A Top 10 in Response to a Random 25

So I got a special package in the mail on Wednesday morning from a group of 20 (or so) elementary school students. I must say, this package couldn't have come at a better time as I was feeling quite tired and irritable after the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team took one on the chin late the night before in the Horizon League Tournament Championship game. (The Bulldogs lost by three points to Cleveland State, but in all likelihood will return to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 13 seasons and third time in a row. As the Indianapolis Star's David Woods put it, "Butler IS going to the NCAA Tournament. Twelve months ago, that was nearly unthinkable." Well put, Mr. Woods!)

Specifically, this package came from Miss Butler's multi-age kindergarten and first grade class at White Lick Elementary School in Brownsburg, Indiana (also home of Butler freshman Gordon Hayward) and contained a top-10 list citing reason why my dad and I should come and visit Miss Butler's class this spring. Here's a shot of me reading the list...

I must say, it's the most clever, witty and fun class visit request that I've ever received and I commend Miss Butler's students on their creativity, ingenuity and charm. According to Miss Butler, who graduated from Butler University in 2002 with my dad, this list came about as an original idea from the students. She only helped to scribe the list for them.

Evidently the list came about in their "writer's workshop" where Miss Butler was teaching them "organization in writing" and "lists" were brought up as an illustration of that. As avid readers of my blog, Miss Butler's students quickly recalled my recent blog post where I chronicled "25 Random Things" about myself. Their response, without further adieu, is a list of the "Top 10 reasons why Blue and Mr. K. (that's my dad) should come visit us..."

10. We are probably the only five, six and seven year olds that read your blog.

9. Some of us weigh sixty-two pounds, just like you!

8. We've bot some Star Wards fanatics in the room and we want to hear Blue's "whine." [In reference to my Chewey Chewbacca reference.]

7. We're dying to see Blue's infamous tricks!

6. We try to do things at school "The Butler Way." [Keep up the good work!]

5. We'll even make sure our room is really clean.

4. We're Bulldogs just like you (except we're not real dogs...we usually don't bark) [That's okay, I meet a lot of humans around Butler that claim to be Bulldogs, but don't appear to be anything like me. I get it.]

3. We're lots of fun (at least we think so)! [I can see that!]

2. For some reason we think body functions are hilarious. [In response to my random report on my bodily waste routines. Glad you enjoyed that one. Respect the relief of bodily waste being jettisoned from the body, but never lose the humor in it either. It is what it is.]

1. We're Butler University's #1 fans! [Thanks, we'll take all the support that we can get...especially come NCAA basketball tournament season!]

Signing off with a "Come visit soon" are Jakob, Brayden, August, Leister, Ellie, Andrew, Ryan, Ashley, Jacob, Dietrich, Leah, Gavin, Jonathan, Reagan, Martin, Evann, Lydia, Bo, Belle, Jackson and Miss B.

Thanks friends! You guys are the best! I lick my nose in approval...

A special thanks goes to Miss Butler who, by helping her students create and send this to me, is illustrating just what a great educator she is...bravo Miss Butler!

But how about those students?! Wow! According to Miss Butler, these youngsters love reading my blog and particularly enjoy the pictures of me, and they've become huge basketball fans this season. Miss Butler reports that her students now know more about the Butler men's basketball team and Horizon League than she does and they love http://www.butlersports.com/.

Right on, Miss Butler's class! Keep up the great work and you can sure bet that I'll be making a visit to your class very soon!

Stay in school,

Blue II

P.S. Don't forget to vote for me in Bissell's MVP Contest so that I can help them sell vacuums! Click here to vote for me: http://www.bissell.com/MVP09/Week09/Vote9.aspx?ImageName=Butler+Blue+II&FileName=769.jpg

Butler Blue II Needs Your Vote Again!

Yep, I need your vote yet again as the folks at Bissell are looking for their next pet model in their Most Valuable Pet Contest. You may remember I entered the Bissell MVP Contest last year in hopes to try land my mug on a vacuum box. While I got a lot of votes, I didn’t seem to have enough support to make the cut. That or Bissell just selected a pooch on their own accord. I’m not sure which scenario is actually the case.

Oh well, I’m back to give it another shot. The BISSELL MVP Pet Photo Contest voting period #9 is open now through March 17! To vote for me, click here: http://www.bissell.com/MVP09/Week09/Vote9.aspx?ImageName=Butler+Blue+II&FileName=769.jpg

My parents could really use a free Bissell vacuum given all the dog hair I leave behind, so thanks in advance for your vote and support!

In other news, the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team is playing for the Horizon League Tournament title tonight in a 9 p.m . game at Hinkle Fieldhouse versus Cleveland State. The game is on ESPN so either get to Hinkle and get a seat or find your way to a television set and tune in!

Go Dawgs!

Blue II

25 Random Things About Butler Blue II

If you spent any time on Facebook.com over the last several weeks, then you may have come across the personal "note" phenomenon known as “25 Things about Me.” In a nutshell, Facebook.com members, i.e. those with a profile, write a “note” about themselves that include 25 random things about them…just as the title suggests. Some of these notes are very random, some are very predictable, but for a site that is meant for people to connect people and allow people to get to know each other better, they actually take that concept a step further.

In other words, they work…they’re funny, quirky, witty, intelligent and most of all, informative. As a result, they’ve become quite popular with the kids and under 40 crowd. So, I thought I would blow the collective minds of the cyber world and type up a little “25 Things about Me” of my own. Maybe even be the first dog to do so; at least the first mascot to let the world in on my world; 25 random facts at a time.

So with out further adieu, let’s begin…

1. I’ve got a book coming out this summer. It’s a photo book chronicling the first five years of my life in pictures; hence the term “picture book.” At this point in time, it’s probably going to be more than 100 pages in length. Unfortunately this won’t be any piece you can find on the best-seller table at Borders or Barnes & Noble, or even in the lavish and rich mahogany-smelling Butler Bookstore, as it’s being made by my dad on MyPublisher.com. Thus, it will be an expensive little coffee table piece that you’ll probably only find in my parent’s living room, in my dad’s office and in the third floor archives of the Irwin Library.

2. It wasn’t until just a couple of years ago that I realized most dogs have to stay at home all day instead of going with humans to work. I’ve never really known anything different so I often forget that, but my dad is always quick to remind me when I’m barking or committing some non-favorable office activity during business hours.

3. I have a sixth sense for ice cream. You can pull a bag of frozen peas or some frozen strawberries out of the freezer and I probably won’t bother to even come into the kitchen. On the other hand, I could be on my bed and asleep in the living room and you pull out the ice cream and I’m on the floor next to the counter before you can even find the ice cream scoop.

4. I sleep in the bed with my parents. I have since the first night…about 20 minutes of crying in my crate after the lights went out fixed that. I think that I’m pretty much the reason why my parents bought a king sized bed. Typically, I have to be touching someone in the bed at all times. That means that I push my butt into someone’s legs or butt all night. I don’t like to be covered up unless I don’t feel good, and that’s even with a fan on every night. And come morning, you have to wake me up and carry me out of bed, otherwise I’d just assume stay in bed until noon every day. Yes, EVERY day.

5. I “kiss” my dad and “hug” my mom. Okay, sure, I kiss my mom sometimes and hug my dad at times as well, but usually, I give face kisses to my dad and cuddle and hug on my mom. Also, every night when we all just crawl into bed, I have to kiss my dad profusely…I mean like enough kisses to practically chap his skin. I’m thanking him for the day, for taking me to work, for loving on me and just for everything.

6. I might be the most technologically advanced/savvy dog that you know outside of Astro Jetson. I have a blog, a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account and a live office web cam. I have to thank my dad for keeping all of that going on my behalf and my good friend Brad Ward for making some of that happen and marketing it.

7. My favorite toys are latex chew toys. Even though I have an amazing bite force, I just love to chew on them and feel the scrunchy latex in my mouth. I typically do not destroy my latex toys, just chew away. However, I do like to destroy my stuffed animals. I enjoy shaking the heck out of them and then watch the stuffing fly like snow flurries. My favorite stuffed animals are the basic teddy bears at Build-A-Bear. They’re well built, relatively cheap, and they don’t have plastic eyes. I nurse on their snout with my mouth and kneed the head with my paws. I do this a lot to calm my nerves or to put myself asleep. It’s weird, I know. I’ve always been nuts about balls, but my dad got me to relax just a little bit when it comes to the balls. Being around sporting events so much, it was kind important for me just “let it go.” Finally, contrary to popular believe, I really don’t chew on rawhide bones…just love to hide them.

8. I weigh 62 lbs. I’ve weighed between 60-62 lbs for probably four years now. No more, no less. Yes, that is normal for a male bulldog. No, I am not overweight. Bulldogs are built this way. Calling me fat is like calling Matt Howard fat. Not only is it not true, but we’ll make you pay for such comments. I get two cups of dog food per day (one in the morning and one in the evening). There’s pretty much food in my bowl at all times. I eat when I’m hungry and when I’m not, then I don’t eat. The same can’t be said for a lot of the people that say I look over weight. Check the mirror for yourself!

9. Movies, commercials, billboards, print ads, etc. have always interested me. I’d enjoy doing that stuff outside of Butler, but I have never really had the chance. If given the opportunity, I think I would be great at it. I am well trained, I take instruction well, I’m used to working all the time, and I’m extremely good looking. Get me an agent!

10. I might be the slowest dog you’ve ever seen or met. My run across the basketball court for that rawhide bone or the sprint from the Butler Bowl tunnel and out on the football field are just flukes. You should see me walking in and out of work every day…in those normal, everyday instances you would guess my name to be “Molasses” and not “Blue.” It drives my dad crazy, so that’s why I do it. It’s a bulldog thing.

11. When my parents leave home, I am capable of staying out on my own and not causing any problems. In that case, usually you’ll just find a warm spot on the couch from where I had been napping. We did that routine for some time, but for the past couple years I’ve gone back to being locked up in the cage while they’re gone. Staying out on my own kind of made me anxious or nervous, but hanging out in my cage allows me to really relax. I even hang out in my crate on my own time. It’s a safe haven.

12. My dad is working on a special project with a childhood friend named Kurtis Beavers that revolves around me. I cannot divulge what they are working on at the moment, but I think it will be pretty cool when it’s all finished. That should be a while though…they’re only in the development phase.

13. I enjoy getting out of the house and going places, but frankly, the car is old news for me. I’m a sucker for tractors, four-wheelers, and boats. I’ve been known to jump up on the four-wheeler by myself and wait for a human to hop on and give me a ride.

14. I love being a mascot! Granted, I don’t know anything different, but I truly think I was born to do it. I love going to campus every day, hanging out with students, going to sporting events, wearing jerseys, attending university events, doing photo shoots, and any other mascot duties they throw my way. I can’t imagine any other lifestyle.

15. I have some bad habits and issues with bodily functions. Good manners are something I’ve never been taught. Thus, I burp, fart and snore quite often and sometimes at the same time. Chalk it up to my breed: the English Bulldog. It’s what we do.

16. I’m not a “howler.” You know how with some dogs if you howl like a wolf, they’ll howl back with/at you. Yeah, I don’t do that. I make crying noises like Chewbacca when I really want something, but I don’t howl. I bark a lot and growl sometimes.

17. I’m not going to lie, my work accommodations could be better. But I am just No. 2, in the line of “Butler Blues.” Thus, I just think that sometimes people do not understand what could/should be done for a live mascot. Sometimes “Butler Blue II” is an after thought. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got it pretty good, but there could be more. After all, I am a bulldog and “getting around” isn’t exactly my strong suit. So, a reserved, close parking spot would be helpful. Sure, I’m a dog, but I’m not just some happy-go-lucky Labrador that’s running into work every morning. Believe me, I’m smarter than that. My dad practically has to drag me into work every day. A golf cart to get around campus would be good too. Maybe I should talk to the local Smart Car dealer and see about getting hooked up with a new blue Smart Car…the new “Blue Mobile!” I’m just saying, I’m the real thing…a living breathing mascot. That should come with some extra perks. See UGA at the University of Georgia.

18. If your dog has diarrhea, feed him/her 100% pumpkin with a little plain non-fat yogurt. Firm ‘em right up! I’m just saying, it works for me! Seriously! Don’t get the can of pumpkin pie mix. That’s not the stuff you want. Look on the can and make sure it’s 100% pumpkin. Very important. Works like a charm.

19. Love the water. Can’t swim. As a puppy I jumped in a pool once and immediately sunk to the bottom. Think about it, I don’t have one good characteristic for swimming. My nose is smushed, my airways are small, my legs are little, my hips are narrow, my feet aren’t webbed, I weigh a ton, I’m as dense as they come and my coat holds as much water as the Sham-wow! Swimmer: no. Anchor: yes. So, my water time has been restricted to bath time, one of those plastic kiddy wading pools (which I love!) and boat rides. I have a life jacket, but even that thing struggles to keep me afloat!

20. When it comes to toys, I’m completely spoiled. I love new toys! Say the words, “new toy,” and I’m all ears. It’s pretty much the only thing that can get me to get up and jump out of bed on my own terms. Otherwise, you’re picking me up out of bed and setting me on the floor. Bring home some shopping sacks and I’m going through them to make sure there isn’t a new toy in there for me. Bring a new toy home, and I’m going nuts! I’ll cry until I get it and once I do, I have to take it straight to my bed. I don’t know why, I just do. After that, it’s the only thing on my mind when I’m home for at least a week. Say “new toy” after bringing one home recently, and that will be the one that I go get. Love me some new toys!

21. I love going to the vet. I hear a lot of dogs don’t like going to the vet. I don’t get that. I go to the vet and all of the staff make over me, give me lots of treats, give me my own room (no really, I have a room at the vet with my pictures on the wall) and after all of that, my vet, Dr. Kurt Phillips (pictured) as Woodland Animal Hospital, comes in and takes care of me. Seriously, I love going to the vet. Say “Dr. Phillips,” and my ears perk up. Pull up to the vet’s office, and I race you to the door. Good times!

22. While I’m not supposed to have “people food” I still have been known to have fair share from time to time. Like any canine, I’ll eat just about anything. Here are a few things I won’t devour: lettuce, pretzels, Pepto Bismol, and sometimes popcorn and dry cereal…just depends on my mood for those last two.
23. High-maintenance and pampered, that’s me. I don’t try to be. I don’t go seeking that sort of care and attention, it just comes with the territory and the breed. Several hundred years of inbreeding has bred most of the good stuff right out of us English Bulldogs. As a result, I often have to have Desitin or A+D (you know, the stuff for diaper rash) Ointment applied to my wrinkles, nooks and crannies. That means I have it applied to my face wrinkles, nose rope and tail pocket. Pleasant huh? It supposed to dry up the wrinkles and prevent fungus and infection. I don’t much like it, but I’m a trooper about it and take it. I also have to have my wrinkles and what not frequently cleaned with baby wipes. They like to put Vaseline on my nose too. Put Vaseline all over your nose and let me know how that goes. It’s tough being me.

24. When I go potty and I have to urinate, 50% of the time I squat and the other 50% of the time I lift a leg. I would also say that 60% of the time I kick after I go potty to “cover it up.”

25. I’m a “wiggler.” I get excited, I wiggle. I’ll even do it on command. Show me “the twist” and I’ll shake my booty better than Chubby Checker ever did. Think about it, I’ve got a tail, but it’s a corkscrew and nothing to wag, so when I get excited, I wiggle. And pretty much every time my parents sing KC and the Sunshine Band’s lyrics “shake shake shake, shake shake shake, shake youuuurrrrr booooootttttttaaaaaayyyyy,” I do just that. It’s embarrassing.

The end.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed those 25 very random facts about me and maybe even learned something new too!

Blue II

March is My Month!

Why is March my month? Well, it's my birth month and if that's not good enough for you, then because Butler University says so!

According to today's Butler University "NewsFlash," our e-newsletter for alumni and friends, the Butler University Student Foundation (BUSF) will be helping me celebrate my fifth birthday on March 27th .

To view the newsletter, follow this link: http://editor.ne16.com/he/vo.aspx?FileID=917d9802-76dd-451e-9931-4c2709cc03d7&MemberID=286244402&MailID=8626727

In addition to a student, faculty and staff campus birthday party on my big day, they are also allowing everyone to celebrate my "born-on date." BUSF is supplying a special Blue II coloring card with wich you can send me your special birthday wishes. So have at it and let me know what you think!

In other news, the Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team closed out February as the regular season Horizon League Champions as they defeated Cleveland State at Hinkle Fieldhouse on IndyCar Series Day.

That means Butler gets to host the Horizon League post-season tournament and I get to go to more home basketball games! So I'm excited about that! Not bad for being picked fifth in the League to start the season! Go Dawgs!

Since yesterday was IndyCar Series Day at Butler, I got to hang out with IndyCar drivers Ed Carpenter (2003 Butler grad) and Sarah Fisher (pictured/former Butler student).

Ed and Sarah signed autographs, presented special Butler branded IndyCar race helmets to Butler athletic director Barry Collier and Hink, as well as raced tricycles. Yes, they are so desperate to race something this off-season, they went head to head on trikes. Here's some footage of that...



IndyCar Day also gave me an opportunity to pose next to Ed Carpenter's No. 20 Menards Dallara/Honda/Firestone machine, operated by Vision Racing.

It's a nice looking car, but I'm not sure where the family dog is supposed to ride.

In like a lion, out like a lamb,

Blue II

Two for Tuesday

I titled this post, "Two for Tuesday," but really, it's two for the work week! Yep, I'm batting 1000 when it comes to getting my name in print this week.

On Monday it was the CASE Currents Magazine that my dad gets at work. There they chronicled my (and the university's) "publicity boon" as a result of the stolen bulldog mascot costumes.

The best I could do was a scanned copy of the article in two seperate files. You probably can't even read them. I'll summarize...then university employee Brad Ward had a great idea to create a video of me searching for the missing bulldog mascot costumes, put it online and hope it goes viral. Some 13,000+ video views and a ton of publicity later, the plan worked. Sorry, that's the best I could do. Deal with it and enjoy...

Today it was Indy's Examiner.com. The Indianapolis Dogs Examiner, Rachael Niehaus put up a cute little feature on me, appropriately titled, "A Dog's Life." You can check that story out by clicking here: http://www.examiner.com/x-3061-Indianapolis-Dogs-Examiner

Not bad for a couple of day's work!

Enjoy the reads,

Blue II

A Stinky Week

How about a new movie to start this post? That should serve as a nice little attention-getter.

The video below is of me, just after the introduction of the Butler Bulldog starters as I make my way across the court to retrieve my over-sized rawhide bone from the Dawg Pound. This video was shot on Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 by Damon Lewis of the Horizon League, prior to the Butler/University of Illinois-Chicago men’s basketball game. Thanks for the video Damon!



As far as basketball goes, the rest of the week wasn’t so kind to the Butler Bulldogs…the men’s squad anyway. Since this game in which that video was taken, the Dawgs dropped two straight…something they haven’t done in 111 games. That’s downright stinks and unfortunately, my gastrointestinal system has matched their play.

You may remember an entry last year in which I posted a story about the bulldog being the gassiest of all dog breeds. Yeah, I lived up to that this week. I wouldn’t say that I’m proud of it, but to have such a strong smell come out of such a small being was kind of impressive.

The culprit of the flatulence was the consumption of unauthorized substances. In other words, I was eating something other than my dog food.

I’m on a strict diet of Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal Formula made by Eagle Pack Pet Food, Inc. It treats me well. I have a nice smooth, soft and shiny coat, I am no longer affected much by seasonal allergies and I digest it well. When I deviate from my regular dog food, then you’re most certain to smell it.

Where/how would I consume such things other than my regular dog food, you ask? The office. Think about it. I work with a lot of people. These people are always bringing in food, throwing parties, eating at their desks, etc. These people also can’t say no to the pouty puppy face. Finally, these people don’t have to go home with me a night. That’s a perfect recipe for methane gas.

So my dad had to send yet another “don’t feed the dog” email out to his colleagues this week. In one email and just a few strokes of the keyboard, my dad has completely put the kibosh on my office culinary delight. Bummer.

Of course, now it’s just a big joke and I’m the “butt” (pun sort of intended) of these jokes. The office colleagues are suggesting my dad hang up signs outside his office like you’d find at a national park about not feeding the wild animals. They also came up with a t-shirt design for him. I’ve included it below. Note, I’m not laughing.

So the bad news is I no longer eat like a king. The good news, I no longer have a constantly upset stomach, indigestion and of course, bad gas. I suppose the positives out-weigh the negatives, but it’s been a tough lesson to learn.

Before I sign off, I’ve got to give some blog love to those sending love my way on Valentine’s Day. First, special thanks yet again to Leslie Bishop for the special Valentine’s Day bulldog card that she sent to the office! And, this time a special thanks also goes to Hiram Schilling for the card and treats and to Linda Cooley for the great new toys! It’s good to be me!

Here’s to hoping the Bulldogs regroup and come away victorious on Saturday (Feb. 21) at noon on ESPN versus Davidson in the BracketBuster and to a flatulence free weekend!

Blue II

A New Champ, But No Bulldog

Well, another Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has come and gone, the 133rd to be exact, and we’ve got another stunner taking the “Top Dog” spot this year. Last year it was the Beagle (named Uno), this year it is a 10-year old Sussex Spaniel named Stump.

My congratulations to Stump on cheating death and coming out of retirement, as of last Wednesday, to become the oldest “Best in Show” at Westminster! This dog has quite a story! Check it out at USAToday.com; http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-02-10-westminster-dog-show_N.htm

All that aside, I’m still waiting for the English Bulldog to bust out of the Non-Sporting ranks and take the top prize. People will be saying, “Uno and Stump who?” An English Bulldog with the silver cup will blow peoples’ minds!

I’d do it, but there was a certain procedure that my good vet, Dr. Kurt Phillips performed on me back in the day that has since disqualified me from competition. Remember, these sorts of shows are judged upon “breedability” and the best dog to pass along his/her defining breed characteristics. I think you get the idea now as to why I cannot participate.

A-hem, anyway, as I was saying, I would be happy to capture the crown for the English Bulldog, but it wasn’t meant to be. So some bully, somewhere, is going to need to get their A-game together and make it happen. Personally, I think it’s only a matter of time. Our recent climb into the AKC’s Top-10 breeds over the last two years has us prime to make a stand at Westminster in the near future. When it happens, you can just remember that I told you so!

In a non-related story, I finally visited those “comment-leaving” HRC life guards this morning down at the HRC pool. My dad had to teach Boot Camp this morning, so that means a 5:30 a.m. wakeup call for this tired pooch and an early trip to campus. My reward was a trek down to the pool to pay the life guards a visit. I think they loved it! After all, they’ve been clamoring for it over the last two semesters!

Thankfully, I did not jump in the pool, so my dad says that I can come back and visit again. It was tempting, but I was good boy and refrained. That water sure did look refreshing, up until the point I remembered that I sink like a rock in water.

Finally today, I leave you with the promised pictures from my most recent photo shoot. You know the ones I mentioned in my last post regarding the recycling shoot and my new Nike jersey shoot. I’ve included some below (photos by Brent Smith), but for the rest, head to the album on my Facebook fan page, located here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59617&id=23981937738&l=bbed4

I wish everyone nothing but the best on Valentine’s Day! If you haven’t got a special someone to share it with, then I’ll be your “Valentine!” Oh, that reminds me, I must send a special thanks to Leslie Bishop for sending me a Valentine’s Day card! It’s so nice to be loved! Thanks Leslie!

Much love,

Blue II