Back on Monday I spoke of Rik and his company Ahead4Heights.
Rik then sent me another piece of news about a film that he produced at short notice for Brixham Council.
Recent projects being a the Front page of the local rag, a roof inspection in Teignmouth for one of the largest local roofing contractors who is now on board and promising more work.
More interesting was a commission from Brixham Council for a short film showing the natural beauty of an area near Brixham in order to oppose a planning application for 400 houses. I received a call on that Friday telling me they needed the film for the public inquiry the following Tuesday! With only that Sunday looking good for flying I managed to fly, edit and upload the film later that evening so they had it for Monday morning, it was played at the hearing and has become a pivotal part of the evidence and was watched over 600 times over the following few days.
The land in question is dog walkers heaven and used by all the local residents.
Here is that front page of the Herald Express.
I regret that it is probably far too small a file to show the details. Never mind!
Today, Tuesday, we went across to The Red Barn to get some hay, a regular occurrence.
Tyler, the manager, was not there but his brother, Zach, was. But just as important were Jean & I seeing Tully again. He is such a sweet dog and so full of life. A Labrador cross. But we learnt that recently he had been hit by a car, suffered severe injuries, and had to be put down. Even Duke, another dog of the same breed, seemed sad.
Apparently Tully was hit by a car and the driver didn’t even stop!
So on to today’s post.
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Dog Pretends To Go Outside To Go Potty So She Can Get A Treat
Even though Dakota is almost 12 years old, she still acts like a puppy most of the time. She loves meeting new people and taking naps, and is happy pretty much all the time. Her absolute favorite thing in the whole world, though, is food.
“She acts like she is innocent but … is an evil genius inside when it comes to food of any kind,” Cheryl Dorchinsky, Dakota’s mom, told The Dodo.
CHERYL FEINGOLD
When the family got a new dog door and wanted to teach Dakota how to use it, they of course turned to treats to help encourage her. She was scared of it at first, but once treats were involved, she quickly turned into a dog door pro and never looked back.
Once she knew how to use the dog door, though, she also quickly figured out how to use it to her advantage to trick her family into giving her extra treats.
CHERYL FEINGOLD
Whenever Dakota goes outside and goes to the bathroom, she gets a treat, so one day, she came up with a genius plan. She decided to start going outside through the dog door, sitting right outside it for a little while, then coming back in as if she’d gone to the bathroom and asking for a treat.
What Dakota failed to consider is that the dog door is clear — so her mom can see her sitting right outside it, very blatantly not going to the bathroom.
CHERYL FEINGOLD
“At first I believed her but then questioned how she came back in so fast,” Dorchinsky said. “I would watch and noticed that she was doing that. It’s almost like a child who thinks you can’t see them if they can’t see you. She always looks away. It’s funny!”
Even though Dorchinsky has totally caught on to the sneaky scheme, Dakota doesn’t care. She still does it every single day, because the potential treats are absolutely worth it.
CHERYL FEINGOLD
“She seems very proud of her scam,” Dorchinsky said. “There is no shame in Dakota’s game.”
Despite knowing that Dakota isn’t actually going to the bathroom most of the time, Dorchinsky still gives her treats anyway. It’s hard to say no to that face.
CHERYL FEINGOLD
“If I don’t react she will bark at me to let me know she went potty (fuzzy liar),” Dorchinsky said. “She is adorable and I totally give in. Maybe she deserves the treat for not going potty on the porch?”
I subscribe to Ugly Hedgehog, a forum about all things photographic.
It is a mine of information, people share incredible photographs, and much more.
On February 17th this year Photolady2014 published a set of photographs of wolves that were just gorgeous.
This is how she introduced the pictures:
So I am still on cloud 9 seeing wolfs rather close. They were about 150 feet away. Not the quality that the pros were getting who were there. I have seen their photos and well I still have a lot to learn. But, for someone who just started wildlife a couple of years ago, I will take these! If you do the download you will see they are not all bad. I have had to do some sharpening and noise reduction. The pros were all using the 600mm F4 with 2x extenders.
Me: Canon R5, 100-500 & 1.4 extender. All are at 700mm.
I asked if I could share them on Learning from Dogs and said Photolady2014 of South West Colorado said ‘Yes’.
Here they are:
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Photolady went on to report:
This is the Wapiti pack in Yellowstone.
We sat in below 0 weather for about 4 hours watching them and the coyotes who were patiently waiting their turn to eat!
Fabulous pictures and one can’t help thinking that some 23,000 years ago there started the long journey of domestication, and the bonding between humans and wolves brought about the dog.
When Shelly Blount saw a post online last week about a dog who was about to be put down in North Carolina, she called the shelter immediately. To her relief, they told her the dog had just been adopted, but it got her thinking about the other dogs who might be in danger. She asked if there were other dogs scheduled to be put down and they told her a dog named Caleb was next on the list — so Blount got in her car.
Accompanied by a friend, Blount drove four hours from Virginia to the shelter, determined to rescue Caleb. When she arrived, she realized two other dogs were about to be put down as well. Despite having three other rescue dogs already at home, Blount suddenly knew what she had to do.
Shelley Blount
“I asked the limit on how many you could adopt,” Blount told The Dodo. “They said there wasn’t one. So I decided to get all three.”
Blount had arrived at the shelter that day expecting to leave with just Caleb — and instead she left with Caleb, Charisma and Bella.
Shelley Blount
As they began the long drive home, all three dogs were so excited and couldn’t contain their happiness, and Blount knew she had absolutely done the right thing.
Shelley Blount
“Caleb was sooo excited — kept giving kisses from the back seat, and his tail was wagging so fast,” Blount said. “Bella was so content being held so she sat in my friend’s lap and literally didn’t move. Charisma, my sweet little angel, was literally hugging me and slept the entire ride.”
Shelley Blount
When Blount decided to adopt all three dogs, she hadn’t really had a plan. She knew she couldn’t leave them at the shelter to be put down, but she also didn’t have room for three more dogs at home — but luckily, within days, she’d already found the best new homes for both Caleb and Bella.
Shelley Blount
“Caleb is super happy in his new home with a friend of mine,” Blount said. “She has another Lab who he loves. Bella went to my boyfriend and let’s just say they are inseparable.”
Shelley Blount
Blount is likely going to keep Charisma, as the pair have bonded quite a bit in the days since the rescue. Either way, Charisma would need to stay with Blount for a while — because after a vet visit, she realized the sweet little dog was pregnant.
Shelley Blount
No one at the shelter had told Blount that Charisma was pregnant with five to six puppies, and later said they hadn’t known. Not only did Blount save Charisma that day, but she also saved the lives of her puppies, and for that Charisma is continuously grateful.
“My Charisma girl is very attached to me and we take lots of cat naps because she’s so sleepy,” Blount said.
Shelley Blount
Charisma is due to give birth within the next week, and her new family is so excited for her. In the meantime, she’s enjoying spending lots of time cuddling with her new mom and best friend, thanking her every day for saving her life.
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Shelley is a real star and, indeed, so are all the other people that rescue dogs.
At the risk of blowing our own trumpet, and I don’t intend to, here’s a photograph from home to finish today’s post.
Brandy, to the left, and Pedi. Two ex-rescue dogs that are now so happy.
Learning from Dogs 