Brown Dog Blog

As you all know by now,  everyone at Brown Dog Treasures has been mourning the loss of our boy Guinness who lost his battle with bone cancer in December. The office has been so empty and everyone here has been so sad. My husband and I even discussed closing the business several times.

As the months have passed, we began to focus on all the joyfull times we spent with Guinness. We talked about how our business started and how Guinness used to try out all the toys, try on all the costumes and try to open all the new deliveries before our staff could get to them. We realized what Brown Dog Treasures needed again was a brown dog! I don’t think Guinness would have wanted it any other way.

We are pleased to announce that we will be adding a new member to our family on Saturday, June 5th.  Our new baby boy’s name will be Murphy.  We will record our trip to Endless Mt Labs in PA. Please join us on Facebook where you will see the first photos and videos of Murphy.

Over the next few months we will share with you our attempts at housebreaking and basic training. It has been 13 years since we last attempted this so we are a bit rusty at it! Those of you who are planning to or have recently become puppy parents, we would appreciate your input.

Something tells me we are going to have our hands full!

Orville & Wilber

Orville and Wilbur are beautiful 10 year old seniors. They must be adopted together. They are well behaved dogs whose owner had to give them up due to financial difficulties.  Please don’t let them spend their golden years in a shelter. If you can help here is the link to with all the information. Orville & Wilbur

Unleashed! Offers Cageless Day Care for Canines – Business – Housatonic Times

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A week ago Sunday we celebrated Mother’s Day. This was a bittersweet celebration for me. On the one hand I was overjoyed to be able to celebrate this special day with my daughter and son-in-law. They were involved in a serious car accident back in February so the great gift of having them spend the day with me was extra special! At the same time I couldn’t help but feel some sadness.

I lost my mom the day before Mother’s Day back in 2002. My family knows that there will always be a certain sadness attached to this day for me but what no one seemed to realize that there one someone else missing from the celebration  this year.

Every year my husband had made sure to give me a card and gift from our dog Guinness. Now for those of you who consider the dog one of your children, I know you will understand. I didn’t mention this to my family. I didn’t want my human children to think that having them with me wasn’t enough. I didn’t have the heart to mention it to my husband, since Guinness is the only child that he has ever had.

Later that evening I went through my dresser drawers and looked at all the Mother’s Day cards I have received from Guinness over the years. Some of them still had his teeth marks on them. You see in true retriever fashion he delivered each card personally.

I sat for a while pondering this mother- dog relationship.

Earlier today someone sent me a link to this blog written by Rebecca Dube . She had some very interesting insights into this relationship. Please read her blog post entitled “My Dog Taught Me How to Be a Mom“.

CBI's first fire investigation dog

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation mourns the passing of their highly decorated hero, Erin the agency’s first arson investigating dog. Erin passed from cancer last Wednesday evening. Read more about this remarkable dog…

Most of you who know us here at Brown Dog Treasures know that our business was named after our chocolate lab, Guinness. He was not only the heart and soul of our business, he was truly our greatest treasure.

Last October, right before Halloween our boy was diagnosed with osteosarcoma  (bone cancer). Guinness was 12 years old and other than some arthritis that is to be expected in labs his age, our Guinness had never been sick a day in his life.

He had begun favoring a front paw back in June of last year. We were hoping that it was just a sprain. The vet passed it off as arthritis and prescribed some anti-inflammatory medications and herbs. The limp went away and all seem well. Then in October it returned and this time there was a noticeable lump on is left front ankle.

Our vet made the diagnosis after x-rays.  His prognosis was grim. As you can imagine we searched everywhere for any possible ray of hope. But in the end we had to face the fact that he was rapidly getting worse. Nothing helped. Medications, herbs, radiation therapy, expensive oncologists, nothing.

Guinness was so brave. He fought so hard. He loved life.

Toward the end of his fight we found a wonderful, kind vet who made hospice calls to our home. Guinness passed peacefully in our arms in December, a few days after Christmas.

Many of our customers were aware of what was going on and were very understanding about delayed packages and failure to return emails quickly. Many of you were a great source of comfort and encouragement. I am sorry it has taken so long to thank you, but this was the hardest thing I have ever had to write.

For a while we thought of closing the business. It just seemed too hard to go on. Then we began to think about all the wonderful people we have met in the past 6 years and all the photos we receive of our costumers and their dogs enjoying our products and we decided that we needed to continue.

We did learn a lot about canine osteosarcoma and I will be putting up a page on this blog soon with a list of resources and publications that may help any one else who might have to face this disease.

For those of you who live here on Long Island, you may want to consider attending the 11th annual Hounds on the Sound. The event is hosted by Save-A-Pet Animal Rescue and Adoption Center.

The event will be held on Sunday, June 13th in Port Jefferson from 10 am to 3 pm rain or shine. There is a 3K dog walk. Registration is $30 and includes a free T-shirt and gift bag.

Sponsor Rudy!

There will also be live music, food, vendors and prizes. Please visit www.saveapetanimalrescue.org for more information. Dog walkers and dog owners can also create their own profile. This will not only help raise awareness of Save-A-Pet Animal Shelter, but you can join an online community in which dog lovers can share their love for animals.

I just found the greatest dog rescue campaign. Halo Dog Food will buy food for 1 million shelter pets when you buy Rescue Stamps. Ellen DeGeneres is the spokesperson for this campaign.

You can also print out a Dog or Cat Adoption Certificate from the site. It’s so much fun. Please visit the site and get involved. Our furry friends need your help!

The Dog Channel.com has reported more recalls. This time in the joint supplement category.  The product recalled is: Advanced Cetyl M Joint Action Formula.

Read More About it…

With the warm weather approaching, thunderstorms are sure to follow. Those of us who have dogs frightened of thunder are always looking for a way to comfort our dogs. I found this tip from Dog Age in my in box today and thought it worth sharing…

Does the crash of thunder turn your dog into a jumble of nerves? Getting another dog might help.By measuring stress hormones and documenting behavior exhibited in response to thunderstorms, researchers found that a frightened dog is comforted more by the presence of another dog than by his owner. There is a trade off, however, so consider carefully. Another dog does tap your time and resources, and finding a good fit with your current pet takes consideration.

I wonder if this will work of if you will just have 2 dogs panicking during a thunder storm! Any thoughts?