Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

SHE IS BACK!

November 17, 2015Leave a Comment

SHE’S BACK!!!! This is my happy face. There was much jumping and barking and spinning when she came in the door. At 1:30AM. Her flight from New York was delayed. She got on the plane, it started to move and then it stopped. And so did my human’s heart. Especially after a few minutes and an announcement came on that they were having computer problems. And they needed to do a “reset.” I am not kidding. Deja vu. She started praying. REALLY hard. Well the Big Guy listened and an hour after they were SUPPPOSED to take off they were finally in the air.

We were overjoyed to see her. At first. And then Frodo and I played it cool. We wanted to show we were not happy that she didn’t take us with her. Paxton, on the other hand, sat on her feet and would not let her move while she talked with Sharon. Sharon said we were all very good. My human said, I’m so glad. And no one stole anything – that’s amazing.” And then Sharon spilled the beans. “Well I didn’t say no one STOLE anything. There was this incident with my ham sandwich….which was taken from the counter when I turned my back.” My human automatically assumed it was Bucket Head. He’s so big – he can grab anything. “Oh no,” Sharon said “not Paxton.” Then she nodded my way. Busted.

Anyway……

We got some VERY yummy treats and rumor has it there MIGHT be a new toy in her suitcase. She didn’t have time to unpack. She has to go to work today. Which I personally think is just WRONG. But we had good walks this morning – and she promised a longer one after work.

All is again right with the world. At least in our house!

© Linda Wozniak

She got stuck

November 16, 2015Leave a Comment

We are all mad. My human’s plane broke down – luckily before it took off. So she got stuck in Denver. They said they had computer problems. Time for an upgrade. It seemes to me that in this day and age, when one plane breaks down, they SHOULD have a spare. We have spare toys. But no. In that HUGE airport, nobody could fix the problem – or send in a different plane. You humans are just not very organized.

We HOPE and she HOPES that if all goes according to plan, she will be home today. Around MIDNIGHT. I’ll have to take a nap during the day so I’m awake for her arrival.

Oh the anticipation….

Guess who’s coming home today?!

November 15, 2015Leave a Comment

Well, it’s about time. My human is FINALLY coming home tonight. She had better be bringing some extra-good guilt gifts. Besides the fact that we were not allowed to go with her- I have come to find out that she visited one of the top 20 most dog-friendly cities in the US!!!!! Everywhere she went, she saw dogs. Dogs walking on the street, dogs in stores, dogs at outside cafes – dogs everywhere! They apparently have lots of dog friendly parks, pet stores and even an ice cream store that dishes out scoops for us canines! Of course my human HAD to talk to many dogs she met – a cute Golden puppy, a Doodle puppy, a Cairn terrier, a Westie, a Bulldog – I think it sounds like she spent more time talking to dogs than people! And she even met a dog AT the conference! She had a great chat with a lovely Therapy Dog named Madrid – and his human Cheryl. They are from the Denver area – and they confirmed that it really IS a doggie town.

So all of us are feeling just a LITTLE bit jealous. AND to top it off – I understand that when my human got ON the plane to go TO Denver – she discovered some of OUR dog treats in her coat pocket. So all those dogs she met got OUR treats.

Seriously – those guilt gifts had better be spectacular. And edible.

Excuse me while I go and check when her flight gets in…

Oh. And by the way. We DID miss her….

© Linda Wozniak

Why?

November 14, 2015Leave a Comment

Humans. What can I say? I heard the news about humans killing other humans in France. Just because. And now what will happen? More humans will kill humans. Remind me how humans are more intelligent than us canines?

Sending licks, positive thoughts and prayers for those who lost their lives, for healing those injured physically and for healing those injured in their hearts by this horrible act- around the world.

© Linda Wozniak

My neurotic human

November 13, 2015Leave a Comment

My human is a bit neurotic. Actually, more than a bit. So the day before she went away, she heard Frodo chewing on a bone and she heard him break off a piece. She went to take it from him and of course he swallowed it. Anyway, she has been thinking about that since she went away. So at 4AM where she is, she woke up. Now mind you – it felt like 7AM to her – with the 3 hour time difference. And she kept thinking about that piece of bone. And worrying. So she waited until 5AM there which is 8 AM here, and called Sharon. Honestly, we were all still asleep. We don’t make Sharon get up at the crack of dawn like we do our human. And now she knows that…

Anyway, my human asked Sharon if Frodo was OK. Sharon said “Yeeeeeeeees. Why?” My human explained and Sharon reassured her that he is eating fine, peeing fine, pooping fine and acting fine. We are ALL fine.

My human was a bit embarrassed but relieved at the same time. She reminded Sharon that it was Paxton’s birthday and he could get an extra treat. I’m SURE she said we ALL could get some.

I’m hoping all of her worrying will result in some extra special guilt gifts. I know she is busy with her conference, but SURELY she will have some time for shopping…I know we drive her crazy some times – but I think she is missing us. And really, how could she not?!

Happy birthday to Paxton!!!!!

November 12, 2015Leave a Comment

November 12. A very special day. It’s Bucket Head’s birthday!!!!!! He is 7 years old today. I must confess, Paxton is THE most tolerant dog in the world. I mean he has to live with two PONs – one of whom torments him terribly. And he NEVER gets mad at me. He and Frodo have a special bond – Frodo will even rest his head on Paxton’s back. I’m the youngest – and let’s face it – I bug everybody. It’s my job. Someone has to liven up this place.

Paxton can pull a cart – which is really neat. He has never been in a test though, because I do believe he has SOME Polish blood in him – as he CAN be a BIT stubborn and he goes where he wants with the cart. He doesn’t ALWAYS follow my human’s directions. He learned that from me.

Paxton LOVES to cuddle with my human. He thinks he is a lap dog. My human says that if he could crawl into her skin, he would. He’s kind of like Velcro. And his very best habit is resting his head on her lap as SOON as he takes a drink. Every time. Really. Without fail. My human loves him but that habit is not one of her favorites. I think it’s cool.

I try to boss the big guy around, but honestly – I do admire him. He’s pretty handsome and so big and he also likes to go in the water. He doesn’t really swim. He just goes out in the lake and sits on this big rock. My human says he does it to get away from us PONs.

My human left instructions for our dog sitter that Paxton should get extra treats for his birthday. I’m sure she meant ALL of us should get them – I mean it wouldn’t be right for him to celebrate alone.

So happy birthday to my big tricolor Swiss brother. Thanks for putting up with me. I do love ya bro. Cheers to many more!

A conference.

November 10, 2015Leave a Comment

Well. IMAGINE my surprise when I noticed my human hauling a SUITCASE out of the closet yesterday. Yup. We are being abandoned. OK. Well that’s not really true. Our amazing dog sitter, Sharon, is arriving today – and she takes great care of us. Let’s face it – taking care of the three of us is probably not the easiest gig she gets. My human always pays her a bit more than the usual rate – kind of like danger pay.

My human has left the usual three page note warning Sharon of our exploits. The house is well-stocked with Sharon food – and extra biscuits. Sharon even knows the banana drill. We have her WELL trained.

My human is headed to some kind of conference. In a place called Denver. I thought maybe she was sneaking away to that Dog Museum in Saint Louis – but nope – she’s headed for the Rockies. I just hope they have some shops that sell good dog stuff. Gotta love guilt gifts.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do my blog without her – but we’ll see. Excuse me now while I go and practice my adorable look so I will win over Sharon. And she’ll give ME the most treats. I’m sure I’m her favorite. In my dreams.

© Linda Wozniak

Go to an Art Museum Today Day

November 9, 2015Leave a Comment


Frodo- next to a painting that was done of him when he was a puppy.

November 9. Go to an Art Museum Today Day. That’s a long title. I would like to go today – but I’m not sure I’ll have time. Besides – it’s not EVERY art museum that I would want to visit. I don’t really care about pictures of the Mona Lisa. I mean she’s nice and kind of spooky with that little smile of hers – but what I would want to see is dog art.

There are two kinds of dog art. Art MADE by dogs. And art with dogs as the subject.

We have probably all seen pawprint art – where you put non-toxic paint on a dog’s paws and let the dog step on a canvas. That’s one kind. And I read about another kind of art that was done in Brazil, where they took shelter dogs and put non-toxic paint on them and they let the dogs shake off the paint – to create an abstract masterpiece. Here’ s a slow motion video of that project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgpSFvipL9w

I’m not sure I can convince my human to try this. IMAGINE trying to get that paint out of my coat. Still – the idea IS a good one to raise funds for shelter dogs

The other kind of art is done by humans – and has dogs as the subject. Dogs in art have been around since the time of the pyramids – remember King Tut’s tomb. And throughout the centuries, humans have depicted us in all kinds of ways.

Besides dog books, my human likes to collect dog art. She has some cool stuff – many of which are prints. One of her favorites is a series of prints from 1793 depicting dogs. Take a look and see if you can figure out who my ancestor was. I’m not sure!

There is a gallery in New York City that specializes in selling dog art. My human went there once. But the place that she REALLY wants to see – and the place that is on her Bucket List is the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog. It’s in Saint Louis, Missouri. http://www.museumofthedog.org/

She can’t think of lots of other reasons to go to Saint Louis (sorry Saint Louis) – although she DOES have a friend who recently moved there. So maybe her dream will come true! It looks like a SUPER cool place – with EVERYTHING dog!

We tried to find other dog museums in the world – but didn’t have much luck. It seems that lots of museums have traveling dog art exhibits – but we didn’t see many permanent exhibits. How do I work on changing that? Seriously. Every museum SHOULD have a dog section.

So today, go to an art museum – or even visit one virtually. And don’t forget to ask where the dog section is…..

X-ray Day

November 8, 2015Leave a Comment

November 8. X-ray Day. A day to celebrate X-rays. All those radiologists and radiology technicians out there are having a special celebration. And it’s a day for X-rays in our house as well – or it should be…

Remember how my human broke her toe a few weeks ago? Well it was slowly getting better- but she was still limping. And then on Friday, when she was at work, her building had to be evacuated due to a gas leak down the street. She had to take several flights of stairs– which she hasn’t been doing. Combine that with the fact that Bucket Head stepped on her sore toe, and she was REALLY limping on Saturday. She SHOULD probably have an X-ray – but she can be kind of stubborn. And she thinks I am the stubborn one? Anyway, we sadly had to pull out of our Rally trial that we were supposed to be doing today. Team Bark was having a reunion and I was also supposed to be in Advanced. She just couldn’t limp around the ring. In fact, when she tried to practice with me yesterday, I didn’t know WHAT to do. Our whole rhythm was off. So that’s the bad X-ray story.

The good X-ray story – we HOPE- belongs to Frodo. He went to the Vet this past week and had his hips X-rayed. My human has been meaning forever to have his hips evaluated – and she finally did it. Hip problems are seen in many dogs – and since 1966 the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals has been evaluating hip X-rays. The OFA now looks at and registers lots of health issues – but it started with hips.

Apparently the “good dog” lived up to his reputation, and he didn’t even need sedation. We don’t know the results yet – so stay tuned. But paws crossed they are good. If they turn out good, and he gets other good results in his health testing, I am thinking he will need to go on-line to a dog dating site- to find himself a girl. Hey – now there’s an idea – on-line dating for dogs! What could I call it? How about can-match.com? Short for canine match. Or e-fetchingly.com? Or K9crush.com? A place for canines to connect. Surprising that no one has thought of it!

So cheers to X-rays today. And I hope all of you have a perfectly radiant day!

Book Lover’s Day

November 7, 2015Leave a Comment

November 7. Today is Book Lover’s Day. A day to celebrate reading. And did you know that DOGS can be taught to read?! It’s TRUE! A quick search of the internet revealed several videos of dogs who could read flash cards. Including a Bernese Mountain Dog! That REALLY shocked me. I just don’t see Bucket Head as being a literary kind of dog. But who knows?!

There are also programs in which children read to certified therapy dogs. That’s cool. The kids feel less pressure reading to the dogs – so it’s great practice for them. Obviously, the dogs must be calm and well trained. I’m afraid nobody in this household could qualify for THAT program. But I admire the dogs who do it!!!

My human loves to read – AND she loves to collect books. Old books about dogs. She has some dating back to the 1800’s. And of course she probably has every modern book written about Bernese Mountain Dogs and Polish Lowland Sheepdogs. We looked in the old all-breed books to see if we could find any info about us PONs. We were not successful – except for ONE book called The Book of the Dog by Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald. It was written in 1948.

The two pages talk mostly about the “large protector-dog” generally found in the Podhal and Tatra areas. But it also describes the “smaller animal of about 24 inches in height at the shoulders, weighing about 65 pounds, short-tailed, and known over almost the whole of the Polish lowland territories.” That would be us PONs. But holy moly, I don’t weigh anywhere near 65 pounds. I KNEW my human should be feeding me more!!

The article goes on to talk about other breeds related to the Polish Sheepdogs and describes what the Polish Tatra Sheepdog did for a living. They guarded the sheep and even pulled carts like Bernese! They never said exactly what we PONs did. But I did like the last line – which referred to both types of Polish Sheepdogs…”In general the Polish Sheepdog is a vigorous animal of lasting stamina (sounds good so far), sensible make-up and an essentially suspicious nature (yup – I don’t trust that neighbor’s cat), a fine and loyal companion UNDER DISCIPLINE (my human said YES – they got THAT right), but dangerous when encountered alone (and SUPER dangerous if more than one of us live in the same house).

So that’s your reading lesson on PON history for today. I think this reading stuff is very interesting – but I do fear that my human is going to try the flash card thing. I don’t follow commands when she says them – so reading commands….heaven help us….

This book has nothing to do with the dog on the cover – but it sure looks like a PON!