Research has shown that we dogs can sniff out a bad person. And sometimes humans have good intuition too…

This story dates back to last February. Remember when I got to go to the Halifax Kennel Club show – and I participated in Meet the Breed? It’s that political gig where people meet you, and they can learn whether or not a particular breed might be right for them. It’s a sweet gig because all you have to do is sit on a table, get pats and treats. I love it. And it’s a great way for people to learn about different breeds.

While we were there, a woman approached my table and told her highness she was interested in my breed. I must confess, I wasn’t overly excited about meeting her. Not that I did anything or even shied away, I just didn’t pay much attention to her. The woman, who I will call Kathy (not her real name) explained that she had bred Border Collies for years, but was thinking of getting a different breed. She explained that she was also interested in seeing a Berger Picard. This was before she even knew her highness was owned by both breeds. They chatted at length, and she seemed nice enough….but there were a few things she said that made her highness’ spidey senses go on alert. For example, she talked about her interest in yet another breed, but stated that people who owned the breed were “so protective of them that they wouldn’t sell her a female for breeding.” Hmmmm. Anyway, she said she would be back two days later to meet The FG when he would be doing his political stint.

On Sunday, the FG was ready for his gig. He REALLY loves it. He should advertise as the kissing booth. Anyway, a different woman approached her highness and said she was a friend of Kathy’s. Kathy couldn’t come that day, but could this woman get her highness’ contact info to share with Kathy. Her highness said to look for my blog and contact her via Facebook (neither of them had a pen.)

Her highness went home and decided to find out a little bit about Kathy who was so interested in potentially meeting and possibly breeding Picards. She found Kathy’s Facebook page and did a LOT of reading. Kathy also bred Jack Russell Terriers. Some of the comments by puppy buyers were … unusual.

In the meantime, Kathy had sent a message to her highness to meet the FG. Her highness didn’t want Kathy coming to our home so suggested a meeting point half way between where Kathy lives and we live. She lives about an hour away. Everything was scheduled. BUT as the day approached, her highness had a weird feeling. A really weird feeling. And she just didn’t want to meet Kathy. So she cancelled. She said she had a lot going on, and her schedule was too tight. Maybe she would see Kathy some time at a dog show. And then her highness did something she rarely does – she blocked Kathy from her Facebook and she blocked Kathy’s phone number. And honestly, her highness felt weird about it. She was being kind of rude to this person, which is not her nature. And Kathy really hadn’t done anything to her. But her highness just did not want to be in contact with her.

That didn’t deter Kathy. She called her highness from another phone. Her highness was driving at the time and said she couldn’t talk because she was driving. She told Kathy she would call her back – which she is embarrassed about because she had no intention of calling back. But what could she say – “I read some stuff in Facebook about you, and I don’t think you should have a Picard?” That would be silly – so she chose avoidance – which was not very nice. But she did it- and she blocked that second phone number. In retrospect she thinks she could have handled it differently, but it’s in the past.

Since that time, her highness has seen Kathy at dog shows and Kathy has not approached her. She also witnessed Kathy selling a puppy outside a public venue to a young couple just a few weeks ago.

Fast forward to this week. The RCMP and SPCA made a seizure of dogs – in what they are calling the largest puppy mill seizure in Nova Scotia history. Now charges are still pending, and names have not yet been released. But with minimal research, her highness was able to determine that it is the same woman… There is actually a Facebook group set up by her puppy owners who have problems with the health and behavior of her dogs.

As I said, charges have not yet been laid. But it is evident that there are some SIGNIFICANT problems with the way this woman breeds dogs. Her highness had alerted the FG’s breeder months ago about the woman – who in fact DID make contact about getting a female to breed. Needless to say, that was never going to happen.

So while we dogs have super good intuition, it appears that sometimes humans also get strange “feelings”. I guess the moral of the story is go with your gut.

And speaking of guts- isn’t it about time for a treat?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

She tricked us. I didn’t think she could- but we all fell for it…

On Tuesday morning nobody in our household moved when it was time to get up. That’s because we could hear the wind howling and the rain pelting the windows. Einstein and I looked at each other and shook our heads. We had no desire to go out.

But her highness had a doctor’s appointment, so she got up. She went into the bathroom and put on the uniform – which she would wear to take us out, before she showered and changed to go to her appointment. And just as she was emerging from the bathroom , the power went out. Of course this was around 6:30 AM so the house fell into blackness. Luckily she has a light on her phone and she knows where the emergency flashlights are kept. She also put on her headlamp and went to take us out in the yard. Or should I say drag us out. For a change, all of us “did our thing “ in record time. It was too wild out there.

We came back in and had our breakfast by flashlight. Her highness had some juice and some cereal and checked her email while she was eating. She also read the paper by flashlight. As she was eating, she suddenly got an email from her doctor’s office notifying her that her appointment was canceled because the doctor’s office was without power too.

So what does one do when one is retired, it is pouring rain, all dogs have pooped and have eaten and the power is out? Well, one goes back to bed! Or one attempts to go back to bed. Her highness went to lie on her bed and was quickly suffocated by three somewhat moist animals who were WIDE awake. She gave us some pets and then said to “settle down.”

All was peaceful for 6 seconds. And then that obnoxious sound of someone licking himself was heard. Slurp. Slurp. Her highness popped her head up, and put on her glasses to determine the culprit. “Viktor – knock it off,” she scolded. Yours truly stared at her. She put down her head. And I started again. Slurp. Slurp. “Seriously- stop it!” she said. Again she put her head down. They say three times are a charm. Slurp. Slurp. My charming behavior was threatened with a pillow, which she was going to toss my way. So I stopped.

She closed her eyes. For about 10 seconds. Slurp. Slurp. This time it’s Einstein. “Really?” she pleaded. “Stop it.” 3 seconds later – slurp. Slurp. She sat up and glared at the offender who happened to be ON the bed. He stopped.

She gets comfortable. And JUST as she was about to doze off….slurp. Slurp. The third musketeer decided to join in.

At which point her highness bolted up and out of bed. She made a dash for the bedroom door and of course we all followed her. She stopped at door but our momentum kept us running through. She shut the door behind us. We were tricked.

She emerged about an hour later looking all happy and refreshed. No one got up to greet her. Really. We were all upset that she had effectively banished us from her nap time. AND we had been tricked.

We got over our annoyance when she offered some treats and we did forgive her. But then moral of the story is “do not slurp during nap time.” At least not very loudly. Or wait until the human has fallen soundly asleep. Lesson learned.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Yesterday was a strange day. Actually, I was quite annoyed. Her highness went to WORK. Yup. I figured something was going on when she got up extra early. In fact, I had a feeling she might be leaving us. So I refused to poop. I always do that when I think she’s in a hurry. Our driveway was too icy to walk up to the road – so she had taken us on our trail to the lake. But I wouldn’t go. So she came back home, calmly loaded me in the vehicle and drove me up the road to the public trail. Where I promptly made my deposit.

She went to work to do some volunteer clinical work. I’m not sure what that means but all I know is that she was gone until the afternoon. Mind you, even if she had been home, we wouldn’t have gone for extra walks because it was raining. She got home and changed into her uniform.

Her home uniform consists of baggy pants with a drawstring waist and a baggy sweatshirt. The uniform is often covered in dog hair and has yogurt on the pants. For some reason when we get to lick her breakfast yogurt container, we then lick her pants. I’m not sure why we do it. But the fact is, her comfy drawstring hair and yogurt -covered pants are only ever viewed by us. Those pants may be worn for a dog walk before dawn, but otherwise they are not for public viewing. They are actually also rather thread bare in a few spots – likely from all the washing they get.

Besides washing her uniform, over the past couple of weeks her highness has been on a selling kick. The Lindonian is full of “stuff” and every now and then she decides to sell some things. We told the FG he better behave, or he could be the next item listed for sale. Sometimes Einstein and I like to tease him.

So yesterday, after returning from work and changing into her uniform, she checked her messages and saw that another item had sold. I was all excited for more biscuit money. Einstein reminded me that any income is probably going to pay for the vet bills from the orb ordeal. Right…

When her highness sells things locally, she meets her buyers at a public location. It’s a good way to get rid of things – and she also donates things to local charities as well. Last night she hadn’t planned on going into the closest shopping district to meet someone as she had been out most of the day. She saw our unhappy faces and dreaded going out again, even for what would most likely be a half hour. But she had to go. She COULD have taken us along, but she was a bit rushed, so gave us some treats and drove off.

She was meeting a woman at the local big box book store – Chapters. She texted the woman when she arrived and learned the woman was stuck in traffic. So she figured she would kill some time in the book store.

She was wandering around, no doubt looking for dog obedience books, and for some reason she looked down. And at that moment she suddenly realized in horror that she was wearing the comfy, baggy hair and yogurt covered thread bare uniform pants. AND she had also put on this pair of zip up clunky boots that also never leave our property. She tugged at her jacket, fearing the thread bare comfy baggy hair and yogurt covered pants might be revealing more than anyone would want to see. She slowly walked toward the exit, just as her phone signaled a text from the lady she was supposed to meet.

She met the woman at the front door and was thankful it was dark outside. The hair and yogurt were a bit more difficult to see. So she hoped.

Today she has one errand to run and then she promised she’ll be home with us. I think she may also be washing those pants….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

So we have a problem. What else is new? It’s Einstein’s feet. He is licking them. A lot. And so are we. Well not her highness. But the FG and I are also joining in the foot fetish fun.

Yesterday, after we had our walks, breakfast and blueberries, her highness settled in to have her bagel and coffee. She was reading the paper and suddenly heard this gnawing sound. She looked up, and the FG’s head was sideways and he was gnawing away at Einstein’s hair on the side of his foot. Einstein calmly watched him – like he was getting some kind of fancy pedicure. “Hey- stop that!”, her highness shouted. They both looked at her like she was suddenly speaking in tongues.

It’s a bit ironic that Einstein does NOT like his feet touched by her highness, but we can chew his hair off and lick his feet until they are pink, and he doesn’t care. Maybe her highness should try it.

She doesn’t know why he is doing it. They tried two different medications from the vet and neither worked. She was hoping that since we are back on our old food that MAYBE that would make a difference. Not so far. She also began adding Apple cider vinegar to his food about two weeks ago. But so far, neither change has made a difference. Maybe it will take a bit more time.

And speaking of time, it’s probably about time for me to start writing my annual work of fiction – my letter to Santa. It seems I often mysteriously end up asking for things which her highness suggests. It appears she has some direct connection to the guy in the red suit. I just hope she doesn’t suggest more of those “educational” toys. Or clothes….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

It’s December 6 – and it’s Saint Nicholas Day. Saint Nick was a Bishop of Myra who was known for secret gift-giving. Well, I guess it wasn’t all that secret if everybody knew about it – but his good acts are still celebrated today! He reportedly sold all his possessions and liked to put coins in the shoes of poor people. Obviously not while they were wearing them. Apparently, Saint Nick was the model for Santa Claus. Today is his feast day – and my European readers are no doubt celebrating his special day with gift giving. I reminded her highness that we should be getting gifts today. She said the food in my bowl is a gift. She’s so funny.

She’s been attempting individual holiday photo shots lately but hasn’t been too thrilled with the results yet. Case in point- my less-than-happy expression in this shot.

Seriously. Who in their right mind could look happy wearing a Christmas tree on his head?! Oh wait. We know who…

Einstein will look happy wearing anything. As long as there are treats…

And then we have the LEAST happy musketeer…

She reportedly did get one or two shots where he didn’t look TOO unhappy. Check our Instagram for one.

Oh – someone asked if they could get our calendar- since the draw is over. And yes- you can! If you use a Safari browser (that seems to work best) – you can go to this link and see our calendar!

https://www.prestophoto.com/bookstore/360473

We don’t get all the money from the sale of the calendar- just a few bucks. But enough to buy a bag of biscuits. Well- maybe half a bag.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

We are bored. Completely and totally bored. If it wasn’t bad enough that we have had either rain or freezing rain- so we couldn’t go for long walks- her highness decided to ignite the Christmas explosion. So at various points in time we have been sequestered in the front hall while she lugged boxes around the house. She sequestered us because she didn’t want to trip over us, especially going up and down stairs.

Our house looks like 100 drunken elves took over and decided to throw a party. You cannot turn you head without looking at an ornament, a tree, wreath, an elf, a Santa or a nativity scene. And of course, there is “the” tree. Which is NOT what you would expect….

Her highness put out all this “stuff” and then announced she was not going to the tree farm. Or the tree lot. She was again going to cut a tree in the woods behind/around our house. The ones we have probably peed on at some point. Einstein just rolled his eyes. Ever see a tree in the wild? No? Well let me tell you it doesn’t look like any tree on a tree lot. Or on a tree farm. Picture a stick. With a few needles. But before I continue I should tell you a little story about her highness and trees…

Hundreds of years ago (in dog years), when her highness was a child, she lived in a city. And she and her parents and sister would go to the closest farmers market to pick out their Christmas tree. They would pick out what they thought was THE prettiest tree on the lot. But even though it was THE prettiest, her highness” father would set up the tree in the living room and would drill holes in the “bare spots.” He would then insert extra branches they bought at the tree lot. Oh. And he strung up branches so they wouldn’t droop. He also made sure that NO branch touched one of the lights – as they got hot and he didn’t want to start a fire. Her father was a bit of a tree fanatic. If there is such a thing. Anyway, their house never thankfully burned down from a tree fire, and the strung up branches supported many glass ornaments over the years.

So fast forward several hundred dog years, and we have her highness. She’s been going to tree lots or tree farms for years now. And our tree was always photo worthy. That’s the only time during the holidays that we would be allowed in the DFZ. The time to take our Christmas photo.

Anyway, despite the fact that she is now retired and she theoretically has more “time” on her hands, for some reason she just didn’t feel like getting a tree from a lot or a farm. She didn’t feel like lugging up the additional 56 boxes from the basement. She decided to cut her own tree, as I mentioned, and it wouldn’t, in theory, take so many ornaments.

Well here’s a newsflash. If you have fewer branches, you can actually see the ornaments better. And ironically, you need LOTS of ornaments to fill up those few branches. So instead of 56 boxes, she only needed 49. Said the dogs who were counting while sequestered in the front hall.

And the final result? Despite all the ornaments and all her efforts, I think her father is looking down and shaking his head.

She should probably drill some holes like he did, but if she does, it’s likely the holes will cause the thing to topple. It has a unique look. A VERY unique look. I told Einstein to stop shaking his head – and instead wag his tail. Her highness needs the reinforcement. Besides, if she takes it down and goes to get a REAL tree, we’ll be sequestered. Again. So I think it looks absolutely stunning.

By the way, does Santa take away gifts if he catches you telling a lie?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

And the winner is….

I’ll tell you in a minute! First off I want to thank all of you who shared your good deeds. It was lovely to see the many things that people do for others- not just during this holiday season – but all year round.

I know that sharing your good deeds might not have been something you wanted to do publicly- and I totally understand that. Some people shared their good deeds with us privately- and I must say, her highness was touched and awed by the wonderful things that our readers do. We had 40 people who shared their acts of kindness – and we know that is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the goodness in the world.

Humans are a funny group. They sometimes seem to focus on the negatives around us – and let’s face it, the news does the same thing. But underneath it all, humans as a whole are GOOD. Barbara Woodhouse, a famous dog trainer once wrote a book entitled “No Bad Dogs.” Barbara believed that there were no bad dogs – only inexperienced owners. And I guess the same is true of humans – no one is born bad. It is the experiences and opportunities that people have – which shape who they become. And if we dogs train them properly – and teach them to be more like us- you will see that inherent goodness in them. If they take a cue from us, and wake up ready to jump into a new day, they would be so much happier. If they appreciated things like their food bowl or a treat and didn’t take them for granted, they would be also feel happier. Sometimes I think humans THINK and worry too much – and that can be really detrimental. We dogs need to train them to enjoy THIS moment – because we never know how many moments we have left. Humans need to practice kindness – because it not only helps someone else, but it comes back to help them. Really. It does. Kind of like playing fetch. If you do a good job and bring the toy back, you get to play again.

Anyway, all that to say thanks again for participating. To do the draw, her highness typed out everyone’s name on little slips of paper.

She then put the papers on the floor and she encouraged yours truly to “pick one”. She was going to get Einstein to do it, but I reminded her that this IS my blog. She was going to video the draw, but before she could grab her phone, I had already walked among the papers and was chewing on one. She had to pry the soggy piece from my mouth before I swallowed it. And the winner…..drum roll please…is Shari Fischer!!!! Congratulations to Shari. We’ll contact her to get her mailing address so she can get her goodies.

Thanks again for helping to spread a little kindness – and thanks again for reading.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.