Rhyming w/ Rufus

Rufus, the lead character in my series of lullaby books for dogs, has his very own blog at www.rufusrhymes.com. There, every Wednesday he posts a topic and starts out the rhyming with his own witty little rhyme. Last week, his rhyme was about Animal Planet and went a little something like this...

I love to watch me some Animal Planet
Everything seems so real
But when I forget it's only TV
It takes my nose a day to heal



His rhyming ways must have seeped into my Facebook friends too, because I got this great comment from my friend DeEtte Starr in Silicon Valley, California after she received her copy of Rufus Rhymes.

(to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle)
I just got my book today
Read it through and just must say
Love it dearly,
Yes I do.
Looking forward to Book 2.
Forward grabbed my heart away
Rufus lives on to this day.

The Latest

I thought I'd take a moment to do a sort of week end wrap-up for all those interested parties.

The first part of this week was spent in Flagstaff, Arizona with my girls (my wife Buff and our two girls Loganberry and Emma). The weather was great and the house we stayed at had a great porch for Emma, who LOVES the outdoors, to lay on almost 24/7. We did a lot of hiking, which our whole family really enjoys and took some much needed R&R time.

Now, though, it's back to reality and there's some really great things happening in the world that I want to share with everyone.

First, Rachael Ray is doing a REALLY GREAT thing. She's donating about $200,000 to shelters from the sale of her Nutrish(TM) dog food. Animal welfare organizations can sign up to be a part of a bracket-style contest, and potentially win the $50,000 grand prize, while collecting $1,000 at each tier of the contest. The program is called Mutt Madness, and you can read about/enter by visiting http://blog.rachaelray.com/index.php/2009/08/06/announcing-mutt-madness-a-rewards-program-for-animal-activists/.

Secondly, North Carolina just did a REALLY GREAT thing. According to the article posted by ohmidog! the state just passed a bill that "calls upon the Department of Agriculture to establish basic humane care standards. It requires facilities with more than 10 female dogs and more than 30 puppies to register with the state, undergo yearly inspections and provide proper veterinary care." To learn more about it, visit: http://www.ohmidog.com/2009/08/07/nc-senate-passes-puppy-mill-bill/

Third, I just found out that I have a couple of RV-loving "buddies" at RV Buddies Online. The team is a few people rolling around the country talking RVs in their original on-line series. And, they must be good people because they support Prize, Not Fighter - my partnership with The HSUS to stop dog fighting and make sure that everyone knows dogs are to be prized, not fought. They're also a-okay in my book, because they are accompanied by a couple of dogs, Tobias and Alexander P. Bull (Tobias just passed away about a month ago and my thoughts are with his family). To check out the whole crew and a moving tribute to Tobias, visit: http://www.rvbuddiesonline.com/buddies/.

And lastly, I can't let Rachael Ray and North Carolina show me up! So, I'm giving away a Rufus Rhymes book, set of note cards, and a SIGNED LIMITED EDITION print to one lucky Facebook friend. So go join, befriend me, and I'll tell you how to win!