Dog-n-Jog 25th Anniversary

   Today marked the 25th anniversary of Dog-n-Jog (and this year is our Humane Society's centennial, too!). Like last year, Dad, Diane & Lindsey drove in from Ohio to attend the event with me, and help wrangle my crazy dogs. Check out this great photo from Thomas Photographic—Taylor's got three legs off the ground and is pulling like crazy—which he did for the whole mile! We didn't manage to place, as the KC Track Club has joined in and they are posting 5-minute miles (our fastest-ever has been 6:34), so our days on the podium are over, but it didn't detract from a great time.

   I'm glad my family & friends enjoyed the event, and as usual it is fun to see a sea of my t-shirt designs taking over the Plaza!

   I plan to post my own photos & write about the event soon, but for now, here are some from the KC Star: Volume 1  /  Volume 2  and from Thomas Photographic, and an article.

Dog-n-Jog is June 10th!

   This year marks the 25th anniversary of Dog-n-Jog, a fun fundraiser for The Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. I finally watched the KC Pet Telethon which occurred while I was in San Francisco (and was bummed to miss—it's fun to volunteer on the phone bank!), and was surprised to see yours truly right in the middle of the photo! (Too bad Taylor is hidden behind the Bernese Mountain Dog...)

   As I was driving home from work today, I passed a young woman who was out for a run, and she was wearing the blue t-shirt I designed last year! It always makes me feel so good to see people wearing them around town, especially when the shirts are still in such good shape. These people must keep them because they like them—rather than to mow the lawn or use as a rag in the garage.  ;)
   And, coincidentally, I just finished this year's logo and t-shirt design. Can't wait for the event! Sure hope I'm able to run again by then...

   No Shiba in this year's logo, but I threw in a Golden for my family, and a chihuahua for Steph. Not sure who the third dog is... I just wanted to include a bully-type dog since they're so popular. It makes me proud to see so many people having fun & wearing my artwork, and I hope it helps bring in a TON of donations!

Special Offer from the Lead Dog of Shiba Squad

   Mr. Taylor is generously offering a free ear-cleaning to the next 500 people who sponsor our Shiba Squad for the Humane Society's Dog-n-Jog race on 6/12. DONATE HERE AND I'LL SEND HIM OVER! It is a super, super fun event, so grab your mutts and join us!

Aki Update

   Sincere thanks to everyone for expressing your concern for Aki...
I really appreciate your kind words and wishes! It means a lot.

   Here's the update: Last night was tough. She was uncomfortable and restless, and she had a few more gagging spells (no food in her stomach this time, fortunately). I took her to the vet early this morning for another check.

   By the time I arrived at Red Bridge Animal Clinic (LOVE those guys! And I have to thank my friend Joni for recommending them to me 13+ years ago!), Dr. Rad had already reviewed her bloodwork and x-rays from last night, and agreed with Dr. Miller that everything looked good. She was perkier this morning and able to walk, but her back legs are very stiff, her muscles are constantly having spasms, and her stomach feels tense. She can't sit or lie down without difficulty: she looks like a 16-year-old arthritic dog trying to move. Poor baby.

   Dr. Rad's best guess is that she injured her back somehow: possibly by falling down the stairs, jumping and landing badly, or wrestling with Taylor. Her pain could be due to a herniated disc. So I need to keep her as quiet as possible for at least 2 weeks and monitor her. He suggested that she stay for the day so he could observe her, and then I could pick her up tonight.

   It felt strange to leave her at the vet, and Tay thought so too. (He was in the car; when one goes to the vet, the other is always on ride-along.) I worked at home today and it was touching to see how distraught he was... he paced and moped around all day, sighing and looking for her. I was proud of him for lying next to her when she was hurt yesterday. (I can't even imagine how hard it's going to be someday when I do lose one of them... we're all going to be a mess!)

   I headed back at 5:00 to get Aki, and she was so glad to see me... but not half as glad as she was to see Taylor! You would have thought they'd been separated for days. Now they're snuggled up on my feet, on the couch, with both kitties too. If you don't hear from me again, I may have been smothered by animals. I'll keep Aki on the Rimadyl (pain med) for a few days and lay off the jogging with her, and hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon.
   Looks like it'll be up to me & Tay this year to see if we can place in our 4th Dog-n-Jog in a row... and speaking of that, take a look at HSGKC's home page: that's Aki running on the right side of the photo! If you want to give us a run for our money, register yourself & your dog to run, or consider donating for this great cause.

Long day, but I made it

   I'm working through some difficult challenges at work, and I enjoy challenges, but they have been mounting to the point where it is becoming draining. I was so looking forward to heading to yoga on my way home; Mary Ann took care of the pets for me, so I wasn't in a hurry. Well, neither was the traffic... it took me nearly an hour just to get to the highway. Every minute that went by, I knew my chances for doing yoga tonight were melting away. "No big deal," I thought. "It's 50 degrees. I'll just run with the dogs when I get home."

   And run we did: I am REALLY digging this Nano/iFit that Mom gave me for my birthday. It talks to me throughout my run, giving me updates on time and distance, and it tracks pace and calories as well. We ran another 3.25 miles, in addition to Friday's 4.5 and Sunday's 3.5. Dog-n-Jog, here we come!

   Aaand then I got home and realized how filthy the dogs were. They were covered in gross, black water and salt, remnants from recent weather. As soon as we got back in the house, they shook, spraying grime all over the floors, door and walls. Sigh. I had to bathe them tonight. That set me back on my plan to get right to work on finishing the DNJ logo so I could send it to Robin. But the dogs were clean and happy and smelled better, so... win!

   On my way upstairs, I noticed I had a voice mail. Big mistake to check it: it was Citibank informing me that my account had been compromised, and after a frustrating string of automated voice prompts which were unintelligible, I finally got a woman on the phone... who was also unintelligible. I finally was able to understand what to do and set about that work.

   I didn't get to my artwork tonight, and I'm disappointed but too exhausted to keep working. The good news is that it was a long day, but I made it. As the elder guy on the dive boat in Maui said, "Any dive where you come up at the end is a good dive." Same with life sometimes. Just keep kicking.
   * Update: Britten tipped me off that Snow Creek's credit card system had been hacked, so that's the likely place that someone got a hold of my number.

Dog-n-Jog 2011

I've been busy today, working on this year's DNJ logo for HSGKC! 

This was my original sketch (I submitted it for AU last year):

   So I needed to change the text that the leash spelled, and the cat didn't make sense anymore, since DNJ is a dog-only event (you don't see many people running with cats!) And also... C'mon, it's a quick sketch... it needed some serious redrawing.

Here are my first couple of refined sketches with rough color:

And the final linework in progress:

And a couple of color options (fewer colors = cheaper printing):

The lettering still needs work, but overall I dig it! Do you?

   By the way, if you want to win this year, you'd better start training, because Aki and Tay and I have been on the podium three times in three years and we are gunning for you! We ran 4 miles last Friday, and 4.51 miles last night with energy to spare... so get registered and start fundraising, and we'll see you on the Plaza on June 12.

Humane Society news & events

   HSGKC is raising funds through a partnership with Chipotle in KC on Tuesday, March 1. C'mon, you know you were going to be eating a burrito that day anyway. Why not make it count for something besides calories? Just print the flyer and take it with you.
   And on Sunday, March 6, tune in to 38 The Spot for the annual KC Pet Telethon, as I will be making an appearance on the phone banks yet again during the second hour. A $60 donation gets you a telethon t-shirt... and if you call to make a donation and happen to get me on the phone, I'll do a sketch of your pet for you, too! 

To the victors go the spoils...

nom nom nom

To congratulate Aki & Taylor on a race well-run, we took a trip over to Petco & picked up 40 pounds of dog food (not for all at once, of course) & a couple of large ham bones. I let their dogs stick their heads in the bins & pick out whatever they wanted. I think they agree that the prize made running worth it. They also got to go to daycare at Pete & Mac's on Monday. Spoiled? Naaaah...

Photos from the KC Star "Community Faces"

AND THEY'RE OFF!!! 
(the girl in green was the 2nd place finisher; we started to her right)

We did it!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking a little sweaty, but otherwise fine:

Mark & Robin, two of my favorite people!

(All photos by Fran Mattox)

Dog-n-Jog 2010 result

   This morning was the 23rd annual Dog-n-Jog event for the Humane Society, when 2100 dogs & their owners converge on the Plaza. This was my 4th year of participating (once with a shelter dog just for fun, then two second-place finishes in a row: one with Aki & last year with both dogs). I was hopeful that this would be the year when we could take first place in the 1-mile run... but not sure how my legs would hold out after a week of track!
   We had a bit of a rough start; the dogs panicked a little at the start line as the race began—we were on the line & the crowd of people & dogs surged toward us. But true to his nature, Taylor, my little sled dog was pulling hard on his harness the whole race, practically dragging Aki & I with him. I couldn't tell what place we were in, as we picked off a couple of women. Jakob & his shiba, Hira, were just ahead of us. As we neared the end of the second lap & entered the home stretch, I saw one woman ahead and we pushed into overdrive. Passed her! But I heard a runner approaching fast—too fast for me to keep up, I knew—and we did our best to hang on. When we were passed I was very relieved to see that it was a guy. Still no idea what place we were in as we crossed the line. I was stunned when the volunteers told us we had finally done it. Our time said 6:34, and I am as skeptical about that as I am proud (not sure I've ever maintained that pace!)... but I'll take it! If only Taylor could run with me in KCCC. Pretty sure we'd be unstoppable together!

Yep, that's us in the chaos of the race start.

   Here is the Art Unleashed booth, with the large metal centerpiece that Dick & I created last year:

It had rained earlier, but fortunately it held off for the duration of the event... but it started pouring again just as everyone has headed back to their cars. At first it looked like it might be a light turnout, but before long the place was PACKED with dogs!

As always, I love seeing people wearing my shirts! This one is from 2008 (featuring Aki) & may still be my favorite design yet. I saw several of the '07 & '09 shirts (featuring Taylor) too!

My favorite from the costume contest. I sure hope they won!

Liza had gotten my attention when I was lined up at the start. When I glanced to my right she was jumping up & down on the curb! I think that, and the $100 donation that my Mom contributed, helped me find the strength I needed to pull off the win. I found Liza afterwards & hung out with her & the boys, Malachi & Frodo:

We also bumped into a couple with two more sheepdogs!

Volunteer Jen K, with Frodo & Malachi:

Post-race crowd:

And just like that, another year was over... and we had raised over $72,000 for the Humane Society! Congrats to them & thanks & good job to all their volunteers!

official DNJ site  /  NBC news  /  ABC news

Signs of Dog-n-Jog...

I will always get totally geeked out every time I see my work out in the world. Last year when I spotted my Taylor on an illuminated billboard off of 635 I nearly wrecked the car! Here's my yard sign & an ad in Thursday's KC Star:

Dog-n-Jog commercial!

My logo appears at the end of this brand-new Dog-n-Jog commercial! I will never not be excited by that kind of thing. Geeks me out every time.

Dog-n-Jog is coming up soon!

The thousands of dogs & cats helped annually by the Humane Society would appreciate your support!  : )

Dog-n-Jog is coming!

Lauren is printing DNJ signs, with one of my new logos for this year on this cool yellow background. Nice! Please consider donating to our Humane Society—it's a fantastic organization, and many dogs & cats in our community need our help! My goal this year is $500.

DNJ is done!!!

I finally completed all the files for DNJ t-shirt tonight! (And full-color versions, to be used on brochures, signs & maybe billboards.)

Woo-hoo!!! Now all I have left to do is to train for the race,

to see if the shibas & I can improve on our 2nd place status...