Our dog is an extension of our family. He is a four-year-old Labrador-Pointer cross, and he sees himself as the twin to my youngest human child. His energy matches that of my children and he sulks if we leave the house without him.

It’s important to me to include him in as many activities as possible. When we vacation, we prefer to take him with us rather than housing him at doggy daycare.

And when we pack our bags, he has his very own duffel. It is packed with all his necessities including his hiking booties, emergency medications, poop bags and tennis balls. I always make sure his GPS tracker is charged. One of the best purchases we made was a radio collar for the backwoods. It is an insurance policy to find our dog if he runs away in an area that has no cell phone coverage. The Garmin Collar can track his location for ten miles, maybe more.  No dog should be let off leash unless they have a 100% recall. Our dog is 98% in the city and 100% in the woods. The GPS still gives me peace of mind.

My dog gets into tons of mischief, especially surrounding food. He waits and watches for us to leave the room, then counter-surfs to clear off any food we have erroneously left out. Despite his naughtiness, he has also been the best babysitter of our children.  If my boys are in another room doing something dangerous, my dog will bite my backside and paw at me with a level of annoyance that causes me to drop what I am doing and investigate.  I am so grateful he is a snitch!

If the activities the kids are involved in are not perceived as dangerous to him, he disappears to be a part of the action.   On multiple occasions, I have opened our door to the yard to be greeted by two muddy boys and one muddy dog.   All are smiling.   And yes, my dog smiles.

Most households consider dogs to be a part of the family.  Dogs no longer sleep outside in the yard.  They get a coveted place in the bedroom.   They get dressed in t-shirts and fancy collars.  They wear seatbelts and are provided medical care better than the humans. 

When our dog needs medical attention we take him to Alameda Pet Hospital at Buena Vista Avenue in Alameda, CA. where he is deeply loved and treated like royalty. All details of this wonderful center are to be found on our KidFriendlyVenues app so check them out by registering on our website first. The app allows me to rate any venue for recommendation. I - and our dog - gave Alameda Pet Hospital five stars!

The dogs I know are spoiled rotten.  And they should be.   Dogs are awesome!

Laura D