My puppy, ’tis of thee

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In honor of the 4th of July, this week’s No Frown Friday has a patriotic theme.  Here are a few things to get your tail wagging into this red, white & blue weekend:

  1. We’ll begin with patriotic punny pet names, of course: Benji-man Franklin, Thomas Snifferson, James Meowdison, Paw Revere and George Washingbone.  (Another of my favorite patriotic pet names comes courtesy of How I Met Your Mother – Tabigail Adams.)
  2. What better way to start the holiday weekend than looking at pictures of cute pets celebrating Independence Day?  Check out the 2010 winners of Martha Stewart’s Patriotic Pet Contest.  (Bonus patriotic pets available here.)
  3. I’m not sure how this next item relates to the upcoming holiday, but who cares?  I am loving this new (albeit inexplicable) trend – lobster dogs!
  4. Although many dog breeds originated elsewhere, did you know that there are some that are truly all-American?  For info on some of these home-grown pooches (and a few kitties), check out this link.  (There’s a more comprehensive list on this site as well.)
  5. The list of all-American breeds includes my beloved Toy Fox Terrier.  In honor of my own childhood best friend, Scotti, I present to you the best terrier tribute out there:

(From the fantastic Best in Show)

Although the song is technically about the Norwich Terrier, I think it works as a tribute to all terriers… when singing along, just substitute the name of your own preferred terrier pal.

That’s all for this week… I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

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She’s not ugly, she’s my puppy

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It’s time once again for the World’s Ugliest Dog contest.  A new winner has been crowned.  Drumroll, please…

Princess Abby the chihuahua!  Here is her crowning moment:

Princess Abby looks like such a sweetie.  Though honestly, she’s nowhere near as ugly as the dearly departed Sam, arguably the most famous winner ever. (I once met another past winner, Elwood, at a pet expo.  He was an absolute sweetie.  His tongue reminded me of Kandi, the chihuahua that lived with us when I was a kid.  We used to joke that her spring was broken, which is why her tongue stuck out all of the time.)

Although we all love talking about how cute our pooches are, clearly looks aren’t everything.  These “ugly dogs” are pretty beautiful at heart.  Many of the dogs that enter the ugly dog contest were lucky that someone adopted them – it’s not easy to find a home when you’re next to the traditionally and perpetually adorable.  So next time you are considering adding a furry friend to your family, remember that all pups need love, especially the ugly ones.

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Supplemental Saturday

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Technically, my Friday was yesterday because I will not be heading into the office today.  Whenever those wonderfully short work weeks arise, I tend to refer to the pre-weekend Thursday as my Functional Friday.  Until today, I’d never considered what to call actual Friday under these circumstances.  After a few attempts (Second Friday and First Saturday are in the reject pile), I’ve decided to go with Supplemental Saturday.  Never fear, your No Frown Friday is still being delivered as scheduled:

  1. It’s Take Your Dog to Work Day.  Thus, today’s punny pet name is office-related:  Bill Lumbfurg.  Better make sure you use the right cover sheet on your TPS reports.
  2. If you start taking your dog to work, then does your dog start to accrue vacation time?  If so, then I guess you better plan to take your pup with you on vacation.  I’m sure he’d appreciate visiting one of these dog-friendly beaches.
  3. If it only takes a few of the sun’s rays to send you on a one-way trip to sunburn city, I do have other suggestions.  Check out a winery with your dog – some wineries actually encourage you to bring your real hound in addition to your inner booze hound.  In addition, some wineries take their love of dog to the next level – for example, Chateau Morrisette, a winery in Virginia, has an entire line of wines called Dogs 4 a Cause.  (Apparently, Virginia is for dog lovers.)

 

Need me to do any work?

(Dug out of the Bella archives just for TYDTWDay)

Finally, I do feel a little bad for only giving you one punny pet name this week.  Luckily, it was apparently a punny week out there on the Interwebs… so if I didn’t meet your pun quotient this week, I urge you to check out these canine literary luminaries. (My personal favorite?  Kurt Vonnemutt.)  The puns don’t stop there – not all of these unusual pet names are puns, but I think Bing Clawsby deserves a mention.  Have a puptastic weekend!

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Working like… a human?

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This Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day!  Will your pup be digging out his best business casual attire and accompanying you to the office on Friday?  (Some dogs have taken full advantage of this opportunity in the past – check out the photographic evidence here.)  If you are interested in participating, I urge you to check out the TYDTWDay website to learn more about how you and your company can help shelter dogs by participating.

As you may already know, Ms. Bella is not really… portable.  Her tendency to get carsick from the gentle sway of the breeze outside means that she will not be hopping in the car to join us on our daily commute.  However, I like to think that we take her to work on those days when one of us works from home.  After all, when I work from home she tends to hang out under the desk in case her assistance is needed.

If you do decide to take your furry friend to the office with you, I recommend checking out this list of tips on how to make the day a success for you, your pup, and your colleagues.  Before your puppy punches his first time card, it’s important to be prepared.

Still not sure?  The video below provides some adorable and funny reasons you should consider participating:

(via TYDTWDay)

If your pup gets his W-2 this Friday, consider entering your photo in the TYDTWDay photo contest.  Also, if you do participate, feel free to tell us all about it in the comments… stories and pictures are always welcome!

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Happy Father’s Day!

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A few quick links for Father’s Day:

  • Has your pet been asking you what to get their person for Father’s Day?
    Here are some guidelines for your furry friend – Bella has already taken care of the first item on this list. She woke me up today instead of making her way to the other side of the bed.
  • If you’re missing your dad today, I’m sending you a big hug.  I was touched by these two sweet Father’s Day tributes, both with an animal connection.
  • Looking for a unique Father’s Day gift?  Here are a few gift ideas that also help our furry (or feathered) friends.  (I realize it might be a bit late for gift ideas for this Father’s Day… but you could always bookmark these ideas for a future gift for dear ol’ dad.)
  • Is your dad a pet lover?  For a unique gift, you could commission a portrait of his beloved companion.  Might I recommend JoeyTheDog Artworks?  (Also, sending a congrats to JoeyTheDog – the awesome portrait of my very own Bella made PetSugar’s home page today!)
  • I think a bit of humor is the perfect way to conclude this list – these Father’s Day cake wrecks are sure to provide a chuckle.

In closing, I’d like to send happy Father’s Day wishes to my own wonderful dad.  His grandpuppy would like to join in, and has requested I post this photo in his honor:

That’s Bella, wearing Dad’s trademark hat.  She wants to be just like you!  (Apologies for the green eye – my attempts at photo editing were unsuccessful.)

Happy Father’s Day!

 

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Peas and carrots

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It’s time for another No Frown Friday!  To paraphrase Forrest Gump, this week we’re talking about animals that go together like peas and carrots…

  1. This week’s punny pet names would be perfect for your very own feline-canine odd couple:  Felix Ungrrrr and Oscar Meowdison.
  2. Speaking of odd couples, I enjoyed this slideshow of unlikely animal friendships.  Some of these stories are familiar.  Others are new.  All are sweet.  My personal favorite is the tale of Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog (not my Bella, but I do enjoy the coincidence).  These two friends have even inspired a children’s book (link via Pet Project).
  3. Sometimes animals take the odd friendship to the next level – forming an odd animal family.  I got a little misty reading this sweet tale of a chihuahua who adopted nine kittens.  (The mama dog’s name is Buttercup… double coincidence alert!  That was the name of my first kitty.)
  4. It seems that animal odd couples are everywhere – here are more photos for you to check out.  It’s always good to have extra cute on hand, after all.  The face on this pup alone will keep my cute-o-meter full for days.

In closing, I leave you with the following video… it’s the story of a dog-cat odd couple set to a rockin’ soundtrack:

(Another video of this pair can be found here.)

Who says only birds of a feather stick together?  These odd couples have the right idea – it’s what’s on the inside that counts.  Have a great weekend, darlings!
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It’s an ad ad ad ad world

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Have you ever wondered about the Michelin Man’s real name?  Or if Mr. Clean has a first name?  If the mystery of Comic Book Guy’s real name has been keeping you up at night, say farewell to insomnia.  This article on CNN is for you – it reveals the real names of several fictional characters.  Both interesting and useful, in my opinion.  I always like to keep my brain cells filled with bits of random trivia – after all, you never know when a spontaneous game of Trivial Pursuit will occur.

Stick with me here… it’s tangent time.  The aforementioned article reveals that even the Pillsbury Dougboy has a real name: Poppin’ Fresh.  This news is not new to me… I learned it around the time I heard that the Geico cavemen were getting a sitcom.  If starring in a sitcom is so easy that a caveman could do it (though history would prove that it was, in fact, not that easy), then couldn’t other advertising luminaries make the move as well?  From this simple question, the following imaginary TV shows were born.  (Around that time I created an anonymous blog, posted a few times, and promptly forgot about it… however, I’ve resurrected these ideas from that failed attempt just for you.)

  • Pop ‘n’ Fresh – The Pillsbury Doughboy (“PD” for short), fresh out of culinary school, gets a job at a local bakery.  The pay is low, so he finds a room to rent on craigslist.  His roommate?  None other than the cantankerous Michelin Man (and fan favorite, the Michelin Dog), who works as a bouncer at the local pub.  Wackiness ensues, as the series takes a page from How I Met Your Mother and tells the story of how a young PD met his wife, one Mrs. Poppie Fresh.  I picture this on CBS, maybe on Monday nights.  The series will officially jump the shark when the Fresh family’s two children are added to the cast.
  • Yo Quiero a Comeback – This one is a faux-reality show inspired by HBO’s The Comeback.  Once everyone’s favorite spokesdog (with all apologies to Spuds McKenzie and Suds McDuff), chihuahua Gidget has been unable to find further success in Hollywood.   Although the Taco Bell campaign launched her career, it’s now holding her back.  Aside from a few Geico commercials and a brief appearance in Legally Blonde 2, she’s been unable to find work.  Her mentor, Moose (Eddie of Frasier fame), passed away a few years ago, and no one has stepped in to fill the void.  No directors are willing to take a chance on her, but then the reality show producuers come knocking… Expect Entourage-style cameos from other famous canines.  Definitely a single-camera show, perhaps best suited to NBC’s Thursday night lineup.
  • Rabbit’s Run – Years of species-based discrimination have pushed the Trix Rabbit too far.  He’s been buying Trix on the black market for years, which has resulted in a dangerous sugar addiction.  The Rabbit has dreams of moving up the ladder from sugar junkie to power player in the sugary underworld.  (Mmmm… sugary underworld.)  Tag line:  “Be careful who you call a silly rabbit.”  Perfect for Fox, no?

TV execs out there (of which I’m sure so many read this blog), you’re welcome.  If one of these shows ever appears on the air, I better get a cut of the profits.

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Bella’s back… tell a friend

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This week’s No Frown Friday is brought to you without commercial interruption by Bella.  Bella: your number one source for cute since 2002.

Moving on:

  1. Today’s punny pet names were inspired by some of the nominees (and one honoree) for this year’s Tony Awards:  Jude Paw, Sean Jayes (for your feathered friend who seems like he’d make a good awards show host), Catherine Zeta-Bones, and David Rawhide Pierce.
  2. Will you be watching the Tony Awards on Sunday?  (As both an awards show addict and a theater fan, I can’t wait.)  If you’re not up on the theater scene, the Washington Post has come up with five reasons you should watch the Tony Awards anyway.  If you’re a Glee fan, you should know that Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison (who were Broadway vets before they became our very own Rachel and Mr. Schue) will be performing on Sunday’s telecast.
  3. Speaking of Glee, the season finale aired on Tuesday.  I have to say, I loved it – it was funny, touching, and hit all of the right notes.  (Pun actually not intended.)  Anyway, if you’re not quite ready to say goodbye for the summer, TWOP has put together a list of the best musical moments from the first season.  While I agree with the moments that made the list, there are a few others that I loved.  (Expect those moments to appear on this blog in the near future.)
  4. Okay, that’s enough about how I love shows that allow me to pretend it is totally acceptable to break into song at any given moment.  Let’s shift our focus… it’s time for some cute!  These photos from the Dachshund U.N. illustrate what it would be like if walking hot dogs ran the world.  I have a feeling that calling them “wiener dogs” would be a punishable offense.  Show some respect.  (Link courtesy of my favorite globe-trotting librarian.  Thanks for the tip!)

Finally, Bella informed me that she’s a bit disappointed in her lack of face time on this blog lately.  I’ve promised to remedy that problem, starting now:

Bella also wanted me to tell you to have a great weekend.  She’s thoughtful like that.

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Rocks of love

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Before you get all excited about (or disgusted by… to each his own) the title of this post, I must tell you that it has nothing to do with Bret Michaels. (Although I do hope our nation’s reigning Celebrity Apprentice is on the mend after his recent health scare.)  Further, this post does not involve groupies searching for love on a bus, or whatever it is that happens on VH1 these days.

This post is, however, about love.  And rocks.  Moon rocks, to be specific.  Seriously, watch the animated short below – if you aren’t at least a little moved by this love story, you may want to book a trip to Whoville and accompany the Grinch on his next Christmas raid.  I hope that your heart will also grow three sizes that day.  With that in mind, if you generally tend to tear up more than Michael Landon during a sweeps week episode of Little House on the Prairie (thanks, Sue Sylvester), you may want to have tissues on hand.

I’d suggest watching with the sound on… the soundtrack is groovy.

(via Best Week Ever)

You okay out there?  If not, the support group will be meeting in the comments.

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