Schmitty the Weather Dog made the trip to New Jersey in style to promote her book, Schmitty the Weather Dog: Daydream, at Well Read New and Used Books in Hawthorne. Schmitty, a petite Yorkshire terrier, and her human companions, author Elly McGuire and meteorologist Ron Trotta, took the ferry, a taxi and a car and arrived at the store in their signature black and yellow checkerboard New Yorkie people & pet fashions.
In addition to showing off her sense of style, Schmitty has her own theme song, which was performed by Trotta, an award-winning Ragtime piano player. Then McGuire read the book to the children and adults in attendance. After the reading, the stylish Yorkie and McGuire gave autographs and pawtographs to their fans.
One of the unlikely fans was a rescue cat named Monkey, who posed for pictures with his human, Tom Bonanno, and Schmitty, Trotta and McGuire.
In Schmitty the Weather Dog: Daydream, the plucky pooch overcomes obstacles to help her two-legged dad pursue his dream of being a meteorologist - a story inspired by real life. Just like the main human in the book, Trotta became a meteorologist and eventually brought Schmitty with
him for weather forecasts and he admitted to the group that he was more accurate when she "pawcast" the weather with him.
"She shows us all that no matter what your size or breed, you can do anything you put your mind to and that you are only limited by your imagination," said McGuire, adding that she hopes the book promotes a love of science among children.
To further encourage an understanding and appreciation for science, all the attendees received a card with facts about the weather on one side and Schmitty's theme song on the other.
Although this was her first book signing event, Schmitty is no stranger to the limelight or charitable endeavors. She has appeared on The Ellen Show and Access Hollywood and has starred in many YouTube videos including a weather "pawcast" from the recent New York City Marathon. After 9/11, Schmitty became the inspiration and model for New Yorkie Greetings, a line of greeting cards created to raise money for the Uniformed Firefighters Association Scholarship Fund, a fund for fallen firefighter and their families. Also a portion of the proceeds from her book, Schmitty the Weather Dog: Daydream will be donated to pet charities.
Her next book-related appearances will be on November 22, where she will stop by the Donald E. Schick Elementary School in Williamsport, PA. Later that day, from 6 pm to 8 pm, Schmitty will visit the Otto Bookstore in Williamsport,PA to help them celebrate their 172nd anniversary, the oldest independent book store in the country.
On Dec. 7, she also will be "signing" her book at two different book stores. At 11 am that day, she will first appear at Boulevard Books & Cafe in Brooklyn, NY. Then from 3 pm to 4:30 pm on Dec. 7, she will visit Elm Street Books in New Canaan, CT which is during the New Canaan Christmas Walk.
Fans also can buy Schmitty's book and New Yorkie merchandise from their online store, NewYorkiestore.com.To learn more about Schmitty, go to her website which includes her bio and links to her Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts.
