I Would Do Anything for a Ball, but I Won't Do That

A few things first:

<> This is not that kind of blog.

<> There is nothing parodic about this post, other than the title, speaking of which...

<> Thanks, Meat Loaf.

<> There is a "permanent" x-pen in my family room; it has felt pads under the corners, to save the floor.

<> This is not a PSA about spaying and neutering your pets, but while I'm on the subject, please do.

<>  According to the book The Intelligence of Dogs by Stanley Coren, Cardigan Welsh Corgis are the 26th most intelligent dog breed.

* * *

'S'my ball. My. Ball. 

I might have mentioned before (about 106 times, here and there) that - aside from eating - Dewi's favorite activity is fetching, preferably his rope. No, let me rephrase that: Dewi is a rope addict and might need an intervention.

I know, I know - lots of dogs are crazy about fetching. You might be lucky enough to have one (or more) of your own (bless your hearts). It's just that I think Dewi might be "special." And by "special," well...

Have you ever seen a dog fetch like this??!

So, do you think Dewi might be "special"?

Hold on to that thought for a couple minutes.

(P.S. Did you get a load of Bertie, the cat? hehe)

Now, I'm no expert on dog IQ, but I've tried a few simple tests on both Dewi and Jon Farleigh. Here's a chart with some of the results.

Test	Passed
Finds way out from under a blanket	Yes
Answers to own name, and not to random words spoken in the same tone Ex. Responds to "Dewwwiii!" but not to "Vacuuuuum!" or Fryiiiing Paaan!" for example	Yes
Understands English	Yes
Can find a treat under a cup, in between the couch cushions, under the refrigerator, in the litter box...	Yes
When playing fetch with a tennis ball, and the ball accidentally lands in an empty (shoulder-high) laundry basket, knows to hop in the basket to retrieve the ball Example:	No
If placed inside an empty (shoulder-high) laundry basket with a tennis ball, and given the command to "bring me the ball," makes an attempt to get out of the basket (with or without ball) Example:	No

And...I don't know, y'all. Based on those results, I'm inclined to think:
they're both "special!" 
Wouldn't you agree? ;-)

Out of immense curiosity, for those who have (or have had) Corgis or any other dwarf breed of dog, would your dog(s) be able to pass that last laundry basket test?

Let me know in the poll below! Thanks!

Terrible Tales with Jon Farleigh: Purrassic Park

(As told around a campfire to a bunch of eager "Pup" Scouts with short attention spans.)

Listen up; this is scary stuff.

My best friend Dewi and I could hardly contain our excitement, imagining the thrills we were gonna have chasing the three "clone" kitties that our Mom person had brought home for us the day before. 

We hadn't seen them go into the room-where-it-rains that first day, but we could hear their faint mewing and smell their "not-quite-cat" (because they were created special, just for our amusement) scent from underneath the door. We just knew something wonderful awaited us because of all the time Mom and all our other peeps were spending in there getting things ready. 

On the afternoon that she invited us to follow her through our sleeping room to the door separating us from our adventure, we were so excited that we forgot our manners and shoved past Mom's legs, through the cracked doorway and into A TERRIBLE NIGHTMARE!

They're gonna rush me in 30 seconds.

At first the creatures seemed harmless enough (they were tiny), but then, before I could even decide which one's butt to sniff first, they rushed me!

All three of the tiny carnivorous monsters came at me with such conviction that I began to fear for my safety (no cat in its right mind rushes a strange dog; they had to be mutants out to make a meal out of me!). 

So I let out a half-chortle, half-cry and scampered away from the beasts as fast as I could!

(It was sadly too late for my friend Dewi, as the menacing fur balls had already transformed him into a minion through mutant feline mind control.)

Dewi: Whatever you ask, I do.

But wherever I went, they came after me (that is, when they weren't lapping up what must have been minced dog meat from a silver platter)! 

nomnomnomnomnom

Alas, there was no where left for me to turn...except the place where it sometimes rains on my people. 

Oh, please no.

I'm so doomed.

So I went in because it wasn't raining then, BUT THEY FOLLOWED ME! And just when I thought my life was over...

MOM SHOWED UP!

And wouldn't you know all those horrible fake cats wheeled around and went straight after her? That's when I slipped out and hid in the room with the big white bowl...and waited.

Then, next thing I knew it was raining, and the noise caused those little terrorists to run back over in my direction. But just inches before I was a goner, I ran straight into the torrential rain and did not budge. I was soaking wet, but safe (because like real cats, the mutants didn't like getting water on their fur). Whew!

If I get in there, I will melt.

In the end, Mom made the rain stop and wrapped me up in a towel. 

I was relieved when she said my adventure was over. Dewi was too (once he snapped out of his trance).

I think I'd like to take a break from adventures and eat more snacks.

The End

Sweet dreams, everyone! ;)

P.S. This is absolutely how Jon Farleigh got wet (he's slightly afraid of the foster kitties; poor dude). Nice job guessing the correct answer on the poll!

Guess Why Jon Farleigh Is Wet - An Informal Poll

Jon Farleigh got pretty wet earlier today. Here are some photos of him (about an hour after he'd dried a bit).

Wanna guess how he got this way?

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the correct answer! :D

(The smiles ahead might become obscene) More Happy Pets! Part 2

Minus two photos, which I will post individually tomorrow and Thursday, here are the remaining Happiness photos!

Ready for some face exercise?!

Bogey the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Dina at Life with The Horde

Congratulations to those of you who guessed Bogey's "happiness" correctly (which was the majority)!

Unless, of course, you count the 10 WRITE-IN captions (which I've added to the poll so you can see them) (because, apparently, a few of you are comics). Mermaids under the water with jerky treats? I'm so sure! :)

Ruby the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and Buddy Clifford the Guinea Pig,
submitted by Barb T.

Bert the Golden Retriever,
submitted by 'His' Vickie at Bert's Blog

Skye the Pit Bull,
submitted by Jenny at Of Pit Bulls and Patience

Frankie the frolicking blend,
submitted by Sue at Greyhounds CAN Sit

Robin the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Lucy R. at One Big Dog and His 'Little' Sisters

George (The Lad) the Welsh Terrier,
submitted by Jan at George The Lad

Pallo the Corgi blend and Koira the spunky blend,
submitted by Crystal at My Life with Flyball Dogs

Georgia the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Dina at Life with the Horde
(Georgia is Jon Farleigh's full, same litter, sister.)

Peaches the Rottweiler and Mr. Spock the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Robin J.

Lamar the Anatolian Shepherd,
submitted by Kirsten at Peaceful Dog

Minne the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Rocket the Border Collie/McNab
and Girlfriend the German Shepherd blend,
submitted by Missy at Spyrock Cardigans

KC the Golden Retriever,
submitted by Vickie at Bert's Blog

3 2 1...and release (your face muscles)!

Up tomorrow: Um, well, let's just say you won't be expecting it. But you will like it.
(ha ha ha) 

Go on and Guess My Happiness!

Alright, I thought I'd spice this one up a bit and let you all
 GUESS WHY BOGEY IS "HAPPY"!

Will you play?! :)

Bogey the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Dina at Life with The Horde

Simply select your best guess using this poll!
(You can even make up your own reason in the 'other' field, if you want to.) :)

Cant see the poll? Click here.

No voting rules; this is just for fun.
I'll share the correct caption with tomorrow's "happy" photos!

And The Winner of The 'Happiness Is' Photo and Caption Contest and...

...a $25 donation to (her choice) CorgiAid is:


With 58 (out of 443) votes, submitted by Kim K. of Samhain Cardigans,

The dashing :) Dash the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and his look-alike daughter, Ellie Mae!

Congratulations!!!

Thank you to all the finalists, 'semifinalists,'* their people and all of the voters for making this such a fun contest!


And now, as promised, the identities of all these fine happy pets:

Bandit the 13-year-old Jack Russell Terrier,
submitted by Missy of Spyrock Cardigans

Skeet the cat and Rudy the yellow Labrador Retriever,
submitted by Sue at Talking Dogs Blog

Bella the beautiful blend,
submitted by Leslie O. at Bringing up Bella

Bert the Golden Retriever,
submitted by 'His' Vickie at Bert's Blog

Beryl the Greyhound,
submitted by Sue at Greyhounds CAN Sit

Broker the English Setter,
submitted by Jessica of Grandiose Pointers & Cardigan Welsh Corgis

Buddy the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Becky at It's Me Buddy's Blog

Jimmy (l) and Wilson (r), Cardigan Welsh Corgis,
submitted by Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

Koira the lovely blend,
submitted by Crystal at My Life with Flyball Dogs

Fozzie the fabulous Pit Bull,
submitted by Kirsten at Peaceful Dog

Sam (13+ yrs old - left) and his (6-yr-old) granddaughter Moira,
Cardigan Welsh Corgis, submitted by
Dina at Life with The Horde
(Sam is Jon Farleigh's daddy. :)

Parker the Schnauzer blend,
submitted by Jenny at Of Pit Bulls and Patience

Pallo the Corgi blend,
submitted by Crystal at My Life with Flyball Dogs

Tucker the Pembroke Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Barb T.

Shiva the delightful blend,
submitted by Kristine at Rescued Insanity

Mr. Spock the Cardigan Welsh Corgi,
submitted by Robin J.

 Hints for viewing photos in more detail:

• Click the first photo (once) to activate a slide show in Blogger.
• Click the photo a second time to scroll.
• Click the 'X' to return to this blog post. 

*More happy photos coming tomorrow!!!

Voting is open! Happiness is...THE FAVORITES!

I have collected 45 photos of your wonderful, happy pets and I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING WHEN I SAID I COULD PICK MY FAVORITES! [sigh] But I did (based on how well the photo and caption demonstrates a true moment of pet joy). And so after a long, painful process, I got the number down to 17. [sigh] :)

And now, without further ado, here they are (in no particular order).*

(Note: I've decided - to help level the field - NOT to list pet's or owner's names while voting is open. I will share that information after I announce a winner on Nov. 2.)

 Hints for viewing photos in more detail:

• Click the first photo (once) to activate a slide show in Blogger.
• Click the photo a second time to scroll.
• Record the 'numbers' for your favorite(s) (up to five).
• Click the 'X' to return to this blog post. 

Are you ready to vote?!

• Use the poll (below) to vote for up to five of your favorites.
• Each person may only complete the poll once (so send your friends and relatives).
• The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (US) Time on Oct. 31.
• The reader who submitted the photo with the most votes wins a $25 donation to a shelter/rescue organization of choice (and eternal bragging rights). :)

If you can't see the poll, click here.

Good luck!
Thank you!!

*If you don't see your photo here, it's not because I didn't LOVE it! Remember, I will post "honorable mentions" the week of Nov. 2.