Greetings blog readers. Frodo here for your reading pleasure today.
The imp has been fairly well behaved the past few days – although any improvement is notable as the bar is set underground. He still has moments of total insanity – like yesterday when he grabbed Her Highness’s left sleeve and would not let go. He is well aware that she could not use her wounded right hand to pry open his jaws, and she repeatedly (and rather unsuccessfully) told him to stop. She envisioned dragging him to the treat jar – (which clearly is ridiculous given the bad behavior ) – but she thought he might at least sit on command. Thankfully he let go before that.
He HAS learned that throwing oneself against the door will not make it open. He now sits and stares at it. So he is somewhat trainable. When he wants to be.
Since things are relatively quiet here, I will turn to the news for some relevant material. Two stories of lost and found…
The first is the well-reported story of the horrible dog-napping of two of Lady Gaga’s French Bulldogs and the atrocious shooting of her dog walker. After a day or two of worry over the medical status of the dog walker and the whereabouts of the dogs, everything ended well. The dogs were returned and the dog walker will make a full recovery. The singer had offered a $500,000 reward for the return of her two precious pets. I dare say Her Highness would offer a substantial reward should I ever be dog-napped. Which is highly unlikely as I would put up a serious resistance. The other stooges, I am not so sure. About the resistance and about the reward money. I say that in jest. Although I do believe I am the “favorite” around here. I am relatively well behaved- and quite reliable. The Beatnik’s behavior over all is not bad, but he still remains a flight risk. And as for the imp- I believe any dog-nappers would pay Her Highness to take him back.
The other lost and found story involves a dog here in Nova Scotia by the name of Jasper. Seven months ago, Jasper escaped from a boarding facility, the day after his humans left him there to go on a little vacation. So much for that holiday. They returned to look for him – with many people assisting in the hunt. But alas, Jasper was gone. BUT he was found, as I mentioned, 7 months later at a location over 240 km (or approximately 150 miles) from where he escaped. IMAGINE his surprised and relieved humans when he was returned to them. I can certainly empathize with Jasper’s annoyance when his humans left him to go on vacation, but I think he took his protest a bit too far. Yes. That was an attempt at humor.
And lastly in the topic of dog news, there is some interesting research going on in the study of coprolites. What are coprolites? Fossilized animal feces – and in this particular study – dog feces. I might suggest that they come to our property to collect samples as the snow has melted and Her Highness has yet to remove the frozen artifacts. She needs her special boots for the job – as one cannot simply pick up frozen poop. One must kick it first. But I digress…
Why would one study fossilized dog poop? To see what dogs once ate, of course. This provides information about the health of ancient dogs, and also gives insight into human diets and health as well – as dogs likely ate some of the scraps that humans provided them. Interestingly, researchers found that the dog diets included duck, fish, walnuts, and grapes. The grapes and walnuts are particularly interesting because today, grapes and black walnuts are considered toxic for dogs. If you would like to read more about the poop study, here is a link:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210224120338.htm
We dogs would be excellent at studying coprolites – as we are excellent at reviewing even more “fresh” samples. Perhaps they could use some canines in this research….
Well that is my review for today. It must be almost time for our morning constitutionals. Since Her Highness injured her hand, she can only walk one of us at a time – and I must say, I do enjoy the individual attention. I think we all do. AND Her Highness is getting plenty of exercise – which will finally, hopefully address those Halloween candies which she ate in 2018. I purposely put my paw on the scale when she stands on it – so our walks keep getting longer and longer. She’ll thank me. Because, after all, I am her favorite….
Have a good one. Peace and paws up. Stay safe.
Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter. 