July 30, 2013

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: What's It About?

When you tell people you're writing a book, they usually ask, "What's it about?" Sometimes when you are in the midst of it, it's hard to answer. "Well, it's about this woman, and there's this dog, and... stuff happens."

As I said last week when I shared the cover for Rescue Me, Maybe (coming in September!), my short answer to "What's it about?" is to say, "It's a love story... for dog lovers." But you need a longer blurb than that (for Amazon, for the back cover, for sharing with bloggers, etc.) so you have to distill your 100,000 words down to a few sentences. I know I'm supposed to be wordless today, but I wanted to share those few sentences with you, plus a few photos of Abby (since the book has a fictionalized version of her in it). It just wouldn't be a Pooch Smooches post without pup pics!

Our gorgeous angel:

July 28, 2013

Monday Mischief: My Puzzled Puppy

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A few weeks ago, Rita and I participated in an online auction hosted by Dachsies With Moxie to raise money for the animals affected by the recent tornado in Moore, OK. Rita and I had the winning bid on a fun treat and puzzle toy combo pack, which was supplied for the auction by Bailey, Hazel and Greta of Idaho Pug Ranch. Hooray! We like to win! And, best of all, about $900 was raised for the Moore, OK animals!

Our prize package included some Zuke's Mini Treats, which Rita loves, and a puzzle toy which Rita... is confused by.
Hooray for Zukes!

July 25, 2013

Keeping Up With K9 Kamp: Calories In, Calories Out

Remember when Rita and I were having fun with K9 Kamp last month, and we said the fun would continue with monthly challenges posted on You Did What With Your Wiener? (No, this isn't anything political about the NY mayoral race... that's a different Weiner. Seriously considered whether or not I should capitalize that last word...)

Anyway... Kamp Coach Jessica's mini challenge this month was to figure out if you're feeding your dog the right amount of food.

The basic idea was to calculate your dog's calories in and calories out and see, based on your dog's current weight (fine? A little pudgy? Too thin?) if you need to make some adjustments.
"Does this fur make my butt look big, Momma?"

Mirth Watch Thursday: Love It? Hate It? Indifferent?

What are we talking about here on Mirth Watch Thursday?? The vacuum! Most dogs I've known hate the vacuum. Rita is afraid of it and heads for the other room when it comes out. (So I don't even have any pics of her with it.)

Abby, on the other hand, feared nothing and would attack it:
"You don't scare me, you noisy creature! Prepare for battle!"

How about your pups? Are they like these cats, who mostly seem to be enjoying the vacuuming in one way or another (including some possibly kinky ways...)
(So cute - but what the heck is that first cat doing? And the last one... that woman is really just mopping with her cat...)

Or are they like this little guy that clearly wants to kill it? Makes it tough to keep the house clean! (And any excuse to not vacuum will do in my book!)

Or are you lucky enough to have a completely indifferent dog like this:

As much as Rita sheds, I'd love to get a roomba, but it would have her running scared all over the house! How does the vacuuming go at your house?

Sadly I need to get at the vacuuming, cuz 2 of my sisters are coming over tomorrow! "Look out, Rita... here we come!"

Happy Mirth Watch Thursday! 


July 23, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Cover Reveal for "Rescue Me, Maybe"!

Here it is - the cover for my new novel, which will be out in mid-September. I hope you like it!
Rescue Me, Maybe - due out in September!

July 21, 2013

Monday Mischief: We Do Have SOME Rules Here at The Spa

Things are pretty easy for spoiled pups who live here at our spa. They can get up on the sofa, sleep on the bed (although Rita mostly chooses not to), lick the plates before they go in the dishwasher (again, Rita doesn't always want to, because she's weird...), etc.

But we do have a few rules, and one of them is hard and fast: No sticks in the house!

Our last pup, Abby, (who was FULL of mischief) often flagrantly attempted to violate this rule:
"What, Momma?? I'm just practicing my Groucho Marx imitation."

July 18, 2013

Mirth Watch Thursday: A Quick Laugh for Today

This is gonna be a quick one, cuz I'm cranking on getting my next novel ready. I've been making myself nuts/blind trying to come up with a title and cover. But I finally have both! Maybe I'll do a cover reveal soon!

As I said before, the cover includes this gorgeous girl! (The dog - not me!)

July 16, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Sleepover Aftermath

Remember when I mentioned that Rita and Reggie were going to have a sleepover at Reggie's house? It was a success! (Hooray! Good news, since we trade dog-sitting for each other.)

It was a success... but that doesn't mean it wasn't a little nutty. It was reported to me by my sis that Rita was "good as gold," and Reggie was.... well, a little excited about the whole deal. My sis has no photos of the sleepover. Well, she does - but they're all blurry.

I have some of the next day when I went to pick up Rita.
"Please. I've had enough!"

July 14, 2013

Blog the Change for Animals: Well Done, San Diego!

It's Blog the Change for Animals time again!
Blog the Change
It kinda snuck up on me this time, and I wasn't sure what to write about - but then I remembered a big pet-related item in the news this week in San Diego: the City Council voted to ban retail store pet sales.

July 12, 2013

Follow-Up Friday: With Ribbons and More Woolly Ball News and...Other Silliness

It's Follow-Up Friday...
...and that means it's time to answer those burning questions (if it's burning - go see a doctor!) and follow-up on the news!

Back to the Fair - One Last Time...
My sis and I had to go pick up our winning felting displays at the fairgrounds the day after the fair ended, which means we got to pick up our big ol' ribbon (plus a certificate and a little gift of a pin with the fair's "game on" logo. Oh boy.) We are still waiting for our checks!

I brought the ribbon home and made it into a hair-bow, which I've been wearing ever since.
 Okay, I kid! (But it would work that way, right??)

July 11, 2013

Mirth Watch Thursday: Educating Rita

I know I mostly only post about how cute and sweet Rita is (and how she hardly ever gets into any mischief, leaving me scrambling for ideas for Monday Mischief posts) but she does have some ... issues. Because of her issues, we started working with a trainer.
95% of the time, a very happy girl & a good walker

July 9, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Cookie Break. Or Not.

There's a house on one of our favorite walking routes that leaves out a bowl of water and a container of cookies for the pups. We usually stop with Rita to enjoy a cookie on our way home.
"This is my favorite walk route, Momma!"

July 7, 2013

The Worst (or Best??) Kinda Mischief...Puppy Mischief!

Today, we have a guest blogger! Since Reggie's always such a hit - and some even suggested we should highlight him every day (a suggestion which made Rita sulk for a while...) - well, we decided you should see more than just his unbelievably cute side. So, my sis is taking over today to reveal some Reggie-mischief! Take it away, Terry...

Happy Monday! Just stopping by Pooch Smooches as guest blogger. I am Jackie’s sister, Terry, and the lucky woman who owns and loves Reginald H. Dickenson, a.k.a. Reggie. I am just tickled that so many of you seem to appreciate the little devil. Because at times he can be a devil, and because Rita is almost always an angel, we are taking over Monday Mischief this week.

Rita has been so great teaching Reggie the joys of play dates. She’s got just the right blend of sweet and tough. He loves her! She does me the kind favor of leaving behind one of my favorite things – a totally exhausted pup. After their last session, this is how they settled in on our front porch. Cute, eh? (Please note Reggie’s ears standing up so nicely.  We will re-visit that later in this post.)

July 2, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: On a Walk in Bird Rock

As I mentioned during K9 Kamp, we do a lot of walking. And we don't usually get bored, because we have lots of different, nice routes we can take. One of our favorite walks is to head down to a little neighborhood known as "Bird Rock." It's called this cuz there's a rock. And birds sit (and do other stuff that rhymes with sit) on it. [Sorry this is wordy - you don't have to read it. You can just look at the pics!]
Rita in front of Bird Rock - with no birds on it at the moment