Going to the Dogs

Dogs...what more is there to be said?

Hi, all, Lily the Corgi here.  This past week has been wonderful--lazy, laid-back, uneventful, calming, serene; use whatever descriptor you'd like, it's been peaceful and nice here in Lilyland. However, when there's nothing going on, I don't have any interesting tidbits to describe about my life, so we must dive into the collected knowledge of the ages and talk about Interesting Dog Facts!  The facts below come from several sources:  WebMD, I Love Dogs website, OSU vet school website, and the book Dogs in Antiquity; the comments in RED are my own thoughts and should prove infinitely more interesting than the facts themselves.

1.  We've all heard about the ancient Egyptians and their worship of cats.  But did you know that they also revered their dogs?  They were so into their dogs, that when a beloved dog died, these Egyptians would shave off their eyebrows, smear mud in their hair and go around wailing out loud for days.  (Because nothing says, wow, I miss my dog more than a guy running around the neighborhood with muddy hair, no eyebrows, wailing uncontrollably. Really, a better tribute to a corgi might be to show a little DIGNITY, people!)

2.  And speaking of worship...Pekingese dogs were worshipped in China for many years.  These dogs were considered so important they were often given their own servants.  (There you go, Egyptians; that's the way to show your appreciation for your doggies!)

3.  The ancient Mbaya Indians of the Gran Chaco in South America believed that humans originally lived underground until dogs dug them up.  (See there, mama, you should be a bit more grateful about my efforts to dig up the back yard!)

4.  Here's a juicy tidbit for my cousin Quincy the ancient wiener dog:  A dachshund was discovered, swallowed whole, in the belly of a huge catfish in Germany in 2003.  

Quincy, I suggest you stay on that little chair and keep away from the creek!

5.  Considering using your dog as your wingman?  Studies suggest that the best dog for attracting dates is the Golden Retriever while the worst is the Pit Bull.   (Corgis should be used if you wish to attract a member of the British royal family.)

6.  Dog ownership in Iran is considered to be an "unclean" practice that shows an infiltration of unwanted Western excess.  In the past few years, more and more restrictive legislation has been proposed, and often accepted, in this country.  Today, ownership of a dog is considered a sign of rebellion against the state.  (Talk about a place where dogs are underappreciated!)

7.  Petting a dog has proven to help lower the blood pressure of the human doing the petting.  (Perhaps we should tell that to the Iranians.)

Well, that's enough dog trivia for today.   I have some really good news to share.  It seems our former foster, Linus, has been adopted into his new home up in Illinois...and his adoption date is actually the same as mine!  He now has his own mama and daddy and an older fursister.  I'm very happy for Linus; all doggies deserve to have their own homes where they can be spoiled and loved and cared for.  

In closing, Mama and Aunt Vicky are running off later this week for a few days and we're being left here with daddy.  That shouldn't be too much of a problem; I have our foster dog, Clark, so well trained that he's really no trouble.  Anyway, next week's blog will be a bit late since mama won't be here to do my typing.   So, til next time...

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

Here's daddy, controlling his blood pressure by petting me and our former foster dog Linus, who now has his own home!

What's With All The Humping?. And Other Random Thoughts.

 I'm not usually food aggressive, but I hold my own if I have to.

Hi, all, Lily the Corgi here.  Well, you know how last week I was all calm and happy and Zen because we got rid of Linus the foster and mama was going to volunteer at the spay neuter clinic?  Yeah, well, guess what?

Our newest thing is called Clark.  He's actually quite a funny guy, playful; he knows a few basic commands and has a few house manners.  He was at that same shelter where Linus lived and his story is just ridiculous.  Clark was chosen to go to  a rescue group in Colorado, but since there was no immediate transportation for him, he was going to be killed to free up space.  Come on, people, he's pretty small--he wasn't taking up that much space!  Anyway, my mama heard that sob story so now we have a new foster.

Right off the bat, Clark and I got off to a bad start.  When we were let out to go pee, Clark barged his way out ahead of all us girls, like he thought he owned the place.  I didn't let a second pass without telling him he was sadly mistaken about that idea.  Then we came in the house to eat supper and right away, the beast tried to eat MY food.  Seriously?  Any person, canine, feline, or anything else should know it is just not prudent to get between a corgi girl and her groceries.  Clark and I had a little dust up about that; I have to give him credit for not giving up and peeing himself, but, of course, I still had to show him that I am the queen of this castle.

Here Clark and I, getting along.

Since then Clark and I have been okay.  Now, Sadie and Lucy, however, are still having trouble.  You see, Clark is a humpaholic.  That animal thinks he should hop up and mount anything that moves; he approached me once and hasn't made the same mistake, but Sadie and Lucy are not as dominant as I am, so they've let him get away with far too much.  My daddy calls him "Humpapotamus."

Clark has been neutered and it goes without saying that all us girls are spayed, but that hasn't slowed Clark down any. Last night he even tried to hump mama's friend Marcy's leg!  And then I started thinking about humping.  You know, sometimes Sadie humps Lucy; they are both girls, so that can't be about mating.  So, I'm asking myself, what is the deal with all this humping??

Mama helped me look up some info from our friends at WebMD--Pets and found a few answers.  According to their vets, humping by unneutered/unspayed dogs under a year old is usually sexual (geez, don't kids these days have any shame?)  However, in adult dogs, humping is usually about showing dominance, excitement, or is a sign the creature doesn't know how to behave properly.  Clark is an adult guy and neutered, and he seems to know how to behave properly in most cases, so with him we're probably looking at dominance or excitement.  While Clark can get riled up and excited when he plays hard or when strangers come to the house, the majority vote by a long shot here is that he is trying to show dominance.  Mama says he is trying to hump his way into his place in the social order of our household; I say he can hump himself right on to his place in the van that will take him to Colorado in a couple of weeks!

Don't let that innocent face fool you; under the surface, he's just a little humpaholic

I've told you before that my sister Sadie is crazy.  She is a very neurotic dog and gets very anxious and weird when anyone strange comes to visit--even people she knows and loves.  Last night, 3 of my mama and daddy's friends were here for a dinner and some card games, and Sadie climbed right up on the couch with them for petting!  That is a HUGE leap forward for 'fraidy Sadie.  She seemed so happy to be up there, getting all that love and attention; I was so pleased for her.  Or maybe she was just trying to get away from Clark.

Last week, I asked you to pray for my cat cousin Belle.  Today, I have to bring the bad news that Belle has passed on to the Rainbow Bridge.  The tests showed she had an aggressive cancer and her parents felt it was best to let her go peacefully before she had to endure a lot of pain and suffering.  I know Belle was met there by my big brother Claude the grouchy husky and all our family pets who've gone before her.  Enjoy your time at the bridge, Belle, and we'll see you when we get there.

That's about all I have for today.  All you humans, give your fur-babies a little extra belly rub tonight in honor of cousin Belle and everyone be sure to take care of one another.

Til next time,

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

Sometimes I just feel like rolling over and taking a time out from the weirdness of life.

Welcome to 2015!

Is it 2015 already!?!

Hi, all, Lily the Corgi here, welcoming you to 2015 and wishing you a happy new year!  Wow, it doesn't seem possible another year has come and gone already and we are now speeding our way through 2015.  

We ended up having a very quiet New Year's celebration.  Our friends from out-of-town weren't able to make it so mama, daddy, my sisters, our foster dog Linus, and I just had a nice evening at home. We got some nice treats and watched tv.  At midnight, there was a public fireworks display a mile or so from our house and the booms scared my sister Sadie.  Not long after that, we went to bed so Sadie could feel more secure.  

Pretty soon after the new year kicked off, my mama said that Linus was going to be leaving us.  Really??  I never thought that would actually happen, knowing how mama is about taking in all sorts of down-and-out critters, but she swore it was true.  She said we had to take Linus to the dog park again to be sure he continued to be a good citizen with unknown dogs.  I thought that sounded like a fine idea, so off we went!  We had a lot of fun, running and sniffing.  Mama and daddy wouldn't let us go to the pond because they said it was simply too cold and I couldn't be trusted not to go in the water.  Whatever.  From the standpoint of exposing Linus to other dogs, the trip was pretty much a bust as no one else braved the cold to bring their dogs...it was kind of nice to have it all to ourselves.

I love spending time at the dog park!

Early last week, mama and daddy seemed to spend a lot of time crying and loving on Linus.  They kept telling him he was going to a rescue somewhere up north where it is cold and snowy and where no one wants to put dogs to sleep just because they find themselves homeless.  I don't think Linus understood because he thought this was his home, so that was a little sad.  One evening, mama and daddy took Linus in the truck and when they came back, he wasn't with them.  We girls at home were a little concerned, but they explained that Linus was going with the rescue lady for an opportunity to go get adopted.  Hey, that happened to me when I was in a foster home, so I understood what was going on.  It made me happy for Linus...and it made me very happy for US, because it is much calmer and more peaceful and quieter without that big lug in our house!

I hope you get a nice home, Linus, where they give you lots of ice cubes to munch!

So, life has become a bit calmer now, back to a more normal state.  Well, except that our bedroom carpet is put together with duct tape; that's still a bit weird.  Mama says we'll be getting wood floors soon, something about money.  I don't understand money so I'm not sure what she means, but that's okay.  I remember when we had wood floors in our house in Bartlesville; the wood was nice and cool on my tummy and I liked it.  

You know I'm not the biggest fan of cats, but I do have a cat cousin named Belle.  Belle lives in Tulsa with Lily the human who's named after me.  Belle is a big cat girl and is 15 years old...even older than my cousin Quincy the ancient wiener dog!  A couple of days ago, Belle went to the vet for some routine dental work and the vet discovered a mass behind one of her eyes.  The vet says it may be cancer.  Now, I don't know much about medical things, but even I know cancer is a terrible, evil disease that sickens and disfigures and kills.  So, even though cats aren't my favorite beast, I'd like to ask you to keep a good thought for cousin Belle as she awaits some test results.

I'll try to keep you updated on Linus' progress at finding a family at his new rescue up north and I'll let you know how things turn out for Belle.  As for Lucy, Sadie, and me, we are staying warm and cozy, curled up on the couches enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon with mama.  Oh!  And mama says she is going to go volunteer to do work at Kitties and Kanines instead of getting another foster dog; now that sounds like a wonderful idea!  Life just doesn't get any better.

Til next time, take care of one another and stay warm!

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

Getting a little scratch while I lie by mama as she works on the computer.