Introducing Euka II: She’s not a tuber

Kiss me, you fool.    Photo courtesy of Chris Kittredge Photography

(Social media disclaimer. As I talk about Eukanuba, it is as an employee of P&G Pet Care. However, anything I say in praise of Eukanuba supports my personal belief that we make some great pet food now. ‘Tis totally true.)
 
LOOK AT THIS FACE!, I’m saying way too loudly for cube farm environment. We have rules about such behavior, but we don’t call them that. It’s “open office etiquette” we say, like Emily Post works here at P&G or something. One doesn’t disturb one’s cubemates with loud exclamations while waving an 8 X 10 photo over one’s head.

Never being the kind of girl with an understanding of etiquette skills, let alone reasonable table manners, I’m compelled to bring everyone’s attention to a photo of Euka II that was just forwarded to me by email.

And just look at that face, why don’t ya? Here’s our next CCI pup in training at two weeks old. She’s looking directly into the camera with her newly opened eyes and just daring you not to kiss her square on the mouth.

This is Euka II, I explain to Everyone. She’s our next CCI office puppy.

What a cute baby, agrees Maria, my Spanish speaking cubemate. You know what we call a yuca, don’t you?

A yooka? I ask. With a long u sound? Isn’t that a southwestern flower or something. I thought that was yucca.

Photo courtesy of Chris Kittredge Photography

No, that’s different. A yuca is like, um, she patiently tries to explain to me. It’s a food important to South America. Kind of like a sweet potato. It grows underground, you know?

Ooh, a sweet potato, I think. Holy cow, that’s perfect! I look at the photo in my hands. Right, the stinkin’ adorable Euka is our little Sweet Tater. I’m seeing her roly poly puppy body with brown-sugar-cinnamon-on-top sweetness. Yummy enough to melt butter.

Actually, says another cubemate. It’s usually called a cassava. It’s really a tuber.

What’s that you say? A tuber? Oh, ugh. The thought balloon over my head audibly pops. Well, doesn’t that just suck the romance right out of it?   This puppy is not a tuber, I think.  Naw, I’m sticking with the Sweet Tater image.

So this precious little package of puppy goodness is Euka II, the fifth born of the Eukanuba sponsored E litter for Canine Companions for Independence. She is, of course, taking her noble moniker from the Eukanuba brand. But there’s more to it than just that.

Euka II is also the namesake of Euka, our recently retired VP of Canine Communications at P&G Pet Care.  More about Euka can be found at this link. But she was kind of a big deal around P&G. From the news release announcing her retirement after nine years of loyal service to the company . . .

About Euka

Since joining the team in the summer of 2003, she’s been the official greeter of office visitors, represented IAMS and Eukanuba at corporate events and industry activities, supervised numerous shelter makeovers and visited school children to help educate them about the importance of animals and how best to take care of them. In 2004, her celebrity really took off when she became a national “cover dog” by appearing on Fortune Magazine with P&G CEO at the time, A.G. Lafley.

To learn more about and follow the happenings of Griffin, P&G Pet Care’s new V.P. of Canine Communications, visit Facebook.com/IAMS or Facebook.com/Eukanuba.

It’s an honor, it would seem, to be carrying on the name of Euka here at P&G. And I’m a little crazy jazzed that this little celeb-to-be will be my charge soon.

We do know that Euka II won’t be stepping into Euka’s paw prints in the executive suite. Her replacement, the esteemed Pawl Griffin, has taken on the role of VP of Canine Communications. Instead our Euka II will be hanging with me in Pet Care R&D to learn about her career as a service-pup-in-training.

I shall call him Squishy and he will be mine and he will be my Squishy.   Photo courtesy of Chris Kittredge Photography

Three weeks down, five to go, until I can schmoosh my face in hers and get a good whiff of that wonderful puppy smell. Or start her training.  Sure, we’ll do that too.

Until that magical time, I’ll be cyber stalking the E litter on the Eukanuba Puppy Channel. Have you looked at this in the last couple of days?  The whelping area has been expanded to include a playground for the pups. They’ve found their legs and are learning to play with each other.

You know, I do declare myself with having earned a Master level at multi-tasking. Well heck, what mom isn’t an expert at performing multiple feats? But a warning to even the best of us. I tried running this Livestream and preparing dinner in the evening a couple of times and it kinda ends badly.  If you consider pizza delivery as Plan B as a bad thing.

So forewarned is four-legged. Or something like that.

There’s our lil tater in the right in the center of the action.  (screen shot from the Eukanuba Puppy Channel.)