Welcome Lucky!

Seriously, look at this little girl! This is Lucky, who was literally snatched up from a guy who was selling puppies on the street in Chicago - so, as you can see, she has a very appropriate name! This little pit bull mix is beyond friendly, beyond happy, beyond cute. We're having fun watching her get used to her new world, and let me tell you - getting this picture (one if focus) was a challenge! She's a little mover! We're very, very happy to welcome Lucky and her mom, Lara, to WALK THIS WAY!

Welcome Apu and Manjula!

Yes - you heard right...Apu and Manjula. Like the characters on THE SIMPSONS. And that's pretty fitting, as these puppies are absolutely hilarious! Ok, we could go on and on about how cute they are, but if you're looking at the picture above I don't think you need any more proof, right? These shelter rescues are the new residents of the home of our clients Carl and Ramya, and it's cute overload over there - 24/7! Sure, cute puppies also come with some less-than-desirable games, like "Oh - I thought my crate was the bathroom", and "Let's see how sharp my teeth are", and "I'm so small I can squeeze under the gate and run into the parking lot when you're not watching", and "When I grow up my rapping name will be 'Sir Humps-a-Lot'", and "That bag of fertilizer sure looks appetizing". But in spite of all that we're having a ball with our new little friends, who will definitely be the kind of dogs who cause "gaper's blocks" on Jackson street when they're old enough to start walking the neighborhood! Just look at those little faces!!

Welcome Chase!

This is Chase - a beautiful and gentle German Shepherd and our first client in Riverside! Chase has been awfully sick in the recent past, but we're happy to report that she's doing much better. And that's saying a lot, considering her house-mate is Riley - a giant talking parrot! (And by talking we mean the kind who knows how to whistle, knows how to tell you that he ALSO wants to try a carrot, and knows how to screech his head off!) Somehow though, Chase maintains her sweet demeanor with the help of her very kind owner, Melissa, and her giant stuffed bear toy! And if you thought that German Shepherds can't smile, don't forget to check out Chase's dog blog for the photographic proof! Ok - now that we've told you how kind and gentle she is, I should mention that unless you want to lose a finger when you're giving Chase a treat, you'll need to wear one of those chain-link shark-proof suits that divers wear to survive attacks from Great Whites and their ilk! But we love her anyway!

Welcome Ehu!

Straight from the sands of Arizona comes our new friend, Ehu! Pronounced "AY-hoo" (which is Hawaiian for blonde hair), this ultra-sweet mixed-breed dog is about as affectionate as they get. She excels in face-licking, walking on your left, and she even knows how to put her arms around your neck and hug you! No, we're not kidding! At first we thought, "Oh no. Not another goth dog who's into Alice Cooper" - as you can see she's a bit heavy on the eyeliner - but it turns out that she's more interested in squirrels, telephone poles and mail trucks than she is in rocking! And the best part? We were there when Ehu saw snow for the first time! We welcome Ehu and her owner Marc to Walk This Way and to the rip-roaring fun of extreme Chicago-area weather!

Welcome Harrison!

Say "Hi!" to Harrison - a freakishly cute Yorkshire Terrier who was just rescued from a shelter 2 weeks ago and had his very first walk with us today! I don't know how we've been scoring all of these karmic rewards lately, but here is yet another example of a fantastically cool new client with a fantastically cool new mom, Christina! And check this out: Harrison loves people, doesn't make any messes in the house, doesn't chew on anything, and prefers human interaction to toys! This little guy is just impossible not to pet and play with.

Welcome Hobbes!

It doesn't get much sweeter than this. This is Hobbes - a Golden Retreiver/Lab mix who was rescued from a shelter by his new, very caring family - Todd, Jennifer, and little Ethan. When we met them they said that so far he was the "perfect" little dog, and for the most part that truly seems to be the case. Ok, at first he was a little confused about where the bathroom was, but he's starting to figure it out and he's beginning to get over his separation anxiety thanks to his stable new home and very loving new parents. Um, of course, he does have one little quirk.........he's got the strength of a gorilla! On our first visit to his house we found that he had literally bent back the metal door of his locked crate so far that he escaped with the skill of Houdini! He's like one of those people whose adrenalin allows them to lift a car off of a trapped accident victim! No, I'm not kidding - we have the pictures to prove it! So, once again, we welcome Hobbes: Crate-Crusher extraordinaire!

Welcome Haley!

Proof positive that just because you're small doesn't mean you're not strong, we welcome Haley to WALK THIS WAY! An incredibly cute Corgi and Terrier mix, Haley's a go-getter, meaning it doesn't matter if you're on-board or not.....she's going and she's getting! Haley's parents, Brian and Johnna, warned us that she was a bit of a "puller", but they neglected to mention that she was a direct descendant of that guy in the Guinness Book of World Records who pulled a freight train with his teeth! But in spite of her unchallenged record of winning the race up and down her stairwell, Haley's a seriously cute little girl we look forward to seeing every day!

Welcome Rufus and Gibson!

Say hello to the new monsters of the midway - Rufus and Gibson. R&G and their parents, Baxter and Samantha, have come to us from South Carolina, and now reside in Forest Park. I must admit that I was unaware of the secret government experiments going on out there involving exposing dogs to massive amounts of gamma radiation (a la The Incredible Hulk) and turning our canine friends into pony-sized creatures of incredible strength, but here they are! No, seriously, this beautiful Great Dane and pathologically happy Yellow Lab are lots of fun and will no doubt either put me in traction or cause me to be in the best shape of my life. They're fun, lovable, and really, really big - and we're very excited that they're part of the WALK THIS WAY family!

Welcome Dojo, Wheezy, Summer and Leo!

Talk about some faces you won't soon forget! We're happy to welcome Dojo, Wheezy, Summer and Leo to the WALK THIS WAY family! Dojo is a high-energy Japanese Chin and Wheezy is a hilarious little pug. Both have the kind of wild, googly eyes you won't soon forget, and Wheezy makes his mark by letting his tongue hang out on a permanent basis. Summer, the white cat, is as friendly as they come, and Leo, the orange and white cat, loves the belly rub and spends his time watching the happenings out on the street from his perch by the front window. It's one big house of cute over there, and we're happy to be a part of it!

Welcome Sunny!

This beautiful German Shepherd mix wandered into the Chicago backyard of our new clients, Mark and Rita, in mid-December. After an extensive search for his owner with no results, Mark and Rita adopted him and named him "Sunny" - as in "sunny disposition"! When they contacted us they kept saying that he was "the perfect dog" - - and they were right. Sunny is phenomenally sweet and gentle at 92 pounds. He doesn't whine or beg or bark or jump up or......well, the list goes on. But he does play a mean game of tug-of-war! Seriously, his vice-like grip on our purple dog towel was impossible to break! I think I lost 5 pounds trying to get it away from him! And as you can see from his dog blog pictures, he loves a good brushing! We're very, very happy to have Mark and Rita and their sweet new dog Sunny as our new clients!

Welcome Casey and Jake!

Will you LOOK at those faces? That's Casey and Jake, our new pug friends! These little whipper-snappers keep us laughing with their incredibly friendly nature and their freakishly synchonized head tilting! They're great walkers too, if in fact you're the product of a government-sposored human/octopus hybrid experiment - - because having eight flexible arms is the ONLY way you'd be able to keep Casey and Jake's leashes untangled for more than 5 seconds! In other words, if you see one of us walking down the street with a fast-moving black and tan blur moving in circular fashion around our feet (usually not visible to the naked eye), you'll know who we're walking! Welcome Casey and Jake!