Here is a link to a cool selection of photos of Celebrities with their pets. An old post from PopEater but fun to see.
Cheap Plastic Chairs Needed!
I don’t know the situation in every Dog Park in town but we lost one of our two Cheap Plastic Chairs this week and we really need to get some more. We have one metal park bench an and one metal table but some of our older folks aren’t comfortable on them.
If anyone has any Cheap Plastic Chairs they want to donate they can drop them off at Parkridge Park in Peoria in the Small Dog Park or email me at dogparkriot@cox.net and I will pick them up.
Found Marvel Comics Dog Clothes
I’ve been looking for some branded clothes for my dog and finally found a site with officially licensed Marvel wear. Warning: it is very expensive! No wonder so much dog clothes is so plain and ugly with stupid slogans that often don’t make sense.
I would recommend Sports Teams and some Good Designers get on the bandwagon and start producing some super cool clothing. We also need some standardizing of sizes. I am providing a link to the Funnyfur site and a link to their Flickr photo gallery.
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Avatar is a very important film
James Cameron’s Avatar is one of the most important American films ever made. It pushes into the mainstream many concepts that we must embrace as a society in order to survive on a planet we are slowly destroying. To see another film with a very similar theme check out Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke.
Human’s arrive on a planet named Pandora and discover that under a village of indigenous humanoids is a rare mineral they want called “obtainium”. This is the MacGuffin of the plot. James Cameron makes this an obvious joke because he wants us to know that the real motivation for the corporate and military types of the film is man’s urge to destroy and kill.
The concept of the film is that a few humans are given the chance to inhabit Avatars which are living simulacrums of the Navi(again Mr. Cameron is making a joke, Navi being a compression of native). The main character, Jake takes to his new body and learns all the secrets of the planet. Unlike Earth, where we can’t actually link our minds to other living creatures, The Navi can actually entwine a part of their bodies with other animals and plants and share direct communication with the ecosystem. They rightly believe that all life is connected.
If I have one complaint it’s that Mr. Cameron has the natives call their planet goddess Eewa which reminds me of Ewoks which reminds me of the beginning of the decay of George Lucas’ creative talents.
The last hour of the film is standard action film and love story but done extremely well. Since this is a Fantasy the good guys win and send the military and corporate greed-heads packing.
Why am I talking about this film on my Dog Blog? Because for the last half dozen years I’ve been trying to figure out what life is about and partnering up with my dog this last year has made me even more aware that all life is precious. I may even try to overcome my revulsion of spiders and insects and try to capture and release them when I find them in my house.
The smartest person I ever met (PHD from Cambridge University) once told me about the Gaia Theory. She said earth is a living organism and we have become a disease on it’s surface. Earth has had life on it most likely since the point when the surface cooled enough for liquid water to form. There is four billion years of DNA research under Gaia’s belt and when we reach the point where she can no longer bear us a virus will emerge that will wipe us out. Maybe we can learn to co-exist with Gaia but we haven’t gotten there yet.
Dog on Dog Violence and the Police
A few nights ago I had a talk with a woman who was bringing her puppy to the dog park for the first time. She was very nervous because her last dog was killed by a Pit-bull in her front yard and the Police refused to do anything about it. I told her not to worry because we police our own park and I promised her I would watch out for her dog in the park.
Last night at my feet a 30lb Pug mix viciously attacked a 7lb Rat Terrier. Without thinking I grabbed the Pug by his collar and tossed him a good distance away so the Rat Terrier’s owner could pick her dog up. This started a conversation about why I would put myself at risk of getting bit by the Pug. I explained that I had just been told that the Police do not care if a dog is injured or killed by another dog so the only way to stop a vicious dog attack is to get between your dog and the vicious dog and hope it bites you. If it does call 911 immediately and get the Police involved. Always keep in mind that the owner of a vicious dog is probably more dangerous than the dog itself so if you feel threatened get your dog and you away from the situation till the Police arrive.
Coydogs: Is a Coyote & Dog Mix Possible? (Part 2)
I’ve found two links that have pictures of possible Coydog mixes. Neither seems 100% reliable so I will be sending my dog’s DNA in for analysis to see what they say.
I spoke to someone at the Dog Park recently who said they once had a similar looking dog that was a mix of about six different breeds including Australian Shepherd, German Shepherd and Akita. It sounds as if you mix enough domestic breeds together you can get back to an “original” looking dog.
Coydog, Coydogs, Domestic Dog Coyote Hybrid, Dogotes, Pet Coydog Picture Photo Gallery
Coydogs: Is a Coyote & Dog Mix Possible? (Part 1)
I have been convinced since my rescue dog has been about six months old that she is a Coyote / American Eskimo hybrid. When I adopted her she was two months old. She was with three siblings who all had long coats while her coat was short and the rescue shelter said her mother was purebred American Eskimo but the father was unknown.
I initially thought I had found a Basenji mix because she has a well curled tail and was very excited when she didn’t bark for the first few months confirming my original theory. The problem for me is I thought she would grow into her bat-like ears but as she got bigger her ears stayed large. I can’t find any breeds other than wild dogs like wolves, coyotes and foxes that have her ear shape. She also has a thin build and narrower head than a Basenji or Shiba-Inu(my other possibility).
Here are two photos to illustrate her “look”.
Recent photo of Sugar on the prowl.
Look at those ears! She's only about four months in this photo.
Kong Zinger is a big hit!
I made a post awhile back about the new Kong Zinger and I want to say it has caught on at my park. The small dogs like it better than tennis balls because they can get their mouths around it.
The big dogs like it because if thrown properly it travels for up to 100 yards and because of its donut shape they can play tug of war with it. This is the best dog toy I have ever purchased and many of my friends are purchasing them. Kong has done it again!
Totally Off Topic: Tiger Woods jokes
I wanted to get these three jokes written down before I forget them but I can’t put them on my Facebook page because my Niece reads it and these are PG-13.
- I guess Tiger Woods has taken Nike’s tag line literally, “Just Do It”.
- I’ve heard Tiger Woods is having trouble with his putz.
- Tiger Woods is in trouble but don’t worry, there are still plenty of holes to play.
