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by winecountrydog Tilin
We are arfully grateful to have lovely photos and a true corgi story to share with you. This story was furwarded to us by British Columbia twitter friend and dog lover @So_OK, aka Dorthea. She received this story in an email from an Okanagan B.C. friend who adopted a Cardigan Welsh Corgi.
"Our wonderful old dog Cleo died on September 11, 2009, at 14 years of age. She was the perfect match for farm life in British Columbia, where there are six acres to call her own and protect. We have learned that you are never really alone if you have a dog in your life. We also learned how important a dog is on a farm (especially during the fall when the bears abound and circle the farm in search of last scraps of food before hibernation). We also learned that we will always have a dog in our lives.
"After several weeks of seeing a ghost of Cleo out of the corner of our eyes and missing the greeting at the door when we came home, and finding bear scat around the house, we started doing the dog quizzes on line to determine what our next best dog might be. We were ready for something smaller than Cleo's 80 lbs of pure alpha energy, and Welsh Corgis turned up again and again as the best match for farm, companion, big yet small dog. We also have friends that have had Corgis and always like them.
"So here we are with a rescue Cardigan Corgi (the ones with the tails) from Alberta.
"Haley, whose name is under consideration for a change as my sister-in-law shares this honour, is 18 months old [in these pics]. Likely the runt of a litter as she is full grown and only 20 lbs, which is too small to meet breeders standards.
"She is a total delight. House broken, crate trained and comes on a dime when she is called. She is totally affectionate, sleeping at our feet and next to us on the couch when permitted. We are introducing her around and looks like she may have some alpha qualities as she protects her space around other females.
"She has barked at the sounds of the bears in the night, and I have heard them climbing nearby trees (they remember Cleo and don't yet know that Haley is just a twig of a thing.) We are smitten and very happy to have her in our lives.
"This winter, with its blanket of clouds over Okanagan Lake, will not be quite so depressing."
May all our furriends, near and far, enjoy romping in the autumn leaves! A Happy Howloween to you all! ~ Tilin & Jack Corgi
by winecountrydog
If this week's North American weather is any indication, the appearance of Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil and Groundhog Ontario Wee Willie on February 2 will forecast six more weeks of winter.
Wee Willie seems to knows his stuff. His predecessor, Wiarton Willie, passed on great predictive powers, which are attributed to living on the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
There are many pawlific prognosticators, includin' New York's Staten Island Chuck, Georgia's General Beauregard Lee, Alberta's Balzac Billy, Manitoba's Brandon Bob, and Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam.
Best known is Br'er Groundhog Phil, who comes out of his Gobbler's Knob burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to look around after hibernating all winter. He has been doing this same routine for the past 200 years.
If Phil sees his shadow, there'll be six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn't see his shadow, there'll be an early spring.
The logic here is tricky to follow. If the day is overcast, Phil won't cast a shadow — which would scare him — so he'll stay out to play? . . . Howl's that again? And if the day is fair and sunny, Phil will see his shadow and run back in his burrow to continue hibernating? Woof?
This is quite confusing the way humans interpret it. I wouldn't be surprised if the German settlers who brought the tradition with them to North America were confused too. After all, they'd previously depended upon hedgehogs to do the forecasting.
When the settlers could find no hedgehogs in North America, the Native Americans must've straightened things out by pointing to the groundhog. Native Americans revere the groundhog as the wisest animal, so the groundhog is someone who can do the forecaster's job.
But methinks that the hedgehog has the edge on great forecasting. Nothing pawsonal, Br'er Groundhog.
I'm just inclined to believe that hedgehog cleverness is the stronger legend.
After all, it's a legend going back to ancient Greek texts:
In regard to the instinct of hedgehogs, it has been observed in many places that, when the wind is shifting from north to south, and from south to north, they shift the outlook of their earth-holes, and those that are kept in domestication shift over from one wall to the other. The story goes that a man in Byzantium got into high repute for foretelling a change of weather, all owing to his having noticed this habit of the hedgehog.
Only a slightly different paw-note, it's said that Groundhog Day was, in its earliest incarnation, a human pagan celebration associated with fertility and weather divination. It was called Imbolc in Gaelic, the language of the Celts.
I'll have to paw into this subject more. As you know, we Welsh Corgis have Celtic associations. It's pawbable that Cardigan Welsh Corgis were brought to Wales by the Celts about 1200 B.C.
I'm a Pembroke, not a Cardigan, but maybe I can forecast weather too.
by winecountrydog
As my last paw-writin' act of the year 2008, I'm gonna give you a little corgi pun as well as endless dog photo fun.
I'm hereby introducin' you to my pick of flickr: 'Acts of Dog.' Below is a sample from the photostream to whet your appetite: what an arfully cute cardie!
Acts of Dog is the most awesome collection of photos of Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh Corgis and other dogs you'll ever see online.
These goshdog great pix come to us from a human who lives in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The fellow's a gifted and prolific photographer!
Paw-leeze, pawse and enjoy Acts of Dog on flickr. See all the doggies fur yourselves by clicking this link to the cardie photo.
A very Yappy New Year to you. Woof!
Paw-note: Headin' into 2009, let's not furget all the corgis and other dogs who still need furever homes. Woof kudos to rescue organizations like PAWS, based in Sydney, NSW, Australia, a small group of self-funded rescuers, volunteer foster carers, and walkers who help lost or abandoned animals in NSW.
by pawlitico
While humans are bizzy choosing their top picks fur 2008, I'm doggone far into faves fur 2009. After all, I'm a herder. I always want to git goin' on what's next.
I'm asking you to paw-leeze pawse and check out my calendar choice fur 2009: the Wheelcorgis Wall Calendar.
You can see this calendar at the wheelcorgis store on CafePress.com. It has the most amazing dog photos you've ever seen in your goshdog lives!
And this super-cool calendar contains an educational page on degenerative myelopathy (DM), a condition that some Pembroke Welsh Corgis, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, German Shepherds, and 40-plus other dog breeds develop.
The Wheelcorgis group and the CorgiAid Cart Program provide wonderful help and advice fur corgis who need DM testing and carting.
We learned a lot about corgi carts after Tilin Corgi's back trauma. First we had to worry that Tilin might not make it at all. It wasn't DM, but other acute problems. Then, luckily for Tilin, his lifesaving surgery enabled him to function again and eventually to get around on his own.
We're always reassured to know that corgi cart humans would help if one of us lost our mobility. Paw-leeze pass on the word about these talented wheel corgis and their dedicated humans!
Paw-note: CorgiAid supports the rescue and rehab of abandoned corgis and corgi mixes across the U.S.
by pawlitico
Tilin Corgi and I want you to know that we love all dog breeds. This having been said, we admit that we find certain Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh Corgis arfully cute.
Take Lola the Pembroke, fur example. She has the 2008 winning "sleeper" photo in the Dogster & Catster 4th Annual World’s Coolest Dog & Cat Show.
Photos don't get any cuter than this one of Lola asleep in her dog bowl. I guess Lola gets tired from doin' a lot of exercise with her human.
A lot of dogs don't get as much exercise as Lola. But they still eat an arful lot of food — pawbably lots of commercial kibble and other stuff that makes 'em obese.
I've grown up to be a dog who speaks my mind. I mean, when I have somethin' to howl about, I find it hard to hold back. So I'm gonna growl now:
Wassup with all the obese dogs!? I've seen so many of them lately: overweight dogs gobblin' down junky treats at howliday parties, super-obese dogs who can't jump up onto Santa's lap to get their photos taken, and so many obese Corgis and Basset Hounds — two breeds who are prone to back problems and injuries. We should never ever be allowed to carry extra weight.
C'mon, humans, do you love us dogs, or what!? If you love dogs, pawleeze quit overfeeding 'em!
Tilin Corgi and I stay slim. We learned to paw attention to proper weight 'cuz Tilin was prone to back problems. You know that Tilin's being trim and strong saved his life! . . . Need I howl more?
Paw-note: See all the super-cute photos of Lola CGC, including her runnin' around agilely, on her Dogster.com page. I hope I wasn't too howly and growly about the subject of overweight dogs. . . .
