I just got back from an amazing trip to New York City. I’ve been there a bunch of times already, but this past visit has to be my favorite!
As many of you knew about already, I was nominated for a Shorty Award a couple months ago, then with all the help of my fans voting for me, I was announced a finalist. At that point I was invited to attend the award show in NYC for the winner announcements.
I was so excited for the big day that I even cut my cookie intake IN HALF for the WHOLE WEEK leading up to the awards.
Shocking, I know!
I also made a commitment to start a daily exercise program including thirty minutes on the spinning machine, but that idea didn’t get too far when I realized my feet couldn’t reach the dang pedals.
So instead of being a 30-minute workout session, it turned into 30 minutes of television watching in a very uncomfortable position. If only I had some snacks it would at least be a bit more tolerable…
Then when it was the day of our flight, I was waiting by the door in my carry-bag, dressed in my big city attire.
It was a short flight to NYC from Ottawa, but since I need to stay zipped in my carry bag, Mum suggested I take a quick power nap. I was too excited for a nap though, so instead I just passive aggressively watched Mum and Dad snack on pretzels during the flight.
“How come you guys aren’t watching your figure like I am?!” I demanded of Mum and Dad as we got off the plane.
“Because you’re the one up for an award, not us”, Mum responded. “And besides, we just want to be ourselves”.
I was about to refute her answer, but then it settled on me; no one really cares about them anyway! Plus, their lackluster appearance would only help me stand out all the more! So maybe it’d be a good thing if they were a couple potatoes to my handsome French Fry-of-a-self!
That’s why as soon as we were in the city, I insisted we try Starbuck’s new Unicorn frappuccino. Although, I was a little surprised to see so many people acting like they’d never seen a unicorn before…
But you see, that was my trick! I convinced Mum and Dad to buy it for me just for a photo, but after that, I gave it to them to drink 😉
“I dunno, Crusoe”, Dad said skeptically. “I heard these have a lot of calories…”
“Nonsense”, I replied. “I had a sip and look how magical I look! So just imagine yourself after the whole thing!”
I was very pleased to see Mum and Dad had put me up in a star-caliber hotel in Times Square called The Times New York, not far from the PlayStation Theatre where the event would be held. I always love arriving at a new hotel!
How did I know it was star-caliber you ask?
Well, because the rooms had those fancy TVs in the mirror, of course.
Seemed only appropriate to catch up on a little Housewives of New York – er, I mean, which Mum made me watch!
We only arrived in the city the evening before the event, so by the time we had settled in a bit, the day was virtually over.
However, for Sunday morning before the event, we had special plans! We walked over to Central Park to meet up with the one and only Reese Lightning from the Harlow & Sage gang!
And let me tell you, she is just as cute in person as she is in all her pictures with Harlow and Indiana!
I think she was missing her friends though, because she seemed a little nervous or apprehensive around me at first. But then again, I seem to have that effect on women 😉
It was nice to spend some time with Reese and her parents in the park though, to learn more about them and their story and the things we have in common! For instance, we both don’t like horses! You may also find it interesting that my very own Dad grew up with a wiemeraner before he ever had a dachshund!
It was such a pleasure to meet a fellow dachshund celebrity pup, so much so that I had a huge smile on my face the whole time!
Be sure to follow Harlow & Sage (including Indiana and Reese here) on Instagram or Facebook!
After the meet and greet, it was time to get ready for the show! Here’s Dad and I making sure our suits still fit!
Mine fit great, but I was pleased to see Dad’s suit seemed to be fitting a little tighter than a couple week’s ago.
I could see he was looking a little agitated about it though, so I soothed his worry with a compliment, “don’t worry, Dad. It looks magical on you.”
Then, it was time for the main event!
We arrived at the Playstation Theatre, and walked the red carpet. The pupparazzi was abuzz with cameras flashing and microphones being shoved in my face, with celebrities next to my like Bill Nye and Karli Kloss!
But I wasn’t really surprised when the photographers asked Dad to hold me up so I could be photographed by myself.
(Sorry Dad!)
Onto the awards!
We sat at a round table, and had barely finished having a brief dinner when the ceremony began. We were expecting to wait an hour for the Best Animal category to be announced, since that’s about when it was announced last year, but low-and-behold, to our surprise and slight dismay (we weren’t mentally prepared for it to come up that early), the screen for Best Animal came up as the second award to be announced!
Our hearts nearly stopped…
The finalists were announced; Aaron’s Animals, Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund, Geordi la Corgi, Harlow & Sage, Lionel the Hedgehog, and Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary! All very deserving, especially my new friends Harlow & Sage!
“And the winner is… Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund!“
We couldn’t believe it! We raced on stage, Mum holding me in her arms, Dad scrambling to remember his speech.
“Don’t screw it up, Dad!” I whispered as we got on stage!
Luckily he did okay. You can watch the whole show here on YouTube, although I think the viewing is restricted to some countries outside the US, so you can also watch this version on my own channel.
I have to say though, it was funny to see Dad’s disarray after finishing his speech as to where to exit the stage, especially as host had described where to exit only 5 minutes earlier…
As Mum would say, “he never listens!”
Backstage, I think Mum and Dad were happy to finally have a family photo all together!
After those pics, and after Dad grabbed a quick selfie with Bill Nye the Science Guy, we went back in to enjoy the rest of the awards.
Shout outs to my friend Doug the Pug for winning Instagramer of the Year, and Harlow and Sage; wish we both could have took home this award!
We headed back to the hotel after the show, where I decided to unwind in the classiest way I knew how – in the lounge bar of my luxury hotel with an Old Fashioned whiskey drink and a rope-toy cigar.
I also couldn’t help but realize, once back in our hotel room, that the “Shorty” Award is taller than I am.
I’m not sure, but I feel like that must mean something…
So anyway, now I’m back home and still catching up on rest from all the excitement.
As Dad mentioned in his speech and as I wrote on Facebook, this was all because of you – the fans. We can’t thank you enough for your support and love, whether you’re a brand new fan or a longtime fan. And as Dad said, a trophy is nice but the best reward is knowing that we bring a bit more happiness to the world, whether just a smile in your day or motivation in harder times.
I’d also like to thank my brother Oakley, (who Dad forgot to include in his speech!!!) for being an awesome little bro who’s always there to cheer me up.
This was an especially rewarding experience after having gone through a tough year last year myself, with my surgery and then losing my best friend in the world, Laffie. I told her I would make her proud, and I have a feeling she is right about now 🙂
Keep ballin’,
~ Crusoe
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