Vavoom!

Douglas Wants To Play!

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Readers' Dogs | No Comments

These two photos were sent to me by Qwerty Qork who is partnered with my old friend Peg Nightfire.  Qwerty said:

“Peg and I both use your toys for the dogs. it keeps them happy and active, this pic is Douglas as I was TRYING to rest.“

She went on to tell me that she has a Rottie in RL too and he plays happily with a 13″ car tyre! Hence the enlarged Vavoom! toy you can see him offering to Qwerty in the photo.

In the second photo Qwerty and Peg’s Rottweilers assume their guard positions using the Vavoom Poser for Dogs.

Vavoom! News January 2010

Saturday, January 9th, 2010 | Vavoom! News | No Comments

Vavoom! News January 2010

Dear Everyone,

What’s in the Vavoom! News this month? Well…. there are a couple of product updates, two new Weathervanes and New Toys!

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1. Updates are available for the Cuddle Rugs and for the HUD:

• Rugs are updated to position Widget (The VKC Mutt) and the Polar Bears accurately. Yes, that’s right, the cuddle rugs work with the Polar Bear too.
  (You’ll find that the Beds and Houses work too, the reason that I’m making a mention of the Rugs is because I specifically modified them to work with the bears.)

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• The HUD also gets an update this time out. It’s nothing major and you don’t *need* to rush off to get this one. The update is internal and means that it will no longer matter if you have empty lines in the dog_names Notecard. (It prevents the “No Dogs” error that occurs if you have extra white space in the Notecard.)

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2. New Toys:

• Widget Beer – this is a toy that I make for each breed. When your dog fetches this toy for you, he throws it to you, you catch it and drink it! If you haven’t seen this before, it’s a lot of fun.
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• Portie Beer – the observant among you will have noticed that I never made a beer can toy for the Portuguese Water Dog back when the breed was released. So this one fills the gap in the range.
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3. Weathervanes:

• Weatherwanes are available for both Widget and the Polar Bear. If you have not seen these before, they’re in a holo-vendor on the deck at my Main Store.here is a Weathervane for each VKC breed and as you might expect change direction as the SL wind changes.

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4. The Winter Bear goes on sale today for a very limited period:

• As I explained in a previous Newsletter, he was my item in the Snowflake Hunt and we were requested to make our hunt items exclusive to the hunt until it finished. Well, the hunt finishes today, I’ll put him on sale for the next four weeks in case anyone still wants one. After that I’ll retire him completely because it has always been my intention for the bears series to be Limited Editions.

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Lost Products

Don’t forget that anything you buy at the Vavoom! Store can be reclaimed for free if you lose it. If you need to reclaim something, you do it at the Update Stations:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/122/5/26

Did I say that it’s free?

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Want to Unsubscribe from the news service?

I am planning to introduce a system that will allow you to unsubscribe from the notices yourself, but it is going to be a while before it is ready. In the meantime, if you no longer want to receive these notices, please send me a Notecard with your name and the word unsubscribe. (You can just put this as the name of the Notecard, if you like. No Need to write anything inside.)

If you request to unsubscribe from this service, please be SURE that this is what you want to do. It means that you will not hear when there are updates to the Vavoom! Accessories even if those updates are vital when the dogs are changed such that the accessories MUST be changed to continue to work with the dogs. (This is of course a rare occurrence, but it is not entirely unheard of.)

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Thanks as always for shopping at Vavoom!

Chiva

Vavoom! News December 2009

Friday, December 18th, 2009 | Vavoom! News | No Comments

Vavoom! News December 2009

Dear Everyone,

I have several things to announce again this month:

1. New Bear

2. Christmas Accessories

3. A plug for my old friends

4. A surprise from the VKC

5. New Accessories

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1. This week sees the launch of the Limited Edition Santa Bear. He is designed to be carried (worn) by you and when you touch him, he rezzes a miniature replica of himself which is a Vavoom! Active Toy. There’s also a copy of the bear’s Santa Hat in the package for you to wear if you so desire.

For those of you whose dogs haven’t yet experienced the fun of a Vavoom! Active Toy, there’s rarely been a better time. This little guy only costs L$100 which is half the usual price of the toys in the Active Toy Range. And for those of you that are worried about what you heard about them being “bad for the dogs,” read the Endorsement by Enrico on my web site. Get it from the horse’s mouth, or rather from the Dog Creator’s. He loves them!

Santa Bear will be in the store until the end of December.

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2. I’ve put a selection of Christmas toys and accessories out at the store and put updated versions in the Update Stations. If you have Vavoom! Christmas things from previous years, you can get them updated to the latest version at no cost, as you would expect. The Candy Cane and Christmas Stocking toys have new sculpties for this year as well as updated scripts.

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3. My old and dear friends Sandry Logan and Blu Sparkle at LogSpark International have recently teamed up with another old mate of mine, Solcar Amat, to make an astonishingly cute new product for the VKC Dogs. The Dog Bath!

There are three different sizes to suit the different breeds and there are custom made animations by Amat for each one. The baths are scripted to help you set them up to fit your avatar and to change not only colour, but the whole THEME — colour AND texture.

I heartily recommend that you come over and check them out. Here’s a teaser:

and here’s the SLURL. You can try them out for yourself at the LogSpark Dog Bath store.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/13/94/24

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4. Just in case you’ve missed all the announcements and the talk, there is a new arrival at the Virtual Kennel Club — the Polar Bear! Yes, you heard me correctly! Enrico made a Polar Bear. He’s a Limited Edition too! (Not Enrico. The Polar Bear!) He’ll be around until the end of December, so don’t miss out!

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5. I made a couple of things with the Polar Bear in mind.

There is a new squeaky toy called Polar Cola which you can get for free as an existing Vavoom! Customer. Just click on the sign next to the Lucky Chair.

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I have also reworked the Igloo *Magic* Dog House and renamed this version the “Polar Bear House”. It’s been sized so that it fits snugly around the bear and it’s a pretty close fit so you’ll need to use the “Wake Up” feature to get him out again. I’ve modified the commands to get him in and out, I think you’ll it. But don’t just take my word for it, bring your bear over and try it out. The Polar Bear House is priced at just L$100 until the end of December.

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Finally, congratulations to Widget the winner of the VKC Mutt Contest and commiserations to the other contestants. You are all beautiful. Rico, if you’re reading, can you please make them all?

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Lost Products

Don’t forget that anything you buy at the Vavoom! Store can be reclaimed for free if you lose it. If you need to reclaim something, you do it at the Update Stations:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/122/5/26

Did I say that it’s free?

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Want to Unsubscribe from the news service?

I am planning to introduce a system that will allow you to unsubscribe from the notices yourself, but it is going to be a while before it is ready. In the meantime, if you no longer want to receive these notices, please send me a Notecard with your name and the word unsubscribe. (You can just put this as the name of the Notecard, if you like. No Need to write anything inside.)

If you request to unsubscribe from this service, please be SURE that this is what you want to do. It means that you will not hear when there are updates to the Vavoom! Accessories even if those updates are vital when the dogs are changed such that the accessories MUST be changed to continue to work with the dogs. (This is of course a rare occurrence, but it is not entirely unheard of.)

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Thanks as always for shopping at Vavoom!

Chiva

Polar Bears!

Saturday, December 12th, 2009 | VKC News | No Comments

Rico has made a Limited Edition Virtual Kennel Club Polar Bear

They’re available now for purchase in the Dog Parks.

Vavoom! News November 2009 – Three Things!

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Vavoom! News | No Comments

Vavoom! News 22nd November 2009

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Dear Everyone,

Three items of news this month:

1. Hunt Item
2. Updates to *Active* Toys
3. Lost Toy Remover

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1. Hunt Item

I’m taking part in the Snowflake Gridwide Hunt and I’ve made a special Limited Edition Vavoom! Winter Bear for the occasion. He’s adorable and wearable! He lounges comfortably on your arm and when you touch him he rezzes a miniature version of himself for your dog to play with. That’s right, the miniature bear that he rezzes is a Vavoom! *Magic* Toy.

Here’s the photo from the box,  isn’t he adorable?

He is available from now until mid-January in the hunt item that is hidden in my store. (He may go on sale for a very short period in late January but this particular bear will be strictly a Limited Edition.) To get him for free, you will need to come and search for him at the Vavoom! Main Store on Turing Isle.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Solcar Amat for the carrying animation and to give a quick plug for his own Snowflake Hunt item which is concealed in his store.

Watch out for more Vavoom! Bears in the coming months.
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2. Updates to *Active* Toys

I had a wonderful suggestion recently from a long standing Vavoom! Customer who asked if there was a way to control the range that dogs come to play with the *Active* Toys. (Thank you Yak.) So there is an update available for your *Active* toys that allows you bring up a menu to fine tune the range. Better still you can even tell the toy not to be active so that your dog only plays with it when you say. The dog will still do all the *Active* toy things, rolling around growling playfully and squeaking the toy, but when he drops it, he will leave it alone until you tell him to play with it again (or until you make it *Active* again).

To activate the menu, tell your dog to drop the toy, click on the toy and hold the mouse button down for five seconds. The menu will then open in the top right corner of your screen as usual.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/122/5/26

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3.  Lost Toy Remover

(This is the one that I’ve been waiting to announce for ages!)

Does your dog have a habit of wandering off with a toy and later wandering back  without it? Over the years I’ve heard various reports of toys stuck in walls, lost in undergrowth, sunken in the mud in the bottom of the fish pond or laying on the sea bed.  This is useful little accessory that will help you tidy up Vavoom! Dog Toys that your beloved pet has lost.

Wear it on your screen or just rez it. Click it once and it sends a message to all the Vavoom! Toys in the region that you’re in and they disappear.

Free up prims at your home or clear up quickly and easily after you’ve been to a friend’s place or to the Dog Park.

Please Note
The Vavoom! Lost Toy Remover works with Vavoom! Toys purchased (or updated) on or after 22nd November 2009. It won’t work with older versions or with other creators’ toys. So come to the Main Store, update your existing toys and collect a Lost Toy Remover at the same time.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/122/5/26

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Lost Products

Don’t forget that anything you buy at the Vavoom! Store can be reclaimed for free if you lose it. If you need to reclaim something, you do it at the Update Stations:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/122/5/26

Did I say that it’s free?

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Want to Unsubscribe from the new service?

I am working on a system that will allow you to unsubscribe from the notices, but it is going to be a while before it is ready. In the meantime, if you no longer want to receive these notices, please send me a Notecard with your name and the word unsubscribe. (You can just put this as the name of the Notecard, if you like. No Need to write anything inside.)

If you request to unsubscribe from this service, please be SURE that this is what you want to do. It means that you will not hear when there are updates to the Vavoom! Accessories even if those updates are vital when the dogs are changed such that the accessories MUST be changed to continue to work with the dogs. (This is of course a rare occurrence, but it is not entirely unheard of.)

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Thanks as always for shopping at Vavoom!

Chiva

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Turing%20Isle/109/56/27

Portuguese Water Dog Videos

Saturday, November 21st, 2009 | Readers' Dogs, VKC News | No Comments

I just noticed that Blu and Sandry from the Virtual Kennel Club Dog Park at Turing Isle have published two new videos of the Portuguese Water Dog.

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Cleo, EmmaLee and Nola

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 | Readers' Dogs | 1 Comment

Nola Gumbo, Cleo, EmmaLee Streeter trying out the Poser for Dogs at the Vavoom! Store

VKC Mutt Contest

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 | VKC News | 1 Comment

This is the Notice that Enrico just sent to the VKC:

VKC Mutt Contest

(For a more complete story, please visit http://bit.ly/1wsNd6)

Do you have a favorite mixed-breed dog?  Would you like to see him in Second Life?

With some 13 pure-bred dogs already in the VKC Kennel, I decided to do something different for my next dog.  This time I will make a mixed-breed dog, a “mutt”, and I want your help picking him out.

I’m accepting nominations for the your favorite mutt until November 8th.  Then I will select the best nominations and set up signs with pictures of the candidate mutts in several VKC Dog Parks.  Anyone in SL can come and vote on their favorite mutt until Saturday, November 21st when I will announce the winning dog who got the most votes!

After I make the mutt, he will sell for a special low price (not being a pure-bred after all), and 25% of the price will go to dog-related charities of your choosing.

If you’d like a chance to see your favorite mutt in SL, send me pictures!  I need at least 5, minimum size of 1024×768.  Take them at the same time so the lighting conditions are the same, preferably outdoors.  Take these pictures:

1. close-up of your dog’s face looking directly at the camera.
2. the front of your dog from head to toe.
3. profile, from the side with your dog looking straight ahead, full body.
4. from above.
5. from behind.

I’d love to include your dog’s sounds too, so if you can, record your dog barking, sniffing, growling or whatever other sounds you want.  Send them along with the images.

You can send them to me in two ways:

By email:

• attach all the files to your email message
• put the name of your dog as the subject
• send the email to mutt.contest @[remove this]virtualkennelclub.com.

if necessary, you can send on image per email, just use the same subject.

In world:

• upload the images (and sounds if you have them)
• build a box and put them in the box
• make sure the box and each item have full permissions (copy, mod, trans)
• name the box the name of your dog
• transfer the box to the VKC bot-avatar, VKCService Runner.

(By sending images and sounds to me, you give me permission to use them and copy them for the purposes of promotion and making virtual dogs.)

So if you’d like to see your favorite mixed-breed dog walking with you in Second Life, send me those pictures!

~Enrico

Vavoom! News October 2009 – Celebration!

Friday, October 23rd, 2009 | Vavoom! News | No Comments

Dear Everyone,

I am celebrating and I want to share it with you all. This is a note that I received recently from Enrico Genosse, the Creator of the VKC Dogs and the Founder of the Virtual Kennel Club:

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“Are you looking for something new for your VKC Dogs? Without hesitation I recommend Vavoom! Chiva Vavoom has a line of the most fun and satisfying VKC Dog Accessories you’ll find in SL.

Chiva writes very sophisticated scripts that interact automatically and intelligently with my dogs in ways I never imagined, and the quality of her products is unsurpassed. My two favorites are the Active Toys (you can watch the dogs play together) and her Multi-Dog Beds where the dogs snuggle up together.

What sets Vavoom! products apart are how natural and realistic the dogs act with them. Vavoom! products and services provide a complete and professional compliment to my Virtual Kennel Club Dogs. You won’t see anything like them!

~Enrico Genosse

Creator of the VKC Dogs”

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Wow! Isn’t that great? What a vote of confidence.

So, how does this affect you? Well, there are a couple of things you could do:

1. Come on down to my Main Store and pick up the new toy from the “Loyalty Vendor”. As an existing Vavoom! Customer, all you have to do is touch the vendor and it will give you the toy free of charge. It’s a little thank you from me to all the customers like yourselves that have remained loyal to me through thick and thin!
   There is also a new Guess & Win game that I just installed on the deck next to the lucky chair, come and try your hand at this too.
2. Next time someone says something silly to you like: “Those Vavoom! Toys are bad for the dogs” tell them not to be so silly and show them this note.

Lost Products

Don’t forget that anything you buy at the Vavoom! Store can be reclaimed for free if you lose it. If you need to reclaim something, you do it at the Update Stations.

Did I say that it’s free?

Want to Unsubscribe from the in-world notification service?

I am working on a system that will allow you to unsubscribe from these notices, but it is going to be a while before it is ready. In the meantime, if you no longer want to receive these notices, please send me a Notecard with your name and the word unsubscribe. (You can just put this as the name of the Notecard, if you like. No need to write anything inside.)

If you request to unsubscribe from this service, please be SURE that this is what you want to do. It means that you will not hear when there are updates to the Vavoom! Accessories even if those updates are vital when the dogs are changed such that the accessories MUST be changed to continue to work with the dogs. (This is of course a rare occurrence, but it is not entirely unheard of.)

Thanks as always for shopping at Vavoom!

Chiva

Pisa, Butch and Babe

Saturday, September 12th, 2009 | Readers' Dogs | No Comments

Here’s another photo that’s been waiting in the wings for me to post it.
This is Pisa Fredriksson with Butch and Babe, snoozing on their Vavoom! Chaise.