Thursday, April 12, 2007

Dog Day Afternoon


Breezin' ears in the wind, Mattie sports the finished product of her Tuesday grooming when we went to a nearby public park earlier today. She had more tests Wednesday as we try to figure out the source of her urinary tract infection... she's been such a trouper!

I took the freshly shorn Mat & a visiting Heidi for a little outing this afternoon when the sun made a brief apppearance. It was a windy and cool day -- a distant relative of "it was a dark and stormy night," - Snoopy -- Very odd in these parts. (I washed my car and my parents' van earlier, so i figured it would rain for sure. But so far, no precipitation...)

So without further ado, let the race begin!

Suggested listening: "The William Tell Overture."


Heidi holds onto a rare lead in this mini "trail race" of the 12-year-olds.


Yes, toward the end, they're neck-in-neck... Look at those serious faces, the concentration, the determination. They're really in the moment!

The big question in the battle of the blondes: Who will win?
Will it be the sweet Labrador or the deaf Spaniel?

The crowd's going wild, the cheers deafening, the judges prepared for anything... and OK, so it really wasn't a race, the distractions of smells and "restroom" stops were myriad... and of course the finish doesn't matter - they're both winners in my book!

And speaking of winners, did you hear that From this day until Feb. 2, 2008, Tibetans have pledged to "go green," vowing to be vegetarians for a year?!

Animal Place Sanctuary reports:

"According to the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile Samdhong Rinpoche, the yearlong commitment to vegetarianism is aimed at enhancing the 'collective merit' of Tibetans."

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And just an FYI, there's a new place to click at Care2.com - to help reduce global warming.

This goes along with their easy, quick, click-to-donate (free!) for pets (through the Humane Society of the U.S.), the seals of Canada, the oceans & living beings in it, "big cats," primates (through the wondrous Jane Goodall), the precious, dwindling rain forests of the world and more!

i encourage all of you to click daily!
Have i mentioned that it's free?
(and that it just takes a few seconds?)

http://www.care2.com/click2donate/

I have a page there, too, if you want to check it out...
http://my.care2.com/1pisces

Hope you have a terrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrific weekend!
Be safe out there!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking I will go to `Green' Tibet right now, and something tells me I will get there before your `speedy' dogs.

Really impressed with the Tibetans, what a wonderful idea, wish Australia and USA would do the same.

Anonymous said...

great phots!, thanks for the links!

have a great weekend :)

LisaJean119 said...

Ha! Racing dogs, you're too funny. If that was my mother's dog, she'd be going crazy...I think she's 11 now. I remember I brought her for a walk on some trails (and she's a pretty big dog, part huskey, part black lab) and she has always been around small cats and dogs half her size.. well there was a horse on the trail and she stops, wide eyed, and stares.. WOAH THAT'S A BIG DOG! hahaa.. finally someone bigger than her, she never saw one before. It was too funny.

pinknest said...

lol! excellent photos!they look like they're tracking.

Anonymous said...

Ahh they are so cute. It makes me want to give them a big hug. :-)
Year long vegetarianism. That's pretty nice. Are most of them vegetarians? Perhaps I'm thinking of another country.

Peter Matthes said...

I hope Mattie is okay.

Unknown said...

What cute pictures! I wish I had space to live with a dog. Sorry to hear that things are still a little up in the air with Mattie.

William Tell Overture -- too funny!

bazu said...

Thank you so much for your kind comments on my blog! Unfortunately, Cost Plus is yet another store that I live without here in Syracuse. I used to love that place too. Boo!

THE ENTIRE COUNTRY of Tibet is going vegetarian for a year?? Oh my gosh, we should all thank them somehow! What a fascinating commitment. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Just wow.

jenny said...

Mattie looks so cute with her trimmed locks! I hope she feels better soon!

Michelle Ann said...

I love those Mattie pictures...what a beautiful dog. Makes me miss my spaniel.

Tanya Kristine said...

I can't believe Tibetans aren't green anyway? didn't that movie reflect that that dali lama made the workers dig the stadium area with spoons so as to not kill any worms? i'm confused. now i hear he eats meat!!! i'm pretty sure that's more painful than being hoe'd.

i love your doggies...i love old doggies too. and myabe when kody passes, i just might go adopt a bunch of old dogs no one wants...yeah....

Emmy said...

Love the post-haircut pic of Mattie. She always looks like such a happy dog :) I hope they can figure out why she's getting the infections. Be sure to give the little trouper a hug from us!!!

The pics of Mattie and Heidi are great too. Thanks for the heads up about the Tibetans pledge to go green. I hadn't heard anything about it.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend Kleo :)

Anonymous said...

What a great post, the Matster and bud brought a smile to my face. Mitz is not reading this so I am A-OK!!!! LOL>
Have a great weekend K,

Huggs, G

MeloMeals said...

click click click..

The dogs look like they are having so much fun... I so wish Jorda would get along with other dogs better.. (we got kicked out of puppy class due to her total obnoxious behavior)..

I wish all dog racing was as humane and fun as this post was.

vko said...

Oh little Mattie- I hope you feel better soon!

They are too cute your racing pictures, of course I still hear the overture going on- thanks so much for that...

It's amazin that Tibet is going veg for a year. I wish the US would go veg for any amount of time, like even a month- because one city in the US probably eats more meat than the whole entire country of Tibet, one can always dream!

Tracy said...

Awww...I'm such a sucker for other people's doggies. I'm at a place in my life right now where having a dog isn't really do-able, so I get my puppy fix from blogs like yours!

urban vegan said...

What an inspriation Tibetans are. Thanks for bringing this to our attention--as well as the click site. What cool veg*n PR>

I'm not much of a sports fan, but loved the battle of the blondes...

david santos said...

Nice dogs, thanks you for you work, is very good.
Have a good weekend.

Anonymous said...

Great news about the Tibetans ! I love how you inform us of things like that :)

Those two pooches really ARE both winners !

Anonymous said...

fun post & great photos! hang in there, Mattie - sending lots of lovin' & positive vibes to your sweetie. you have a cool care2 page and thanks for those links & suggestion. Tibet Rocks!

Vicki

Unknown said...

Aww how cute! I love your pups!

Anonymous said...

They're both winners in my book too! Heidi and Mattie are both so darn cute.

antonior said...

Splendid pictures!
I live surrounded by animals....
I'm glad 'cause I discovered your place.
I'll be back.

Theresa said...

Looks like Mattie had a good time with her pal.

Hopefully most Tibetans fall in love with the vegetarian lifestyle and don't switch back once the year is up!

Rachel said...

I love the racing photos. I hope Mattie is feeling better! I suspect I will be seeing her at the office soon. :)

Rachel said...

I love the racing photos. I hope Mattie is feeling better! I suspect I will be seeing her at the office soon. :)

meesh said...

Wow, very cool news about the Tibetans! Enlightened, indeed.

We have all our paws crossed at my house for the Matster to get better soon. Poor puppers, that's gotta be so frusterating for the both of you.

Anonymous said...

Calling over to say hi. In the process of auctioning my home at present so life is a little scattered over in my corner of the earth. Looking forward to when it is over and settled.

Anonymous said...

Mattie looks so clean and I just wanted to give him a big hug. You really got two adorable dogs. I am so jealous coz I still dont know when I can get one.

Anonymous said...

I love those handsome doggies. I wish I could give them some rubs.

The common belief is seems is that Buddhists are vegetarians anyway, and they're not necessarily. It's one of the things that sort of baffles me with the whole "do no harm" aspect of the religion, but there are other aspects of it that make sense. (If you live on the charity of others, you won't say no to someone's offering if it includes meat, that sort of thing). Granted, I don't agree with it, but I also have the luxury of being able to choose what and where I eat.

Shananigans said...

Kleo – I’m so glad I got the chance to come catch up on your posting! You are always so full of information and have so many fabulous pictures to share. So much to take in. I’m jealous of your birthday dinner at Native Foods, I love their Philly Peppersteak. We only had time for Cal Vegan when we were in town. Too many places to eat for such a short trip! I love this little “race”, you’re right, they are both winners.

Jody from VegChic said...

Go puppies, go!

Hope Mattie's tests work out and she is on the up and up soon.

That is so cool about Tibet.

Also, thanks for the reminder aabout care2.

Dan said...

Ya can't go wrong with photos of cute dogs. And these two are real cuties! Hope your weekend was a good one!

Candi said...

Those racing dogs are so cute! (Go Mattie!) Lol! They look like they had a good time. William Tell Overture! Lol!! I was laughing at that one, Kleo!

Thanks for the info. I had not heard about the Tibetans and going green!