#Gizmo #Groomed at #Petco by #Pamala

Gizmo, before bath and grooming

Pamala and Gizmo at #Petco after grooming, a movie star

           I take #Gizmo in for a grooming and Pamala, my favorite dog bather/cutter, is back.  She is a friendly, delightful person who is quite in love with Gizmo and who has been away because of a broken elbow.  Imagine that your job is being a dog groomer and you have tripped in your condo garage and broken at least two bones in your elbow area.  You simply cannot pick up dogs to get them on the table for a grooming.  Your livelihood is cut back and in danger.

         But on the day when Gizmo is to be bathed and groomed, smiling Pamala is back at #Petco.  She greets Gizmo as if he is a long-lost relative.

           A couple of hours later, I pick him up and he is gorgeous: “a movie star,” in Pamala’s terms.  He is prancing, energetic and perhaps overjoyed about both looking beautiful and getting out of there. 

         Pamala is rightfully proud, even beaming.  So is Gizmo?  And so am I.  He is again a gorgeous dog.

 “Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.”  Doug Larson

#Dogs welcoming #home their #owners from #deployment.

Military Reunions with Man’s (and Woman’s) best friend:

A montage to bring a lump to the throat of almost everyone.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD3cgDRsDck

      “How to create a best-selling book?  Title it ‘Lincoln’s Doctor’s Dog.'"  Bennett Cerf, when he was co-founder of Random House.

         New York Times book reviewer, Cathy Hanauer, wrote, “In these dog-crazed days, you probably could skip both the president and the doctor – especially if you throw an adoring retriever or a bug-eyed terrier on the cover.”

#Dog gives our bed to hedgehog doll

The sleeping hedgehog doll the way #Gizmo left it.  In our bed.

Another gift from Gizmo:

         When we returned home from seeing a movie, the carefully made up bed in our bedroom was completely taken apart.  Gizmo has learned how to open that closed door.

         His re-arrangement was complete when he pushed aside the bedspread and blanket.  Then he moved several pillows out of the way and put his favorite toy – we think it is a stuffed #hedgehog that sounds like it is dying when he squeezes it – in the middle of the area he created.  Was this to give room to the hedgehog to go to sleep?  Was it a message to us, and perhaps specifically to me: if you aren’t sleeping here, at least my hedgehog can take a nap.

         In any case, we believe that these pictures are eloquent.

“When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem.”  Edward Abbey

#Jack #Russell #Terrier steals the movie: "The #Artist"

Uggie, the star, and who is that other guy?

 'The Artist': Going to the dogs, in a good way

THE LATEST FROM AUSTIN360.COM

By Charles Ealy

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF, from Auston360.com

Ever since Jean Dujardin won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival, accolades for "The Artist" have been pouring in. And many critics think that the little black-and-white silent movie an oddity in the days of 3-D blockbusters will get an Oscar nomination for best picture.

Speaking by telephone from Rome, French director Michel Hazanavicius says there's one unexpected topic that keeps coming up: Specifically, Uggie, the 9-year-old Jack Russell terrier who follows the silent film star George Valentin (Dujardin) at the center of "The Artist" and steals many a scene.

"When I was making the movie, I didn't realize how important the dog was going to be," says the director. "But when I screened the movie, the character of the dog became really important and everyone was talking about it."

Hazanavicius says he thinks he knows why.  "The central character, George, is selfish, egocentric, proud and mean to his wife. ... He even has a huge portrait of himself hanging in his home. But he has a dog, and the dog loves him. You trust the dog. It's a collective unconscious. If the dog loves him, he must be lovable, and that's very important. And the dog stays with George throughout the movie, through the ups and downs."

         COMMENT:  Any dog that loves a selfish man, makes the guy look better.  Uggie (and the two others that helped him act the role) became the scene-stealing star of the show.                                                                 My soon to be published review:                           

“The Artist”

4 stars    • • • •

Hilarious, charming, eloquently silent

By Norman Mark

  “The Artist,” an homage to silent films, succeeds on charm, cleverness, and the most lovable dog since Moose, the Jack Russell Terrier who played Eddie Crane on the TV series Frasier.

First, about the dog: Uggie, who plays Jack (with occasional help from Dash and Dude), is also a Jack Russell Terrier and he does wonders humanizing the lead character, an egotistical silent film star (imitating Ronald Coleman or Douglas Fairbanks Sr.) named George Valentin, played with smoldering delightfulness by Jean Dujardin. 

The movie tells a new version of the real-life John Gilbert – Greta Garbo story: he was a huge star in silent films, Garbo appeared in a few of them, then eclipsed him when sound entered as he descended into booze and depression.

The film does such a good job that seconds after it begins I did not miss the sound dialogue at all (delightful music plays throughout).

 It starts in 1927 with a meet cute: Valentin, after an opening of one of his popular swashbuckler films, accidentally (and literally) bumps into Peppy Miller, played with great verve by Bérénice Bejo.

We follow their careers as she gets parts as extras or maids and eventually starring roles.  George, always nattily attired with his dog at his side, is fired when talkies take over and then the question is: will George accept help from Peppy?

Eventually there is a joyous ending, but I will write no more about that for fear of spoiling the fun.

 “The Artist” is certainly Peppy as it joyously re-creates the style of silent films: actors emoting while staring at the camera or giving each other smoldering looks; dissolves involving a circle getting smaller and smaller or montages with dancing or walking feet over theatre posters, etc.   In other words, it doesn’t miss a trick in this tribute to the almost lost art of silent films.

The cast features John Goodman as the studio executive; James Cromwell, who became hugely popular after “Babe” in 1994; and Malcolm McDowell, who has a couple of scenes with Peppy and who was in over 208 movies and TV shows according to his IMDB biography.

The director, Michel Hazanavicius, who will be honored at the Palm Springs Film Festival, has bravely created a movie throwback, recreating something that disappeared over eight decades ago. 

The film picked up considerable excitement when Dujardin was named Best Actor at the Cannes film festival (he also won at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Hollywood Film Festival).   Film critics in Washington, D.C., Boston and New York have named “The Artist” the best film of the year.  Also, the European Film Awards and the Washington, DC film critics, have called the score and the composer, Ludovic Bource, the best of 2011. 

“The Artist” is a comedic and emotional delight, worthy of the accolades it has already gotten and the ones it will receive (Oscars, take note).               

            Norman Mark’s dog Gizmo’s blog is at: http://gizmogooddog.blogspot.com/.   His Santa Fe Diary is now at http://santafediary.blogspot.com.  

TALKING #German Shepherd: ultimate tease.

You are driving me CRAZY!!!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeKSiCQkPw

      “The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.”   Samuel Butler

#Dog that could have an #operatic career

Sing like no one’s listening.  This dog has definite operatic possibilities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcQai--9AHQ

“We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well, it's cheaper, and you get more feet.

Rita Rudner

How #George #Clooney chose his #dog Einstein

I'm glad you picked me rather than George Clooney.  And I didn't say that
 just because you gave me a new rawhide bone.

                          By Cheryl Hanna, Pet Rescue Examiner

             "The Sexiest Man Alive" or otherwise known as George Clooney is an ardent animal lover. Sound good? Not only does he look good, but he also loves four-legged critters, and previously cherished a 300 pound pet pig named Max until his beloved porcine passed away in December, 2006.                                                      About a year-and-a half-ago, Clooney ached for a dog to love, so he went online and spotted a cocker spaniel mix breed named #Einstein from a local animal shelter. The only qualifications for Clooney was the dog had to be housebroken, and as the heartthrob Hollywood actor watched the video of how awful the rescue dog looked when he was brought into the shelter and then how he looked when cleaned up - Clooney just sighed, " God, I love this dog."                                                                                                                           So Clooney called the shelter, and of course, just like any would be adopter the shelter had to check out Einstein's proposed new home and determine if Einstein made a connection to Clooney.                                                        COMMENT:  HOW DID THE SHELTER DETERMINE WHICH WORKER WOULD VISIT CLOONEY’S HOME?  WAS IT A VOTE?  OR DID ALL THE SHELTER WORKERS GO, JUST TO MAKE SURE CLOONEY WOULD BE A GOOD OWNER?:                                                                                                 So our Oceans Eleven actor had already fallen madly in love with Einstein, and somehow had to make sure Einstein felt the same. In the interview with Esquire Magazine, January 2012 Meaning of Life issue, Clooney admits to running into his kitchen and rubbing turkey meatballs all over his shoes just before the arrival of the shelter representatives and Einstein.                                                                 COMMENT:  DID EINSTEIN GET THE SHOES AFTER THE SHELTER REPS LEFT?  DID GEORGE EVER WEAR THE SHOES AGAIN?  WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HE WENT OUTSIDE WITH HIS TURKEY MEATBALL SHOES?                                                                                                                        Clooney states: "I start to panic that Einstein is not going to like me, so I run into the kitchen, where I have these turkey meatballs, and I rub them all over my shoes... Who knew Einstein was such a food whore on top of everything? He throws himself at my feet."

Nowadays Einstein and Clooney are best friends, but Clooney insists his dog knows him best as the "guy with the meatball feet."

     “My husband and I are either going to buy a dog or have a child. We can't decide whether to ruin our carpet or ruin our lives.”  Rita Rudner

#Possessed #toy #poodle:

I am only possessed with a love for you.

#Demon Dog: New Yorker Claims Her Toy Poodle Was Possessed                                                                                          A NEW YORK artist is selling a $197 pendant because she claims her poodle was inhabited by a demonic spirit.

New York artist Olga Horvat started designing demon-deterring accessories after she adopted Princess, a pure-bred toy poodle that she credits -- or blames -- for literally tearing her life into pieces.

Horvat claims that soon after Princess arrived in her home, bad luck befell the family, including a bedbug infestation that led to $7,000 in exterminator fees from her co-op as well as legal fees to fight an eviction.

COMMENT:  DEMON BEDBUGS?  COULD BE.

In addition, her husband was in a serious car accident and came down with a rare autoimmune disease called Churg-Strauss Syndrome. Then Horvat's daughter was almost expelled from second grade for offending classmates with an action that was perceived to be bigoted when she put on a rubber glove then grabbed the bare hand of a Muslim friend -- an action the child blames on a strange voice she heard in her head.

COMMENT:  The strange voice should have said, “Stop playing with rubber gloves.”

Meanwhile, Princess herself suffered a broken leg that did not respond well to treatment.   Horvat says her family's misfortunes are all linked to the tiny white pooch that just happened to be possessed.   "We had her May through September in 2006 -- and she didn't want to eat, sleep and she couldn't be trained to learn simple commands," Horvat told HuffPost Weird News. "She was happy, but something was manipulating her."

Sadly, Princess died four months after coming into Horvat's life when she mysteriously fell down some stairs while she was staying with someone else.

COMMENT: Did Princess FALL down the stairs, or was she PUSHED??

HORVAT believes that a dog whose ears point up is more prone to possession than one with floppy ears, perhaps "because the spirit can get in there easier," she said.

COMMENT: I believe that people with large behinds are more likely to be possessed because it is easier for the devil to find them.

Now, Horvat is trying to prevent similar catastrophes from happening to other pets and humans by selling "energy shield pendants" that supposedly block electromagnetic energy and evil spirits. The pendants for humans cost $197 each while the pet versions are $11 cheaper.

COMMENT: Not recommended for dogs named Satan.

“A hungry dog hunts best.”   Lee Trevino

#Gizmo’s #religious state while his feet were washed.

Nirvana?  Or just waiting for this to be over?

I am calm, I am centered, I am a doggy Budah.

            When I returned from a two-mile walk with Gizmo, his feet were filthy and nearly black, probably because it rained a bit the night before and we had to walk on asphalt most of the way. They needed to be cleaned before he could walk anywhere in the house.

            I sat down, held him in my arms, and washed each paw with a clothe, the first to apply a little bit of soap and the second to dry off the paws, and perhaps get more dirt off of him.  In seconds, both wash clothes were dirty.

            During the process, Gizmo was calm.  In fact, the expression on his face seemed to almost indicate that this was approaching a religious experience for him.  He had an other-worldly expression, as if he were meditating and were miles away from having his paws fiddled with.

         He seemed to be expressing, “After you wash my feet, I will kiss your hand.  Thus I will establish fealty to you and will thank you for the washing of the feet, which is, after all, a religious ceremony mentioned in the Bible.”            

 Yes, I have now gone far beyond science and logic, but I have never seen that facial expression on Gizmo.  Can a dog enter a meditative state?  Can washing a dog’s feet lead him to experience nirvana?  I do not know.

       “My obstetrician was so dumb that when I gave birth he forgot to cut the cord. For a year that kid followed me everywhere. It was like having a dog on a leash.”

Joan Rivers     

But First the #Dog #added to the problem:

Dog Credited with Saving Man After Farm Accident

           ABC 2 WBAY:   A dog in Winnebago County is being called a hero.   Its owner was involved in a recent farm accident, and if it weren't for the dog's bark he may not have been found in time.

              Bob Kumbier has a special relationship with his dog, Holly, expressing a sense of gratitude after he survived an accident on the day after Thanksgiving when a skidster malfunctioned and pinned him to the point he couldn't move or breathe.  (A “skidster” is a huge shovel attached to a tractor.)

              "She saved my life, because I was running out of air," Bob said. "I knew if I passed out, I was trying not to pass out, and I knew if I passed out I didn't know how long it would be before anybody would find me."

             At the time of the accident, Kumbier was operating a skidster. The bucket was all the way up. He was in the driver's seat and got out to fix a pedal that was stuck. When he did so, the arm came crashing down, trapping him in a space only inches wide.   "All I could do was start yelling for help, and that's when Holly my dog came.".

"Holly jumped up in the bucket and she was trying to lick my face, and every time she jumped I could feel that extra weight squeezing me, and I kept telling her, 'Holly, no,' and then I'd go, 'Oh help! Somebody, can you help?' And she started barking more and louder."

            COMMENT:  A hero?  First she almost suffocated him.  It’s like “Lassie, rescue the boy from the mine shaft….Oh, no, don’t throw boulders down the shaft.  Bad Lassie.”

             "She wouldn't stop," Vicki Kumbier said somberly, "so I got my shoes on and I went out there. I know why she was barking, she wanted someone to help Bob, and if it wasn't for Holly I wouldn't have my husband."

            COMMENT:  But you would have Hollie, a dog with a fair amount of explaining to do.

            “We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well, it's cheaper, and you get more feet.”   Rita Rudner

video: Best (over trained) dog: amazing

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=P9Fyey4D5hg   

 The most amazing and possibly best trained – or over trained – dog.  The video that will be memorable.

       “My obstetrician was so dumb that when I gave birth he forgot to cut the cord. For a year that kid followed me everywhere. It was like having a dog on a leash.”   Joan Rivers

#Liz #Taylor's #dog #ate her $12 mil pearl

#Liz #Taylor’s Pearl Sells for $11.8M Record after her #Lhasa ate it.

          Bloomberg.com:  A 50.6-carat pearl given to Elizabeth Taylor by her husband Richard Burton sold for a record $11.8 million today as Christie’s International began a four-day auction from the late actress’s estate in New York.                      COMMENT:  It was the pearl her dog attempted to eat.

          The drop-shaped pearl known as “La Peregrina” is suspended from a necklace lined with diamonds, rubies and cultured pearls.   It inspired a fierce bidding battle, lifting the price well beyond the auction company’s $2 million to $3 million presale estimate.

          A Hollywood icon, Taylor (1932-2011) was married eight times, including twice to her “Cleopatra” co-star Burton. Known for her love of jewels, she was showered with diamonds, rubies and emeralds by her admirers.

           Burton purchased the pearl in 1969 for $37,000 at Parke- Bernet Galleries in New York, which later became part of Sotheby’s, said Ward Landrigan, who headed the company’s jewelry department at the time.

Lost Pearl

          Taylor misplaced the pearl on the night she got it and everyone began looking for it in the pink shaggy hotel carpet, Landrigan said .

          “She had this white Lhasa Apso dog,” he said. “I saw the dog under a chaise. It was chewing on the pearl.”

           COMMENT:  Maybe she should have fed the dog?

         “The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor,” including her diamonds, Impressionist paintings and couture gowns, was expected to tally more than $50 million. The gems alone achieved more than that on the first night, becoming the most valuable private collection of jewels sold at auction, beating the 1987 sale of the Duchess of Windsor’s pieces in Geneva.        

         COMMENT:  I say defend the dog: I’ll bet that it would rather chew on a bone or food.  The poor dog was probably bored, saw something odd and shiny, and went for it.  Question: did it sell for almost $12 million WITH the Lhasa’s teeth marks on it?

     “There's just me and my wife and a dog and we feed him Healthy Choice also.”     Mike Ditka

Gizmo's Waking Up Routine: leaping on my crotch early AM

Here's the deal: you wake up, then I REALLY wake you up. 

       Gizmo’s new morning routine: After sleeping through the night, after bedding himself down in our bedroom in various places (by my side of the bed, in the bathroom directly on the path that we might take, hidden and squished behind a chair, ensconced between the legs of a night table, etc.), he finally stirs whenever one of us gets up.  He observes us closely.  If there is any indication at all that he might be welcome on our bed (the slightest nod of the head, the merest glance from him to the bed, etc.), he leaps.

        Generally, that first jump lands him directly on my crotch, both paws stiffened for maximum effect.  I am now fully awake.

         Then, after a bit of petting and snuffling, the next joyous leap takes him to Grace, who is only barely awake.  After licking her face (a sure wake-up call), he pushes his head into her armpit for a few joyous minutes.  After that, it is surely time to take him out for his walk.       

        Dare I write it: we have now had almost three weeks of Gizmo sleeping in the bedroom at night, not making any “mistakes” and without being caged.  He is back to Good Dog!

       “Our dog died from licking our wedding picture.”  Phyllis Diller

What #dog holds the #holding #it record?

I can hold "it" for about 7 hours, but please do not share that personal stuff

    Maisie Spirit holds “it” through the night, for a possible record setting 9 hours.  What is the doggie record for not urinating?  Are there any dogs who can last more than nine hours?  Please respond.

“A puppy plays with every pup he meets, but an old dog has few associates.”  Josh Billings

#Poodle attack thwarted by a loud NO

Poodles?  I was just trying to be friendly.

       I’m walking the dog near sunset when we pass an open garage door.  Two big, black, standard poodles come running out of the car and make a dash for Gizmo.  They are barking and growling, looking quite threatening.

          I step between Gizmo and the poodles, point my finger and shout, “NO!  NO!!” 

         The dogs stop, look at me as if to ask, “Does he really mean that?”  Then they begin to trot back to the garage.  I hear the owner from within the garage saying, “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

         No harm done.  A firm no and a pointed finger restored missing discipline.

     “Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail.”   Josh Billings

Gizmo gets a #fan letter about #Maizie Spirit:

     From KaZ:   My dog's name is Maizie Spirit. She’s 5  years old. She’s now sleeping with us through the night at least 9 hours!!  She doesn't like the crate at all but has to stay in it if we are gone a few hours as I am not sure what she will or will not do when she is home alone. I left her for 45 minutes yesterday and she seemed fine.  

       Gizmo is an adorable dog and I am sure you are enjoying having a dog!! 
      We really love Maizie and she is so sweet, just a bit insecure.
      She is so great with people that we are talking to the people who certify dogs as therapy dogs...I am in the healing therapies and she seems perfect!
       Love hearing about Gizmo's adventures.
       TO MAISIE SPIRIT AND KaZ:  Please stay in touch, especially if you enroll in therapy dog training.  Maizie Spirit sounds wonderful.  How lucky we are to get and give love to and from our dogs!!

      “The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.”  Bumper sticker seen in Palm Springs, CA.

#HERMAN #CAIN says family dog is a freeloader

I am not a freeloader

In a Gail Collins column in a recent New York Times, it was reported that Herman Cain’s alleged inamorata, Ginger White, admitted to The Daily Beast that “one time we were having sex and I was looking up at the ceiling, thinking about, “What am I going to buy at the grocery store tomorrow.”

            That is, at the very least, a sad reflection of Cain’s technique. It reminds me of the joke about another woman, looking at the ceiling during sex, and thinking, “peach.  That ceiling ought to be peach.”

               Later in the column, it was noted that, after White asked for more financial support, Cain aka The Herminator demanded, “that she sell the freeloading family dog first.”

            Cain was anti-dog?  Cain thought that dogs were “freeloaders”? Did Herman think the dog was on welfare?   Is this a typical conservative Republican response?  Do we now know more than we want to about Cain and conservative anti-dog stances?

       “Dog - a kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world's worship”  Ambrose Bierce

#Pounds vs.# Breeders: which has the best #dogs to #adopt?

I love you guys so much, I'll even play the Thanksgiving turkey, I mean Tofurkey.

posted by MustardTent to pets & animals

I'm starting the process of dog adoption, and my goal is to have a dog selected and adopted in about a year's time.

       I try my best to be very careful of the animal I take into my home. This is a big decision as I will have an animal living with my family (wife, 2 year old daughter, 3 year old son), for years, so I don't take this kinda stuff lightly.

      Which brings me to the whole point of this. I'm very hesitant to adopt a rescued dog. I won't necessarily know the animal's history or lineage, and I really like knowing those type of things and the (real or perceived) reassurance I get from that knowledge. Maybe the dog was abused by a 3 year old boy in it's past, maybe not. Maybe the dog was allowed to eat off the dinner table? Maybe tons of other things that I could go on about.

          The thing is that when I adopt a dog from a breeder (which is what I've always done), I know all about how it was treated, what it's lineage is, and I have a puppy that never had a master before me.

     COMMENT: No, you do not know what you are getting from a puppy mill, especially one that specializes in over breeding #bulldogs, #pugs, #Great Danes, etc., and other breeds who have a short and often painful life spans.   A pure-bred dog can be a source of huge vet expenses and a very sad ending, see the NY Times Magazine story about bulldogs.

          So, the question is: does that stuff really matter? Is a dog adopted from an animal rescue center just as likely to be ill-tempered or whatever as a puppy from a breeder?

     COMMENT: Our Gizmo has become our dream dog, an animal rescued less than 24 hours before he was to be put to death.  He’s 2 now, we‘ve had him a year and, yes, we had to be trained and he had to be trained out of some habits.  But, with knowledge and consistency (and becoming the pack leader), most bad habits can be eliminated.  See The Dog Whisperer.

        Breeders: only if you personally know them and can ask folks who adopted dogs from them how everything is going seven years after the adoption.

         Rescued Dogs: Yes, learn everything you can, but remember the pounds and shelters very much want their dogs adopted.  Taking them for a few days: yes and no, because habits may be revealed after a week and most dogs are so lovable, a stay in your home almost guarantees adoption. 

          Depend more on disposition: does the dog need constant attention?  Is the dog very anxious and nervous?  Or, is he or she a friendly animal who makes an occasional mistake? 

         Also: get a cage before you get the animal and use it, especially at night in the first year or so.  Life, and training, will be a LOT easier.

“There are simple truths… and the dogs know what they are.”  Joseph Duemer on an ASPCA Christmas card.