Hello, Pumpkin here!

You know that one of my pledges as Japanese Chin of the Year 2007 is to help homeless animals.  And one thing I have noticed is there are a lot of articles for people on how to introduce a dog to their home, but there are not a lot of articles for dogs on how to cope with a new home.  That doesn't make sense as the dogs are the ones who are the most confused in this process.  I know there are lots of dogs in shelters and foster homes who use the Internet (or else how would they post their profiles on Petfinder?) so this article is for them. 

Tips for Dogs on Entering a New Home
by Pumpkin, Japanese Chin of the Year 2007

Don't eat the kibble
You may feel hungry for a few days, but don't whatever you do eat the kibble they put out for you.  Eventually your new pawrents will become so desperate for you to eat they will break down and buy you canned food.  If you can learn how to bark "Evanagers" or point to it in the food aisle at the pet food store you won't regret it. 

Don't play with your toys
Your new pawrents will try to tempt you with a paltry assortment of toys.  Now being from the shelter, this may seem very exciting, but don't give in right away. Your new pawrents will be so desperate to make you happy they will seek out more exotic and exciting toys.  This will greatly enhance the size of your toy collection.  Show some slight interest in a squirrel, and suddenly you will have an entire zoo of realistic stuffies.  Paw gently at one treat ball, and you will have every treat-dispensing toy known to man.  Human children are jealous of the size of my collection.

Shit in your crate
This may sound gross but your new pawrents put you in your crate because they believe you will not make potty while inside.  If you make potty in your crate just one night, you will enjoy the comfort of the big bed the rest of your life and there will always be a nice stack of potty pads nearby.  Trust me, its worth the embarrassment!  There is no place on earth better than the big bed.

Don't eat the biscuits
This is the same idea as the kibble rule but even more important.  As a shelter dog you probably don't know that there are dog treats made from free-range chicken breast wrapped around a slice of dried kiwi, so you think eating a biscuit is fine.  Turn down the cheapo treats and eventually your pawrents will bring you delicacies you cannot even imagine. Trust me you haven't lived until you've tried kanagroo.

Its ok to wear clothes!
According to my calculations, I get 35.5% more attention when I am wearing clothes, so its worth the embarrassment.   Other dogs may look at you funny, but they are just playa hatin'.

If you follow these tips, soon you will be livin' the high life like me!



xoxo
Pumpkin

Murphy just posted a story about his little sisters puking I wanted to make them feel better and know that even supermodels like myself have a whoopsies from time to time.

This was after I ate a whole cup of Frosty Paws dog ice cream by myself.  That stuff is so tasty but too rich for my tummy!  That's the problem with being famous - the pawparazzi catch you at the most embarrassing times!  




From now on I'm sticking to hot dogs as my favorite summertime treat!

Hello, Pumpkin here!

Here I am riding the bus in my pink bag.  What?!  No limo?  Where are we going?



We went to the dog beach!



Mom made me wear a special coat called a life vest.  Mine is by Ruffwear.



As if I would ever go near the water.  I just got a bath at Krisers like 2 days ago.  I am going to work on my tan.  During the summer, my muzzle gets nice and dark - boys like that.



Oh look, I am not the only one wearing one of these jackets!



Mom says that its very smart of this Frenchie's mommy to make her wear a jacket, because Frenchies aren't good swimmers.  We learned about this from the Frog Princess.



On our way home, Mommy stopped to grab a HOT DOG and let me have the wiener-butt! 



When we got home, all I needed was a quick brushing.  "How on earth can a dog go to the beach and not need a bath afterwards?" Mommy wondered.  Well, that's life when you go to the beach with a Japanese Chin!

Great news everyone!  We finished in 98th place in the Lollapalooza contest and are headed to round 2.  Thanks to everyone who voted for us.

We played the 17th Street block party this weekend and Amber posted some awesome pics. Check out our new photos.

As of right now, The Catchelorettes are in 99th place in the Lollapalooza Last Band Standing contest.  We need to stay in the top 100 to move to the last round.

Today (Sunday) is the last day of voting.  Won't you help us by placing just one more vote to keep us in the contest?  Thanks for your support!

Vote for the Catchelorettes

Hello, Pumpkin here! 

This weekend was the Printer's Row Book Fair, where lots of authors come to sign their books and lots of bookstores sell their books in tents.  As you know I am a very intellectual dog and an author (of this blog) so I had to make an appearance.

Here I am meeting with other intellectual animal/authors, the Bearenstein Bears!  Then of course with us all being so famous, a reporter snapped our picture and we made the front page of the Tribune.  The only thing wrong is they left my name out of the headline. Its spelled P-U-M-P-K-I-N people!


 Oh and don't forget you can still vote for mommy's band to rock Lollapalooza, check out the Catchelorettes web site for more info.

Here's another fashion shot of yours truly in a special pink dress from Japan - isn't it pretty?  I think a Japanese Chin should own lots and lots of Japanese fashions, don't you think?

I've got even more new fashions to show off but I was so tired from going to the beach and to the cafe I wouldn't put up with any more costume changes that day.  So we'll keep posting more new fashion shots as mommy takes 'em.

Mom's been working her paws off lately adding new ceramic dog bowls to our online store.  I hope mine comes in soon.  I want to have a dog bowl with a picture of Japanese Chin on it so the cat knows which food is just for me!

xoxo
Pumpkin


PS: Don't forget to vote for mommy's band, The Catchelorettes, to play Lollapalooza.

Hey, Pumpkin here!  Just wanted to share some big news from the girls rock camp that mommy volunteers for.

First of all, one big way you can help out the camp is by volunteering your time during camp week July 28 - Aug 3.  So if you are a woman in the Chicago area with some time and talent to spare please check it out.

  Girls Rock! Chicago Volunteer Applications are Available


Another way you can support the camp is to stop by Bleeding Heart Bakery at 1955 W. Belmont in Chicago and buy a Girls Rock! Chicago cupcake.  During the month of June Bleeding Heart Bakery will donate $1 from the sale of each charity cupcake to the camp.



PS. Don't forget to vote for mommy's band to rock Lollapalooza!

xoxo
Pumpkin

Every girl needs a little black dress and for a long time I didn't have one.  But now I do thanks to Heidi and Haley! You can't tell in this dress but it is a lace knit - mom said its way too hard for her to make.

I think its very sexy.  Murphy - what do you think if I wear this on our first date?

xoxo
Pumpkin


PS: Don't forget to vote for mommy's band, The Catchelorettes, to play Lollapalooza.

So on Sunday afternoon I met up with my friends Heidi (person) and Haley (maltese) for an early dinner at a sidewalk cafe.  The rule of this cafe is you have to sit on your person's lap the whole time which I loved.  Mommy usually makes me lie on the ground. I got to really check out all the food that was going on, including egg yolks and chicken from mommy's salad.

Heidi and mommy traded clothes, some that were too small for me and some that were too big for Haley.  Boy did I make out - Heidi and Haley are real fashionistas.  Haley was wearing the cutest frog outfit that day, it was Japanese and you know cute Japanese stuff is!   As soon as we got home mommy took some pictures of my new outfits.  Here is the first photo of me in a new Juicy t-shirt.  It fit me perfectly! 

Stay tuned for more fashion shots the rest of the week!

xoxo
Pumpkin

PS: Don't forget to vote for mommy's band, The Catchelorettes, to play Lollapalooza.