December 30, 2005

This Confirms My Suspicions

Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Officer

(AP) A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home after a traffic stop, authorities said.The officer suffered minor injuries, including bites to his ankle, Detective Bill Veteran said. The five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway Thursday, authorities said. The teenager had been detained after the traffic incident. The officer was treated at a hospital and returned to work less than two hours later.
I've heard from a dog trainer that male Chihuahuas are the most aggressive out of all dog breeds. That's one hell of a Napoleon complex.

The Truth About Dogs, Part One

Some quotes about canine goodness:

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. - Anonymous

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. - Ann Landers

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. - Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. - Josh Billings

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. - M. Acklam

If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown

My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. - Joe Weinstein

Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! - Anne Tyler

Cairo's Friends Day

Hear ye, hear yee!

Cairo would like to welcome the following four-legged friends to her Boxer Empire:



Ivy, in her kitty house
photo courtesy of Courtney and Chris from Mill Creek, WA.



Heifer
photo courtesy of Kim from Seattle, WA.



Rocky, Elder of the Pug Clan
photo courtesy of Christine from San Juan Capistrano, CA.



Ziggy
photo courtesy of Jorge from Santa Monica, CA.

December 29, 2005

Bed Number Three



We just returned home from a nice evening of pizza and beer at our favorite Silician joint. Firestone Double Barrel Ale on tap, good stuff.

From the stuffing spread around our kitchen floor, we discerned that Cairo had destroyed her third bed. She looks guilty, doesn't she?

December 28, 2005

Give Me Your Tired, Poor and Huddled Masses...

Or just send me a picture of your four-legged friend!

This Friday will be Cairo's Friends Day. Just email Cairo a picture of your pet along with your first name and city/state and I will post it!



Cairo, 8 weeks old, January 2005

December 24, 2005

Cairo Gets A Little Sister For Christmas!

Yeah right. Like we could actually afford another dog after the costly hijinx Cairo has caused. My wife received a little stuffed Boxer as a Christmas gift. The stuffed animal is the same size that Cairo was at eight weeks old.



Cairo was excited about her new "little sister" and immediately thought the toy was for her. Below she gave the stuffed toy her signature right-handed Boxer chop.



I took one last picture of the two Boxers before hiding the stuffed animal.



Sorry Cairo, the stuffed Boxer is too nice to be chewed on. You'll have to wait until the next sale at Petco.

Paris Hilton: Worst Dog Owner of 2005

Paris Hilton has had quite a career. Her sex tape was released on the internet, her cell phone was hacked, she starred half-naked eating burgers in a Carls' Jr. commercial and then crashed her car several times in Hollywood. She is famous for doing absolutely nothing (besides being an upper crust blue-blooded genuine idiot).

Two dog magazines have named Hilton the "Worst Dog Owner of the Year":

"First she loses Tinkerbell, then she ditches her for a cuter dog, then
replaces that dog with a ferret, then a kinkajou monkey and then, I gather, a
goat," said editor of the magazines, Leslie Padgett.

Quick, call animal services, because the worst dog owner of the year just bought two new puppies:

Paris Hilton has bought herself two new puppies after being awarded the title of world's worst dog owner. As well as being criticised by the New York Dog and Hollywood Dog magazines last week, the hotel heiress was named the worst dressed celebrity by People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals for her love of fur. Following a trip to Japan, Paris has now bought Chihuahua puppies Tokyo Blue and Harajuku Bitch. Hilton told Star magazine, "That's it, no more pets for now."

Harajuku Bitch! What a classy dog name for such a classy dame...

What I Do On Saturday Mornings

December 20, 2005

The Great Fall

A few days ago we were awakened at 4 a.m. by a loud triple thump. It sounded as if a sack of potatoes had fallen off the bed.

Turns out Cairo fell off the bed. She must have had an active dream about chasing rabbits or something because she leapt out of the bed and crashed onto the floor. A little dazed at first, she shook her head and then came back on the bed to sleep. She no longer sleeps near the edge.

Funny story how the dog came to sleep in our bed. The first night we had Cairo as a puppy (back in January 2005) we put her in a baby play pen in our bedroom. This was to be her night quarters. Cairo cried, but I said that the dog needs to stay in her pen for the night, assuming that she would eventually stop crying and fall asleep. After only ten minutes of puppy wining my wife picked her up and plopped her in the bed. From then on Cairo has slept in our bed every night. Later on my wife told me she figured if she listened to me on that one she would have to listen to me for the rest of our lives. We were recent newlyweds at the time, having been married in October 2004.



Yeah, I lost that one. But I can't say that I dislike having Cairo in the bed now.

December 19, 2005

Stretching Exercises

First, stretch out your arms and turn your head to the right.



Next, turn your head to the left.



Take a deep breath. Hold for ten seconds. Release.

*These pictures are from the summer. The bed pictured above has since been destroyed.

FIFA

World Cup 2006 in Germany is only six months away.

Cairo is ready. Are you?



I will be looking forward to Group E and Group F.

December 16, 2005

They Like Me, They Really Like Me

The Fat Lady Sings writes Cairo a nice review at The Refugees:

Cairo’s Place faithfully chronicles her exploits – from beanie-baby infancy, to super sweet destructo puppy – everything’s there – all digitally arrayed for your viewing pleasure. So, if you want that ‘Ohhhh! Ahhhh!’ factor gazing out at you from a pair of limpid brown eyes, this blogs for you.
Thanks for the kind words!

December 15, 2005

Blast From The Past, Part One

Cairo, circa January 2005



I love pulling on Daddy's laptop cord. Mmm, I can feel the electric current running through my tounge. It tingles! Must. have. more.

Cairo Auditions for SNL's Killer Bee Sketch

One of my wife's co-workers gave us this bee costume which was actually her kid's Halloween costume. It fit Cairo rather snug.



Notice the wood Cairo has chewed by the door to the right.

And a side view...

Take this f*%$ing thing off me at once! I'm not your toy!

At which I proceeded to remove the snug article of costumery with scissors.

December 13, 2005

Cairo The Destroyer

Last week Cairo destroyed two of her beds while we were at work. During our weekend shopping we bought her a new bed from Costco. When we came home today we noticed she already started tearing apart her new bed.



Notice where the white stuffing is exposed. She also managed to remove that rope thing which was sewn around the bed. It should be completely dismantled by tomorrow.

Maybe she should start a demolition company? I bet my readers' dogs would love to join.

No more early Christmas presents for Cairo.

December 12, 2005

Canine Laughter

An animal behaviorist says she's figured out what dogs are doing when they make that excited panting noise while playing or anticipating a much desired walk. They're laughing.

They look happy don't they?



Cairo with her friend Maddie (right) in the summer 2005

December 10, 2005

Saturday Mornings Are The Best

Cairo, Displaying Her North African Roots



When the Islamic Revolution comes, at least I'll look good in a hijab.

December 08, 2005

Boxer Rebellion at the Los Angeles Times

Tasha the Boxer featured in a LA Times story on canine DNA:

Scientists have decoded the complete genome of the domestic dog, a milestone announced Wednesday that provides a biological roadmap for unraveling human diseases and probing the mysterious bond between man and his best friend. Dozens of researchers worked for two years deciphering and analyzing the 19,300 genes belonging to a 12-year-old boxer named Tasha. What they found was an exceptional correlation between the DNA of Canis familiaris and Homo sapiens, according to a study published today in the journal Nature.

"Humans and dogs have essentially the same genes," said lead author Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, co-director of the genome sequencing and analysis program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University. "Every gene has a gene with the same function in the other genome." That closeness is reflected in the numerous diseases shared by dogs and humans, including cancer, heart disease, blindness, epilepsy and diabetes.

Look I What I Did...

This is what we came home to today:



Yes, that's cotton stuffing all over the kitchen floor. Mind you, this is not the first bed Cairo has destroyed. Just two days ago she tore apart a bed identical to this one.



Cairo has decided that she no longer wants a bed to lounge on all day. Now she can sleep on the wood floor.

Do Female Dogs Hump?

Growing up, my male pug used to routinely hump a stuffed animal after eating his dinner. It was the evening's entertainment. However, I've never seen a female dog try to hump anything until Cairo started this week.

Cairo, a horny bitch, has discovered the joys of humping my leg. The first time it was funny, but now I'm worried that she likes it and will start doing it frequently. Last night on the couch she wanted to hump my leg except my legs were underneath a blanket. So, she dug away the blanket so she could get access to my legs.

That's when I brought out the spray bottle (a.k.a. the bottle of justice). I use this bottle filled with water to spray Cairo anytime she misbehaves (barks incessantly, tries to chew the carpet, humps, etc). And oh how she hates being sprayed! She'll drop whatever she is doing simply at the sight of the bottle.

It's not a cruel form of punishment and it works very well.

December 05, 2005

Ridiculous

I can understand dressing up your dog with a scarf or sweater, but intentionally transforming a dog into a panda is ridiculous. Then again, the caption below from Yahoo indicates it's for a good cause. Oh well.



A dog named 'Columbo', a cross-breed between a poodle and a Maltese and dyed to look like a panda, sits on a chair in Tokyo November 30, 2005. The owner dyed the originally white coloured dog, with a special hair dye to cover up stains around its eyes which was conspicuous when he was first found abandoned. As a result, the panda look-alike became the most popular dog in the neighbourhood and the owner said he hopes Columbo's popularity will help rescue other abandoned dogs like Columbo, where in Tokyo last year, 700 of them were put to sleep. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

December 01, 2005

All Hail Julius Caesar



That's me chillin' on the couch with a mint chewie. Mommy and Daddy have been watching Rome this past week, and I've been on the couch watching too. They just finished the first season. Too bad the second season won't start until March 2007. I'll be a teenager by then.