Meet Lola From Madrid

Donna Mei-Ling Park and Harold were in Madrid on business recently. Near the Prado (they tell me that's a place with cool, old paintings), they met Lola. 

Isn't Lola cool?

Lola's younger than I am. It's good to be older and wiser. Sometimes.

The First Lady Dishes About Me

Well, I just don't know what to think. The First Lady told all about me at a press conference last week. 

She said that I like to chew on peoples' shoes. Well, who wouldn't? Leather is so tasty, almost like a bone to a dog.

She also said that I woke up the president one night with a bang. Both the President and the First Lady believed that there was a burglar in the house. (Like the Secrete Service wouldn't get to an intruder first.) 

A little fearful, they tip-toed to investigate. 

But it was just me. The White House is full of things that go bump in the night. And I had to investigate. At first, I thought it was a ghost. But it really was that mouse from my story, White House Dog Tales. 

The mouse was carrying a thick piece of cheddar cheese above its head. And I ran after it because I wanted some, too. Because that's how I roll. I'm just a puppy, you know.

Woof! One Writer Says I Need A Dog Pal

Well, I just don't know. Mark Patinkin at the Providence Journal says I need another dog as a pal. He says that I'm a pure bred and I need a friend who isn't.  

He suggests that we adopt JJ The Pound Mutt. That's cool. But JJ doesn't seem, well, all that trained. He sleeps in bed on his owner's pillow and he climbs into the driver's seat of a car, and he's hard to move out of the driver's seat. 

Still, I'm happy to meet JJ, who seems to be a fine looking canine (see him in the left hand corner?).  We could run around on the White House lawn - as long as he stays away from the Victory Garden.  He could meet my friends, the turtle and the mouse, too. 

They're in my White House Dog Tales story for kids. You should check it out because I'm proud of it.

Woof! Gore Verbinski's Bioshock

So this guy Harold Goldberg helped me write my White House Dog Tales poem.

He writes a lot about video games, and I like them, too, as you can see in my story when Mario and Luigi appear.

Anyway, Harold came over and whispered to me that Gore Verbinski is telling his pals that his version of Bioshock may be his best movie yet. That's a big statement since the director made those Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Gore, reports Harold, is telling people he knows that "I really want to scare people with this movie. I want a kid to go to the movie and say to his friends, 'Whatever you do, don't go see that movie. It's too scary.'"

I don't like to be scared. I'm too young. But Harold loves horror.

Rhyming Away.

I feel like rhyming this morning.
Sometimes I bark without warning.
It doesn't mean I don't admire you.
It might mean I want to hire you
To make a glass dog bowl at Corning.

Bo Runs Like The Wind!

Man, there were a lot of people there yesterday as I was introduced.

It made me want to run wild like the wind (as you'll see in this clip below).

I also licked and smelled a few hands and generally woofed it up.

As the President said, "He's a good looking dog." I won't argue with that. They're a good looking family, too. Woof!

Bo Knows White House!

Woof! It's Bo here, woofing your way.

Today's the big day, bigger than a juicy slice of bacon.

I'll be introduced to you, the American Citizen. There'll be lots of press; I'm not even sure what they are yet. But I'm told they have cameras. Even though I'm only six months old, people have already taken many pictures of me. I guess it's OK. I'm just a dog, though. I don't understand all the commotion.

I'm really glad to be with the Obamas, even though I won't be announced until today. And I really wanted to be at that Easter Egg Roll yesterday. I wanted to hear the President read Where The Wild Things Are - because I'm a little wild, too, being just six months old and all. 

That's me in a photo by Pete Souza. I don't know what they put on me, though: too many colors!

I have a story, too. It rhymes with the tenor of the times. No hard sell, though. I will say it will make you laugh and there's a mystery, too. See you at The White House! Woof!

You can get my story by pressing this button.

Meet Donna. She Read My Story For You!

Donna Mei-Link Park read my White House Dog Tales story, which is now wending its way to The White House via Priority Mail. Hope it gets there before Easter! 

Donna is the super-excellent co-host of Canada's "Electric Playground." daily TV show. She does stories on everything from "Ratchet & Clank" in Dubrovnik to art galleries in Montreal.

She is cool. You can trust me, your White House Dog, on that one.

Got Turkey?

The president is in Turkey today, talking turkey. 

With the idea of building a bridge between East and West, he wants to reach out and better understand the Muslim people there. 

I like the idea because everyone on earth should be treated with respect.

And I like Turkey, the country, even though I've never been there. I like turkey, the fowl, too - even when its not Thanksgiving. Yum, stuffing, too!

Achoo! The President Has A Cold. I Don't.

While I'm waiting to be unleashed to the kids, I was watching some TV. I noticed the President has a cold. He was sneezing during his press conference.

If he was here at the kennel, I would tell him this Jerry Seinfled joke. 

"If you want to make a person feel better after they sneeze, you shouldn't say 'God bless you.' You should say 'You're so good looking!'"

Well, I couldn't tell him, since I'm a dog who just barks and sometimes whines. Maybe I'd fetch the Seinfeld DVD off the shelf.

Am I The April Fool?

The president and the First Lady are in Europe. It may not all be fun. I'm sure there's work on the global economy. 

But what about me? I'm still waiting to be presented to the kids. Oh, this waiting is worse than being a dog without a bone. 

Tom Petty was right: The waiting is the hardest part!

Woof! Buy My 'White House Dog Tales'

I am so excited, I want to climb a tree! Today, White House Dog Tales goes on sale! 

You can buy the MP3 at CD Baby. Some of the money goes to charity, too, like the World Wildlife Fund and Save The Children.

And, if you click the button above, you can get the actual CD at Paypal. I will burn a copy for you with my paws personally.

This is cause for celebration. Who wants some biscuits? Who wants to play Frisbee? I do, I do. I want to run around til I pant. I want to chase a cat! (But I'll control myself. I'm your White House dog, and I do have some manners, after all.) Woof!

I'm Ready!

I wish they would let me out. I'm ready to meet the girls already. I've heard all about Sasha and Malia, and I can't wait to hang with them. 

I know the president has to go to Europe first to something called the G-20. I looked it up. Did you know that G stands for Group, as in Group of 20? Call me cranky, but why can't they just call it Group of 20? G-20 sounds like a techno band or a rap group. Like, give me that CD by G-20, the one with the uncensored economy rap. 

Anyway, I know it's important or the presdent wouldn't go.

I just wish I could meet the girls already.

Who Helped With My Rhyming Diary?

I had some help with putting together my rhyming diary.  Here's who helped out.

The writer is Harold Goldberg, an award-winning journalist who is a columnist for Boys’ Life and has written for Family Circle, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Wired, The New York Times Book Review, VH1 and many others. He is co-author of the best selling book My Life Among the Serial Killers. He is now working on a narrative history of video games called The Game Changers for Random House. He lives in New York City.

The poem is read by Donna Mei-Ling Park. After a stint with MTV Canada as a fashion correspondent, she has opted for cerebral media and now travels the world for the country's most popular video game lifestyle TV show, the Electric Playground. She is based in Montreal.

What Is 'White House Dog Tales'?

White House Dog Tales: The Very Personal Rhyming Diary of the White House Dog and the Mystery in the Fountain is a humorous and inspiring children’s audio book about the incoming White House dog. This fictional tale will appeal to anyone who’s a fan of dogs, the White House itself and the First Family.

The story surrounds me, an affable dog who can find things. While I become known around the White House for my ability, I have to admit I have an Achilles heel: I don’t like the water. When confronted with a life and death situation -- and a big mystery -- I have to face my fears. 

That’s the moral to the story: everyone can face their fears and do things they didn’t think possible. They just need to try. Woof!