Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Double trouble

April 24, 2015Leave a Comment

On this day, ten years ago, Snuppy was born. No. Not Snoopy. Snuppy. The first dog who was cloned. Snuppy was an Afghan Hound – and he was born in South Korea. Snuppy was even named by Time Magazine as the Most Amazing Invention of 2005.

Since then people have paid MEGA dollars to clone their pets. One man paid over $100,000 to clone his dog. I’m thinking my human is probably NOT going to clone me. Can you IMAGINE a duplicate of me??!! Pretty scary! Actually – the thing about cloning – the animals may LOOK alike – but can act very differently. Kind of like me and Frodo. We’re brothers. We look similar – but boy are we DIFFERENT. That would be the pits to spend all that money to clone me – and get a quiet, well-behaved dog. I mean what’s the fun in that? I would MUCH rather my human take the $100,000 and buy a LOAD of biscuits. If we had a spare $100,000…

Plus I don’t think we need another dog in our household. Maybe some fish….

St. George’s Day…

April 23, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is Saint George’s Day. Well. Not in Nova Scotia – but in England and in many European countries. I also understand that in Newfoundland it is a holiday. It’s the next province over. Well -across some water. I think I am going to move there. They get Saint Patrick’s Day AND Saint George’s Day as a holiday. Those Newfies know how to do it right.

Saint George supposedly slayed a dragon. And like many saints, he was a martyr. You do good things. And they kill ya. Go figure. He’s the patron saint of England – AND the patron saint of Scouts. My human was a Scout 100 years ago. She still has the badges to prove it. I notice that she didn’t get the badge for dog care back then. Obviously it would have served her well.

Now they have badges for things like computers. Computers didn’t exist in my human’s scouting days. She really IS old.

So there are Boy Scouts. And Girl Scouts. What about Dog Scouts? I am going to start a chapter. And the merit badges? Barker. Counter surfer. Sock stealer. Hider. Escapee. Wait. Those all sound kind of negative. Let’s give them a better slant… Barker will be Vocalist. Counter Surfer -Kitchen helper. Sock stealer – Collector. Hider – Camouflage artist. Escapee – Long Distance Runner. And I want one of those sashes like my human had.

Oh. And I suppose I need a pledge or oath…

On my honor. I will try. To be a good dog. Especially when there are treats.

Perfect.

Happy Saint Georges Day!

Earth Day!!

April 22, 2015Leave a Comment

April 22. Earth Day! Today is the day we should take extra time to appreciate the world we live in. Right now, it’s the only one we have – so we SHOULD be working hard to make sure we keep it clean. There are lots of things that humans can do to help the earth – like recycle, don’t use too much water, don’t litter, conserve energy….

We canines love the Earth. We love to sniff it. We love to explore it. And we love to roll on it. We don’t litter – I mean when we poop, we ARE basically fertilizing and recycling. Although I’m not so sure that neighbors would agree when we do it on their lawn.

I am QUITE happy to do my part to save water. I don’t need that bath. And look at the energy you save if you don’t have to use a blow dryer to dry me off! I must remind my human that NOT grooming me HELPS the Earth!

So since today is Earth Day, go out and enjoy your environment. Take a minute to marvel at the wonderful world around you. Smell the flowers. Look at the clouds. Listen to the birds. Walk your dog. And hug a tree. But before your dog pees on it.

She’s baaaaaaaaaaack!

April 22, 2015Leave a Comment

She’s back! Our human has returned. The joyful reunion included me leaping up and down – 5 feet in the air, Paxton almost knocking her over, and Frodo standing and barking at her. Non-stop. For 5 minutes. Now don’t get me wrong – we DO love our sitter. But our human IS Number One!

She was supposed to get home mid-afternoon. But she said something about weather and delayed flights and a VERY bumpy ride and so she didn’t get home until last night. I’m not sure everything she said. Who could hear her over Frodo’s barking.

We were VERY good while she was away! Yes – you read that correctly. No stolen cell phones. No ripped dog beds. No destroyed screen door. Well – the door hasn’t actually been fixed yet since that last travel episode. But we didn’t make it any worse. Not that it could be…

Today she sadly has to go to work. So we won’t get t play with our guilt gift until she gets home. More NEW retrieving toys!!! Mind you – we also do still have to wait for the snow to disappear!

Have a great day. And don’t forget to hug your human!

National Look Alike Day

April 20, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is National Look Alike Day. I don’t need to go into detail about the similarities and differences between me and Frodo – I’ve done that before. We KNOW I have the better coat – I’m more “wash and wear” than he is. And the personalities – well there’s no point in reviewing who is more active. Yes. That would be me. And more disobedient.

But as for looking alike. Well – I’ll let you be the judge! Same or different – I think we are both adorable!

Our human is on her way home. Anxiously awaiting those guilt gifts!!!!

Have a good one!

Hanging out

April 20, 2015Leave a Comment

Today is National Hanging Out Day. And that is exactly what I am going to do. Hang out with the sitter. My human called yesterday to check on us – and the sitter said we were all doing “just great.” She is such a nice lady. She is very tolerant. Very. All in all, though, I have been very good and so have Frodo and Pax. Rumor has it my human did some “shopping” for us. Don’t I LOVE guilt gifts.

Hope you have a happy day hanging out!

Pet Owners Independence Day

April 18, 2015Leave a Comment

So. Today – April 18 is Pet Owners Independence Day. WHAT in the world does that mean? Pet owners are FREE for the day – so we pets can run wild? Seriously. IMAGINE what THAT would be like!

But that DID get me thinking. Just a couple of weeks ago, the first driverless car completed a cross-country journey across the US. I’m thinking that I would like one of those vehicles. Wouldn’t THAT be perfect? Talk about independence. I could go to the Pet store to pick up biscuits all by myself. And dog toys. And food. Not to mention the fact that I could hop in and go ANYWHERE, if I saw my human getting the grooming tools ready. No more hiding in the woods. I’ll be in the next town.

Now all I need is a GoPro camera, so I can record all of my adventures. And I’ll bring Frodo along – I can probably teach him how to pump gas…

My human better get home soon. Before I seriously start making inquiries…

Happy Birthday Bobby!!!

April 18, 2015Leave a Comment

All is good here. We are behaving pretty well. No major runaways and no one has stolen anything off the counter. At least, not that we are going to admit.

Being a PON, I need to celebrate today. It’s Bobby Vinton’s birthday! And WHY would I celebrate his birthday? Well for people who may not remember Bobby, he was an American pop singer in the 60’s and 70’s. He had lots of hit records. But more importantly, from my point of view- he was known as the “Polish Prince” – because he was proud of his Polish heritage. My kinda guy. He even had a top single – My Melody of Love that he sung partly in Polish. My human remembers it – and she could sing along. Even though she wasn’t REALLY sure what she was singing. This is all WAY before MY time – probably like 100 years ago.

I’m going to see if I can get the sitter to make a cake for Bobby’s birthday. Well OK – maybe we won’t get a cake. But at LEAST a few biscuits are in order for another Polish Prince. Yours truly being the other one.

Happy birthday Bobby!

Top Rally PON

April 16, 2015Leave a Comment

So today I have to congratulate Frodo. It seems that some “statistics” just came out in Canada for the Top Rally Obedience dogs for 2014. In 2013 he was the top PON in Canada – and ta-da – he did it again. OK. It looks like he WAS the only PON in Canada last year competing at the Advanced level. And he competed limited times. Like once. But he DID have a perfect score. So no matter what – he made the standings! And at least there WAS a PON in the stats!

I don’t want to make HUGE deal of it. Mind you, he will probably get a certificate again. And our human will make him take the obligatory photos. But he IS a pretty smart guy. I’m not sure I got all the smart genes. But if treats are involved, I AM pretty bright. So congrats to my big brother!

Speaking of treats, good thing my human FILLED that jar before she left. We’re helping the sitter to empty it.

Have a great day!

The Titanic…

April 16, 2015Leave a Comment

So today marks two things. On this day, in 1912, the Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland. Nova Scotia played a roll in the recovery efforts and many of the poor victims were brought to Halifax. Many are buried in three different cemeteries in Halifax. A sad day in history…There were dogs and cats and chickens on board. Three little tiny dogs survived – probably because they could easily be carried on board the life rafts. Paxton says he is never going on a cruise– it would be hard to smuggle him on a life raft…

And speaking of the Titanic, it seems some rich guy was building a Titanic replica – that was supposed set to sail in 2016. He was going to provide a simulated experience for the passengers – with period dress, meals and accommodations. All except the sinking part. Now this is where I really shake my head at humans. I mean REALLY – would YOU go on a Titanic cruise? I mean isn’t that just a BIT spooky? Well from what I have recently read, it looks like the idea has sunk – as the launch has tentatively been moved to 2018. Go figure.

The other big thing about today…our dog sitter has arrived and our human has set off for Bison. Ooops. Buffalo. We looked all sad and pathetic when she left. More guilt gifts. If we’re good.

I’m not sure if I’ll be writing much for the next few days – but SOMETIMES my human does Skype with me – so I can send something out. We’ll see.

Gotta go stare at the sitter. Time for some biscuits : )