#Dogs = 40 per cent of total pets in America

Now I ask you: would you pick a cat over me??

       ABOUT 62 percent of American households have a pet, with dogs accounting for 40 percent of the total.  #Cats are second, at 34 percent.

   “The difference between 'trained OK' and 'trained perfectly' really doesn't matter all that much to me.  I once did a film with Lassie.  When that dog got excited he jumped all over Rudd Weatherwax (his trainer).  Now that's the smartest dog in the world.  If the world's best trained dog can jump around too show he's happy then my dogs should be allowed to do the same.”  Actor Jimmy Stewart

#UGGIE, star of "The #Artist," to #retire at age 10

Will you love me if I'm not Uggie?

Uggie, don't leave us!!!

          ”The Artist” star Uggie the dog to retire from acting after Oscars

Uggie the dog may have shot to fame after his award-winning turn in The Artist but it seems his time in the spotlight is over, with his trainer revealing Uggie will retire from acting after the 2012 Oscars next month.

acting (Picture: Getty)

       The #Jack #Russell has won over audiences around the globe with his playful personality and impressive acting skills, winning the Palm Dog award for best performance by a canine at last year's #Cannes Film Festival.

       #Uggie is also nominated for two prizes at the Golden Collar awards for his roles in The Artist and Robert Pattinson flick Water For Elephants, but his trainers have revealed he won't be starring in any more feature films.

visited the Empire State Building (Picture: Getty)

        At 10 years of age Uggie is ready to retire, with trainer Sarah Clifford telling The Hollywood Reporter: 'We don't force our dogs to do this. And it always has to be fun for them.

'Uggie's still enjoying it but he's getting up there and he's slowing down a little.'

       It seems Uggie himself has indicated a desire to take it easy, with Clifford adding: 'He's at the stage where he just says, "I think I want to go and lay s (Picture: AP)

            The news is sure to come as a blow to Uggie's legion of fans – some of whom campaigned to persuade the Academy to nominate him for an Oscar – and X Factor boss Simon Cowell who had reportedly hoped to sign him up.

         COMMENT: I WANTED HIM TO GET AN OSCAR.

         Trainer Clifford has said that while Uggie won't be starring in any more feature films, he will still be able to do smaller jobs such as short films and commercials.

       But there may be another cute canine ready to take his place in Hollywood – Uggie's brother Dash, who has apparently been training hard to step into his sibling's pawprints.

         COMMENT: WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD, I DIDN’T WANT TO RETIRE, I JUST WANTED TO GROW UP.  BUT UGGIE, IN HUMAN YEARS, IS AROUND 70, TIME TO RETIRE.   BUT WILL HE BE PUT TO STUD?

 http://www.metro.co.uk/film/888635-the-artist-star-uggie-the-dog-to-retire-from-acting-after-oscars#ixzz1kg6Mg9xx

       “It is fatal to let any dog know that he is funny, for he immediately loses his head and starts hamming it up.”  Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse

#Gizmo Good #Dog, part two

I'll let you sleep if you let me sleep

       Grace, my wife, was sick all night.  I was up with her every two hours and therefore slept until nearly 10 am.

         All this time, Gizmo was asleep in his cage in our bedroom, silent. 

      When I finally got up and dressed, Gizmo, although happy to see him and now sitting up, remained silent until I opened the cage and hooked him up to his leash for a walk.

         Good Dog.  Amazing Dog.  All owners who get up at 5:30 am with barking, crying dogs who need to go outside, eat your hearts out. 

         “Like many other much loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.”   Dodie Smith; in 101 Dalmations

#Gizmo Really #Good #Dog:

You?  I always TRY to obey you.

      Out for a walk.  I’m looking straight ahead, the way the #Dog #Whisperer advises.  Gizmo is trotting along, when he suddenly pulls to the right, going to sniff something very important in the gutter.

         The leash pulls from my hand and Gizmo is free to run in the street, exactly the most dangerous place for him to go charging off and precisely where he would often go when we first adopted him a year ago.

         This time, I say, “Hey.  Hey!”  That’s all.  Gizmo immediately stops and sits, waiting for me to pick up his leash.

         I say, “Good Dog,” several times.  And he was.

        “When a doting person gets down on all fours and plays with the dog's rubber mouse, it only confuses the puppy and gives him a sense of insecurity.  He gets the impression that the world is unstable and wonders whether he is supposed to walk on his hind legs and smoke cigars.”  Corey Ford

#Dogs Against #Romney: Super Pack

DETROIT NEWS:  In related news, one of the fastest growing super PACKs in our nation is Dogs Against Romney. These canines, just like Bo, ride inside the car.

         COMMENT: Sounds worth joining!!!

         Site is:   http://www.dogsagainstromney.com/    The Official Site of Dogs Against Romney(TM) founded 2007. Hi, I'm Rusty. Mitt Romney is mean to dogs. Help me get my message out about the Mitt Romney dog on roof story. Putting a dog on the car roof is abuse. Remember Crate-Gate. I ride inside.

Includes: Mitt Is Mean, Crate Gate and Get “Ruff” with Romney bumper stickers; bandanas, sweatshirts and dog apparel, plus t-shirts saying Mitt Is Mean. 

“There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog.”  Konrad Lorenz

Leaping #Boxer #Dog! Oh Joy

My begging is only slightly more restrained.  

Boxer leaping with joy about going out.  :  http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/01/boxer-is-excited-to-go-for-a-walk/

      “You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us,”  Robert Louis Stevenson