Thats a lot of poop.

According to this MSNBC Article, Budapest (the capital of Hungary) is going to spend the equivalent of one million US dollars to deal with a big dog poop problem.

Because they have about 400,000 dogs (that sounds like a big number), that create about 14,600 tons of poop each year, they are up to their eyeballs in brown. Keep in mind that a ton is 2000 pounds (about 2205 pounds if you are talking about metric tons). The humans have told me that I weigh about 40 pounds. That means you would need about 730,000 of me to equal the amount of poop that is created each year.

A lot of Poop.

Playtime

My most favorite thing to do is to play with my sister, Zoey. Here is an example of our fun.

Money Money Money

Birthday parties, pampering, special foods, fancy toys and accessories . . . humans treat us well. As noted by Freda in the comments on my icecream post, humans spend a lot of money on us canines.

As noted in this article by LINDA SHRIEVES of The Orlando Sentinel humans now spend $36 billion dollars on animal stuff.

While I am not quite sure what that number means, I know that they do it out of love. Some humans cannot have human puppies, so they adopt quadrapeds. There is nothing wrong with that at all. I personally love playing with the little humans in the house, even though they do try to dress me up once and a while.

Cool Treat for a Hot Dog

I know humans love to eat ice cream, but there is now a new canine iced treat called Frosty Paws.

Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream is expanding its line of ice cream treats for dogs. On top of Frosty Paws Original flavor, Dreyer's has introduced a peanut-butter ice cream sharing the product labling with Purina.


I look forward to trying these new treats. According to their website, they have none of that added sugar stuff the human puppies are allways asking for. There is added protein and other good stuff though.

Canine Counter

According to this News Article over at NBC, this dog Sheba can actually do math and is up on current events. There are several video clips that you can view.

I don't want to sound jealous, but I think that there is some kinda trick to it. It is bad that even after suspecting subterfuge, I can't see it. Well, I guess that I bettter start studying if I want to live up to the new canine standards.

Beware: Electronic Pets

I have to warn all of you canines that there is evil afoot. It comes in the form of a game by the name Nintendogs.

Humans pick from more than 15 dog breeds, including Labradors, Chihuahuas, and beagles, then care for and train the puppy using the touch screen and microphone.




Pet the pup, acquire and play with more than 100 items like tennis balls, flying discs and even clothing accessories. Teach your dog to do tricks by creating your own personalized voice commands.



You can train your pups and compete in obedience and agility trials. Win these competitions to earn cash, which you can use to buy supplies and even more dogs to keep your first puppy company.



The humans can even "walk" the puppies around the town to meet neighborhood dogs or interact wirelessly with friends’ Nintendogs using the innovative Bark Mode.


I have read an article that suggests that humans play with this game, instead of the real thing. This could be a danger to us and suggest that, if you can get away with it, chew up that DS thinggy to eradicate this threat.

Dog Days

I am sure that all of you have heard of the "Dog Days of Summer." Well I used to take offense to the phrase as it seemed to associate hot and opressive conditions to the finer species. I have recently discovered differently and it was quite an astronomical discovery.

In ancient Greece and Rome, August was considered the dog days of summer, because of the hot, dry weather which arrived along with the pre-dawn rising of the Dog star, Sirius, and the constellation Canis Major, or Big Dog. Among the many beautiful constellations in the night sky are the two big birds, Cygnus (the Swan) and Aquila (the Eagle).

It is interesting that we have two dogs chasing after two birds.

It does make me feel better that we are well represented in the night sky.

Update: Thank you Stella and Willow for reference to your post regarding these wonderful lights in the sky.

Pet ire up, down under.

In New Zeland, there is a new law that will require us nobile canines to become microchipped as a matter of law. While both my sister and I sport these nifty marvels of technology, there are some that dispute the necessity of the chip, preferring to rely upon dog tags instead.

I think that the real complaint is that many humans don't want to spend their precious "mooney" (or what ever they call it) on their canines, preferring to spend it on televisions and beer (at least that is what the male human in our house likes).

Anyway. . . I think that the pets should be able to decide. I mean, I don't mind having the thing in me. I never notice it. I am not afraid that it will take over my brain or anything like that. However . . . if I could get a chip like THAT for The Cat, that would be worth all of the kibble in the world.

Party Animals

I have recently learned of a "Doggies and Daiquiris" parties. This is the new "chic" thing for humans to do to encourage their perception that they are in charge. Any quadraped knows that all we need is a stretch of grass and a few butts to sniff and we are golden.

At these events drinks are quaffed and hors d'oeuvres are nibbled, all the while the bipeds are moo'ing away. At least they allow us to socialize in our way, sniffing and rolling about, as opposed to sitting about barking at each other.

I do recommend that you appease your humans once and a while and allow these events. however, do not fall in the trap of "cutesifying" and allow them to clothe you under any circumstances.

I call that stamina.

At the recent Alcatraz Invitational, a 1.2-mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shore, my new hero finished 72nd. You think "72nd, that sucks" but you don't understand that the swimmer was Jake.



Jake is a 65-pound Golden Retriever. He was the only quadraped to attempt the feat and he swam across the cold, choppy water in a time of 41 minutes and 45 seconds.

Reports are that he crowd cheered as Jake made his way onto solid ground, shook off water and dodged a woman who tried to put a medal around his neck. The 4-year-old hero and his owner, Jeff Pokonosky, live In San Diego.

Evidently, the human and Jake swim 4 miles a week and bodysurf together. And Jake always eats scrambled eggs before a big swim.

I like eggs too, but I have trouble making it through puddles after a moderate rain. And please, no "catfish" jokes.

Pop Art with a Canine Twist

Artist Nathan Janes has caused a wag in the canine community with his art style, known as Pop Arf.


I think that the style is a bit dated for humans, but is very attention grabbing for the quadraped crowd, despite that we can't see all of those "colors" that I hear the humans go on about.

While a bit pricy for a portrait (even if it is of a worthy subject) there is a demand and Mr. Janes will supply.

Ultimately, I feel that the more that we canines get publicized as being the most important species, the sooner that all of the other animals (no matter how many legs they have) will show the requisite respect.