A Guide To Being A Dog, by Seamus Wheaton, is now an actual book that you can own.

Poking my head up from my break to share this, because I think it’s awesome…

dogs-cover01-300x300Some of you  know that Anne and I have a non-profit foundation that raises money for organizations like NAMI, Planned Parenthood, and others. This month, as we do every September, we’re doing a fundraiser for the Pasadena Humane Society.

For a few years, I’ve written these silly tweets that are excerpts from a book that doesn’t exist, called A Guide To Being A Dog, by Seamus Wheaton. It’s all the funny things that Seamus would tell a puppy who is learning how to be a dog, like

"If you want to see how fast the humans can move, drag your ass across the rug when they're in bed."
“If you want to see how fast the humans can move, drag your ass across the rug when they’re in bed.”

or

"When you step in poop, make the most out of it by running across the rugs, and maybe some furniture."
“When you step in poop, make the most out of it by running across the rugs, and maybe some furniture.”

and, of course:

"If I stand very still and stare at it, maybe you'll give me some of your bacon."
“If I stand very still and stare at it, maybe you’ll give me some of your bacon.”

These tweets always get lots of RTs and favorites, and people have been asking me to put them into an actual book for years … so we did!

Anne and I hired our friend, Lar deSouza, to illustrate about 90 50* of my favorite tweets, and we put them into a nifty little 8×8 book that is on sale through our foundation right now.

It’s pay what you want (minimum $40), with all of the profits going directly to the Pasadena Humane Society, via our Wiggle Waggle Walk team.

Here’s Anne, with a little more about this year’s project:

For the past two years, we have done a rescue pet calendar project in support of our participation in the Wiggle Waggle Walk; an annual event put on by the Pasadena Humane Society at the end of September. It was a really fun project to create, and between those two calendars, we raised about $76,000 for PHS, which was awesome.

This year, we decided to do something new, and I am so excited to finally share it! Over the last year, Wil has written dozens of ridiculously adorable tweets as if our dog, Seamus, is giving advice on how to be a dog, ending each post with “A Guide To Being A Dog – by Seamus Wheaton.” I thought it was such a cute idea (as did many others) so I decided to make them into a book. I wanted the illustrations to show that Seamus is giving our dog, Marlowe, this advice, seeing as how she’s the younger one and newer to our household, and it turned out cuter than I EVER imagined.

IMG_0002I asked our friend and amazing artist, Lar deSouza, to do the illustrations, and he happily obliged. He captured the personalities of Seamus and Marlowe perfectly, as well as the personalities in the cameos of our cats, Watson and Luna. As cute as this book is, I would not categorize it as a children’s book, unless you’re okay with your children reading about “taking a shit on the patio” or “dragging your ass across the rug.” But that’s your parenting call. The majority of the book is not like that, but I thought it best to warn you.

You can purchase a copy in our store, for a minimum $40 donation. Your donation goes to our 501(c)3 foundation, and your tax-deductible donation will help us support rescue animals in need. We anticipate that demand will be very high, so to ensure everyone who wants a book can get one, and that shipping and handling is manageable for us, there is one book per donation, please.

You will not be put on any mailing lists, and the information you provide us will never be shared.

Oh, and this book (and this year’s walk) are dedicated to a very special pooch:

IMG_0001

Lots of readers have been asking for this, and I’m super excited that it’s now A Thing That You Can Have. I’m also hopeful that we’ll get close to or even break our existing Wiggle Waggle Walk records, with your help.

Please note that, due to demand and other practical considerations, we are not able to offer signed copies at this time. Books will ship near the end of September.

Okay,  I’m going back to my break, now.

 

*math is hard

30 thoughts on “A Guide To Being A Dog, by Seamus Wheaton, is now an actual book that you can own.”

  3. Sold! I’ve been waiting (expecting?) for this for a while now, and to support such a great cause? Let me be one of the first in line!

  4. Hi Wil,

    Is there an issue with the shop at the moment? I get a nice message telling me the book has been added to my cart, but clicking the view cart button gives me an empty cart message 🙁

    Sean

  6. Would love to purchase, but after adding the book to the shopping cart and then clicking on the “View Cart”, I’m told “Your cart is currently empty”.. 🙁

  7. Very cool! If signed copies do get released, there should be like 10 actually “autographed” by Seamus. (Perhaps his actual paw print)

  8. Perhaps I am not doing something correct, but everytime I go through the process I get “Your cart is empty.”

    Start Here: https://www.increaseawesome.org/product/a-guide-to-being-a-dog-by-seamus-wheaton/
    Set your price (I left the default)
    Click ‘Add to Cart’
    — A view cart button appears at the top of the page
    Click View Cart
    Get : Cart, Your cart is currently empty.

    Cry a little on the inside since there are only 125 in stock and you really really want one for your wife the bet tech.

  16. For those getting an empty cart, try a different browser. I had that problem with Firefox, but didn’t with Chrome.

  18. I had tried both Internet Explorer and Firefox to no avail earlier, I did not however try Chrome, which does indeed appear to be the only browser to work.

    Thanks for the tip, my wife’s book has been ordered.

    PS – She is a Vet Tech, not a bet tech, although that could be fun too.

    1. So it turns out we had a technical issue, but it’s been solved. Everything should work in all browsers. Sorry about the hassle, and thanks for your order!

  19. Now that we can order the book, how long do we have to wait to order our second and 3rd copies? I got some Christmas shopping to do 🙂

    1. I’m not sure if/when we’ll be able to change our system of one book per order, but you’re not the first to ask, so it’s on the TODO (or at least TOTHINKABOUT) list.

  20. I’m a sad panda. Too late to the (first) party, but I’m hoping there will be more available because I’m staring at a big, red, Out of Stock sign and I would love to get (at least) one of these. Thanks for being as awesome as you are, hope more will soon be available, and of course, play more games!

  21. This comment was meant to go on radiofreeburrito episode 43, but after 3 days of trying to post, I’m giving up and putting it here.
    Hi Wil! Ancient (39) female nerd here – I have a lot to say, so I numbered things to keep them easier to read.
    1. First, I have to gush and say how much your performances in Stand by Me and ST:TNG meant to me – since I know how much you’ve always loved hearing that. 😉
    2. NAMI is an incredible organization and I’m so glad you support it – Our local chapter was instrumental in giving my
    parents and I the strength to continue the roller coaster that is living with mental illness – not just the depression we all three have, but the tools needed to work with my siblings (my sister is bipolar with
    schizoaffective disorder and my brother has paranoid schizophrenia) – the education and support we received from NAMI helps us enjoy the good times and gives us strength and hope during the bad times.
    3. Taylor Swift is left alone in Nashville – as are all stars – we let them be themselves without the need for security or the scourge of paparazzi. This freedom allows them to do awesome things like photobomb a family shoot in a park. (Check out this link for some adorable TayTay pics http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2014/11/08/taylor-swift-surprises-fans-photobombs-park-portraits/18718813/
    )
    4. Taylor Swift, Lady GaGa and Katy Perry have become my not so secret guilty pleasure – there’s nothing wrong with liking pop
    music. Have you delved into Bruno Mars? His talent astounds me.
    (And this is totally a confession I’m ashamed of – I’m even liking a few Beiber songs lately – I credit the producers to save face.)
    5. You and Ernest Cline totally snapped me out of my post Dragon Con depression. I started listening to the audio book recording
    of Ready Player One the day after labor day and couldn’t put it down (or couldn’t put my headphones down?). I couldn’t wait
    to start my commute each morning just to continue the story.
    I could just imagine your smirk as you delivered the line about Wil Wheaton running for office. When the book ended, I needed
    more Wil, so that led me to your podcast and Tabletop.
    7. I’m feeling the urge to play D&D (or other RPG) again! I haven’t played in 15+ years, but I’m thinking a skype campaign
    could be doable – but I don’t want to be a GM – I like being surprised. Any tips for putting a group together?
    6. Keep doing what you’re doing. Haters gonna hate, but it actually is hilarious that people think you aren’t qualified to be
    a real geek – as if being yourself is a privilege reserved for a select few. You have enough to battle with the voices in your head – don’t let idiots on the interwebs or in real life get you down. (How could I not end this with “Shake it off?”)
    — Celerystalker

  22. Have these shipped yet? I ordered mine on September 17, and haven’t seen it show up yet in my mailbox.

    1. We got a partial shipment from the printer, and were able to ship out about 200 books earlier this month. There was a delay on the rest of the books, and we are still waiting for them to arrive. It looks like we should have them by the end of the month, though we’re told that we could get them as early as this week.

      As soon as we get the books, we’ll send them out. I’ll post an update here, and we’ll both post updates on Twitter as soon as we are able to start shipping.

  23. Will there be a second printing? I just heard about this and it is out of stock. Please, my puppy loves stories before her bed time. I would post her sad face, but there is no way to attachment a picture.

  24. Hi Wil, I tweeted this to you, but figured I might should post here too. I ordered one and finally got my book today. However the mail decided it would be a great idea to bend the package up, I’m guessing to try and shove it into my mailbox. =/

    I looked for contact info on the the Foundation page, but didn’t have any luck. I’d like to see about getting my copy of the book replaced. Can you help?

    Thanks!

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