July 2018 – Page 3 – Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Canine Crier

July 9, 2018Leave a Comment

It’s Monday, July 9 and it’s International Town Criers Day. Town Criers have been around since Ancient Greece – announcing everything from proclamations of war, to truces to later announcements about local news and events. They were eventually replaced by newspapers- and today they serve primarily in a ceremonial role.

I have to share news about the recently appointed Town Crier for Halifax Olde Town . He is a young man by the name of Will Brewer. And Will has made history in Canada being the first Town Crier who happens to have Down Syndrome. He is excited about his new role – and it’s great to see special individuals being recognized for their skills. Oyez Will – well done.

Now they just need a canine designate for a Town Crier, too. And we ALL know who would win. Hands down. Einstein. My human has just begun to realize how vocally demanding he is. Sometimes I think when you live with it all the time, you don’t even notice it any more. I’ve told you before how he barks out meal preparation instructions- AND he barks almost incessantly when my human takes the FG for his morning walk. My human tries to sneak up on him while he is barking so she can sternly tell him “no,” but he always stops when he hears her coming. She even tied the FG to a tree halfway up the driveway one day so she could sneak up on Einstein. She waited silently outside the door, but he heard her. So he was quiet… she started to go back up the driveway to get the FG, untied him and the canine Crier again started his proclamation. She raced back down the driveway. And he stopped. Someone should video those two.

Well I am happy to announce that the deck is DONE. Thanks to two great friends, who seem to enjoy painting – my human is happy once again. The deck has a new coat of solid stain and looks marvelous. And no paws prints through wet stain. Now we get to see who will be the first to pee on it…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 48

Yard sale

July 8, 2018Leave a Comment

Yesterday we were up and out at our usual 5AM. We are creatures of habit-,and we don’t care that it’s Saturday. We just know it’s a new day – and we are happy to get rolling . Like we dogs do every day. Humans should follow our lead on this.

After our morning constitutionals, we ate and my human did too. Then she invited me to come into the garage. Einstein shouted “no – don’t go. It’s a trap!!” But did I listen? Nope. And the next thing I knew-I was on the grooming table. An hour later we emerged -with one much nicer looking PON and a tired human. She didn’t plan to do Einstein, but looked at him and knew she had to do it. She lured him into the garage they they emerged 90 minutes later with a new dog. Elroy was next, but his time was much shorter.

When we all fluffified, and she had finally taken a shower (grooming is hard work) she took me and Einstein out. Again.

We didn’t know where we were going , but it wasn’t long before we noticed a bunch of cars parked at Jackson’s house. The neighborhood yard sale. Where humans try to sell things from home and then end up buying more stuff from other people. Another brilliant human idea.

My human wasn’t organized enough to take things to sell. Heaven knows we could probably sell one of the many sizes of dog crates we own. But she couldn’t get her act together to take things up there at the crack of dawn for the sale. BUT she decided, with some trepidation to take us up there. She told us she was going to put “FREE” signs on us. Funny.

I think she figured that after all that grooming, someone ought to see her efforts. She was a little nervous that Einstein might scare away prospective buyers with his “welcome” bark- but he surprised her by remaining silent. He even allowed a few shoppers and neighbors to pet him- although he was more interested in checking the contents of the tables for possible food items. We were kept on short leashes for fear we might pee on a table. But we actually settled in quite well and stayed for about a half hour without any problems at all. Then it was the FG’s turn to head over…

He was kept on a VERY short leash. Although he is more sociable than a politician seeking election- he has this vice called “jumping.” He has to be reminded to keep all four paws on the ground. While my human envisioned yard sale items flying, he was also very well behaved. Several people asked what he was. A “Coyote- wolfhound a doodle” my human answered. Just kidding.

So we all enjoyed socializing with the neighbors and were well behaved. I did note, though, that she didn’t take us back to the BBQ in the evening. Now THAT would have been chaos. Then again, maybe we would have behaved….Who am I kidding? Hamburgers and snacks readily available? Yup. It would have been chaos…

Maybe next year…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 47

Ordinary days

July 7, 2018Leave a Comment

For all my loyal blog followers, you know that I share our stories daily. And let’s face it – we three canines provide plenty of material to write about. And when we aren’t being bad (rarely) we share history and crazy events that all include some connection to dogs. But every now and then we have an ordinary day – and the world news is either too dismal to share, or nothing overly cool has occurred in canine circles.

And today is one of those ordinary days. No bears. No chewed carpets (so far…). No counter surfing escapades. No grooming torture. Pretty ordinary stuff.

Although there IS something to celebrate- and something that I was actually nervous about writing- for fear of jinxing things. It’s my counter. Several of you have noticed that we are up to 46 seizure-free days. Which is a record – given that the longest stretch in quite a few months had been 42 days. It seems we have found the right combination of drugs for me – including my CBD oil. The difficult thing about epilepsy is the “right” combination can vary from dog to dog. And we all know that things can change in an instant – so we are happy about each and every seizure-free day.

A kind list member on a Facebook page for PONs, sent us some info about research that is being done on canine epilepsy in Switzerland. My humaand now has a contact there – and will be contacting them to find out more info.

So today maybe nothing crazy exciting will happen to you. But that also means that nothing bad happened either! Sometimes we forget to be grateful for “ordinary” days. And when you think about it – ordinary can actually be quite extraordinary!!

Have a good, ordinary day. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 46

A birthday

July 6, 2018Leave a Comment

July 6. And today is the birthday of Tenzin Gyatso. Don’t know who that is? It’s the Dalai Lama – the spiritual leader of Tibetans and monk from the School of Tibetan Buddhism. He turns 83 today – and is a popular guy. He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1989. He is a peace loving charismatic man, who happens to have his own pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

And did you know that when he was forced to flee Tibet in 1959, he took his dog with him? And the breed? A Tibetan Terrier, by the name of Senge. I read that when he lived in Tibet he also had eight Tibetan Mastiffs that served as guard dogs. That’s

a lot of dogs – especially when you see that even ONE Tibetan Mastuff is a lot of dog! Clearly he’s a dog lover…mind you – I think he loves ALL animals. But still- I didn’t read that he took his cat with him when he fled. If he owned a cat….

The Dalai Lama has many wonderful words of wisdom and loads of quotes. But I’ll just share two with you today. Enjoy.

Wise words from a wise man. Who, of course, happens to like dogs…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 45

In the doghouse

July 5, 2018Leave a Comment

Here is a BRILLIANT idea. Wish I had thought of it….

We all know that dogs should NOT be left in cars during the hot sumer weather. For even a few minutes. And yet sometimes, you want to take Fido along with you while you go to run errands. Well. A woman and man in the US came up with an idea. It’s called DogSpot and it is basically air conditioned little dog houses that are popping up in cities across America. For $19.99/month or .30 a minute, you can leave Fido safe and secure in one of the dog houses, while you run in to grab a bite or to do some shopping. You operate the dog house from an app on your phone – and you can see what Fido is doing while you leave him. The dog houses self-clean using UV light after each use and apparently are also manually cleaned daily. In the winter they are heated.

https://dogparker.com/

I think it’s a good idea for a quick little stay. Mind you, we would probably be barking the whole time. And knowing my neurotic human, she would still be in a panic that the system would break down and we would be trapped. Did I mention that she is neurotic? Still, it does provide a place to keep a dog safe, secure and cool for a short time.

We have found the weather this week VERY hot- although I KNOW there are places with temperatures way above ours. But it has definitely limited our activities outdoors. That being said, the FG has a great new habit. While walking around the yard (on a long line) he will suddenly dive headfirst into the grass and ROLL. And ROLL. And then when my human tries to get him to move – he SPRINGS up, puts his tail between his legs and BOLTS. So far she has managed to hold onto the leash – but you KNOW it is just a matter of time before he is free. And I’m thinking he will head for the lake….

I think we need to see if we can get those air conditioned dog houses for inside our house. I can see three of those in the dining room…Why not? We have pretty much taken over the house anyway. Our house IS a dog house.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 44

Independence Day

July 4, 2018Leave a Comment

July 4. The big birthday celebration day in the US. More parties, barbecues, parades, flag flying and no doubt some protest march somewhere. Seem to be a lot of those in the US lately. I’m not sure why. After all, I’m a dog – and I don’t REALLY follow politics. Unless it has to do with dog legislation. Then I’m all over it.

My human couldn’t find any US flag headgear here in Canada. Thank goodness for small miracles…

So some US dog trivia for the birthday.

1. How many breeds are recognized by the American Kennel Club?
a. 98
b. 156
c. 192
d. 211

2. From 2013-2017, what breed ranks as number one in terms of litter registrations?
a. Poodle
b. Labrador Retriever
c. Golden Retriever
d. Beagle

3. According to the AKC website, all of the following dog names are considered to be “unique”, except which one:
a. Einstein
b. Copernicus
c. Harper
d. Max

4. Indicate if the following breeds are FULLY recognized by the AKC, the UKC (the second oldest Kennel Club in the US) or BOTH:
Alaskan Malamute
Chinook
Plott Hound
Mountain Cur
American Leopard Hound
Silken Windhound
Feist

5. Match the year to the formal establishment of the following performance events :
1936, 1947, 1991, 1994, 2005

Agility, Tracking, Obedience, Rally, Lure Coursing

BONUS: What is President Trump’s favorite type of dog?

So what do you know about American dogs? Let’s see:

1. C 2. B 3. D (Max is still THE most popular boy dog name. And yes, they listed Harper -which was a dog my human was previously owned by, they listed Einstein (!) and they listed good old Copernicus – the Polish astronomer. Guess what the next name of a PON in THIS house will be. But what do you call him for short? Cope? )

4. Here are the AKC and UKC breeds:
Alaskan Malamute: BOTH
Chinook: BOTH
Plott Hound: BOTH
Mountain Cur: UKC
American Leopard Hound: UKC
Silken Windhound: UKC
Feist: UKC

5. 1936 – 1st Obedience trial
1947 – Tracking was made separate from Obedience
1991- Lure Coursing
1994 – Agilty
2005 Rally

BONUS: HOTDOG (We won’t go into details about how many Presidents have owned dogs in the past….Sorry. I couldn’t resist.)

So Happy Independence Day to our family and friends in the good old USA. Canines be careful if there are fireworks and don’t steal from too many barbecues.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!
Seizure free days: 43

Stereoviews

July 3, 2018Leave a Comment

Yesterday morning we got my human up bright and early. No point in wasting a holiday. And we got a special treat – we PONs got to go for a walk with Jackson and his human on the golf course. It was a gorgeous morning and Einstein and I were both let off leash. And all was right with the world. Until yours truly discovered that the geese had left some delectable treats and I began gorging myself on them. So much for my off leash adventure.

After we got home and the FG had his walk, my human announced that she was going out “for a bit.” Right. Her “bit” is our concept of a week. Anyway – she was on a mission. You see, she has begun to declutter the Lindonian. She has too much “stuff” and the collectaholic’s tastes have changed. So she decided to rent a case at a local multi-dealer antique shop – and she is selling stuff. I suppose it’s not all that local – it’s about an hour away- but the price was right. She started mid-June and easily covered her rent for the first half month. The objective is to get rid of stuff that theoretically has value, but she isn’t even using. The only problem- after she sets up her sale items, she then goes shopping in the store. So much for profits. But she has limited her collections. She will ONLY collect certain old dog stuff. That’s still OK. So when she went shopping and saw a certain dog stereoview, she had to have it. Plus it was super cheap. If you aren’t familiar with stereoviews – they started back in the 1800’s. They are basically two identical photographic images placed side by side on a card. When placed in a simple device – a stereoscope, and you look inside it, your brain convinces your eyes that the image is in 3D.

When my human was a kid , she had a toy called a View Master, and it did basically the same thing.

Anyway, back in the day, there were lots of images depicted on stereoview cards. Famous places, people and even dogs. The early cards are two actual photos glued to the cardboard.

Later on, in the 1900’s, prints were made of the iriginal photos. My human has a number of early cards with dogs- and she realized that many depict children and dogs. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the images:

As I mentioned, later cards were printed right on the cardboard. Here are a few:

So yesterday as she was shopping, she spotted this card and HAD to get it. Not because of the breed of dog – but check out his name:

The good news about collecting the odd card- they are cheap, they don’t take up a lot of room and they meet her “need” for old dog stuff. For yesterday anyway…

Personally, I would rather collect dog treats. They won’t take up much space either…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 42

Wildlife and hot dogs

July 2, 2018Leave a Comment

Well we sure have had some hot weather the past few days. Actually the temperature wasn’t CRAZY hot, but the humidity was really high so it felt extra hot. Hot for Nova Scotia anyway. We don’t have air conditioning because, well, you don’t usually need it. But we had every fan in the house going Saturday night and we dogs could not get comfortable. And so either could my human. The humidity is supposed to last a few more days.

We have some new wildlife news. For the past few weeks, our neighbors on the road have been spotting lots of deer. And remember how I said they probably don’t come into our property because of the smell of dog pee? Wrongo. My human has found the telltale evidence of Bambi. One of her hostas is gone – chewed off right to the ground. So much for the dog pee theory. We haven’t seen them yet – but clearly they are out there.

Then the FG got to meet another critter. He and my human were walking on the road at about 5:30 Saturday morning and suddenly, out of the woods, about 20 feet in front of them, popped a raccoon! The raccoon looked at them, spun around and raced back into the woods. The FG just looked at my human as if to say “what the heck was THAT?!” If it had been me and Einstein seeing the raccoon, the entire neighborhood would have heard about the newcomer. But the FG IS more controlled in some situations. Who would think it?!

Today my human is off, so we’re glad. Mind you, we didn’t get to play much fetch yesterday as it was too hot. But we’ll take it over the luge run winter driveway! Look on the bright side, right?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 41