Wednesday 27 October 2010

Finnegan the foolish hooligan - chapter two

Well, more of Finn the Destroyer than hooligan.
In the last couple of days he has eaten / damaged / destroyed or otherwise chewed:
  • three napkins
  • two towels (only one of which was a dog towel)
  • two television remote controls
  • one invoice (not yet sent)
  • one bottle of nail polish
  • several emery boards
  • the TV paper
  • two pens
  • part of the daily crossword
  • the Past Times catalogue -we didn't want anything - well we don't think we did!
  • the corners of virtually all the dog beds
  • the edge of the hearth rug
  • attempted three different sorts of chair
  • the dining table - only half heartedly not sure if that's because people were present or he was tired
  • tried and was (thankfully) defeated by a box of tissues
  • one purse, leather (which distracted him from the money)
Do you think there might be something lacking in his diet?

(Yes, he says, I'll just eat this labrador's leg)

Monday 25 October 2010

No, no, no

No, oh no. Why beans why? And most definitely, don't ever think about I'm never doing that!

Dog owners celebrate Halloween by dressing up their pets in bizarre costumes at parades - Telegraph

Dogs recognise their owner's face

BBC - Earth News - Dogs recognise their owner's face
Hebe says well of course we do and I know when to hide under the table (usually after I've tried the roast dinner) and when to sit down and wait for the inevitable biscuit. I know Beans sometimes find it difficult to tell us apart with the exception of Finnegan, of course (him being big, stripey and grey-ish) the rest of us being black must make it confusing, that nice lady at the Post Office still doesn't know her Maia from her Juno (I always introduce myself, it's only polite).

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Shivering Penguins - fire up the Pig

We awoke to a dusting of snow this morning and the big yellow snow dragon (otherwise known as a gritter) has been spotted but not before several vehicles were seen slithering down the top road, a few slightly sideways.
So -
for the first time this year the Pig has been lit. As it's the first burn of the season a very hot burn is required to retemper the hotbox and now the house is perfumed with the unmistakeable aroma of hot pig (scorched dust and glowing, expanding iron).
To our great surprise Finnegan isn't in the least bit bothered by it, although the coal scuttle on the hearth might just prove too tempting; especially as he is now confined to the ground floor thanks to a stair gate.

Tuesday 12 October 2010

I'm not happy about this

Flippin' Finnegan, gets all the attention and now he's claiming a massive sculpture is of him!  I don't think so - well it had better not be or he's going to be positively unbearable.

~What do you think - is this a horse or a dog?

White Horse of Uffington 
The White Horse of Uffington. Photograph: Alamy

Well someone now thinks it's a dog and not just any dog but a wolfhound!

As reported in the Guardian: It is one of Britain's most-loved ancient hill figures, careering across the downland. Now vets are being urged to question whether the White Horse of Uffington was meant to be a horse at all.
Challenging the traditional description of the Oxfordshire landmark, retired vet Olaf Swarbrick asks whether the "beautiful, stylised" figure might instead be a dog such as a greyhound or wolfhound.
Swarbrick says: "Looking at it again, it seems that it is not a horse at all: the tail and head are wrong for a horse and more suggestive of a dog. It appears more like a large hound at full stretch. I thought it may be a greyhound, but an anthropologist suggests it is a wolfhound, which (assuming it is not a horse) makes more sense."  More

Friday 1 October 2010

Oh, Finn - only an Irish hound

Could get himself run over - by a stationary car!

Last night on his way back from a post dinner (his not ours) walk Finnegan decided to investigate an interesting noise in the garage and got stuck. Mum came in to say she needed a little help because Finn was stuck. However, on first glance no wolfhound was to be seen. He had gone down the narrow side and then couldn't back up (he's not very good at reversing) so he obviously thought going under the car was a good idea. Closer inspection showed a pair of very long thin wolfhound hind legs lying alongside the back wheel. A torch and a wriggle under the back bumper gave sight of a remarkably calm, insouciant looking hound wedged under the petrol tank with an 'I think I may be a little stuck here' expression on his face. Removal of some of the junk freed his back legs so that they were not wrapped around the wheel. Car in neutral and 'yes, taking the hand brake off might be useful' with a big steady push the car gently rolled forward to expose a grubby hound who with a little wriggle was free. He stood up and shook himself whilst we breathed a huge sigh of relief. And then realised we were all stuck in the garage because the car was now blocking the door (no keys - great thinking). A pull backward and I could slide over the bonnet to push it back in creating enough space to get out.
Finn was dirty and with only a small scuff on the inside of one knee to show for his adventures, half an hour later and he's gallumphing around with Hebe.
Now we all have sore ribs from laughing over the hound who got run over by a stationary car, (there may have been some hysterical laughter in there from sheer relief).
No doubt more chapters in the Adventures of Finnegan the Foolish Hooligan will follow...