Hello, 2009? I'm in.

I have ignored my sworn duty to celebrate with friends and family. I'm not sorry.

I went online here in West Virginia just to see if I might have missed anything and WOWSER!! Check it out!

I am so happy to announce that the photo you submitted to Bark’s Smiling Dog
(or Cover Dog) contest is under consideration for placement in our book,
DogJoy: The Happiest Dogs in the Universe, to be published by Rodale in
October 2009. As the editor of the book (and the magazine) I have the double
pleasure of not only selecting the photos for this project but also in
delivering the good news to you. Although it is still up to the publisher to
make the final decisions, I am hopeful that yours will be included. If your
dog’s photo appears in the book, it will be in a chapter called Laughers.
For your participation, you will receive a copy of the hardcover book, and a
three-year subscription (or renewal) to Bark.

I am attaching a release form that will allow us the rights to publish your
photo—if there is a child and/or another dog not belonging to you in this
photo, we will also need to secure a release form for them. Also attached is
a “fact sheet” that summarizes pertinent information about DogJoy.

I would also like to ask if you could contribute a really short (30 words or
less) descriptive about this photo such as, what makes your dog smile, or
what your dog was doing when this photo was taken or just a few words
(single adjective, verbs) that expresses what your dog was doing or feeling.
In order to fit in as many photos as I would like, not all them will be
accompanied by text, so your words might not make it into the book, so
please do not feel obliged to submit any writing. Your dog’s name (make sure
we have the correct spelling) will definitely appear by his/her photo, and
the listing of all the dogs will be found at the back of the book. We are
hoping to include around 500 photos (which have been selected from our large
pool of reader submitted photos numbering around 15,000)!

If you have any questions, do let me know. We are working under an extremely
tight deadline, so receiving your permission form and any text are both due
before 1/15/09. The signed release form can be faxed to us at 1.510.704.0933
(be sure to include your dog's name), mailed back to the address below, or
sent as an attachment.

Thank you again for sharing your wonderful dog with us, and I am thrilled
that we have this very special book project to spread his/her talents and
charms to thousands of other dog lovers.

All my best
Claudia Kawczynska
Editor in chief, The Bark

Can you stand it??? My dream is about to come true AGAIN! First Jimmy in a dog clothing catalog and now this? Be still my heart!

Tabitha has clearly taken the first step in making 2009 the year we all get our shit together. Will we follow her lead?



I have pictures but I also have a sick boyfriend and sleep to get before driving many many miles tomorrow. Must be home by Sunday night. No exceptions. I can't wait until Tabitha is famous and I no longer have to work...