Our First Ultimate Doggy Egg Hunt was a Success!

This past SSaturday (April 19, 2025) I hosted our first ever Ultimate Egg Hunt. Egg hunts are something I have done with my chihuahua Peach since her second Easter! She always loves this game and is very good at cracking her eggs open and getting her delicious reward. Eggs would be laid in both simple to find and more difficult spots. Seeing how much she loves this tradition inspired me to spread the joy with all the other dogs!

I could NOT have done this without my lovely, dog loving volunteers! Shout outs to Larissa, Heidi, Palesa and Kelsey for their amazing work and helping this event run so smoothly!

We hid the eggs both upstairs and downstairs in my home, I couldn’t have the outdoor hunt due to rain sadly! We split the dogs into two groups - the higher energy and the more relaxed. The smaller dogs had a great time finding the eggs, on all levels of difficulty! Some dogs had trouble opening the eggs and would bring them over to us with their sad eyes for us to open, we would help them out and they were right back to hunting! Even the most difficult eggs I laid were found thanks to these dogs wonderful sniffers. Even the more shy dogs enjoyed their time, sometimes requiring our help to get their first egg in order to understand. Once a dog got it - they jumped right in! In the basement I set up the ball pit and we threw some eggs full of delicious enticement into the pit, that had the dogs going wild!!! All the pups had so much fun and loved the opportunity to spend time with their friends and get treated! After egg hunting began the photo booth which went splendidly and we got to see some of the most adorable smiles!

This was our biggest even so far and went super smoothly, I’m hoping for more success in the future and for the pups to have more wonderful days like these! They all returned home very tired and with full bellies!

Archie won best smile!

This is only SOME of our wonderful guests! Daisy, Ozzy, Joline, Thor, Midge, Ginger, Odin and Jack!

All for the dogs

It all began in my tiny one bedroom Sunalta apartment. My flower couch really saw it all. The quick wear I saw attack the couch I had wanted so badly did not make me sad at all, because every rip told a story from a different dog. And that might sound bad, like I was letting a bunch of unruly dogs terrorise my apartment - and I mean, sometimes when I was tired and inexperienced maybe that was the case - but overall it was majority silly accidents from these adorable dogs I had grown to love so dearly.

The early days of the BRIgade were filled with some icons - I started thinking maybe I would get maybe 1-2 clients and have a dog occasionally to keep my pup, Peach, company. Fortunately though, things very quickly were boomings due to my prime location and awesome reviews! My dog limit at the time was not as high due to my small location, but there were so many beautiful friendships formed by the dogs I had regularly - the form of socialisation they got was so special and very rarely did we have any problems at all.

Some icons of my icons (dogs who taught me great lessons):

Ozzy | Goldendoodle

Ozzy was my first regular client. He came are as a little pup at the beginning and immediately stole my heart! He quickly became the glue that held all of the dogs together - a true friend to all! We always got a good laugh hanging out with him and seeing his expressions. He has always been a very clever boy, I loved walking him past tennis courts because he loved to sit there and watch the ball fly around the court. One time a man was cleaning up the court and tossed a few balls over to him and the other dogs I was walking and he was in heaven! He carried the ball all the way back home like a good boy trophy. He grew up to be a great dog, I’m always shaking with excitement when I know I’ll get to see him!!

Koda | Samoyed

The fluffiest guy I’ve ever met, he is literally a walking cloud.. or sweet marshmallow? However you see him! He is the most well behaved dog I’ve ever known, he altered my entire brain chemistry with his brilliance. It’s never a bad day when Koda is boarding, he will always find someway to entertain both animals and people around him. He has an endless fountain of kisses to give but he is very polite not to be overbearing. I always felt like a celebrity taking him on walks, even though he was definitely the glamorous one! He had the warmest smile he gave to all passer-bys and he loved saying hello! Walking on leash he is clearly always a good and happy boy. Even off leash he is a wonder like you wouldn’t believe. I was sad to learn recently the Koda moved away from the city, but I hold faith that one day I will be reunited with the beautiful boy who I was so lucky to spend many nights snuggling!

Jack |.Bernedoodle

Another very very good boy, one of the most excellent boys. Jack lives to please and will always leave you with a smile and a great impression. Jack loves attention but knows how to take his space. He is obsessed with cats in a way I’ve never seen. His tail is like a motor whenever they’re in his presence. Being the gentle boy he is, however, he knows to give his cat friends space and is always lets them choose to get closer. I think the best day of his life may have been the first time one of my cats let him give him a kiss, he came running over to me such happiness. He is one of the most gentle souls in the world and always will be remembered by us. We still see Jack very often, which is always such a privilege!

Frankie | American Bulldog

I love bullies, I know they can have a bad reputation but Frankie is one of the beauties who helped me see the beautiful personality hidden behind their tough exterior. Frankie LOVES to play, she is so excellent with all other dogs and always got so excited to see her regular daycare friends. Sometimes she could be a stubborn girl, but having her bestest friend Ozzy around always helped her give me a second listen. She would do anything for salmon treats and is one of the fastest runners I’ve ever seen. She is very gentle in play and can’t deny a good wrestling match. It was so great having her over so often, I miss her a lot. I hope that she will come back soon and show us some of that puppy love again!

Ozzy and Frankie were always goofing around together.

Duchess | Rough Collie

In all honesty, I think she was the first pure rough collie I ever met, she left she in amazement. Duchess was a pampered queen and loved to be treated as such - this may make her sound pretentious to some but you’re wrong! Every brush and special snack was rewarded with her head on your lap and some majestical snuggles. She brought so much light to the home, whenever she was over we would all wake up feeling the love! I can’t wait to see you again Duchess, you’re such a wonder. Please tell your pawrents to go on vacation again soon!! I will brush you literally all day if it’s what you want, Miss Beauty Queen!!!

Cocoa | Belgian Malinois x Staffordshire Terrier

This is a big hunk of love right here! Cocoa was a beautiful, loving and patient senior dog I had the privilege of looking after a few times. Cocoa always had so much love and smiles to spread around. She was a special case, trained to be a guard dog in Belgian she was taught not to interact with other dogs (negatively or positively), she met my chihuahua and was kind so I took her on. With every stay I saw Cocoa become more social, more interactive, and especially more accepting. She began to love greeting her new friends, running alongside other dogs at the park, and finding all the biggest toys or sticks she could to parade around. We miss you, wish we could spend more time with you sweet babs.

All of the dogs who come through are special and very loved, but some definitely steal our hearts in a way that is unexplainable. Meeting new dogs is always so much fun and I can’t wait for more to steal my heart!