We’d like to introduce you to two of the sweetest and most handsome NY dogs we know…Giuseppe & Arnold!

Arnold is a 5 year-old Puli.  Oscar gets a little confused around Arnold - he can never figure out which end is his head!  I was surprised to learn that under all that fur is a little powerhouse!  Believe it or not, when playing fetch with Giuseppe, Arnold’s usually the one who comes back with the ball.

Although he’s often mistaken for a puppy because of his youthful looks and demeanor, Giuseppe is actually 9 years-old!  (He was very flattered when I guessed his age at 3).  Oscar is in awe of this beautiful Weimaraner - can you blame him?

Arnold and Giuseppe were both lucky enough to be rescued from shelters when they were puppies.  They moved to NY from Chicago with their dad, Mike,  several years ago and boy are we glad that they did!  They have done a lot of exploring all over NYC and were nice enough to share some of their favorite dog-friendly spots with us:

G & A’s Top 10 list of places to hang out in NY

1)       Socrates Park (Vernon @ Broadway in Astoria) - great sculpture, open space to run, nice people, and the view can’t be beat.

2)       Central Park - the entire park, G & A mostly enjoy people watching and having their photos taken by tourists.

3)       Dog Run under the 59^th Street Bridge (Manhattan Side)

4)       Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park - they like to watch the planes landing at Laguardia, the large globe, and the geese in the pond are of interest to the bird dogs amongst us.

5)       Battery Park - once again, all the attention from tourists; it is good to feel famous for a day.

6)       Astoria Park Dog Run (Bugsy’s Run) - something for the whole family at Astoria Park

7)       Corner of Steinway and 31^st Ave in Astoria - the street vendor’s there have the best Souvlaki and the patrons often drop their meal on the ground.

8)    Thompson Square Park Dog Run - fun, but they don’t allow toys and Arnold really needs toys to have fun.

9)       Forest Park In Queens - a thick forest, almost like hunting; if it weren’t for the planes landing at nearby JFK, you’d think you were in the outback.  They have a nice dog park with an agility course for those dogs with credentials.

10)   Chelsea Park - Zen-like atmosphere, but it is not easy to run so it gets boring pretty fast.

We’ve visited #1 and #10 with Giuseppe and Arnold and we can’t wait to hit the rest of the list!

Do you have a story you want us to tell?  Would you like to see your dog appearing in this blog?  Please send us your dog’s picture and story at nycblog@sniflabs.com

MSNBC ran a special about “Pet Parents” - those of us who treat our pets like children. They even included some video from Stella’s birthday party! Accompanying article here.

Now, if we could only claim our furry kids as dependents on our tax returns…

Our friends at the Boston Site sent us a link yesterday about Puppy Bowl 2008!

Catch all the action on the Discovery Channel today - and click on the picture to check out the “starting lineup”.

GO GIANTS!

We’re getting ready here in NY getting ready for the big game on Sunday! So for all you Giants fans - today’s post is just for you.

Now, your dog can support the Giants in the Super Bowl too!

You still have time to buy a Giants hat made for your dog over at Jake’s Dog House. When you walk your dog after Sunday, you can show off who won. And you can even hold them on a Giants leash!

I think that dressing up your dog is much less embarrassing than some alternatives:

We’d like to hear from you: do you think that the owners went too far by dying their dog blue for the Giants?

Go Giants!