The Crossed Paws Chrismtas Auction

JD - Hi everyone! We just wanted to check in to let you all know that we're SO excited about the Crossed Paws Christmas Auction that we've published the current auction index to give you all a sneak peek of just what's available at the moment!

We bet you really, really wanna see what's available at the Crossed Paws Christmas Auction - are we right or are we RIGHT?!!

Max - This auction is going to be GREAT! And a huge success! And it's all going to be because of you wonderful blogville pups and kits out there!

JD - Also - don't furget the great raffle - just LOOK at what you could win!

You could be the lucky winner of this great pendant - although it would have YOUR photos etched on as opposed to ours of course!

Max - We bought some tickets for some of our pals! I bought a ticket for the most beautiful security gal in the World, my gorgeous Maisie!

JD - And I bought a ticket for my sweet and beautiful and lovely Izzy!

Max - And we bought a ticket for our US little sisfur Tessa!

JD - And we bought a ticket for our US big schnauzer bro' Oskar!

Max - And finally we just HAD to buy a ticket for our BFF Syd - he'd love to win it for his human!

Introducing our BFF Syd the greyhound - isn't he pawsome? Don't we just make the most handsome trio you've ever seen?!

JD - Please DO go and check out the Auction - it opens for bidding on 19th November so go and have a browse!

Max - And if anyone has any items they'd like to donate just e-mail The Crossed Paws organisation at 'crossed-paws@gmx.com' with a photo, a brief description and the starting price you'd like the bidding to start at!

JD - Thanks everyone - woof soon!!

Long time no woof.......

HELLO!!!

We're still here!

How YOU all doing?! As the title says - long time, no woof!

OMD - we miss blogging and we miss our pals - we sure hope you haven't forgotten all about us!

We hope to be back to blogging properly soon - this is just a little 'teaser' to say 'hi' and to pass on a very, VERY impawtant message....

....about the 're-launch' of Crossed Paws!

It's very exciting stuff - there's going to be a Christmas Auction and there's a fabulous re-launch raffle!!

But we need your help to ensure that Crossed Paws continues to be the success it has been up to now and to ensure that pups ad kits in need continue to get the help they deserve.

So please DO go and check it all out right HERE - right NOW!! And please spread the word and share the link to the new site!

And we'll be back at 'Schnauzer and Schnauzer' with a full post before Christmas!

Woof soon!

In the meantime - JD just wanted to declare that he's TOTALLY in love with Izzy!!

The BEST day EVER!!

JD - Hello everypup! We've had just the BEST day!

Max - We're absolutely exhausted now, but we just HAD to show you some snaps of us at Ronnii's barkday pawty!

JD - We could feel Angel Richie and Molly watching over us, there was so much love in the house!

Max - We were really lucky that the roads were so clear as it only took us about 2 hours to get there which was fortunate as today has been SOOOOO hot in the UK!

JD - We've never been on such a long car journey before and it was very exciting - there was so much to see that we refused to sleep!

Max - And then we were there - at Mama Tea's house!

JD - After FH and Mama Tea had hugged and hugged for what seemed like furever (he he he!) we finally got to meet the most gorgeous Miss Ronnii.....

Beautiful Miss Ronnii, proudly hugging her popster! She wanted us to know that he's HER popster and she would have no popster-hogging in her house - tee-hee! We think the popster is amazing - he's the ONLY person we've ever met who knew the origin of JD's name - how COOL is that?!

Max - She was most gracious about having a couple of nosey boys in her house!

JD - She followed us around to make sure we knew where everything was - she showed us her garden but it was a bit too hot out there so we all came back inside.

Max - FH was delighted because when she crouched down to get something out of her bag little Miss Ronnii snuggled up against her legs!

Miss Ronnii is the master of the snuggle! FH thinks she is adorable - well, she IS!

JD - We were so hot and I was starting to pant a bit so Mama Tea whipped out some super-delicious frozen yoghurt and peanut butter noms for us - OMD it was so GOOD!

JD nommed his frozen treat on the couch - he absolutely LOVED it!

Max slurped his frozen treat on the floor - he dragged it out of the bowl and licked it all across the floor but Mama Tea and the popster were very kind and didn't mind!!

Miss Ronnii tried to bury her treat on the couch - FH thinks she's really smart as FH likes to hide her favourite treats too, he he he!

Max finished his treat first and kindly offered to help JD eat his - it's what brothers are for!

Max - The treats were absolute HEAVEN! We've never had anything like that before so we've told FH in no uncertain terms that this is the type of treat we'll be expecting from now on!

JD - Then it was time for a little posing for photos! We LOVE this photo as we're all in it with the two mamas! Just LOOK how much I'm smiling as I've got the PRIME spot on the sofa and I'm enjoying ear scritches from BOTH the mamas! Am I a smart pup or what?!

Say 'cheese'! JD looks VERY pleased with himself!

Max - As I was in the mood for posing I did a little photo shoot of my own and 'worked it' for the camera....

Am I a handsome pup or what?! He he he!

JD - I was very tired - I'd woken up at 5.00 am because I was SO excited about the visit today and I hadn't slept since I'd got up so I remained curled up looking cute on the sofa....

Cute puppy alert!

JD - ....and my cute 'act' sure worked on the popster, who couldn't resist coming over and giving me a bit of a fussing....

JD had the popster wrapped round his little paw, he he he!

JD - ....and even Miss Ronnii wanted in! She hopped up on the couch and gave me a little snuggle!

Max - I was snoopervising the whole time and I'd just like to reassure Mr Pip that this next photo was just a photo opportunity for the blog!

A bit of a snuggle between Ronnii and JD - just for the cameras though, Mr Pip has nothing to worry about!!

Max - It was too much for me - I wanted in on the photo TOO!!

Max hams it up for the camera! They both loved all their fussing from the popster!

JD - And then - it was time for CAKE!

Max - And OH!! WHAT a cake!!

Miss Ronnii's most pawsome barkday cake!

JD - We had never seen anything like it before - and when we were offered a slice it didn't take us long to tuck right in....

"Nom, nom, nom......!"

Max - All too soon we had to leave. The whole visit was wonderful and we had SO much fun!

JD - We simply collapsed into the car and snored the whole way home! What a fabulous day!

Max - We can't thank Moma Tea and the popster and sweet Ronnii enough! They made us all feel so welcome....

JD - ...and FH says thank you VERY much for the yummy human noms. She sure polished off that chili sweetcorn and chocolate eclair very quick, he he he!

Max - We can't wait to visit again, it was great!

JD - Before we leave just a reminder to leave a comment on our 'commentathon' post below if you haven't already - thank you!

A story of friendship and love and the power of the paw

There was a full moon on the night of Monday the 18th April but at first we didn't notice it because we were both feeling very sad. Our good friend Richie had gone to be with his sister Angel Molly at the Rainbow Bridge and we were both missing him like MAD.

Cute Richie and his teddy - we miss you little guy!

FH had been trying to cheer us up and had just given us a special treat of a really nommy biccie but our hearts just weren't in it.

"We're sorry FH but we're just not hungry." we told her.

"What are you on about?" she said. "You've just eaten your biscuit!"

"No we have NOT!" we exclaimed indignantly.

"But it's not there any more." she pointed out. And you know what - she was right. We were perplexed. Perhaps FH had dropped it? We knew that WE hadn't nommed it - so we set about looking for it.

Suddenly, we heard a happy crunching sound complete with muffled giggling coming from the garden so we rushed outside to investigate and there, in the silvery light of the moon, we saw Richie and Molly munching our biccie with obvious relish!

We love the moonlight as we know it is magical!

"JD! Max!" woofed Richie wagging his tail excitedly. "Boy, are we glad to see you guys!"

"Tasty nommy!" interjected Molly, who looked absolutely beautiful in the pale moonlight, "I've always been partial to a really crunchy nom!"

"But, but, but.....!" we spluttered.

"Hey, I know, I know, it's a bit of a surprise!" said Richie, skipping around joyfully (his legs really were strong and springy!) "But we just HAD to visit you guys to tell you that I'm okay. You see, I did try so hard to hold out for the barkday pawty on the weekend but you know, when the call comes from the Bridge it's just too sweet for any pup to ignore."

"He's right." said Angel Molly. "I've been waiting for some time now for Richie to join me here and today was his time. Oh JD and Max! It's so wonderful here! There's no pain or sickness and LOTS of our pals are here. We run and we play and we never get tired and we all watch over those we love - we're never far from your sides."

Our tails were now wagging furiously.

"But we miss you so much here!" we exclaimed. "Did you really have to leave us?"

Richie and Molly looked at each other when we said this. "Oh boys!" Molly said softly, "You're both so young and we know you find it difficult to understand, but it's the circle of life."

"That's right!" said Richie. "We were lucky enough to share our lives with the most amazing momster and popster when we were down here and they looked after us and showed us what it is to live and to love. But sometimes a pup just has to leave - it's just the way it is."

When the Rainbow Bridge calls its beautiful siren song is impossible to ignore

Our tails had stopped wagging so Angel Molly said, "Please don't be sad boys! Just look at us! Look how healthy and happy we are! We'll always be watching over you. And - um - if you don't mind leaving out one of those delectable biccies from time to time too we'd really appreciate it!"

By now the patch of moonlight on the grass was starting to wane. "That's our ride!" said Richie, "We have to be leaving you now boys, but before we go we have a special message for you."

"That's right!" said beautiful Molly. "We wanted to tell you how amazing Crossed Paws have been. You have done so much for our wonderful momster - she had been so stressed about the vet bills and how she was going to afford them - I could feel her worrying all the way at the Bridge and it was awful just knowing she was so upset!"

"But then Crossed Paws stepped in to paid the vet bills." continued Richie, "which meant that my last few weeks were pain-free because I was able to be treated. And it meant that our Momster didn't have to stress any more about us because our wonderful vet could be paid. After all, what would any of us be without our vets?!"

They were now skipping up the stream of moonlight as they made their way back to the Rainbow Bridge.

"Please continue the good work at Crossed Paws!" they both shouted to us! "It made all the difference to us and we know you can make a huge difference to lots of other pups and kits!"

And with that they were gone!

Well! We looked at each other in disbelief. "That DID just happen, didn't it?" we asked. But the evidence was there in front of us - the biccie crumbs!

As we made our way into the house we started discussing what we could do next for the Crossed Paws organisation.

"Hi boys!" said FH suddenly appearing in front of us. "Hey, do you want to put this photo on your blog?" We looked at what she was waving in front of our faces - a photo of two extremely British cushions and a very British doggie toy!

A couple of cushions - for you or your humans - plus a doggie toy (stuffie union jack heart with rope) could by YOURS!

"Eh?" we asked.

"Well, it's the Royal Wedding next week!" she exclaimed. "I thought you could run a competition on your blog with these as the prize!"

"Ooooh!" we said excitedly! "What's the competition?"

"Well," said FH, "it's simple really. All anyone has to do is leave a comment on this post and if they do they'll be entered into a prize draw for these items. And for every comment left I'll donate £1 to the Crossed Paws fund - up to a total of £200! What do you say?"

We looked at each other and our tails started wagging furiously. We knew that Richie and Molly would approve! "We like, we like!" we said!

So everyone - that is what we are doing! Please help us to raise £200.00 for the Crossed Paws organisation. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and you COULD even end up with a prize by doing so! We'd love it if you could also spread the word - we're not sure if we can get 200 comments on one of our posts but we're gonna give it a go - we have until 29th April to achieve this as we'll draw the winner on the actual day of the Royal Wedding. So please help us help carry on some good works at Crossed Paws by dropping us a comment - easy-peasy!

The power of Blogville!

JD - Hi everyone - firstly an apology! The last post we did we promised to return in the evening to update everyone on the auction site for Mamma Tea and her furbabies as well as some of the other pawsome ideas that have been put into action to raise funds....

Max - .....but then we never came back! We're really sorry about this but the reason is you lot out there, he he he! We have been so inundated by items coming in for the auction that we've been totally knocked off our paws!!

JD - Yup - we're really sorry for not giving you any links or anything but we've been concentrating on the auction site - which you can find here!

Please copy this picture to your sidebar and link to the auction - thank you!

Max - Thank you everyone for your kindness in offering such amazing items (and they are all really AMAZING!) and for your generosity in bidding.

JD - Please keep those auction items coming in and please keep those bids rolling in - this is so much fun! If we don't get round to sending you a response e-mail for a few days or listing your items for a few days please bear with us! FH does insist on going out to work - sigh! - and there's so much stuff coming in that we're actually getting a bit behind!

Max - But because of this we advise you to check the auction site daily for exciting new items! Thank you everyone, thank you - we really can't say that enough!

JD - We're also going to be running an on-line bake sale - yummy yummy! - and we need your help for this! Please send favourite recipe to 'pawsofpeaceATgooglemailDOTcom' along with a photo of yourself that you don't mind us using on the blog (preferably one of you nomming the treats!)

Thank you everyone!

Max - We're setting up a special recipe page where we'll post your photo and title of your recipe and from there lucky pups WORLDWIDE can can buy a recipe for the bargain price of $1.00 each. Purchase of these items will be by PayPal.

JD - Frankie, Puddles, Minna Krebbs, The Slimmer Pugs and Mr Pip have also come up with the PAWSOME idea of a kissing both - va va voom!!

Max - Please click here for details of how you can take part - please do, we've been dreaming of certain lady doggies and oohhh, what we wouldn't give for a smooch from you!

JD - The kissing booth will work the same way as the bake sale - a special page is under construction as we type! - and you simply choose who you want to smooch, pay the BARGAIN price of $1.00 via the PayPal button thing and 'M'WAH!' - a great big smacker will be coming your way!!

Max - So what are you waiting for! Get those auction items in, get those kissable face photos in and get those recipes in!

JD - Thank you ALL. We are SO PROUD to be joint holders of the 'Help and Humane Services' with the pawsome Slimmer Pugs in Frankie's cabinet!

Max - We sure are bro'. Blogville is making a difference and that fills us with great joy!

We're BAAAACKKKKK!!!

JD - Hi everyone - have you missed us?

Max - Gosh, we've missed you all!! We've been visiting blogs as you know but there's nothing like having your own place to woof about life = don't you think?!

"Hello peeps!"

JD - FH sorta kinda tried to refrain from blogging but you know what - there are pups and kits out there who need our help so we're shrugging off all previous negative comments and we're gonna concentrate on those who NEED us....

Max - ..so here we are as we just couldn't keep quiet any longer! We're back - and with a bang as the most pawsome Richie and Ronniee need our help!

JD - They sure do! The Little Dog Rescue is struggling to pay their vet bills and poor Richie was denied treatment when he needed it last week!

Max - Now, we just can't have that! So we're coming together with Frankie Furter, The Slimmer Pugs, Mr Pip and Puddles to host an auction as well as a whole load of other fun fundraising events! It's gonna be pawsome and it means we'll be able to pay the vet - after all, where would we ALL be without our vets?!

Just a photo of us running - no real reason why!!

JD - We'll be adding to the end of the blog post tonight with actual details of these events - FH has to 'go to work' so doesn't have time to do it right now - such a feeble excuse!

Max - Yup - pathetic FH, pathetic!

JD - So please do check back later for details and start to think of items you could donate to the auction or of any fundraising events we could hold! We'll be back again soon.....

Our tribute to cinnamon swirls!

JD - This is a VERY important post in which we're going to talk about something that is very close to our hearts....

Max - ....and that thing is cinnamon swirls! We think that cinnamon swirls are the BEST thing in the ENTIRE world! They're delicious, they're delightful, they're sweet and gorgeous....

JD - ....and we ALWAYS want to have cinnamon swirls in our life! Let us show you a cinnamon swirl right now....

A delicious, nibble-able cinnamon swirl!

Max - What's that? Oh - you thought we meant one of THESE cinnamon swirls?

Another type of delicious, nibble-able cinnamon swirl!

JD - Well, we suppose it's an easy mistake to make. But to us cinnamon swirls can only mean ONE thing and that's our great pals George, Gracie, Lily, Toby and Mimi from The Slimmer Pugs!

Max - These five puggies are just the sweetest and so we can't help referring to them as our little cinnamon butts as their cute little tails look JUST like yummy cinnamon swirls! We love them to pieces and are over the moon every day that they're our furiends!

Five sweet treats all in one place!

JD - So let us tell you why we think they're soooo great!

Max - Firstly, they are just the kindest set of pups and peeps EVER! Shelby's auction and Blueberry's auction would not have been possible without them and they also helped us promote the raffle we ran for Shelby. So they've helped raise over $3,000 for pups in need AND we know they've also been involved in OTHER auctions too. They are so kind both with their time AND with green papers.

JD - Secondly, they've all spoiled our FH absolutely ROTTEN and anyone and anypup who makes our FH smile makes US happy! After Shelby's auction closed they sent FH a treat package which had some of these goodies in it....

A beautiful angel candle holder - FH adores it! It came with lots of sweet smelling candles - yummy!

A pawsome draft proof candle holder - also with a variety of candles!

JD - ....and when FH placed a bid in another auction not only did they send her the item that she had bid on that they had donated (which was a STUNNING piece of jewellery which FH wears every single day now!) they also sent her even MORE goodies such as....

A seasonal snowman candle snuffer - we bet Frankie would LOVE this!!

A beautiful hand-made mat - this is Max modelling it!!

A pawsome candle trio-set that even matches our kitchen colour scheme (note the mat in the background with FH's model of a dalek on it!!)

Max - Thirdly, they have worked in cahoots with us during the auctions to help us surprise some of our pals! They are great at keeping a secret and were just amazing at taking the time to pass on our messages when they packaged and posted the wonderful items they had donated to the auctions - we just can't thank them enough for this!

JD - And finally, they are simply ADORABLE!! So sweet, so cute - oooh, we just to crawl into the screen and snuggle and snuggle them all!!

Max - If you don't know The Slimmer Pugs then please do swing by to say hi as they are one of the shining lights of blog World and we feel happy every single day that they are our furiends!

JD - We sure do - Slimmer Pugs - we LOVE you!!

Slimmer Pugs - 'mwah, mwah' to you ALL!

FH - Yes, we DO!!

Winners of Shelby's Christmas Raffle!

JD - Hi everyone! The humans are back from London and we're back from the kennels so we can FINALLY do a post about Shelby's Christmas raffle!

Max - We're sorry it's a bit late - the draw WAS supposed to be last weekend but had to be put off until the 8th because of the bad weather we've had in the UK.

JD - And then as soon as the draw happened the humans went to London and we went to the kennels - it was all a bit up-in-the-air we're afraid! So we mailed the winners to Mona so that she could get the word out about who the lucky winners are.

Max - But, without further ado, here - at last! - is the photo edition of Shelby's Christmas raffle!

JD - On Thursday morning FH wrote down the names of everyone who had entered together with who had purchased the tickets - she wishes she had printed it out as it took her nearly 2 hours to do this, he he he!

Max - We then chose a box for her to put all the tickets into....

We thought this was a most suitable container to hold the tickets!

Just LOOK at all those tickets!! Thank you so much everyone who purchased a ticket!

JD - As quite a few of the prizes have been supplied by Lily's human Jo we asked Jo if she'd draw the 4 winning tickets and were delighted when she said yes!

Our beautiful and generous GSD pal Lily - isn't she just gorgeous?!

Max - We LOVE Jo - she makes such a fuss of us and gives us treats and cuddles and tells us we're good boys and handsome boys - sigh! She's our most favourite human in the whole wide World!

FH - Um, Max?

Max - Oh, er, yeah - I meant our most favourite AFTER you and MH - ahem.....

JD - Nicely backpawed there Max! Anyway, Jo is great! She doesn't blog so we also figured she'd also be a really 'impawtial' person to carry out the prize draw!

We sit like good boys for Jo and get a yummy treat as a reward!

Max - "Jo, Jo! You love ME the most don't you?! I'm sure you're giving ME the biggest cuddle!"
JD - "Nice try Max, but just look how well I fit into Jo's side and look how tightly she's holding me - I'm OBVIOUSLY her favourite!"

Max - After all the obligatory cuddles and smoochies with Jo we waited patiently whilst she drew out the 4 prizewinners!

JD - We gave the box a huge shake between each draw - and these were the tickets that came out.....

1st place winner - Trixie and Minnie with a ticket that Barbara Bassett had bought - well done!!

2nd place winner - JD and Max with a ticket from Oskar! We were so excited, but FH pointed out to us that it was highly likely that Santa Paws could be bringing us some of the items in the prize packages so we agreed that the 2nd place ticket should be drawn again. But we want to say thank you, THANK YOU to Oskar! He's just the best - so generous to get us a ticket and help Shelby - this is why he's our best-est blogging pal! If you don't know Oskar (then you've probably been living on the moon!) then please do visit him, he has such a fun blog. AND he also runs PBU (Pet Blogs United) with his mom person, which is a great blog-forum to meet pals - you really should check it out. Yup - Oskar is the best and we're so happy to be able to call him our best pal!

2nd place winner - Maggie Mae with a ticket that Mona and The Mommy had bought - woo woo!!

3rd place winner - Scampi with a ticket from JD and Max!!

This is Scampi - isn't he cute!! We purchased some tickets for some of our local pals and were delighted when Jo picked out one of these in the draw! Scampi doesn't have a blog but he has appeared on ours a few times - when he knows what he's going to get for his 3rd place prize we'll post some photos for you all to see!

4th place winner - Miss Mayzie with a ticket from Mona and the Mommy!

Max - Thank you so much to everyone who took part in Shelby's raffle - we had a lot of fun hosting it and we raised lots of green papers for Shelby and that's the main thing.

JD - And well done to all the winners! These are the prizes so please look below and let us know what you'd like.....

Puppy pack - medium stuffie octopus toy and lots of doggie toys and treats!

Pet's Eye View Camera and doggie chew toy!

Puppy pack - with giant stuffie octopus and a great selection of doggie toys and snacks!

***HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY 1ST PLACE WINNER - GREAT CHOICE TRIXIE AND MINNIE AND VERY WELL DESERVED!***

Digital photo frame complete with 1gb memory card
***HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY 2ND PLACE WINNER - GREAT CHOICE MAGGIE MAE!!!***

Max - Winners can check this post below for more details about the prizes if they need to!

JD - We hope you all enjoyed reading our post about the raffle as much as enjoyed doing it!

Max - We need the winners to let us know what they'd like as a prize - please leave a comment below with an e-mail contact.

JD - Before we leave we'd like to remind everyone about Blueberry's Christmas auction which ends in less than 24 hours! Be quick - get your bids in to avoid severe disappointment!

Max - At 12 noon GMT tomorrow the auction ends - we will temporarily disallow all comments and will then post a list of the lucky winning bidders in the afternoon! Good luck everyone!

JD - Thanks again! We're sorry we haven't had a chance to leave comments on your blogs recently - the raffle and the auction have taken up all our time, but rest assured we're still visiting and will start leaving comments again in a few days time - please bear with us!!