Sunday, November 22, 2009

Rocky the Running Pug - His Book Is Available!

It was eight years ago that a little pug named Rocky entered our life, and promptly pulled me from the despair of narrowly missing the 9/11 tragedy to the soul-filling world of trail running. I was supremely out of shape, and every morning he would jump on me until we ran 2, 5, 9 miles on trails. A running pug? How could I not try and keep up? The rest, as we say, is history.

My wife, Christi, recently finished a children's book called Lucky Me that stars Rocky and his friends. They teach kids about animal safety, responsible pet ownership, and what to expect when an animal enters your home. The book is now available at Summerland Publishing, Amazon.com, and Borders.com. A portion of all sales goes to benefit the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.

If you are looking for a great gift for a child, know someone who is considering adding a pet to their family, Rocky's book is perfect! There are even some great shots of him outrunning me on the beach, and cameo appearances by Sophie Jane. I would appreciate it if you could forward this on, become a Fan of his Facebook page, and spread the love.

Needless to say, I'm immensely proud of Christi for putting this together. She's been volunteering with the Peninsula Humane Society for years, and takes Rocky into schools every month to teach kids about responsible pet stewardship. It's so cool to see her combine her gifts for photography, teaching, and animals into something everyone can enjoy.

- SD

9 comments:

  1. This is so awesome, Scott! Huge congrats to Christie, and of course to Rocky! As a runner who's primary training partner is a dog, I especially love the story of Rocky. I was also in search of the perfect Christmas gift for my nephews, and now I've got it. Thanks!

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  2. That's quite a face your dog has.

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  3. Kristin Armstrong11/22/2009 11:46:00 AM

    Christi's book is amazing! Take it from an animal lover and mother of three, oh, and Christi's lifetime fan club member - I should probably add that for additional cred....A perfect Christmas gift, buy LOTS of copies! KA

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  4. That's cool, Scott. We have a dog, but my son is only 3. Am I right to assume that the book is aimed at somewhat older kids?

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  5. Sure sounds good. I will get a copy for my girls.

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  6. Now that's funny... he doesn't look like he wants to run though in the book cover picture.

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  7. Thanks so much for sharing! As a runner and a pug owner, I'm amazed that you're able to get yours to run so far! Mine gets halfway around the block and the wheezing and snorting begins. If we go too far, he'll just sit down. This gives me inspiration to keep training him :-).

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  8. Hi! I like to run trails with my pug, too! I've been going further and further, but lately I've been concerned about him going the distance with me. He's in great shape, and he's never showed any signs of overexertion/overheating. I take care to run when it's cool outside, and I make sure he gets plenty of water along the way. I know he would drop dead before he'd stop following me, but that's just the problem. He obviously can't let me know if he's too tired or hot to continue. I'm going to be attempting a half-marathon in November, and it's really helped my motivation to have him running with me. What I want to know is, how far has your pug gone? Do you feel he could do 13 miles without overexerting himself? I know my pug loves to go with me everywhere, and he really enjoys running and the praise he gets by sticking by my side the whole time, but I just don't want anything bad to happen to him. Thanks!
    -PugLove

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  9. Thanks for sharing - great post that is so close to my stroy it's (almost) unreal.
    At least we know they (the dogs) teach us a lot while having fun and great life.

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