Sophmore Slump or Comeback of the Year???

How goes it blog-inoles?

Week 3, Day 3 of official Walk(ing) It Out and I am tired. Last week was chock full of exciting walks and stories but this week has been full of paper work and bad weather. Instead of making up some interesting to stories to stretch out the ol' word count, I'm going 180 with this blog post. I've mentioned before that I'm considering getting a puppy. If this happens, it'll be between Nov 16 and Dec 25. With that being said, I'm not sure what kind of dog or what the sex will be. I submit to Y'ALL my top 5 names for my possible new puppy

Girl

1. Milkshake

2. Contessa

3. Reece

4. Milano

5. ????

Boy

1. Duhon

2. Wojo

3. Sour Patch

4. Sundown

5. ????

Purrty please leave a comment and vote for a name or throw me a suggestion. Take care of yourselves, and one another.

Walk It...Out

Oh the life and times of your favorite dog walker

What's up blog-nation?

Well kiddies, its Week 2, Day 3 official Walk(ing) It Out and I've already got some funny stories for you. As mentioned in last week's blog, Walk It Out is the substitute teacher for Pets and the Sit-y until next week because JFowler is helping her sister with her new born in San Diego. Well, I had a consultation with one of her clients last week and it was interesting, to say the least...

I arrived at the door to meet the client (we'll call her Lizzy-poo) and her two dogs, Georgia and Dublin. Georgia is an 8-month old coon hound and Dublin is a 1-year old Aussie/lab mix. Georgia and I hit it off with no problems at all. Dublin, on the other hand, was not a Walk It Out fan AT ALL. Dublin literally barked at me for 15 minutes non-stop. I got down on my knees and attempted to give her treats an let her sniff my hand. Slowly but surely this started to work and she stopped with the barking and got down with the hand sniffing/licking. Both I and Lizzy-poo were very relieved and started going over the particulars with both dogs. As I stood up to write some notes, BAM, Dublin right back with the barking. FML. So there we are with the awkward, "I don't know if I trust you with my dogs" and "Oh boy I don't know if this is a good fit for Walk It Out." Anyways, we agreed to give it a go this Tuesday. Well, Tuesday came, I come walking up the stairs, the dogs are barking, the crowd is going wild AND...false start; there's no key under the mat. Hmm, ok, strange. I shoot Lizzy-poo at text and let her know I can't find the key. She gets back to me and says she forgot to leave it and she would have to come home soon to let the pups out. I had to leave for another consultation so, I dunno, fait?

ANOTHER funny tale from this week, Walk It Out almost lost a cat? Yes, this almost really happened. I was visiting these two dogs, Arthur and Bella, on Monday morning and while walking Bella, I noticed that a cat was peeking out from the garage door. My first thought was, "how did that cat even get in the garage?" and my second thought was, "let's not lose a cat while walking a dog" so I shoo-ed the little kitty back into the garage and shut the garage door. Crisis averted--so I thought. As we were in the back yard looking for a good home for #2, I noticed the cat under the porch. What the deuce, little kitty, what the deuce? It's already 9am and on a somewhat chilly autumn morning and now I've gotta deal with this cat/ninja while trying to get this dog to do his duty. Ok, so this is where a little "boo-boo" was made. Bella finished up and I run her back inside really quickly and come back out to get this little ghostwriter-like kitten when, surprise surprise, kitten is nowhere to be found. Typical. So I think maybe the cat is some kind of cyborg cat that has indoor and outdoor abilities and I start checking around the house. Obviously, this kitten is not in the house so back outside I go. I start walking around the house. Let me repeat, I walked around the perimeter of the house calling "here kitty, kitty, kitty" while bent over at the hip. Next door, there was a nice man (let's call him Bruce) who was doing some contracted pest control work. After my 4th trip around the perimeter of the house, he finally asks me, "what's your dilemma buddy?" So picture this: dog walker Alvin and pest control Bruce creeping around this house looking for a ninja-kitty. Finally, Bruce has to get to another appointment so he gets in his truck and rolls out, while I go inside and come up with my next scheme. I get a call from a friend (lets call him KShip21) about an emergency walk that he needs because his dog has lost his mind in his condo and his neighbors are complaining.

Anyways, while I'm on the phone I start wondering outside trying to figure out #1 how am I going to explain that I lost a cat and #2 how am I going to work this next "walk" into my schedule for the day. Low and behold, BAM ninja-kitty shows itself! I swoop down the stairs, grab the cat with my free hand and subsequently save the day. Boom Boom Pow, I win!

That's all I've got today, kiddies, but until next time...Walk It Out!

Read, Set, Go!!!

And good morning to you too bloggies...

Walk It Out is officially off and, well, walking! We had a great kickoff weekend at a couple of events around the city. As mentioned in previous blogs, we had a booth set up at the Ahimsa House Walk N' Wag this past Saturday and it was a blast. There were a lot of really interesting companies there and slew of nice people who were eager to welcome Walk It Out to the pet services industry. If you get a chance, check out MHowell and his crew at Two Dads Pets and The Pet Garage. Both have a companies have a very strong presence in the metro Atlanta area and MHowell was super gracious in inviting Walk It Out to the monthly meeting for the Georgia Network of Professional Pet Sitters (GNPP) this week. Thanks MHowell!

After the Walk N' Wag we headed over to Mason Mill Park for a bark-day party. This was the first time I had ever heard of a bark-day party, let alone attended one, but it was a blast! Basically, it was a group of friends and their dogs who got together to celebrate the birthday of one of the dogs. There were drinks, snacks, dogs and fun; a birthday party for dogs. Thanks to KHobbs for inviting us out!

Ok, update time. This week has been busy busy busy. A lot of paperwork and marketing, as expected, but also a few consultations. Consultations = NEW CLIENTS! WHOOP WHOOP! I got a message via Facebook from a couple that would like to hire Walk It Out this weekend so that is fun news. Also, my friend JFowler from Pets and the Sit-y is allowing Walk It Out to tend to her clients while she is away for the next few weeks. One thing I've learned about the pet services industry in ATL is that everyone is willing to help out. Coming from a corporate environment, it's a breath of fresh air to be involved with people who don't put the oh mighty dollar over everything else.

There are a few events coming up that Walk It Out is planning on attending. Next Saturday, October 24th is the 23rd Annual Atlanta Dog Jog down at Piedmont Park. Dogs and their owners will participate in 1 or 2 mile jogs to help raise money for Canine Assistants. They train and provide dog service for children and adults with physical disabilities. A great cause so come on out and jog for the cause. Another event cool event at the end of the month is Mutts and Margaritas at Agave on Thursday, October 29th. A $10 donation is required and it goes to the Lifeline Animal Project.

Oh, and before I forget, a HUGE thank you for KMiles, KShiplett and JWindett for their help at the Walk N' Wag this weekend. Also, thank you to MCarlin for her "administration" help.

And with that, I bid you all farewell. Let's get out and love each other this week!

"you know what I'm talking about, take two of these and Walk It Out"

T-minus 4 days

What's up my blogg-a-wockeez???

We are officially 4 DAYS away from, essentially, the grand-opening of Walk It Out! Can you feel the excitement in the air? It's a rich, thick aroma that's an infusion of french-vanilla coffee bean and aged mahogany with a pinch of cinnamon...delicious.

To kickoff the grand opening, Walk It Out will be at 2, count 'em, 2 events on Saturday, October 10th. First off is the Ahimsa House Walk n' Wag at Lenox Park in Buckhead. We will be set up in the vendor section and talking to anyone and everyone about Walk It Out! Should be a good time to be had by all so round up your 4-legged friends and bring 'em out for the festivities. We have agreed to donate some free walk for the auction as well--maybe you could be a winner. Also, there will be a special guest in the Walk It Out booth...

After the Walk n' Wag, we will be taking our circus act over to Mason Mill Dog Park in Decatur for a doggy birthday party. This will be the first doggy bday party I've ever heard of or attended but I'm very excited to be a part of it. Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet some cool people, even cooler dogs and maybe even drum up some business. Many thanks to KMiles and KHobbs for getting Walk It Out involved in both the Walk n' Wag and the "bark-day" party.

As some of you may or may not know, Walk It Out is on Facebook! In just under a month, we have hit the 100 fans mark and that is very exciting news. Again, thank you to all of you who follow the blog, the fan page, Twitter and for your overall support in getting Walk It Out off of the ground. We're running a little marketing campaign/contest as well. The official Walk It Out shirts are on sale for $10 but if you sign up as a new client OR refer someone who does, you will receive one for FREE! Isn't that exciting news? Yeah, I thought so too. Leave a comment if you need any details. Until next time kiddies...

Vinings Walk It Out, Buckhead Walk It Out, Mid-town Walk It Out, now Highlands Walk It Out!