The Best Things in Life are (Not Always) Free

As mentioned yesterday, our weekend was filled with lots of doggie fun including the Coast to Coast Bully Walk & Costume Contest.  Aside from the festivities for National Pit Bull Awareness Day, we also stopped into our local Petco to say hello to one of our past trainers and enter their Halloween costume contest.  Wonder Woman Athena got 1st place in the contest and received a $10 Petco gift card, a JW Arachnoid Ball, and a goody bag filled with treats and pet body spray!

Some of our winnings!

B and I thought it was funny that we won the JW Arachnoid Ball, because as we were waiting for the judges to make their final decisions, we went around Petco and looked at all of the things that we wished we owned for Athena (mostly toys because she is spooooiled!).  We thought that the JW Arachnoid Ball looked pretty fun and we considered purchasing it.  So, we were so thrilled when we won it from the contest so that we could test it out!

So far so good...

Well, the testing only took about...5-7 minutes.  Athena went to town on destroying the ball as soon as we got home.  We were pretty disappointed because we LOVE the JW Hol-ee Roller X Extreme Ball and it has proved to be indestructible, so we thought the Arachnoid Ball would be similar.

These little green things sure look tasty!

Athena didn't have much interest in playing fetch with the JW Arachnoid Ball like she does with her Hol-ee Roller, so when I threw the ball to her she caught it and then sat down for a picking session.  She managed to pick off half of the little green knobs and killed the squeaker in only 5-7 minutes.  Boy am I glad that we didn't pay $11 at Petco for this very destructible toy!

I think I might pick them off one by one!

We aren't complaining though because 1) it was free! and 2) it gave Athena 5-7 minutes of pure picking bliss!

Destroyed...

But, unfortunately we do not recommend the JW Arachnoid Ball for any dogs out their considered power chewers or toy pickers (like Athena).  However, we do totally recommend the JW Hol-ee Roller X Extreme for its durability!  Back to the drawing board to find more indestructible dog toys...

Superheroes for a Day

As many of you know, Saturday was National Pit Bull Awareness Day which was celebrated across the country with the Coast to Coast Bully Walk and other pit bull awareness events.  We spent most of our day pretending to be super heros, pampering the spoiled Athena, walking with the Portland Pit Bull Parade, and winning first place in TWO costume contests!

Taking on the duties of Wonder Woman for a day!

The family of superheroes: Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Batman!

It was estimated that around one hundred people participated in the walk!  With so many participants, we had the opportunity to meet some other pit bull owners and were so thrilled when we were approached by one of our blog readers (with her adorable dog Chloe who happened to be sporting Athena's favorite rain coat!).  There was even a super star among the crowd-- London the 2 Legged Pit Bull!

Sir London posed for many photo ops!

Aside from the rain, the walk was great.  Athena pulled quite a bit on her leash with the excitement of being around so many dogs, but she was actually a smidge better behaved than our last walk.

Wonder Woman must use her powers to pull to the front of the pack!

A Halloween costume contest was held immediately following the walk.  I was very excited that Athena would finally get to showcase her Wonder Woman costume that I have been putting together for the past month (see hints of the costume here and here)!  Seeing as I am by no means a professional seamstress and Athena has no patience for my constant measurements, the costume turned out well (at this point though, I see why most people go with a store bought costume option)!

Awaiting the judges decision...

Athena makes a pretty good Wonder Woman =)

Where are my treats for wearing this silly thing?!

With her fluffy tutu, silky cape, red boots, lasso of truth, and bracelets of victory, Wonder Woman Athena was announced as the first place winner of the costume contest!  She won a $200 photography package that includes: a two hour photo session, a DVD with all edited imaged, and a print package!  After receiving our gift certificate, we had the opportunity to speak with the photographer (who also owns a bully breed dog) and decided that we will set up a Christmas photo shoot for Athena in the coming weeks.  I am SO excited!

Mom?!  I won even though the rain made my bracelets of victory fall off?

After all of the excitement from the walk, we headed over to our local Petco where they were also holding a Halloween costume contest.  We entered the contest and then mingled with the employees and one of our past trainers (who all love Athena) while the judges deliberated.  Athena once again walked away with the first place title and took home a Petco gift card and a JW Arachnoid Ball!

Posing for costume pictures is hard work, even for a superhero!

I think that Athena decided that being Wonder Woman might be a bit too much work for her.  She pooped out on the job as soon as we got into the car and then snoozed the rest of the night at home.

Superheroes have to nap some times too you know!

How did you and your superhero celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Day?

For further pit bull lovin' watch the free screening of Beyond the Myth on Hulu until November 2nd: click here for the feature presentation