After Ozzy passed away, it was very tough for me to get through and it’s still very hard. But what made it easier was having my daughter. I got to live life through the big blue eyes of an infant. When she was born, the plan was for me to work and for my wife to stay home with the baby. Then, when her maternity leave was up, and she had to go back to work, we’d put the baby, aka, the Bean, into daycare or get a nanny. Unfortunately, I lost my job, when she was about to go back to work. And being there was no way we could afford daycare or a nanny, we needed a Plan B. And that plan was me.I was branded the stay-at-home dad. And I was proud of it. It was the most challenging, exhausting and rewarding time of my life. I took her everywhere with me in New York City. From coffee shops to Baby’s R Us to the swings in Madison Square Park. I changed her. I burped her. I played with her. And I watched her little feet grow.Today my daughter is 17 months old. Wow, it goes so fast they say. And it does. That’s why I’ll be writing it all down. From back then to now. Everyday I’ll be posting the adventures of daddy and the bean. Please enjoy. And learn from my mistakes : )

 dontdropthebabyonherhead.com  the dirty diaper diary of a stay@home dad

twitter.com/daddyandthebean

This is last photo I took of Ozzy with my camera phone before he went in for surgery. I’m so happy that I took it, it’s the last one I would ever take of my boy.

Although I miss him so much, he would never have left me, if I wasn’t okay.  I owe my life to Ozzy, he gave me a great life. My beautiful wife. And my beautiful daughter.

Ozzy (my furry antidepressant ) R.I.P. May 26th, 1996 - July 25th, 2009

Dear friends and family,

 For those who don’t know, Ozzy passed away on Tuesday. He went in for a necessary surgery and went into cardiac arrest in the recovery room. They couldn’t resuscitate him in time. It’s been a tough few days.

 We were scheduled to do a reading from PUPPY CHOW IS BETTER THAN PROZAC in Madison Square Park, NYC, on August 6th.  But unfortunately Ozzy won’t be there. I thought about canceling it — but I decided to do it in memory of Ozzy,and all of the other furry, four-legged angels that have touched our lives.

 The reading will take place in Madison Square Park, this Thursday, August 6th, at 6:30pm.
Bring your pooch and a pig ear. Hope to see you there.

 Woof! - Bruce

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that the paperback will be available on March 2nd everywhere. Enjoy and woof to all — bruce and ozzy

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog. Brooke and I just had a little girl, Rowan Maia. She’s beautiful. But Ozzy’s jealous. He’s been the baby for so long. I’ll be posting photos in the next few weeks.

This Saturday, October 18th, Ozzy and I will be doing a reading at the Dog Country Fair in Central Park. We’ll be reading at the Book and Author Tent at 1:30pm. Enter the park at 72nd street, and follow your nose to the Bandshell and Sheep Meadow. There will be all kinds of events that day. Bring your dogs, cats and hamsters. It’ll be a butt-sniffing good time.

Woof! Bruce and Ozzy (America’s Furry Antidepressant)

On May 8th, 2008, me and Ozzy did a book reading and signing at Barnes & Noble in Staten Island. There were many Ozzy fans that night. But Ozzy loved one more than anybody else—Lexie, the smartest, coolest, most stylish kid in town.

I also want to thank everybody for coming out that night to check out our book. Being a Staten Islander, it really meant a lot to me. When I was a kid, hanging out in the arcade in the Mall, I would’ve never imagined that one day I’d write a book and do a reading to my dear friends and family.

Ozzy taking a break from his moment in the spotlight. He’d rather have a cookie that sign any more books. Woof! May the dog be with you. — bruce and ozzy

It was the crappiest night in New York. The kind of night in the city that you just can’t get a cab. Somehow, me, my pregnant wife Brooke, and our 110lb soaking wet, smelly wet dog, superstar, hailed one.

It was an awesome turn-out for my first bookstore reading. So many of my friends were there. People like Billy and Lisa and Julian. The kind of friends that supported me all of those years. My friend, James Thompson, of Funico Studios was photographing the event. And there were also a bunch of strangers there. “Wow, people are interested in my story.” The funniest thing, before I read, was when Ozzy wandered around the bookstore, in between the seats like a maze, in between everybody’s legs, for a meet, (sniff, lick) and greet.

Broken microphone. Not cool for a first-time author, but I survived. I read two chapters of my book. A depressing part and a happy Ozzy part. I picked “Hurricane Bruce,” since that was appropriate for the evening. And then after I depressed the hell out of the crowd, I read, “My Little Black Magnet.” Everybody was laughing their asses off. We had a great time! Then we did a question and answer thing. One guy, Kurt, asked me if a cat would do the same thing as a dog did for me. I responded, “Why not? As long as you connect with the animal. Hey, you love a turtle, go for it.”

It was a great night. After the reading, I signed books. Bonded with the crowd. So many people were there sharing their stories with me. And of course Ozzy was licking their feet. I later found out, that Brooke took Ozzy outside while I busy socializing, but being that I fed him one-too-many pig ears, his stomach exploded all over 6th Avenue and she didn’t have any baggies. To those dog owners out there, nightmare. She nearly killed me.

Before I forget, I must give a shout out to the people working at Barnes and Noble. Amazing. Debbie and Marco were so welcoming to me and the Oz. At the end of the night I signed a bunch of books and they put them in the window with a large poster of my puppy. I smiled with my wife, my Ozzy, my baby in Brooke’s belly and I pointed at the window. Now, what’s cooler than that. : )

much puppy love
- bruce and ozzy

Ozzy and I will be doing a reading and signing @ Barnes and Noble

396 Sixth Avenue (corner of 8th street)

Wednesday, 7:30pm

It’ll be a good time. Bring some milkbones.

until then, may the dog be with you.

— Bruce & Ozzy