Happy Birthday, Willy!

Feb. 27 marked a very important day for one of my friends here at Dogtopia of Alexandria. Willy, a Shih Tzu, had a birthday! But, it wasn’t just any birthday. He turned a whopping 13 years old, making him our oldest doggie daycare friend.

We celebrated by having a party for Willy. We ate yummy cake and ice cream. We all had our picture taken with birthday hats on, and the birthday boy got a new collar and a blanket.

The funny thing is, it’s hard to tell that Willy is 13. He certainly doesn’t act like it. In fact, he still runs around and plays like a young pup. Some of his favorite things to do are hang out on the futon, play with Chloe, the Pug, and tell his friends stories.

Willy comes to play with me and all our friends at daycare every week. He is so much fun, and we’re so excited to celebrate this special day with him. Happy Birthday, Willy!

Bailey’s All Around

This past President's Day weekend at Dogtopia of Alexandria was an especially busy one. Sometimes, when there’s this many doggies to play with, I have a hard time keeping all of my friends straight. This weekend proved difficult.

What was the cause of the confusion? I had three friends named Bailey to play with! It was funny to see the pack leaders call for Bailey and three dogs show up at once. They were all so different, but it was still hard to keep track of them all.

There was Bailey the Weimaraner, a great guy to chase around the room, Bailey the Labrador Retriever, an accomplished kong chaser like myself and Bailey the Beagle, a good buddy to have trying to sniff out dropped food in the kitchen.

This was the first visit for all three Baileys, and I had so much fun with them. Once they all left, I realized that Bailey is the most popular name here at Dogtopia. I have eight doggie friends named Bailey who come to play with me at daycare. And, I hope these Bailey’s come back to play with me real soon!

Love Is In the Air

With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, some of my friends here at Dogtopia of Alexandria are feeling amorous. And, the love bug is biting hard.

Our Oldies But Goodies (a Cocker Spaniel Rescue group) dog, Cassidy, has found herself a very handsome boyfriend. Eamonn is a cute lab mix that comes to play with me and Cassidy at doggy daycare. Ever since, Cassidy and Eamonn laid eyes on each other, they have been inseparable. On Sundays, when Eamonn doesn’t come to play, Cassidy longs for the next day that Eamonn comes to play with her at Dogtopia.

Even some of our boarding dogs were hit by Cupid’s arrow. Roxy, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and Miles, a Black Labrador Retriever, were very affectionate during their stay here. They cuddled on the futon and gave each other kisses. Dogtopia is like a doggy matchmaker.

I hope all of my friends come to daycare to try and find their perfect mate. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yummy, Chocolate (Labs)!

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and the doggie’s at Dogtopia of Alexandria are getting excited, because they know their parents are going to be having a lot of delicious chocolate (not the Chocolate Lab kind) lying around the house. We can’t wait to get our paws on some tasty chocolaty morsels with caramel and nougat inside! I even like to indulge in a brownie or two (or a whole pan!) from time to time.

But, our veterinarians wouldn’t be happy to hear that. That’s because chocolate contains a substance called theobromine that can cause us to get very sick. According to talktothevet.com, a high level of this toxic ingredient could cause damage to our nervous and cardiovascular system. And, if that happened, we wouldn’t be able to play with our friends at doggie daycare!

So, parents keep your chocolate out of paw’s reach, and should your favorite pooch scarf up some chocolate, contact your vet.