Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt Giveaway
It’s been a while since I ran a giveaway for readers. It’s not that I haven’t had opportunities, but the ones presented just haven’t seemed right for the site lately. Everyone loves pets though, and my kids instantly took to this fun new book by David Catrow called Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt.
It’s a kids book about a nosey spaniel on the hunt for bones – Dinosaur Bones! He gets into lots of mischief, and much the same as my younger children he uses his imagination and ingenuity to find and build a larger than life dinosaur.
The illustrations are filled with lots of things for kids to discover while reading, kind of like the old Where’s Waldo books but not quite that busy or difficult.
If your toddlers love books as much as mine, then leave a comment with a description of your favorite pet from any time throughout your life. Please share why this pet was your favorite and perhaps a memorable experience of him or her hunting for “dinosaurs” of their own. You can get a second entry by writing a post about your pet on your own blog and linking back to this post.
One (1) Grand Prize winner receives:
- Autographed copy of Max Spaniel (by illustrator David Catrow)
- One (1) Jumbo kids magnifying glass
Four (4) runner-up winners will also receive a copy of the new book
Contest Duration: August 8, 2009 – August 23, 2009
Winners will be announced and notified during the week of August 24 – 30, 2009.

My favorite pet growing up was a dog named Lady. She was hyper and loving, and she peed on the floor every time I got home. She slept in bed with me, which my wife is not likely to believe because as an adult I developed a severe onset of allergies to animals and can now barely sleep in the same house as a cat or dog. Lady was the best though, and she was a surprisingly good hunting dog. She and I caught some prized chipmunks in our day, and she was better than any old cat at getting rid of field mice that wandered into our home. Lady was my favorite pet mostly because she was a fun part of our family.
I can’t wait to read about your favorite pet stories!
Leave a comment now or write a post and link back to this page.
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Comment by Dan Smith on 8 August 2009:
I had a dog named Blackie (we weren’t very original in my corner of Kansas) who would follow me everywhere I went. She was a stray, but when she started following me up and down the farm rows, chasing my tractor faithfully, she endeared herself to our family. I can still remember, to this day, driving the tractor and looking back to see her sniffing at the dirt that my plow kicked over. I don’t know if she was looking for worms or field mice or what, but she had a great time on her little “dinosaur digs.” I still miss that dog.
Dan Smith´s last blog ..US Navy Physical Readiness Program
Comment by Tina M on 12 August 2009:
My favorite pet was our mixed breed black lab, Sheila. She was so loving and loyal. She would look up at me with those big dark eyes and I just knew I was loved. SHe would always want to be in the same room as me and slept in my bed every night. When she was 5 she was hit by a car while we were on vacation. She ended up needing major surgery but made it through it. The vet was shocled and told us the next day that she definitely had a will to live with what he saw inside of her! She lived until she was 16 and I still miss her!
Comment by Priscilla Pursell on 16 August 2009:
My big baby is name Cleo.She is 12 years old.
Her Mother was a stray that was about starve to death. I fed her and she rewarded me a few days later with 12 puppies.She didn’t have milk, so the puppies had to be bottle fed. What a job that was! I got friends and family to volunteer to help me by taking puppies home with them to be bottle fed.I told them I would take the puppies back once they came off the bottle;however, most of them was so attached to the puppy they bottle fed that they kept it. The mother dog died not long after her puppies was born.
Cleo was the runt of the litter.She as sweet as her Mother was.
Comment by SDCochran on 17 August 2009:
I dearly loved my grandparent’s dog, lady…and it was those memories that made me choose my current dog, Bailey…amazing how old memories can drive current choices…
Comment by Chris on 18 August 2009:
We weren’t very creative with names either, we had a shih-tzu named Patches. He was a great dog, brings back great memories.
Chris´s last blog ..7 Natural Induction Methods
Comment by Tiffany Ginn on 19 August 2009:
We have always loved dogs in our family..we have had a dog named Sheik,Kojak,Jerrico, Bear and snoopy just to name a few.
Comment by Molly K on 21 August 2009:
I have only had one real pet (excluding fish) in my lifetime. He is my Cocker Spaniel Shadow. My husband and I got him when we bought our first place together. We were having a hard time naming him. Then we noticed that he was scared of his own shadow, he would try and get away from it and that is how he got his name-Shadow.
Comment by Ellie W on 21 August 2009:
I had an English Bulldog named Daisy that loved me but nobody else in the family. She could do several tricks such as shake hands, speak, dance, and roll over. The funniest thing was she was so fat that often she would get stuck on her back while rolling over. We would have to give her a little push to get her upright again. Just looking at her funny face would make me smile when I was sad. She passed away 3 years ago and I still miss her.
Comment by Jennifer S. on 21 August 2009:
Throughout my life, I have always had a lot of pets. It’s hard for me to chose a favorite because when I look back I rememeber so many of them that I loved dearly. When I was a child, we had a dog named Daisy. She was just a mutt that we had gotten from a farmer but she was incredibly loyal and went everywhere with you. She was the sweetest dog. I got a stuffed dog during that and I named it Daisy. My children now play with Daisy and it makes me smile every time I think about her.
Comment by Sheila Hickmon on 21 August 2009:
My favorite pet was my cat that I had when I was 16. I named him Big Sexy lol! He was the best cat I had ever had, followed me everywhere. One night my mom was late coming home from work, and he woke me up by meowing at me and rubbing my face. He wouldn’t stop until I got out of bed. When I did I went to sit down in the living room and wait on her. When I sat down he kept jumping from me to the window again and again. I finally got up and noticed that my moms car was in the drive, but I didn’t see her. She had had a seizure, and was slumpped over in her seat. I don’t know when I would have found her if it hadn’t been for him. I loved him so much!
Sheila Hickmon´s last blog ..Sex in the Suburbs~Why Celebumoms Make Us Feel Bad—And Why We Allow It
Comment by Mishia on 22 August 2009:
When I was little we had a dog that had run away. We looked for her for a week and finally gave up. I went back to school on Monday morning and the janitor made an announcement that he had found a dog. Turns out it was our dog! She had been to the school with me before and ended up there.
Comment by Kathy Scott on 22 August 2009:
We were camping with out dog. She was on a leash and just happen to be in my lap when a skunk walked thru camp. I think she thought it was a cat. She took off and when I pulled back I got skunk and dog. Boy did it stink.
Comment by susan varney on 22 August 2009:
my dog likes to walk with me!
mverno@roadrunner.com
Comment by Helen on 22 August 2009:
My children have always had pets. And many of them were found alongside the road and brought home with the question “Can I keep it, Mommie?” And they knew, of course, they could.
Comment by b martin on 22 August 2009:
our great neice’s dog is Ozzie. My niece is eighteen month’s old and loves to tease Ozzie. She decided to eat from Ozzie’s bowl of dog food just like Ozzie. He did not appreciate it and they both were fighting over the dog food. My neice won!
Comment by Gloria on 22 August 2009:
We had a pet cat named Mouse! My daughter named her that because when when was a little kitten she was gray and looked like a little mouse. Mouse was such a good cat. She always stayed near her home and never wandered away. She always came by my husband when he got home from work in the morning and she was his greeter (he works the midnight shift). He always gave her treats when he got home. We had her for about 12 years. It was sad when she passed last year. My husband and I took her to the vet and she had cancer. We cried so much.
Comment by Pamela S on 22 August 2009:
We had a puppy named Reagan that was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She was without a doubt the sweetest dog that ever lived. I got her during a particularly difficult period when both of my parents were ill and died a year apart. She went everywhere with me. I wouldn’t take a vacation where I couldn’t take her. She ran all my errands with me, etc. When she got sick and eventually died I grieved terribly. I’m sure I’ll never have another dog I love as much as that one. Thanks.
Comment by sandy on 22 August 2009:
all my pets were favorites, I guess being the youngest and seeing favorites playedwith kids I did not want the pets to feel left out or unloved. I know silly to some but I grew up and thought the pets were aware of all ging on. If I have to pick out one with a unique talent it would be our scottie who was like a huge hairy rat and used to slink all over and under to get where he wanted to go.
Comment by Jeane on 22 August 2009:
Our first dog after getting married, was Piddles. (named after what he did best!) He taught us a very important lesson in life. In our second year of marriage we bought a house. The first full day in the house, Piddles got out. So here you have two adults, who are strangers in the neighborhood, walking around, yelling “Piddles, Piddles!” at the top of their lungs. We found our sweet mutt down at the end of the street, smelling everything in sight. (Well, not “just” smelling!). My husband and I laughted all the way home. The test for naming a dog in the future was to go outside, yell the name out, and if you were not embarassed, it’s good to go.
Comment by dorothy l on 22 August 2009:
I always had dogs for pets then one day there was a stray cat at our work and I bought her home thinking I would take her to the animal shelter but everyone fell in love with her including my dogs
Comment by Letessha W on 22 August 2009:
My fave pet was my cat my mom named frisky, for a long time, the family did not know if frisky was a boy or girl we just assumed it was a girl for some odd reason. Later down the line we discovered he was a boy! It still did not matter to us since we loved him. Boy, was he like no other feline, he would play with my hair rollers while I slept, he would bring his bird kill in the house and play with it, then eat it. One day, he was killed in our own backyard by my brother’s pit bull dog. It was a sad day for us.
Comment by Karin C on 22 August 2009:
My favorite dog was named Fantasia, Fannie for short. She was so loyal. Once we moved and she got confused the first week she was missing, and I drove around the neighborhood calling “Fannie” out the window. I found her!
Comment by Paula H on 22 August 2009:
My best furry friend was a little Chihuahua mix named Timmy. He was so little but thought he was a big dog. He would ride in the basket in the front of my bike. He hated my little sister after she stuffed him in her Barbie camper. Timmy would sneak in my bed and hide under my stuffed animals so my Mom wouldn’t see. He unfortunately, could climb a fence and escaped on day and got hit by a car. I still miss him.
Comment by Rodney Koodray, Jr. on 22 August 2009:
Hope I win
Comment by Janet on 22 August 2009:
LOOKS LIKE A CUTE BOOK:)
I HAD A DOG NAMED MAZIE i WAS ATTACHED 2:)
WE’VE HAD A LOT OF NICE DOGS IN OUR LIVES:)
Comment by Betty N on 22 August 2009:
We have had some different pets with our kids. I said, “Nothing with a long tail” could they have. My son was taking a Psychology class where they each had a rat to train to go through a maze. The student had to take care of their own rat…and if it died, you failed the course. So my son took really good care of that rat that he had named Micah. Thanksgiving vacation was coming soon and he didn’t want to leave his rat when he came home for Thanksgiving; so I said OK, just make sure he is in a cage. Well, son and rat came home. Both of my sons decided to go somewhere so I was left with Micah in a small aquarium with books on top where a lid should be.
As soon as the boys left, I went in to look in on the rat….the rat was not in his “cage”….I closed the door to the room and figured the dark closet was probably where he was. I trailed some food bits from the closet to me and I got down on my knees and called his name. He came right out of the closet, passed up the food and came right to me! Well….I welcomed Micah to the family. Once a rat is trained; the school can no longer use them so they feed them to the snakes. Well…Micah was not going to be snake food, he was to be our pet.
Comment by Kerrie Mayans on 22 August 2009:
We had a two cats when I was growing up that were my favorites. Their names were Sandy and Blackie (I also grew up in KS). They were male cats but often were subject to being dressed in doll dresses and driven around in the basket on the handlebars of my banana bike wearing my favorite doll dresses and hats. They were great cats. I am sure they would have rather be chasing mice or birds than being subjected to my dressup games and tea parties. LOL
Comment by Stephanie V on 22 August 2009:
My dog’s name growing up was Tootsie. She was amazing and loved and protected me. She even slept in my bed every night. She could sense my emotions and cuddle with me when I was upset. My little boy would love this book!
tvollowitz at aol dot com
Comment by amy delong on 22 August 2009:
My favorite dog is the one I have right now,he is pit/shep mix.His name is Scooby he was a rescue,when we got him he was nothing but bones!So we took care of him&now he is healthy and happy and loves our family!
ardelong2(at)gmail(dot)com
Comment by Angela J on 22 August 2009:
How cute! We’ve had cats, dogs, birds, the gamut, with ordinary to funky names.
Comment by donna graham on 22 August 2009:
I am an animal lover. The best dog I have ever had is my current dog Zeke, a black lab. I love. reading stories about animals to my grand kids. This book would be great.
Comment by Cathy W. on 22 August 2009:
I had a Lhasa named Coco that would sneak candy from the candy bowl we kept on the coffee table. She would scoot the lid open with her nose just far enough to reach the candy and then she would run under the bed. I thought my husband was eating the candy and he thought I was eating the candy. I caught her sneaking the candy one day and could hardly wait for my husband to see how sneaky she was.
I remember getting angry when I would see the lid partially open and wondered why my husband wouldn’t put it back on properly.
Comment by Karen B on 22 August 2009:
My first pet was a cat named Mittens back in the 50s. She was really little but had the dog across the street so scared he didn’t venture past their front yard. She always slept with me until she discovered that my parents had an elecgric blanket!
Comment by Sandra on 22 August 2009:
This looks like the perfect book for my great-granddaughter, she has a spaniel she calls “Trouble” and we all (affectionately) call “psycho dog” because it has a barking fit if she is out of sight.
Comment by Janet F on 22 August 2009:
My favorite pet growing up was our Beagle. She was very loving to all of us and she was just a sweetie.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
Comment by nicole on 22 August 2009:
We had a bird named ashley that would whistle the theme from the brady bunch everytime my brother and I got off the bus. We have no idea where she learned it.lol
Comment by Veronica Garrett on 22 August 2009:
I’ve had countless dogs and cats most of whom were thrown away. We lived off the main row and people were always throwing pets. Everyone became a special loving pet.
Comment by Lily Kwan on 22 August 2009:
My favorite pet was my cat Tiger who was very cute and adorable.
Comment by Lesa on 22 August 2009:
I used to have a cat named Bubby. He was a great cat. He was friendly and loved to hang out with the neighbors cats who looked just like him.
Comment by Randy Bailey on 22 August 2009:
My favorite pet out of all the pets I ave ever had is our MinPin Ladybug, she is a special loving dog who just loves everybody. She really is a tomboy though, she loves to dig 4 moles, chase squirrels, and she don’t mind getting dirty. She loves all our grandkids, she loves 2 snuggle. We love her so much, she is our baby
Comment by Renee C on 22 August 2009:
My favorite pets have always been golden retriever/chow mixes. I had one when I was a toddler, another one as a teenager that lived until I was married and pregnant, and now that I am a mother of two we have another golden/chow mutt! They are just the sweetest, most fun dogs – but big enough to act as a home security system as well!
Comment by Chris G. on 22 August 2009:
I have many favorite pets, but my heart belongs to my late beagle, Bugsy. He was the sweetest dog ever. He never hunted for anything. Once a wild rabbit hopped right up beside him and he didn’t even notice.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Comment by Jane Hoh on 22 August 2009:
We had a dog named Gizmo. She was a shi tzuh who thought she was a doberman. Whenever a large dog would walk up the street she would be barking and growling. One day we tied her leash to a large garbage can while doing yardwork and she dragged it up the street in order to go after a large collie.
Comment by Gianna on 22 August 2009:
I had a cat that just loved water. Every time a faucet or bathtub turned on she was in there getting wet! I’ve never seen anything like it before.
Comment by Donna K on 23 August 2009:
Our black lab likes to be held like a baby…at 85 pounds!