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Here's a video from petside.com about making the most of your trip to the dog park, useful information if you go to Six Wags, or to the new public park when it opens.

If I can add one thing not metioned in the video: Don't stand around chatting with other pet parents. I mean, chat all you like, but keep moving at a leisurely pace. A crowd of stationary people will tend to make dogs territorial, cause tempers to flare and otherwise spoil the fun for the pooches.

Besides, you need the exercise, too. Right?

Here's a link to the blog on the SWoCo Web site and a great story about kids raising money for St. Francis Service Dogs.

SWoCo, by the way, is short for SouthWest Roanoke County. If you live there, check out the Web site for useful information on what's going on in your neighborhood. And if you live anywhere else in the Roanoke Valley, click here to find news on your community.

I will let this kitty tell you her story in her own words that she purred to an Angel:

"Hi I'm Diane and I’m so glad to be inside. I was living at a trailer park and had never been spayed. I was surely headed for a life of more and more litters when my (pet) mom asked a volunteer to help her. I'm very loving and tolerant of everyone, and have also been around dogs. Please come visit me at the Angels of Assisi Adoption Center any weekday from 2 to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Can't wait to see you!"

Diane is estimated to be about 7 years old. She is a tortoise shell-colored cat (I prefer to call this color butterscotch fudge, personally.) This exotic beauty is described as very friendly and should be an indoor kitty.

Angels of Assisi is located at 415 Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

I have visited Six Wags Dog Park in Salem several times and have always had a wonderful time there with my two hounds, but I had yet to try their doggy bath tubs. The Dirty Dog Clean Dog Wash can be used by anyone, not just dog park members.

It was in the back of my mind to try it soon, since we are moving from the spring mud season to the summer dirt season and since Coral has discovered the joys of "gardening" under the steps of our deck and is turning our tan carpet a nice shade of terra cotta.

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from a co-worker who gave the self-wash stall a try and she loved it.

She wrote: "My boyfriend and I have a long-haired Aussie/Chow mix who loves to get filthy and we were paying $30 or more just to get him washed. At Dirty Dog Clean Dog... it's $15 for a wash, or $10 on Tuesdays, or $25 for five washes. Everything is provided - wash bin, shampoos, conditioner, blow dryer, etc. We saved money and had a blast doing it!"

According to the Web site, Dirty Dog Clean Dog is offering a bathing, brushing and blow drying class for pet parents of long- and curly-haired dogs, although it does say short-hairs are welcome as well. The class is June 21 at 3 p.m. and costs $50.

That could be a real bargain if you save future grooming fees, which for our two short-haired hounds is $30 each.

Have any of you tried the self-wash tubs at Six Wags or any other park? Spill the beans on your experience with do-it-yourself doggie baths.

(Photo from Six Wags Dog Park Web site)

I could not resist. Here are two more pics of our new puppy.

And I should clarify this point: He is a pit bull terrier, also known as an American Staffordshire terrier, also known as Petey, the dog in the "Little Rascals" series and the pup in the ads for the Buster Brown company.

What is it with me and dogs that are also corporate icons?

Anyway, the name pit bull has such a negative connotation, and you deal with people like the commenter on this blog who described them as "furry alligators" and the circular thinkers at PETA who believe all my dogs should be destroyed to "save" them from stupid people who make them race or fight.

The only fighting we plan for Storm to do is with stereotypes, and maybe stuffed toys.

Get your groove on at Woofstock this weekend. The event is scheduled for Saturday, rain date is Sunday.

The fun starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. in downtown Roanoke's Elmwood Park.

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Ah, that sweet puppy breath will get you every time. After much thought and planning, we have decided to add a third canine to our clan.

Meet Storm, a puppy we are adopting from the Roanoke Valley SPCA. We are pretty sure he is an American Staffordshire terrier, dark gray and white with beautiful blue eyes. (He is the color of a storm cloud, hence the name.)

We met this little guy at the dog wash fundraiser for the Roanoke Dog Park. His foster mommy brought Storm out for the day, where he proceeded to steal every heart at the event including mine and my husband's.

We brought him home last night to meet the other pets in our family, and it went much better than I had even hoped. He played with both of our greyhounds, and he tried to make his tiny legs to keep up with Coral as she did hot laps around our backyard. Dexter is grumpy old man at the young age of five and growled at the baby a few times, but otherwise they got along okay.

Storm saw Thai, our cat, but paid him no attention. The pup ran into the velvet paw of India, my daughter's cat, this morning. He yipped and ran away. That's as good as it gets for puppy/kitty meetings.

I had to take him back to the SPCA today for his "little boy surgery", his vaccinations and microchip. If all goes well today, I can take him home tomorrow. We have now officially reached the limit for dogs in a single family residence in Roanoke County, so this little guy will be the last one we add to our family for a long while.

I admit being a little apprehensive, since it was more than 25 years since I last helped raise a puppy. But hey, life is an adventure and I don't buy expensive shoes anymore, so here we go.

Stay tuned for updates on life with our new puppy.

Like any proud mom, I am bragging today about my big sweeties.

Every other month, I get BarK, a national dog magazine, in the mail. And the first thing I do is open to a regular feature titled "Smiling Dogs," a two-page layout of dogs who are grinning for the camera.

Well, in the May-June issue of BarK, in the bottom right hand corner of page 27, there are my babies!

I submitted the photo in February and got an e-mail in April alerting me that my dogs with their cheesy grins had been chosen for the next issue. I will get a complimentary renewal of my subscription, my pooches will get national recognition for their sweet smiles. What a deal!

The issue hits newsstands last week. If you enjoy reading about dogs, and since you are here I guess you do, then you will like this magazine. I read it cover to cover, and would even if I didn't write this blog.

If you have a great picture of your pup showing off his or her pearly whites, e-mail it to smiling@bark.com. And e-mail it to me at pets@roanoke.com. If I can collect enough pictures, the newspaper may run a photo story of happy pooches during the dog days of summer.

Cora, a corgi mix, arrived at League for Animal Protection from the Regional Center for Animal Control in January.

She is a happy dog with floppy ears and a tail that sticks straight up when she runs. She also has no problem meeting strangers; she will gladly come right up and introduce herself.

Cora's ready to go to her new home, with all vaccines up to date, heartworm checked, spayed and microchipped.

Visit Cora and all her friends at the LAP, 603 Poor Farm Road, in Fincastle.