A dog named mini-Cooper

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!