Marcus Tells of Penguins

Marcus:  Humor is something to be thankful for, so here I am telling Sam a story.  He thought it was funny, so I thought you might like to hear it too.

Sam is way older than I am and he didn't know this about dead penguins.  I bet you didn't either.

Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica? Where do they go? Wonder no more!

It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life.  The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintain a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.

If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into, and buried.

The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:

"Freeze a jolly good fellow." "Freeze a jolly good fellow."

You really didn't believe that I know anything about penguins, did you?

I hope you don't mind if I keep reminding everyone I'm only here temporarily.  I don't want to leave but I need a home of my own.  Jan says I'm a little cuddlebug and I'm trying hard to learn to behave like a grownup but I'm only 10 weeks old, so I'm still a young pup.  I'm in Thomaston, GA. You can read more about me in Marcus Speaks. 

We're joining the This 'N That Thursday blog hop co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

And we're joining Pepi Smart Dog for the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Luke, Pups and Marcus

Luke the Pee Machine

Buddy, Merci & Sam narrate post.

Buddy, Merci & Sam:  Hey, remember Luke the Pee Machine?  He lived with us for a few weeks this summer after someone found him playing in the street and brought him to Jan.  If you don't remember him, you can read Luke is Home.

Jan looked for an owner and then got him accepted into a rescue/foster home, except before transport could be arranged, his owners walked by the dog pen and claimed him.

 Luke grew into a great big handsome Bassett mix.  Jan kept wanting to go take a photo of him but she was too busy with other things, such as finding Marcus' owner.  She waited too long.

We would have loved to have seen Luke almost grown up.  But Tuesday something happened and we have a bad / good update on him.

Our mail carrier is a nice lady.  She likes animals.  Tuesday Jan went out to tell her Marcus is ready for a new home in case she comes across anyone looking for a nice pup.  The carrier asked Jan if she knows the people who live nearby.  Their front door was open and there were two dogs sitting on the front steps. 

Jan said her heart sank.  That is the family that claimed Luke.  She got a coat and went right over.  Sure enough 2 of their young dogs were outside and the door was ajar.  She walked around to knock on the back door and found that door was ajar too and the windows were broken out.  She came right home and called the police, then went back to wait for an officer.

When he arrived, he pushed aside the curtains on the back door (windows were broken, remember) to look inside and said the cupboards were empty and the doors were open - looked like a move out.  He called city Animal Control.  He told Jan AC was at lunch and would probably be along in about 20 minutes.  So Jan hot-footed it home, grabbed what little food was left in our container, filled a bowl with water and went back. At that time the front door was wide open and she could see furniture inside.  The dogs were shaking, their ribs were showing, and they scarfed the food after a long drink of water.  One dog tried to eat the bricks when the food was gone.

Jan started talking to neighbors and passersby.  No one had seen lights or anyone for several days.  Everyone was upset at the idea the dogs had been left alone in that cold house with no food or water.  Their next door neighbor came out and brought more food and water for the dogs.  Twenty minutes stretched into 2 hours.  It was COLD and WINDY.  Jan froze but she would not leave those dogs and she wouldn't go near the door.  Finally she asked the neighbor if he'd call and ask if AC was coming.

A while later 2 police investigators arrived in separate cars.  They said it was an eviction, the property owner had been notified and AC would be coming later.  Finally the dogs were closed safely in the house.  Jan came home and immediately emailed a couple of people in rescue asking for help for the 2 pit bull mix puppies that would be taken to the shelter that day.  We don't know what will happen to those pups but at least people are working toward rescue.  The pups deserve a much better life than they've had so far.

So what happened to Luke?  Originally, the people who owned Luke put the very young pup outside to "do his business" the day after getting him, despite a strict leash law in the city.  Luke ended up playing in the street next to a main road and spent 6 weeks here.  A very kind friend in rescue paid to have him vetted.  Luke cost Jan a lot of money she couldn't afford - feeding him and misc.(for example, 3 extension cords).  The family made a big fuss about how happy they were to have the grandmother's dog back.  They promised to never put him outside on his own again, to take good care, and to have him neutered when he was of age.

A week or so later Jan saw Luke across the street following a stranger.  As she walked him home, someone told her the dog had been running loose in the neighborhood.  She had a long talk with the grandmother and was told the dog was either being tied in the back yard or locked in a shed because he peed and pooped in the house.  Jan was dumbfounded!  He never once pooped in this house and was almost housebroken when he went home. And although the guy had told her he took Luke outside on a leash and waited with him, Luke wasn't being kept in the house and they didn't even own a leash.  Jan came home, patched one of our old ones together and took it to them to use until they bought their own.

Their neighbor got tired of seeing Luke spending all his time alone, so he brought him into his fenced yard so he could run loose and made him a shelter.  When he put his dogs outside, he'd tie Luke up in Luke's yard and bring Luke back when his dogs went inside. So when Jan saw the puppies on the porch Tuesday, she looked next door for Luke.  He was gone.

But when the neighbor brought over food and water, Jan learned the family sold Luke to the neighbor's sister for $100 and they then tried to move him from the yard into the house but they are older than Jan (is that possible?) and he was too strong for them to walk and he tore up absolutely everything he came across.  They couldn't handle him. So just the day before these older folks on a fixed income had taken him to a vet and paid for a rabies shot (Luke's rabies shot didn't expire until next August but the people had taken off his tag and didn't tell the new owner) so they could board him.  They are working on getting him in some group they know that could help him find a home with someone who can work with him. 

We have kept quiet about Luke's circumstances until now because once the owners claimed Luke, Jan did what she could to help the people take better care of him but had no say and didn't want to talk about the bad situation..

After Luke they took in several more dogs, which lived inside and often ran loose outside. One was recently picked up by AC.  And now the other two are in the local shelter.  We don't know if there will be charges for abandoning the dogs in the house, but don't imagine the people will get off scot-free because of the damage to the rental house..

We are hopeful Luke will get a good home with someone who can help him get past the bad life he's had and that the pups will be rescued from the shelter.  On the other paw, we are sad for the children in Luke's ex-family.  One of their sons is a nice young A student teenager who has a heart for animals. He was one of the two boys who found 5-week-old Marcus wandering the alley and after knocking on some doors looking for an owner, brought Marcus to our house during that bad freezing and rainy weather in December. We are all thankful to him for helping save Marcus' life.

We are joining Pepi Smart Dog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

And This 'N That Thursday co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Marcus Whippersnapper

Hey, remember me, Little Puppy No Name?  Well, I have some news to share today.  But first, I want to show you how big I've grown.  Jan said I'm a weed.  Is that good?

Little Puppy No Name:  Here I am with Merci, the smallest canine Funny Farmer.  This was taken 3 weeks ago on December 12. It was really cold and Jan put a shirt on me.  Notice how it coves most of my back and hangs down my legs and under my belly?

Little Puppy No Name:  Well, here I am with Sam, the largest canine Funny Farmer.  Notice I'm in the same shirt but it's shorter on my back now.


Sam:  Somebody please get rid of this annoying whippersnapper!  I don't need a shadow. 

Little Puppy No Name: Yes, the shirt is definitely shorter on my back now and it doesn't cover my legs any more.  I'm growing up. Soon I'll be as big as Sam.

Sam:  You have a long way to grow to be my size and you have small feet, so you won't ever grown as big as I am.

Puppy No Name:  But Sam I love you and I want to be just like you when I grow up.

Sam:  *sigh* What do I have to do to get rid of this annoying shadow?

Puppy No Name:  But, Sam, I have to follow your around so I'll learn how to be a better puppy.  Isn't that how it works?

Okay, now that I've proved how much I've grown, I don't want to be called little any more.  And I'm not Puppy No Name either.  I have a name now.  That's part of my news.

I told you before Christmas Jan found my owner and he still wanted me but Jan was going to keep me for a while to finish housebreaking me because he's never had a puppy before and didn't realize what he was getting into when he picked me up at Walmart and brought me home.  I didn't know how to eat solid food or drink water so I hadn't even been weaned yet.  He taught me to eat and drink and, boy, am I glad!  I love to eat, even things Jan tells me aren't edible, and I drink lots of water. 

But he and Jan had a conversation the other day and he said he knew Jan must have gotten attached to me (how could she not!)  and he thought it in my best interest to let Jan either keep me or find me a new home.  Jan told me she loves me but she can't have a 4th dog here, so I will be going to a vet for my shots and the Humane Society will help Jan find me a new home.

Jan also told me I should be grateful to my first human for bringing me home.  She wonders if any of my siblings are still alive after being given out  while we were so young.  Why would humans hand out puppies to strangers as a spur of the moment parking lot freebie if we're only going to be dumped at the kill shelter in a few days or abandoned somewhere to fend for ourselves? I got lucky.  Because that guy took me home I'm going to have a good life.

Since I am headed to a vet soon, Jan said I needed a name, so now I have one.  I am Marcus!  So named for Jan's Texas dog rescue friend, Mark. 

Okay, that's all my news for today.  So we're going to go join the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Pepi Smart Dog's blog.

And also the This N That Thursday blog hop, co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs nd Ruckus the Eskie.

Puppy No Name Squeaks

Little Puppy No Name (Marcus):  Hey, remember me?  I'm little Puppy No Name.  I've been staying here for a week now, waiting for my lost owner to be found.  The weather was terrible last week and we nearly froze when Jan tried to take me out searching.  In between rainstorms.

Now that the weather is "warmer" and drier, she says I need to be in the public eye, so I get to walk with the big woofers now.  When I said I wanted to go on Monday, Jan thought she'd have to bring me back after a block, but I did their whole route!  Merci laughed at me.  She said they all walk their normal pace and I try to lead the pack with my little legs pumping like windmills.  But I keep up.

Meanwhile,in case you've wondered why we disappeared for a few days, Jan says we've all been keeping her extra busy since bad weather brings sick animals.  Merci wasn't feeling well last week and was very sick last weekend,   Merci is okay now but Jan says she's too pooped to think.  Percy says that isn't unusual, but not to mention that to Jan.  Okay, I won't.

Tuesday, we were in the back pen and Jan went out the front door to throw out trash.  I got upset because she wasn't in the pen with us, so she hurried in the front door and out the back to reassure me.  Only I wasn't there!  She ran for the front door to try to catch me before I got lost.  When she opened the front door, there I was, sitting on the mat, waiting.  She was so proud of me.  I got a big hug.  When she did the same thing later, I tried to go after her again but I couldn't slip through the gate.  She'd blocked the openings around the gate.

Oh, we won Ruckus the Eskie's giveaway.of a 3 month subscription from DoggyLoot Toy of the Month.  Buddy and Sam aren't much for playing with toys any more, but Sam still does.  So Jan signed him up. Our first toy was a Kyjen Invincibles Reindeer squeaker.  So Jan took us outside and laid the reindeer down, raised the camera and -

- she caught me sprinting away with it.  See it down in the lower left.  I took it right out from under Sam's nose.

Buddy watched me shake that reindeer and show it who is boss!  It squeaked and squealed and screamed for mercy.

When I was done with it, it had no fight left.  So I took off like a blur. Merci went over to see if the reindeer was still in one piece.  It was.

Buddy asked if he needed to resuscitate it, but I said not yet.  I was checking out the packaging, in case there were any edibles with it.  There weren't.

Oh, just for the record, these photos are just to share the fun of giving Sam "his" new toy.  NOT a re-view.  :)

We had a lot to be thankful for this week, so we're joining Pepi Smart Dog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

And also This 'N That Thursday co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Another Intruder

Well, it's after midnight this morning and we're trying to do a fast post.  Wednesday was one of those days.  The computer wouldn't finish loading in the morning.  We spent the afternoon trying to download elusive Windows updates.  (Don't even ask!)  We never did get to the Christmas card emails we intended to send out.

By sundown we dogs hadn't even given Jan her evening walk.  But there was more to come - a knock at the door.  Two neighbor boys wanting to know if Jan was missing a puppy.  Nope!

Boys: "We've been asking around and no one knows who this puppy belongs to."

Jan:  "What are you going to do with it?"

Boys: "We'll have to take it home and knock on some more doors after school tomorrow."  (Good idea.  Not safe to go knocking on doors after dark.)

Jan:  "Which one of you is taking it home?"

One Boy:  "I can't."

Other Boy: "I can't either."

Jan:  "So what are you going to do with it?"

The conversation was longer.  We just hit the highlights.  It dropped into the 20s or low 30s last night and will again tonight.  The boys promised to go knocking on doors after they get home from school activities tomorrow.  Jan doesn't have much hope the boys will keep their word, but sometimes kids do the right thing.

Meanwhile, we've got an intruder here, sleeping on our beds, drinking out of our water bowls, and playing with our toys.

We're going to see if we can find some folks around here who will post his photo on Facebook tomorrow.  It's too late tonight.  We hope he has an owner because we can't keep him.

He spent the evening crying, trying to get us old timers to play, trying to steal Jan's dinner, tripping her and sleeping cuddled against her feet.  In between he played with some of our toys, including Mr. Squirrel.  Now that he's rested, we figure it's going to be a long night for Jan.

We hope the puppy is properly thankful Jan took him in temporarily and we didn't chase him out.  Jan will be very thankful when he's safely home.

   We'll be joining PepiSmartDog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

 And the This 'N That Thursday blog hop.co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Kjelle, Leigh and Ms Klutz

Percy:  We know Jan would rather we not tell this story, but it's too good to keep to ourselves.  We've told you a number of times how klutzy Jan is.  She just keeps getting better and better at it.

Cyndi:  We have all been playing musical beds quite a bit since it got cold and Jan was taking pictures of us yet again when ....

Rusty:  ... she tripped over a surge protector strip and ...

Micah:  ... you don't want to know.

Cameron:  What do you mean they don't want to know?  Of course they do!

Buddy:  If they don't, we'll tell them anyway.  Jan tripped ...

Merci:  ... and her arm flew out and the camera flew across the room and ...

Sam:  ... it hit the wood over the fireplace and fell onto the concrete with a ...

*C-R-A-S-H!*

Cameron: What was that?  I nearly jumped out of my fur.

Rusty:  Oh, that was just Sam's tail knocking the decorative tin off the table again.

Percy:  But that's what happened.  The camera crashed to the floor and ...

Cyndi: ... scared the crap out of us, is what it did!

Micah:  Jan just stood there staring at the fireplace, then walked over and picked up the camera ...

Merci: ... aimed it at Buddy, stared at the strange colors floating around the viewfinder, and clicked the shutter.

Buddy:  Surprisingly it still takes pictures, sort of.  Not bad for a camera that flew 4 feet across the room and crashed 3 1/2 feet to the hard floor.

Sam:  Yes, Jan measured the distances.  She still can't believe the camera is even in one piece, let alone trying to continue on nonchalantly..

Percy:  Jan says she hopes it will take half-decent photos until we figure out how to steal ... um, I mean get a new camera. 

Micah:  We wish we could share a picture of Jan's face when she realized what had happened, but you'll have to use your imagination.  Or you could try tripping your human while she's carrying a cup of hot coffee.

Our friend Kjelle Bus A.K.A. Charlie Rascals is entered in a photo contest and can use your help.  There's no need to sign up, give your email or name, or do anything except to go to this link -
 http://royalcanin.se/kattensdag/fototavling/?orderby=votes

Look for this photo of the handsome Kjelle.  All you have to do is to click on ROSTA.  That's it.  You've voted.  Wasn't that easy!

It will seem like nothing happened but the number on the bottom left will have changed and if you click twice, it will tell you you've already voted.  Of course, you won't know what it's telling you unless you speak Swedish, but the first time we thought it  didn't work and we clicked twice, then ran the popup text through Google Translate.  It said we'd already voted.  Oh, well good thing we don't speak the language or that would have been embarrassing.  :)

We hope you will save the link and vote daily.  The contest ends December 31st.  We vote daily. 

And we got some exciting news from an ex-cat blogger.  Many of you will remember the blogs Rascal and Little Cat Zee.  Leigh has been blogging for quite a while on 5 Acres & A Dream.  She has just published her first book, titled 5 Acres & A Dream The Book: The Challenges of Establishing A Self-Sufficient Homestead.

You can read more about the book on the blog  5 Acres & A Dream.  Leigh is giving away a copy of her book and it's easy to enter.  The link to entry information is in her post.  Good luck on winning.

We are joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop hosted by Pepi Smart Dog.

Also This 'N That Thursday hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs.

And co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie.

Thanksgiving 2013

And Happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends. 

Note: We hope Blogger put the correct photo in this time.  It wouldn't let us change the photo last night and we can't tell if it has the corrected size or not today.  So if there is suddenly a big blank space where the graphic should be, blogger has posted the deleted graphic and it has gone POOF!  But know, we do wish all who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving!

And to everyone else, a wonderful day!

We're joining Pepi Smart Dog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.  Click here. for his post.

And the Thanksgiving edition of This 'N That Thursday, hosted by 2BrownDawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Most Thankful Birthday Ever

 Micah:  Hey,  I'm hungry.  The cat treats are gone.  Is there any birthday cake left? 

Sam:  Mmfff, niff.  Gulp.

Micah:  That would be a no.  Right Sam?

Sam:  Um, actually it would. 

Micah:  I knew I should have stashed a piece under my bed last night.

Sam:  Well, the cake is gone but there are plenty of other things to be thankful for today.

Micah:  Like what?

Sam:  Let's see ... We're together.  We don't have a car, it's cold in the house, but we're still a family.  That's something to be thankful for.

Micah:  You're right, Sam.  There is always something to be thankful for.  Sometimes we have to look hard to find it, though.

Sam:  I wonder what our readers are thankful for?


Percy:  Oh, speaking of readers, if any of them are wondering what was in the big surprise box we gave Buddy for his birthday yesterday, it turned out to be an even bigger surprise than we imagined. (You can read the story here.)

Sam: After Buddy knocked himself out when he fell from the stool, the rest of us gathered in the kitchen to eat Buddy's birthday cake.  (We did give him the first slice, even if he wasn't aware of it.)

Micah: We weren't in the room when the gift box was opened, so we'll let Dr. Buddy's good friend Billy Sweetfeets Norton Gingersnap from Meezer Tales tell you what happened when the gift got tired of waiting and popped out of the box..

Billy resting after his trip.

Billy: *jumps out of box*   TA-DA!! um where is efurryone? isn't this mine Dr Buddy's purrfday party? ME hadded to go from NOO YORK to WHISKERKONSCIN to get in the box.

BUDDY?? BUDDY??? Paging Dr Buddy - HELLO? Happy Purrfday?  *sneaks plateful of cake out from under Buddy's paw*  um, you gonna eat dis?

Cyndi:  And that is the rest of the story of how we accidentally gave Buddy the best birthday present he's ever had.

Cameron:  A concussion?

Rusty:  No, Cameron, a visit from his old friend Billy.

Merci: It was a good day, wasn't it?

Buddy:  I'd like to thank all of you who came by yesterday to wish me a happy birthday.  It was the most excitement we've had around here in ages. 

We're joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Pepi Smart Dog.

We are also joining This "N That Thursday which is co-hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Lots to be Thankful For Thursday

Merci, Sam & Buddy

Merci:  We missed Thankful Thursday last week, but we have a story for you this week..

Sam:  A couple of nights ago it was cold and windy, so when we walked Jan, she was rushing to get home and she got in too big a hurry and lost Buddy.

Merci:  We tried to stop to eat some - Jan calls them berries, a neighbor calls them seeds.  Whatever they are, they drop off a tree and they're tasty, so we try to stop to eat some but Jan usually keeps us moving.  That night, it was already dark and Jan said we had to keep moving so we didn't freeze.

Sam:  So we did.  We tried to tell her something was wrong but she just kept walking faster.  For some reason when we reached the corner a block from home, Jan suddenly decided she wanted to do another short lap and did a rapid about face.

Merci:  And got a good scare because there was a loose dog just a block away following us. She tightened her grip on our leashes and realized one of them was missing.

Sam:  It was too dark for her to see what the dog looked like but she took off as fast as her old legs could carry her, yelling, "Buddy ... Buddy ... Buddy!"   We covered half the distance before Buddy raised his head, looked around and asked, "How did you guys get lost?  It's a good thing I found you."

Merci:  And he came trotting toward us, bawling Jan out for wandering off while he was eating.  And Sam kept repeating, "I tried to tell her.  She wouldn't listen."

Buddy:  I don't know what Jan's problem is but she gets in more trouble when I'm not around.  I thought we'd all stopped to eat.  Next thing I knew, Jan had wandered off with Sam and Merci and gotten lost.  But I saved her.  Sam and Merci too.

Sam:  Oh, pish tosh, we didn't need saving.  Well, Jan always needs saving.  She's a human.  But Merci and I were fine.

Buddy:  You tell the story your way, I'll tell it mine.  In the end, we're all thankful Jan is okay.  What would she do without us?

Rusty:  Okay, so you dogs are thankful Jan was lost and found again, but we're ALL thankful Jan didn't blow up the house last night when she turned the gas space heaters on by herself.  She needs help to light the pilots at the beginning of the season, but with the temperature expected to go down into the twenties again tonight, she got brave.  We're not sure who was shaking more, us or her.  But we have heat.  And we all survived.

Cyndi:  You might remember a couple of months ago Lou from HH & the Boys (Bugsy & Knuckles) painted a portrait of each Funny Farmer Feline.  There is more to the story now, but we'll let her tell it. 

Percy:   We were so happy we were teary when we learned what happened with the portraits.  Lou is a talented painter.  Take a moment to stop by and read about her surprise.

 Cameron: We're the feline part of a family, so we're glad we're all staying together and our handsome faces are making someone happy.

Micah: Stop by HH & the Boys to read Funny Farmer Felines are a Big Hit in New Hampshire.  (Aw, gee, we always hoped we'd be a big hit somewhere.)

We're joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at PepiSmartDog.  And while you're there, check out the new look of his blog.  It's looking good.

And the This 'N That Thursday blog hop at2 Brown Dawgs Blog.

Thankful Halloween

Buddy, Sam, Merci

We've been thinking about what to be thankful for this week. Well, we are thankful for many things, but we couldn't figure out what to post. And then we remembered we're having a warm spell in between cold. So we decided this week we would post on how nice it is to have fur siblings to curl up with when the weather is nippy. (Yeah, it gets nippy in the house too.)

There are so many furries - and humans too - who don't have a home or warm bedding, let alone love and  companionship. Yes, we have much to be thankful for.  What about you?

We realize today is Halloween but we're not into wearing costumes and Jan won't let us beg treats from strangers, so we'll just wish you all a fun time tonight.

Merci

We're going to link up with PepiSmartDog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.

And This N That Thursday blog hop at the 2BrownDawgs.