There are always going to be videos and images on the web. As a personal policy, I try not to post pictures which are controversial or shocking. There’s enough going on in the world these days, isn’t there? We really don’t need anything to bring us down.

In one of my last posts I wrote how easy it is during my down time to get lost in the internet’s web. Videos, songs, interactive sites and pictures seem to bombard most of your senses. However, every once in a while you find that gem of a picture; something that makes you look at it and at the very end say ‘Awwww!’.

I found the picture to the right on one of the various news sites that I frequent.  When I saw it I did exactly as I said - “Awwww!”. There are so many facets to this image which make it so adorable:

• It flies in the face of the stereotypical antagonistic behavior between cats and dogs
• The puppy seems so young and innocent
• Are the puppy and cat merely attempting to stay warm or is there more to this? Is this a cure for lonliness?

Growing up we’re all faced with believing that cats and dogs have a hard time coexisting. We learn this from cartoons, movies, television shows, books and magazines. It has been drilled into us so much that we begin to believe it. Those of us who have a multi-species home no that both of these fine, furry friends can love each other and coexist under the same roof.

It’s a nice lesson to learn, isn’t it?

Regardless of species, this cat and dog get along well

I have seen this floating around the net and via emails. With all the trials and tribulations that we’ve had in the past few years I thought it would be nice to repost it here.  retreived this version from The Examiner at http://www.examiner.com/x-677-Dogs-Examiner~y2009m3d1-A-Dogs-Prayer

A Dog’s Prayer

Treat me kindly, my beloved master, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I should lick your hand between the blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me do.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.

When it is cold and wet, please take me inside… for I am now a domesticated animal, no longer used to bitter elements… and I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth… though had you no home, I would rather follow you through ice and snow than rest upon the softest pillow in the warmest home in all the land… for you are my god… and I am your devoted worshiper.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for although I should not reproach you were it dry, I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst. Feed me clean food, that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side, and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger.

And, beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest…and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew, my fate was ever safest in your hands.

–Beth Norman Harris

I need help. During one of the few periods of time during my day when I have free time I was sucked into watching the following video clip (from 2005). I have absolutely no idea why I find it so amusing but the song has been stuck in my head for most of the past two days:

I’m a Kitty Cat

For an animal lover the internet is both a wonderful thing as well as, let’s be honest here, both a great source of entertainment and a time suck. At one point I’ll be researching dog breeds, training and feeding tips, the winner of the Westminster Dog Show. It is amazing that I could find remedies for getting the stink of a skunk off my dogs (all solutions aren’t perfect!) and removing the smell of cat urine from a leather couch (don’t ask) and then…I get lost in Facebook, poking and prodding people, accepting gifts and telling them random bits of information about myself.

Then I get caught up in reading the news. News is EVERYWHERE. I could easily spend over 3 hours catching up on all the local, national and world news, entertainment, human interest, WTF, pet industry news. By the time I feel that I would be done catching up there would be even MORE news. It is a never ending cycle!

Then there are the web comics. I’ll admit that I’ll read some of the mainstream web comics. There are times, though, that I’ll catch up on others. Some are web only, others I sometimes don’t even understand. But they’re there and I MUST READ THEM!!

Finally, I get drawn into the videos. Holy cow.  Aside from the videos of Japanese game shows, people doing stupid things, amazing science experiments I wind up right back to what I know best - animals. I keep falling in love over and over again with videos of kittens and puppies, birds and fish, turtles and…well, pretty much everything!

The internet is both my friend and my weakness. Then again, who wouldn’t feel weak in the knees and fall in love with little puppy howling with his owner?

The day after Christmas last year one of my dogs left this life and ventured into the next. He was a beautiful dog with a sweet and loving personality but over the year he had several medical issues that the fine doctors at TLC in Leesburg couldn’t diagnose, despite trying their best.

As I’m sure all of you pet owners are aware, we humans tend to outlive these fine, furry family members. And that, my friends, is our curse that we must endure. If we’re lucky, we get to see our animals grow from being a baby into adulthood. We get to experience the howling in their crates when they first come home or the clawing and scratching of your favorite furniture. We see them mature, act silly or serious and, for all intents and purposes, become an integral part of our existence.

If we’re lucky, we get to be with them when they pass.

As hard as it is to see your loved one go we gladly carry this curse with us for as long as possible, knowing that it will eventually end in heartbreak and pain. Why? Because even though we know the inevitability of the situation we are also sure that this curse is also a blessing.

I took it very, very hard when my baby passed away.  I think of him daily; missing his big, lumbering body that didn’t have a shred of grace nor coordination. But he was mine and he always will be.

When I was in North Carolina I remember driving around with my dogs in my truck and we were listening to NPR and Garrison Keillor’s ‘Prairie Home Companion’. On this particular show was Billy Collins reading his work “The Revanent“. Although it is a humorous piece about a dog’s ‘true’ feelings after passing, it helps bring some levity to an otherwise dire time.

Plus, we all know that it isn’t true

I have a deep love for old dogs. Maybe it is because, for the most part, they’re nice and mellow. Old dogs seem to reach an age of maturity and you can see it in them. They’re wiser, more experienced and, for better or worse, set in their ways.

I recently picked up Gene Weingarten and Michael Williamson’s 2008 book Old Dogs: are the best dogs and I can absolutely, without a doubt, say that it is one of the sweetest dog books I’ve read. According to the Amazon Editorial Review

This book is a tribute to every dog who has made it to that time of life when the hearing and eyesight begin to go, when the step becomes uncertain, but when other, richer traits ripen and coalesce. It is when a dog attains a special sort of dignity and a charm all his own.

Face it, the lives of our furry family members is fleeting at best. It is almost unfair that we humans live 4-5 times longer than our pets. But when we live with them and see them as they age we can’t help but feel that, no matter what, they have enriched our lives and have become a part of us.

If we’re lucky we’ve been able to watch our friends grow from a sprawling young mass of paws, teeth and fur filled with limitless energy to the more sure footed, graying old timers. Looking through the book and reading the stories reminds you how much you appreciate your friend’s life. Undoubtedly, you’ve been through much with your dog and Weingarten does a phenomenal job of telling anecdotes that you can relate to. When you look at the black and white images throughout the book and read of the dogs exploits and experiences you’ll see and feel that you’ve somehow seen your dog in this book.

There is also a companion website, Old Dogs: A book in progress. If you get the opportunity, look through the other dogs pictures and stories. It is a great read and will be sure to spark thoughts and memories of you and your pooch.

A soldier returns home to his dogs. I watched the following video and I couldn’t help but get sappy. Since this automatically plays when the page is loaded I’ve posted the video after the jump.

Read the remainder of this entry »

As usual, I have been meaning to post this to our Woofie’s blog but, alas, I have been tied up. HOWEVER, this I couldn’t keep bottled up inside

Does anyone remember the Pedigree commercials that had David Duchovny’s voice over work? They would literally make me want to reach out to my television set and hug the poor pups on screen. For example, look at the optimistic expression of Echo:

Watching these commercials for the Pedigree adoption drive always makes me want to cry! How could such a beautiful little boy be in the pound? He looks so happy to see someone, anyone, walk by. Honestly, whenever I see that I want to reach out to the little boy and hug him and tell him that everything will be fine.

Luckily, I don’t have to I think it was marvelous that Pedigree had follow-ups for many of their commercials:

Here is Mary Grace. Without Duchovny’s voice-over, the scenes and the music are so powerful

Again, this story comes with a happy ending:

I cannot stress how important it is for people to adopt a dog in need of a home. There are so many good dogs out there who have lost their homes or who have been discarded. Rather than explicitly searching for a puppy can you find it in your heart to consider adopting an older dog?

The Magic Box. It is a thing of wonderment and amazement…to my dogs. We humans tend to refer to the Magic Box as the “fridge” or the “ice box”. In the eyes of our four legged friends, it is known as the Magic Box. Why? Because it is where all the really good stuff comes from!

This observation is made on an almost daily basis. It never fails that, whenever I open the door to the Magic Box, my dog Farley walks up next to me and peers inside, his eyes as big as saucers.

When people say that dogs aren’t little furry humans I think they’re daft. I swear that my little guy stands there with me and attempts to help me with the decision making process. Cold cuts? Left over pot roast? Possibly some good old mac and cheese would be a good snack for the three if us ‘humans’.

I can only imagine his sense of amazement and curiousity staring into this cold, magical box that dispenses food. Normally, I just look down at him and I start to have a conversation with him, asking what he’s in the mood for.

I caught the following a while ago and it definitely inspired an ‘Awwww!’ moment from me:

Wow, it has been a while, hasn’t it? I promise (again) that I will try and update this site for everyone on a more regular basis! Yes, I admit that my ability to to consistently post has been an epic failure. However, I’m working on correcting that so that we can share in our pet stories!

Speaking of ‘Fail’, has anyone seen the Fail Dogs site? It is absolutely adorable! It is a view into the world of how dogs fail at various activities. Trust me, it isn’t something bad and it isn’t something that will get your blood boiling. In fact, you’ll probably notice many things that your very own pooch does. The site is composed of pictures of dogs do a number or hilarious things and the only narrative to appear is the word ‘FAIL’ to describe what the ultimate outcome will be.

The picture to the right reminds me of something that my own dog, Tobey, would do. In fact it even looks like my dog! As a dog walker we’ve met clients who do this all the time - you walk along and you think you’re going to have a spectacular walk and then all of a sudden BAM! Your puppy decides that it was much more comfortable laying in bed and snoozing for the rest of the day. Oh, dogs. You just can’t help but love them.

Some people would say that the Fail Dogs is a direct response to the LOLCats that were made popular by icanhascheezburger. If you’ve been on the internet within the past few years then you have undoubtedly run across the LOLCats. According to WikiPedia:

A Lolcat, or LOLCAT, is an image combining a photograph of an animal, most frequently a cat, with a humorous and idiosyncratic caption in (often) broken English—a dialect which is known as “Kitty Pidgin”,^[1] “lolspeak”, or Lolcat. The name “lolcat” is a compound word of “LOL” and “cat”.^[2][3] Another name is cat macro, being a type of image macro.^[4] Lolcats are created for photo sharing imageboards and other internet forums. Lolcats are similar to other anthropomorphic animal-based image macros such as the O RLY? owl.^[5]