R.I.P. Puny: 2009-2011

Yes it has been over a year since I have written for "The Powder Puffington Post". Let's just say I was on an extended sabbatical which takes seven times longer than human sabbaticals. However today I felt I had to post again for the obituary of my dear departed farm friend Puny (aka Rupert) the hen.

It is highly suspected Puny fell ill to fowl play and was carried off by a hawk whilst she strutted her stuff in the backyard paradise that was her home on James Island, Charleston, SC. Her human caretakers Aunt Sandy and Uncle Frank are very distraught as Puny was part of the family on their own little real life Farmville.

Aunt Sandy is very sad as she recalled to my mom today how cute and tiny Puny was when she first adopted her. Although her name was Rupert, she was so tiny compared to her two chick sisters that she was nicknamed Puny and the name stuck.

Although Puny was taken from this world much too quickly she did live a very fortunate life here on earth (especially for a hen). Handpicked as a small chick she lived in Aunt Sandy's backyard (the farm) with her two sisters-hens free of any Roosters trying to boss them around and wake them up too early. I personally liked to call the gals, "The Triplets of Henville" (yes my little take off from "The Triplets of Belleville).

I recall the first time I met the triplets. As I jumped out of the car I encountered what I thought were very strange feathery dogs as the hens were about my size. My basic wolf like instinct was to charge them and that I did. They scatted around the yard while my mother chase me out of fear I would eat one of Aunt Sandy's pets. That was my first encounter with Puny. However by the end of the day the triplets were chasing ME around the yard as they were all three tough birds. I quickly learned the pecking order at the farm and I was near the end of the line. Yet it was a delightful holiday for me and my mom.

A life of grazing, eating healthy food, laying yummy eggs (according to my mom), sunning on the porch, gossiping with her sisters, playing with Sparky and Tweety (let's not forget the two fish) and being loved by Aunt Sandy and Uncle Frank. Yes, Puny lived a charmed life. She will be remembered for the spunky, petite beauty that she was and life at Farmville will never be the same without her. "The Twins of Henville" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Puny, my next Cesar's chicken flavor canister will be eaten in your honor. R.I.P.

Chow for now!
Powder Puff

Happy Birthday Mumsy!

I've been a lazy journalist lately passing on some celebrity animal stories i.e. Cesar Millan's dog Daddy passing away or Jesse James pit bull Cinnabun found after missing for three weeks but today there is one story I can't pass by and that is my mom's birthday! Hey, I know where my bread is buttered.

Mom is going on a date tonight for dinner and she is wondering how she is going to get there since there is a snow storm going on now, but since it's a free dinner she'll find a way! Tomorrow her friend Rebecca is hosting a birthday party for her in Nolita and I get to go! I am very excited!! I am going to see many people I haven't seen in quite awhile. What to wear? What to wear?

So mom! We have gone through a lot together and even though I seem very apathetic lately in my attitude (due to those short winter walks) I do love you and you know in the end I always end up walking to you and pawing you to pick me up, I am your momma's boy.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Chow for now!

President Chinchilla of Costa Rica

I knew Costa Rica was a magical land. Tropical weather, beautiful beaches, magnificent volcanoes, a high literacy rate, eco-friendliness, good surfing and to top it off a nation that is so peaceful it doesn't have an army. However little did I know that Costa Rica was so evolved that it would elect an animal for President. A FEMALE animal at that!


Costa Rica elected it's first woman chinchilla President. Her name is Laura Chinchilla and she won by a landslide. Yes, where in American it is still considered a far reach to have a female as President (the rest of the world doesn't seem to have a problem with that concept), in Costa Rica they have pushed the envelope even further to have a female animal for President. I told my mother that we should move there as the possibilities for me to serve in the government are just endless!

There is much celebration going on in Costa Rica now as you can tell from the images on this post.


Okay, I now that Laura Chinchilla is a human who just happens to have the last name of Chinchilla. I am allowed to dream, aren't I? Well, I still think it's quite evolved to have Central and Latin American countries with females for Presidents when as I mentioned above, it is not a welcomed thought in America. I still like the thought of moving there and learning to surf.


Presidente Laura Chinchilla

Chow for now!

Lucky Dogs!

This past Friday Oprah turned 56 years and old and gave herself the best possible present one human can give one's self. No, not self love, me thinks Oprah has learned how to do that already (no sarcasm really!!). Oprah gave herself two new puppies! She is now the proud mommy of two 14 week old Springer Spaniels, Lauren and Sonny.

Lauren and Sonny are actually rescue dogs that would have been put to sleep if they were not taken in by Paws Rescue Center in Chicago. Oprah had asked the owner of the shelter to look out for Springer Spaniels for her as she was ready to move on and become a doggie mommy again after the lost of two of her dogs, one to the illness of Parvo and the other who choked on a toy. A few days before her birthday Oprah received a call letting her know that two Springer Spaniels had been found for her and as fate would have it one of them was named the name she had already selected for her next dog, "Lauren". Yes, that was certainly meant to be.

Lauren and Sonny, you two are very lucky dogs!! You have Oprah for a mommy so you will never go without anything which includes lots of love and attention (and not having to share her attention with bratty children). Only Valentino treats his dogs better so you have incredible doggie karma.

Am I envious? Yes, I would be flat out lying if I denied it. However I have a great mommy who loves me and let's me take lots of naps throughout the day not to mention the tons of love and kisses I get all the time. A private plane, a mansion in Montecino and penthouse in Chicago wouldn't be too bad, but I have accepted my lot in life...hopefully it will get a little better??

Chow for now!

Popcicle Pups Found at JFK

Well, again I have been neglecting my Powder Puffington Post duties but my mom made me watch "Julie/Julia" tonight so again I am inspired by the art of blogging and by the many stories out there concerning animals. We have one bittersweet story today about a puppy and how he was saved from nearly freezing to death from a flight he was on from Mexico City to JFK.

The puppy was found nearly frozen to death in the cargo of the jet aircraft that he flew in. The customs officer who luckily also happens to be studying to be a vet found the pup and performed mouth to mouth resuscitation on the pup and saved his life. What a hero!! After wrapping the pup in a heating pads and blankets he came back to life. The pup was only six weeks old, unfortunately his little brother did not share the same fate as he was found frozen to death in the same kennel hence the bittersweet aspect of this story. RIP little bro!

Usually the airlines do not fly animals in the cargo bay at extreme hot and cold temperatures so this case is especially sad as they should have not been allowed to fly in the cargo bay in the first place. As you can see from the image, the pup is especially small and fragile.

I have flown many times but never in the cargo bay and I know my mother would never let me fly in the cargo bay as I would not be able to handle the cold (remember I have hair not fur). One day hopefully Pet Airways will be an international airline and pets could fly in safety and comfort as they deserve to.

Good to be back writing inspirational, informative stories for the canine world again!

Chow for now!

Only in Hollywood...

Dead Heiress Casey Johnson

A few days ago Casey Johnson, one of the heirs to the Johnson and Johnson fortune was found dead in her home in Beverly Hills. It's been speculated that she overdosed as she was just thirty years old. As sad as her story is what is most sad for me is that her dogs were taken from her "fiance" by Nicky Hilton (Casey's childhood friend) under the guise that the dogs were to be returned to Casey's family.

However Casey's "Wifey" Tila Tequila (don't ask) said that she was told that Casey's dogs will be put to sleep so they can be buried with her. What??

"Wifey" Tila Tequila

Tila stated, "They don't care about the dogs. They are putting them to sleep to bury with Casey," Tequila exclaimed - an allegation flatly denied by a family spokesman.

The Orphans

One of the pooches, an 18-year-old toy poodle named Zoe, "is very old and sick and has a lot of issues," said Jesse Derris, a spokesman for Casey Johnson's heartbroken dad, Jets owner Woody Johnson.

"The family plans to seek veterinary help for those issues," he said, but is not planning to put the dog down.

Besides Zoe and a second dog, a Yorkie, Casey Johnson's friends also took a rack of her clothes, including several fur coats, along with packages of insulin she took for her diabetes.

Asked if there was any plan to bury the dogs with Johnson, Phillips replied, "No." Then she loaded a red suitcase filled with her friend's gear into a black Range Rover.

All I can say as a dog is, this is not Indian years ago when the wife was thrown on a fire pier with her husband when he pasted away. Those days are long past and we dogs deserve to live out lives to our natural end. It's bad enough tens of thousands of pets in America are put to bed because there is no one to adopt them but when you have a billionaire family to back you up with enough money to take care of you that is sad and pathetic.

I hope to hear in the future months that Casey Johnson's dogs are living and doing well. She has an adopted daughter Ava and you don't see the family sending her back to the orphanage. I would hate to see this become a trend as my mom knows better. She has about five friends and families that are more than willing to take care of me should anything happen to her. Which is a good thing considering my mom wants to be cremated.

Chow for now!

Our 200th Post!! Dedicated to Virgin Airlines!

Wow! Needless to say I should have reached this milestone a few months ago but I will still give my self a paw on the back for doing 200 meaningful, hard hitting posts worthy of a Pulitzer Prize.

For my 200th post I am going to post an amazing story about how Virgin Airlines (we love Virgin Airlines!!) is helping San Francisco animal shelters deliver a group of Chihuahuas in "Operation Chihuahua" to animal shelters in NYC who have a demand for Chihuahuas on the East Coast. Apparently there are too many Chihuahuas on the West Coast (thank you Paris Hilton and a large Chicano population) so instead of putting them to sleep someone came up with the brilliant idea of transporting them to NYC.

Here is an excerpt from Virgin's press release:

"Virgin America is assisting the City of San Francisco Animal Care and Control by flying Chihuahua pups from San Francisco to New York so they can be adopted into loving homes to ring in the New Year. The massive overpopulation of Chihuahuas in California is forcing animal shelters on the West Coast to look to shelters on the East Coast for help – where there is demand for the dogs. The San Francisco Animal Care & Control asked Virgin America to spare a seat during the busy holiday travel season to help fly these needy pups. Several Virgin America teammates have volunteered to escort the pups on the flights to the East Coast – and will track their journey with real-time updates via the airline’s fleetwide WiFi service.

Virgin America will be sending the dogs off in high-style, with a red carpet send-off at the gate, complete with doggie treats and plenty of toys to play with until departure. The Chihuahuas will be received at JFK by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) – who will place the little dogs in loving adoptive homes."

There has been many fund raisers on the West Coast lately to raise money to send the surplus of 10,000 Chihuahuas to other parts of the nation for adoption. So if you know if anyone who is interested in adopting a Chihuahua just have them contact the ASCPA in Los Angeles or San Francisco. I had a Chihuahua once and he was so cute. His name was Snoopy (yes, very original) and he was a great pet (until the day I walked into my room and caught him humping my stuff animals which I had to immediately discard of). That's why it's important to do the "snip, snip".

Well I love that Virgin Airlines is such an out of the box airline. My mommy always loves taking Virgin so now she will make an extra special effort to use Virgin in the future.

Well, Chow for now!