A poem by Ogden Nash

Dogs display reluctance and wrath
If you try to give them a bath.
They bury bones in hideaways
And half the time they trot sideaways.

- Ogden Nash

Touille says: I must admit to the reluctance and not-quite-wrath (more of a mildly annoyed feeling) when MB used to give me a bath in the kitchen sink. She usually chose to do the bathing shortly after I had rolled in some delightfully smelly substance found on one of our outdoor walks when we had ventured off the paved streets and sidewalks. Occasionally I would discover some highly scented mud or some partially decayed animal or bird to squirm around in, coating my fur with the heavy scent. I would just be getting my fur to smell the way I wanted it to smell, when MB would scoop me up, place me in the sink,  douse me with water, and scrub me with odd-smelling shampoo, totally ruining the scent effect that I was trying to achieve. Why do humans and dogs have such different ideas of how one ought to smell?

- Touille, who has heard that a dog's sense of smell is more highly developed than a human's, and therefore wonders why humans think that they know better about all things smelly

Bonus link: How often should you bathe your dog?

MB typed it for Touille on June 5, 2019

The Wayback Machine

Doggie's Blog looked like this on April 1, 2006

and like this on October 28, 2006

But by the time the Wayback Machine did its web-crawling thing on July 19, 2008, many of the links and photos on Doggie's Blog had broken.

I can see it's going to take quite a while to update Touille's blog for her. It's a labor of love. I feel like Touille is here with me as I look over old posts.

One thing that Blogger used to do, that I can't see how to set it up to do again, is to choose the wording of the automatic text that is added as one makes a post. Instead of "Posted by MB on (date and time)," my custom design would automatically say "MB typed it for Touille on (date and time)." Now that I'm looking at older posts, that wording is gone. So on some of the updates I am adding those words. It may be a small thing, but it's something I always enjoyed seeing. It seemed to add to the conceit that it was indeed a little dog's thoughts being blogged, and the human was merely the conduit. OK, a little silly I guess. But Touille and I are not afraid to be silly if the occasion calls for it.

I think that Touille would have liked the expression "You do you." I never heard people say that back in the day, but Touille always "did Touille" no matter what others may have thought. I sure miss that little dog.

Tuscon, Arizona has a Touille dog available for adoption

Adopt A Pet

Touille from Tucson AZ

The dog pictured above is a young male Chihuahua mix available for adoption. At the Adopt A Pet website you can search for adoptable dogs, cats, and other pets who need homes, or you may find out how to rehome a pet who needs placement. I found the site when I was using Google to see what came up when I searched for "Touille" (no longer does this blog come up on the first page as it did at the height of Doggie's Blog popularity).

I was struck by how much this little dog resembles my (female) Touille. The Tucson dog's ears are bigger, but the facial expression and coloring are very similar. And Touille of St. Louis had a wart in the center of her forehead, which our friend Clint called her "Third Eye"!



Touille from St. Louis MO (now in dog heaven)

Touille might say:

Now that I am no longer on this earth, I am not worried about the popularity of various blogs including my own. But I am happy that MB has found something to occupy her time that involves remembering me, her faithful companion for so many years. For those humans who are able to adopt a pet, that is a wonderful thing for caring people to do for animals. 

I am happy in heaven because I no longer have pain or infirmities, and many of my dog friends are here with me. When I was still on earth, I blogged about what heaven might be like. It's a little like the beach, but not exactly. I am a dog who, when on earth, liked to be precise in my descriptions. But dog heaven defies description to the point that I can't really describe it. For those dogs (and people) who haven't made it to the heavenly realm yet, you can picture it like the San Diego Dog Beach if you like. 

 - Touille, who maintains that a picture may be worth a thousand words, and that dog heaven is more wonderful than a thousand pictures

Dog Beach Sunset by Jo on Flickr

MB typed it for Touille on June 2, 2019

It's a lot of work updating a 14 year old blog!

MB says: I'm trying to update Doggie's Blog to make it a nice tribute to Touille.

It's taking a little longer than I thought it would. Just for one example, when I looked at this post about greyhounds on Touille's blog, the original link to Mr. J-Walk's blog led to a website marked as dangerous! I removed that link entirely. The link to the story about Greyhounds in Kansas was dead. Google-searching the quoted portion, I found another article on another website which summed up the story. And following the original link to the National Greyhound Society redirected to an updated secure website.

The Blogger platform has easy ways to update each post's http links to https by clicking a "fix" button. However, it's not always just adding the letter "S" that is needed. Flickr has completely changed many of its URLs for older photos. I've had to update each photo from the old days with its new URL. Luckily the old URL leads to the photo, just not directly to the code needed to embed it on Blogger.

Touille might say:

MB is sitting at the computer day and night trying to update this blog. I thought that she decided to retire from her "day job" so that she would not have to spend all day in front of a computer screen. If I were still on this earth, I would insist that she take some time to get fresh air and exercise. During my lifetime, I made sure that the two of us got out of the apartment to do some serious walking. My suggestion to MB (who is not planning to get another canine companion) is to act as though I, Touille, am still here with her and need to go outdoors. She can use the time walking around to think of new things to blog about, to take lots of photos, and to remember how much fun we had together during our 16 years together on earth.

 - Touille, a small dog who never got too old to walk (though at a more leisurely pace in later years) 

MB typed it for Touille on June 1, 2019 at 9:00 AM

We all need to stay hydrated and cool

Dogs by Ted Colegrove on Flickr

It's getting warmer in the northern hemisphere. Don't forget to stay hydrated and cool.

If you are in a flooded area, remember that the water may be contaminated with chemicals, sewage, and other pollutants.

Touille's advice: Drink clean, fresh water.


Quotation for today:

Conscience is the inner voice which warns you that someone may be looking.  

- H. L. Mencken 

Mystic Krewe of Barkus parades

Barkus 2007
Originally uploaded by annamarie504.

New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, St. Louis, Missouri, and other cities celebrate Mardi Gras with pet parades. Here are some sets of photos from the dog parade and other Mardi Gras festivities that Flickr users have uploaded:

from New Orleans, LA:

Barkus 2007 (New Orleans) by annamarie504 (Anna B)

Barkus (New Orleans) by Nola Tom (Tom Graham)

Krewe of Barkus '07 (New Orleans) by snujiins (Casey Laws)

Barkus 2007 (New Orleans) by boxchain ( alex cockroach, resident of the Bywater (upper 9th ward) neighborhood of New Orleans)

Riding with Krewe of King Arthur, Feb. 11, 2007 (New Orleans) by Maitri

Mardi Gras 2006 Parades & Antics (New Orleans) by Maitri

barkus (New Orleans) by Mamish

Barkus 2007 (New Orleans) by pinkmartini15

Baton Rouge, LA:

Krewe Of Mutts (Baton Rouge) by mfreyder

Krewe of Mutts (Baton Rouge) by CGH3

Soulard neighborhood, St. Louis, MO:

Mardi Gras 2007 (Soulard) by Herkie

Barkus Pet Parade (Soulard) by nutmeg021

The set canines (St. Louis) by danzeye has some of the Barkus parade

And my set of photos from this year's Soulard pet parade:

Soulard Pet Parade 2007 by MBK









The weather this year was nice, as opposed to last year's frigid temperatures. I only saw one dog shivering, and she seemed to be shivering from nervous excitement, not freezing cold.

Flickr Groups

[The link is broken for the original photo featured on this post.] 
There are thousands of photos in the Dogs! Dogs! Dogs! photo pool.
If you like looking at photographs of dogs, you could spend hours on Flickr.
Here are a few more Flickr photo groups dedicated to dogs:

• Dachshunds
• You Are A Dog People
• My Chihuahua is cuter than Your Chihuahua
• Puppy Love
• Dogs in the white stuff
• Your Dog Nose
• Dogs in Cars
• Dogs with an Attitude
• Who let the Dogs Out?

- Touille, a dog whose photographic likeness may be found in some of the aforementioned groups

a dog's eye view of boys in kilts... (original photo no longer on Flickr)

[The Boys in Kilts photo is no longer available on Flickr. The original post on Touille's blog, including photo, can be viewed via the web archive site, The Wayback Machine.]
Originally uploaded by Paul J Whaley.

Paul's Pugs album can be seen here.

I don't know if the Boys in Kilts photo was taken with a dog's eye view in mind. But this is the general view that we dogs get of humans - from the ground up.

MB is looking for Scottish things right now in preparation for the Tartan Day Gathering of the Blogs. We participated last year, and as MB is about one-eighth Scottish, we plan to find photographs of Scots and Scottish things to add to our blogs again this year.

Here is a link to my 2005 Gathering of the Blogs post:

Scottish Tartans - MacMillan clan

- Touille, a small dog who is just a mutt, really, but who can be thought of as a pale wheaten Scottish Terrier mix if necessary

mexican bat dog

Mexican Bat Dog photo on Flickr
mexican bat dog by kreet.


The photographer says:

this is zipper, she was found in an abandoned building and was adopted by my landlord and her daughter. for all that zipper lacks in looks, she makes up for in personality. she is very sweet and loves everyone, especially children. as her health improves, we hope her coat will begin to fill out, she is healthy otherwise. although she is a mystery mix, we have decided that she is her own breed, a "mexican bat dog" bred in mexico to chase fruit and vegetable stealing bats away from villages.

I think that Zipper is a fine looking dog. And her personality probably beats mine, because she "loves everyone, especially children" (emphasis mine).

- Touille, also a sweet dog who unfortunately is not overly fond of children, but who loves everyone else to a reasonable degree

Audubon Zoo in New Orleans escapes major harm from Katrina

flamingo colors by Kevin Severud.

Only a few animals were lost at the famed Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Human volunteers remain at the zoo to care for the animal residents. (We heard it on NPR's Morning Edition this morning, September 7.)

In related news, Humane Society workers are still looking for stranded pets along the gulf coast. Hear more about it in the NPR story on Morning Edition.

NPR also has a Katrina weblog for the latest news about the hurricane's aftermath.

- Touille, a canine concerned about the animals (and humans) whose lives have been devastated by the hurricane

Hurricane Rescue Mission: Pet Rescue

North Shore Animal League America is helping to rescue pets affected by Hurricane Katrina. You can help by making a donation through their secure website.

Read the ASPCA tips for animal health and safety during a natural disaster.

- Touille

When taking pills, be careful not to drop them, especially if you have pets

Speak out!
Originally uploaded by msdrama.

A very sad story from Susan, the veterinarian whose blog is called Pet Peeves. She works nights in an animal emergency room. A little kitten was brought in with acetaminophen toxicosis.

It only takes one little pill to kill a small animal. Cats don't have the proper enzymes to metabolize Tylenol, and so dropping a pill and failing to pick it up could prove lethal to a pet.

The vet also recommends that you never give an over-the-counter medication to any pet without checking with a doctor.

Susan also links to this story about Bolero, a little pup who ate some poisonous seeds and managed to pull through with some heroic work by his doctors. Bolero will not eat Sago Palm seeds again.

- Touille, blogging about a serious topic today

from a Manhattan Dog Park - photo by Terry Bain

from a Manhattan Dog Park vii
Originally uploaded by Terry Bain.

This dog is just about to catch a flying tennis ball in his mouth.

I have never been interested in trying this type of activity. If someone tosses something in my direction, I duck. But if offered a tasty treat, I will delicately and daintily accept it. Just don't throw it at me!

Bonus link: Cute Puppies, a photo album by Terry Bain.

- Touille, a dog of elegance and refinement

Tail held high!

Dog's tail
From the photographer's photo album Our Three Pets. The three pets are two fine dogs and a rather fine looking cat.

Now here is a photo of me during this morning's walk, with my tail tucked well under:



Here is the reason why I was cowering, so to speak:


The photo does not really convey the true scariness of the truck. It was very very loud and drove by quite close to us.

- Touille, a small dog who doesn't like big noisy things

Buddy

my buddy by palmea.

Buddy's human companion has made a whole album of photos of Buddy, a very photogenic dog.

- Touille, who wants to encourage humans to photograph good-looking dogs like Buddy and me

heading north

heading north by DeeperSea on Flickr.

Geese and swans need to fly north now to get out of the heat. They do this every year! I like being able to stay in the same territory.

- Touille, a dog who has become accustomed to the territory surrounding her South Saint Louis neighborhood

Is anyone out there?

Is anyone out there? on Flickr.
Originally uploaded by Fishcentric.
See the archived post on the Wayback Machine. 

MB tells me that this is a sort of fish. I hope it's not part of her dinner plans. I would not care to have my dinner gaze at me so intently.

- Touille, a smallish dog with biggish eyes who prefers to look at her food, not to have it look at her

Did he say "BATH"?? (Dingo)

Photo: Did he say BATH?
Did he say "BATH"?? by Velvet G on Flickr.


The photographer, Adrian, says:

Did he say "BATH"??

"The American Dingo, forgetting that he needs to be a domesticated dog now, quickly realized mud + dad's car = big trouble... and a bath."

Dingo "Seven" and His Dog Buddies photo set (album) on Flickr.

There are lots of fine looking dogs in this photo album of Seven's pals. I think Seven is an interesting name for a dog. He is as fine looking a dog as Seven of Nine is a Borg/Human mongrel.


- Touille, who is aware that MB is a fan of Seven of Nine

(MB typed it for Touille, and adds: I guess he looks pretty snazzy for a canine! But not quite as snazzy as Seven of Nine! - MB)

Rodents' Talk Isn't Just 'Cheep' (animal language)

Imagine a device that would let you "talk" with your dog or cat. One that could help you ask a cow a question or converse with a dolphin.

Two Arizona scientists say computers may someday bridge the language gap between humans and other animals. 

"You could have this little thing hooked to your belt and you could speak and it could be translated into animal language," says John Placer, a computer scientist at Northern Arizona University.
It sounds like pure science fiction, and at this point it still is.

I am sure that this theoretical device will not be available during my lifetime, but perhaps there is hope for the future communication between humans and other creatures.

[2019 UPDATE: The original link to the article could not be found, but here is a much more recent article about the research on prairie dog language.]

- Touille, a dog who tries to communicate with the human species as well as she can, but who is frequently baffled by the process

Henry (a peaceful Chihuahua)

henry
Originally uploaded by noahstone.

Many people think of the Chihuahua breed as yippy and high strung. Here's a photo by noahstone showing a very contemplative Chihuahua.

More dog photos by this photographer.

More Chihuahua photos.

- Touille, who is only part Chihuahua, but who is sometimes peaceful, sometimes yippy, and always a little feisty