Friday, March 26, 2010

Wild Dogs, Pt. 2

If you missed yesterday's post, please start here for context. These are the pictures that floored me when they came together. Enjoy our walk on the wild side.



SOLA



The mighty huntress. Fearless, fierce and strong. Aside from a near color match I know my seventy pound Labrador does not truly resemble a mighty Lioness. But she has that king of the jungle moxie, and she would lay down her life to protect her family. Soon I will capture her roar on video and extinguish any doubt. She's the family beast.


  
TRUFFLES



Now that I see it for myself, it's not much of a stretch!  She loves to emit low, rumbling growls. She snores loudly to announce her hibernation practice sessions. She's large, and huggable. And one day a few years ago, she almost met the real thing. Seeing her transformed, I'm fairly confident she's ready to take on Mr. Jingles. And I'll never look at her the same way again.


I hope you and your beasts are well this Friday. Enjoy the weekend!
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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Wild Dogs, Pt. 1

"You know," he quipped, "Mr. Jingles is so tiger-like at times." The very nice man from the dog park pointed away to my left. I turned, scanning the horizon in search of a massive, rippling beast. None were to be found. I did locate Mr. Jingles, however. He was in a distant corner of the dog park, all six pounds of this ferocious Maltese. He was getting his ass kicked by a cricket....

I don't know why we all feel the need, but the majority of us are guilty. I'm no exception. Every dog we have shared a home with has reminded me of some wild creature. Once that light bulb goes off, the notion sticks with you, and your dog is forever branded a _________. Perhaps it's the suggestion of identifying with a truly wild animal that excites and encourages so many of us to pick an untamed alter ego for our four legged friends. Whatever it is, I may as well quit pontificating and share our chosen wild kingdom matches for our dogs, starting today with Nigel. May they forgive me.



NIGEL



The obvious comparisons are ones that match physical characteristics, and in that regard, Nigel is not too far off from a Gazelle. Or a deer. He's notably fleet of foot and nimble. Ask any Greyhound owner (especially those with fawn dogs) about the deer comparison. We've heard that one many times. Oddly enough, Nigel also matches the Gazelle in spirit - he's quick to flee at the first hint of danger.

Of course, he's also been referred to as a stink bug from time to time.




Tomorrow, we'll look at the other side of Sola and Truffles, and a couple of pictures that left me utterly speechless when they were (almost, I'm putting on the finishing touches) finished. You may have to look at them more than once to believe your eyes. I did. Any guesses?


Am I crazy? Does your dog have a wild twin? If so, what is it?

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Friday, March 19, 2010

Dogster: The New BFF

Opposites attract, or so goes the old adage. As of today, you may consider me a firm believer.

I've been noticing mention of Dogster on the blogs of some of our friends as I've made my way around to visit. If you're not familiar with Dogster I'd be surprised - most hard core dog lovers have found it in their internet travels. I cannot say with certainty that it is the oldest (perhaps it is - I neglected to ask) but it is unquestionably the largest and most mature social networking site for dogs in existence. But that's just scratching the surface. Take a few moments to check it out - it's a thriving, passionate, vocal community of dog lovers. If you've not been, you can easily invest a week in really finding your way around. There is much to take in, and a wealth of great information available.



 
Our dogs have had pages on Dogster for years (see badge on right side of this page). We're even connected with some of you there already. So it was a great surprise to receive a nice message from them the day our winter games commenced. It seems that they had just enough fun playing along to take a look around and dig in to the archives here. Oddly enough, they were not scared off! 

I can't explain it either, but I'm going with it. I'm really going with it. Because the very nice folks at Dogster have invited us to "play in their park" from time to time. To be more accurate, we're being allowed monthly visitation rights. I think that's a safe call on their part! Let me take a moment to say that if you have arrived from Dogster today, welcome. It is a great pleasure to meet you and your pack members. Our home is yours, and we hope you enjoy the visit.

For our old friends, we have exciting news. I have said enough, so please take a moment to check out this post from Maria Goodavage at Dogster. It made my week. Dogster has an official blog (you just visited it) and once a month, we will be dropping in with a guest post. Maria and the other contributors at Dogster are certified dog nuts like all of us, so it's a really fun way for us to introduce more dog lovers to one another. By now many of you have realized that if a blog had a mission statement, sharing would be plastered all over ours. So this new friendship makes perfect sense. Dogster is sweet, and we're slightly sour. They do much good, and we...well you get the point. It's a great fit.

Many thanks to Maria and to Dogster for finding us and taking the time to introduce us to their fans. And great thanks to our loyal followers. Your feedback makes all of the difference!

Have a great weekend with your pooches, hug them all for us, and be well. I'd ask who loves you, but I already know the answer. ♥
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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Ahead of Schedule

I'm a day early.

I did not forget to check the calendar, but this is a very Irish household, and it just wouldn't seem right if we didn't wish our friends a happy holiday tomorrow. But tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday, and that comes with crazy rules like no typing or captions. So from our family to yours...











Please enjoy a safe holiday tomorrow, and if we don't see you for wordless Wednesday, be sure to drop by Thursday for a little extra fun. It's that kind of week.  :)

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Monday, March 15, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

Maryland Dog Swallows 3 Carat, $20,000 Diamond

This reads like a scene from a romantic comedy. One of the owners of Robert Bernard Jewelers in Rockville, Maryland followed Sollie the diamond eating dog for three days until the gem "reappeared". His response: "I can understand what it was like in the old Gold Rush. I felt like I had just hit pay dirt."



Have a great weekend!

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Thursday, March 11, 2010