Have you thanked a Vet today?

Memorial Day Weekend is considered by many as "the official kick-off of summer," often celebrated by family gatherings, cookouts, and vacations. No matter what things you are celebrating this weekend, we beg of you to remember the true spirit of the holiday and remember those service men and women who have lost their lives to preserve our freedom.

Remember. Honor. Teach.

Celebrated on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is a time to honor service men and women who have paid the ultimate price to give the rest of us the freedom to have our cookouts and spend time with those we love.

May is also National Military Appreciation Month (NMAM). Designated by Congress, NMAM gives the nation a time and place to appreciate and recognize our armed services and to remember and learn about our American military history. Thank you to all the service men and women who are currently serving.

Remember and Honor the Fallen

Once again this year, Roger, Thelma Lou and I have joined the Wreaths Across America project as a way of honoring our nation's veterans and their families by placing wreaths on fallen veterans' graves. Wreaths Across America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to Remember the Fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach future generations about the cost of freedom.

Each December, Wreaths Across America holds remembrance wreath laying ceremonies at participating cemeteries to honor both living and fallen veterans. This is an awesome way to let more people know why you care about our veterans and all they have sacrificed for our freedoms. Together we can show our veterans and their families that we will never forget!

Thank a Veteran today and join us by sponsoring a wreath! If you'd like to acknowledge our support of this program, please choose Dog Scouts Troop 161 (PA0026P) when sponsoring a wreath.

Sponsor a Wreath

Rare land hippo sighted in Brushtown

Although once believed to be extinct, the Pennsylvania land hippo was recently caught on film while wallowing in the wild at a local watering hole in Brushtown. While typically not dangerous, the Brushtown area land hippos do have a propensity to charge anything in their path when provoked.

As the water level in the low-lying regions begins to recede, the central Pennsylvania land hippos often migrate south often showing up in the OBX, North Carolina around Memorial Day Weekend. 

Pack in the Box

With Roger and Thelma being zero help in the idea department for a Mother's Day present, I had just about given up on finding a unique gift for Mom when much to my delight FedEx pulled in the driveway. The thought occurred to me as soon as Dad opened the box — instead of a Jack in the Box we decided to surprise her with a Pack in the Box.

 

Pack in the Box

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers in the world! Make sure you let yours know just how much you love them.

King of the Couch

Remember the old game King of the Hill? Because the object is to remove the player or "king" who is at the top of a hill, the game is frowned upon by many for being aggressive and mean. Thankfully, M&D don't share that view and find that a little bullying for the position as top dog helps build character and strength.

Roger assumes top dog position

Here in the Knowlton household we like to play a slightly modified version called King of the Couch. Basically, the rules are the same but the mound of dirt or hill is replaced by Mom and the couch. The game begins when she lies down, assumes the fetal position, and covers up to take a nap. While none of us has ever gotten hurt vying for the position as top dog, repeated playing of game will most definitely take its toll on the integrity of your couch so play at your own risk. With Mother's Day being this weekend, I'm pretty sure that there is a game of King of the Couch in store for us.

I spy Mom

A "Ruff" Day

It was a rather "ruff" day here in the Knowlton household. Besides looking after my brother and sister, one of my primary household duties is keeping a vigilant watch out for the UPS and FedEx delivery trucks. With all the stuff that Mom orders online, I'm on a first name basis with the UPS and FedEx drivers. Mr. FedEx even allows me to get into his delivery truck to help him find our packages.

On Duty

Today, however, I was thrown monkey wrench when a Penske moving truck pulled in the driveway. Being the helpful hound that I am, I went out to see if I could lend a paw by giving the guy some directions. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Mr. Penske was at the correct address and was delivering Dad's metal pegboard that we ordered him for Father's Day.

Metal Pegboard by Wall Control.com

In addition to the Penske delivery, I also had two other deliveries to log. I don't know about you, but I always feel better after I blow off a little steam after a "ruff" day. And there's nothing like doing a couple of full bore zoomies around the backyard to clear the air.

Pontiff Pup Roger Paul I

During his Easter address today, Pontiff Pup Roger Paw I prayed for peace and an end to world hunger.

Pontiff Pup Roger Paw I

Me, my selfie and I

I'm not sure what all the buzz is about selfies and posting them to Facebook. The selfie has been around for centuries. Typically taken at arm's length (or in a mirror) with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone, the selfie usually includes only the photographer often making duck face or peace sign.

In 1839 American pioneer in photography Robert Cornelius produced the first photographic image of a human being — a head and shoulder portrait of himself — or a selfie.

Robert Cornelius

Maybe my lack of interest is because Mom goes crazy taking pictures of Roger, Thelma Lou and me, so we see enough of ourselves. In any event, I thought I'd give this selfie phenomena a try. I'm going to let the Facebook "like" button at the bottom of this post be my gauge as to whether I should try to perfect my self portrait taking skills or just stick with Mom taking photos of me.

Ears lookin' at ya

Lip Face

 Eye see you!

Say Ah!

Me, my selfie, and I