Doggie tales. And letting politicians know what you think of them.

Everyone and their grandmother has been acquiring a dog during lockdown or so it seems. Not us though. I’d have to have a robot dog, I think, so that I don’t have to smell the dog food, pick up the dog poo, and generally clean up the mess. But then, I don’t need the incentive of a dog to get me to go out for walks. 

For a good long while, well before we even dreamed of such a thing as lockdown, it seemed that the dog of choice was a pug, one of those poor, funny-looking animals with squashed faces, the one that look and sound as if they have serious breathing problems. Cute and funny as puppies, they always seem to me to look ugly and unappealing as grown-up dogs. By then, of course, their owners have grown attached to them, so their pug-ugliness is of no account. It always amuses me when I see a very macho-looking man walking such a little dog - did he choose it or was it the women in his life?

Nowadays, however, all sorts of exotic mixes are all the rage. You can have a cockerpoo, a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle (usually a miniature poodle because of the size difference - proper poodles are quite large!), a cavapoo, a poodle and cavalier King Charles spaniel mix. Then there’s a chorki, part chihuahua and part Yorkshire terrier, a dorgi - daschund and corgi - or a labradoodle - labrador and poodle (fullsize poodle this time I imagine). And those are just a few. And all of them are expensive!

Time was, a mixed breed dog was called a mongrel and was considered less desirable than a pure breed! 

And now I have been reading about raccoon-dogs. Originally from Japan, they belong to the fox family. They were introduced to Russia for the fur trade but some of them escaped and spread and bred all over the place. Finland, Sweden and Denmark regard them as pests. Some people in the UK have kept them as exotic pets but they have a tendency to be stolen (expensive pets!) or to run away - they are describes as the escapologists of the animal kingdom! A wild one has been captured and killed in Wales thus year and one was sighted recently in Lincolnshire. They look very pretty but they are a threat to native species, especially rare ones, small mammals and ground-nesting birds. They might be the next non-native pest for us to look out for and possibly worry about, as they are very adaptable and breed rapidly. 

Non-native species can be a nuisance. Think of grey squirrels pushing out our native red ones from most of the country. I also hear that the British hedgehog is causing problems in New Zealand and, of course, all those years ago Australia had problems with rabbits. Be careful which animals you allow to immigrate. Priti Patel should perhaps worry about that more than about refugee children!

Here’s a link to an article about people who have their pets’ portraits tattooed onto their bodies. 

That’s two things I’m not doing then: buying a pet, of whatever kind, and having its picture tattooed onto my arm, leg, shoulder or wherever. As with all tattoos you have the problem of Fido’s picture being distorted of you put on weight, lose weight, become wrinkly! Not a good idea, in my opinion anyway. 

Moving away from the world of pets, here’s a story from across the Channel in France:

“A medieval martial arts enthusiast who slapped the French president, Emmanuel Macron, across the face will appear before a judge in a fast-track trial on Thursday.

Damien Tarel had acknowledged striking Macron while the president was on a visit to a professional training college, but told investigators it was not premeditated, the prosecutor Alex Perrin said in a statement.

The unemployed 28-year-old said during interrogation he had been close to the anti-government gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protest movement that shook the Macron presidency, and held ultra-rightwing political beliefs.

“He maintained that he acted out of impulse and ‘without thinking’ to express his discontent,” Perrin said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Tarel’s attack on the president stunned the country. Macron later described it as an isolated incident and said violence and hate were a threat to democracy.”

How many of us have felt that our politicians deserved a good slap? Few of us have ever got around to doing the deed! 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!