Saturday, January 31, 2015

Mosaic Cyndi


SAM:  Great, it's the weekend again.  What are we going to post for art this week?

PERCY:  I found an old photo of Cyndi we can use.

MICAH:  Okay, let's go for it.


CYNDI:  Hey, what happened to me?  I look a bit strange there.

MERCI:  You have been turned into a mosaic.

     Visit Athena's blog to see more Caturday Art and to join her blog hop.


MARCUS:  That's more like it.  Every furry looks great in dirt.

CYNDI:  That's not dirt, Marcus, that's sepia.

     The Sepia Saturday blog hop is co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel.


CAMERON:  You are very pretty in black and white, Cyndi.


BUDDY:  This is the original, for comparison.

RUSTY: I don't know about you guys, but it looks like Cyndi was having fun when this picture was taken.  Do any of you feel up to a game of tag?  I didn't think so. I think I'll take a nap instead.





 


Friday, January 30, 2015

FFHT Treats


MARCUS:  I didn't do it.  I didn't do it.  I didn't do it.  I ...

PERCY:  What are you babbling, Marcus?

MARCUS:  Whatever you're all whispering about, I didn't do it!

CYNDI:  Of course you didn't Marcus.  Not this time.

MARCUS:  I didn't?  Are you sure?

RUSTY:  Of course we're sure.  And we have photographic proof. 

MARCUS:  You do?  Can I see it?


BUDDY:  Here you are, Marcus.  Before Jan left the house yesterday, she opened a new bag of treats and gave all us dogs one. When she returned, there was nothing left of all those treats except the shredded plastic bag they were in.  You can see the mess between your crate and Sam.  That's Merci trying to hide behind him.


SAM:  We greeted Jan at the door and tried to tell her someone broke in while she was gone and stole the treat bag, but we forgot about the telltale plastic. 

MERCI:  Now Sam and I are in trouble.  Not just for stealing the treats but for pigging out right in front of your crate and not sharing with you, Marcus.  We're sorry we made you suffer.  We know how you love to eat.

CAMERON:  Jan was so upset she told me, "It was the worst New Year's resolution that I ever made! I should never have promised the dogs I would try to remember to give them treats more often.  Look what happened when I tried to be nice."

MICAH: I think this is actually kind of funny, Marcus.  The one time you are truly innocent, you're closed in your crate and have an alibi. 

Note:  Everything in this post is factual, except for Jan's words.  We needed the one line for a Fractured Fryday Hairy Tales post.


The Fractured Fryday blog hop is hosted the last Friday of each month by Murphy and Stanley

Click on the FFHT page on their blog for information on how to join and what information to include.




The Pet Parade blog hop is hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

Who is this week's Featured Favorite?  Check it out at Rascal & Rocco's. 

There are two parts to the blog hop - your blog url and social media, so be sure to sign up for both. 

When you link up with the blog hop, we encourage you to visit other participating blogs.



Thursday, January 29, 2015

Tug and Chew


RUSTY:  Whose collar is this?  It's been chewed through.

SAM:  It's mine.

RUSTY:  How in the world did you chew it apart while you were wearing it?

SAM:  I'm not a contortionist.  I didn't do that.

RUSTY:  So who did?

SAM:  I'll give you one guess.

MARCUS:  Hey, Sam, tell Jan to hurry up and sew your collar back together so we can have another game of tug.

RUSTY:  What are we thankful for this week?

SAM:  I'm thankful Jan could sew my collar back together so I don't have to run around naked. 


Stop by Pepi Smart Dog and join the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

And stop by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is being owned by a husky, and Barking from the bayou for the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Misbehaving Defined

PERCY:  Do you remember this photo from late 2013?  Micah and I get along better now but we still have an occasional disagreement.

MERCI:  What is your definition of "occasional"?  Once a week?  Once a day?  Every other day?

MICAH:  Occasionally.  There was a time Jan despaired of ever having us in the same room.

CAMERON:  Between you two and Rusty, there's a lot of yelling and things going crash in the night. 

SAM:  Or in the day.  You need to take up mediation for peace and tranquility in life.

CYNDI:  Mediation might help but I think you actually mean meditation, Sam.  But the way you and Marcus get along does not set a good example.

MARCUS:  Hey, every time misbehaving enters a conversation, my name is mentioned.

BUDDY:  That's because when I checked online, "Marcus" is listed as the definition for "misbehaving".  You can't sit still for five seconds.  You are constantly trying to tell all of us what to do and driving us all to distraction.

RUSTY:  Marcus doesn't drive.  That was Buddy's department when we had a car.  Marcus nips and chases and -  Is there a military camp for dogs?  I'll give up my allowance to help send him.

SAM:  We don't get an allowance.

RUSTY:  I know.  That's why I'm willing to give it up for Marcus.  Would the rest of you like to chip in too?

PERCY:  We think we should tell you Sunday's Dashcam Performance video was staged, but it still had us all laughing. 

BUDDY:  In case you missed it, you can click on the link above to Sunday's post or you can watch it when you read the story at the Christian Science Monitor.   The video is included with the article.

MARCUS:  Officer Mark Hoffman, we would all doff our hats to you for such a great performance, but most of us don't wear one and Sam won't remove his because it keeps his head warm.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Team Cat AND Team Dog


MARCUS:  We are friends and siblings here, so we support one another.  But when a competition begins, we go all out to win.  Sam and I are cheering on our canine team.




SAM:  Hey, wait, those double crossing felines switched our sign.  We are not #Team Cat.  We are #Team Dog.


MERCI:  There, #Team Dog.  This is more like it. Seriously, we are cheering on the felines.  And vice versa. 


RUSTY:  Cyndi was right beside me but she took off when the camera appeared.  Guess I have to represent #Team Cat by myself.

PERCY:  I suppose you are wondering what the team signs represent.  Yesterday we posted Dogs Vs Cats Lucy Bowl  about the Lucy Pet Foundation commercial which will air on the Hallmark;s Kitten Bowl this Sunday, February 1 at 12/1c.

CYNDI:  The Lucy Pet Foundation is also having a photo contest.  Which team are we on?  Well, obviously we're on #Team Cat AND on #Team Dog.  Who do we want to win?  Why all of us, of course! 

MICAH:  But more than that we would like other furries to benefit.  The Lucy Pet Foundation is named for a small dog named Lucy who had five pups shortly after she was rescued.  They all got a good home.  

CAMERON:  Not every pet has that opportunity.  Many die in shelters.  The LPF has a mission to reduce pet overpopulation.

BUDDY:  Yesterday we posted a teaser video for you.  Other Super Bowl commercials are being released on video before the Super Bowl, so Lucy Pet Foundation has released a full version of their commercial.  We still don't have cable TV, so we hope this doesn't mean you won't invite us to your Kitten Bowl party on Sunday.

Full version of the Lucy Bowl commercial.

If the video doesn't play, click here.

This post is brought to you by the rocking furries at the Funny Farm to draw attention to the Lucy Pet Foundation and its efforts on behalf of homeless pets.  LPF provided the video.  Our blog will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $500 donation for a 501c3 rescue of our choice.  

Monday, January 26, 2015

Dogs Vs Cats Lucy Bowl


BUDDY:  We have never been sports fans and have never understood the attraction, but this year we're definitely interested in Super Bowl Sunday.

CYNDI:  Yes, Hallmark's Kitten Bowl commercial will be airing on Super Bowl Sunday and it just might be the best and most discussed Bowl commercial this year.

MICAH:  You'll never look at us dogs and cats in the same way again.  We furries rock!


SAM:  The Lucy Pet Foundation's #DogsVsCats football game commercial is going to be groundbreaking.  It will feature "some of the most hightech Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) special effects ever done" using live - yes live - animals. 

RUSTY:  Don't you think I'd look good in a football helmet?  So why weren't all of us invited to play in the Kitten Bowl since it's for a good purpose?   It intends to draw attention to pet overpopulation and the 80,000 pets euthanized in shelters across America every week. 

MERCI: The Lucy Pet Foundation proposes and promotes a multitarget platform on pet overpopulation which includes -

  • For the US to have low cost and free (eventually all free) mobile spay/neuter clinics.
  • Education.
  • Grooming and training of shelter pets to make them more adoptable. 
  • Working to enact legislation to benefit pets.  This includes banning gas chambers at shelters. 
PERCY:  The commercial is directed by Sam Nicholson, a highly praised visual effects wizard.  He is best known for Heroes, 24, The Walking Dad and Star Trek I.  We haven't seen any of those but if he's a wizard, he must be talented..


CAMERON:  The Lucy Pet Foundation commercial will air on February 1, 2015 - this coming Sunday - during the Kitten Bowl, on the Hallmark Channel at 12/1c.  Don't just tell your friends about it.  Invite them over for a Kitten Bowl Party.  Um ... don't forget to invite us since we don't have cable TV.

MARCUS:  Hey, there's nothing left for me to add.  You guys hogged the whole post.

CYNDI:  Pssst, Marcus, post the teaser.

MARCUS:  Thanks.  I forgot we have a teaser for our friends to watch.  It's short so don't complain you don't have time.  You won't be sorry.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

This post is brought to you by the rocking furries at the Funny Farm to draw attention to the Lucy Pet Foundation and its efforts on behalf of homeless pets.  LPF provided the information, photos and video.  Our blog will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $500 donation for a 501c3 rescue of our choice.  Contact bloggers@lucypetfoundation.org for information if you are a blogger interested in spreading the word and who would like to win a donation for a rescue of your choice.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

DashCam Performance



PERCY:  Have we got a Sunday Smile for your humans today!  They should begin to limber up because they are going to want to keep up with the action.  

SAM:  You're right.  We've all been dancing in place with the video.

MICAH:  Sam, you're so big you have four left feet and a left tail.

RUSTY:  He's right, Sam.  There's no other way for you to dance except in place.

MERCI:  Well, he could move around but there would be a lot of crashing and breaking.

CYNDI:  And yelling.  Jan tends to yell when things start crashing and breaking.

MARCUS:  I don't have to break anything for Jan to yell at me.

CAMERON:  Marcus, there's a lot of leaping and bruising around you. We can only hope you don't add breaking to your list of talents.

BUDDY: Why don't we just leap into our Sunday Smile video for the week. This is video from a Dover Police DashCam.  The officer's performance had Jan almost rolling on the floor with laughter.   Will he ever live this down? 


If the video doesn't play, click here.

If you missed our weekend art, it can be viewed at Iron Paw Jenny.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Iron Paw Jenny


CAMERON: It's weekend art time again.  Our subject today is Jenny, one of the original Funny Farmers.



RUSTY:  Jenny was before my time.  Sam, Micah and Marcus did not meet her either, but we've all heard stories about how she ruled the roost with an iron paw!

MARCUS: This is Jenny in sepia for the Sepia Saturday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel.  You know this is my favorite because it reminds me of the color Dirt.


SAM:  Even in black and white, you can tell Jenny had a soft, beautiful coat.  She loved to be brushed. 


MICAH:  Jan used the HDR-ish filter for this picture so we can join the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena. 


PERCY:  For this one, she added Filtered Black and White to the HDR-ish picture above.


MERCI:  She couldn't resist adding a DUO Tone filter.  Jenny was a lovely cat and she looks good in any color.


CYNDI:  We can't forget a copy of the original photo for comparison.  I wonder what Jenny was thinking.

BUDDY:  Last night Murphy and Stanley made us aware a site has been publishing posts complete with photos stolen from a number of dog bloggers.  (We aren't included.)  They are one of those blogs with stolen posts. Murphy and Stanley and others are working on having the site shut down.  We have an idea they are angry!  And we don't blame them a bit.

MICAH:  What would be funny, if it weren't for the circumstances, is that Murphy and Stanley began to post a notice to the effect, if this post appears anywhere except ..... it is stolen in bright red text.  Those posts are boldly copied to the other site too.  And dzdogs posted an Important Annoucement with information on what those with a stolen blog should do, which was promptly stolen.  We think it's fitting the thieves should help take themselves down.  (Hard to argue they weren't stealing material when what they're posting clearly states it is stolen.)

SAM:  You would think whoever is doing this, possibly copying and pasting from an RSS feed, would notice what they are publishing. 

CAMERON:  Romping and Rolling in the Rockies is another of the blogs.  We understand they had a lot of photos - and they post beautiful photos - stolen and now have them "locked down", which sounds like a good idea. Now their posts have been stolen.  They have made their "do not steal" information highly visible. 

CYNDI:  It has been suggested that anyone who has their RSS feed set to FULL change it to SHORT so an entire post can not be stolen without a little invested effort.  Having a watermark did not stop the thieves but at least ownership can not be disputed.

PERCY:  We understand Wordpress has a plugin (?) that adds copyright information to the feeds, so those of you using WP might want to look into that.  Blogger needs something similar.  


Friday, January 23, 2015

Cat Herders

MICAH:  Today is a great day!  I feel like singing.  Would anyone like to sing with me?

RUSTY:  What is so great about today?  The weather is cold, wet and miserable.

CYNDI:  I think he's happy because we published an interview with Sometimes Cats Herd You on Mousebreath today.

CAMERON:  So many things have happened since October, our interviews have been sparse.  We want to get back into the swing of things, but we need your help.  Are you a cat blogger?  Would you like to be interviewed? Then contact us. 


PERCY:  We invite you to stop by Mousebreath to read Cat Herders Pierre, Newton and Ashton.  They are quite an interesting family. 

The Pet Parade blog hop is hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

Who is this week's Featured Favorite?  Check it out at Rascal & Rocco's. 

There are two parts to the blog hop - your blog url and social media, so be sure to sign up for both. 


When you link up with the blog hop, we encourage you to visit other participating blogs. 

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Marcus is Thankful

CAMERON:  This is going to be Marcus' thankful post. 

MARCUS:  It is?

CAMERON: Yes, you are going to be thankful we're not posting a photo of the mayhem you've perpetuated on Jan. 

MARCUS:  I am?  What did I do?

CAMERON:  We could start with the two black toenails she has as a result of you pouncing on her feet. 

MARCUS:  I couldn't help it.  I'm full of energy. I like to leap.  I'm good at it, you know.   

CAMERON:  Yes, leaping is okay.  It's the landing that causes problems.  And then there is her black and blue foot. 

MARCUS:  Yeah, it really is black, isn't it?   But did I do that too?

CAMERON:  You certainly did.  A week or so ago.  And then there is her shin.  You spun around and ran headfirst into her leg. 

MARCUS:  I do have a vague recollection of that.  What was her leg doing there?

CAMERON:  She was walking with you, remember?

MARCUS:  I've been good since then.

CAMERON:  You call almost giving her a black eye being good?

MARCUS:  I would never!

CAMERON: So what were you expecting to happen when you suddenly leaped in the air and poked her in the eye with your nose on your walk yesterday morning? 

MARCUS:  Oh, that.  I was just checking to see if she was awake.

CAMERON:  I have the impression there will be no apology.  Are you at least thankful you haven't been arrested for assault with a deadly toenail, hard head or wet nose?

MARCUS:  Well, when you put it that way -



Stop by Pepi Smart Dog and join the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

And stop by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is being owned by a husky, and Barking from the bayou for the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Bum Warmer



RUSTY:  We've been listening to Jan complain about kids not needing to learn cursive in school any more.

MERCI:  Do any of you know what cursive is?  Jan mumbles when she talks about it and I have not yet figured out what she's talking about.

PERCY:  Don't worry.  We don't need to learn it.  We have a computer.

MICAH: Funny, that's just what the grandson said to his grandmother in the video we just watched.

SAM:  Cursive is handwriting.  We can't do handwriting since we don't have hands, we have paws. 

CYNDI:  Oh, so that's what all the fuss is about.  I thought it was something like knitting and Jan was upset because no one would know how to knit her a bum warmer.

MARCUS:  Why would she care if no one knits her a bun warmer.  How often does she eat buns?

CAMERON:  Not a bun warmer, a bum warmer.  She probably wants one for church since she's been freezing her bum off sitting on those cold metal chairs this winter.   

BUDDY:  We thought we would post a funny video for the humans.  Jeanne Robertson explains to her grandson why cursive is important and that he should learn cursive on his own.  And she has some incentive! 


If the video doesn't play, click here.




Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Flapping and Gliding


MERCI:  This is what the sky looked like when we started to walk Jan yesterday morning. 


MARCUS:  Do you see them?  They were all around us, flying low, a small convention directly overhead and over nearby houses.  They were alternately flapping and gliding.  We think they were hawks but have never seen one up close, especially not from the underside, so we're not positive.

Update:  We've been told they are vultures searching for food. 


MERCI:  Marcus was anxious to get walking but Jan just stood there gawking at the big birds circling in the sky. 


MARCUS:  We have seen these birds circling from a distance in the past but never so close.  I could have almost leaped high enough to catch one. 

MERCI:  They were low, just over the roof of our house.  Jan tried to run us back inside.  Marcus kicked up a fuss.  He attempted to run out the door when Jan grabbed the camera and closed us inside.  Did he ever holler in protest! 

MARCUS:  It served her right that when she got back outside they had disappeared. She turned off the camera and was reaching for the door knob when they returned. 


MERCI:  She turned the camera back on and discovered she had accidentally hit the button that turned off the LED screen and she didn't remember which button would turn it back on, so she just aimed the camera in the general direction of several birds at a time and clicked the shutter.



MARCUS:  I'm glad they finally flew away so Merci and I could have our walk.  Sam and Buddy missed this.  They preferred to sleep in Monday morning.

MERCI:  One day you'll be an old dog, Marcus, and you'll want to sleep in too. It must be a guy thing.  I'm older than all of you and I was up and raring to go.  I did not, however, throw a temper tantrum like a certain big-eared dog did when our walk was delayed.

MARCUS:  Well, I was starving.  We don't get breakfast until after our walk.  And I didn't throw a tantrum, I voiced my displeasure.

BUDDY:  Could you voice it a bit more quietly next time?  It was hard to sleep through all that caterwauling. 

Monday, January 19, 2015

A Lab Named Mulligan


CAMERON:  We have a first here.  Buddy actually volunteered to be the model for today's post.

MICAH:  That was SAM'S job until Marcus started butting in.  Marcus wasn't fast enough this time.


CYNDI:  Jan was setting up to photograph the Mulligan Stew cans the dogs were going to taste test. (They were going to taste test the dog food, not the cans.)  She was so thrilled to see Buddy pose voluntarily, she didn't care about the glare of the sun on the cans.  You can take our word for it.  It's Mulligan Stew.





MERCI:  Here are Sam, Buddy and I waiting for Jan to hurry up and take the picture so we could taste test. As you can see, Jan doesn't believe in dressing up a meal.  She never bothers to add appetizing colors to our plates.  Would it break her arm to add a sprig of parsley?

RUSTY:  You have to be kidding.  The way you dogs scarf your food, you wouldn't even notice if Jan painted your food purple!



SAM:  Finally Jan gave the word and we all dived headfirst into our bowls to try some of the Beef Recipe.  The only ingredients listed are beef, water sufficient for processing, cabbage, beef liver, brown rice, horseradish, L-Cysteine, L-Methionine, Beta Carotene, selenium yeast. 

PERCY:  Hey, guys,  I checked out the dog food company's website.  Mulligan Stew was developed by a naturopathic practitioner and was named after a Labrador Retriever named Mulligan.  It doesn't use any synthetic vitamins, minerals or supplements.  Although it is healthy for us, it states on the label, "This product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only."


SAM:  We cleaned our bowls, Jan.  We're ready for seconds.


BUDDY:  You might have noticed there were only three of us in the first photos.  We mentioned in last month's review we only had one photograph because we had an emergency during the session. Jan became very busy cleaning up blood.  In case you aren't already aware, a nose injury bleeds profusely. 


MERCI:  Marcus has a mealtime routine and when it's altered, he gets a bit confused, so he waited outside while we tasted the beef stew and then Jan gave him a bowl of it.  Notice how well he's behaving, although he's hunkered down ready for permission to eat.


BUDDY:  Permission granted and Marcus is chowing down!



MARCUS:  I cleaned my bowl and asked for more, but Jan is selectively deaf so I didn't get seconds.  We all loved the Mulligan Stew and give it a big Four Paw review.  Mulligan Stew comes in six flavors.

We were not paid for this review but we were provided sample cans by Chewy.com.  Any opinions or comments are strictly our own.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Half A Mind


MICAH:  We are going to double your Sunday Smile today.  We just know you'll be going ahhhhhh.

MARCUS:  Yes, a double dose of man's best friend doing what he does best, watching out for his best friend.

RUSTY:  Just a minute.  How do you think you're going to get away with calling yourself "man's best friend."

SAM:  Pssst, Marcus, I warned you to never call us that in front of the ... um, the c-a-t-s.

CYNDI:  We can spell, Sam!  And we cats are every bit as loyal as you dogs.  Look how we've stuck by Jan even though she keeps hogging the computer and forgetting to put food in our bowl.

MERCI:  Have you considered the reason you're all so slim is because Jan put you on a d-i-e-t and deliberately forgets to fill your bowl?

CAMERON:  That's not true!  Unlike you d-o-g-s, we cats can control our appetites and Jan trusts us to eat sensibly.  She forgets to put food in our bowl for the same reason she forgets to feed you on a schedule.  She only has half a mind.

PERCY:  I'm going to tell Jan you said she only has half a mind.  That wasn't nice!

MICAH:  He said that because Jan is always saying things like, I have half a mind to make you dogs stay outside until you learn to wipe the mud off your feet before you come inside.  He was just telling the truth!

BUDDY:  Have you all forgotten our friends are reading this?  Where is the funny in Funny Farm when we're fighting amongst ourselves?

SAM:  I guess this is a good time to change the subject and introduce the videos.  The first one is a small dog racing along beside an ambulance taking his master to the hospital after a seizure.  Eventually, they opened the door for him so he could ride along.

(Sorry, that video is no longer available.)

PERCY: And the second one is Buddy. He jumped on the ambulance ledge when his human had a heart attack and was being rushed to the hospital. He rode that way for 20 miles, until a motorist flagged down the ambulance and Buddy was taken inside the vehicle.


If the video doesn't play, click Dog "Buddy" Rides Ambulance Following His Owner.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Black and White Inverted


CYNDI:  Hey, what has Cameron done to deserve another turn for our weekend art?

MICAH:  He didn't do anything.  He just happened to be the next picture in line.

MERCI:  Don't worry, we'll all get another turn.  We're going through old photos.


CAMERON:  I was just lazing around looking handsome when Jan snapped my picture. No, she didn't take it in sepia.  She made a few changes.

     Join co-hosts Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel for the Sepia Saturday blog hop.


BUDDY:  Hey, Jan must have switched pictures on us.  This\isn't really Cameron, is it?

RUSTY:  Yes, it is Cameron.  Jan inverted the colors for our Caturday Art.  He sure is a handsome mancat in any color!

     Athena is your hostess for the Caturday Art blog hop.


PERCY:  Here is Cameron in black and white.  Wait, I'm repeating myself.  Cameron is black and white!


SAM:  This is the original photo.  Cameron hates to have his picture taken and usually closes his eyes, but here they're at only half closed.

MARCUS:  I think Cameron just pretends he hates being photographed.  He doesn't want anyone to know he sleeps a lot.  Ouch!  Who kicked me in the knee?