Loyal blog reader Mike sent us this picuture of his sweet little Tater.
Oh yeah, Tater looks harmless, but according to Mike, this pooch can bring tears to your eyes.
Mike writes:
“…[w]hen he squeaks one out he can melt steel and nothing I spray can hide the smell, I just have to "enjoy" it until it dissipates.”
We feel for you, Mike.
Send pictures of your little stinkers to pets@roanoke.com.
Click here to read a really nice essay from someone who appreciates his elderly pooch.
Yesterday's Happy Wag column was all about pet products that work well, and some, well, not so much. A call rang out for pet parents to bark the praises of really good stuff and growl over the ones that disappoint. I will be posting them throughout the week, along with pictures of the "stinkers" that have come in for the Wall of Shame.
Let's start with the What's-the-Daddy test kit.
Doris sent me an e-mail to let me know how the $60 doggie DNA test she purchased from the RVSPCA worked for when she tested her dog Liesel:
It was so fun getting the results. Along with the certificate I received a page explaining the range levels and then a brief description of each breed found in my dog. It was very enlightening. The little 10-pound dog that we thought had some pug and Chihuahua mix turned out to have neither of those breeds in her DNA. Her results were as follows:
I spent a few hours this morning at the Star City Canine Training Club's agility trials at the Salem Civic Center. I took some photos but let's just say as an action photographer, I am a very good writer.
This photo is of Dancer, a flat-coated retriever from Harrisonburg. She was done competing for the day and was watching from the stands.
The headline of this blog post has a double meaning. There are plenty of pooches that cruise around the agility course in a very good time, but there is also plenty of good times to be had for the ones that, well, still need to practice a bit.
A perfectly executed run is a thing of beauty, and it epitomizes the concise communication between the dog and the handler. The hang time some of these dogs displayed as they sailed over the hurdles made me gasp. Air Jordan had nothing on a German short-haired pointer I watched glide over every obstacle with plenty of height and width to spare. Superdog looked like he could leap tall buildings in a single bound.
But I always smile when a dog gets a little off-course, maybe running through a tunnel one extra time or bouncing off the table a little too soon because he or she wants to run some more. Sure, there is some disappointment for the handler/pet parent, because hours upon hours of work is put into practicing for these events. But the dog is just having fun. There is sheer joy in these dogs as they fly over, through and around the obstacles.
And there is nothing more joyful than seeing a happy dog at play.
The trials continue today and end on Sunday. Admission is free and when they aren't competing, most owners/handlers are happy to answer questions about their dogs. But unless your dog is competing, they ask that your leave your four-legger at home.
If your pet is in need of a blessing (and from the blog posts over the last couple of days, it sounds like a few need an exorcism) then get thee to St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Daleville on Sunday.
Pastor Dave Rochford will ask for a blessing for all manner of leashed, crated or otherwise contained critters outside the church sanctuary from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The service is the kickoff for a fundraising effort for Heifer International by the church's children's Sunday school classes.
Heifer International purchases livestock for families in impoverished nations.
For more information about the blessing service, call the church at 992-3030.
This is Murphy. According to his pet mom, Anne, he has the ability to bring tears to your eyes. If you don't know what I mean by that, please refer to yesterday's blog post.
I think we can start a wall of shame of dogs who can send us running for the nearest aerosol air freshener. Yesterday you saw a mug of our pup Stormy, who in his short time on the Earth has contributed to the global warming problem in a big way.
Today Murphy joins Stormy as a most-wanted offender. Sure, he looks sweet, but beware. He will leave you begging for mercy and for a pillow to bury your face.
Who will be next? Got a dog that fills the room with more than love and affection? E-mail the photo to pets@roanoke.com.
(Photo courtesy of the amazing photographer Amanda Jones)
Today I would like to open a discussion about a topic that is typically not part of polite conversation. And yet, I think it is a subject that most people who share their homes with dogs can relate.
If you are very sensitive, you may want to close this blog today and check back tomorrow, because today we are tackling an issue that is most foul, indeed.
At some point, your dog will, uh, well, pass gas.
There. I said it. The massive gas cloud in the room is now exposed. Like we didn't already know it was there anyway.
We feed our three pooches a good quality commerical dog food designed for sensitive stomachs, and they get a fair amount of homemade and manufactured treats. Dexter and Stormy are in a good weight range for their age and size and Coral is at her ideal weight and still retains her track physique. So I don't think we overfeed them.
And yet, on a daily basis, one or more of these dogs can clear a room. I mean, ugh. Really wretched stench.
It creeps up on us, silent but deadly, and the next thing you know our eyes are watering, the plants are wilting, and all humans with functioning olfactory senses flee from the room. Nasty business, I tell you.
This happens to everyone, I know. There is a bestselling children' book series about the topic that is going to be made into a movie starring the Jonas Brothers (seems apropos, yes?)
So I guess what I am asking is what does everyone else do about it?
Change the dogs' diet? Invest in an automatic fragrance dispenser? Wear turtleneck sweaters all year round?
Share your experiences and what has worked, or hasn't worked, for you.
He's nearly 70 in human years, but Stump, a Sussex spaniel from Texas, took the Best in Show title at the Westminster Kennel Club show last night, proving the old dog still has a few tricks left.
The 10-year-old pooch came out of retirement on a whim and stole the show at Madison Square Garden, earning the first Westminster Best-in-Show title for his breed and the second for his handler, Scott Sommer.
According to a report from the Associated Press, Stump retired from the show ring in 2004 after winning 50 best-in-show titles and winning his group at Westminster. He was later treated by vets at Texas A&M for a mysterious wasting disease that nearly ended his life. Sommer said the spaniel spent 19 days in the hospital.
After he recovered, Stump lived a dog's life in Houston with Sommer and Sommer's other Westminster champ, J.R., a bichon frise who took the top prize in 2001.
Five days before this year's show, Sommer told the AP that he thought Stump might enjoy one more go around the ring. After the media tour that goes with winning the Super Bowl of dog shows, Sommer said Stump will permanently retire.
Stump faced stiff competition for this victory. He defeated a Scottish deerhound named Tiger Woods, a puli named Conrad and a Scottish terrier named Sadie. Others in the final seven title contenders included Yes, a standard poodle with 94 prior wins, Spirit, a giant schnauzer that is currently the nation's top show dog, and Lincoln, a Brussels griffon that was favored by Vegas odds-makers.
But Best-in-Show judge Sari Tietjen pointed to the reddish-brown spaniel for the coveted silver cup.
"He showed his heart out," Tietjen said. "He was everything you want."
(All photos by Associated Press)
Douge de Bordeaux compete in the ring during the 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Once again I watched the Westminster Kennel Club dog show from the comfort of my home. I wanted to siphon a little travel money into the Wag budget this year for a trip to the Big Apple so I could bring your first-hand accounts of the glamour and action from Madison Square Garden, but alas, I could not get the funding.
Maybe next year.
Last night the hounds, the terriers, the non-sporting and the herding groups took their turns around the ring. The first two pooches to move on to Best in Show were the Scottish deerhound (named Tiger Woods) and the Scottish terrier (named Sadie).
Guess they could have shared a celebratory shot of Glenlivet backstage.
Next group winner was the standard poodle, a pooch named Yes that had my hubby saying no, no, no. Hubby thinks the deck must be stacked in favor of the poodles because there always seems to be one or more of the three possible sizes in the Best in Show round.
He's also not a fan of the poofy haircuts they wear in the show ring.
I admit I dozed off before Conrad the puli was crowned champion of the herding group. Insert your favorite Rastifarian mop joke here.
Tonight we see the working group, the sporting group and the toys strut their stuff before the big winner is announced. If you follow The Happy Wag on Twitter, tweet along as the pooches parade through the evening.
Dolly, a miniature poodle from Silver Lake, Or., yawns as she is groomed backstage during the 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show Monday, Feb. 9, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
