Adventures with Astrid and Her Smile

Today, Astrid decided to take you all along on yet another one of her beloved walks.

This pup is known for her chronic smile. I feel like you all don't get to see that ever-present smile nearly enough, because for the camera she tends to put it away. But, rest assured, Astrid is almost always smiling.

Astrid's smile is really deceiving to strangers on walks. They'll see a happy, smiling dog like her and think, "Oh, what a perfect dog to pet!" The thing is, while Astrid is not even remotely aggressive, she's incredibly shy and really just a giant chicken. She will happily walk past and stand near just about any person, but it's a toss up whether she'll let any given stranger actually touch her. She usually opts to hide behind me if someone tries to pet her. What a brave girl.

Even if she won't let strangers pet her, Astrid has still gotten many compliments on her smile. 

Of course, Astrid is sending you all lots of smiles today!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

Today is the last tip in our series on decorating your house around your furbabies. What we're talking about today is flooring. When purchasing, designing, or renovating a home, be sure to take your furbabies into consideration when it comes to details such as flooring. For example, carpeting might require extra cleaning efforts if you live with furbabies prone to vomiting or other accidents on the floor. A better option in such a case might be a hard surface flooring. Some of the easiest floors to clean and maintain with furbabies include tile and laminate floors. Of course, hardwood is another option. When it comes to this, though, do try to ensure that the type of wood used on your floors is indeed hardwood. For example, oak, maple, walnut, and cherry are all hardwoods that are resilient, as well as able to be refinished relatively easily. On the other hand, try to avoid softwood flooring when living with furbabies, whose paws and claws can far more easily cause damage to less resilient woods. Softwoods include pine, cedar, and redwood, all of which might not be able to hold up against the pitter-patter of clawed furbaby paws. All in all, if you are blessed enough to share your life and home with furbabies, you may indeed need to consider how to best decorate your home to suit both you and your furbaby.