Farewell from the Nugget

Hello everyone,

This should come as no surprise, but I'm writing to announce that The Houndly Nugget will no longer be updated. The good news is that Mr. Cleveland is doing well, but the bad news is that his owner has no time to draw and scan things.

I will, however, leave this site up, so feel free to browse the sophisticated offerings.

Thanks to all of our readers and take care!
Amy & the nugget himself, Cleveland

Photo Op

So you remember how once upon a time, I promised new comics every week? Well, the words comics and week now strike me as rather ambitious. If you replace the former with something and the latter with every so often then a more accurate picture will emerge. Cleveland just came back from a trip to Nashville where he got to participate in the canine equivalent of Hands Across America in the form of a posterior-sniffing chain.
All proceeds went to the IAMS corporation and to the makers of Jiffy peanut butter.

The Morning Routine

Step One: Perform downward facing dog.

Step Two: Yawn it out.
Step Three: Wipe your eye boogers with your paw.

Step Four: Eat aforementioned eye boogers.

A Non-Houndly Interlude

I have been drawing over the past few days, but for a purpose other than documenting the exciting plotlines of Mr. Cleveland's day-to-day existence. My friend Melanie is piloting a new measure that examines children's beliefs about peers who exhibit positive and negative characteristics in different domains. I am illustrating the instrument for her with B&W cartoons depicting the kids. Each picture will be accompanied by a short descriptor and a thought bubble that kids can fill in. Here are a few that I've scanned.
If I remember correctly, "Cindy" here excels in the athletic domain but fails in the behavioral domain (always getting into trouble with her parents). What a juvie in the making!

"Sam" is a real smartie, but he can't keep his weight under control. Poor guy.

Further houndly adventure should appear here in a little while. But for now, I've got to complete 21 of these bad boys (for different age groups). Sit tight!

a.

Beagle + ______ = Cleveland

We think he may be half Basset. Here are some of the clues:

He also has some of the behavioral attributes, such as laziness and obstinacy. And sometimes he smells like the restroom on a Greyhound bus (not sure if that's Basset, but it's one of his more alluring qualities). Looking at his pictures on the side and below, what do you all think?

He reckons.

Today I noticed that Cleveland's rabies tag indicates that he was vaccinated in Hopewell, VA. This vibrant community southeast of Richmond is known for its civil war history, plantations, and Sears catalog mail-order homes. I've never been to Hopewell, but I like to imagine that Cleveland would have turned out like this had he not come to Durham. Secretly, he still wishes that he lived with this guy.

**No disrespect to Southerners! I swear!**

I kind of like Cleveland with the big round eyes.

How To Tell If You Need A Shower

If he shows no interest in your pits, then you need not wash up. Mike doesn't really have that t-shirt, but I figured while I was embarrassing him with a body odor comic, I would throw in an emasculating tee.

Nugget fans (I know there must be some of you out there!), I apologize for the lag time between posts. I've been thinking of changing over to a strict weekly format, but as a psychologist I know that intermittent reinforcement schedules are often the most rewarding. So check back often! ;)

Asthmatics Beware!

Cleveland is shedding like daaaaaang. The boy has probably lost two pounds worth of hair and it's lining the baseboards and clogging the dusty corners of the house. We bought him some special vitamins from 1-800-Pet-Meds (much easier than actually vacuuming more than once a week, duh), but I don't think they've made a dent is his rampant alopecia. I'm sure that seasoned beagle owners are chuckling at my efforts, but I am going to beat this shedding. Or he's going to run out of hair. Either way.

** I don't own that outfit and I don't know that I'd wear it. But my virtual self has more confidence and less social insecurity than I do.

The Secret Ingredient is... TRASH!

Cleveland has not yet been asked to serve as a guest judge for Iron Chef America. However, if he did he would probably demand that ramekins with peanut butter accompany his meals since he won't eat anything remotely healthy without a dollop of it. Being vegetarians, our kitchen floor scraps do not suit Mr. Cleave's tastes. But give him a handful of animal by-products and he's all hot to trot.


**Note: I wish I'd thought of the name myself, but Nutastics are real treats. Desiccated beef is the number one ingredient in one of his other faves. He is nasty.

Two for two.

(Cleveland has only had two accidents.)

Tony Danza, Eat Your Heart Out!

Cleveland knows who is boss around here. "My, what a lovely living room you have," you may be thinking. "What with all of the rich earth tones and teeny tiny furniture." Why, thank you! And don't you think that it vaguely resembles the Quinta da Lua's living room (which happens to appear on the first page if you type "living room" into Google)? We live large.

Meet the Cast, part 1

I don't know when I'll get around to part 2, but whatevs.

Name: Michael Watts
Age: 28
Superpower #1: Can make Cleveland go all "red zone" by blowing in his face
Superpower #2: Can make Cleveland go all "calm submeeesive" with a chest scratch
Superpower #3: Exceedingly dreamy

Name: Tulip
Age: Twoish
Superpower: Tug jaws of steel
Obsessed With: Slaying the hose

What Cleveland Dreams About

Re-donk-u-lous

Old Trick You Can't Teach To A New Dog
At least not to an uncoordinated one.