Nature Friday - Thief On Tape - Sort Of

Thanks to Rosy for hosting this event.

We spoke last weekend about Lady moving her trail cam so she could see who was taking the feeder.

Last Friday, Man noted the feeder was on the ground at lunch time, so Lady brought the camera in.

This is what it captured (along with 3500 other pictures she needs to go through!)

Here you see a black squirrel on the big feeder, and you can make out the small feeder on the right - it is at the very edge. That is the feeder that was removed.

Next, we get this series of pictures of the red squirrel. Note - this not the only time a squirrel was captured literally on the camera. If you note, the camera has been moved, so you can't see the small feeder to the right. 

The camera has been moved so you can't see the small feeder. 

There are a few glances of it in shots like this! As you can see the red squirrel is on it.

This is the very last shot of the feeder, you can just make out the bottom of it if you look carefully. 

Our best guess is that pesky red squirrel somehow managed to knock it off! It is just super funny that before this happened the squirrel went on the camera. However, the mystery is not completely solved. Maybe, once I have gone through all of these pictures, we will try again. 

The squirrels aren't the only ones hamming it up for the camera!

Stay tuned for more trail cam feeder pictures!

Note: Lady highly recommends this as a hobby item. She did not get one of the fancy that sends the picture to your phone (internet is too bad out here). She got an inexpensive one and is very happy with it!

Trouble On A Tuesday - Trash Pandas? A Great Mystery

On Saturday, Lady and Man left the house around 9:30 am. They were going out to visit Grammie and the Big Guy's new house. They finally got possession and will be moving in shortly after Easter. Lady and Man also picked up groceries on the way home (because they literally drive by the grocery store).  They arrive home about 3:10 pm. 

As they were pulling into the driveway, Lady said out loud "I bet we should have moved the garbage."

Those may have been famous last words, because they walked into this:

Please note that the container behind the tipped over garbage pail (an old milk container) hold the dog food.

The dogs were asked what happened and they had no idea.

I have no idea Lady, I have been just sleeping here

Witnesses were questions - they saw nothing.

While the mess was a lot (and the second in a few days), Lady's biggest concern was the fact that 20 chicken wing bones were missing. A Google search said to monitor the suspects for 72 hours to make sure there was no blockage. 

While both dogs maintain their innocents in this mess, their poop has oddly have tinfoil and chicken bones. 

Oh the adventures of being a pet owner!

(The garbage will be emptied or removed when people go out next time, which won't likely be for some time because we are in the 3rd wave of pandemic). 

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Update: The Phod was out repeatedly on Sunday night with an upset tummy. The people were thrilled. A rice breakfast was served and he is being closely monitored. Paws crossed he will be fine! By the end of the day his tummy seemed to settle and his behaviour all day was normal. 

Note: Yesterday people mentioned we should take Lee out when she asks. We generally do, and when she is scared she asks to go out and rarely does business because as soon as she is out, she wants back in. It is likely the ac idents would have happened if we had gone out. 

Mischief Monday - A Who Done It

While the health officials are asking Canadians to reduce contact 25% our peeps have been out exposing themselves to germs. Friday they went to the Costco to get supplies. Saturday they went to visit family for Halloween. So while they were breaking the rules, a mystery happened in our house.

After the peeps return 87 million hours later and after they took us out they walked into the kitchen to find this

Somehow, with the can still upright but moved from its place the garbage jumped out of the can and someone licked the shawarma take out containers from Friday night clean and ate some mouldy bread. The peeps had been worried about chicken wings, but those appeared to be at least mostly in the can still. We of course have no idea how this happened. 

The integration was not fruitful. 

 

What do you think happened?

Mischief Monday - A Who Done It

The date: Saturday evening

The crime: Lady went to plug in some of the holiday lights and noticed the last string was burnt out. She discovered a chewed up light on the floor.

The dog bed had been moved near these lights as the tree is in the usual spot.

The suspects: Hailey and Zaphod

After a lengthy trial it was determined that there was no evidence to support either of them did it. It must have been one of the mice.  As of Sunday am, 31 mice have been caught! 

Speaking of lights, don't forget to get your picture in for our Festival of Lights. Deadline has been extended to Saturday afternoon (Lady is consulting out of town during the day and will only have a chance to finish our post then). For each participant we are donating $1 to Wounded Warriors PTSD dog program. Let's try and bankrupt Lady! 

To Test or Not to Test

What am I?

I have been thinking about getting DNA tests for the dogs. I am so sorry I can't remember whose blog I read about the importance of getting these tests done (see my Monday post about last week and you will know why everything left my head - it might be a miracle I know I read a post about it LOL!). They made some great arguments about knowing the breed for temperament issues. This and Heart Like a Dog's Caring for Critter's Round Robin, a Round Robin about health problems (our post will be on September 20th), has me thinking about the genetic/breed health issues we may not know because we don't know the breeds of our dog.

While I have always enjoyed having the mystery mutt, I am thinking about getting it done. The cost seems reasonable (about $60).  I just don't know if we will get the information we want. It says common breeds are in the database. So I am worried that the money may not give us the answers.

My question to all of you: Have you had the DNA of your dog tested?  If yes, how was it? What company did you use?

Shepherd and ?????

Another clue to the Mystery of Lee

When you have a true mutt, you always are thinking "I wonder what she is" and looking for clues.  Perhaps this is because the answer to "What kind of dog do you have?"  is "mutt" and that doesn't sound so nice! Zaphod is clearly not 100% Shepherd, but is enough that I can say Shepherd mix, so I don't think about it as much as Hailey. Hailey is truly a mystery mutt.

I think every breed of dog has been suggested for her over the 2.5 years she has lived with us. Most people who meet her want to try and figure her out.  While we have considered DNA testing, we have decided against it because of the cost and the fact that only 75-100 breeds DNA is tested, which could still leave us wondering. Besides, we like having a little mystery in our lives!

We got another clue a few weeks ago thanks to our friend Loki the Dober Dog. He too is a mystery mutt and his Lady is trying to solve this mystery. In her search she came across the Australian Kelpie. This dog looks so much like Loki, but a couple of pictures made me think of Hailey.

Then I saw this one and I thought - That is my Lee. Similar colours, body shape etc.

Google Picture of a Kelpie. Lee has the same white patch on her chest.

Hailey the Kelpie??????

My brief reading about this bread shows they can be a huge variety of colours, including black like Hailey. She is about the right size. She has the right type of coat. She is definitely a herding dog and has LOTS of energy. She has amazing eye sight and does like to nip ankles when playing. The physical evidence does suggest she may be part Kelpie.

However, one mystery remains - how did my herding dog get webbed feet? Kelpies do not have this trait. Or at least it was not listed in the things I read.

My guess is now she is a Kelpie (or another type of cattle dog) with some sort of dog with webbed feet (like a lab or shepherd. Given that she is drawn so much to shepherds I wonder if that is it).

The mystery will continue!

Feline Friday - A Who Done it - as told by Lee

When: Yesterday morning, while Lady was out of town for 36 hours. [This adds support to the claim that no good came from a Thursday].

The scene of the crime -
this would be the area I ate once -
you can see some of my scratches

The event: The Man went to take the garbage out. When he returned the door between the garage and house was locked. The Man had not unlocked the front door that morning (he took us through the garage). The Man was locked out. We can't repeat the kind of things he was saying here, they are rude!  Fortunately for the Man (and a mistake on the culprit's part), a door in the basement was open and he could get back in.

The suspects:

Hailey - The beautiful and determined to be free young dog, who has an anxiety disorder.

Phod - the gentle giant 

Baggy - the bitchy but lazy old cat

Nin - who sings and sings and sings about his life being terrible.

The verdict

No more cushion for you!

After a careful investigation conducted by me, I have determined that this had to be done by Nin. Us angel dogs would never do such a horrible thing. It is my guess that Nin jumped up and locked the door to punish the Man for not feeding him fast enough. I sentence Nin to time on the counter without his pillow.

The Lady's reaction: She could not stop laughing. She was not that supportive. [We laughed and laughed too]

Cause something crazy like this happens the once a month the Lady goes away overnight the Man is sure the Lady teaches us these things as tricks. The couple now plan to hide a key so no one is locked out again!



Editors Note: As per his comment below, the Man would like it very clear that he did not lock the door and lock himself out. It was clearly an "inside" job!