Stoutpup

Our beloved rock ‘n’ roller, Mazzy, passed away on Friday July 11, 2008 while we were in Wyoming. She was the best dog in the world, and oh did we love her. We will all miss her so much. These eyes won’t be forgotten.

Tribute to a Best Friend

Sunlight streams through the window pane
unto a spot on the floor…
then I remember,
it’s where you used to lie,
but now you are no more.

— Author Unknown

In keeping with our western theme for the month, I thought it would be appropriate to post this picture taken yesterday of Corey and Lucy at this famous landmark in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. The giant hat and boots are featured on RoadsideAmerica.com, a site that you will find other such oversized curious objects as Tucson’s Giant Ax Wielding Man on the corner of Stone and Glenn and Tacoma’s Giant Coffee Pot, World Famous Bob’s Java Jive.

I’m not much for sports but the article here talks about two of my favorite things - Bulldogs and Design. As part of their rebranding, Louisiana Tech has redone their bulldog logo for consistency and fit. Apparently the athletics department was just using a bunch of random bulldogs as their logo (in paper documents at least) up until last year. As a designer, that baffles and fascinates me, but I like this article because it talks about the process of choosing just the right look for the Louisiana Tech bulldog.

Creating a new bulldog logo proved to be more difficult.

Buskirk said Tech considered about 12 basic bulldog concepts, with three or four variations of each concept.

Minor adjustments — as simple as removing a wrinkle, or reshaping the tongue, or adding teeth — were made until the logo looked just right.

He said by the end of the process, 50-60 different bulldog logos were considered.

“We looked at photos, we looked at an actual bulldog, people sent in photos, we looked at paintings,” Buskirk said. “It was really difficult. Some people wanted a real cartoonish bulldog, someone else wants a real aggressive one.”

The final bulldog logo features a white bulldog head with a red collar. “TECH” is written on the color in blue letters. A gray bulldog with identical features will also be used.

“We were trying to come up with a bulldog that fit Tech,” Buskirk said. “Well, what is Tech? It’s a lot of tradition, a lot of class, and that bulldog is an elite bulldog. He’s at the top of the mountain, not slobber-jawed with drool dripping down.”

I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than looking at 50-60 bulldog logos. No two bulldogs are the same. And Louisiana Tech gets it!

It is 87 degrees in Seattle. It is so damn hot. Lucy is practically melting, but we have lots of fans in here, gel packs from the freezer to cool dog bellies and of course ice cubes, Lucy’s favorite low calorie treat. Cube cube! Anyway, Stoutpup is getting ready for the Wild West. Here’s a picture of us trying to cool off on the way home from Barking Lounge. We stopped at Uptown Espresso, my new favorite place to drink iced coffee and blog once we get our new computer.

Lucy’s Sour Mug made it into CityDog Magazine. I happened to be wearing my Lucy’s Diner T-Shirt on this day. We picked up our copy of CityDog Magazine from South Lake Union’s own fabulous Urban Beast, but if you live in anywhere else in Western Washington, Oregon, Idaho or northern California you might be able to pick one up at a pet store, newsstand or bookstore in your area.

Lucy and I were approached by pet photographer Jamie Pflughoeft on this particularly warm day in Cascade Park. I think it was the first Sunny day of the season. Weren’t we lucky!

CityDog Magazine’s 3rd Annual Cover Dog Model Search is under way and I think Lucy is going to give it a shot.

This weekend Lucy and I went to Mom’s house in Lynnwood for another family weekend. Dawn was in town and it was really fun and we ate tacos and lots of cupcakes and played in the field with the Bulldogs, Lucy and Winston. The two dogs are pals now after their third or fourth time together and it’s fun to watch them trotting along the field side by side. They always want what the other has, and here’s a picture of Winston hiding in the bathroom corner after taking Lucy’s ring toy. Three’s company so we were definitely missing Miss Cookieblanca from the Bulldog Trifecta this weekend!

You really were the icing on my cake last night after one of the worst day’s I’ve had in 2008. I am sorry that your abhorrence for my dogs sent you into a tizzy as you stormed back out of the elevator muttering something about taking the elevator with dogs when I got in. The elevator was going up you know and maybe you should have your own private passage built going straight up into your apartment, or somewhere else. You can’t share community space with dogs? Maybe you should have moved into a pet free apartment building instead of a pet friendly one. Or at least be courteous and keep your disdain to yourself. After all I don’t express my disdain publicly for tall jockish assholes who hate riding elevators with dogs. Oops. I just did. Hope you had a nice walk to the 7th floor!

Even though we live in a two bedroom apartment, once in a while I have one of those moments where I can’t find the dog and have the two second freak-out. You know, the kind where you realize you left your purse in the booth you were sitting at in the restaurant half an hour ago. Your heart rate shoots through the roof and you start sweating. Well today I couldn’t find Lucy who usually is just right by my side. I had to do a double take and then I noticed a tiny face peeking out from beneath all the covers on the bed.

This weekend we had family visiting from Dallas. It was a fun filled three days of touring around the Seattle Area, enjoying live music at the Georgetown Music Festival and Dining out, and the weather was great. Our last full day together was spent with more family on Whidbey Island on a gorgeous sunny day overlooking the water. We brought Mazzy and Lucy to enjoy this day with us, and also because it’s quite a drive and we didn’t want to cut our day short to come home and let the dogs out. Lucy had me running through Terry and Gina’s yard every 5 minutes with a tennis ball she found at one of our road stops on the way up. She had a great time and is STILL conked out from the day.

I fell in love with a property adjacent to our cousins Terry and Gina that had a gorgeous water view and wonderful wraparound porch. Mint Juleps, Anyone? It was priced at $339,500 and I am still fantasizing about how great it wound be to live there. It was small, but what more does a couple with two dogs need in such beautiful country? Terry, let us know when that price drops…

I have a secret love for all things John Deere — Especially Tractors :) I love the colors I love the design but other than that I know nothing. Before we purged most of our belongings in Tacoma we had a set of cute John Deere mugs that I regret purging that Lucy hated. She hated those mugs because she hates all inanimate objects such as pots, pans, mugs, cups, forks, spoons and of course popped popcorn.

Today we gave Lucy a much needed puppy bath after her Wild Whidbey Extravaganza weekend — and for those of you who do not know what it’s like to bathe a bulldog click here.

Hey people, here’s another reason to leash your dogs in public places and keep track of their crap. Read the article >>