Category: People and their pets

Yet another story about a dog!

Keep them coming I say.

We had a break from the rain yesterday and I went for a bike ride in the morning and then in the afternoon it was a case of going to the recycling depot. All pretty humdrum stuff but nevertheless what our life, in the main, is made up of plus the many other things that we have to do, indeed enjoy doing, with our six dogs, two horses and thirteen acres in rural Southern Oregon.

So I got to my iMac pretty late on in the day and found a delightful article about a dog who has a fascination with a commercial laundromat.

Read it for yourself.

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Dog Who Works At Laundromat Can’t Stop Taking Naps On All The Machines

“He figured out a way to climb from the chair to the smaller washers and then to the bigger ones.”

By Lily Feinn, Published on the 11th October, 2021

If you walk into Larkin Street Laundry around closing time, you might get an extra-special greeting.

Every night, an 8-year-old golden retriever named Cody helps his dad close up the laundromat. Cody takes his job very seriously: While his dad cleans and puts everything away, Cody takes a nap on top of the washing machines.

Luckily, his dad doesn’t mind that Cody isn’t the best worker.

“My dad owns the laundromat and has always taken our dogs there with him when he closes up at the end of the day,” Stephanie, Cody’s sister who asked that her last name not be used, told The Dodo. “Our old dog loved to sit in the chairs to watch customers and people pass by, but Cody is more nimble than him.”

“After we tried to get him to just sit on the chairs, he figured out a way to climb from the chair to the smaller washers and then to the bigger ones,” she added. “He’s a little lazier than our old dog, so he’d rather lay down and wait for pets and treats.”

Cody has become the main attraction at the laundromat, providing the perfect distraction for customers waiting for their clothes to finish drying.

This arrangement works out for the independent Cody, who loves attention but prefers people come to him. “His motto has always been: ‘I do what I want,’” Stephanie said.

And from his high-up vantage point, Cody can keep watch on everything going on at the laundromat.

“I think he likes how he can see everyone at eye level when he’s on top of the washers,” Stephanie said. “He’s also kinda snobby for a dog, so I have a theory he likes to feel like a king up there.”

After years of laundromat service, Cody has become a local celebrity — and even the subject of a few memes. But the good boy doesn’t let fame distract him. After all, he has a job to do, and those washers aren’t going to sit on themselves.

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That Larkin Street Laundromat is at Nob Hill in San Francisco. I looked it up by clicking on the link in the text.

It is just fascinating what dogs will do. They have a will of their own and yet they seem to be happiest when in the company of people.

Wonderful creatures!

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Nine

Something very different for today!

I usually browse the photographic website Ugly Hedgehog a few times each week and recently I was admiring the photography of a David Bozsik. He is a professional photographer and a great deal of his fabulous work may be seen on Nature Photography.

Anyway, David was kindly helping me with a question regarding photographic tripods and he expressed interest in Learning from Dogs. That resulted in David sending me some wonderful images of dogs. They are presented today.

Please note that all the photographs are Copyright David L. Bozsik. Please do not copy them. David has given me written permission to republish them.

But please do enjoy these fabulous photos.

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They are gorgeous! But they are also fabulous photographs from all points of view!

I feel very honoured to share them with you all.

Finally, one of my own photos.

Let the train take the strain!

A Turkish dog travels frequently by train!

Time and time again dogs do things which cause me to wonder about the way that dogs think and behave. One would think that with so many dogs here at home my days of wondering would be over but the truth is that the more I stay engaged with dog blogs, such as The Dodo, the more I realise that I am only skimming the surface of dogs.

That is my introduction to this post about a Turkish dog.

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Stray Dog Takes The Train All By Himself Every Day

“He knows where to go and has a purpose.”

By Lily Feinn, Published on the 8th October, 2021.

Meet Boji — a stray dog who’s bringing joy to commuters every day.

A few months ago, Istanbul’s public transportation department noticed a large, brown dog riding the buses, trams, subways and ferries. The dog, whom they dubbed Boji, seems to know exactly where he’s going any time he steps on or off the train.

“Two months ago, we noticed a dog trying to use our trams, metros and our trains and he knows where to go and he knows where to get out,” Aylin Erol, head of customer relations at Metro Istanbul, told CNN. “It was quite interesting and we have started to follow him. And it was really an interesting pattern. It’s something like that he knows where to go and has a purpose.”

In mid-August, public transit officials picked Boji up and brought him to a vet for a health check. Boji also received a microchip which is connected to a mobile application, allowing the Metro Istanbul customer relations department to keep tabs on his whereabouts and wellbeing.

Boji’s frequent travels have made him a celebrity on public transit. When he’s not napping on a tram seat, rushing to catch a train, or enjoying the breeze on the ferry, he’s always happy to pose for selfies with commuters and receive lots of pets and treats.

The good boy has proven himself to be the most polite passenger you’ll ever encounter.

“Boji knows all the rules of travel, gives way to the disembarking passengers, waits, enters the train, and calmly finds a place for himself,” wrote Cumhuriyet. “When he misses the subway, he runs after the subway.”

Boji visits at least 29 stations and travels approximately 18 miles a day around the city, saying hi to his adoring fans along the way. While most commuters can’t wait to get off the subway or bus, for Boji, it’s where he’s most comfortable.

“I think it’s very beautiful,” passenger Abdulkadir Yalçın told Cumhuriyet. “It adds joy to the subway. It makes us smile. It’s the first time I’ve encountered such a thing.”

Luckily, the good boy doesn’t have to pay a fare to hop on his preferred bus or train. For Boji, it’s just home.

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Isn’t that amazing! I wonder, however, how he stays fit and healthy? But whatever, it is a delightful story.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes

That includes some of them having an unusual look!

Of the dogs that we have at home one, little Pedi, is not your average dog. He is just about blind and one of his eyes is different to the other. Not that this stops him from getting around and one sees the power of their noses at work.

Once again, The Dodo has a story about a dog that isn’t your average canine. But so what!

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This Little Dog Peeking Over A Fence Is Making People Uncomfortable

Her name is Junebug and she’s actually a perfect angel 😇

By Stephen Messenger, Published on the 7th October, 2021.

This is Junebug. She’s a curious little dog with an outsized personality.

But, yeah, she can seem a bit intense.

This photo of the 4-pound pup has been making the rounds online in recent days. In it, Junebug is seen peering over the top of a tall fence, fixing what appears to be a rather ghoulish gaze on the viewer.
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“Never been more scared of a dog,” one person sharing the image tweeted.

Here’s a closer look.

The photo of Junebug went viral. And since then, people online have likened her appearance to that of Beetlejuice, the Joker and even that scary clown from “It.”

Is her expression somewhat spooky? Well, yes. But in reality, there’s nothing scary at all about Junebug.

The Dodo was able to track down Junebug’s owner, Tim K., to learn about their “scary” dog and the viral pic. And sure enough, that menacing vibe people seem to sense in Junebug doesn’t align with reality. She’s actually a perfect angel.

“Junebug is, without a doubt, the sweetest dog you could ever meet,” Tim said. “She loves people. And everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She’s just the sweetest little thing in the world.”

To be fair, though, Junebug sometimes looks a tad disgruntled — even when she’s not.

But how is Junebug peeking over such a tall fence in the pic above? There’s a sweet explanation behind that, too.

“We have a privacy fence in our backyard,” Tim said. “Every once in a while, Junebug wants to see what’s happening on the other side of the fence, and I’ll pick her up and hold her. We let her look over.”

Tim’s wife snapped the picture, which he decided to share with a dog-loving community online.

“For us, it was just a cute photo,” he added. “It wasn’t until people started commenting … she’s got such an intense look on her face.”

But that’s just Junebug.

Tim and his wife never intended for the photo of their dog to go viral, or for people to think she’s scary. They know the truth, though, and are happy to spread the word about the real Junebug.

“We’ve always been dog people. She’s a member of our family,” Tim said. “If Junebug knew about all of the attention she was getting, she’d be over the moon.”

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Well I am not sure I agree with Tim. Dogs are so clever that a part of me thinks that Junebug realises the attention she is getting. I guess we will never know for sure. But that doesn’t take the slightest from what is a lovely story.

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Eight

More gorgeous dogs (would you expect anything else!)

Taken from the Unsplash website.

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As usual, just fabulous photographs.

This is too wonderful!

A Doberman pinscher shows off her caring attitude.

It strikes me dogs are loving animals. Certainly for the vast majority of animals that I write about and that we see in our daily lives. For example, on Thursday we had to take Cleo and Oliver for their annual check-ups at Lincoln Road Veterinary Clinic. They inevitably came into contact with a few other dogs and there was no friction whatsoever; just a lot of bum sniffing!

That is why I chose this article from The Dodo to share with you.

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Big Mama Dog Adopts Newborn Kitten And Carries Her Around In Her Mouth

“She’s just obsessed with this kitten” ❤️️

By Lily Feinn, Published on the 27th September, 2021

Three weeks ago, Brittany Callan wasn’t planning on adding more animals to her life. Then she heard meowing coming from the back of her aunt’s garage.

There, in the grass, was a newborn kitten. Callan placed the little animal on a soft blanket in the shade nearby, hoping the mom would return. But hours later, the kitten was still alone. She knew the little animal wouldn’t make it through the night, so she decided to take the little blind baby home.

Callan’s Doberman pinscher, Ruby, had just had puppies, and she hoped that the dog’s mothering instincts would kick in when she saw the helpless kitten.

“We’ve had baby bunnies and guinea pigs, and she just licks them like she’s their mom,” Callan told The Dodo. “She was carrying around the baby bunnies in her mouth and hiding them in the couch like they were hers — she even tried to nurse them when she was younger.”

Ruby and the kitten couldn’t look more different, but none of that mattered when they met. Callan held the kitten out to her dog, and Ruby immediately accepted the new baby into her pack.

“She just started cleaning it and nudging it out of my hand,” Callan said. “Then I just opened up the kitten’s mouth and put it on Ruby’s smallest nipple, and it started eating right away. Ruby looked at it and laid her head down.”

Rubys’ puppies were already three times her size, but that didn’t stop the kitten from crawling in to snuggle with her dog brothers and sisters.

And her new mom always makes sure the kitten is clean and safe. “She looks like the scruffiest kitten ever because she’s always wet from Ruby licking her or carrying her around in her mouth,” Callan said. “Her back end is either sopping wet or matted down from Ruby cleaning her so much.”

Ruby is now weaning her puppies, but refuses to be separated from her tiniest baby for more than a few minutes.

“She’s just obsessed with this kitten,” Callan said. “She doesn’t want to be outside — she’ll go to every door and whine and scratch until you let her in, and then she’ll just pick up the kitten and carry it around in her mouth.”

Under Ruby’s care, the little orphaned kitten is thriving, and when she’s old enough, she will travel to her forever home with Callan’s cousin.

But for now, the only mom the kitten needs is Ruby. It just goes to show when it comes to family, size doesn’t matter — it’s the love that counts.

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“it’s the love that counts.“

Lily Feinn has gone to the heart of Ruby’s care for this kitten: Love!

It is a great example to us humans as well. Nothing is ever gained from hate and war.

Is there more to licking paws?

I am speaking of dogs!

Speaking for myself I haven’t ever given any notice to a dog licking its paws. Jeannie, however, would spot if a dog was over-licking, (you know what I mean), and would find out the cause.

This comes to the fore because The Dodo published a post in May, 2020, that I reckoned was worth republishing.

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Why Does My Dog Always Lick Her Paws?

Here’s how to tell when it’s a problem.

By DANIELLE ESPOSITO , Published on May 5th, 2020

You’ve seen your dog do it a thousand times — that cute paw licking that can quickly turn to “Hey! Stop that!” once it becomes a total obsession.

In general, paw licking is normal behavior for many dogs. They do it after they eat; they do it after they’ve been playing outside; they even sometimes do it before taking a nap. While all these are expected, you should start to take it more seriously if you’re noticing a sudden increase in licking, raw or irritated spots between their toes, or even loss of fur.

When it crosses the line between normal grooming and excessive paw licking, it’s probably time to try to figure out the root of the problem — so we chatted with one of our favorite veterinarians to get some expert advice.

Allergies

“There are a number of reasons why dogs lick their paws, but one of the most common reasons is allergies,” Dr. Alex Blutinger, a veterinarian from BluePearl Pet Hospital in New York City, told The Dodo.

“This behavior can be caused by environmental allergies, food allergies and even fleas or ticks,” he said.

Dr. Blutinger said many everyday substances can also cause an allergic reaction, including things like pollen, grass that’s been treated with insecticide, certain plastics or rubber materials on food bowls, and even certain medications or shampoos.

“There are other caustic chemicals that dogs encounter in their environment,” he said, “[like] deicing salts to melt ice.”

This means that if you’ve noticed your dog is licking her paws more than usual, she’s likely experiencing allergies. If that’s what you suspect, it’s a good idea to chat with your vet about how to help her feel better.

Trauma to the Paws

Aside from allergies, excessive paw licking — which includes paw chewing — can also be caused by various types of injuries.

According to Dr. Blutinger, some of these types of trauma can include burns from walking on hot surfaces like cement or blacktop, splinters, broken nails, injured bones or ligaments, or even insect bites.

It’s a good idea to inspect your dog’s paws to see if you can find any physical trauma, and consult your vet if you think it’s something that may need extra attention.

Gastrointestinal Issues

“Interestingly, dogs that have gastrointestinal disorders (like pancreatitis) have also been shown to lick their paws,” Dr. Blutinger said.

He added that certain hormonal imbalances like hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease can also cause dogs to lick their paws — which means a trip to the vet is definitely in order to sort out your pup’s health!

Anxiety

Finally, sensitive dogs can also display anxiety by licking their paws, in the same way some people bite their nails as a sign of nervousness. If you think this is the case, it might be a good idea to figure out why your dog is feeling anxious and find ways to help her feel better.

So while paw licking is generally normal for most dogs, if you worry it’s becoming obsessive, and you can’t figure out an obvious cause, it’s a good idea to check with your vet to make sure your dog doesn’t need extra care.

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I call that very sound advice.

Out of interest have any readers of this post had a case of excessive licking with their dogs?

Picture Parade Four Hundred and Seven

I was mistaken. No more gorgeous photographs from our neighbour!

Back to Unsplash!

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selective focus photography of lying short-coated black and tan dog — Gracious this German Shepherd looks like Pharaoh!

Furry life saver!

The story of Rhys the dog!

I have known Keith Edmunds from a long time ago and we chat from time to time. Keith has his own company Tiger Computing, Linux specialists, (We provide managed cloud services and Linux support services for high-tech businesses), and we had a business connection many moons ago. But in an effort to stay connected with friends in the old country I have subscribed for quite some time to Keith’s newsletter. Although Keith clearly is speaking to potential clients his newsletter is quite readable for non-technical peeps such as myself.

At the end of September this year Keith’s newsletter was a little different. Here it is:

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Rhys the dog saved my wife’s life last week.

She was alone in the house. She put some flatbread in a pan on the hob, then went to check something on her PC. And forgot about the flatbread.

The flatbread got hotter, started smoking, and then the smoke alarm went off. That would be a clue for most of us that something may be amiss.

But my wife is deaf. She can’t hear the smoke alarm.

That’s when Rhys, the Hearing Dog, leapt into action. He found her and butted her hard with his nose. “What is it?”, she asked him. He squatted down on all fours, the signal that the smoke alarm is going off. He only makes that move for the smoke alarm so it’s clear what the problem is.

My wife ran to the kitchen, turned off the hob and opened windows to disperse the smoke. Without Rhys alerting her there would have been a fire. The consequences of that can only (fortunately) be imagined.

So here’s how it works. Rhys is trained to notify my wife when he hears certain sounds. He notified her when he heard one, and corrective action was taken.

Here at Tiger Computing we have sophisticated monitoring systems that keep an eye on our clients’ Linux systems. They’re configured to alert our support staff if things start going wrong, and the support staff can take corrective action.

Our monitoring probably won’t save your life. But it might save your bacon.

Until next week –
Keith

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It is a delightful account of yet another aspect of dogs. Dogs can undertake many things and some of our dogs are really clever. Rhys is an example of how highly trained dogs can be.

I spoke to Keith and asked permission to republish this, gladly and readily given, and whether Keith had any photographs of Rhys.

Beautiful!

Yet another amazing story of a dog!

They are such adorable creatures!

I came late to my desk yesterday and therefore shall be rather circumspect regarding my introduction. I saw the following story on The Dodo, yet again, and thought it just showed perfectly the unconditional love of dogs.

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Smart Dog Sneaks Away From Home To Surprise Her Mom At Work

“I truly didn’t believe it!”

By Stephen Messenger, published on the 16th August, 2021.

Just about every day for the past year and a half, this sweet dog named Indy has been accompanying her owner, Liza Thayer, to an assisted living facility in Connecticut. That’s where Thayer works — but it’s become a home away from home for the pup.

“She loves it here, and all the residents adore her!” Thayer told The Dodo.

Recently, Indy proved just how true that is.

The other day, Thayer took a day off from work to attend a friend’s wedding. She asked her dad to dog-sit while she was away. It was a change of routine, but Indy apparently didn’t get the memo.

The smart pup, it seems, assumed that Thayer had simply forgotten to take her to work that day.

So, she walked there herself.

Incredibly, Indy managed to slip away from Thayer’s dad and walk 2 miles to where she works, all on her own.

There, staff and residents were surprised to see Indy at the door, knowing that Thayer was off for the day. They called Thayer to let her know about her dog’s attempt at surprising her at work.

“I truly didn’t believe it!” Thayer said. “She takes the drive with me every day, but I never imagined she would do this.”

Thayer wasn’t in that day, as Indy may have been expecting. But any disappointment about that was surely short-lived. The pup was greeted with open arms anyway.

“The residents let her in and waited with her, feeding her all her favorite treats,” Thayer said.

For Indy, the trip was worth it.

Thankfully, the adventurous pup didn’t have to walk herself all the way back home. After enjoying her off-duty time at work, Indy was driven back home by Thayer’s boss.

By then, her dad had realized she was missing and started searching, so learning she was safe and sound came as welcome news all around.

Indy and Thayer were reunited when she returned from the wedding — made all the more special given the lengths Indy had gone to surprise her.

“She must’ve really missed me!” Thayer said.

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Our Brandy, a 150-pound cross of a Great Pyrenean and a Mastiff, sometimes goes walkabout and did so yesterday. Luckily being seen by a friendly soul and returned. It was just one of the things that made the day rather hectic.

“He figured out a way to climb from the chair to the smaller washers and then to the bigger ones.”

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