Jasmine on the Daily Tail

Jasmine's Christmas video was featured on The Daily Tail! :D

http://taildom.com/blog/videos/jasmine-dog-helps-santa/

Woohoo! Jaz is on RTM's website!

:D I just discovered Jasmine's new Christmas video is on Right This Minute's website!! How fun is that? They wrote something really sweet about her too.

The caption says:

"We all know about Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen... but what about Jasmine? This adorable canine is Santa's newest helper, and has definitely become one of our favorites. Watch as she jumps to action after getting a request from Santa himself."

And my friend Stacy wrote me and said she saw Jasmine on Channel 3 news! (and she was able to record it!) I knew she was going to be on ABC 15, because they emailed me. But I wish I would have known about the other ones! Oh well- it's all good!! :D The whole point of this is to bring love and laughter to others. Jasmine can't help but make you smile. So the more people's day she brightens, the better. Even if I don't hear about it.

I'm just still amazed that we were able to pull together that video in that short of time! It's because I have some WONDERFUL friends who helped me every step of the way!! :D (and some good neighbors who agreed when I randomly knocked on their door and said, "can I videotape your dog?" LOL. This was a very last minute project. But I guess that's how I roll! ;)

Jasmine's new video made the news!

Jasmine's new Christmas video made the news!!

It's featured right now on the ABC 15 website.

And they said it might be airing today (Dec 26th) on the 3:00 or 4:00 newscast. (If it doesn't get bumped for real news!)

Pretty fun! I just barely uploaded that video on Saturday (Christmas Eve), and it's only been 2 days. But it's received over 4,300 views!! WOW!

Well, I hope you guys all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.

If Jaz does end up making it on TV later today, I'll try to get a copy to share with you guys.

Have a wonderful week. :)

Animals Sing "12 Days of Christmas"

Remember the talking dog video? Called Ultimate Dog Tease? (the maple kind?)

Well the same guy that created that made a singing animal Christmas video! (And Jasmine is in it!!) :D (around the 1 minute mark) Yay! :D

Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper

It's done!! Just in the nick of time!! Here's Jasmine's new Christmas video!!

I somehow got it into my head that I wanted to make a Christmas video, and didn't start it until Dec. 20th! So I had 5 days to get all this together!! I couldn't have done it without some wonderful friends. My friend Deena helped brainstorm the plot, Mindy came over to help record and be the "key grip"! (whatever that is!) lol. Luke donated his time to be Santa. And mostly, my friend Stacy spent the last 4 days LIVING at my house- helping me film, be the creative director, and piece it all together! We went around the neighborhood, hoping to that my neighbors who owned dogs would be home!! But it worked!

There's no way I could have pulled this off without these people! THANK YOU for making this happen!!!!

And to everyone- MERRY CHRISTMAS from Jasmine!!!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your friends and loved ones. (Both human and furry!)

(and to answer your question, yes, I did have to hot glue those cookies to the plate!!) ;)

BarkWorld 2011- Reminiscing

Good ol' Barkworld! Every time I see photos from that event, I get the biggest smile on my face! (Obviously Jasmine does too!) I just LOVE this picture of her!


I just discovered these photos that were taken at the Barkworld Expo last September. (All photo credits belong to the BarkWorld Expo.)
Look at Paige!! Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?!? We brought the dogs to Barkworld for a trick dog demo. If you wanted to know how to do tricks w/ a large dog- Paige showed you. If you wanted to know how to adapt it to a small dog- Jasmine showed you. :)

Oh... to have a nice camera... and know how to use it!! I've always loved photography. I think I have an artistic eye for how to frame a photo. I just need to 1) save up the money for a nice camera. And 2) Learn how to work it! I just love these amazing photos of the dogs. Look how clear Jasmine's bright brown eyes are. Man, I wish I had that talent! Guess I need to add that to my list of things I want to learn how to do! :)

Lauren and I gave a powerpoint presentation on "How To Make Your Dog A YouTube Rockstar". Then we had Q & A. Then did a trick dog demo (whatever they wanted to see!) This was my first time attending something like this, but we had a blast!! It seemed like everyone fell in love with Paige and Jasmine. (They were being extra adorable... because there were tons of new people to meet and be friends with.)

I talked to Lauren, and we're talking about going back next year!! :D So... we'll see you there in 2012! :D

Hide and Seek- Games to Play with your dog

We invented a new game to play on rainy days. (It doesn't snow much where I live.)

Jasmine HATES going out for a walk in the rain. (Even though she has a rain coat to keep her mostly dry!) But not dry enough! My house still ends up smelling like wet dog! So we stay inside as much as possible on rainy days.

We have to invent new games to keep ourselves entertained when we're stuck inside. So we made up this game!

It didn't take Jasmine long to figure this one out. :) Now that she knows this will get her a treat, she's trying to do it all the time!

Animal Planet "America's Cutest Pet" appearance!

Jasmine was on Animal Planet this past weekend!!! (Which I didn't even know about!) A friend emailed me to tell me that she saw Jaz on TV! Jasmine had 3 brief cameo appearances in Animal Planet's show "America's Cutest Pet". The first was in a segment called "My Pet's Got Talent." (pretty self-exlpainatory!)
Jaz has gotten a lot of mileage out of that original "Dog Goes Shopping video"! CLICK HERE to see the long version (which is funnier). Or CLICK HERE to see the short version.
The second clip was under a section called "Pets That Make You Go Awwwww...." This clip is called "Best Friend". CLICK HERE if you want to watch it.
The 3rd appearance was an action shot. This is Toddy and Jasmine doing double spins (in sync!) :) I had to search for a while to find what old video this clip was taken from! I finally found it. It was one of my first videos putting dog tricks to music! And I actually matched up each song to the action in the clip! First and last time I did that! It's a really cool video, but it took WAY too much time to make!! LOL. If you want to check it out, CLICK HERE.

So... that's Jasmine's brief Animal Planet cameos! :) A pretty fun surprise!

Our latest hospital visit

Earlier this week, I had left Jaz over at my parents house to play with their dog while I ran errands and got my hair cut. When I came to pick her up, to my surprise, Jaz was wearing this new outfit! She's Santa's Little Helper! (or "Santa Paws")! :)

I decided she had to wear it on Friday when we volunteered at the hospital. I figured the kids would get a kick out of it! (And I was right!) Almost everyone we passed smiled or laughed at seeing Jasmine dressed up in her Santa outfit!

Last night's visit was interesting. I often don't know why kids are in the hospital. When we came to the 5th floor, we passed a 10 year old boy in the hall. His leg and hand were all bandaged up. And they were having him walk down the hall with a walker. He was hesitant to pet Jasmine, but he stroked her head a little bit. (Not everyone loves animals or feels up to seeing them, which is fine.) I continued going room to room around that floor. And when I got to the end, a man approached me and asked if I would come visit his grandson- who had been attacked by a dog. (He said it was a pit bull, but I don't know if it was.) I agreed, and when I went into the room, it was the same boy I had passed in the hall. I joked that he had already seen Jasmine, but I could show them a little trick show. By the end, he was smiling and liking Jasmine. So I felt like Jaz had helped repair that bridge of trust that was broken.

It makes me so sad that people don't train or socialize their dogs. Dogs can enrich our lives, and are such wonderful companions. And I personally have fostered 2 stray pit bulls. Oliver and Annie. (Named after the 2 orphans!) They were soooo sweet. The guy who eventually adopted Oliver renamed him "Mr. Wiggles" because we was always wagging his tail! (Which in turned wagged his whole butt!) He was such a sweetie. Pitties can be such wonderful, loving companions. I don't believe any breed is inherently bad. It's all how they are trained/raised. It seems like in the 80's, German Shepherd's were the "bad" breed. Then in the 90's, Doberman's were the "bad" breed. And in the 2000's, it changed to pit bulls. It's not the dog's fault. It's the owners. I don't mean to get on my soap box, but that's something I feel strongly about.

Anyway, I was glad Jaz was there yesterday to help re-establish a positive relationship between this boy and dogs.

Jasmine has been there a year and a half now. So we have little trading cards with Jasmine's picture on them to pass out to the patients. And she also now has her picture up on the wall, along with all the other seasoned therapy dogs. I feel proud that it's up there. Yet at the same time, I feel like that's not why we do it. It's not for the recognition. It's not for me. It's hard to explain. But Jasmine really loves coming to the hospital. She pulls on the leash to get in. (Which she rarely does.) It's a win-win. She gets treats and attention. And the kids get to pet her and laugh at her little tricks. And it really does make me feel good to help out. And it puts my life in perspective. The people at the hospital are more real to me. They are more focused on the things that matter... our relationships with others. The rest of the stuff is so trivial. But yet I get caught up in it. Our visits at the hospital keep me grounded and help me to remember to share my love with the people I care about. (Sometimes we just take for granted that they know, and forget to tell them.)

We stopped for gas on the way home from the hospital. (as you can tell by my empty gas gauge!) I snapped this picture because it was so funny to me. We have plenty of static electricity to share, if you need any! Poor Jaz!!! LOL

While I was typing this blog entry, my roommate was in her room wrapping Christmas presents. She brought out gifts, then added the labels who they were for. Then Jasmine wandered out of the room, and she had a label tag attached to her.

It said: "To: CJ. From: God." That little message warmed my heart. And made me think. It's true. Jasmine is truly a gift in my life from God. She has done wonders for me. She has allowed me to develop a talent as a dog trainer. (Which I never knew I had.) By sharing her and her tricks, she has given me a way to help make others happy. (which makes me happy) Jaz is just such a happy, cheerful dog. She has brought such joy and laughter into my life. She really is such a special dog. And I'm grateful for her.

HaPpY bIrThDaY JASMINE!

Monday, Dec. 5th is Jasmine's birthday! My sweet pup is 6 years old. It's crazy. Where does the time go? Who knew when I got this cute puppy 6 years ago how much she would change my life? And how she has helped me to grow and become a better person? And what amazing adventures we would have together?

I learned how to be a trick dog trainer! (Well, we learned together!) I got this puppy just to have as a pet in my home. She was my first dog as a "grown-up". I read books, and started teaching her basic obedience. But she was smart, and picked it up pretty fast. And then I had to come up with new things to teach her. And that's how my journey into trick-training began. Jasmine loves to learn. She loves the mental stimulation. (OK, I'll admit it, she loves good treats too!) She thinks with her stomach. And because she's so food-motivated, I was able to use positive reinforcement to teach her a whole lot of tricks! (She taught me a few too! She invented the suitcase trick, and the cowboy trick!) And all these funny little tricks have made her friends all over the world. And her videos have been on TV here in the USA, and in Japan and England. And she was in 2 commercials. (and has some projects in the works for next year!) Seriously, who knew? Who knew she had such potential? And who knew I had a hidden talent as a dog trainer? I've always loved animals. And I've always been patient, and optimistic. And those hidden talents allowed me to develop a visible talent as a trick dog trainer! So you never know what secret talents you have locked inside you... waiting for you to discover and develop. (This goes for me and Jaz!) :D

As I look back, and I'm just amazed at what this little dog has accomplished in just a few years...

Here's the oldest video I could find of her doing tricks:

But even then she was pretty decent! (In my opinion) I just didn't think to videotape her in the beginning, because I had no idea where this would all lead!

And look at her now! :D She's my canine personal assistant! :D

Happy Birthday to my favorite little pup. Jasmine. Jazzy. Jaz. Pup-Pup. Jazmataz.

I tell people the best thing about owning a canine celebrity is that she never lets it go to her heads. ;) She'll always be my little sweetheart.