Month: February 2013

Subaru of America enjoys celebrating the special bond between Subaru drivers and their dogs with its annual “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™” advertising campaign.

This year’s ads with Subaru Canine Sales Associate, Grant Weber, are priceless! When they introduced Grant Weber to viewers, Subaru described him as “simply no better friend to man’s best friend”, and touted his abilities to find just the right Subaru for any dog’s needs!

 The company intro’d Weber using four 30-second television spots with varied messages for canine car buyers. The first one, the Subaru Dog Tested Intro is my favorite. The two dogs driving the car, where they shake hands with Grant Weber, resemble a combination of my various hounds Hobie, Hector, Charlie Brown and Cooper, and I love the new slogan “Once you sit in a Subaru, you’ll stay.”

But there’s more great stuff where that came from!

“On the Lot” is a great teaser video that shows a cat driving off with the last blue Forester on the lot! (It was a hard choice deciding if this was my fave, or the other one, but one is a commercial and the other is just a teaser so I like both!)

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Our dependable Subarus have gotten me and the dogs to and from Cape Cod, safely and easily, countless times.  We vacation at “The Cape” and are fortunate to have our vacation home in a dog-friendly community there.  Back in the 1980s and 1990s, I would drive from central Massachusetts to almost the tip of Cape Cod regularly.  Timba, the black Labrador, accompanied me on those long, lonely trips in our 1988 Subaru Legacy wagon.  Timba was the most wonderful travel companion, she was the most well-behaved mutt I’ve ever known.  Once we got settled at the house, Timba and I would go to the beach and I would sunbathe and read magazines while Timba swam and investigated the shoreline.  She never wandered more than a few feet away from me, and would often come nudge me with her cold nose to get me to turn over so I wouldn’t get burned — and to make sure I hadn’t fallen asleep in the sun.  I treasure those memories.  When I see Subaru’s Dog Tested, Dog Approved ads, I smile and think of Timba.  Here’s one:

http://bit.ly/WW7C2Y

We had a few Subarus in Timba’s lifetime, and when we adopted Hobie, in 2000, and Hector five months after Timba died, we continued the Subaru tradition.  Hobie and Hector were always with me on the trips to the Cape.  They were my companions, as well as my protection.  During the Hobie/Hector Years we had a few Subarus:  the maroon 1999 Legacy wagon (whenever Hector saw a maroon station wagon, it didn’t matter the make, he would get so excited, and I would say “I’m with you!  It’s not me!” ha ha ha).  Then, the black 2003 Legacy wagon, pictured here.

Then, the white 2006 Tribeca (the only Subaru I didn’t like very much, although it was certainly big enough to carry us and all of our gear).  And finally, the 2009 Forester that we still drive today.

Check out Subaru’s interactive Facebook app “Dog Tested, Dog Approved”
http://subar.us/USzh6V  Here you can make a drivers’ license for your dog (please be sure to use a FAKE address!)  Here is Hobie’s driver’s license!

Match up your dog with your favorite Subaru automobile (when I did this option, it came back and told me “Hobie would look great in a Forester.”  Well, of COURSE he would!). I decided to put Charlie in the Forester instead — how cute!

You can ask one of Subaru’s canine experts for advice; or map out your favorite dog walk.   After you’ve “Liked” the Dog Tested Facebook page, be sure to enter the Rafflecopter contest for some great prizes including Visa gift cards in the amount of $350 or $150….. the contest runs all week, until Feb 24th, and you can enter once a day.  Winners will be announced within 48 hours after the raffle closes.  Here’s all the info you need in this widget:  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hector died very suddenly in 2011.  My heart still breaks to think of the last days we spent together, driving hurriedly to the Cape and back with Hurricane Irene bearing down upon us.  I think the rushed trip added to his downfall.  To make me feel better, I like to think that his spirit resides in the 2009 Forester, and I feel him there with me.  

 Five months after Hector died, we got Charlie Brown, and he and Hobie accompanied me to the Cape all throughout 2012 while Charlie was growing up.  We had many walks in Wiley Park, and the Subaru never let us down.

We adopted Charlie’s brother, Cooper, in August.  Cooper hasn’t been to the Cape yet.  It will be interesting to see if all three will be able to make the trips with me in 2013 once the season begins.  The Forester does fit all three, plus all of our stuff, comfortably.  I look forward to our new travel adventures with our latest pack member, and hope there is not a lot of stress!

P.S.  Brought Cooper to the vet today for his annual vaccines and check-up… a happy coincidence, after our appointment, I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for an iced coffee (yeah, we do that in New England in February).  While I was in the store, Coop moved over to the driver’s seat in the Forester (see pic, right).  I think he was jealous that Charlie got put into the Forester on the Subaru Facebook app!

This post is sponsored by Subaru. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™ campaign, but k2k9/K.S. Mueller only shares news for things we support.  We are huge fans of Subaru, and have always said we should be in their commercials!

My dogs (and cats) are my “Kids” (a little teaser there from Subaru).   Right now, Tux, the cat (a.k.a. “Bullet” because he flies through the air without touching the ground) is walking on my arms and keyboard — yeah, I let him, even though it’s most annoying!  

The dogs are outside playing in the 30 inches of snow we got yesterday from the Blizzard of 2013 — our town held the record in snowfall yesterday, but West Boylston beat us out in the end with 34 inches. If we ever have to drive in the snow here in central Massachusetts, we rely on our trusty Subaru.  These days, it’s a 2009 Forester, but we’ve had several of these reliable and safe automobiles. Since 1988 I’ve never owned any other brand of vehicle. Before that, I used to cry and panic when it snowed, now I actually look forward to driving in the snow, and friends will often hear me roar “I love my car!”.  I’ve convinced a lot of friends and colleagues to buy a Subaru.  Our Subaru Forester fits all three dogs, me, and all our gear.  Don’t you just love their commercials? Ever haggle with a dog? Grant Weber has.

We’re fortunate to live in a dog-friendly neighborhood.  Almost all of our neighbors have at least one dog, and that’s a good thing, because dogs are important members of any family.  Our dogs, Charlie Brown, Cooper and Hobie (and their predecessors Hector and Timba) are important family members because they keep us entertained, make sure we exercise, make us laugh and smile a lot, and keep us on a set schedule.  It’s important to wake up at dawn and go outside and bark at all the neighbors walking their dogs before work, you know. Do you want to know when it’s 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m.?  Not to worry, Hobie will tell you because that’s when it’s time to eat.  Charlie Brown will tug on my sleeve (or my arm if I’m wearing short sleeves, ouch!) to tell me, at 11:00 a.m., “it’s time to start getting ready for work or you’re gonna be LATE!”.  Hobie accompanies me in the room while I’m taking a shower, every day, and three-legged Cooper curls up on the sofa to announce that it’s 10:00 p.m. and time for bed.  They each provide therapy when we’re down in the dumps, and teach us lessons about how to live in the moment and enjoy life to the fullest.  

The dogs accompany me on trips to the grocery store (no, they don’t go inside, they wait, impatiently, in the car); to the bank, to the coffee shop, and most especially on excursions to the shores of Cape Cod where we go as often as possible.  I wouldn’t think of leaving them at home when we go to the beach.  (I get separation anxiety, ok?)  

Last weekend, we watched the Puppy Bowl, and it sure was fun using the interactive Subaru Dog Tested Facebook App.  I can’t decide whether my favorite part of the app was “Put Your Dog In A Subaru”, or creating a doggie driver’s license.  I made a doggie driver’s license for Hobie.  I put Hobie in a Forester and Charlie in an Outback.  

This post is sponsored by Subaru. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Dog Tested. Dog Approved.™ campaign, but k2k9/K.S. Mueller only shares news for things we support.  We are huge fans of Subaru, and have always said we should be in their commercials!