Finally, a break

from the frigid cold. Mama worked all day in her office so she never got out to enjoy the warmer weather. Dad was kind enough to take me for a walk (other than the quickies to do my business). It was such a treat to be out again in my birthday suit (no coat). 

I love you Dad!

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zoey

Slam dunk

Mama and I were playing soccer like we do every morning while she is getting ready for work. I know she feels guilty about leaving me so she takes the time to play ball while she is putting on her work face. Some times she gives me a dab of color on my cheeks too! After all, I am a girl.

Anyway, she wasn't paying attention to me while I was throwing the ball around the bathroom. Before I knew it I dunked the ball in the toilet for the first time. Lucky for Mama the bowl was clean (maybe I should say, "lucky for me").

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zo-Zo

Remembering Louie

Happy Birthday to Louie

Message from Louie's Mommy:

Happy 12th birthday up in heaven...

While I sit here thinking of you with tears 

in my eyes I remind myself that you would 

not want me to be sad. 

So  today I will remember all the good years 

we had together and keep them close to my heart.. 

Happy birthday my baby boy... 

I miss you more then I ever thought was possible.

Run free my angel!!! Mommy loves you!!

Louie, you are not forgotten and never will be. We will 

always keep your birthday on the calendar and memories

of you in our hearts.


You did your job well here on earth. You showered your

Mom with lots of love and comfort and shared your love 

with the rest of us. You were one special canine.


We hope you are running and playing with Jackson, 

Sierra, and all the other dogs in heaven.


Love from your grandparents

Yikes, more white stuff....

Okay, I am exaggerating a wee bit. The temperature is thankfully above 2. I hate putting my coat on and Mama has to fight with me each time we are going out. I hate to give my parents a hard time about that coat when I know they are being caring parents and doing what is best for me. I just don't want any wolves, whose genes run in my blood (so I like to think) see me with a maroon coat. How pitiful for me if one amazing wolf happens to spot me!


Mama tells me there are no wolves around here but I am not so sure. After all, I am the one sniffing the footprints on our walks not her.

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zoey

Sending a woofing Valentine to you....

The pics says it all....

To my Mama with lots of love

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zoey Elizabeth

Smile! Your Dog Is Watching

Re-posted from

Maureen Salamon HealthDay Reporter

Filed Under: Behavior | Pets And Health | Research & Development

Friday, February 13, 2015, 5:00 AM

Smiling? Frowning? New research indicates that dogs can tell the difference, though

it's still unclear whether they understand the emotions behind people's facial

expressions.


Austrian researchers found that dogs were able to distinguish between happy

and angry expressions in humans -- a feat the study authors contend was

possible because the canines applied their knowledge of emotional expressions

in humans to a set of unfamiliar pictures presented to them.


While the researchers said the study is the first such evidence that dogs

-- or any animal -- can discriminate between human facial expressions,

animal experts said it comes as no surprise.


"We think the bond between dogs and humans is even stronger and the

communication abilities even more subtle than so far assumed --

by many hard-core scientists, at least," said study senior author Ludwig Huber,

head of comparative cognition at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

"We suggest, though this still needs more [research], that dogs learn from us,

they feel like we do and maybe understand us better than we understand them,"

Huber added. For the study, Huber and his colleagues trained about a

dozen dogs to discriminate between images of the same person making

either a happy or angry face by showing them only the upper or lower half

of the face.

After training with 15 pairs of images, the dogs' abilities were tested in four ways.

The canines were able to tell the difference between the happy and angry face

more often than expected just by chance. This indicates they can tell the two

expressions have different meanings, even in unfamiliar faces, Huber said.

"This does not mean that they understand the emotions," he added. "We need

further experiments to prove this."

But while scientific confirmation awaits, U.S. veterinarians said their everyday

contact with dogs shows they are capable of reading faces and interpreting

underlying emotions. "There's a saying I use in the clinic: Your dog can read

you like a book," said Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a professor of animal behavior at

Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Science in North Grafton, Mass.

"They can read your body language, your eyes, your pupil size; I'm not surprised

they read your facial expressions. They're just so observant."

Dr. Greg Nelson, director of surgery and diagnostic imaging at Central Veterinary

Associates in Valley Stream, N.Y., said dog owners can use the study findings

to be more aware of how they interact with their dogs.

"You should be mindful of your facial expressions," Nelson said. "You can't say

one thing or use punishment or reward in one way and have your facial cues

contradict that." Dodman added: "Perhaps a message would be to smile more.

You can't fool a dog."

The study is published Feb. 12 in the journal Current Biology.

More information

The ASPCA offers tips for understanding your dog.

SOURCES: Ludwig Huber, Ph.D., head, comparative cognition, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria; Nicholas Dodman, B.V.M.S., professor, animal behavior, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Mass.; Greg Nelson, D.V.M., director, surgery and diagnostic imaging, Central Veterinary Associates, Valley Stream, N.Y.; Feb. 12, 2015, Current Biology

Copyright © 2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read more at 

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay696363_20150212_Smile__Your_Dog_Is_Watching.html

Happy Birthday to me..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

I AM 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

I received a new hot pink collar for my birthday

and a new charm for my collar

I am waiting for my birthday cake! 

Mama, I hope there is going to be a cake for my birthday. 

Tonight I will be dreaming of birthday treats 

and my fan club below. 

What girl could resist him?

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zoey

So cold...

I am blessed for many reasons. 

 I have a...

 warm house to live in

 warm coat to wear in the cold

warm snuggle area with Mama

 warm  parents who love me

I wish all my fellow canines 

could be so blessed!

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zoey Elizabeth

soon to be 2

My birthday....

Tuesday I will be 2

Wolf to the rescue

Poor kitty...don't worry your troubles will soon be over. 

See, the wolf took care of him. 

All in jest, we don't want to see any animal hurt. 

Woof, woof, till later, 

Zo-Zo

Tattooed Humans

Moving Photos Of Rescued Dogs 

And Their Tattooed Humans 

Remind Us To Ditch Stereotypes

The Huffington Post / By Arin Greenwood

A couple of years ago, Nashville, Tennessee-based photographer Brian Batista started taking pictures of rescue dogs with tattooed humans -- and not just because they look decidedly awesome together.

He'd started "seeing the correlation" between how people treat homeless animals -- especially those whose heads have a certain kind of blocky shape -- and how they treat folks who sport a lot of ink.

"Some of the things people would say when they would see a heavily tattooed person walking with a pit bull for example were just absolutely ridiculous," says Batista. "They would have memorial tattoos of family members, art they loved, tattoos that tell stories of their lives and be walking with the happiest dogs you have ever seen. And people would yell at them saying 'That dog is a killer! Stay away from my family!'"

Batista, on the other hand, sees something different: He sees people who want to help these animals so much, they literally wear that love on their sleeve -- or sometimes on other parts of their bodies:

Richard Burgess with his foster puppy Major, who'd been badly injured in a dog attack. Major is now living in Alabama "with a pit bull brother and sister, and two human siblings, and he is a very happy dog," says Batista, who plans to take some updated pics of the pup with his family.

 Photo credit: Brian Batista

In the 2 1/2 years since the Tattoos & Rescues series got started, Batista -- who has a couple of rescue pups of his own but, a little ironically, no tattoos -- hasn't run out of dogs or humans to shoot. Goals for 2015 include putting out a book and expanding his model lineup to include cats, birds, reptiles and other non-canines.

His first shoot of the year, all that said, is of a gorgeous pit bull named Lilly, who was recently named the 2015 face of Pit Bull Advocates of the United States, with her adoptive dad Steve Lawrence.

Lilly's loving, inked humans became dog advocates soon after adopting Lilly and discovering the world of prejudice surrounding their wiggling, affectionate bundle of love. Lawrence's wife, Misty, tells The Huffington Post that the smack of this prejudice came along with some harsh criticism she'd already encountered as part of an interracial couple.

Misty says she loves the photos -- and only in part because they help make a statement against the various kinds of hostilities her family encounters.

"I feel like they really show the love between a man and his dog," she says.

Steve Lawrence with Lilly, who was adopted from Nashville's city shelter about a year after the shelter's ban on adopting out pits was lifted. Photo credit: Brian Batista

Lilly and her family, and the other dogs and families like them, were, and continue to be, Batista's inspiration.

"There are so many misunderstood breeds of dogs that are killed simply because of how they look, not how they act. That is wrong. It’s also wrong to judge a person or animal based on appearance alone. It’s bullying, plain and simple," says Batista. "I think that is the pure essence of what animals that need rescue are trying to say. If they could speak in any human language they would say 'Hey! What happens to us is not right!'

"But since they don’t have the ability to speak how we communicate then it’s up to us to listen to them, how they communicate."

"Jeremy tattooing my fiancee’s arm while Mathilda holds her hand is definitely a proud moment for me because Mathilda reached out to do that, sort of like she knew getting a tattoo made her nervous," says Batista. 

Photo credit: Brian Batista

Check out more of Brian Batista's Tattoos & Rescues photo series on his website, where you can also find information about buying prints of the pictures.

And get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!

See more from the Tattoos & Rescues photo series on Brian Batista's website

http://www.brimanphoto.com/

Check out more of Brian Batista's Tattoos & Rescues photo series on his website, where you can also find information about buying prints of the pictures.

K9

Frank is the guy on the left; he is Dad and Mama's friend who lives in Florida. I told Mama I wanted to post the picture because it has a brave canine in it. That dog captures real bad guys and helps make the city safer for all the seniors down in Florida.

I asked Mama if we were going to move to Florida because I always hear Dad talking about it. She didn't have to say anything--her expression made it quite clear to me that we are staying in the north.

Woof, woof, till later,

Zoey Elizabeth