The duck who thinks he's a Rottweiler

Henry, an Indian Runner duck, and Jaffa, the eight-stone Rottweiler hit it off after Henry escaped from a pen and waddled up to Jaffa.  His owner feared the worst and then watched in amazement as the pair became the best of friends.  When she took Jaffa out for his walk Henry just followed. Now wherever Jaffa goes Henry goes too. They cannot be apart ;  they even sleep in the same pen together.
Daily they go on a mile-and-a-half walk together just the two of them. 
Now Henry rules the roost. And he even gets Jaffa into trouble when they roam around the village of Stapleford, Leicestershire and every time Henry takes a plunge in the duck pond, Jaffa takes a dip too.

Zelda Fitzgerald's dog.

This is Zelda Fitzgerald posing with her dog Fritz in 1922.  He looks like a Malinois, a Belgian Shepherd. 
The Malinois was probably introduced to the US after WWI. During the war in Europe they were brought into military service to act as messengers, scouts, border patrol and Red Cross dogs. 

How is this possible?

I read this tragic story in the papers.  How is this possible?  It is obviously a tragic accident but dog owners know about dogs in cars.  Every dog owner does.  This makes me so mad.  We have had the coldest winter in decades and the first rays of sun come out and this is what happens.  Just think everybody out there.  Just think!  Be mindful.

“A school's 'therapy' dog has died after being left in a hot car for six hours because of a 'staff mix-up'. Ruby,  the Labrador was used to help lower-ability pupils at Sittingbourne Community College in Kent.

Owner Dave Carden, 53, a PE teacher, routinely took her in each day and left her in his car for another teacher to collect and take into class.
But on Tuesday - one of the hottest days of the year so far - she was not collected and remained in the car from 8am to 2.35pm.
Outside temperatures rose to the 20C mark and by the time Carden returned to his car, five year-old Ruby was dead.
He rushed her to the vets but there was nothing they could do to save her.”

RIP Ruby.

Flemish dog in Rijksmuseum

In view of the grand opening of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this week after 10 years of renovation, I am copying a blog entry which I originally wrote in April 2009.


"Thanks to a donation from the Dutch lottery BankGiro Lottery, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has acquired five sculptures, all of which make an exceptional contribution to the Rijksmuseum’s international collection of sculptures. From 21 April 2009, the sculptures can be admired in the Acquisitions Hall of the Rijksmuseum. The highlight of the exhibition is a lively sculpture of a Greyhound: the dog is looking up, alert, as though listening to his master. On his collar is the coat of arms of the Roose family from Antwerp, so it is likely the dog really existed. This exceptional animal ‘portrait’ was created by Artus Quellinus (1609-1668) from Antwerp. From 1648 onwards the sculptor spent considerable time in Amsterdam, where he was commissioned to design the sculptural decorations of the new Town Hall (today's Royal Palace on Dam Square). Many of the sculptures of the Town Hall decorations reveal the classicist influence that became increasingly popular in the mid-seventeenth century in the Northern Netherlands. Despite the numerous commissions that awaited him in the Netherlands, Quellinus decided to return to Antwerp in 1664 where he died four years later. "

National Puppy Day

It’s National Puppy day in the US today.  The day not only celebrates the magic of puppies, but more importantly, it's a day to help save orphaned puppies across the globe and educate the public about the horrors of puppy mills, as well as further the mission for a nation of puppy-free pet stores.

Puppy mills take advantage of naive consumers who are not aware of the treatment the fluffy pups in the window endure: "Puppy mills house dogs in shockingly poor conditions. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are often killed, abandoned or sold cheaply to another mill to try and get "one more litter" out of the dog. The annual result of all this breeding is millions of puppies, many with serious behaviour and/or health problems."

Puppy mills aren't the only challenge facing dogs. An estimated 3-4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in the U.S., due in part to owner abandonment and low adoption rates.

It's not Ozzy

No, it's not Ozzy.  It's a Tibetan Mastiff.



The name Tibetan mastiff is a misnomer because technically it is not a true mastiff.  A better name for the dog would be Tibetan mountain dog or Himalayan mountain dog.  These dogs are seriously huge.  An average male weighs 80 kg.  They were and are still used to guard herds and flocks, tents, monasteries and palaces.  They are mostly tied up to guard houses.  It's Tibetan name means "dog which may be tied or door guard or home guard".

Little known fact

Did you know that Dalmatian puppies are born with plain white coats?  Their first spots usually appear within three weeks after birth.