Some Sad News...

Sorry, it's been awhile since I posted but I have been busy being a big brother to Leroy the Yorkie. We have bonded in the last few days (and I don't mean when I excitedly hump him). He is my little compadre now. Well onto the news...

Very sad, um yes very sad indeed. Sybil the cat, who moved into Downing Street shortly after Prime Minister Gordon Brown took office two years ago, has died after a short illness.

The black and white feline, named after Basil Fawlty's wife in the hit 1970s comedy Fawlty Towers, was brought to London by Alistair Darling after he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Brown's government in June 2007. Sybil died earlier this week at the home of a family friend, a Downing Street spokesman said.

It's always a national tragedy when the nation's first pet dies. However in her short life, Sybil lived large. Darling's official residence is number 11, next door to Brown's 10 Downing Street home, but a spokesman for the incoming premier admitted in 2007 that the cat would have the run of both houses.

"It's quite difficult to confine cats, so, yes. The prime minister doesn't have a problem with it. (The prime minister's wife) Sarah Brown doesn't have a problem with it," he said at the time.

Well, here's hoping Sybil is chasing that big mouse in the sky. RIP.

Chow for now!

Introducing Solia Beatrice Gipe

Awwww!

There's a new little angel in town and her name is Solia Beatrice Gipe. She is Leroy's little human sister and she is ADORABLE!!

Little Solia is almost a week old and she came to this earth through a tough, long, painful labor in which her mommy's gallbladder decided to act up (I think Solia may have kicked it during labor-ALERT, future soccer player of America!).

Solia has her parent's good looks and even more important, their gentle temperament. I am looking forward to Solia cooing over me when she gets older as mommy and me are hoping for babysitting duty (you know, for "date night"). Now that Leroy and I are like brother's I am thinking that makes me Solia's step-dog brother??

Anyway here are some shots of the "Familia LaChapgipe".

Ian trying to burp "old school".


Ian burping Solia "new school" with the theory that if her spine is straight the burp will flow quickly through her body (with a tiny bit of rattling). I think it's working, I see a burp bubble forming in her mouth.


Wow! Look at those cabbage filled knockers!! Yousa! We need to put pictures of missing children on "the girls"!


Chow for now!

Okay, 1,2,3, All Together Now...Awwww

Today's story comes from The Daily Mirror, although a tabloid, sometimes they do bring a tear to the eye.

Collies usually round up sheep not each other... but as the eyes of her blind canine companion, little Bonnie steers Clyde away from trouble.

The five-year-old long-haired border collie, who has lost his sight because of a degenerative disease, relies entirely on Bonnie as his guide dog. He follows her everywhere.

And like the American gangster lovers they have been named after, the friendly dogs are on the lookout for a safe, new hideaway.

They were recently dumped in the street during a storm and are currently being cared for at Meadow Green Dog Rescue Centre in Hales Green, near Loddon in Norfolk.

The centre's Cherie Cootes said: "If Clyde's unsure where he is, he will suddenly go behind Bonnie and put his face on the back of her so she can guide him. He totally relies on her.

"And when she walks she tends to stop and make sure he's there - she does look out for him. When she's about you wouldn't notice he is blind, but when she's not about he refuses to move. There's no option of homing them separately. They've got to go as a pair."

A driver found the dogs running through Blundeston, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, during a storm three weeks ago. Neither Clyde nor Bonnie - a short-haired border collie aged two or three - had identifying collars or chips.

Cherie, 40, added: "They've got very nice manners and they walk well on the lead.

"They really are a very sweet pair of dogs."

Okay now! AAAWWWWW! This story makes my 1 1/2" diameter of a heart beat hard. I love a good doggie love story. Uncle Adrian I smell a screenplay here. Jump on it!! Maybe I can play Clyde and Leroy can play Bonnie?

Oh well! The end to another fascinating week here at the PPP. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Chow for now!

And Then There Were Three...

Look to the side...
My mommy's friends Marielise and Ian had a beautiful baby girl, Solia Beatrice Gipe, this week so my mommy said it would be okay to take care of their Yorkie Leroy for a few days while they gel as a nuevo familia.

So now I have Judge the French Bulldog and Leroy the Yorkie living with me. It's a regular three-ring circus here at The Powder Puffington Post.

Look straight ahead...

We are all actually getting along. My mom can't believe how messy the house is as every 15 minutes someone is using the wee-wee pad. She says she will never invite anyone to the house again. We just saw a product on TV called the "Potty Patch" which is synthetic grass that dogs like to go on and at the end of the day you just pour out the pee-pee. Hey sounds like it will save hundreds on wee-wee pads and the environment.

Now down, look down...

Any how, it's been interesting to see all of us try to prove who is top banana here. I know one day I will be the master of my domain again.

Okay, I'm having fun, I will admit it. I have some friends, I am not alone and it's summer in New York.

Chow for now!

Welcome to the Taco Bell in the Sky!

It's our 175th post and we at the PPP are very happy and grateful for this milestone. However we have very sad news to relate to you today. Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign, died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15.

"She made so many people happy," says Gidget's trainer, Sue Chipperton. Even at 15 Gidget was a consummate pro and delighted the crew with her playful nature. The mostly retired actor lived out her days laying in the sun – "I like to joke that it's like looking after a plant," says Chipperton – and entertaining at shoots when her trainer brought her along. "Gidget," says Chipperton, "always knew where the camera was."

"When she's on a set, she comes alive," Chipperton said at the time. But when the mostly retired canine actor wasn't joining her trainer on shoots, the 15-year-old was happy to just kick back. "She goes on hikes with me and she loves the sun," said Chipperton, who added that Gidget was happy to sleep "for 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. She'll lay outside when it's 105 degrees!

In addition to her gig as spokesdog for Taco Bell, Gidget appeared in a commercial for the '90s edition of Trivial Pursuit and played Bruiser's mom in Legally Blonde 2 (Moonie, the dog who played Bruiser, was her best friend and sometime roommate at Chipperton's house).

Other than a few other small cameos, Gidget's working life didn't continue much beyond her Taco Bell legacy. But she left quite an impression. "One time, I kid you not, she actually pushed her stand-in out of the way because he was still there when she arrived on set," Chipperton recalled with a laugh.

Me loves a ham! Adios Gidget, adios!

Chow for now!

We're Jammin'!

This is a rarity. Actually this is a first. The first time I did two posts in one day, so let's pretend the post I did this morning was a VERY late post from yesterday. I just wanted to share my day as I went with mommy and Dag to Central Park Summerstage to hear Alpha Blondie, the rasta group from the Ivory Coast. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor concert.

My mom finally got the plastic tag off my pup tent and I really did like having a little home of my own that made me feel safe in the middle of the park. However I did not appreciate it when mom put me in the tent and zippered it up like a jail cell whenever I did something naughty like chase the really big dog breed called "horses".


Here is Dagomatic!! One of mom's oldest friends and a photographer for Natalie Rivera Jewelry.


You can't see but across the way Summerstage was happening. The line was too long so we sat across the way and listened to the music. It was my first Rastafarian concert. Had it been a few days before I would have had white rasta hair. Now I look like a clean cut Princess dog.


Heeerrreee's Rick! As hilarious as always!!


Photographic evidence that I pee like a racehorse (and I mean my position, not that I always am going to the bathroom). Q-Ball raised one leg, I crouch.


Me tasting some of mom's snowcone. We tried and tried but there was NO flavor at all in the entire $3 snowcone. Should have gone for the Creamcicle.


Well, here's hoping I get to go to more concerts in the park to increase my exposure to different music genres. We are hoping to get to the beach one day this week so I can run in the sand and mom can float in the ocean as we are just itching for it.

Chow for now!

I've Got The Look!

Well a summer time puppy cut look without floppy ear look!

Here is how I look with my new haircut. Everyone now thinks I look like a little puppy so there are twice the amount of little girl groupies stopping me on the street for a little cuddle.

Well I am more comfortable now and I can actually feel the breeze now on my skin.

Now it's time for you to tell me, "How Do I Look?"

My mom's friend Marielise is in labor now so we are going to host her little dog Leroy the Yorkie for a week so it should be really interesting here with three male dogs trying to declare themselves Alpha Dog. Speaking of which...

Have a great weekend, we are headed to Summerstage in Central Park to listen to rasta band Alpha Blondie. Ay man!

Chow for now!

A Day In The Life Of PP

I was wondering what to write today for the PPP and then I thought, "Why don't I write about myself and show my readers how I spend my day?" Brilliant huh!

Well here is a photo journal of my day.

It starts with me waking up. As you see I inherited my mommy's allergy to waking up early and not being a natural beauty.


Then I eat some breakfast. I have it fast before Judge comes and tries to bully me out of my meal. He likes my Little Cesar's more than his organic Stella and Chewy beef patties. I used to eat that and I understand why Judge likes my food better.


Then we walk to Central Park and I look for lovers in the midst of a picnic who won't se me borrow their food. This Japanese couple had no food with them. It was a wash!


I sit with my mom but it gets too hot even with the water.


She brought my little pop-up tent but we couldn't open the packaging. This is what it would have looked like if we could use it.


Made in the shade.


I hunted birds. Don't worry, it was catch and release (without a head, he-he, just kidding).


My mumsy and me.


Walking back home with my Kate Spade leash. I am in the Upper East Side after all.


Thinking of an idea for the PPP, by golly I think I have an idea!


Working on the PPP! Deadline is looming upon me, waiting for the proof's and Uncle Adrian's editorial comments (which are always the same, "Spelling PP, check your spelling!")


Racing home after the evening walk. I beat mommy upstairs. Last week I went to the six floor as a joke and she dangled me over the roof as she thought making her race after me to the top of our building was not too funny.


Sleeping in the nude! Goodnight all. That's my charmed life. Stay tune for tomorrow as I go to the groomers and will not look like a dust mop anymore.


Chow for now!

Umm, I Wonder If They Fly To London?

Since I was a little puppy my mother took Q-Ball and I on airplanes cross country to visit the familia in California and friends down south. Q-Ball and I actually have flown more than most people on this earth (but not as much as Puff Daddy's Maltese). Because we are small dogs we can fly underneath the seat in most airlines. So we have flown American Airlines, Continental and Jet Blue (um, I think I am black listed from Jet Blue for an certain incident involving me having a little tummy ache during the flight and EXPLODING all over my bag, mom and her chair - okay PP go to your happy place...).

Well this isn't an option for larger pets, especially large dogs. They usually are treated like baggage and have to fly in the cargo area which would be sooo traumatic for me. I would need to see a doggie therapist AND doggie psychic if my mom ever had me fly that way. Many animals have died from either being too cold or too hot in the cargo area. My mom's stepsister flew her dog across country and he was left on the tarmac during a rainstorm. He soon after developed a terrible cold and died. She was devastated! That was my step-cousin dog I think.

Lately my mom has become on Facebook a fan of Pet Airways. This is an airline that has the entire cabin as kennels (almost a little jealous as that sounds much better than being stuffed under a seat in the small space like a handbag). According to Pet Airways, "pets aren't packages, they're 'pawsengers.'" Great tagline! So pets are treated with the same safety and protocol as human passengers. Now we pets get the same opportunities that humans do like; being ignored by the flight attendant, no food on the flight, drool from the kennel above landing on us, no movies and no explanations for why we are sitting on the tarmac for hours. Hey at least we won't have crying babies on board!

Initially, the airline will only service Washington D.C., New York City, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles... with only one flight a week per city.... but the company hopes to grow to multiple flights to 25 cities over the next few years. So at least a larger pet can be flown to to a city and then have a shorter drive instead of being driven across the country and having to deal with humans that long in such a small environment.

My question is when are they going international? I hear dogs are welcomed in the UK now as long as we fly through Gatwick. I want to be a European dog as I hear we are welcomed in bars and restaurants there. I want to be walked along the Thames or the Seine and eat foie gras and pate and shepherd's pie (even though I have no idea what that is) and drink a pint of dark ale. Yummy!! My mom would love to go to an ashram so maybe one day they can fly to India! I think I would be very popular in India or Asia (and not on the menu, mind you).

I don't think I am ready to fly to Africa because if humans can't treat each other like humans beings should be treated imagine what they would do to me??

To check out Pet Airways go to www.petairways.com

And mom I promise next time I fly with you that I will not mortify you with my little poopy explosions as I got the feeling that you were a little turned off with flying with me anymore. Remember we still have that travel memoir to write...

Chow for now!

Say It Ain't So!

The PPP has in the past reported the love of gay zoo animals from all around the world. However it looks like male gay penguins can be just as fickle as gay men and be on the DL (down low for those not familiar with the gay penguin vernacular).

It seems Linda the penguin has come between Harry and Pepper, a male gay penguin couple who have been together for six years and have nested and egg together from another female surrogate penguin.

"Of all of the parents that year, they were the best. They took very good care of their chick," said zookeeper Anthony Brown of Harry and Pepper.

Enter the widow Linda, who began courting Harry in her partner's old burrow shortly after his death this past winter, Brown said.

"To be completely anthropomorphizing, Linda seems conniving," Brown said. "She's got her plan. I don't think she was wanting to be a single girl for too long."

Though Harry and Linda have been nesting in recent months, molting season in late summer tends to reshuffle couples.

"It'll be interesting to see if Harry spends any of that time with Pepper," Brown said. "We'll have to wait and see."

My mom says it's just like college all over again. You date the cute frat boy, he meets up with other men in the science hall bathrooms. Then after graduation they go back and marry the sorority girls. Years later they are driving around the Meat Market district looking for men, easily identifiable by their New Jersey license plates.

Yes, penguins and humans are becoming eerily similar in habits.

Chow for now!

A Funny Thing Happen On The Way To Doggie Playdate...

Oh what a day!!

Well not funny ha-ha, more like, "WTF!!".

Today on the way downtown to have a doggie play date with Leroy the Yorkie, my mommy was exiting the Wall Street station turnstile with me in my doggie bag, her handbag and a gift for her friend Marielise who is about to give birth any day now. As she was trying to fit all of us in the turnstile, the man behind us who obviously was in a rush because he is soooo important, pushed the turnstile while my mommy still wasn't fully in and her foot was still out. The force of his push torn the skin above my mom's heal in a jagged gash.

My mom gets out of the turnstile and looks down at her torn foot and yells at the man, "Hey!". He just looked down at her foot that is starting to bleed and maybe said, "I'm sorry" we really don't know we didn't hear anything and he rushed upstairs without looking back or offering to help us. My mommy was PISSED!!! People of course just looked at her and walked on by us.

She hobbled upstairs and noticed that blood was dripping everywhere as she limped down Rector Street. That was when we noticed there was a large police presence in the vicinity. As we walked down Rector a policeman came to us and asked us if she needed any help. I think mom was a little in shock because she didn't know what to do as she noticed that she was leaving a blood trail down Rector. We went to the ambulance and two very handsome (her words not mine) paramedics looked at her wound. They told us she had to get stitches as the gash was too deep to heal properly on it's own. They asked if we wanted to call an ambulance but since we don't have an extra six hundred dollars to waste we said we will manage to get to the hospital on our own.

The paramedics cleaned her wound, tied a gauze strip around her heel and even cleaned some of the blood from her shoe. They were really sweet and amazing and we felt like someone was looking out for us from up above to have these men right there when we needed them most.

Mom then hobbled to her friend's apartment in Battery Park City and after explaining what had just happened asked if I could stay with them while she went to the emergency room at NY Downtown Hospital. So that was my introduction to Leroy the Yorkie and the beginning of our play date together.

My mom went to the hospital around 2 o'clock, by 5:30pm she walked out with 4 stitches to her the skin right above her right heel. The anesthesia took away the pain and she was grateful that everyone at the hospital was so nice to her and had a great bedside manner.

She then went to get me and as Marielise had just come from taking Leroy and I to the dog run at Battery Park. We met at PJ Clarke outside next to the water and in the end we all managed to have the doggie play date we had been planning for some time now.

On the way home going down Rector Street we stopped to ask the police why they were there all day and we found out that a woman had been found hacked to death in a building on 2 Rector Street. So in an ironic way her death provided us the paramedics my mom needed. Sad but true :(

Anyway we are home now, I am pooped from all the drama and playing with (trying to mount) Leroy. My mom has her foot up and a Tylenol with Codeine in her system and we are just happy to be home. We are so glad there are so many helpful people in New York. They far outweigh the jerks that do things like push turnstiles before others are fulling in them. Oh well, it could have been worse.

Have a great weekend and chow for now!

Drunkeness...Not Just a Human Problem

This could only happen in Germany.

Police in Goslar, Germany got a call from motorists about a dead badger in the middle of the road blocking traffic. When they arrived, they found that the badger wasn't dead, it just loved to party and had a serious case of the drunks. The badger ate too many overly-fermented cherries and had stumbled out into the middle of the road to pass out.

After getting some cold water thrown on it and awakening (hmm, I am sure I am bringing back memories of university for most of my readers) he was moved off to the side of the road.

The police officer stated: "The animal's stomach had turned the fruit to alcohol and the badger was, to put it crudely, drunk as a skunk. It could not immediately be established whether the badger got into trouble with his wife when he came home in such a state."

Why do Germans always think they have to be a comedian?

I myself like to partake of the fermented grains once in awhile. Dark ales are my choice as they are much more tastier than the water bowl I am now forced to share with Judge.

Oh well, it's summertime. Just a reminder to humans, badgers and canine to drink responsibly.

Chow for now!

Back To The Olde Grind!

Aunty Susan's and Aunty Carine's New Paltz home.

Oh to be back in New York after such a nice weekend in the country. My mom and I had a great time with Aunty Susan and Aunty Carine at their upstate home in New Paltz this past Fourth of July weekend.

Once we arrived there and I was let free I felt like a little wolf. A real animal not some pretty boy dog who sits on a lap all day. I was over stimulated and had a great time chasing wild turkey (or as I like to call them, "really big mutant pigeons"), deer "big dogs with bones on their heads", rabbits, turtles, you name it I chased it!! However I did notice as I ran along the lawn that there were some big birds in the sky flying around and perhaps mistaking me for a white bunny and their dinner. Mom kept her own eagle eye on me to make sure I did not end up as dinner.

My presence however kept the cats on the property away from the house. I actually was in too good a mood to care as I was given a lot of freedom and much needed attention by all.


We were invited to three bbq's given at the homes of Susan's and Carine's friends. All were populated by children who were ignorant of the fact that they shouldn't be feeding me their burgers and various other meats. My mom was sure I would never eat my dog food again. There were lots of little girls dog handling me all weekend. They LOVED me! I was a rock star in their eyes.

Yes Erica, keep the hot dogs coming!!


Little Juliet LOVED me.

I went on a kayaking trip with my mom in which I sat in between her legs. This wasn't my first rodeo, I have gone kayaking before. What you don't know is that my mom is terrible at paddling and she must have hit me in the head with her paddle over 80 times (I exaggerate not!). Then the sun decided for the first time this summer to come out so eventually I went into the bow of the kayak with my mother throwing water at me to make sure I didn't faint from heat stroke.

Not happy with mom's paddling!!

The men we met at the bbq's were a little upset with my mommy on my given name as they thought it was a cruel thing to do to me, so I was renamed "Rocco". My mom is a little worried because I have answered to it once or twice, but I do think I will be Powder Puff 4EVER!

So good company, good food, good chasing (much better than tough NYC squirrels), great weather, beautiful home and property, happy mommy, freedom from leashes, lots of love and adoration from the young and old. What more could a dog ask for?

My wonderful hostesses, Carine and Susan.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend too!!

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!!

The Powder Puffington Post would like to take this time to wish you all a Happy Fourth of July and to raise a toast to living in what will once again be the greatest country in the world!!

We hope you all have a great weekend wherever you choose to spend it. We ourselves are headed to New Paltz today in upstate New York to spend the holiday with mommy's friends Carine and Susan.

I am looking forward to being out in the country and chasing animals bigger than city squirrels. Just being away from NYC will be great.

So no posts until Sunday night where hopefully I will have some great shots of our holiday weekend if mommy manages not to forget her camera once again.

Oh and by the way, that is NOT me in the picture above. My mommy and me have come to an understanding in how ridiculous she can dress me and the outfit above is definitely a NO.

So Chow for Now!

Pet Finder Pet of the Week - Lola

This week when we were thinking of what breed to pick for our Pet Finder Pet of the Week Spotlight we thought of a Boston Terrier because our Aunty April thinks she would like to adopt one and even though she lives in Berlin maybe she can look at the Petfinder.com website and adopt a Boston Terrier before she returns to Berlin???

So today we put the spotlight on Lola! Here is her bio:

Lola is a cute, sweet little 16 month old girl who is full of energy. She needs some basic training and lots of structure. She's learning to walk on leash with much success. She tends to play rough with the other dogs, but this could be because she just needs to learn some manners. She likes to play with tennis balls and soccer balls and will fetch them endlessly. Lola would do well with a family with children over 8 or 9 years old, since she is very energetic and jumps a lot. She is not food or toy aggressive and would be good as an only dog or with others. She can entertain herself with the balls and toys. Since Lola is so young and has had two owners already, she needs stability so she can feel secure. This will be the secret to her success...when she feels like she has a real home.

Lola is currently being fostered in Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia, PA area. Transport assistance is available with adoptions.

We require a home check, application and adoption fee Please visit our website to complete an application www.nebostonrescue.org.
Lola is up-to-date with routine shots, house trained and spayed/neutered.

That Lola is a cutie and I like her name. My mommy use to have fantasies of having three girls named Lola, Lupe and Lulu so we like the Lola name. So we hope Lola gets adopted ASAP because she needs a home of her own.

Well, Chow for now!!