Westminster

Frodo here. Well it is that time of the year. People are madly traveling to New York City this weekend and Monday and Tuesday for one of the most well- known dog shows in the USA. It’s Westminster time. Ah yes. There will be much of the dreaded fluffing and puffing occurring at Madison Square Garden very soon. Several years ago, the Kennel Club finally realized that dogs are not just pretty – but we are athletes with brains too. So they started hosting obedience and agility competitions as part of the “Westminster” extravaganza as well. Proper thing. Not all of us like to be in beauty pageants. Personally, I didn’t mind them back in the day. I didn’t love the grooming part, but as for standing still and getting treats – well that was right up my alley. And oh yes, you DO need to run around the ring a bit. But it’s not like it is a marathon. Yes – there is much involved in getting a 25 cent ribbon. Every single one of which we have kept. Of course we have.

Anyway, this year there are over 2600 dogs entered in the show. Her highness read an article about breeds that have never won the 143 previous Westminster shows. I’m shocked that neither a PON nor Picard has ever won, but probably a bit more shocking is that neither has a Labrador or Golden Retriever. Given the popularity of those breeds, it’s quite astounding really.

So who are the contenders this year? I know you might find this shocking – but some Las Vegas oddsmakers place bets. I haven’t seen any numbers yet, but here are the top contenders, based on their performances in the show ring last year:

https://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/dn-top-20-dogs

Now it is not a GIVEN that one of those dogs will win – it’s really anybody’s luck. But let’s check back next week and see if any of these names takes the big win.

If you want more info about the show, and the schedules so you can watch from the comfort of your home, here’s the link to all kinds of info about the show:

https://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/plan-your-visit/schedule-of-events-2020

A new breed competing for the first time this year is the Azawakh – a sighthound from Africa. The name is pronounced oz-a-wok – in case someone asks you.

The beatnik was gloating a bit because there are more Picards entered than PONs – 13 to 11. That is not what I would deem a significant difference although I did not perform the stats. The Goldens beat the Labs 48 to 44. The smallest entries, with just a single dog represented are the English Foxhounds, Sloughis, and the Komondorok. The good news about that – unless you come in limping or bite the judge, there’s a pretty good chance you will get Best of Breed. I like those odds.

If you want to look at the schedule and numbers of dogs, here is the link.

https://res.cloudinary.com/fwkc-production/image/upload/v1580770641/fwkc-prod/assets/2020/jpg491_2020.pdf

No doubt we will watch at least parts of the show. The breed judging sadly is not always shown, but we may be able to find it on-line. The group judging is always shown in the evenings on TV. Her highness better check that we get the channel. I do recall her calling the cable company with minutes to spare in order to get the channel one year. I must remind her to do so ahead of time.

It is raining today – so our walks will be abbreviated. Which is frankly fine with me. Unless she resurrects the raincoats…. We can only pray she can’t find them.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Forecasting

Frodo here. It is February 5, and according to what Viktor would call “the crazy calendar,” it is something called National Weatherperson’s Day. A day devoted to meteorologists. Or what I prefer to call Fortunetellers Day. Or Professional Gamblers Day. Or Professional Dart Throwers Day. I suppose that’s actually unfair to Fortunetellers, Dart Throwers and Gamblers because they probably have higher accuracy rates than Weatherpersons. Like Viktor, my absolute favorite thing about weather forecasting is long term forecasting for one to two weeks. They generally cannot predict how much snow will fall within 24 hours so WHY do they even try to predict the weather a week in advance? Where else can you have a job where you are frequently wrong – and you still get to keep your job? I suppose I am being a bit harsh – and while I am sure they TRY their best….it’s still a gamble.

Even our local prognosticating rodent had forecasting problems this past week. This is a brilliant example of forecasting at its best. Each year, on February 2, our local groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam makes his forecast about spring. It’s a big celebration to see if the rodent will or will not see his shadow. People come from all over to see Sam emerge from his den. It’s a little festival. But in an ironic twist of forecasting fate- on February 1, the weather prognosticating rodent festival was CANCELLED- because the weather forecast was calling for a storm. They said he would make his prediction via social media. I’m not joking. So sure enough, the next day the attendants at the park where Sam lives reported his actions and posted them on-line. And the funny part? There was no storm. The forecast was wrong. They didn’t need to cancel the festival. It was a nice, sunny day. Oopsie. The bad part, though – as a result of the sunny weather, the rodent saw his shadow, went back to his den, and that sadly signals 6 more weeks of winter. That was in contrast to other groundhogs – Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania and Wiarton Willie in Ontario who said there will be an early Spring. Lucky them. As if a rodent can make a 6 week prediction anyway.

Meanwhile, here at home, the beatnik and I were crushed yesterday- despite a beautiful sunny day. After a nice long walk, her highness announced she was “going out for a bit.” Her bit is like a week in dog years. When she returned, we greeted her and we were instantly mortified. She was cheating on us. It was evident all over her. Her hands, her legs and even her shoelaces had the distinct aroma of dogs. Several dogs.

After we sniffed and inhaled practically every inch of her body, she confessed where she had been. Which frankly, annoyed me even more. She had been to visit MY breeders. MY birthplace. How dare she go there and not take moi?

It seems my breeders just got a new PON puppy. And her highness just HAD to meet her. She said the puppy was “a sweetheart.” On top of that, there were Coton puppies there as well. And they were reportedly equally adorable. Our initially rapidly wagging tails slowed when we realized we had missed out on a delightful afternoon. I do believe there will be some serious countersurfing happening over the next few days as payback.

And no – before you puppy loving readers start jumping to conclusions- we are not getting a Coton puppy. Much as we love our Coton buddy Milo, we are not adding to our household right now. Don’t get any ideas. None. Whatsoever. I “predict” that there will not be another Musketeer added to this household for QUITE some time. Probably years. You can quote me on that. Me and my accurate prediction friend Sam.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Signs. Part 2.

Well. It’s Frodo again. It seems that my posting yesterday caused a fair amount of discussion in this house. And the discussions have resulted in several tangents. Allow me to explain.

Many, many of you wrote to say that you also saw “the sign” left by Viktor. Some of you saw his face in the clouds. Some of you saw his profile running. Most of you saw some image of the grey whirlwind. And that was super comforting. And interesting. But- that’s not what we saw!!!!

Just a few people saw what her highness saw. Here’s a clue… look in the sky again – for a letter…It’s barely there in this one…

Do you see it now? It’s a letter V. Or at least that’s what her highness first spotted. Which got me thinking about a lot of things. Why did her highness see a letter? Is it her background as a speech pathologist and her work with words? Did others see Viktor because they expected to see Viktor? Is it like those optical illusions where people just see things differently. Here’s a great article about humans and optical illusions:

https://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/amp/10-optical-illusions-will-blow-your-mind

Interesting stuff. And here are some funny illusions that involve animals:

https://amp.insider.com/optical-illusions-animals-2018-6

And an article that shows that we animals may see optical illusions too!

https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2015/02/22/do-animals-see-optical-illusions/amp/

On a deeper level, do humans focus on something because they expect something, and miss other information? How much do “influencers” impact what humans see? And believe.

Indeed – some rather deep discussions – all from a couple of colorful dog photos.

But getting back to “signs” – the general consensus agreed that there are signs around us. And they provide comfort and a sense of peace. So no matter what you saw – the fact that you looked – and believed – is the key point.

Now. Excuse me while we head out for our walk. And we’ll be watching, listening and sniffing for more signs. I’m thinking we canines have you humans beat when it comes to being perceptive. And that my friends is why we canines rule the world.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Signs

Frodo here. Let me begin this blog posting by saying I’m a serious kind of guy. Except when I’m rolling. Then it’s hard to assume your intellectual appearance. I can’t help it. Her highness has now started calling me Rollo. I cannot control myself when it comes to packed snow. I must roll. It’s actually an addiction. Most of our snow melted after the rain last weekend, but there are still patches around. And as we are walking, I cannot resist the urge to drop and roll.

Anyway, I digress. As I said, I’m serious and I look at things pretty objectively. But then there is this part of me that is willing to admit that there are things I cannot explain. Like “signs.”

When someone you love is finished with his or her earthly purpose, they leave us. They are no longer physically with us, but they are in our hearts. We think of them. We miss them. We wish they were still with us. Like Viktor…

And sometimes I think we have “signs” given to us to let us know that they are still with us- even though we can’t see them. Perhaps theses signs are purely coincidence, and perhaps we see them because we want to see them. But if we note them, and it gives us some strange feeling of comfort, what’s the harm?

Yesterday morning, just before sunrise, we headed out on our walk. We went up to the golf course. Yours truly was let loose, because I come when called. At least 99% of the time. If there was a meat truck accidentally dropping it’s load, I might not be quite so quick to return. But there are rarely meat trucks at the golf course. As we were walking, her highness turned around and gasped because the sunrise was nothing short of spectacular. And as you might imagine, she thought it would make a perfect background for a photo with me and the beatnik. She knew she only had minutes before it would disappear so she scrambled to find the perfect photo location. There is a giant rock on one fairway, so she ran to it. It slopes on one side- so the beatnik happily climbed up. Meanwhile, yours truly found a patch of snow at the base of the rock. A perfect patch. So you know what I did. I rolled. Her highness was anxiously calling for me to climb up the rock. The patch of snow wasn’t a meat truck – but it was almost as appealing. She called. And called. As she watched the brilliant sunrise already beginning to fade.

FINALLY I got on the rock, following my instructions for modeling. And of course, the beatnik did the opposite. He wouldn’t look at her. Or if he did, he would turn his ears all inside out. He would turn to his left so her highness tried to trick him by simply walking around to his left. If he could have turned his head around like something out of the Exorcist, he would have done so. Of course, if she moved far enough, there was no sunrise in the photo. She pleaded and made every noise possible.

In the end she did manage to get a few photos. No prize winners – and the most brilliant color had faded. But she was content and we continued on our walk.

When we got home, her highness quickly scrolled through the photos to see if there were ANY that justified having frostbite in her fingers. And that’s when she noticed something in a number of shots….

Now SHE sees something. But well… I’m not sure anyone else will. It’s really a stretch. It’s most visible in the last two photos. See if you notice anything. In the sky. And really, if you don’t- it’s OK. Signs do not have to be for everyone. But when they are for you, they sure can make you feel better. Even with your frostbitten fingers.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Art.

Greetings blog readers. Frodo here. To begin, I would like to thank all those who sent me birthday greetings. It was a delightful day filled with lots of attention and copious amounts of treats. It was the best 10th birthday I have ever had. And being the generous fellow that I am, I shared my treats with the beatnik. Well. Most of them.

In the past, Brother Viktor often liked to share historical information in this blog – related to canines. In keeping with his practice, I thought I should mention two things. First- today is the last day of a January. As you may recall, our New Year did not begin on a high note, so we are quite happy to say goodbye to the first month of the year. We have proclaimed February 1 as our New Year. Out with the old bones. In with the new.

Second. Today also happens to be something called Inspire your Heart with Art Day. It sounds a bit “made up” to me – but given the fact that humans are often looking for any reason to celebrate in the midst of winter – it seems fine to me. I mean it’s not like a day to celebrate a burrowing rodent or anything. Something like that would be ridiculous.

Now there are numerous artists who specialize in canine art. We have a few things like these acrylic paintings that are of us.

And some others like this wood burning done of dogs from long ago. Schubert and Guinness, are the two Bernese, we have Beamish the Lab and that’s Barney – the multibreed adoptee. Whose nickname at the shelter was “The Biter.” Quite the character, I understand….

We even a pottery sculpture of me and Brother Viktor from an artist in Poland.

She loves art of her boys. Who wouldn’t?!

But in addition to art done of the best subjects on the planet by humans, one can also have art DONE BY canines.

Viktor may have shared some of these before, but they are worth repeating. The following dogs have inspired me to try my paw at painting. This is actually a few years old, and some of these dogs have gone to the Rainbow bridge. Mind you, that should increase the value of their work….

https://www.womansworld.com/gallery/animals/dogs-who-can-paint-111444/amp

Here’s another video of Jumpy working… He’s patient.

https://youtu.be/PiF_pmLCtQM

I am impressed with the fact that people PAY for this dog art. That is really what captured my attention. I think I could do it. However, realistically, her highness thinks I would be more like THIS dog. Note that this dog requires a treat for every brush stroke. Every single stroke. Her highness said my style would be closer to this…

https://youtu.be/qLY8K0dKhm8

In fact, her highness found that particular video humorous. Very humorous. She said THAT would be me.

I don’t see the humor. The dog is simply being paid for his work.

I would definitely prefer holding the brush – rather than running through any paint. I mean I don’t like walking though puddles – so the thought of paint on my feet – well it makes me shudder.

So that is my news for today. Have a happy Friday. And take a minute to look out for all the art around you!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

National Holiday

It’s Elroy again! Because I get to tell you about a special national holiday. It’s kind of ironic really. Yesterday I got to tell you about the bad “good dog”. And today I get to tell you about the good “good dog.” Because that’s what we do on someone’s BIRTHDAY. Yup. It’s the Boss’ celebration of another trip around the sun. And it’s an extra special one. It’s his 10th birthday!!!! Double digits! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen double digits in this house. Mind you, her highness is well into triple digits. In dog years.

Viktor probably has told the story of Frodo (the Boss’ real name) many times before. But because we may have a new reader or two, I thought I’d recap his history….I wasn’t around during these early days, so I had to research this stuff.

Over the years, her highness had been owned by a multi-breed dog, a Labrador and several Bernese Mountain Dogs. When she suddenly lost her third Bernese, Harper at age 7 to cancer, she decided to “look at” some other breeds. She had read about Polish Lowland Sheepdogs and she knew someone who owned one. She met the dog once and the owner commented that the breed could be stubborn- but also extremely smart. Not one to easily back down from a challenge, her highness thought they sounded “interesting.” In addition, she had a fondness for rare breeds – when she first got into Bernese, no one knew what they were. So rarity did not bother her.

She had heard that there were few PON breeders in Canada – but as luck would have it- there was one in Nova Scotia. She contacted them to simply meet and learn more about their dogs. She did NOT know that they had 9 week old puppies at the time.

The rest, as humans say, is history. It took her less than 24 hours to make a decision- even though she had no intention of getting a puppy when she had arranged that visit. The breeder had been calling him Frodo, and her highness thought it fit, so why change it?

The new family member got along great with Paxton…

And although I couldn’t find a puppy picture with Beamish, the Lab, this shot is proof that they also got along great.

Here’s a shot of the trio:

Her highness quickly learned that this shaggy newcomer was like no dog she had ever owned. He was smart. Really smart. No gate could contain him. And he would NEVER forget something. He was extremely food motivated and extremely easy to train. And he liked to bark…

When he was a puppy, his portrait was done by a Canadian artist when her highness shared his photo…

You can find his painting to this day, on prints, pillows, bags, T-shirts… you name it! Her highness has the original painting. But no – we don’t get royalties….

Meanwhile, they worked together in obedience and rally and her highness also decided to show him in beauty pageants too. Which was not super easy because there weren’t many… often there weren’t any PONs being shown. Despite that fact, the Boss got his Championship with her highness on the other end of the lead. He got it by getting some big group ribbons He also routinely had high scores in obedience and rally. People would comment that they must have trained a lot. Her highness was too embarrassed to admit that they rarely practiced. Once she showed him what to do, he just did the job. Here are the ribbons he got in 2012. Before he turned 3…

He actually also did some work with sheep!

But years later, when he was in a sheep test, he failed. He just likes to do things HIS way,

Because he proved to be such a “wonder” dog, her highness wanted another one just like him. So she got his brother Viktor almost two years later, from a repeat breeding. They were the same, but not.

The Boss welcomed Viktor and years later welcomed me. While he likes to look tough when he first meets other dogs, he’s a real softy underneath.

Here’s a video of The Boss and Baby Viktor. Several carpets ago…

https://youtu.be/GQkJiD0dC0w

Here are early photos with yours truly. Some of them. There are loads. Although for some reason, I am blurry in many of them…

The Boss is RARELY blurry in a photo. Her highness calls him Frodo-genic. He loves having his photo taken. There are literally hundreds of shots of him. Maybe thousands. Here are a few favorites just from the past year…

Barky, bold and brilliant. He owns our house, our road, our county, and her heart. Happy birthday big guy – my hero! Today we celebrate YOU!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

The bad good dog

Elroy her. I have an announcement. Her highness is soon to become constipated. Really. She has a serious problem. It’s The Boss. What began as a little joke has become a real issue.

It began with shower barking. Viktor has talked about it in the past, and I’ve mentioned it too. That’s when The Boss waits until her highness gets in the shower and he begins barking like he is fending off a small army of intruders. And he did that every now and then. But NOW- EVERY time her highness goes into the bathroom, he does it. Even if the shower isn’t turned on. Here’s the scenario. Her highness announces that she needs to use the bathroom- and she’ll “be right back.” The Boss watches and waits. He has calculated JUST how long it takes until she is “seated” and then he starts. He takes off. Running like a mad dog to the front door and barking like someone is DEFINITELY there. And…yours truly now joins in. I’m not much of a barker – but I DO have a “big dog bark” that indicates something more than a squirrel or butterfly has entered our property. It’s a SERIOUS bark. And I go racing to the front door too.

Meanwhile, her highness is never SURE that we are joking. We put on a spectacular show. So she has to decide if she should put a hold on nature’s call and race out, or finish her original plan. It’s not funny. But it really is.

She usually shouts out something like “Frodo if you are faking I am going to kill you.” You know, of course, she would never harm him – and the Boss knows it too. When she runs to the front door, and looks out and sees no sign of anyone or anything, she spins around and glares at him. He just calmly shakes himself off and goes back to find a comfortable spot to lie down.

This escapade is now happening EVERY time she goes to the bathroom. I could show you video footage taken by Big Brother- but she won’t let me. I looked at it and her comments included “you guys have to stop this. It’s not funny.” As I stand there wagging my tail. Yup. She is going to get constipated.

Yesterday, she did manage to get back at the Boss- by giving him a serious grooming. Mind you, she would have done that anyway. Grooming him is no fun – for either of them. She always does it BEFORE she has taken her shower. She’s sweating pretty badly after the wrestling match. And he emerges smiling – for all the treats he has been given.

I always thought that Viktor had her highness wrapped around his paw – but I now fully understand where he learned his tricks. And THATS why he’s called The Boss…Yup. The “good dog” is really bad.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Picardy waltz

Elroy here. I had to write today to tell you all about my best day ever this year. I had a play date. With a pretty Picard named Willow. And I am smitten.

Now long time blog readers may recall I had a play date with her once before. And as you may also recall, I wasn’t the best date. Let’s face it – she wasn’t all that the enamored with me because, well.. as you might remember, I chose to play with Farley. A multi-breed dog who was part Moose and who crashed our date at the dog park. Remember how I ditched Willow and wrestled non-stop with Farley? It wasn’t very polite on my part – so it was a miracle she wanted to even meet up with me again. But she thankfully did.

We met again at the fenced ball diamond. Now Willow doesn’t REALLY need a fenced area. She behaves. She follows her human. She comes when called. And me? Well….. it’s 60-40 as to whether I’ll behave. OK. More like 50-50. So I need that fenced location.

I don’t want to boast – but this date went MUCH better than the last time.

We met and did our obligatory polite greetings. She bows. I bow. It dates back to olden times. And we begin the Picardy waltz.

After the bows, we then go to opposite sides of the ball diamond.

We come back together…

And then the dance takes off…

Sometimes yours truly must lie down and watch her go. And then she races back towards me…

And off we go again…

In addition to running in the Picardy waltz there is also jumping…and flying…

When the music slows, we rest, and share a little tiny kiss…

But then she discovered I had been eating fish treats – and my breath was a bit….rancid…

So the kissing didn’t last long- and off we went again…

The acrobatics continued…

Until the final movement where we smiled…




And posed for our final bows….(thanks to Willow’s human for this shot).

We had a wonderful time playing and waltzing. Ahhhh. Bliss.

That being said, she came back to our house afterward so her human could have coffee with her highness, but I needed to be sequestered. Dream date over. Because I suddenly decided she was “my girl” and although I would make “advances” (AKA humping behavior) at certain points at the ball field, she could simply swing away and stop my occasional rude advances. But in the house, it could have proven challenging. So while I hung out on the deck, The Boss got to stay with her. He was a complete gentleman. He never made a forward move. The Boss thought she was cool. I think we both have a crush on her….

I hope the humans plan another date soon. I don’t have wheels – so it’s not like go can go and pick her up myself. I’ll have to behave in the coming week. I definitely want to see her again. And I won’t even be distracted if Farley shows up.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Stuff

Frodo here.

It is three weeks today that Brother Viktor left us. Since then, her highness has been moved by the outpouring of support we have received. On the very day that we announced his passing, a kind blog reader sent flowers. And since then she has been touched by flowers from neighbors, donations in Viktor’s name, food (including a yummy lemon loaf!) and cards of sympathy and support.

One dear friend went above and beyond in the days following his passing – making sure that we all ate and were taking good care of ourselves. We call her Saint Joanie.

Both the SPCA and the Ontario Veterinary School have received donations in memory of the wild grey whirlwind.

Her highness has appreciated every email, text and phone call.

People ask how we canines are doing. We’re OK. Personally, yours truly has never been what one would refer to as a “clingy” dog – but that has changed a bit since my brother is gone. I just REALLY want to be where her highness is. At ALL times. That’s partly how the gates to the DFZ have been opened. I now waltz in there like I own the place. Which of course, I do.

The beatnik seems a bit more low key since Viktor is gone. However, I do think he would be happy to carry on Viktor’s undesirable habit of escaping into the woods, if let off leash. Her highness isn’t taking any chances.

So thank you, thank you for all the kindness you have shown. It has been a great comfort. We know that Viktor is running free with Paxton – and so many others – and he’s watching out for us too…

Meanwhile, on a different note -I should tell you about how yesterday, I totally exhausted myself. By throwing myself against the front door in a frenzy. Repeatedly. It all started with the arrival of a UPS van. Her highness had a parcel that was being delivered. As usual, I went into my Cujo routine. Her highness closed the door to the front hall while she opened the door for the parcel. The happy delivery guy commented that he had panicked a bit as he came down the driveway- as it was a bit of a luge run. Her highness KNEW it was icy – but she hates to salt it because of our feet. Besides that, she was able to drive Ludwig up and down, so she wasn’t THAT concerned.

The driver bid his good-byes and her highness watched with bated breath as he drove away. He started up the hill. He went 5 feet. Ten feet. And then the sound of wurrrrr-wurrrr reached my ears, resulting in another Cujo frenzy. The UPS truck was stuck. He reversed back down the hill, and her highness quickly put on her puffy coat and hat and grabbed the bucket of road salt. She slipped and slid as the guy watched her throwing salt – and listened as I shouted out instructions.

Thankfully, on his next attempt, he made it up, beeping his horn in a salute as he left. Which was reason to again bark. Winter is such great fun.

While, personally, I do not like snow with high moisture content (which I have talked bout before), and I do not like overly cold snow, or crusty snow…. I do loved packed snow. I love to roll in packed snow. Her highness has literally lost count of how many times I have been rolling. I walk and immediately hit the ground and I roll. Now we know I don’t like water, and going in the lake is taboo for me. But when I discovered that it was frozen, I went crazy rolling.

At one point, her highness got a bit worried as I looked like I was about to run off down the lake. But it was my attempt at a joke. Just like shower barking. In the meantime, the beatnik was left on leash on shore to watch my gleeful running and rolling. He was not impressed.

Ah yes. Winter is great fun. And just think – only 56 days until Spring…. As I say (and demonstrate) – let the good times roll!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Tabloid tales…tabloid tails

Yo. Elroy here. Today I want to talk about Social media. Because I’m a social kind of guy.

Her highness follows things on Facebook and Instagram. And she often sees photos that tug on her heart strings. Like photos of a dog before and after he is rescued. Taken supposedly minutes apart. And they are so wonderful. But…do ya ever wonder if some of the photos you see MIGHT be fake? I know. It’s hard to believe everything you read on social media ISN’T true. A guy like me would believe everything I see. Not so much The Boss. He’s more skeptical about some of the news stories. And the photos. Some of the stories are not unlike the tabloid newspapers sold by the cash at the grocery store.

Which got me thinking. Maybe I could write some captions for some of OUR photos. I do have a more comedic nature than the Boss – and I thought this could be fun.

So imagine you saw some of THESE photos with the following captions…

Dog escapes wild rabbit. Dog initially chased the rabbit off his property and then the rabbit turned on him. Neither dog or rabbit were injured in this altercation.
Dog routinely selects the family Christmas tree each year. Here he is standing in front of last year’s selection – clearly happy with his choice.

Photo of dog taken after winning contest for blowing the most bubbles in his own water bowl.
Dog leading searchers to location of missing mitten. He actually stole the pair of mittens and is now showing rescuers where the other mitten is buried.
First dog to complete solo climb to Nov Scotia’s highest peak. Seen resting at the summit before beginning his descent.
Sled dog seen performing yoga stretching before a big race.
Dog turns himself into police after countersurfing and stealing a piece of bread.
Drunken dog arrested after noise complaint.
Woman has first encounter with elusive coy-hound in the wild. Seen here communicating through nose touching.
Rare fish seeking dogs. Listening for the sound of fish under the ice.
Sniffer dog inspects the ears of another dog for possible hidden treats.
Fugitive duo elude police in their many disguises.
Rare photo of Bigfoot dog captured in winter camouflage

Just writing these makes me realize that they COULD be possible. But it makes you also wonder how much you see and read isn’t true! I saw a story about a pig writing a blog! How crazy is THAT?! Everybody knows, animals can’t WRITE. We use a computer!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.