A Sunday outing of the highest significance and protocol

On Sunday I discovered I was out of Coke. HORRORS!

In addition, I was out of cream for my tea! SHOCKING! So off to the Walmart we went, the dogs and I, to restock the house with desperately needed supplies.

We met a REALLY HAPPY man who thought that having his photo in our blog would be great fun! In fact, he was so friendly we learned that he had retired from the US Coast Guard in 1968. He also shared his name and age and told us that his wife thinks he is too friendly - uhm, wonder why☺

Back in the parking lot, Miss Freyja kept one ear to the wind on the lookout for intruders who would seek to enter her personal car-parking-space.

While Mr. Scout amused himself by telling jokes and laughing at them so hard he couldn't deliver the punch line - can you imagine that☺(What's that white thing in his nose? Was he laughing so hard he was blowing bubbles?)

On the way home I observed Scout and Freyja bowing their heads and praying in hushed tones for the grocery bags to be filled with copious amounts of their favorite treats. (They weren't disappointed☺)

Snooper-vising mom's Saturday night bubble bath or we can't believe we had to send in the CAT!

OK, mom, we'll wait patiently right here until you are finished with your bubble bath

You 'bout done, mom? We're waiting...

We're still waiting. I think it's tomorrow...

Guess I'll have to send in the reinforcements

Mom, I've been sent in on a furry imPAWtant mission

You've bubbled an' washed an' powdered an' spritzed, TIME TO LEAVE THIS ROOM

I'm tellin' ya, snooper-vising mom is a LOT of work! We need some naps...

Former Michael Vick Dog Receives Community Service Award

 Two years ago, life wasn't looking so good for Hector. A former Michael Vick pit bull, the then-4-year-old was safe from the footballer's vicious dogfighting ring, but still in need of a forever home. Luckily for Hector, pit bull lover Roo Yori was in the market for a new pup, and ended up taking the gentle giant home from the BAD RAP shelter in San Francisco.

"I fell in love with him as a dog," Yori tells PEOPLEPets.com. "It was so obvious that he had scars that show what he's been through, but they were completely external. Inside, he was just like any other dog — he impressed me."

We first introduced you to Hector in December, telling the story of his new life with Yori as a certified therapy dog in Minnesota. Now, the perky pup (who just turned 6!) has been recognized for his efforts in his new home of New York, and received a Community Service in Humane Education Award from the Brooklyn Law School Student Animal Legal Defense Fund on Wednesday.

Yori, currently director of care and enrichment for the Animal Farm Foundation, takes Hector around to organizations in the northeast to educate children about pet care. "We use Hector's story to teach children what he went through," Yori says. "It hurt him, he didn't need to go through it, and it was wrong."

He feels their visits have made quite an impact — particularly because of Hector. "He speaks through his actions," Yori shares. "Once people meet him, they see what a good dog he is, and it says more than I ever could." Yori says he intends to continue humane education programs with Hector for as long as he can — awards or no awards.

The Animal Farm Foundation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring the image of the pit bull terrier, and protecting all dogs from discrimination and cruelty. In addition to their on-site shelter in upstate New York, they provide spay/neuter services, educational programs and more.

What a difference a day makes...

Signs of Spring in Michigan...

Along the garden fence new growth springs forth from the warming earth ushering in our new season - the cold of winter is but a memory...

Merry daffodils - with sunny, yellow blooms - bring joyous color to what was a dark and gray world...

Scout explores new places to dig here...

and here...

The cradle of civilization needs our prayers...

I don't know how to say what I'm going to say other than to just 'say it'. Please, if you are someone who prays, please keep in your prayers the country of South Africa. Unspeakable, horrors - unimaginable to the human mind - are taking place now, this very minute, against the white African farmers that is spilling over to the white middle class in the cities and suburbs.

The political unrest is beyond what most of us, if we live in the US, have experienced recently or in the past decades. I could go into intricate detail about what I've read, and what I've seen, these past hours on the web; however, I won't because if you are at all curious you will find it for yourself.

Why, on a dog-blog am I asking you to keep close in prayer a country? Because dear Maxdog and Maxmom live in, and love, South Africa. The beautiful countryside. The remarkable flora and fauna. The magnificent mountains, lakes, forests, rivers - are riddled with sadness - and death.

If you don't pray, offer a kind and loving thought to the Universe. Ask that the people - all of the people - that live in South Africa find peace and come to realize that everyone - black, white, yellow, red - everyone - is their brother or sister and that life, all life, is sacred and should be honored and protected.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my humble plea.

No comments are necessary, only your prayers.

Wishing you an eggs-tra special Easter!

What a wonderful world...

This HAS to be one of the most endearing commercials I have ever seen - ever! Those of us who are friends with Maxdog and Maxmom know that the World Cup is coming to South Africa. It must have taken oodles of time to get this 'right'. I can't imagine how much film footage was viewed to find the best movements in the animals - remarkable, clever - and at the same time in absolute awe of that beautiful land - South Africa. This place just might need to be added to my bucket-list.

If you've seen this before, enjoy it again. If you haven't seen this - boy, are you ever in for a treat! Take a couple of minutes out of your day. You won't regret it - not one, tiny bit!