... new animated film about Barney

Barney the White House Scottish Terrier Doing Fest Rounds
September 14, 2006
Sydney, Australia
Writer/director Anny Slater's comedy animation BARNEY THE WHITE HOUSE TERRIER has been selected to screen at the Oscars qualifying Chicago International Children's Film Festival. Films that win at the festival are automatically short listed for nomination at the 2008 Oscars. The same film is one of only nine short films screened at the Boston Comedy Festival, where comedians Denis Leary and Lewis Black will be performing. The film is an imagined conversation between President Bush's dog Barney and his secret service agent.
more at AWN

... Crikey - he's here!

posted by a fan on the Crocodile Hunter website~

An interesting day at the Rainbow Bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge is a place of both peace and anticipation as departed pets await their beloved owners. There are plenty of things to keep them contented while they wait: trees you can't get stuck in, endless meadows, splashing streams, thickets perfect to hide in for pounce-attack games.

But one day the residents noticed some rather...unusual newcomers arrive.

The koalas and the kangaroos slipped in rather quietly, but then came the bearded dragons, the skinks and the goannas. The influx of snakes startled an entire family of cats up a tree. Pythons, cobras, tiger snakes, brown snakes and even fierce snakes. There were so many at one point, it seemed the ground itself was alive with writhing. A burly wombat shouldered his way through the crowd and plopped down in a shady spot, barely missing a Jack Russell terrier who yapped indignantly as he abandoned his position.And then the crocodiles showed up.

Finally, a Great Dane managed to get up enough nerve to approach one of the reptilian giants. "Um....excuse me," he said hesitantly. "But why are you all here?"

The croc dropped her jaw and laughed. "Same as you, mate," she said. "Waitin' for someone who loved us."

The dogs, cats, gerbils and other "typical pets" looked at each other in confusion, then at the plethora of weird, ugly and downright deadly creatures assembled. Who on Earth could possibly love some of those faces?

"I see him!" shouted a green mamba from his vantage point in one of the trees. A cacophony of squeaks, hisses, bellows and roars erupted as the mob surged forward toward a lone human walking across the field toward the bridge. The other animals managed to catch a glimpse of him before he was overwhelmed by the crowd.

"CRIKEY!" he shouted joyously right before he was bowled over by the wombat.

"Well I'll be," said a Persian as she tidied up her fur. "It's that Aussie my human liked to watch on TV. Had to be the craziest human on the whole planet."

"Oh, please," remarked a echidna as he hurried by. "Is it really that crazy to passionately love something God made?"

... when your dog goes missing

What to do when your dog goes missing ...
Ideas like:
- Keep an action checklist in a visible location, along with the current phone numbers of emergency contacts, like individuals and organizations you will need to call in case of an emergency. Also keep a copy in your vehicle for when you are traveling.
- Of extreme importance is to keep with this list of contacts a current local street map. It can greatly assist your search in case you need to coordinate a search unit.
- Check frequently your dog to see that he wears his collar. Have a tag attached to the collar with the dog's name and your current home and/or cell phone number. Additionally, always have a current rabies tag and pet license tag attached to your dog's collar. You can find it again sooner by using the engraved tag numbers.
More at Kadence Buchanan's E-zine articles

... tribute to a dog now passed

The House Dog's Grave
(Haig, an English bulldog)
I've changed my ways a little,
I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; a
nd you, if you dream a moment
You see me there.
So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door
Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you'd soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.
I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot your bed;
no, all the nights through I lie alone.
But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read --
and I fear often grieving for me --
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.
You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying.
A little dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope that you when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine.
No, dears, that's too much hope:
you are not so well cared for
As I have been.
And never have known the passionate undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided . . . .
But to me you were true.
You were never masters, but friends.
I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved.
Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end.
If this is my end,I am not lonely.
I am not afraid. I am still yours.
Robinson Jeffers
h/t to Ellie

... dog-friendly hotels, parks and beaches

Thanks to Ellie Brecher at Crazy for Critters for linking this NY Times Amy Gunderson piece
In the the eight years since he became a cofounder of DogFriendly.com, a Web site that lists hotels, parks, beaches and restaurants that welcome pets, ... hotels have increased their size limits on accepted pets, and about half of the hotels he now lists will take dogs of up to 80 pounds. "It used to be just some low-end places like Motel 6 and Super 8 along with a few midrange chains that accepted dogs," he said. "But now you can choose from low- and high-end places, and extended-stay residences. And more now not just accept dogs, but welcome them." Hotels may charge $25 to $125 for having a pet stay in the hotel; the fee typically covers the cleaning of the room and other basic amenities like water and food bowls and cleanup bags.

... twilight days

Poigant twilight days of a man's ... best friend