Tag Archives: wild side

Clan of the Cave Dog

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I have a special treat for you today.  We’re going to visit the lair of a mysterious animal known as the Cave Dog.  Not too close… we don’t want to spook the magnificent creature.  However, if we move slowly, we may be able to catch a glimpse of this cozy canine.

 

The Cave Dog’s origins are a mystery.  Rumor has it that the Cave Dog will hide under anything.  At night, the Cave Dog usually falls asleep in its chosen den… after a few hours, one can hear the Cave Dog shuffling out of the cave.  This nightly migration from cave to dog bed is a phenomenon that pupologists cannot explain.  Only the Cave Dog knows the reasons behind this puzzling pattern.

If you know where to  look, you may be able to find a Cave Dog under a sofa, table, or bed.  Although the Cave Dog gravitates to these locations, the beast is not stealthy.  The observant naturalist can usually spot an errant foot or tail, which will give away the creature’s location.  On occasion, the Cave Dog will even leave its head exposed.

Alas, the Cave Dog’s habitat is under attack.  When a new bed replaced the old, the Cave Dog could no longer fit underneath it.  Although the Cave Dog has managed to squeeze underneath the new landmark in a fit of thunderstorm-induced panic, the habitat is no longer ideal.  (Humans are so inconsiderate.)  Fortunately, our team of Cave Dog conservationists has constructed a new habitat for the reclusive pooch.  By draping an afghan over a conveniently located bench at the foot of the bed, we have created a new den of privacy.  The Cave Dog has adjusted well to the new habitat and appears to be quite content. 

Now, you’re in for a real treat… we’ve managed to get a photo inside the Cave Dog’s lair!

Believe it or not, the Cave Dog was fairly hospitable and gave us a slurp before we departed.  Nature never fails to surprise.

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Harry Potter & the Deathly Howls

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Tomorrow, I will be going to see the last Harry Potter movie.  I’m not going to lie… I almost wanted to put off seeing the movie so that it’s not really over.  That being said, I’m going to see it anyway.  I can’t wait!

  1. It’s not the first time we’ve given some Friday love to Mr. Potter and crew.  I’m sure it won’t be the last.  I already gave you a few punny names based on the series (some of my better work, I think).  Although I doubt I can top my previous Dogwarts creations (Headmaster Albus Puppledore and his star students Hairy Plotthound, Grrr-mione Granger, and Ron Fleasley), I’ll give it a shot.  I offer Godric Gryffindog, Helga Hufflepup, Rowena Ravenpaw, and Salazar Snifferin.  It makes me want to adopt a quartet of pups and buy them collars in their House colors.  (Also… if I was into reptiles, I’d totally have to name one Severus Snake.)
  2. As you can tell, I find this whole experience a tad bittersweet.  Luckily, I’m not the only one – Jimmy Fallon knows where I’m coming from.
  3. I love a good corn maze.  Note to my local corn maze creators: I think I just found the perfect model for you to use this year.
  4. This collection of Harry Potter viral videos is like a Butterbeer for the eyes and ears. (That sounds painful, but I promise I meant it as a good thing.  I’m not sure my simile is working.)  Um, also… you should probably do yourself a favor and watch this song about Deathly Hallows set to Beyonce’s “Halo.”
  5. Speaking of Butterbeer, did you know that you can make your own?  It’s some tasty stuff. 
  6. I’m dying to make some Butterbeer cupcakes and/or Golden Snitch cake pops… perhaps these will be making an appearance on I Still Want More Cupcakes in the future.  (Thanks to Hey Love Designs for the tip!)
  7. You know I love Garfield.  As a result, I am obsessed with this Gryffindor Garfield cake.  I think I need to be friends with the person who requested this combo.
  8. Did you know that Harry Potter stars Imelda Staunton, David Tennant and Miranda Richardson have a history of helping dogs?  Awesome. (Thanks to DogTipper!)
  9. Maybe that’s why these dogs (and cats) love Harry Potter so much.  (These pups too.)

So, apparently lots of people have taught their dogs tricks based on the spells in the Harry Potter universe.  I have to be honest, this idea had never occurred to me.  Just goes to show, I’m no visionary.  I think this one was my favorite… it’s got some style:

With that, I send you into the weekend… who else is seeing Harry Potter?  If you’ve already seen it, what did you think?

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    How I met your tortoise… and some Muppets

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    Another Friday is upon us… so you know what that means.  It’s time to send you into the weekend with a smile!

    1. As always, we begin with a punny pet name.  (It’s tradition, after all.)  This week: Jason Beagle and Marshowl Erickson (see #5 below).
    2. I’ve decided to follow that up with a little shameless self-promotion.  Check out the newest creation over at I Still Want Cupcakes.  I’m considering a whole summer series inspired by ice cream… suggestions are welcome!
    3. Ice cream got me thinking about ice cream cones, which then led to me thinking about the cone of shame.  So, um, what happens if your dog forgets he’s wearing a cone?  Hilarity.  (Cone of shame jokes are never going to get old, are they?  Seriously, that stuff is timeless.)
    4. Stick with me here… it’s random train of thought day.  (As are most days for me.)  This video of a dog (and cat) on a scooter caused me to exclaim “Dogs… on… wheels!” when I saw it.  (This video produced a similar reaction.)  Which of course got me thinking about Dogs… in… Space, followed by Pigs in Space, which ended with me looking up the premiere date for the new Muppet movie.  (November 23… I’m so there.  Who’s with me?  If you haven’t seen the trailers, I recommend you treat yourself by doing so now.  The Muppets plus Jason Segal… I could not ask for more.)
    5. Talking about Jason Segal reminded me how much I loved his performance of “Dracula’s Lament” in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Of course someone made it into a video with the Count from Sesame Street… it’s things like this that give me faith in humanity.  Okay, not really…. but I do have a particular fondness for the Count.  In college my roommate and I would often just start counting Count-style (that was an odd phrase to type) for no reason whatsoever and break into fits of laughter.  Those were the days.
    6. Whew… sorry for all the randomness.  This is almost as bad as that day I shared my ramblings about Waldo the cat.

    Finally, in conclusion… here’s a dancing tortoise:


    (via Paw Nation)

    After all that randomness, it just didn’t seem right to give you a video that was even remotely related to the disjointed ramblings above.  (Besides, who doesn’t love a tortoise video set to a catchy tune?)  Happy weekend!

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      I’ll rise, but I won’t shine

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      Today’s post is inspired by a wonderful activity that I never seem to do as much as I’d like… sleep!  (Last night’s lack of sleep was courtesy of a ridiculous thunderstorm. Needless to say, Bella was not a fan.)

      1. First up, your weekly dose of punny goodness: M. Night Shyamalion and Napawsha Beddingfield.  (Those are not my best work, I know.  I’ll blame it on being tired.)
      2. Next, I give you a puppy falling asleep in his water bowl.  I feel you, little guy… sometimes no matter how much you want to stay awake, it can’t be done.  (Cuteness courtesy of Two Little Cavaliers.)
      3. Puppies who are fighting the good fight against sleep are always adorable.  Exhibit B: this Vizsla puppy.  Exhibit C: this fluffy marshmallow.
      4. In that same vein, I love this video of a gosling (by which I mean baby goose, not Ryan) falling asleep in a little girl’s hand.  (Speaking of adorable feathered friends, did I mention that while I was out running the other day I encountered a little girl being followed around by four ducklings?  No joke. I bet she also has songbirds that tie ribbons in her hair each morning, squirrels to buckle her shoes, and bunnies to tidy up her bedroom.) 
      5. Side note – while watching each video above, I had the overwhelming urge to shout “Nap Attack!”
      6. You know, this post is actually the perfect moment to wish an early happy birthday to a champion napper, Garfield.  His birthday, in case you are not as big of a Garfield nerd as I am, is June 19.  In his honor, here’s a roundup of some of the best catnap videos the interweb has to offer.

      Finally, I leave you with a dramatic interpretation of what I look like in the morning when I don’t get enough sleep:


      (via Huffington Post)

      Here’s hoping you have a relaxing weekend… squeeze in a few naps and catch up on that sleep so you won’t be a grump.  After all, as Doggie Stylish says, happiness is a warm place to sleep!

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      Sealed with a kiss

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      Today, we’re talking about seals… or as I like to call them, “the puppies of the sea.”  They even call their little ones pups (well, humans call their little ones pups… I imagine that the seals have not adopted our terminology, but I digress).  Anyway, in case you hadn’t already guessed, I find seals pretty irresistible.  (Proof: I used to be obsessed with this animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s “The White Seal” and had a stuffed animal to back up that claim.)

      Anyway… I have a pretty wonderful seal video to share with you today.  Recently, two seal pups that were rescued and rehabilitated by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center were released into the wild.  Their farewell scene was perfection:



      (via Jezebel)

      Could those two get any cuter?

      Sadly, even as illustrated in the cartoon I linked to above, the topic of seals is not without a sad component.  To learn more about the dangers faced by seals and what you can do to help, click here,  here, and here.

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      Cat scratch fever

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      Although the blog has a very pro-puppy name, I love all sorts of animals (cats included… you may recall my weakness for sleeping kittens).  So, today’s No Frown Friday post is dedicated to the big cats out there…

      1. As always, we begin with a dose of punny: Leopardo DiCatrio, Cheetah Rivera, Jaguar-ren Beatty and Puma Thurman.  (P.S. Apparently my punning abilities qualify me for a job naming crappy wine. Who knew?)
      2. Those big cats must be born with good PR skills.  They know how to make the rounds on the talk show circuit and ambush us with epic cuteness.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this fuzzy leopard cub on Letterman… and this baby cheetah (with bonus puppy BFF) on the Today Show.
      3. Speaking of cheetahs, this little guy could have quite the career on the talk show circuit doing bird impressions.
      4. The cheetah cubs at the National Zoo make me smile.  That is all.
      5. Baby tigers!  Lion cubs! A dog named Lion!  I’m swooning.
      6. Tigers plus lions equals… ligers!  Liger cubs adopted by a dog equals more cuteness than you can shake a stick at.  (Where did that expression come from?  Who is going around shaking sticks at everything? I had to find out.)

      Never fear, I saved the most ferocious for last…

      Hmmm… I guess I let the roar fool me.  Or perhaps the fact that the kitten decided to hang out in a boot just wiped out my ability to think logically.  Either way, I can’t fight the cute.  Besides, I bet most house cats think they’re king or queen of their “jungle” anyway.  (Seriously though, if you want to learn more about big cat conservation, go here.)

      I’ve got a busy weekend ahead, but I do plan to catch the Tony Awards on Sunday.  Anyone else?  Whatever your plans for the weekend, I hope you’re more successful than this guy.

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      Things’ll go your way…

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      No theme today… just a hodgepodge of random things that I’m enjoying.  It seemed fitting to send you into this potentially gorgeous weekend with several random doses of silly:

      1. As always, we begin with punny pet names: Maya Rudog and Kristen Pig (totally what I would name a potbelly pig if I had one, by the way).  This week, they’re inspired by Bridesmaids, which I saw last weekend.  Hilarious. (As a result, I also have Wilson Phillips on the brain – in fact, I may have serenaded Bella with Hold On this morning.)
      2. All of this lovely summer weather has me thinking about days gone by… and these Jim Henson themed cakes are a perfectly sweet accompaniment to my nostalgia.  What I wouldn’t give to have my own heckling balcony, like Statler and Waldorf…
      3. So… have you ever wondered what would happen if the dialogue in classic Peanuts comics was replaced with random tweets?  Probably not, but the answer is out there anyway – visit @Peanutweeter to find out.  I can’t do the hilarity justice here, but I especially liked this one.  (Speaking of Twitter, follow me at @wantmorepuppies and say hi!)
      4. Additional blast from the past brought to the present: Jem, narrated honey badger style.
      5. I’m going to indulge my nerd side here for a moment.  This blog post on punctuation made me smile… really.
      6. Animals riding on animals?  Sounds like a winner to me.  Enjoy a Chihuahua riding a tortoise and then let the cute continue with a baby sea lion riding a turtle.  Hmmm… why are turtles and tortoises the preferred method of transportation?  Given their lack of speed, you think they’d be hitching a ride instead.
      7. I have nothing witty to say about this next one, so here you go: cute bunnies jumping.
      8. This dog wants to swim with the dolphins, and this one wants to hang out with a cow.  It’s a crazy and adorable world out there.

      Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most random of them all?  Based on the following video, it’s probably me (at least today).  However, I cannot stop laughing when I watch it:



      (via Jezebel)

      Thanks for being such wonderful readers… if I could, I’d send you all a puppy bouquet.  I’m participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure tomorrow – it’s the first time I’m doing it as a runner!  Wish me luck, and have a weekend full of wags!

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      Duck, duck… pooch?

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      You may recall when we celebrated Squirrel Appreciation Day.  Today, we celebrate another member of the wild kingdom – ducks!  That’s right, May is National Duckling Month…

      1. As usual, we begin with some puns: Duckleberry Finn, Duckbill Gates and Duck Rodgers.
      2. Speaking of puns, check out the report on this duckling rescue.  Puns galore!
      3. Although not punny, these duckling photos are pretty darn cute!  (Want more? Check out these cute ducks over at Winnie’s Dog Blog.)
      4. Looking for a way to celebrate ducklings this month?  Check out these cute kids’ books about ducklings – I always did like Jemima Puddle-Duck.
      5. Three words: duckling obstacle course!
      6. Wondering how I’m going to connect the dots (connect the ducks?) between ducks and puppies?  Wonder no more – check out what happens when a brave little duck meets a not-so-brave dog. (Apparently our pal Zona has also had her own duck-related trauma.)

      However, don’t be fooled.  We know that dogs and chicks can be friends…  dogs and ducks can be too!



      via Paw Nation

      Speaking of dogs and ducks, this classic Donald Duck cartoon fits the theme perfectly.  Have a great weekend!

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