A blue-eyed, red-furred view of the world!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Day of discovery

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a few days! The Human Assistant has had headaches and icky tummy again. I don't know what it is with him. He finds the energy to do some things during the day. Then when it's night he can't concentrate.

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Before I get to the topic, could everydoggy please spare a thought for Shu Shu? She was spayed Tuesday.

The H.A. says this is major surgery even though it's routine. It went fine. H.A. will have to tie her down to keep her from jumping up on the couch. She wasn't hungry when she came home. I don't understand that!

She groans a little when she turns from lying on one side to lying on the other. Otherwise we think she's doing okay. We'd just like things to stay okay. Taking her to the clinic makes the H.A. take time away from paying attention to me!

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On Monday the H.A. had a big Day of Discovery! Bigger than Columbus landing in the Americas. He didn't even know what hemisphere he was in!

The Human Assistant started his day by reading email. He discovered that Ringo's adoption is in danger of falling through.

At least, Ringo's new dad said he didn't know if it would work out. He said this on Sunday, two days after he got Ringo.

He found that the dog was difficult to train. The man was diligently trying to get Ringo to walk strictly at heel. By his side, not a bit in front of him. Something very good for obedient breeds to do!  Heh.

Then H.A. went to the MaxFund shelter. He discovered that the 600-word "memo" he wrote for them on what Sibe adopters need to know had disappeared into thin air.

At least, nobody said they'd seen it. And neither had Ringo's new dad. Obviously.

H.A. had hoped that the shelter's adoption counselors would read the thing to help them screen applicants. He put in there that somebody who doesn't have experience with Siberians should commit to learning about us really fast!

Even before the "memo," H.A. had written in Ringo's bio:
... we have to go to special homes where they know about our breed or are willing to learn!
Everyone should have seen this.

Can you tell that I'm upset about Ringo's adoption? So is the H.A. But he's contacted the new dad to see if he's willing to change his expectations and accept a normal, healthy, active Siberian for what he is.

Anyway. Then H.A. took Katrina-dog Pearl for a walk. He discovered that she can put her nose in his hand and lift it up, asking to be petted.

The top of Pearl's head, and her neck and shoulders, are touchy places on her. So this was a surprise!

He thinks he also discovered that she can play. He's pretty sure that she play bowed after mouthing his hand twice when their walk was over. In the year that he's visited Pearl off and on, he's never seen her act like a happy dog.

Well, except that recently she wags her stub when she sees him come to her kennel carrying a leash. I guess she barks at most people.

And except for sitting on his foot a couple of times in the last month. I've heard that this is a Rottweiler way to say that they are yours and you are theirs and don't move because they're standing guard for you.

Or something like that. I don't quite understand it. Sibes are a working breed, true. But we're not into possession and protection trips.

After the H.A. finished his walk, he discovered that it was the right front tire that had been planning to blow out on him. Not the left front, like he thought.

Then he discovered that he still didn't have a jack that was tall enough to get a new tire on the Cherokee. (Duh!)

And then he discovered that he didn't have that block of wood he uses to raise the jack just enough to barely slip a good tire onto the wheel. And then he discovered that he had enough magazines floating around the car to do the same job as the wood.

But wait! There's more!

He then discovered the can of citronella spray1 that had been missing for a couple of months. It got tossed way in the back and rolled under the spare tire.

Wow, was that a big day for the Human Assistant or what? And I had a discovery of my own ... a mouse in the kitchen!

At least, H.A. says it's a mouse. I haven't seen it. But its noise is making me crazy! I can't get to it, so I just go back in the garage and go back to sleep.

G'night!


1 Formerly known as DirectStop. Webpages for it are hard to find. Here's a holster and a testimonial - from someone in Denver, even! The H.A. buys the stuff at PetCo.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Shu Shu is official

The Human Assistant went to the MaxFund shelter Saturday. Ringo was finally adopted.  YAY!!!  So H.A. can't threaten to bring him home anymore.
Ringo's first photo at MaxFund shelter Pearl at MaxFund shelter Ringo's second photo at MaxFund shelter
"old" Ringo Pearl Ringo again

Of course Ringo would be over our fence and down the street in a flash if he was left in our yard unsupervised. So it would have taken lots of rearrangement to have him here.

Nikki the photographer was there. They took new pictures of Pearl. A kinder, gentler Pearl with a woman hugging her. They hope this will encourage people to adopt this Katrina victim who's been in a shelter too long!

Even at the shelter people have been afraid of Pearl. She did have behavior issues on top of health problems when she came from New Orleans. But nobody knows how Pearl would do with other dogs. H.A. just happened to have Shu Shu along....

So while one volunteer was holding Pearl's leash, H.A. held Shu Shu so they could sniff noses. H.A. says Pearl was kinda friendly, actually. He's pretty sure she recognized him. Pearl seems to like H.A. ... I'd better not hear any mumbling about bringing her here!

Anyway. He took Shu Shu to MaxFund to see if they would take responsibility for her. There's no room for another dog at the shelter. But he said we would foster her if they'd just take her on.

Shu Shu checks out a plant Shu Shu lies in a kitchen corner Shu Shu checks out a dead sunflower stalk

The H.A. was counting on MaxFund to accept Shu Shu. Fortunately, they did! So she's officially a MaxFund dog now. He filled out MaxFund paperwork, and Nikki took a MaxFund picture, and Shu Shu got a MaxFund tag and shots and next week will get a MaxFund microchip and spaying. (At the MaxFund clinic).

I'll post Pearl's and Shu Shu's new pictures when they're ready. Meanwhile, H.A. spent lots of time trying to make a few more of his own presentable. They aren't very good. But since he put the work into them he insists that they be posted.

They're also all on Shu Shu's dogster page. He's going to try to fix a couple of them so they look better.  ::shrug::  She's just some little flop-ear, for dogness' sake.

So that's all for now.

-- photos of Pearl and Ringo by Nicole Howard

Friday, October 26, 2007

Asking for trouble

Shu Shu snoozing on pillows Here's Shu Shu snoozing on a pile of pillows on a couch.

The pillows don't even have covers on them.

In some houses this would be asking for trouble!

But even I could get on them and not get in trouble.

Even if I shedded a ton of my furry self.

The Human Assistant figures dogs can't get in trouble for things that are his fault.

Usually he thinks that, anyway. Though it may not be the first thing he thinks!

But when Shu Shu pooped in the house ... I got in trouble for that!

The H.A. hasn't figured out what to do about me blocking the way out of the house. So I didn't get in big trouble today. But he gave me that look that says he'll think of something one of these days.

Shu Shu is in heat. Not that I care, but she is. (Okay, her pee smells very interesting. But that's as much as I care.)

So H.A. can't let her run loose when he leaves the house. That would be asking for trouble because we have four-foot fences. It wouldn't take der Jägermeister to jump them and come into the yard.

(H.A. doesn't have many pictures of Jaeger on his dogster page. There are more in Mystique's dogster photo book.)

Anyway.  Minky, the Human Assistant says he's asked MaxFund if they'll take on Shu Shu. But he hasn't heard back yet. We hope they will because it should get her a new home faster.

photo 1 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker photo 2 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker photo 3 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker photo 4 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker photo 5 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker photo 5 of 5, Mystique teasing Tucker Now, here is somedoggy who was really asking for trouble!

(See her tail in the first picture? The Human Assistant is no reincarnation of William Henry Jackson, never mind an Ansel Adams Jr.! Not even good enough to be a member of the Weegee Fan Club.)

This is another of his "famous" Slo-Time nonvideos. But a short one.

He took these pictures in March. Mystique didn't live with us yet. So she wasn't a huge nuisance yet.

Her person worked two jobs and had no way to get home at lunch.

Mystique was three months old in these photos, but the guy adopted her when she was only two months.

What was he thinking??? A puppy left alone for all those hours???

He couldn't let her chew the house up and also do all her pottying in the house! So she was in a crate.

So H.A. took us doggies who lived with him to visit Mystique one at a time. He would just turn us loose in the back yard and watch.

So he could have stopped this very annoying behavior. But he took pictures of it instead!  Sheesh!

In that next-to-last photo Mystique's ears are down and back. Most of the time they point straight up. But she was acting scared. Oooh!  The Big Bad Siberian is gonna get me!

(She did this with Jaeger, too.)

So what was she doing exactly 5 seconds later? I had the H.A. check the time in the picture info. Five seconds later it was, Play with me Uncle Tucker!  Chase me!  Wheee!

Hmmph. She was asking for it, all right. But people thought she was cute, so I didn't play rough Sibe games with her. Pull her around by her tail, roll her, stuff like that.

We got email from Mystique's new people today. They like her. They even had somedoggy else's people take her for a few days, and those people didn't want to give her back.

So there's no risk of her coming her back here, thank dog! Maybe she and Shu Shu would play together. Which sounds okay, but it would be one more dog who might want my apples.

And that would be asking for trouble!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Shu Shu is here

I thought the Human Assistant was going to lunch. He takes a long time for that. But he came back too soon for lunch, and he had this dog. Shu Shu, the Korean Cocker Spaniel. Or whatever....

Shu Shu checks crate Shu Shu pauses
"Yup, it's a crate." Shu Shu pawses


Sure, she doesn't have to stay in the crate. But H.A. keeps me in my crate while she strolls around the house checking things out. Gremlin just sniffed her back end and that was that.

Squirrel?  What Squirrel? "Just where are you going?"


Then H.A. let me out, and I had to investigate. Shu Shu sniffed my behind, which I don't allow. Then we were sniffing noses, and I was all stiff-legged, and this little dog growled and barked at me! She barked at me!

My ears shot up so high that they almost touched each other!

"Okay, just stay away from my apple." "Guess I told her!"


I guess Shu Shu's okay for now. She didn't want my apples. Even when the Human "Assistant" stole one and cut it up. (He gave me bites, of course.)

She didn't want to eat much of her supper, either. So I snuck over and started in on it. Darned H.A. - he saw me and shooed me away.

Shu Shu looked through the front window and barked at people on the sidewalk. So that's pretty good (unless she gets too yappy). She's on top of things. But she cries for her mommy. That will be a little hard.

H.A. says he asked the person he knows whether he should hold onto Shu Shu and wait for the other woman to leave her husband. Or him to leave her. Person #1 said that person #2 said that the husband has already threatened to do that a few times. And they've been married only a few months.

Human stuff is complicated. But H.A. was told to just go ahead and find Shu Shu a new home. Which will be good for me. I don't need any competition for attention!

So that's all for now.

No new animals yet

photo of deer Tuesday I almost had a cow, but Wednesday I didn't even get close to a deer. The Human Assistant saw one, though.

A friend of his came to the house. They've known each other for 46 years. I was happy we had a visitor and jumped around and talked to him!

But they left Gremlin and me and went to a park! Without dogs!

The thing is, they went to a memorial service. It was for the mom of another friend they've both known for 46 years. So dogs wouldn't have been respectful. Plus, no pets allowed in the state park. While they were sitting there in the park, friend #1 says, "See the deer?"

The H.A. looked and looked in the trees. Then he saw its white behind move. Yup, there's the deer. If he had a good dog nose it wouldn't have taken him that long to find it.

It was a beautiful day even if I had to spend the afternoon inside in a crate. Friend #2's mom would have loved the day, H.A. said. She was a hiker, skier, snowshoe-er, and wildflower encyclopedia.

There are tiny patches of snow in the shady spots here at the house. And there were in the park, too. Little spots of white. Deep blue sky. Tall red rocks and yellow cottonwoods and red oaks.

It's hard for a doggie to describe. We don't get the months of deep snow like where Siberian Huskies come from. (Obvioiusly, since our snow of a few days ago is already gone.) And H.A. says it's bushier and flower-ier where there's more rain.

This is where the high prairie meets the foothills. The fall air is cool and the sun is warm. Want to sunbathe? Want to trot around the yard without getting muddy? Want to pick up an apple and chew on it in the garage? All good. Especially since a day like this makes the humans happy.

And dog knows, that makes a dog's life easier!

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photo of English Cocker Spaniel photo of Golden Retrievers
English Cocker Spaniel Golden Retriever

No Shu Shu yet. The communications from Human Assistant to other person to third person didn't get through in time for it to happen on Wednesday. So, Thursday.

But H.A. said he saw a picture of Shu Shu. It was on a cell phone. A fourth person's cell phone. With all these people, why doesn't she have someplace to go besides my home?  ::sheesh::

Anyway, he says the picture was teeny tiny.1 But she looked kinda Golden Retrieverish to him. With Spaniel ears for sure. Color kinda between the English Cocker in the left picture and the Goldie on the left in the right picture.

But it was a teeny tiny picture. And H.A. doesn't know anything about those breeds, anyway. So it don't mean a thing.2

Minky & Bros., H.A. doesn't know the person with the dog. But he'll mention it to the person who knows the person with the dog. Does it take time for the woman to realize this about a man? They must have married not long ago.

I gotta rest up now in case we get a four-footed visitor.


1 Kinda like Pomeranians.  ::big husky grin::
2 If it ain't got that swing.

-- photos from Wikipedia

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Not another dog!

diane, we get 12 kinds of apples from our tree! Red and yellow; big and little; and not mooshy, a little mooshy, and very mooshy.

My favorites are the red (not mooshy) and red (a little mooshy). In the last week or so we just started getting bigs. I'm not very used to them. But I like them! That was a big red (not mooshy) in yesterday's post.

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photo of cow I just about had a cow when the Human Assistant said he's probably bringing another dog home tomorrow!

See, he knows a person who knows a person who has a dog. That person married a guy who doesn't like the dog.

I'm okay with that. I don't like the dog either, and I've never met her! (Any dog that arrives after me takes attention away from me. Bad dog!)

But the guy does bad things to the dog. The doggie jumped on the bed to be with her mama, and the guy threw her (the dog) against the wall.

This is NOT GOOD !!!

::SIGH::  We'll do what we can. But she better not be here long! Her name is Shu Shu. She's a three-year-old Cocker Spaniel from Korea. H.A. says he doesn't know whether she's an English Cocker Spaniel or an American Cocker Spaniel.

photo of American Cocker Spaniel photo of English Cocker Spaniel
American Cocker Spaniel English Cocker Spaniel

Seems to me she would be a Korean Cocker Spaniel. But I guess there isn't any such dog.

We'll see what happens.


-- photos from Wikipedia

Monday, October 22, 2007

Apple Slo-Time nonvideo

photo 1 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 2 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 3 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 4 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 5 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 6 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 7 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 8 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 9 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 10 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 11 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 12 of 13, Tucker eats an apple photo 13 of 13, Tucker eats an apple You may know about QuickTime. It's a format for videos and stuff from the company Apple.

So you get Apple QuickTime videos, for example.

The Human Assistant says he's developed a procedure called Slo-Time nonvideo.

All you need is a regular digital camera.

You wait for the pose you want. Wait while the digital camera gets around to snapping the picture. Wait for the flash to recharge.

Wait for the pose you want. Wait while the digital camera gets around to snapping the picture. Wait for the flash to recharge.....

And if you're taking a Slo-Time nonvideo of an apple, then it's an Apple Slo-Time nonvideo.  ::snort::

I try not to give attention to his ideas. You may remember the "What athlete are you?" game.

But in this case, I'm the star of the very first Apple Slo-Time nonvideo, so I'll mention it.

This is raw, unedited nonvideo. Dog knows how long I'd have to wait for the Human Assistant to make each frame "just right"!

In the first frame I'm getting the apple ready to eat. This is called "food prep" in the restaurant biz.

I applied for a chef job once. First they said I was too short to reach the counters. I showed them!  And I had a nice steak and potatoes while I was at it!

Then they said they didn't have a big-enough hair net. Well, that was a stumper. I didn't get the job.

Anyway, in the second frame the apple is getting away from me. I didn't have the right kind of work surface, one for no thumbs.

So in the third frame I've scooched up to grab the prepped-​and-​slippery thing.

It gets away from me again!

The floor must be tilted. I stand up and grab it and turn a different direction.

I settle in and make sure Gremlin knows not to bother me. And then I gobble up the apple.

Hey, I just had an idea! If anydoggy has a picture or a video of them with an apple, let me know! You can put a link in a comment. Or I can get H.A. to post a link to it here.

If there are three or more, we can say it's the Apple Tag Game!

It doesn't have to show a whole apple. Just a piece is fine. All are welcome, not just dogs! Gerbils and hamsters and little fuzzies like that eat apples sometimes, don't they? And birds?

How about adventurous Tia? Do carnivorous kitties ever play with apple chunks?

Let me know!

Got glands?

Normally1 I wouldn't mention the Penny Arcade webcomic. It's "a (primarily) topical video gaming news comic."

You don't have to have thumbs to play video games. But humans make the controllers assuming that you have thumbs. So dogs don't play video games very much.2

And since "The two characters spend much of their time playing and commenting on computer and video games, forming the basis of the humor in the strip," it normally isn't very interesting to dogs.

But(t) today's Penny Arcade is very different and features a cat in discomfort. Or a cat owner in discomfort, for sure. So there's that going for it.3

Plus, it's a timely health tip. Now that winter is approaching, there are maintenance chores. Change the oil. Add windshield-washer fluid. Drain the glands.

Short on time? Don't want to get your hands and clothes dirty? Have it done by a professional!

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1 Now there's a loaded word.
2 Chew up the controllers, sure. Cell phones, TV remotes ... it's all good.
3 Just kidding, Tia!  :-)

S'no joke

Saturday night it rained, Sunday morning it snowed. Not a whole lot. And lots of it melted pretty fast, leaving mud.

We don't get Oswald or his cousins in our yard. But in the first picture, I'm checking to be sure. The Human Assistant thinks that cats or 'coons might visit us sometimes. I'd better sleep in the garage more to keep them away!

Also, here's the cart that the H.A. uses to haul apples up the hill. I guess that makes it an apple cart. Why do people say, "Don't upset the apple cart?" I've marked on it. It doesn't get upset.

Remember the doggy den? It's there behind the cart. It looks like it might be snug in weather like this. But the back is chain-link fence. I think the wind would blow through.

The garage is better, really. Or the kitchen. In either place I can block Gremlin from getting out. Yesterday she peed by the front door three or four times and the H.A. ran out of paper towels and clean regular towels.

Sunday he kept the back door closed so the furnace could run. I got too warm a lot and wanted out. Gremlin wanted out a lot too. H.A. had a hard time concentrating on his computer.  ::Big Husky Grin::  I'll bet we get a doggy door this winter.

Nothing Yard cart in snow at 11:43 a.m.


In the next group are the same dead sunflowers that I was looking under. Just a little different direction and an hour and a half later. The sun is out, yes. But yesterday H.A. sat here in warmer sunshine reading Red Square. Another Martin Cruz Smith Arkady Renko novel.

I've been sorta good and not chewed any of them up. Tiny Terror Tippy, the paper fiber is good for you so keep it up! But even with excellent humans like you have, don't push it too far. I think Maddox crossed over the line!

Be careful! In a little over a week it'll be one year since I got here. I'm trying to make sure the H.A. doesn't have any really, really good excuses to get rid of me! Maddox has a good home, so I think he's safe. You probably are too ... if you don't get Minky too upset.

Warm yesterday, chilly today Yard cart in less snow at 1:04 p.m.


The wet snow really bent down the branches of the apple tree. It still has apples on it. And under it. And no snow on the ground under the tree, so we picked up apples. (H.A. moved one so it was next to the cart. I don't know why.)

Gremlin and I made the H.A. share the ones he cut up for himself. But I had to have my own apple, too. Then he told me I had to come inside so he could shut the door. Usually he leaves the door open and I leave the apple outside. This time I brought it with me. I wasn't ready to eat it just yet. But I had to keep it close so Gremlin couldn't sneak out and take it.

She's never tried to take my apple. I've heard that vigilance is the price of peas. Well, apples too.

Tucker curls up with an apple for later Yard cart in still less snow at 2:51 p.m.


By the way, I'm not trying to grow extra freckles to compete with "Pickle Nose" Dave. I just brought in some extra mud and hadn't wiped it off yet.

The Human Assistant didn't put a time on this picture of me because he says it's "timeless, like his humor."

He's reading Havana Bay now. I'm thinking the next book in the series, Wolves Eat Dogs, needs to be changed slightly to Dogs Eat Books.

Just thinking about it, is all.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Shelter-dog follow-up

The Human Resistant says he has worked hard and is too tired to help me with a long blog. Hah!

Today he picked up apples and scooped poop. Big whoopie-do. Oh, he says he had to wheel the yard cart half-full of apples up the hill. And lift it over the fence to dump it in our trash bin. And then wheel the bin out to the curb.

He's looking at harnesses to hook me up to the yard cart. Again, Hah!

H.A. also says he had to work hard installing an updated operating system on the computer. Hah!

I don't know what that means, but all he did was slide in a disk and answer some questions. He has said before that Linux is much easier to install than Windows. Putting a window in a computer does sound like it would take time.

So this won't be a long blog. Which is okay because I don't have lots to say this time.

Remember yesterday I mentioned some MaxFund dogs? Well also yesterday, MaxFund volunteers got a list of dogs adopted recently. Bo was listed as adopted. Yayyy!  Harry is only listed as in a foster home. Let's hope the foster "fails" and they adopt him!

Speaking of "tails" (heh) I think Harry must be part rat. Look at his long tail!

Harry from the back Belgian Groenendael on Wikipedia
Harry's LONG tail Belgian Groenendael

Minky, would you please ask your mom if this is the kind of Belgian Shepherd that she knows about? She can click on the picture to make it bigger.

It looks like there are four kinds of Belgian Shepherd Dogs - the Groenendael, the Laekenois, the Malinois, and the Tervuren. In some places they're all one breed, and other places they're different breeds. Humans get so confused!

P.S. Don't feel any sympathy for H.A.! He has also been surfing for news websites and re-reading Gorky Park. This is not hard work! He loves Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko books! H.A. has threatened to hurt me if I chew any of them up. Hah!

-- photo of Belgian Groenendael from Wikipedia

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Shelter-dog news

The Human Assistant helped me write this last week. But he didn't have the energy to finish it. Physical or emotional energy, he said. But he had enough to make a joke. Or what he called a joke - he said he was out of inner chi. Awfully lame.

Anyway, he says that two days later, Bo and Harry had applications to be adopted. In fact, Harry's picture isn't on the website anymore. So maybe his application was accepted. But here's what we wrote plus some more to finish it up:
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The Human Assistant went to the MaxFund shelter today [October 10  - mr_ed] to see what's up with the dogs. I could tell because he came back smelling like lots of dogs. And a kitten! (He says he just petted the kitten's head.)

He took a puppy out of its crate and carried him into the lobby. Some visitors wanted to take it for a walk. The pup's name is actually Fez (he's not on the website yet) but they forgot and told him a different name. When he figured out who they wanted he said,
mr_ed:  Ahh, you didn't remember the name, but the Fez was familiar!
(Note to Amber: He didn't really say that. He thought of it just now while he was typing. But he thought you'd like it.)

It was kind of a sad afternoon at the shelter. First of all, H.A. was a little down. When he left the shelter he wanted to bring about half the doggies home so they could comfort each other. (It's a good thing he didn't!)

But also, one of the dogs there had been really sick. She died today. And while he was there, some adopters brought a dog back. Plus, he knew another dog that had been brought back a couple of days ago.

Chloe at MaxFund shelter Bo at MaxFund shelter Pearl at MaxFund shelter
Chloe Bo Pearl

Chloe is the dog that came back today.

Bo - people thought he was adopted. We wrote about him before. But stupid H.A. hasn't put tags on the blog so it will take forever to find that. But it seems Bo was just in a foster home.

And he was getting training to be a tracking dog! That would have been so super! But the family's situation changed. And so Bo is back.

We've written about Pearl, too. Another place rescued her after Hurricane Katrina, and then she came to Denver. She was on the TV twice after this year's anniversary! But no worthy adopters came out of it.

BUT !!!  Pearl may be able to go back to her New Orleans family! MaxFund is pretty sure they know who it is! They're checking to see if the family is able to have their big Rottie girl back.

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Does anydoggy know about Belgian Shepherd Dogs? The people who brought Harry to MaxFund said he's a purebred longhaired German Shepherd. This seriously cracked up the Human Assistant. He thinks he knows about German Shepherd Dogs even though he's never had one.
mr_ed:  Yes, there are people who like the look of a long-haired German Shepherd. It's a reminder of the native German herding dogs of more than 100 years ago.

Yes, there are registries that will sign you up and let you say that you have a purebred longhaired German Shepherd. But world standards (like with the AKC) are supposed to follow the home country's standards. Long coats are out. (White coats ... not as completely standard.)

And flop ears? Do any registries allow that? I dunno, but I doubt it. And I was told at MaxFund that Harry's hips are shot, and he's only two years old. Really, it sounds to me like he's a purebred mutt.

But a nice mutt! He didn't bark at me like his MaxFund blurb said he would. He was very accommodating on a walk. It's just the noise and confusion of the shelter that had him nervous and upset.
So here is Nicole Howard's official MaxFund photo of Harry. And one that H.A. took in the MaxFund rehabilitation yard.

And a picture from Wikipedia. The H.A. thinks Harry looks more like a Belgian Tervuren, so here's that:

Harry at MaxFund Harry in MaxFund yard Belgian Tervuren on Wikipedia
MaxFund's Harry Harry in yard Belgian Tervuren
mr_ed:  Harry tried to be nice and go along with his "German Shepherd" label. He struck this pose on his own. GSD or bad hips? I don't know enough to tell from his walk.

And he says, "See? Black saddle! Just like a GSD!"

But I think a peek at other Tervuren pictures shows something like black saddles there, too. And the black mask just makes me think so strongly of Malinois and Tervuren pictures I've seen.
So there you go. You may have seen this post before it was finished. And then saw that it disappeared. Well, here it is back again, finished and updated a little.

Please let me know if you or your people know lots about German or Belgian Shepherd Dogs. It would be nice to tell the Human Assistant that he's even more full of hot air than usual!

-- photo #1 of Harry and photos of Bo, Chole, and Pearl by Nicole Howard
-- photo of Belgian Tervuren from Wikipedia