Today is Creative Kid PET Thursday!

Time for some cuteness!

and one more –

I double dog dare you not to fall in love with my very special guest today. Mitzi Jo!

Mitzi Jo writes a column called “Paws for Thought” for the Upper Bucks Free Press, the same newspaper I write for. 🙂

Her human helper, L.j. Burns (A.K.A. Momma Jean), and Mitzi Jo also blog  about her adventures at the doggy daycare Momma Jean runs (click HERE to go THERE).

Mitzi Jo is one talented puppy! In her spare time, Mitzi Jo wrote (with Momma Jean’s help)  a book called “A Doggy Daycare Day.”

A Doggy Daycare Day

By L.j. Burns

Illustrated by Andrea Vitali

28 pages – ages 9+

Published by CreateSpace on April 14, 2012

A Doggy Daycare Day is a cute story written from the point of view of Mitzi Jo. Mitzi Jo is a leader in her own family as well as the Doggy Daycare group. She tells all the dogs about the rules when they come to the daycare and then helps her friends follow them. All the dogs at the daycare have different personalities and the reader gets to see what the day is like from their perspective. You get an idea of what happens in a dog’s mind, too. The reader follows Mitzi Jo and her doggy friends as they chase invading squirrels, help dogs calm down, share toys, and much more in this fully illustrated book!

I couldn’t wait to find out more about Mitzi Jo!  Mitzi Jo and Momma Jean let me ask them some interview questions.

Thank you both for letting me ask you some interview questions! Mitzi Jo, what’s it like running a doggy daycare, and of course, having Momma Jean help you?

I love having a purpose in my life.  I am a very social dog and enjoy meeting all the new canines that come to play. Being the leader of our family pack of dogs means I have to explain the rules to all the visiting dogs.

It sounds like you have a lot of responsibilities! It must be very interesting being part of a Doggy Daycare. What inspired you to write the book  “A Doggy Daycare Day”?

While I was greeting a new playmate Momma Jean noticed how well our family of dogs accept new friends. She thought this is no different than human children learning to play together and accepting each other on a playground. She wanted me to share with the human children how much nicer it is to accept each other and use that positive peer pressure to learn to accept each other and our differences.    We have a total of 5 books written but only the first one is in print. In one of our books we have a blind dog and a crippled dog and the other dogs don’t make fun of them but instead help them through the yard.

I think you are right! The message in your book, to accept each other, is a great one! Mitzi Jo, have you, or another dog in your immediate family, ever not gotten along with one of the dogs who came for a day? If so, what did you and/or Momma Jean do?

Momma Jean usually starts with me to be the first greeting dog. She says if they don’t like me they won’t like the others. Well, we had a Boston Terrier show up one day and he walked in with his human and went to ATTACK me!! He sat there on the end of his leash staring at me. I wouldn’t even look at him so Momma Jean noticed he was a bully and told his human he couldn’t stay.  My human knows to watch my body language to understand what I am feeling.

It is a good thing Momma Jean knows you so well! Momma Jean, when did you decide to start a doggy daycare? What is the most important thing you have learned in this business?

Thank you Erik for asking me a question too.  I had worked with packs of dogs as a studio animal trainer in Hollywood. The dogs were always glad when I came to work because I would get them out in the yard to play and run with each other.  They were always more content after a little playtime.  When I moved to PA in 2005 I wanted to spend more time with my dogs and offer other families with dogs the chance to let their dogs play too. Dogs can learn from other dogs just like children learn from each other

Mitzi Jo,  I read on your blog (click HERE to go to the blog) that Momma Jean is a professional animal trainer and you get to work in commercials! Is that hard to do? What’s the best thing you taught Momma Jean?

Grabbing all the attention in the room is not difficult for me at all. I love it. I have trained my human to realize that if she wants me to do anything special and on her command then I need to have a dog cookie. Humans work better when they get a paycheck and so do dogs. I told her my dog cookie is my paycheck.    Thank you for the opportunity to speak my mind.

Thank you Mitzi Jo and Momma Jean!

You can Like Mitzi Jo’s Facebook page HERE.

Follow the Doggy Daycare blog HERE.

Find the book on Amazon HERE.

Okay, one more cute one –

Wait! One more –

Now one of the whole family:

HAPPY THURSDAY EVERYONE! 😀

Categories: Creative Kids, Other Stuff Related to Books and Reading

Tags: a doggy daycare day, bibliophile, book review, bookworm, childrens books, mitzi jo, upper bucks free press