Silvius

I have been thinking about my good buddy and side-kick Silvius, who is still living at home, in the country, in Kansas. I thought you might like to see some photos of him. I will explain all of the photos as I tell his story. The first photo is Silvius after my human K woke him up from his comfy sleep in his dog house. Why must us animals always suffer at the hands of humans with cameras? The second photo is Silvius chewing on a deer leg he found and me pretending that I don't care that he is chewing on a deer leg while I have nothing. I am a good actor, aren't I? I don't know why no one will hire me. I could be famous, I tell you! A bit of Silvius' back story before I explain the next two photos. Silvius showed up at our house, in Kansas, in October 2006. He just appeared in the side yard one Sunday morning but would run into the trees when a human came outside. That went on for a few days until he was brave enough to at least stay in the yard when a human appeared. Slowly, after many months of patience by the humans and many months of trepidation by Silvius, he finally acclimated himself into our family. He was obviously abandoned out in the country and left to fend for himself, but we also think he was abused because of his great fear of humans and how it took him almost seven months before he would come into the house and let a human pet him. He stayed by my side constantly and would follow my lead. I liked being his mentor! K's brother named him "Silvius" which is Latin for "of the forest" ("silva" means forest) since he came from the trees. Since joining our family Silvius has had a few accidents and we have all been amazed by how he keeps on going despite all of his hardships. One accident occurred a few months after he entered our lives, so it was Winter time. Somehow a patch of skin got peeled off his back foot so his tissue was exposed. By using me and treats K was able to get Silvius to come close enough to her so she could hold him and get his foot bandaged. Well, Silvius would have none of that. As soon as K would bandage it up Silvius would just chew it off. That happened about four times. Finally, again using me and treats as bribes, K got Silvius in the car and to the Vet. The third photo shows the result of the Vet visit - a nicely bandaged back foot. That lasted about two hours. After that, K decided to just leave Silvius alone and let Nature take its course. Silvius' foot healed just fine on its own! Then about five months later, at the beginning of Summer, Silvius had a horrendous accident. Somehow the skin on his entire side was peeled away so his tissue was exposed. It was so graphic and disturbing that even I stayed away from Silvius for many days. We all thought he would die. He went into hiding about an hour after the event occurred and K found him the next day, in the early afternoon. K and her brother rushed him to the Vet and they tried to stitch him up with what skin they could save, but it did not last. The skin was too dead and it had to be cut away, leaving the entire side of his body with no skin, so all his tissue was exposed. I won't go into anymore detail. In the fourth and last photo is Silvius wearing a tee shirt which he had to wear to protect his open wound when we went for walks (yes, that is blood on the bottom of the shirt; he got a clean tee shirt for every walk but it did not stay clean for long). It has been over a year since that horrible event and the wound still has not healed, but it is down to the size of a quarter now. We don't know what mix of breed Silvius is, and the Vet did not venture a guess. We do know that Silvius is an amazingly resilient dog. We marvel at all the harsh experiences this strong dog has endured, and how he continually pulls through and remains extremely sweet, loving, loyal, and just an all-around great dog, but still very cautious toward humans. I am so glad he found my house when those hideous humans just left him in the country. I can't wait to see Silvius again and K promised me that when we leave this house/animal sitting gig we will get Silvius to come live with us. However, I don't think I will be using my acting skills the next time Silvius shows up with a deer leg for him and nothing for me. I mean, I would bring him one! Deer have four legs, so there is enough to go around! I'm just sayin'...

Mr. Thicket

I saw the orange cat again tonight on my walk. He was sitting under the little tree, watching his owners, father and son, play catch. This time orange cat noticed me, and crouched down like he was ready to attack me. Ha! I showed him, though - I walked right past him all nonchalant, paying him no attention. I wanted to chase him but I am waiting for a sneak attack. I am going to use my newly acquired stealth technique and surprise orange cat with a chase. That day will come. Anyway, thinking about orange cat made me think about Mr. Thicket. That is Mr. Thicket above in the photo. He is one of the animals we are watching during our house/animal sitting gig. He is about nine years old and was found in a thicket (hence, the name) down in Southeast Texas, near the Louisiana border. They think he had been caught in a trap because his back legs are permanently disabled and he hops like a bunny. Mmmmmm....bunny....Oh, sorry. Anyway, if you see him walking away you might think it is a bunny because he looks just like a bunny hopping away. Mmmmm....bunny....Oh, sorry again. So anyway, Mr. Thicket is still afraid of me. Why, I don't know. I have never tried to hurt him or growl at him. In fact, I pretty much ignore him. I have only chased him a few times and only because he instigated it. You see, sometimes when he sees me in the house he will get into his defensive posture and start to hiss. Well, to me that says, "time to play!" So I get excited and do a play bow. That makes Mr. Thicket even more defensive which gets me even more excited and wanting to play chase. I then start to make funny happy noises and that is when Mr. Thicket will take off running, or hopping, and the fun begins! I have never caught Mr. Thicket, though, because K always intervenes. Dumb K, she ruins all the fun! K tells me to leave Mr. Thicket alone. I have tried to express to K that it is Mr. Thicket who always instigates the play chases and I am just obliging him. I mean, if a cat is going to get in defensive posture and hiss at me, I am more than happy to honor his request for a chase. I'm just sayin'...

Orange Cat

It was my usual nightly walk with nothing too exciting going on - a few joggers here, bikers there, pieces of food scattered for me to find and eat and annoy my human K. We came upon a father and son who were playing catch on a little hill next to the path we were on and as we walked past them I immediately made a leap toward a little tree. At first K could not figure out what I was doing, but then she saw what I had noticed - an orange cat! And this orange cat was just sitting nonchalantly under the little tree watching the father and son play catch and paying me absolutely no attention. Imagine that! I tried with all my might to get to that orange cat but K would not let me. Can you believe that? What is up with that?! Don't I, as a dog, have an inalienable right to chase cats? Especially cats sitting unleashed in a public park? Well, K was having none of that and we got into quite a tug-of-war with my leash. I tried to wriggle out of my collar and even refused to move, but K eventually won by dragging me up the path away from orange cat. Grrrrr...! I don't like being dragged! The father saw K and I struggling and then looked at orange cat and said, "why don't you run up a tree or something?" K got a bit perturbed at that point because that is when she realized the father and son owned the cat and she could not believe he was making no effort to move his cat so that she could move me! Well, the next night, which was last night, we were nearing the same spot when K noticed the father and son walking toward the little tree. And following right behind them was orange cat. Well, K, being so smart {Disclaimer: she made me put that in}, walked me over to a grassy hill further away from where the father and son and orange cat were heading, hoping that I would not notice orange cat. K kept talking to me, walking fast, and guiding me to different areas on the hill to keep me preoccupied. It worked. We made it past the little tree just minutes before the father, son, and orange cat got there and I never did notice orange cat. K later told me about her trick and I gave her kudos for outsmarting me, but I was also a bit mad since I think I had every right to go and chase orange cat. But now I know K's modus operandi so she won't be able to trick me again. I have a few tricks of my own up my paw so next time I see orange cat I think there might be some excitement in the park. Orange cat, be prepared to run. I'm just sayin'...

Sad

I am very sad tonight. I just heard that the baby whale was euthanized. Poor little guy. They had named him "Colin." I was really hoping Colin would be rescued. I did send out a lot of positive thoughts, as did my human K, but I guess that was not enough. I should have had K call Australia and tell them that I would take him in. I have room in the pool since I don't swim in it. I would have shown him how to eat and drink and I would have been his friend. I really don't have any friends here so it would have been nice to have Colin here with me. I am so sad he had to be put down. There are some amazing humans in this world, though. There were many humans who were working on ways to save Colin, including some humans who designed machines to feed him. An Aboriginal "whale whisperer" named Bunna Lawrie, of the Mirning tribe from the Great Australian Bight, came in to comfort the little guy by singing humming, tongue-rolling ancient songs. During the singing Colin came to the side of the boat and lifted its head and allowed Bunna Lawrie to pat and stroke him. After Colin swam off to nuzzle a nearby yacht Bunna Lawrie said that Colin "felt really lonely and wanted to be with his mother and family" and that Colin is "missing the big fellas." That part of the story makes my human cry. I was really hoping for a happy ending, especially since I keep hearing a lot of bad things going on in the world right now. But at least Colin had Bunna Lawrie to communicate with and I am sure that brought some comfort to the little guy. Swim free and strong Colin! I wonder if there is a "Suka whisperer" out there somewhere. I think K needs help sometimes in understanding me. I'm just sayin'...

Save the Baby Whale!

This makes me so sad. A baby Humpback whale, who has not even been weened yet, has lost its mom and is trying to suckle from a yacht. I ask that all you doggies and other furry, feathery, and scaly friends out there send positive thoughts that this baby can find his mom or a surrogate mom who will feed him and love him. If he does not get food in the next few days he will die. Please send positive loving thoughts his way, especially those of you who live by the ocean. Tell those female whales to go and help that little baby! Unlike us dogs and cats, who go to shelters and are fed and cared for while we wait for our new homes, this little guy has no one to help him. I don't understand why the humans can't bring him to a captive whale somewhere who would be able to feed him. Also, I don't like that they assume the mom abandoned him. Perhaps she was killed by whalers, or a passing ship, or by the Navy's sonar. It is not nice to assume the worst of this little guy's mom. I know in Nature that female animals have been known to abandon their babies for various reasons, but I also know that whales face many dangers from humans so there is just as likely a chance that she was killed as there is that she abandoned her little one. Animal telepathy is powerful so use it for good and help save this little guy, or I will animal telepathy some grrrs your way. I'm just sayin'...

Fluffy Furballs

Photos from: http://english.pravda.ru/photo/report/angora_rabbit-1384/0/

Ummm...Perhaps my days of tormenting bunnies are over. I thought Kung Fu bunnies were a handful, but these Angora bunnies look like a mouthful! I don't think a ball of fluffy bunny fur would taste very good, and these guys don't look like they would react too kindly to an Alpha Male Malamute mix chasing them down! Squirrels don't really interest me, snakes just make me jump and bark, and the moo cows and bulls just stand around looking at me. I think raccoons are next on my list. We'll see how that goes. But if I find out that raccoons have a secret order of martial art warriors then I am going vegetarian. At least veggies can't hurt me, can they? OK, my human K is nodding her head yes. Oh great! K said I would have to be on the lookout for the attack of the killer tomatoes. OK, then. If those raccoons don't work out then a liquid diet it is! At least that would clear my doggy body of all toxins. I'm just sayin'...

Escape From Alcatraz!

Alright, so maybe I did not escape from the Alcatraz but where I am living right now it sure seems like a prison. I mean, look at that recent photo of me above. Doesn't it look like a prison yard? Anyway, the father and college-aged daughter of the home we are house-animal sitting have recently come home and will be here for a bit. K had made it very clear that I am an escape artist (tee hee) so they would need to be aware of my presence. Well, yesterday morning the father left the front door open and I saw my chance for freedom. I nonchalantly wondered out to the front yard la de dah. When the father noticed me in the yard he called my name and I turned and looked at him. He was within reaching distance of my collar but right before he had me I turned and bolted down the street. Freedom! The father ran in the house to let K know I had escaped and then he got on the bike and K got in the car and they both took off to find me. Well, the father finally found me in the park near the house and he brought me home. K did not know how to scold me, as if I needed scolding! She was happy I was home and safe and had not gotten into any trouble, but she had to discipline me somehow - according to her, so I got a stern "Suka, that is a no!" Humphf! Since when is a dog running free a "no"?? So later that morning we went on our normal morning walk. On our way back we ran into one of my new friends, whom I shall call "Noel." She is a small Norwegian Elkhound (hence, the "no" and "el" - clever, if I do say so myself!). Small because she was the runt of the litter and is about 10-15 pounds smaller than she should be. She is a bundle of happy energy and when she saw me she went crazy happy! So Noel and I ran back and forth and in circles playing and chasing each other. Even though I am much bigger than her she is a fun friend to play with. She was on a leash, but her owner dropped the leash so Noel could run more freely. K held on to my leash, but it is a leash that extends so I could go out pretty far and back rather easily. Anyway, Noel flopped to the ground at one point and started to roll-over in place, just one after the other. Well, she was doing it so fast and so much that she soon had her leash, and then mine, wrapped around her. Since my leash had been extended out it was really long and she just kept getting more and more wrapped up in it. Finally K noticed what was going on at about the same time that Noel's owner saw it and they both stopped Noel from turning and then had to spend quite a few minutes untangling her from the two leashes. Hmmmm...maybe I could get myself tangled up in my leash and make it so complicated that K has to cut it off me and then as soon as it is off me I can run free again! I'm just sayin'...

Chaos Abounds

My human K would like to apologize for insulting the intelligence of my animal readers/friends. In my previous blog entry {30 July 2008} I was working on positing an original piece I had written. However, all I managed to post was a small portion of it, "8ik7iuopui67yh5u6," before K walked in a put the kibosh on it. K would not let me post the rest because, she said, "it was too complicated and deep and no one would be interested." Grrrr! That made me mad, so I had a woofing discussion with K. I informed her that animals are very intelligent and would completely understand what I had written. And, hopefully, they would find it amusing. But K said that my paws were too big and I was accidentally hitting the number keys with the letters. I informed K that letters and numbers form animal's thoughts and my animal readers would know exactly what I was saying. K seemed doubtful but her skepticism was put to rest the very next day, and I was vindicated, when reading the Comments section. My cool friend Kodak had responded to my short piece with this witty reply, "2390mav90mewi!!" Very clever Kodak! Thank you! And for K, well, she humbly apologizes.

So, what is going on in the World? Chaos seems to be the ruler right now because lots of scary things have been brought to my attention lately and it is making me nervous! First I have the Kung Fu bunnies menace. I mean, if they do that to each other, what are they going to do to me if they catch me trying to eat one of them?! Then I have the mean dog behind the fence to contend with. Luckily, he was gone during most of the summer but now he is back and barks and growls every once in a while just to remind me of his scary presence. Then I recently found out about kitty cat Martial Artists. Yipes! Who knew? I think my "Stray Cat Strut" comments the other day {25 July 2008} made them upset, me being a dog and all, so their existence was made known to me. I better be careful what kitty cats I chose to mess with, I mean play with. And now I have been informed of this very scary Montauk Monster [warning: graphic photos] that washed up on the other side of the continent. What is it? Was it nice or mean? Would it hurt doggies or be our friend? Oh Ninja Dog Sifu, please come and teach me your Ninja ways! I think I am going to sleep in K's room tonight. What? Hey! No, I am not afraid, I am an Alpha Male dog! I just meant that, um, I just need to protect my Pack! Yeah, that's it. It is my job to protect my Pack, so I will sleep in K's room to make sure she and Porgy are safe and none of these scary animal creatures get them. Yeah, that's it, protector of the Pack...that's the ticket. I'm just sayin'...