Here's To 2009!

Happy Birthday Bacchus!

Nine years ago today, along with eleven siblings, this little guy came into the world. One month later we chose him. Three months later he was home with us and has been there ever since.

There have been raucous good times with our Bacchus, some serene and everything imaginable in between! He has truly enriched our lives.

Trying Out Flip Video - Bacchus Stars!

Oh, boy. I heard about these little cell phone size videos and immediately wanted one. There are just times a little video is a bit more fun than a still photo. Beware. When I played with the 30 second capacity on my digital camera I got hooked. This may be even more dangerous. Anyway, for a very snowy Saturday, enjoy!

Seasons Greetings

One Man's Pleasure; Another Man's Penalty!

I haven't watched much football this year. The game has become so regulated that the fun and spontaneity has gone out of it. Heaven forbid you rough up the quarterback. Heck, let them wear the necessary padding like the guys who really get beat up! Put some sizzle back into the game!

The Seahawks against the Jets was the exception to this season's viewing habits. I really wanted the Seahawks to give Mike Holmgren a win for his final home game as coach. So did the team and their enthusiasm showed after what has been a dismal season.

Penalties were few but the ones called brought to mind just how ridiculous the league has gotten with the penalties for "excessive" celebration! Jason Wilson's snow angel! What was so egregious about making a snow angel? Because there was snow! Go figure. If there had been no snow and he had made a "grass" angel no problem. But snow is considered a prop. A prop? Props aren't allowed since Terrell Owens hid a Sharpie in his sock, whipped it out after scoring, signed the ball and gave it to a fan.

Oh, I get irritated with the show boaters at times. Especially when their team is down by a gazillion points, someone finally scores and they act as though they've just won the super bowl before they get blindsided. That, however, is just a minor irritation.

But a snow angel? From a member of a team who had few highlights this season? Come on guys.

Sometimes it's not so bad living in a dog's world. Bacchus makes snow angels in the winter and grass angels in the summer with no penalty what so ever!

"Judging" Dogs As Livestock?

Why do bureaucrats have to make things so difficult? So some people built a dog kennel for breeding purposes in a U.S. Forest Service easement that permits "livestock" farming" which precludes a dog kennel. A federal judge ruled dogs can't be defined as livestock. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over turned that ruling.

So, it boils down to what the definition of livestock is and apparently there is more than one. Here is the definition in the dictionary on my computer:

livestock |ˈlīvˌstäk|
noun
farm animals regarded as an asset : markets for the trading of livestock.

Well, that's pretty ambiguous! This controversy can open up a whole spate on unintended conclusions! Okay. I have a dog. This time of year it would be a stretch to call him "live" anything. This is usually where and how you will find him. I must admit, though, on occasion people seeing me walking him have mistaken him for a calf. What can I say?

Being diligent, however, the justices looked at several definitions. They found that by some, fish, guinea pigs, ants and bees could also fall under the definition. I won't even try to figure out how they came to that conclusion!

Herein lies the problem. Most towns, cities, counties - even neighborhoods, have rules regarding livestock on one's property. I know there is a limit to how many dogs you can have in our county. Our neighborhood also has limits, again somewhat ambiguous. Some regulation goes by size. You can have a finite number of horses and cows, usually considered livestock. Yet due to size differences, sheep, Alpacas, goats , pigs and such come under a different criteria. It's all so confusing!

I'm concerned that the livestock police are going to have their on me now. One dog is okay, but we have a pond full of fish. There are at least 40 and 50 in there. I don't even want to think about ants and bees! They're hard to count since they all look alike but there are lots of them.

Do you think we could get livestock credits? We'd be okay then. After all, we don't have any guinea pigs!

Time For Some R and R

The year is 2008.  The people we'll see are mostly 68 and they graduated from high school in '58. We're off to Hub's 50 year reunion and some shun piking while over there.  Montana.  We'll be back in a few days.

Meanwhile you'll get a break from the ravings of this old lady.  Instead of leaving a rant front and center I'll leave a not so good but kinder gentler view of the world.  Another Bacchus clip.  They'll get better, I promise.  I can't say the same about my usual posts.  Enjoy.

You Sweet Embraceable You!

It's Saturday. I don't feel like posting on anything in particular. I've spent the morning playing with You Tube. It could become as addictive as blogging.

Bacchus has never gotten much face time on this blog though he is better known than I am. On occasion I'll share a little of him just so you get an idea of what he's like - and why I love him so much.

The "Dish" On The Dog Pause Bowl

Back on June 6 I posted a story about Bacchus and I being asked to evaluate the Dog Pause Dog Bowl designed to control the quantity of food and the speed with which a dog would consume it.

The concept is the brainchild of Nancy Kerrigan of ice skating fame when she found her dog was an "inhalation" eater. Longtail Pet Products is the corporate entity that has made it a reality.

I had grandiose ideas about expanding the experiment beyond just the two of us but as happens, things got too complicated. What the heck. I have a perfectly good dog perfectly willing to try just about anything I ask of him.

While Bacchus was not the best candidate - he is not an inhaler, nor does he eat too much. The vet says he's just right. We'd do anything, though, to help fellow canines!

The dish is nicely solid with a "wavy" base to make it steady on any type of floor. It is divided into four compartments so the amount of food available without pausing is limited. Sounds reasonable to me.

For a dog with Bacchus's physical features, however, it had a few problems that can be easily remedied.

1. It was too small. A selection of sizes would help. Even if I divided up his food into three separate feedings, the bowl would not be large enough.

2. He couldn't get all the food out of it and it frustrated him. Again, size.

3. Though we put it on a rough bottomed mat, he nosed it across the room quite handily. A gasket of some sort on the bottom edge might help. Or a weighted base.

I give a thumbs up to the concept and design except for the points mentioned. Technically it worked as intended. I would not hesitate to buy one if he had the need.  For smaller dogs it would be great.

While Bacchus was experimenting with the bowl I decided to experiment with a short video. Just for fun. Not having a real video camera I had to splice together 30 second clips but it was fun and Mac made it relatively easy for a video newbie.

At least it will be proof positive to the good folks at Longtail that my comments are accurate! For what it's worth - enjoy!



For more information or if you have an idea that might help out a pet be sure to check out the above links.

Chow Down!

Oil closed up at $138 and change per barrel, the dollar fell again, an Israeli official stated "conflict" with Iran is unavoidable and Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor, put the administration's usual rosy glow on all of it by assuring us we are not in a recession! What a Friday.

That is not a look of hysterical laughter on Bacchus' face as he's about to settle in for an afternoon of napping. It's the remnants of the laugh he had from an earlier, and much more pleasant experience. A far better way to end the week and an introduction to another chapter of the adventures that come our way from blogging.

Shortly before Memorial Day I received an e-mail from a young man praising my blog. This is often spam but for some reason I read on. He actually had read several of my posts. Hmmm. Then came the kicker. He's works for a company of dog lovers who are developing a line of products dedicated to the health and welfare of - dogs. He wondered if I'd consider trying a dog dish designed to slow the consumption of food and blog about my impressions. He gave me web sites to visit, which I did. Deciding he was on the level I thought it might be fun. And, no, I'm not being paid to do this.

Bacchus eats from an elevated dish because of back and hip problems so I had to find some other likely candidates. I talked with my kennel guy. Sure enough, he has some clients who would be prime. I gave the go ahead to send the dish.

Yesterday afternoon a package arrived with two of the fancy dishes. Bacchus had to check it out. I laughed, and ultimately so did he. Good thing I found some alternate pooches.

You'll note his head is slightly larger than the dish and manuvering his nose and tongue into the divisons in the bowl served as an insurmountable challenge. The plus side is his ears didn't get dipped!

In all seriousness, the theory behind the dish is sound. It is divided into four compartments which makes slower eating mandetory.

For you dog loving locals who may have a dog prone to gas, belching, upchucking, gagging, anxiety or bloating or who just plain eats too fast and would like to try it out and offer your thoughts, send an e-mail to dogwalkmusings@mac.com. If it's logistically feasible, we'll see what we can do.

You can check it out at the Dog Pause Bowl site and read their whitepaper
on healthy eating for dogs.

I love it when things like this come our way. It's about time ole Bacchus gets more face time in this blogging endeavor. After all it's his identity I hide behind! If you'd like to join the fun, let me know. If you don't, the results will be posted in due time. Ciao!

Bacchus Has A Cyber Pal!

Every once in awhile someone stops by the blog and reaffirms the fun factor. Awhile back it was a former newspaper reporter from Ohio. Actually, it was his dog. Rufus. I'm sure he was curious about my blog because of its name. Rufus's blog is simply Dog Walk Blog .

This pooch is about the same age as Bacchus, men of the world; they've been around. Thinking Bacchus might benefit by seeing how other canines contribute to their master's blogs, I read him a few posts. Ole Rufus has it together. Politically he is very savvy. I'm sure he'd credit his dad for that. He even has his own club and invited Bacchus to become a member. Which he did and now has an autographed photo to prove it!

I don't add links often. They have to be special. This one is. Rufus, this one's for you. Thanks for sniffing us out!