Foo Dogs Aren’t Dogs… Are They?

Perhaps you’ve heard of foo dogs — also known as fu dogs, fo dogs, or Chinese lions? These works of art may be called dogs, but are they really dogs? First, a little history: animal imagery is an important element in Chinese art. During the Shang dynasty, stylized animal faces were placed on vessels in tombs and engraved onto weapons. For some, the animal faces served as fierce guardians or symbols of royal power. During the Han dynasty, we saw the first appearance of the lion in Chinese art. Outside of royal gifts, China had no lions of its own; … Continue reading →

Pet Art: More Trouble than It’s Worth?

The seventh annual Oregon Veterinary Conference is going on this weekend. We’ve had a lot of out-of-town guests stop by the cats only boarding facility (and cats only veterinarian, too) to look around. Yesterday, some ladies who run a boarding facility in West Virginia came by specifically to look at our boarding set up. As pet owners, the women are mostly familiar with dogs. They only added cats to their boarding plans in order to increase their business! But, they said, the feline end of things has been challenging. They mentioned one thing that has been a smashing success for … Continue reading →

More Viral Animal Emails: Doggone Hysterical

Previously I wrote about viral emails I’m guilty of spreading and ones that have tugged at my heart. Well, here’s some that I’ve found just doggone hysterical. Off the Mark Cartoons My neighbor Marlene forwarded an email with “From a dog’s point of view” in the subject line. It contained a bunch of Off the Mark cartoons by Mark Parisi. These were cartoons I’d never seen before and had me in stitches because I thought they were incredibly clever. My favorites were: • “Aromatherapy Candles” – a dog’s standing in front of a rack of dog rear end candles, with … Continue reading →

Do Your Pets Have Theme Songs?

Mine do. Each of them has a song that reminds me of them when I hear it. In some cases, like Murph’s, they even have more than one! Budly’s Song: “I Try” Budly was the first pet who got a theme song. Unfortunately it was not while he was alive. Macy Gray released “I Try” shortly before he passed away. I didn’t pay attention to it until the day he died. Then I couldn’t get it out of my head, because of the following lyrics: “I try to say goodbye and I choke Try to walk away and I stumble … Continue reading →

Meet the Josephs

Tucker Joseph with his Aunt Court and Uncle Wayne Labor Day Weekend 2006 I’d like to introduce you to some very dear friends of mine, the Josephs: Michael, Karen and Tucker, the 80 pound wonder dog. (a.k.a. Murphy’s best friend.) When we lived in Jacksonville, the Josephs lived at the top of our block. They moved into their house right around the same time we moved into ours. I remember thinking as I’d see Karen walk Tucker up and down our street, “My golly, that’s a big dog for that lady. I hope she can handle him.” Well, of course … Continue reading →

Animal Movies = Torture: How I Fared Through Evan Almighty

Photo by Gracey Stinson We had company in last weekend –our good friends Lee and Brenda and their two daughters, Jordan (nine) and Noelle (three and a half). We had planned on going to the zoo, but the guy who bought Mr. Meow’s piano came to pick it up at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning so we missed going during the cooler morning hours. (And they were leaving Sunday, so…) However, we decided there was still a way we could spend time with animals and keep cool doing it: at an afternoon matinee showing of Evan Almighty. I must admit, … Continue reading →

Borders Pet Project

A good friend of mine just sent this to my attention. If you are interested in participating, I will warn you that the deadline is rapidly approaching for it. It’s this Saturday, March 31. (Sorry. I would’ve given more notice if I had come across it sooner.) What It Is Borders is putting together a book called Hopeful Tails: Stories of Rescued Pets and Their Forever Families. It will feature stories and accompanying photos of pets who came from shelters, off the streets, or abusive situations and the people who brought them home. How to Submit For consideration to be … Continue reading →