DOGS WEARING DORKY COSTUMES

Well, it's Halloween, and that means people will be forcing their dogs and cats to wear goofy costumes.  Personally, I won't even agree to wear a dog sweater, as I may have mentioned before, so wearing a costume is really, really nothing I want to do!

You can't fool me!  This isn't the real Scooby Doo!

But some dogs put up with it -- at least long enough to get their pictures taken.  And some even go in parades or contests with their costumes on.  Yesterday Mom took me over to the Humane Society, where there was a Pet Reunion and Open House.  I never went to this event before, even though Mom usually goes every year.  Barry has gone to it a couple of times, but after a while, Barry gets really stressed and starts trying to bite people.  So mostly Mom doesn't take him there anymore.

A dog dressed up as the x-ray of a dog

This year Mom decided she would take me, even though I was not adopted from the Humane Society.  But I am a rescue dog, and I am cute, and I don't bite people.  So that's why she took me.  Of course, I would have rather stayed home and taken a nap, but I did not get a choice.  At least Mom did not make me wear a costume, even though there was a costume contest.  But I did have to wear a bandana with pumpkins on it. Mom and I got our picture taken there, and Mom put on a witch's hat for the photo, but she did not look very witchy, in my opinion.  In the photo, I have "alien eyes," as Mom calls them, and she couldn't get them fixed on iPhoto, so I guess I look scary without even having to wear a costume.

I did not like being at the Pet Reunion until I found out there was FOOD there.  Mom gave me some food, and not just dog treats, but she gave me real People Food, which she never gives us dogs at home.  So I got to eat a couple of tortilla chips and some bean dip and a little cake.  But I didn't get any of Mom's brownie because it had chocolate in it, which is Bad for Dogs.

A lot of dogs were in the costume contest, and the dogs that won it were named Hunter and Holly, and they were littermates.  Their moms dressed them up as a doctor and a nurse.  Mom did not take her camera, so I don't have pictures of any of the dogs at the Pet Reunion.

Anyway, I have been collecting some photos of dogs wearing dumb costumes that people seem to think are "funny" or "cute."  Even Mom sometimes thinks these costumes are "cute."  But other times she feels sorry for the poor dogs that have to wear them.

First of all, why do people think it's cute to think of their dog being eaten by a crocodile?

Or by a giant fish?

Or to get stabbed through the head by a knife?  I guess I will never understand humans.

This costume is good if you don't have much time to make a costume for your dog.  Seems like it wouldn't stay on very well, though.

Okay, would you walk around with a balloon between your legs, just so you could look like a cow?

And these poor pug flowers.  Pugs look silly enough without having petals added!

Here's a scuba-diving dog.  You would never get me to wear all that stuff, and I certainly wouldn't get in the water with it on!

These three labs had to dress up as bunnies.  How humiliating is that?

If you are into Wizard of Oz stuff, you can dress your dog like Dorothy.

And if you are a Trekkie, you can make your dog be the Starship Enterprise.  (Poor basenji.  What if they really try to launch him into space?)

Here's Harry Potter with Cerberus, the 3-headed dog from hell.  Or maybe it's the costume from hell!

For a Western theme, you can dress your dog as a cowboy.

And here are two basenjis posing as Mexican vaqueros.  

Anyway, my point is that making your dog wear a costume is probably abuse, and there should be a law against it.  Of course, this is just my opinion, but as you know, my opinion is usually right.  I feel very lucky that my mom doesn't make me or my brothers wear costumes.  In fact, Mom says that this year we are going to be Halloween Scrooges.  I'm not sure what a Scrooge is, but it has something to do with an insect called a humbug.  I will have to do more research on this topic.  But anyway, Mom wants to watch TV tonight without having to go to the door every five minutes to give out candy, so we are going to leave our porch light off and pretend that we are not home.  I think this will be a really fun game to play!

Puma Shoes

Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Puma is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Elegant Black and White Puma

The company is known for its football shoes and has sponsored acclaimed footballers, including Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthäus, Kenny Dalglish, Didier Deschamps and Gianluigi Buffon. Puma is also the sponsor of the Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United States, the company is probably best known for the suede basketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which eventually bore the name of New York Knicks basketball star Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement partnership with Joe Namath.

Puma Shoes Black and White Edition

Following the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the new-established company as Ruda, but later changed to Puma.[3]:31 Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe designs feature the distinctive "Formstripe",[3]:33 with clothing and other products having the logo printed on them.

Black and White Puma Shoes
Puma Shoes for Girls

The company also offers lines shoes and sports clothing, designed by Lamine Kouyate, Amy Garbers and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and association football leagues. Since 2007 Puma AG has been part of the French luxury group PPR.

Red and White Puma Shoes

With a tremendous Fight MEGA STAR movie is end...

After the announcement that about the winner is Ajith weerasinghe...what happened next..we are still trying to catch what was there..At the end of the competition the Chairman of EAP group and Swarnavahini Dr. Soma Edirisinghe entered to the stage and there were Kamal Addaraarachchi, Ajith and other Competitors..

But after that Dr. Mervin Silva also got into the Stage with several guards..at that time there was starting some incidents..few pillows trying to attack someone..but it weren't Ajith or Kamal or Other..Quickly Guards tried to escape with Mervin, Soma and others..but few were trying to start a fight on the stage..suddenly the telecast also closed without informing..
Just now there are number of video clips about that incident. but we can not properly identify what happened..

Althoug Final Result is exited We wish You MEGA STAR...Ajith Weerasinghe

Mega star competition which organized by the EAP Group Swarnavahini television yesterday was held at Sugathadasa Indoor stadium. there was a big crowd to watch that unseen oppertunity. According to the final result which decided through the SMS votes of viewers, winner is Ajith Perera.

Most of People expected MP Dayasiri Jayasekara will be the winner of this competition. because he is very talented and he has an attractive voice. many viewers wished that final result. But finally he was Ajith.

Upeksha Swarnamali and Suresh Gamage also performed very well but they couldn't reach Dayasiri's place. But Ajith's performances were not in skillful level. but we have to accept the final results without comments..

BLACK CATS!

At Halloween you always see lots of pictures of black cats because people think they are scary.  But this is just a dumb superstition, and it is not true that black cats are scary.  Mostly, black cats are as nice as any other color of cat, and it's not their fault that they were born black.  In fact, black is a very excellent color for an animal, as I have mentioned several times before, and if the black is trimmed with white, that is even better!

So how did all this stuff about scary black cats get started?  Well, it didn't start with the Egyptians, because the Egyptians pretty much worshipped all cats, no matter what color they were.  And when the family cat died, everyone was very sad, and they wrapped the cat up like a mummy and buried it very lovingly.

But later on, in Europe during the Middle Ages, people started getting nervous about cats, especially black ones.  And this seemed to be because cats were very independent and sneaky, and also they made tons of kittens, so there were cats everyplace.  And old, lonely ladies sometimes felt sorry for the cats, and they fed them.  And then people started thinking the old ladies were witches and that they could change themselves into black cats and sneak around at night and do bad things.  So these nice old ladies and their cats got burned at the stake.

In France, thousands of cats were being burned up because people were afraid of them, but finally in the 1630s, King Louis XIII made them stop doing that.  But people in other parts of Europe killed off their cats, too, and then guess what happened.  There started being lots more rats!  And then the rats brought the Plague, and a bunch of people died.  Which seems to me like it was sort of a punishment for killing the cats.

Anyway, in America, even today, there is a superstition that if a black cat crosses your path, you will have bad luck.  And some gamblers believe that if you are on your way to the casino, and a black cat crosses in front of you, there is no point in gambling that day because you will lose.  The Irish have an old superstition that if a black cat crosses your path in the moonlight, you will die in an epidemic.

But some people actually have good beliefs about black cats.  In Japan and Britain, people think that black cats bring good luck, not bad luck.  In Scotland, if a black cat comes on your porch, you will have prosperity.

Sailors have always thought that cats are lucky to have on their ships, and black cats are especially good to have.  Fishermen's wives will sometimes keep black cats in their homes because they think the cats will bring their husbands home safe from the sea.

In the 19th century, pirates believed that if a black cat walked onto a ship and then off again, that ship would sink on its next trip.  And they also thought that a black cat walking toward you was bad luck, but a black cat walking away meant good luck.

Most people nowadays won't admit to believing any of these superstitions about black cats, but the sad truth is that when black cats are in shelters, they have a harder time getting adopted than cats of other colors.  So maybe, somewhere in the back of people's minds, they are still thinking about black cats and witches and bad luck and evil stuff.  Or maybe it's just because black cats are harder to get a good picture of to put on Petfinder.  And it's not that black cats never get adopted.  It just takes longer for somebody to adopt them.  Which is also true of black dogs, I am sad to say.

Anyway, if you want a black cat of your very own, you can find one at the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, where my mom volunteers.  Or if you don't live in Kansas City, you can probably find a black cat at your own local shelter.

Here are a few of the black cats at the Humane Society.  If you adopt any one of these cats, I promise that you will have very, very, very good luck.

Ralphie

Sophia

Hilary

Jack

PARIAH DOGS

Pariah dog in Egypt

The word pariah used to be kind of a bad word that meant you were an outcast and you didn't get invited to any nice parties.  And the way this word got this meaning was from a tribe in India that was named the  Pariah tribe, and they were outcasts.  So Indian dogs that were just living on the street without having anyone to buy yummy dog food for them were called pariah dogs.

But nowadays if you call a dog a pariah, it doesn't mean you think the dog is a bad, dirty outcast.  It just means that this type of dog has developed for many thousands of years without humans getting involved in the process.  So you could say that pariahs are "all natural" dogs who have evolved to survive in certain conditions, which are mostly at the edges of villages and cities where humans live.

Pariah dogs in India

Pariah dogs are interesting for scientists to study because their genes go back in a pretty straight line to wolves, but they are not wolves, they are dogs.  They live close to people, but they are not totally dependent on people for food and shelter and stuff like that.  So the pariah dogs are smart and independent and hardy and alert.  And they have to be that way so that they can stay alive.

The country that probably has the most pariah dogs is India.  There are lots of people who like these Indian Native Dogs, which are known as INDogs.  Dogs that look like INDogs, and also their fossils, have been found in lots of places, such as China, Israel, and Italy.  And the surprising thing is that many of these dogs ended up being about the same size and color.  Because usually they are medium-sized, and they are yellow or reddish in color.  They like to live in packs, kind of like wolves, and each group has a certain part of town that is its own territory.

Doesn't this dog look like a basenji?

Pariah dogs eat garbage that people throw out, even if it's all vegetarian garbage.  Sometimes they will suckle milk from a sleeping cow or buffalo, or they might eat dead animals.  They just pretty much eat anything they can find.

Mostly, pariah dogs are nice to humans, but they don't get chummy with them or anything like that.  Sometimes at night, an alpha dog might attack a person who comes into his territory, but usually the person can scare the dog away by yelling or by throwing a rock.

This dog could definitely be my cousin!

In the pariah dog pack, only the alpha male and female get to mate, which is the same rules as wolf packs have.  If the alpha male dies or something happens to him, there is a lot of confusion and squabbling until the dogs figure out who the new alpha is going to be.

Another INDog that looks like an African basenji

Anyway, like I told you, there are pariah dogs in lots of countries, and guess what!  Basenjis are actually pariah dogs, too!  Well, the ones who are still living in Africa are probably more pariah-like than the ones that are being bred to have curlier tails and stuff like that.  The UKC lets people register pariah dogs, and these dogs go in the same group as sighthounds.  But in Europe, pariah dogs are called primitive dogs.  And what they mean by "primitive" is "being little evolved from an early ancestral type."

So the point of all this is that basenjis, who are a type of pariah dog, have been around a long, long time, and we have a lot of street smarts, just like the INDogs and all the other pariahs in the world.  Which means we are probably all cousins, when you think about it, and that is a good thing!

YAWNING

Yawning is something that everybody does.  And by "everybody" I mean dogs and people and all other kinds of animals and birds and reptiles.  But even though everybody does it, nobody knows exactly why we do it, because it just sort of happens.  Which doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of theories about why yawning happens, because there are, and I'm going to tell you a list of some of those theories.




Theory #1:  We yawn because our blood needs more oxygen, or at least that's what people used to think.  But now scientists have proved that this theory is probably mostly wrong.

Theory #2:  We need to stretch our muscles, and we can do this while we are yawning.  If our muscles are all stretched, then we are ready to spring into action.  And this might be one reason why we yawn if we are nervous, because we think we might have to jump up and run away at any moment.

Theory #3:  Yawning is a way of cooling off the brain or even the whole body.

Theory #4:  Chemicals in the brain make us yawn.  These are the same chemicals that make us feel happy or sad or hungry or whatever.  Some chemicals make us yawn more, and others make us yawn less.

Theory #5:  People yawn because they feel empathy for other people.

Anyway, these are just some theories, and some of them might be true, and some might be false.  I am just telling you what I read about why we yawn.  And I have made the theories simple and easy to understand by leaving out lots of details, but if you like details, you can go to Wikipedia and do a search for "yawn," and read them all there.

But now I want to talk about why dogs yawn.  Sometimes when dogs yawn, it is because they are bored or tired or sleepy, just like when people yawn.  But other times yawning is used as a calming signal.  And the way a calming signal works is like this:  maybe you are meeting another dog for the first time, and you want that dog to know that you are not a threat to that dog.  So you turn your head and you yawn.  This means that you are not challenging the other dog, and there is no need for the other dog to attack you.  And if that dog has learned to read doggy body language, he will know exactly what you are saying.

Or another way you can use yawning is if you are in obedience class, and your person is trying to get you to do something, but you don't understand, and you are feeling nervous.  Then you can yawn to try to feel calmer and also to tell your person that you are nervous and confused.

People can use calming signals, too.  I mean they can use them with dogs.  They don't work so well with other people, because if one person yawns at another person, the second person will probably just think the first person is bored, and the second person will be offended.  But if a person yawns at a dog who is scared, then the dog will think that person is not so scary.

Oh, and then there is what is called "infectious yawning," which is if one person yawns and then everybody around them starts yawning, too.  This can also happen with chimpanzees.  And it can happen with dogs, too, because dogs may start yawning if they see their people yawning.  Which can mean that the dogs are trying to calm their people because they understand that the people are nervous or excited.  Or maybe it just means that everybody got tired and sleepy at the same time!

Sometimes just thinking about yawning will make you start yawning, which is kind of what is happening to me right now.  So I'm going to stop writing and go take a nap!