Online Dog Matching

It's a real shame for someone else that I didn't have access to this sort of technology 8 1/2 years ago. But since I didn't, someone else missed out on the enigmatic Sophina la Brador.

My top 5 matches at dogtime.com are:

Great Dane

Bedlington Terrier

Greyhound

Ibizan Hound

Pharaoh Hound

Lovely dogs all, but none even close to the dog I know and love.
The Labrador Retriever came in at #31 and the Chesapeake Bay Retriever at #56.

But I may still be able to keep her. The Labradoodle came in at #6. I think Sophie can pass in a pinch. I got out the velcro rollers and we're working on her new curly "do" tonight.

Random Fact #4

Sometimes, Sophie is kind of a dork.

What?
Sophie? Sick?

That's a big eyed lie!

Sophie's not sick. She was sick, but she's not sick anymore. Sophie's liver went into overtime just before Christmas, and we were all very worried that she was going into liver failure. After her vet, Auntie Judy, got things under control with a round of Anti-Bs and ridiculously expensive liver supplements, the poking and prodding of the beast ensued. After numerous blood lettings, we finally determined the problem.

Sophie tested positive for Leptosporosis.

No, no. That's Lepto, NOT Clepto, although she does have that problem too. She often shoplifts in the pet food store.

Leptosporosis is one of those nasty little things all you pups get vaccinated against, at least in Canada. Evidently dogs can still contract it anyway. It's rare, but not impossible. And wouldn't it be just like Sophie to be rare? Always trying to be unique, that one.

Even though Leptosporosis is nothing to get excited about, I sure am happy it was that and not some chronic liver disease that she would have to struggle with for the rest of her life. Auntie Judy said it's a damn good thing she was vaccinated, otherwise, she might not have made it.

But this beasticus is a survivor, baby! Once she finishes her new round of super duper hard core Anti-Bs (I hope those things don't kill her), she will be just fine and prepared to live her life to her fullest. She has already resumed her usual "bored" demeanor.

She's also become kind of obnoxious. Through all this, Sophie has gotten a lot of extra attention, not to mention yummy mushy food, and has sucked back every last drop of it. Literally. Suddenly, it's like I'm living with Paris Hilton. She's pushy and demanding and still hasn't forgiven me for not taking her to Vegas for New Years Eve.

Oops. Gotta run. I forgot to fill the toilet bowl with her favourite spring water and her manicurist is at the door.

Strike a pose

Dogue, Dogue, Dogue

*

Sophie took her American tennis balls and went to America.

The Vermont snow was perfect for play.

But wait!

It's also the perfect place to

let your body move to the music
*move to the music*

Come on let's Dogue!

Oooh, you've got to
Let your body go with the flow

*go with the flow*

Hey, hey, hey,

She has style, she has grace
Sophie Brador gives good face.

DOGUE!

You heard me right.

I said CAT show.

Sophie and I are spending a weekend in Vermont. Much to my surprise, and Sophie's chagrin, the Fancy Feline's Cat Show is happening in our hotel this very weekend.

Oh my. I just don't even know what to say. I don't know what to say about dog shows either, but this was something else. Cats just don't seem very into it and frankly, neither do their owners. None of them were particularly friendly. Maybe they could smell dog on me.

There were Siamese cats.

A Javanese cat.

An unknown-ese cat.

And then a whole bunch of that blurry breed.

You may not have heard of it. It's a brand new discovery in the cat world.
Unfortunately, I gave my camera lens a good knock and now it isn't working quite right. Just as well. I don't want to freak any dogs out.

After an hour or so, I couldn't breathe and was having difficulty using my eyeballs. Damn those allergies!

Sophie was not pleased to be waiting in the car during the Cat *Spectacle*
(en français, svp, so it rhymes. Merci.)
But I could just imagine the beast at a cat show.

Sophie likes to pick up cats. She also likes to pick up as many things as possible, at once.
I wonder how many Maine Coon kitties she could do? They average about 25 lbs a pop. She might want to stick to the Siamese.
They're skinnier.

Sophie sees great potential here.

She got this perfectly colour-coordinated to match her rope and animal print tennis ball toy from Lucie and Maxoo.

Remember Maxoo?

Thing thing is great fun to play with.

It matches her eyes perfectly, so she always looks great while playing.

She can almost get the whole thing in her mouth at once, if the camera angle is just right.

She can show off her beautiful teeth while playing.

And she can use it to hypnotize her friends.

Thanks Lucie and Max!

Sophie loves it!

Wordless Wednesday
relatively speaking

This one deserves additional consideration.

Buffy Fan?

Some of you may have noticed that there is a little election cooking up south of the border, and there are a few fellas in the running. Having a hard time knowing who to back? Check out your favourite Republican presidential candidates cast as your favourite Buffy villain.

http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2008/01/the-gop-primary.html

Just goes to show, everything comes back to Buffy in the end.

A long overdue thank you!

Sophie got a package in the mail. It was days and days ago, and we are finally getting to it.



Why the delay, you may ask, and undoubtedly are. Well, first, Sophie had her liver thing. Then, we went to stay at a friend's house in the burbs so that friends of a friend from Brooklyn could stay at our house. I was supposed to stay at their place in NY, and didn't want them to have to change their plans when Sophie got sick. I'm so glad I didn't, because they loved Montreal and got engaged while they were here.

Anyway, Sophie got a package in the mail. The excitement was palpable, especially for the beast who seemed to know there was something delectable inside.

The book on Tellington Touch is for me. Jen, of Lola, Penny and Sherman fame, is lending it to me. I hope there are some special liver moves in there. The rest is all for Sophie, and she knows it!



As you all know, Sophie is a nudist. But she consented to wearing this bandana and doesn't seem to mind at all. It really is a great colour combo for her. She is insanely stylish when she wants to be. I mean, check this out:

Haute couture or art? Sometimes, it's hard to tell. Sophie is just so on the cutting edge all the time.




Your eyeballs probably spotted this cool cat stuffie in the box. Sophie loves stuffies and she also loves to pick up cats, so again, another perfect combo.



Unlike a lot of the dogs out there, Sophie is not a stuffie disembowler. She loves her stuffies and spends quality time gobbing all over them. She's had some of her stuffies for years. She will probably have this one for years too. And let me emphasize YEARS, since I have decided that Sophie will be with me for many of them, regardless of any weird liver business.




Next were the tennis balls. Woozers! Three pink ones. They're the breast cancer tennis balls. They don't give you breast cancer, but buying them supports research into breast cancer, and that is very cool.



In Canada, the breast cancer tennis balls are hot pink.



The American ones colour-coordinate much better with Sophie's nose,

not to mention her tongue.

And then ooooooooh ... ick.

This is what Sophie was really waiting for. She thinks these things look delectably delicious. Can you read that packaging? It's a bag of chicken feetables. I am completely creeped out, but Sophie is drooling. Dogs really are disgusting some times.

She wants one THIS second. IMMEDIATELY!

Patience is a virtue hard-learned by a beast. Sophie has to wait until our vet, Auntie Judy, says it's okay to resume her regular diet. But let's face it. She looooooves the mushy food, so the torture of not getting a chicken footable this very second isn't so bad. And out-of-sight, out-of-mind is surprisingly effective. Within moments, she returned to the cat and balls.



As with all things mouthable, she immediately attempted to put as many of them into hers as possible. It took a bit of organization on her part, but she did manage to squeeze both of them in there.

For the record, she can do also get two tennis balls in her mouth at once, but you'll have to take my word for it. I have no picture to offer as proof.

Thank you Jen and the Pittsburgh Pups!

*Happy New Year*