O the perks...

As you may or may not already know, I am Leo, the owner of the clothing line for dogs, 1+1=ONE. I am also the mommy of my precious baby, the love of my life, my gorgeous angel, little furbaby, our inspiration and top model, Miss Velma Kelly. Since I've had Velma, (since May 18th, 2006) she has not left my side for more than a couple hours at a time and has grown to be one of the most important things to me, both business-wise and personally. She meets clients with me, poses for our website (http://www.designsbyone.etsy.com/) , acts as my live model when we go meet shop owners (and possible consignment partners), cooperates during fit checks, and sports our newest items being released at the time (sometimes she gets them a season ahead!). However, it's not all work and no play for us; there are many perks to having her. I have a travel companion, someone to always make me smile, and a cute face with me at all times that draws TONS of positive attention. When we go to different cities, tourists ask to take pictures of her, when I meet new people, she acts as an ice breaker, and my absolute favorite, she puts BIG smiles on people's faces. I love walking down the street and giving a lonely old lady a reason to smile, I love walking into shops and seeing snobby, sour-faced women change dramatically, and I ADORE having little kids' faces light up and run over exclaiming "Can I pet your puppy?!". Some people ask me, "Why do you spoil her so much? She's just a dog!", but to me, she is so much more than that, and besides she deserves to be spoiled for all her hard work! I've met so many people, conversed with lovely strangers, and had some hilarious experiences all because of her. I once had a little girl come up to us and ask, "What's his name?". I replied, "HER name is Velma", and she asks "Can I pet her?", obviously I said, "Of course!". Then she said, "How old is she?"; my reply, "She's about five years old", her next question: "Does she like to play?", my answer, "Sometimes". Then the little girl stayed quiet, petting and smiling at Velma with an inquisitive (and perfectly adorable) expression on her face. She opens her mouth and exclaims "Is she a boy?". Priceless...