Find the Saint Bernard
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sewing Machine & Vacuum Sales & Services is a family-owned and operated business located on East Edgewood Drive in Lakeland, Florida. Mark Hagen, proprietor, is a second-generation vacuum and sewing machine vendor. Mark employs another second-generation vacuum cleaner professional, Bob Gregor. Bob's St. Bernard, Inga, accompanies him to work every day.
Bob is knowledgeable and Inga encourages customers and their children to give her a scratch between the ears or a nice tummy rub. The capacious store has new and used vacuums and sewing machines plus hard-to-find replacement parts. Try to find the Saint Bernard among the merchandise.
If you are in the market for a vacuum cleaner that is good at sucking up pesky pet fur, Mark and Bob recommend either of the two Simplicity models pictured with Inga.
Bob & Inga
Bob grew up with St. Bernards. His father, at one time a divisional manager for Singer Corporation, bred St. Bernards as a hobby. Bob presently owns two other dogs that stay at home—Shadow, a German Shepherd, and Bonnie, a Chow Chow.
Inga is three years old. She loves children, especially babies. When she is not at work, she enjoys playing with her other pack mates.
Aside from being passionate about dogs, Bob has extensive experience in film and video production, flying small aircraft, and community service. He has degrees in photography and business, and is about to complete coursework for an M.S. in information technology. Bob is a font of knowledge and Inga is a font of fur. They are a good pair.
Dachshund Jailbreak
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Thanks Doug Sasse for contributing this tale about your pet, Schatzi the doxie, to the Top Dog Blog.
Dachshund Jailbreak
Do dogs think? I believe they do. I became a believer when Schatzi, our dachshund, joined the family years ago. He was a smooth, black and tan little charmer, insatiably curious. So much so, that my wife and I felt we couldn’t leave him alone upstairs when we left the house to go to work. We constructed a kennel for him in a large basement closet that had no door. We turned a cardboard box on its side and filled it full of rag rugs to keep him cozy and warm. A chicken wire fence, nailed to the doorway, would keep him in and prevent him from exploring all of the treasures in the basement. Or so we thought.
One day, we returned home to find Schatzi, trotting ecstatically about the basement, like a little black and tan Tennessee walking horse. We immediately saw how he was able to escape. Although the fence was too high for him to climb over, he found he could push his cardboard box up next to the fence, jump up on the box, and then jump the fence to freedom. As he took his victory lap around the dark room, toenails clicking rhythmically on the concrete floor, we knew we’d have to move the little Houdini upstairs.
After “baby-proofing” the entire house, we brought Schatzi upstairs for good. Schatzi enjoyed a life of comfort. Upstairs had sofas where he could lounge, televisions for him to watch, and all of the snacks he could wheedle out of his people. Before long, he wheedled his way into our bed, where he slept every night for the rest of his life.
