BarkWorld Pals of the Human Kind

Cosmo was one lucky dog to attend all three days of BarkWorld Expo, and we both had a blast meeting lots of the humans behind our Twittering and blogging anipals. The Shibbering Cheetos hosted a reception, sponsored by Wellness, that was a rockin' good time for all who attended.


Pictured at right are the humans behind the Cheetos, from left: Becky Kikukawa, momma of Mattie Dog; Mimi Chan, ma of Trailer Park Dogs Coco and Goose; and Heather King, mom of Brutus the Dane. Cosmo's right in the middle of things, and if you look really closely you'll see the Hookalopes, Blind Maximus, Mattie Dog and Boris Kitty's Edgar.


We think it's so much fun to meet our anipals' humans, we assembled a few more in the photo below.  Pictured in the back row, left to right: Vicki Boatright, known as BZTAT, and artist of the wonderful portrait of Cosmo; Pawpawty creator Lynn Haigh, holding Frugal Dougal on a stick; Hank the Doggy's mom Erin Monigold; Vicki Cook, mom to BunnyJean Cook and one of our first Pawpawty DJ buddies; Mattie Dog's momma Becky; Preston Peabody and his mom Rachel. Front row, left to right is: Heather, mom to Brutus the Dane; Cosmo and me, Mimi, ma to Trailer Park Dogs; and AmyJo Casner, the InformedFerret, with Manny and James... though James seems to be playing shy and hiding in his bag again!

We also enjoyed seeing Natalie Malaszenko again from Petco, below. She was one of the awesome presenters at the conference along with Rick Rockhill from Natural Balance. Rick issued a challenge at BarkWorld that for every new Twitter follower he gained that day, he'd donate a bag of food to the Atlanta Humane Society. With 88 new followers in one day, Rick donated 88 bags of Natural Balance food to the Atlanta Humane Society! Well done!

That's me, Cosmo, on the right with mom,
Rick from Natural Balance at left and Natalie from Petco, middle

Rick also shares a lot of cool things on his blog Palm Springs Savant -- like National Guide Dog Month and how you can help support guide dogs for the visually impaired. Cosmo was pretty taken with Rick as well, though in hindsight it may have been because of the Natural Balance Tillman Treats that came in our BarkWorld swag bag!  For a dog like Cosmo who loves a good snackie, soft training treats like these are ideal. You can easily tear off lots of small pieces for more training fun! Cosmo says they are barkilicious!

Next up, more BarkWorld pals and incredible swag!

The Dogs, and Ferrets, of BarkWorld

That's me, Cosmo, on the left with mai pal Johann on the right

One of the best things about BarkWorld Expo, was seeing old and new pals -- some who we've met IRL (in real life) before and some who we only knew from the twitterverse and blogosphere!

Last weekend, Cosmo and I attended the social media conference in Atlanta, and we met so many great pals we decided to do two blogs posts... first for the great anipals we met (dogs and ferrets in this case) and a second one for the fabulous humans! 

Cosmo wins, as usual, so we're starting with his dog pals.  Johann the Dog, far right, was one of Cosmo's very first anipals on Twitter. In fact, it was Cosmo's pal Zio Tony, who found Johann for us when he was searching for some famous cyclist person named Johann something-or-other.  Johann the Dog came up first in search (that says something, doesn't it!), Zio Tony introduced Johann to us and the rest is history! We were particularly excited about meeting Johann for the first time, since he and his mom, Leslie May, do agility like we do! We already knew we'd have lots in common beyond having black-and-white doggies! 

I luv this Dog Tornado, Moooom... can I have one??!!

Johann is one of the busiest social media doggies I know with three blogs and a web site.  And he let Cosmo play with some of his cool toys at BarkWorld.

Cosmo particularly enjoyed the Nina Ottosson Dog Tornado, shown at left, and the Dog Pyramid. Both are available at Nip and Bones, our pal Baby Patches' mom's store. 

In addition to Johann, we met lots of other great anipals at BarkWorld. Here are a few!

Preston Speaks, below left, is one of our newest friends on Twitter. He's a lovely West Highland White Terrier, and here, he's discovering Manny, one of two Informed Ferrets. Ferret James was also at BarkWorld, but he's hiding out in his nice bag carried by his mom AmyJo Casner.  On the right, please meet Precious... she is @ImaJackRussell on Twitter and the author of two lovely children's books about her adventures.

Below left is our pal Frankie Beans, also known as @FrankieElPerro on Twitter. Frankie's mom, Denise Quashie is founder of BarkWorld Expo, and a meeting and event planner in Atlanta. She did a terrific job in the first year of this event. Below right, is Miss Niqqi, an adorable Bichon Frise from Chicago who made this terrific video about our Chicago meet up and dog walk!

And finally, we met Judy, below left, for the first time at BarkWorld. Her mom, Jessica Bush, authors the DOGingham blog and she took some great photos at BarkWorld! Willow Wiggles, below right, is a pal from our neighborhood, but we didn't even know Willow or her mom Lee Smith until we met them on Twitter!

There also were so many great pals at BarkWorld who didn't come with their anipals. Next up, BarkWorld pals of the human kind!

BarkWorld Day One: Special Pawtrait Delivery!

Even before Barkworld Expo officially kicked off this morning, we got our first treat of the day...

Casting my eyes on my fabulous new pawtrait for the first time!! WOW, I sure am handsome!

Cosmo's portrait by BZTAT arrived in style with Team PawsArt (@BZTAT and @informedferret) in one of  the Bark & Ride GMC Terrain SUVs.  Four teams of anipals traveled to BarkWorld Expo in the pet-friendly vehicles, tweeting (not while driving of course) using the #GMCBarkNRide hashtag along the way.

I do love my new pawtrait... I always knew I was larger than life!!! (BZTAT on left)

After the unveiling of Cosmo's portrait and some safety demonstrations by GMC, the Atlanta Humane Society and Safe Kids USA, it was time for a day full of great speakers and friends at BarkWorld Expo. BarkWorld Expo, held at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, continues through Sunday.

And now that it's Saturday... Let's go to The Hop!!

Wordless Wednesday: Agility fun!

Wheeeeeeee!

The Road to BarkWorld Expo: Three sleeps to go!!

Mom, how bout another Petrol on the rocks. I'm working here...

It's me Cosmo here, preparing a few last-minute items for BarkWorld Expo! Can't wait to see all my pals in my hometown this weekend. If you haven't done it yet, just place your paw here to register!  And now for my top five reasons to come to BarkWorld Expo in Atlanta, Aug. 20-22...


5. Shake Hands with lots of pet experts -- from pet artists and rescue groups to social media gurus, veterinarians and authors... they'll all be here to meet and woof with me and you!

4. Learn Tricks how Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other social media tools can build a brand for you and your business.

3. Treats! Mom calls it swag, I call it barktastic goodness for me! There will be more than 25 pet-centric exhibits in Central Park area of Atlantic Station and lots of free goodies for pets and humans who register for the event!

2. Play with the pack! Friday night at dusk join me for my favorite movie Best in Show at Atlantic Station and a special showing of My Dog, a moving documentary about some famous humans and their beloved pets, like me! There'll be lots more fun and games all weekend!

And, the most important reason to attend BarkWorld Expo ...........................................................

1. Pets Rule!!! 
Come play with me. We'll have a blast... I always do!!!! Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Tunnel Love!

Cowabunga Dude! Let's PAWPAWTY!

It's time to PAWPAWTY!!!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Join me and my pals @Frugaldougal's #Pawpawty on Twitter TODAY, starting at 2 p.m. ET! The fun and games continue through 2 p.m. Sunday... a full 24-hours of pawpawty pawadise fun on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii! 

Don't furget, we are all here to help the anipals who need it most, this month for Second Chance Pet Adoptions in Raleigh, NC.  Find out more and help the anipals here.

WIPEOUT!!

Does Your Dog Poo Green?

Nothing smells funny over there, yet.
(See, I really do have eyeballs under the fur!!)

Earlier today, we were checking out the happenings in our neighbor's yard and asked why they were digging a big hole in the ground -- the humans, not the dogs, that is!

Turns out the hole was for a doggie potty of sorts. Our neighbor dogs were about to be proud owners of the Four Paws Waste Manager.

You see, according to the Worldwatch Institute, about 100 billion plastic bags end up in landfills each year, so if you can remove your poo without the plastic, you're pretty much helping to save  the planet for all the future doggies and kitties and ferrets and ducks and gerbils and bunnies...

My neighbor Roman is wondering if he's supposed
to learn to poo in the little box! hmmm...

All you have to do is dig a hole in the ground, insert the Waste Manager and the clean-up fun begins!

The Waste Manager works like a mini septic tank, capturing rain water in the specially designed lid. The water mixes with natural enzyme tablets that you add once a week and voila, poo be gone!

You can get your very own green poo machine at Petco and other fine pet retailers.

What do you think? Would you give it a try?

Convenient foot pedal for easy opening.
You can look, it hasn't been used, yet.

Ta-da! Perfect for any landscape design!