We're big fans of Raul E New York's Micro Bubble Lipstick (this specific shade is Tea Berry). We love that for long days on set, it's moisturizing and long lasting...and Kibbles (aka Bobby Kennedy) the Pomeranian loves that it won't kiss off!  It's also made with vegan products and it's cruelty free. Check out their full cosmetics line at www.raulenewyork.com/

I don’t know how to ease into this, y’all. Our sixteen year old rescue Pomeranian, Precious crossed the Rainbow Bridge last Friday. She was not just “the family dog”. She was family. So, it’s important for me to memorialize her as best as pawssible. (See, we like the dog puns, there. And, it took me about five tries to get spell check from taking over.)
My momma (I’m Southern, so I must, by her request call her “momma” not “mom” and certainly not “mother”) adopted Precious aka Presh from a breeder in Transylvania County, North Carolina. Presh was about six years old then and boy, was she feisty. She was feisty up until her last breath, which is what we loved about her.
However, Precious was also feisty in order to protect herself from a past of abuse. Her past isn’t certain but we’re sure she was abused and most likely was a puppy mill rescue. Precious so badly wanted to love and to be loved and she and my momma were two peas in a pod. My momma is the type who loves to hug…and who loves to hug dogs even more than people.
Through years of therapy and love, Precious learned to love humans, including some men and learned to walk on a leash again. She used to be terrified of a leash.  My momma devoted herself to Precious and vice versa.  They were all each other had in the beautiful yet very isolated smokey mountains of North Carolina.
When Precious was about 10 years old, I begged my momma and Presh just to pack up and move in with me in Jersey City. So, they did. It took some time for both Southern ladies to get used to being transplanted Jersey Girls. Precious acclimated quicker than my momma did, naturally.  To help them with homesickness, I started talking to Precious in a big North Carolina accent. And, my sketch character Rowena Singh was born.  This is how Precious and I created our webseries Pageant Pom Mom (more on that in a bit).
In May of 2011, I heard of a  9 year old boy dog whose human momma was passing from cancer and whose wish was to get all of her dogs to good homes. So, I adopted Kibbles and Precious quickly became an aunt.  While she still clearly ruled the roost (not aggressively, just through her fabulousness), Kibbles and Presh respected each other and became fast adopted nephew and aunt.
As Precious aged, she was diagnosed with collapsed trachea, something congenital and not uncommon in smaller dogs. Thanks to the help of the amazing people at Whiskers Holistic Pet Care in the East Village of Manhattan, Presh went on a strict grain free diet and some great supplements.  Precious really thrived on these supplements and seeing her resiliency was so inspirational to me.
In the summer of 2013, I decided to turn my sketch character Rowena Singh and Precious as herself into a full blown webseries with a cast and crew of my talented animal loving friends. Kibbles would also be in the series as Bobby Kennedy. Bless my friends, because it was imperative to me that shots be scheduled around the comfort of the “senior fluffs”, sometimes freezing out the human cast and crew to accommodate Kibbles and Precious in the July heat.
It was important for me to tell a story based on the inspiration of a rescue dog who was aging but who didn’t give a damn. She knew for a fact that she was the hottest and most beautiful thing since Marilyn Monroe despite missing teeth and being in her 80s.  It was Precious’s spirit that made me so passionate to convey a simple message, “There’s a beauty pageant winner in all of us.” If I could have a fraction of Precious’s pizazz, I think I’d be a happier and much better person.  And, I’m sure I’m not alone on this.
I think part of me also subconsciously knew that none of us lives forever. And, the fact that Precious was diagnosed with congestive heart failure made it all the more special that the cast and crew of Pageant Pom Mom leant their hearts and talents to help immortalize Precious.  Precious would love when our cameraman and editor and cast and crew would come over because she knew it was time for all attention to be on her.  Can y’all imagine that a dog who came from such an abusive past, fearful of people would eventually love to be surrounded by cameras and a large cast of actors? Now, THAT is what I call being a true beauty pageant winner.  Precious not only beat but she defied the odds. I only hope other rescue pets are so lucky. And, they will be, if people like you, who have taken the time to read a blog post about a beloved departed pet help make a difference.
We just received Precious’s ashes today. They are locked in a beautiful wood box with carved flowers on top and a plaque. But, it’s something so finite. Precious, to us, is infinite.  Every day since she has crossed the Rainbow Bridge is a day I’ve lost my sh*t at least five to twenty five times because I miss her. Part of us is missing. I do have some comfort in knowing that Presh lived a long, love filled life and passed peacefully.
I just hope and pray that I’ll gain back some of that feistiness that I myself once had.  Though right now I just want every reason to stay in sweatpants for as long as possible.  Although Precious loved being comfortable, she’d be pissed at me scrubbing it up.  At some point, I’m going to have to put on my pink sparkle.  And, I hope Precious will come to me in a dream and show me how.
Fur now, I think the thing to do is pay tribute to Presh in the best way that I can.  I’ve made a video of some of our favorite pics of Precious, including some pics of her and her furiends. Those fluffs include Teddy the Shih-Tzu, Fudge the long haired Chihuahua, Cafe au Lait the Pit Lab mix and of course Kibbles, her adopted Pom Eskie nephew.  You’ll also see pics of her from our webseries Pageant Pom Mom which I encourage you all to watch in her honor www.pageantpommom.com
I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this post and to watch the video. Pawlease feel free to leave a comment below sending a pawsitive message to Presh.
Presh, I love you guhl. Your beauty and positivity has made me a better person and I think all who met you would agree!

With Love,
Brooke Hoover
Creator / Actor of "Pageant Pom Mom : The Webseries"
& FURst and Foremost, Precious's Sister

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE!
http://www.chicpeajc.com/stories/people/pageant-pom-mom-the-web-series/

People see the glitz, the bling, the glitter and the fluff and automatically assume that we are a webseries about fancy little dogs getting into fancy little dog pageants (and rightfully so).

While that may be somewhat true (actually, we are trying to get in to PEOPLE beauty pageants) we stand FUR so much more than that.

Pageant Pom Mom is a tale (or a tail, since we are going to throw a LOT of dog puns your way today) of self acceptance.  

Pageant Pom Mom mockuments the journey of Precious (and her mom, Rowena Singh) on their journey to pageant stardom. They're joined by a gay man (Simon), a black man (Craig) and an off the boat Japanese girl (Keiko). A team and real friendships form as this unlikely group of pageant hopefuls prep for pageant stardom. They learn that the journey is even more important than the pageant win...well almost.  That sparkle crown is sure nice.

When I, Brooke Hoover, the creator/director/actor behind the big brunette wig, began creating pageant mom character Rowena Singh with my senior rescue Pomeranian Precious, I noticed while there's a lot of sass and feistiness within Rowena, there's also a ton of fear and need for approval, both from herself and from the world.

I think most people can relate to this struggle for acceptance.  I chose to use my senior rescue dogs as the basis of the tail (well, the base of the tail is the butt, actually) --the tale, I'm getting confused--anyways. I chose to use my senior rescue dogs Kibbles and Precious as the basis of Pageant Pom Mom's message of loving one's self because animals do NOT GIVE TWO POOPS ABOUT ALL THESE HUMAN HANG-UPS.  

How many dogs have you ever heard say, "I'm not lovable because I'm overweight. I'm not lovable because I'm a mutt. I'm not lovable because nobody in this shelter wants to adopt me today." NONE. And, it's not because dog's don't speak. (OH, but they do. But, that's a different subject...and a different webseries...) 

We can learn so much about acceptance of ourselves, of each other and of  our conditions just by viewing animals.  I happen to be a huge dog lover and dog owner, so that's why this is centered around a Pomeranian as our hero.  She's not only a Pomeranian, both Precious and Kibbles are senior rescue dogs at that. So, in the doggy adoption world, they're not as "desirable".  But shhh don't tell them that. 

But, you know why? They wouldn't give TWO POOPS anyways.  To themselves (and to me and to the cast/crew of Pageant Pom Mom and hopefully the world...wide web) they are the two most desirable dogs on the block JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE ALIVE. That's enough fur them.

So, why doesn't the same thing hold true for people? I don't know. Personally, I noticed as a child that I stopped accepting myself when others told me I was wrong.  I based my self worth on other's rejections.

Nowadays, I could give TWO POOPS about other's rejections (well, 98% of those two poops, I'm still a work in progress). But, as a child when I was still molding, it hung on to me like poop on a shoe. (Sorry, I can't stop with typing the word 'poop'.)  And, I don't think I'm alone in this.  That's why I was so compelled to create a whole webseries revolving around the journey of self acceptance despite being crushed down. Repeatedly.  That's what life is all about.

Lately, I've been personally really moved by seeing the transgender culture coming into the mainstream.  I say the message of the reality television shows showing the journeys of transgender people (specifically "I am Cait" and "I am Jazz") is EXACTLY the same message as ours. Be yourself, love yourself despite the haters. Haters may just turn into friends. (Let's hope.)

People may knock Caitlyn Jenner mainly because she's a celebrity. I told Precious and Kibbles to buck up and get ready fur that.  But, we at Pageant Pom Mom condone her journey and her message because no matter how famous Bruce Jenner, The Kardashians or Caitlyn Jenner are, at the end of the day, they're people (or to make our dogs out there happy) they are BEINGS and they just want to BE. And, NO one can deny them or any of us that right.  If you haven't checked out "I am Cait" on E! or "I am Jazz" on TLC yet, we HIGHLY recommend both shows. While we are not specifically a webseries about transgender culture, we share and applaud their message of self acceptance, global acceptance and hope.

We also would like to share the message of one of our close friends and fans Yawana who shares his message about being transgender.  Pawlease check it out below!

While we are a comedic webseries with a lot of bling, our hope is to also spread the message of love, acceptance and pawsitivity.  We hope that all of you go out wearing your invisible or visible crowns every day feeling fabulous about yourselves because Precious and Kibbles sure do! 

We're so glad to be featured on the Jersey City Government Homepage as part of their #JCMAKEITYOURS campaign, celebrating the arts and culture goings-on in our little big city!  For full article, PAWLEASE click HERE