During this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, it’s our obligation to honor the brave men and women who serve — and have served — our country so admirably. And judging by the recent spate of popular military dog books (Trident K9 Warriors and Until Tuesday, to name a few), it’s also important to remember that there have been some incredibly heroic dogs earning their stripes, too — as you can read about in this Dogtime article commemorating 5 War Dogs from U.S. history.
If you haven’t heard of Sam Simon, you know his work — as he was one of the original creators of The Simpsons TV show. But what you might not know is that he has spent millions of dollars on animal rights, as well as training service dogs for PTSD veterans through his Sam Simon Foundation. Not to mention, PETA even named their headquarters after him!
Last week, Simon was interviewed on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast where he talked about his love of animals, TV jobs, his highly-acclaimed check-writing ability — and, sadly, his recent diagnosis of terminal cancer. But he still hasn’t lost his sense of humor!
Here’s a 2007 clip from 60 Minutes…
Joe and Cathy Connolly’s book, If I Should Die Before My Dog, may be a sad concept to many dog lovers — but this isn’t a sad book. In fact, this handsome doggie diary could save your pet’s life!
Don’t just take my word for it — check out all the good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Move over Spuds McKenzie, there’s a new Bud Light dog in town. And this one’s got rhythm!
Imagine that you adopt the perfect dog: a happy pup who gets along with all the other mutts at the dog park and everybody else she comes into contact with.
Well, this is NOT what happens to Peggy Tibbetts in her new book, Crazy Bitch: Living With Canine Compulsive Disorder. It’s like Marley & Me — except if Marley had a tragic mental illness that slowly turned him into Cujo.
Did you watch Mad Men Mad Dogs last night? Here’s a clever spoof of the opening title sequence — featuring an all-dog cast — done by FSU student, Amanda Taylor…
Behind every great writer, there is was an even better pet, tweets @TheCreativePenn…(Brainpickings)
Do you think every time Al Pacino walks by a dog park somebody asks him if he’s having a Dog Day Afternoon?
Do you think Sam Shepard (actor/playwright) has ever rescued a German Shepherd and then named him Sam Shepherd? (Wiki)
Amy Finkel raised over $10k on Kickstarter to fund this poignant doc on how pet owners memorialize their much-loved furry ones called FUREVER.
Judging by the trailer below, the film is not for the faint of heart — but everyone grieves in their own way…
Say it ain’t so, New York Times!
Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette, one of the Best Books of 2012, is now out in paperback — and her original book trailer has a funny bit of her pitching the novel to bookstores and writer friends, including Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain.
You can watch the full trailer below — or skip directly to the Garth Stein dog book scene here.
For those who love vintage movie posters, here’s a gorgeous (to my eyes, at least) Czech version of the one-sheet for Lady and the Tramp — without a hint of the famous spaghetti-eating scene!
Lil Bub & Friendz, a Vice Media documentary that delves deeply into the world of famous Internet cats, premiered at Tribeca this past weekend. And Lil Bub, the star of the show who got his big break at The Internet Cat Video Festival (yes, there is one), is breaking hearts everywhere.(THR)
Aside from the obviously adorable footage, the doc offers up this nugget of wisdom for the phenomenon of cat videos taking over the Internet:
“While dog owners have daily walks and dedicated parks as a social outlet, cat lovers are isolated in their homes; if they want to prove how adorable their four-legged roommates are, they have to document it online.”
Wanna meet the top 1% of dogs? Then you should’ve watched 60 Minutes last night because it featured the work of America’s most elite Navy SEALS DOGS — who are trained by ex-SEAL, Mike Ritland. Catch the segment here.
Oh yeah, and Ritland’s also written a book about his military dog training experiences called Trident K9 Warriors: My Tale From the Training Ground to the Battlefield with Elite Navy SEAL Canines. (60 Minutes)
ItsJustADogBook.com 