Of Snowstorms and Southern Dogs…
This post brought to you by ALPO® Brand Dog Food. All opinions are 100% mine.
Atlanta has been in the weather news twice in the past month due to unseasonably cold, snowy weather. As southerners, we tend to over-react to that four letter word: snow. Simply because there are large numbers of us than cannot drive in it and a lack of the proper equipment to make the roads passable when we do have snow.
This week, the weathermen predicted gloom and doom. We would have the storm of the century! Ice as thick as three to five inches would cause massive power outages, trees would be toppled, roads would be impassible. Be prepared to be without power or heat for weeks! It would be CATASTROPHIC!
And we panicked as southerners do and emptied the stores of all bread and milk and anything that wasn’t nailed down. We waited in long lines at 6:00 AM for Home Depot to open so that we could race through the aisles and empty them of all generators and rock salt. We emptied the gas stations of their supplies of gasoline. We freaked out at the first snowflake, shut down all schools and closed the offices for business for two full days.
And we did have snow and ice, and we did have some power outages, but nothing that would be my definition of CATASTROPHIC. The weather reporters in their attempt to justify the term spent their time in the heavier snowed on areas of the state where they stood bundled against the cold with the wind blowing their hair, measuring the depth of the snow on the hoods of unsuspecting vehicles. The wind could take down power lines at any moment! Just look at that piece of paper over there! It wasn’t there a minute ago!
I don’t call it catastrophic, but the dogs disagree. Ralph wouldn’t go out in the snow unless he was carried, and Faith spent the entire two days sitting on top of the heat register. My dogs were born and raised in the south and catastrophic means cold white stuff on their toes and way too chilly potty breaks.
Ralph even ignored his nemesis the squirrel who was doing his darned best to get Ralph to come outside and play!
Both dogs spent the entire afternoon feeling sorry for themselves as they bundled up in their Envelope Bed.
So how do I get them to snap out of their little cold pity party? Well how about a nice meal? I recently discovered ALPO’s variety dog food. It brings a bit of excitement to their meal time, and the dogs love it! All I’ve got to do is head towards the pantry, and all of a sudden life is warm and livable again!
And check out the cute little cans! These 5.5 oz cans are the perfect size for small dogs. I like to use one can between the two dogs, mixing it with their dry food. ALPO® Chop House 5.5 oz offers unique flavors for your dog, such as T-Bone Steak Flavored Cuts, Tender Cuts With Lamb, Filet Mignon Flavor, and Rotisserie Chicken Flavored Cuts.
ALPO® wet dog food is 100% complete and balanced and has quality ingredients like healthy protein sources, wholesome grains and accents of vegetables, which contribute to form a complete and balanced diet for each life stage. It helps support a happy, healthy life, a shiny coat, strong bones and teeth and a mealtime tail that just can’t stop wagging.
The folks at ALPO® say a healthy dog is a happy dog. I have to agree.
And as for my southern sun-loving dogs, a warm toasty dog is even happier. Just saying.
Be sure to visit ALPO® on Instagram. and ALPO’s Facebook Page for lots more info!
Yep, the life of a cat or dog with a good family is a nice one! At least with cats, they have an indoor option. LOL! Glad you survived the CATASTROPHIC storm!
suzy
Loved the story about Sammi! I bet that cat put him in his place! LOL! A dog’s life is a pretty nice one sometimes especially when they have a great home. Stay warm!
You are so right! I’m jealous of the Colorado thing. We hope to live there one day soon. So, I guess my dogs need to get used to it! Thanks for stopping by, Susan! Awesome name, by the way. LOL!
They are just too darn spoiled! Ha! Thanks for stopping by, Joyce!
Hmmm…dog food cans! Well, there certainly has to be a project in the works right? Thanks! 🙂
Seems that the rest of the US is having similar issues this year. I don’t think they are making fun of us anymore! I never thought I’d say it, but I’m looking forward to warmer weather.
Well Suzy, I live in South Carolina and we had the same “huge” storm here. Yes, yes, everything was shut down, we loaded up our trash & recycling and headed to the dump-It was closed-this was the day before the storm! We moved here 3 years ago from Northern NY (about 20 miles from the Canadian border) and we are still not used to everything shutting down. Maybe someday we’ll get it. Anyhoo, we have 2 cats that have totally forgotten their birth place. They don’t remember going out for hours in the snow & cold! Now when it gets below 40* they will not go out, they like to sit at the open door and see if there is any reason to brave the cold – Usually no reason at all. Then it’s “nap” time (again). Ahh a cat’s life is a good life.
Take Care Y’all!
LOL!! I had to laugh at your story….I was watching the news about the hitting the US and sorry! had to lol…while I can sympathize with all that snow, it seems mother nature is not as angry with us here in suburbs of Montreal….mind you the rest of the province (near the ocean) got badly hit. We had to deal with frigid -45 temps. My dear old 125 lb. dog Sammi only went for potty breaks if deemed necessary. A time came when he was eying the cat’s litter box but the cat sort of threatened him! He sadly looked out wanting and yearning to play in the white stuff that we did get but he couldn’t stand the cold and went back to sleep. What a life!! Stay warm everyone – looks like a windy one today although beautiful sunshine and blue skies….which is usually when we have a power outage!!
I lived in the Chicago area for 30 years and in Colorado for 33. Nobody knows how to drive in snow. It depends on how it freezes not how deep it is. Although deep is really a big problem. My doggies will go out the front door because it is covered; then they venture out into chest deep snow.
They are tiny—5# and 8#. Don’t think Northerners are soooo much better in ice and snow. One has to leave double the space between cars and drive slowly. People will pass you speeding along. Yeah, you can drive fast on ice, but you can’t stop fast!
When I lived in the Chicago area and heard about 1″ of snow shutting down the Southern states, I would roll my eyes and think, “If they only knew what a REAL storm was…” Now that I have come to my senses and moved to Georgia, I can say that the eye rolling has definitely stopped as I totally understand why the state shuts down. I now find myself patiently explaining to my former neighbors up north, very rolling hills and no constant salt trucks or plows = impassable streets. I also very much enjoyed my time off. 😎
I enjoyed reading all about snow. I am so glad that I do not live there. Here in South Africa certain parts of the country do get snow in winter and then some people drive far to see and experience it! I feel sorry for you, I am a Summer person from head to toe. NOW……… what do you plan for us to do with all those empty dog food cans? I will wait and see if cabin fever let you think of something.
Nice story. They look like my little dogs. We are sitting here in the house looking at the big storm outside. Every time a big clap of thunder hits, my little one barks. It scares them and they won’t leave my side. Oh, well, I always have some crafting or reading to do.
Hahaha!!! Poor Ralph and Faith, I don’t blame them for not wanting to go out in the cold snow for a potty break. Good thing you had delicious treats to cheer them up, nothing worse than a sad dog!
Peace, Love and Joy,
Joyce