Green Dog Blog

That’s our sales counter, on its way to the new location! We were told by the guy who built it that it shouldn’t be moved, as it would likely crack (it’s more than 1000lb and the top is concrete that was poured in place.) Luckily, we found a mover that specializes in moving heavy fragile things (printing presses, etc). So, they used jacks and wheely carts and rolled that thing out to the curb where they picked it up with a forklift, put it on a flatbed, and drove it down to the new place. Again with the forklift, then the wheely carts and jacks, and it was in place! Pretty fun morning actually and trippy to see our counter outdoors. The day didn’t end there though – the big built-in that was at the end of the store was deconstructed and taken down the street as well to be rebuilt. Luckily our contractor (Alpine Designs) is the same guy who built it in the first place 6 years ago and it went really smoothly – we were even able to reuse a good bit of the drywall, which means less painting for me. Check out lots of photos of the renovation and deconstruction, as well as more photos of the counter move on our Facebook page at this link.
Our move is still scheduled to take place on the 4th and 5th of July, and we very much hope to be open the morning of the 6th, if the computer is up and functional. Come check out the store this week to see how different it looks, and score some deals on clearance items!

I covered this a few years back, but it seems lots of people are forwarding us the warnings about cocoa mulch, and I thought it was definitely worthy of a blog post.

There is a mulch sold by garden stores that is made from cocoa bean shells.  It really does look good, has a lovely fine texture and smells fantastic, just like chocolate. The trouble is, just like chocolate, it contains both caffeine and the chemical that is toxic to dogs called theobromine. Though deaths from eating cocoa mulch are not widely reported, there have been a number of cases of dogs becoming ill from ingesting it. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, hyperactivity, rapid heart rate, muscle seizures, and possibly death. The concentration of theobromine in the mulch is actually quite high, making it more dangerous than something like milk chocolate, and since it does smell so delicious, there is a risk that some dogs might eat it.  So, if you have an indiscriminate eater, try to be vigilant on walks if you see your dog really nosing around a mulched area.  If you really want to use cocoa mulch, look for a variety that states that it is theobromine free (though it still might contain caffeine, which could also be harmful to pets), or just consider some of the old favorites like tree bark.

(photo borrowed from the ASPCA website)

Here’s a video of people assembling for the parade (Aug 08) and for the costume judging contest

And here’s a video of people and dogs marching – check out the Boston Terrier Drill Team in action!

For photos, check out http://www.greendogpetsupply.com/gallery/index.php?list=5