shots trying to show the size difference, but this was the only good one:

Juno

Juno is a pretty kitty who looooooves when we visit. She has this adorable permanent head-tilt!

Rum Tum Tugger

 Tugger is NOT into pet sitters.  Which is too bad, because he's so beautiful, and has that nice long fur that I just want to pet! But no, he prefers to hide in the front window the whole time we're visiting!

Words to live by...

Just thought I'd share this find from Old City. It seems to be a combination gravestone/water fountain for horses! Too bad it probably hasn't worked in many years.

Jack and Dee Dee

I've been working for Dee Dee's family for years, so I still house-sit for them whenever I can, even though they moved to Center City. Dee Dee, the little beagle, is very old and slow now, but she seems very glad to have her new friend Jack around.  Especially if he sits still and lets her give him a "bath!"

Sadie Mae!

Look at how sweet she is! Sadie hates going outside, so her parents moved the furniture so we can play tug-of-war in the living room after our quick walk! She always wins.

Soupspoon

Soupspoon is just as cute as her name suggests, but she is not fond of visitors! Her brother cat, Bill Romanowski, is much friendlier, but harder to photograph!

Mac

Our newest doggy friend, Mac! He is super sweet and very patient, despite the seasonal allergies that are driving him crazy! We're very excited to add him to the roster.

Baxter and Benji!

These guys are so cute together! Look at those serious faces. They're very focused on the treat by the camera!

Bye for now, Luna!

Luna! One of my oldest friends. Luna has lived in West Philly 2 different times and both times we were pleased to have the privilege of walking her.  She hates dogs, trolleys, and trucks, but she looooves people.  We are so sad that she is moving away! It's just Center City, so we all hope we'll still see her around sometimes!

Good luck in your new neighborhood, sweetie!

Good luck Griffin!

I know this pic is blurry but I had to post it! Our buddy Griffin just moved out of the neighborhood, to our great sadness! This was taken at his birthday/going away party last month. That's his new favorite toy, named Greg Dean, a giraffe with a purple mohawk! We'll miss you so much, Guff!

Baxter beagle again!

Baxter was being very photogenic at the Satellite the other day!

Emma!

Emma is the funniest tiny old lady!

Kali!

Is it possible that I've never posted a pic of Kali before?  Kali is one of our sweetest daily pups! We started walking her when she was a tiny puppy, and now she's a big girl! We all like to take her to the Satellite Cafe, where she has a blast getting pets, begging for food, and meeting other dogs. Unfortunately she was a little freaked out by a big delivery truck when I was taking these photos the other day. I'll get a better shot of her soon!

Roxie in the park!

Roxie has the honor of being my favorite dog to hang out with in Clark Park this Spring. She happens to be scheduled for an hour visit at prime dogs-in-the-Bowl time. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't really like dogs. But it's a great opportunity for her to get to know some more of them, and hopefully change her mind. Plus every human who meets her falls in love with her, so she gets the kind of attention she likes, as well.

Pretty Mama

On a cold day, Pretty Mama insists we cuddle on her couch.  I don't know if her eyes are itchy here, or she just doesn't want her picture taken.

Dru-matic

Black dogs look best in black and white! (I hope you can see this without having to turn up the brightness on your monitor.) Here, Drusilla is pensive. Or sleepy.

Claire

I love it so much when dogs' tongues are sticking out and they don't realize it!

Pepper in the Park!

Pepper! With a little bit of Bambi in the background. Sorry this is a little blurry. Pepper doesn't sit still for long!

Dru, Jack, Maxx

Drusilla, Jack Bow-wow, and Maxxie! We had a fun playdate at Jack's house last weekend!

Baxter the Beagle!

Baxter the Beagle is quite popular at Chester Ave Dog Park! You can see why: look at that face!

Pretty Mama

This is how Pretty Mama spends her yard time when it's warm and sunny out!

Jarry and Greg

Greg Dean with Jarry. Guess which one had to be held because they were going nuts over a dog?

Judo and Solie!

I think I took this sometime last Fall.

Solie is the little border terrier on the left and Judo is the Scottish terrier on the right. Judo is old and very very slow, unless he can see a treat in your hand! Solie is hilarious and very fun to play fetch with!

Maxx and Dru yet again!

Dru was so small here!

Roxie

Roxie certainly has the most extensive wardrobe of any of our dogs. My neighbor Omar always says she's too fancy for this neighborhood. I disagree. We need her touch of class.

Ms. Benni

The light is not great here, but I had to show you all my tiny friend Ms. Benni, who is so small that her XS sweatshirt is a little big on her!