April 2015 – Page 2 – Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

National Look Alike Day

April 20, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is National Look Alike Day. I don’t need to go into detail about the similarities and differences between me and Frodo – I’ve done that before. We KNOW I have the better coat – I’m more “wash and wear” than he is. And the personalities – well there’s no point in reviewing who is more active. Yes. That would be me. And more disobedient.

But as for looking alike. Well – I’ll let you be the judge! Same or different – I think we are both adorable!

Our human is on her way home. Anxiously awaiting those guilt gifts!!!!

Have a good one!

Hanging out

April 20, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is National Hanging Out Day. And that is exactly what I am going to do. Hang out with the sitter. My human called yesterday to check on us – and the sitter said we were all doing “just great.” She is such a nice lady. She is very tolerant. Very. All in all, though, I have been very good and so have Frodo and Pax. Rumor has it my human did some “shopping” for us. Don’t I LOVE guilt gifts.

Hope you have a happy day hanging out!

Pet Owners Independence Day

April 18, 2015Leave a Comment

So. Today – April 18 is Pet Owners Independence Day. WHAT in the world does that mean? Pet owners are FREE for the day – so we pets can run wild? Seriously. IMAGINE what THAT would be like!

But that DID get me thinking. Just a couple of weeks ago, the first driverless car completed a cross-country journey across the US. I’m thinking that I would like one of those vehicles. Wouldn’t THAT be perfect? Talk about independence. I could go to the Pet store to pick up biscuits all by myself. And dog toys. And food. Not to mention the fact that I could hop in and go ANYWHERE, if I saw my human getting the grooming tools ready. No more hiding in the woods. I’ll be in the next town.

Now all I need is a GoPro camera, so I can record all of my adventures. And I’ll bring Frodo along – I can probably teach him how to pump gas…

My human better get home soon. Before I seriously start making inquiries…

Happy Birthday Bobby!!!

April 18, 2015Leave a Comment

All is good here. We are behaving pretty well. No major runaways and no one has stolen anything off the counter. At least, not that we are going to admit.

Being a PON, I need to celebrate today. It’s Bobby Vinton’s birthday! And WHY would I celebrate his birthday? Well for people who may not remember Bobby, he was an American pop singer in the 60’s and 70’s. He had lots of hit records. But more importantly, from my point of view- he was known as the “Polish Prince” – because he was proud of his Polish heritage. My kinda guy. He even had a top single – My Melody of Love that he sung partly in Polish. My human remembers it – and she could sing along. Even though she wasn’t REALLY sure what she was singing. This is all WAY before MY time – probably like 100 years ago.

I’m going to see if I can get the sitter to make a cake for Bobby’s birthday. Well OK – maybe we won’t get a cake. But at LEAST a few biscuits are in order for another Polish Prince. Yours truly being the other one.

Happy birthday Bobby!

Top Rally PON

April 16, 2015Leave a Comment

So today I have to congratulate Frodo. It seems that some “statistics” just came out in Canada for the Top Rally Obedience dogs for 2014. In 2013 he was the top PON in Canada – and ta-da – he did it again. OK. It looks like he WAS the only PON in Canada last year competing at the Advanced level. And he competed limited times. Like once. But he DID have a perfect score. So no matter what – he made the standings! And at least there WAS a PON in the stats!

I don’t want to make HUGE deal of it. Mind you, he will probably get a certificate again. And our human will make him take the obligatory photos. But he IS a pretty smart guy. I’m not sure I got all the smart genes. But if treats are involved, I AM pretty bright. So congrats to my big brother!

Speaking of treats, good thing my human FILLED that jar before she left. We’re helping the sitter to empty it.

Have a great day!

The Titanic…

April 16, 2015Leave a Comment

So today marks two things. On this day, in 1912, the Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland. Nova Scotia played a roll in the recovery efforts and many of the poor victims were brought to Halifax. Many are buried in three different cemeteries in Halifax. A sad day in history…There were dogs and cats and chickens on board. Three little tiny dogs survived – probably because they could easily be carried on board the life rafts. Paxton says he is never going on a cruise– it would be hard to smuggle him on a life raft…

And speaking of the Titanic, it seems some rich guy was building a Titanic replica – that was supposed set to sail in 2016. He was going to provide a simulated experience for the passengers – with period dress, meals and accommodations. All except the sinking part. Now this is where I really shake my head at humans. I mean REALLY – would YOU go on a Titanic cruise? I mean isn’t that just a BIT spooky? Well from what I have recently read, it looks like the idea has sunk – as the launch has tentatively been moved to 2018. Go figure.

The other big thing about today…our dog sitter has arrived and our human has set off for Bison. Ooops. Buffalo. We looked all sad and pathetic when she left. More guilt gifts. If we’re good.

I’m not sure if I’ll be writing much for the next few days – but SOMETIMES my human does Skype with me – so I can send something out. We’ll see.

Gotta go stare at the sitter. Time for some biscuits : )

UFO and other stuff

April 14, 2015Leave a Comment

UFO. It stands for Unidentified Flying Object. But in our case, it stands for Unidentified Foreign Object. The green stuff. In the yard. It has appeared – and I’m not sure what it is. I think they call it “grass.” And I understand that it is underneath all the snow. Patches are BEGINNING to appear. Well – you can see them in the picture. Hallelujah!

While that is the good news…I have OTHER news. I should have figured it out – but it was Frodo who confirmed it. My human is going somewhere. Frodo recognized the telltale massive housecleaning. I mean it’s not like our house is dirty. Heck, I would eat off the floor. But when we are having either company or the sitter, the super Swiffer comes out, and the place is cleaned from top to bottom. And since we SAW the suitcase yesterday it means….DOGSITTER and PARTEEEEEEEE. And it is HIGHLY likely there will be guilt gifts. I heard our human talking on the phone and she referred to some kind of “family reunion.” In some place called Bison. Or was it Elk? No wait – Buffalo. That’s it.

I’m not sure WHEN she is going, but I’m thinking soon. I wonder if the snow will be melted when she comes back….Actually. She better not be gone THAT long…because much as she drives me crazy….I will miss her….

National Scrabble Day

April 13, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is National Scrabble Day. We don’t play Scrabble much with Frodo. Because he always wins.

But today I thought it might be helpful to provide some words that people who don’t “know” a lot about dogs, might not know. And no – I didn’t make these up. You can dazzle them with terms like the following:

· wheaten. No, not the breed. Wheaten can mean made of wheat OR pale yellow in color. That’s worth 13 points!

· ruff. The profuse growth of hair on the neck. Paxton has a white colored ruff. And it is often wet. Because he drools. That’s good for 10 points!

· topknot. The tuft of hair on the top of the head. Poodles are famous for their topknots. And rumor has it that SOME poodles… Never mind. Anyway, I sport a topknot sometimes too. 13 points!

· weedy. Nope – it’s not referring to lawns. It means a dog doesn’t have much “substance.” Or muscle. 12 points.

· typey. Nope – it’s not referring to a typewriter. Does anyone even USE them any more? I’m still waiting for my human to get me an iPawd. But she’s nervous that I’ll use her credit card to buy all kinds of Yapps. Anyway – typey means a dog looks like what he is supposed to look like. So – I look like a PON. And not a Chihuahua. That’s worth another 13 points.

The dog world has it’s own terminology – and let’s face it, dog people ARE a little different – so they should have their own language. But if you REALLY want to score big – try this one. Xoloitzcunitli. It’s a Mexican Hairless Dog. And I’m not sure you can use proper names – but geez – it would be worth 32 points! Heck, if you can spell THAT AND say it – you deserve the points.

Good luck!

Spring!

April 12, 2015Leave a Comment

OK. It’s official. I, Viktor, the PON am officially proclaiming that Nova Scotia – well at least the area I live in – will NO longer be getting ANY more snow. We are DONE. I figure if groundhog can proclaim 6 more weeks of winter, a PON can claim winter is OVER. And we’re not talking about the calendar dates. We KNOW that Spring started mid-March according to some astronomers or something. But we here in Nova Scotia have experienced horrible weather – especially since that large rodent made his forecast back in February.

But yesterday, we all went for two long walks. We still can’t do the trails yet – and make no mistake, we still have 2 feet of snow covering our lawn, and piles around the driveway were we could hold a ski jumping event. BUT – the luge run is 80% clear of all ice – and we can see that stuff called pavement. Our human got the bill from the snowplow operator. The guy who three times left a snow pile blocking our driveway – because he got stuck – and just left and never came back.

But all that is BEHIND us. And we are joyfully celebrating the re-emergence of the poop piles. I can’t WAIT until more snow melts so I can get back into my obsess-i-fetch. Where my human keeps throwing a toy – that I retrieve – until her arm is ready to fall off. Right now the snow is still too deep – and playing on pavement isn’t really fun. But it won’t be long if the temperatures continue like yesterday. It was wonderful.

The warmer weather also heralds the annual “changing of the wardrobe” for my human. All of the lighter clothes emerged yesterday in preparation for really warm temperatures. Unfortunately, what began with the leftover Halloween candy in the fall and what ended with a lack of exercise due to snow and ice, resulted in much moaning and groaning coming from the closet yesterday. All the better for us – even MORE walks will be on the agenda now. Sweet.

So the sun is shining. The birds are singing. The snow piles are decreasing. We are getting more walks. Life is good. VERY good! I think I’ll do some zoomies!

The cat on the stairs

April 11, 2015Leave a Comment

Oh you humans. You really are kind of strange sometimes. The things you think about and DEBATE… I am so happy I am a dog.

First it was “the dress” that hit the internet. This was a month or so ago. People looked at a picture of a striped dress – and debated for days what colors were in the dress. Some people said blue and black. Some people said gold and white. But did anyone BOTHER to ask us dogs? You humans THINK you know what colors we see. You SAY we don’t see as many colors as you do. But REALLY. Who asked us? We supposedly don’t see colors like red or orange – they supposedly appear as dark grey or black to us. That’s what scientists say. They say our color world is limited to blues, yellows and shades of grey or black. Well let me tell you that I see the dress as Fuchsia and Magenta. I’m a PON. I’m different. Prove me wrong.

Now the latest thing to hit the net that humans are debating – is the cat. The one on the stairs. Humans are debating if the cat is going up. Or down. Seriously. If you haven’t seen it, you can Google “cat” and “steps” or “stairs”. It’s an optical illusion. I think the answer is pretty simple. He’s going away from the PON. And so he should.

Actually, here’s the picture BEFORE it hit the internet.

Yup. That’s me chasing him. Down the stairs. Mystery solved. Now you humans can sleep better tonight.

Seriously. I am so happy I’m a dog….