There is a new mystery in our house. Who chewed the penguin’s toenail? Yes.  The penguin’s toenail.

For those who don’t know our household well, we are not the only animals living here.  There is a beaver, a turkey, a loon, two geese, several ducks, two deer, many bears, multiple dogs, fish, rabbits, a heron, assorted other birds, at least one turtle, a puffin and a penguin.  Really.  We have our own zoo.

Luckily though, this menagerie does not need feeding.   They are all made of wood.  They are folk art.

Folk art is essentially art that is created by untrained individuals.  The artists didn’t go to school to learn  how to paint or draw, or carve things – they learned to do it themselves.  Sometimes is it pretty primitive. And most folk artists don’t intitally start out thinking that this is going to be a way to earn money – they do it purely for their own enjoyment – or maybe to give as a gift to another.  Nova Scotia has a LONG history of folk art.  I wrote about one of our most famous folk artists in another blog.
https://viktorsviews.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-lesson-from-maud.html

But in addition to Maud, there are plenty of people who still make folk art.  Many of the early folk artists were woodsmen, and fishermen – who looked for things to occupy their time in the off season.

While my human initially thought folk art was too primitive for her liking, she learned over time to appreciate the thought, craft and HUMOR behind many of the works.  And she appreciated the backgrounds on the artists – who did the art “just because.”   Years ago, she worked for fun at a folk art gallery.  This was while she also had her current job. She did it because she enjoyed the colorful, unique art – but also because she learned the stories of the people behind the art.

She enjoyed meeting the artists and working at the store.  Oh.  And did I mention she was PAID in folk art.  Hence the zoo.

After we endured the painting of the kitchen and dining room back in August, my human decided to “move things around” and “redecorate”.  The moving scheme included taking a large,  over two-foot tall penguin, and place him in the dining room.  From his previous location in the laundry room.  Yes.  There are animals everywhere.

The interesting thing about this penguin – he has long toenails.  Orange and yellow toenails. Made of wood of course.

When Mr P was moved to the dining room, we all sized him up.  My human threatened that if anyone lifted a leg to pee on him, we would live the rest of our days in the laundry room.  Not that we pee IN the house – but you know us boys and “new” things – gotta mark them as our own.  Anyway, no one peed on the penguin.

However, about a week ago, my human noticed that one of the penguin’s toenails was on the floor next to him.  She wondered how that happened.  And then she noticed the FG sniffing it.  And he was about to pick it up when she shouted “NOOOOOO.”  He left it alone.

Fast forward (finally!) to Wednesday.  My human came home from work and checked the condition of the chair wall still lining the edges of the dining room carpet.  It always looks like there has been a brawl when you come in – with all the chairs lying on their sides.  Anyway, that’s when she spotted it.  The remains of the toenail.  The yellow part was gone, but about 3/4 of the orange part remained.  But WHO was the culprit? The obvious suspect was the FG.  But it REALLY COULD have been any of us.  So she turned to the snitch.  Big Brother.  And saints preserve us – that’s when she realized Big Brother had not been reset after the new internet was installed.  It wasn’t working.  No video evidence.  Phew.

She had to find some paint to touch up the shortened toenail.  In the process, the tube of paint opened at the wrong end, resulting in a blob of yellow paint on my human and on the table.  She just sighed.  Sure she did.  I believe I heard some rather colorful words coming from the garage.

In the meantime, the other toenails have been removed.  She’ll leave them off for a while in the hopes that whoever did it will not remember when they are again put back in.  How crazy its THAT.  Like WE will forget something. Does she never learn?

So that’s the penguin toenail story.  Just what you were expecting, no doubt.  I’m thinking we could probably start our own folk art.  After all, each of us is good with wood.  Just give us some paint.  Now wouldn’t THAT be fun?  While my human is at work…

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 56

According to the crazy calendar,  November 8 is X-ray day.  It marks the day in 1895, when a German physicist by the name of Wilhelm Röntgen produced the first X-rays.

And the topic made me think.   I wonder how many people out there who own dogs as pets, know that if you are getting your dog from a reputable breeder, that breeder will have performed certain health tests on the breeding dogs.  They do these tests to make the best attempt at producing healthy, long-lived dogs.  Different breeds can have different health challenges.   For example, some breeds may be prone to hip dysplasia.  So the last thing you want to do is to breed dogs who HAVE dysplasia. To check for this orthopedic condition, breeders do X-rays and then have them evaluated.   They submit them to a database that will provide the information to others.  One site is the OFA – or the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.  The OFA has been around for over 50 years – and was started initially to  provide information just about hip dysplasia.  X-rays are sent to the OFA and as I understand it, three radiologists rate the hips – as  Fair, Good, Excellent, Borderline or Mild, Moderate or Severe Dysplasia. Today, the OFA site also stores information about other medical conditions may affect a dogs’ health including diseases of the eyes, elbows, thyroid and heart.

As an educated consumer – you should look at the health issues that could be prominent in your breed.  Check it out on the OFA site – there is a wealth of info there.  https://www.ofa.org/   IF a breeder is NOT doing clearances, keep in mind that you COULD be getting a dog who is more likely to have problems. 

NOW – you also need to keep in mind that even WITH all the correct clearances and health testing, stuff happens.  It’s nature.  Which humans cannot control.  They can make the best choices and that’s the best they can do.  And it’s importanat to know that your have started with healthy parents.

The more information that a breeder has about a dog, and their offspring, the more they have a good picture of their breeding program success.  Databases are good – but only as good as the information that is there!  Sometimes people do not submit data or allow their info to be public.   I’m not sure how that helps a breed….

It would be fabulous if breeders had data on ALL their puppies – but let’s face it, most pet owners don’t want to pay the price of finding out if their dog has an asymptomatic problem if there is no intent to ever breed or use that dog as a stud for breeding.   In an IDEAL world, breeders would charge extra for puppies – and would then provide a REBATE equivalent to the cost of the testing if it is done.   That way the breeder would have information about the health of ALL the puppies produced .  But it requires a fair bit of work to coordinate – so I haven’t seen anyone using this practice routinely.

Frodo had his hips X-rayed and evaluated and they were excellent.  And I know why.  First off he had good parents.  But another reason – it’s from all that countersurfing- it strengthens the hip muscles.  That’s MY take on it – so humans should not try to prevent us from countersurfing.  It’s good for us.  His X-rays are proof.  Suuuuuuuuure they are…..

Have an illuminating day.  Peace and paws up.
Seizure free days: 55

More material for my collection.  A good friend suggested we are going to need to build a structure just to house my collection.  Yup – I’m heading for the Guinness Book.  Biggest poop bag collection.

Well we thought we might have broken the law.  But we didn’t .   I don’t think…

So after getting my human up at 4:00AM, and after our breakfast and her “nap” – she abandoned us for several hours yesterday and went to a Christmas craft and antique fair.  She claims she “helped” her friend who had a booth and was selling antiques- but we also found out she did some “shopping.” 

They had LOTS of cool patterns and styles.  It was hard to pick the one.  We’ll all be fighting over it.  So you KNOW she’ll be ordering two more on-line. You can find her here:

Well the phone alarms were going off at all times this week. That’s what happens when the time changes.

November 3.  And it’s Cliche Day.  Cliches are overused common expressions, that some argue often lose their original intended message. Some people even call them “trite.” Oftentimes we use them and don’t even think about it.   And many cliches are idioms-which have hidden meanings.  They are not meant to be taken literally- but sure can be confusing for people who don’t know the language.  For example when you say someone has a chip on his shoulder, you’re not really talking about chips. 

Hope they gave you a chuckle! I think cliches are the best thing since sliced bread! Sorry- I couldn’t resist.

Well it seems that the drop in our blog traffic was not due to something offensive that I said.  At least not in the past week.  It appears that there is a glitch in the blog program and we are not the only ones experiencing what appeared to be a sudden drop in popularity.  Or is it pupularity.  Wait – PONularity.  So my human was somewhat relieved.

November 1.  And on this day in 1941, an American photographer by the name of Ansel Adams took a famous photo in New Mexico of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez , and it was said to be one of the most famous images in photography history. Google it to see the fascinating photo.  Adams is well known for his famous black and white photos in Yosemite National Park.  He was a naturalist and conservationist who dedicated much of his life to not only photography but to preserving and protecting wildlife.