This time of year things get really busy. The holidays are over and the weather is mild, making it perfect for all kinds of dog-friendly activities. We've got dog shows, nose work trials, barn hunts, obedience classes, friendly get-togethers and more. My social calendar is full. So when Hubby and I find a morning to sleep in we relish it. Unfortunately, Jedi doesn't understand lazy mornings. The dog above isn't Jedi, but that's the same look I get when I try to get an extra hour of sleep.
It's Silly Sunday. A great big thank you to Sandee over at Comedy Plus for putting this together every week. Click below to see what others have to share today. -- Kelley
Yesterday Hubby and I took the dogs to a Family Pet Fair at a nearby park. Pet-centric businesses set up booths to sell goods and services. Trainers and veterinarians were on hand to answer questions. Local shelters and rescue groups had dogs available to for adoption. The dogs seemed to enjoy themselves. The event ended with a Blessing of the Pets ceremony.
I found it touching. My dogs mean a lot to me. Hubby thought the whole thing was silly (but took pictures for me anyway -- what a good husband). Whether you agree me or Hubby, I'm sharing a few pictures from the event for today's Silly Sunday post.
A great big thank you to Sandee over at Comedy Plus for putting this together every week. Click around below to see what others have to share today. Hope you're having a great Sunday, silly or not. -- Kelley
Roxy and Jed received a personal blessing from Father John
I took Jedi for a walk in the park. He jumped up on a park bench and I immediately thought of one of my favorite movies -- Forrest Gump. What would Forrest say if he were a dog? I'm thinking maybe something like:
It's Silly Sunday -- what do you expect? Want some more silliness? Check out the posts below. As usual, thanks to Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this hop together every week. Later, -- K
It's Silly Sunday. I woke up this morning thinking I didn't have anything to share. Then I went to work. Silly me, the residents of my sleepy beach town always give me interesting things to share.
Today I received a complaint of an owl attack. A man said that he was jogging early in the morning and an owl swooped down and grabbed his hat. He said it was a very large owl and he could feel the talons sinking in, but the hat kept it from cutting him. Wow. I feel for this guy, but I don't know what he expects from me. Owls are protected. Much like the children of diplomats, owls can be assholes and do whatever they want -- theft and assault included -- and there's not much anyone can do about it. That being said, I alerted Dispatch that we have a delinquent raptor in town.
(Interesting note: I also received two calls from people in the same area saying that their cats are missing. Think they could be related?)
Last week I was flagged down in the nature preserve. A man told me that there was a raccoon hanging around the picnic tables -- and it was daytime. I know this critter. I told him that she is a very friendly raccoon. People have been feeding her, despite my warnings. I assured him that she was healthy and recommended he yell and throw rocks to shoo the raccoon away. The man was flabbergasted that I wouldn't trap the raccoon and haul her off. I explained that FWC does not allow me to relocate healthy raccoons. Indignantly he said "But you don't understand, I have children." With as little sarcasm as possible, I told him "No sir, you don't understand. This is a nature preserve. Raccoons live here. This is her home." I didn't have the heart to tell him that I watched an Eastern Diamondback slither across his campsite just last week. However, I did call Dispatch to let them know that a raccoon was begging by the bathrooms, should anybody else call to complain.
Silly people. The town is a tree sanctuary. You cannot cut down a tree without the express permission of city government. No kidding! What do people expect? The place is full of wildlife. If residents knew what I knew half of them would crap their pants. I've seen foxes, coyotes, opossums, armadillos, raccoons, bobcats, otters, nutria, alligators, hawks, eagles, owls, wild pigs, lizards, turtles and snakes. Two years ago we even had a bear wandering a neighboring beach.
As I mentioned, it's Silly Sunday. A great big thank you to Sandee over at Comedy Plus for putting this together every week. Click below to see what others have to share today. Hope you have a silly Sunday too. -- Kelley
I've told you some of the strange calls that I've received. Sometimes I just shake my head in disbelief. Unfortunately, even police officers can come down with a case of the stupids from time to time. Today I'm sharing some of real situations where normally rational officers have called for back up from Animal Control.
A shift sergeant was flagged down by a citizen who had watched a fat squirrel dart across the road. The squirrel wasn't injured, but "appeared out of breath." The sergeant called on the radio and told me to go check on the squirrel and make sure it was OK. The squirrel was gone by the time I got there, but I still had to knock on doors (yes, really) and ask if anybody had seen a fat, freaked out squirrel. I was also told to check for a large stick that the passerby placed next to Supersized Squirrel for reference.
A woman found her cat with a rat in its mouth. When she tried to take the rat from the cat, the rat bit her. The officer in charge called me at home -- at midnight no less -- to ask what to do with the rat. I won't repeat what I told him!
One officer called me because a sparrow had flown into the dry cleaners while he was picking up his uniforms. I told him to prop open the door and I'd be there in a 5 minutes. Surprise! The sparrow flew out the same way it came in before I got there. So which one had the birdbrain that day?
Not the raccoon either -- same pose though
I was dispatched to assist the police in a neighboring city. They had a raccoon at the elementary school. I drove 20 minutes to discover that the raccoon was sleeping in a tree about 20 feet off the ground. The police didn't know what to do. The raccoon wasn't bothering anybody but they were afraid he might wake up and chase children (seriously!) so we spent the last hour of the school day watching a raccoon sleep "just in case . . ."
A rookie officer was concerned because a turtle was crossing the street between two ponds. I showed up, got out of my truck and moved the turtle. Problem solved!
I was dispatched to another neighboring town because there was a raccoon at the dentist's office on a cold February morning. (FYI: 50 degrees is cold in Florida.) I arrived on scene and saw two police officers guarding the parking lot. They said the raccoon lying on the blacktop was sick. I got out my catch pole and walked towards the raccoon. It jumped up and took off like Usain Bolt. I swear the raccoon gave me the finger as he ran up a tree. I asked the officers why they thought it was sick. The tall one said "He was just lying there in the sun." I asked "Like he was trying to get warm?" The other officer gave me a sheepish grin and said "Yeah, maybe . . ."
The reason I find these stories so funny is because the absurdity of the situation is contrary to the level-headedness that these guys normally possess. But they're human and susceptible to stupid moments like the rest of us. Fortunately, they all have good senses of humor too. I hope you had a good laugh at their expense.
Guess what my friends . . . it's Silly Sunday! Want some more silliness? Check out the posts below. A huge thanks to Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this hop together every week. Later, -- K
Every now and then something happens that makes me think that perhaps my sense of humor is a bit . . . off. I'll be laughing myself silly on to see people staring at me like I have two heads. (Which, ironically, makes it even funnier.) For example I find the following quite amusing:
Hermione had a grooming appointment at the vet last week. On the way back I realized I was hungry and drove through Burger King. Was it wrong that I ordered a chicken sandwich with Hermione sitting in the front seat? Do you think she realized I was eating her distant cousin?
On a similar note, Mr. Frodo is my cockatiel and he loves Zaxby's commercials. (Zaxby's is a chicken chain here in the south.) He'll dance back and forth while singing at the top of his lungs. Is it wrong to find this amusing? Or is it worse that I'll dive for the remote and try to mute the TV before he realizes it's on because I don't want to hear him whistle for the next 20 minutes? (BTW, his favorite thing to sing is "Here kitty, kitty, kitty" over and over and over.)
Finally, how about this meme? Is this funny? (For the record this is not my picture. However, Jedi and I have had similar conversations.)
Whether you think I'm super silly or slightly twisted, I'm sharing this post on the Silly Sunday blog hop. Click around below and see what others are sharing today. Maybe you'll get a case of the giggles. And if you have something silly of your own, link up! A big thanks Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting this each week. -- K
It's Silly Sunday, so here's some random silliness for you. Before I left for California all my Florida friends said "Make sure you post pictures for us on Facebook." Well, I spent most of the time socializing with family and old friends. Boring pictures. So I decided to share food. (Who doesn't love food?) Hubby and I came up with the SoCal Food Tour. We had to eat anyway, right? The rule was we only ate at places we couldn't find at home. Some friends thought it was funny, others thought it was a cop out. We had fun with it -- even the kids got involved! Here were the stops in case you missed the FB posts.
Jack in the Box -- With headquarters in San Diego, this is a predominantly West Coast chain. You can find them in other places throughout the country, but we don't have one in Florida so the kids wanted to give it a try. I was a bit sad to see that the chain has dumped the creepy clown mascot.
Baker's Drive-Thru -- This chain is exclusive to the Inland Empire area of Southern California. On a nostalgic note: I worked the drive thru at a Bakers in my 20s, and the one we ate at was next to my old junior high school. Awww . . .
Rosa Maria's -- Mexican food Mecca! (We ate here twice). This is a family owned hole-in-the-wall with the best food EVER. Until recently there was only one Rosa Maria's and it would close for the entire month of August while the family was on vacation. Fortunately, several family members have branched out and opened three other restaurants in the area. And there are enough employees to enable all four locations to remain open year-round. This is such a big deal that my brother and his new wife took it into consideration before planning an August wedding.
Romano's Macaroni Grill -- Yes, they are all over the country but the closest one to our place is in Orlando. The food wasn't as good as I had remembered. But we met up with some old friends from high school and the great conversation made up for what the food lacked.
In-N-Out Burgers -- You can't go to the southwest without visiting an In-N-Out. The kids loved it. The food was fresh and fast and everything they had heard about. Unfortunately, my uncles didn't tell them about the secret menu until afterwards. Now I guess we'll have to go again so they can experience animal fries.
Hangar 24 Craft Brewery -- OK, It's not technically food, but this microbrewery is worth mentioning. Once upon a time Redlands was full of orange groves. It was the most wonderful place to be in the spring, the smell of orange blossoms was strangely intoxicating. And orange blossom honey was available everywhere. Now there are more condos than citrus trees and you have to buy honey in the grocery store like everybody else.. This brewery is trying to save what orange groves are left. It's most popular beer -- Orange Wheat -- was served at my brother's wedding.
Eureka! -- I had never eaten here before. When I started posting the SoCal food tour on Facebook I got a PM from a local friend saying "You've got to try a Eureka! burger." I did and I was not disappointed. This California chain serves craft beers along with American (although a bit hipster/fusion) cuisine. My favorite part: they'll put avocados on anything.
Del Taco -- Del Taco is unique in that it serves burgers and fries alongside tacos and burritos. We used to hang out here all the time when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, the quality of food has gone down (or maybe my taste in food has gone up). Either way, it seems that Del Taco is no better than Taco Bell these days, and it will not be on the next SoCal food Tour.
Fiesta Village -- Technically not a food place. In fact, I wouldn't recommend eating there at all. The food is on par with Chucky Cheese. However, Fiesta Village has a water park, mini golf courses, laser tag and an arcade that we just can't find here in Florida. So, give me a mini golf course with a windmill on the green and I will gladly pay $4 for a watered-down Coke. Yep, I'm easy.
HomeTown Buffet -- This is pretty much a low-budget Golden Corral. We were in the mall and starting to get really hungry. It was convenient and they offered a military discount. (Besides, we had already made plans to eat Rosa Maria's again for dinner.) It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.
Wienerschnitzel -- Anyone who knows me knows that I love hot dogs. When I saw that there was a Wienerschnitzel half a block from the hotel I told Hubby we were not leaving until I got myself a chili cheese dog and a kraut dog. I did, and they were absolutely wonderful. (BTW, when I was a kid it was Der Weinerschnitzel. Anybody know when they lost their Der?)
Johnny Rockets -- We have these in Florida to. I ate at one in Daytona Beach about 10 years ago. But what made this Johnny Rockets special was that it overlooked Hollywood Boulevard. Can't get that in Florida! BTW, I highly recommend the Avocado Chipotle Ranch Chicken Sandwich. Yum!
Gina's Italian Bistro. Very exclusive, by invitation only. (P.S. I beat up a cheerleader in 1983 and earned a permanent invitation.)
OMG it was good. We ate until we hurt, drank wine, laughed, and spent way too much time in the hot tub. It was soooo worth punching that girl in the face!
San Dimas Wine Shop & Tasting Room -- This was the best find of the trip. We spent the early afternoon in downtown San Dimas before heading off to the airport. San Dimas is a cute little town, despite what Gina says. At the very end of the main drag, down by the train tracks, there's this little wine shop. The woman behind the counter was very knowledgeable and happy to pass out samples. To the right of the counter was a case full of personalized wine glasses. Those were for the regulars -- they have scheduled tasting nights! [Insert shocked face here.] And why don't we have something like this in Jacksonville?!
El Pollo Loco -- This chicken place puts all other chicken places to shame, and I almost missed it! For eight days I said "We have to eat at El Pollo Loco before we leave." Somehow, we just kept missing it. Lucky for me, there was an El Pollo Loco half a block from the car rental place in the skeezy part of L.A. I didn't care! I got myself some crazy chicken after all.
Alright, enough with the silly non-dog stuff. I'll get back to dog related content tomorrow. But for now, I think I'm going to see what's in the fridge. For some strange reason, I'm kind of hungry. Want some more silliness? Check out the Silly Sunday posts below. A huge thanks to Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this hop together every week. Later, -- K
P.S. With all that eating I only gained four pounds. Seriously! Even better, I lost three of the excess pounds my first week back.
P.P.S. Anybody have suggestions for the next SoCal Food Tour?
It's Silly Sunday, and Sandee at Comedy Plus has challenged us all to share something funny. Lucky (?) for you, I like a good pun . . . and quite a few bad ones too! It's not quite dog related but this is one of my favorite jokes:
Mickey Mouse goes to a divorce lawyer. The attorney says "Mr. Mouse, you can't divorce your wife just because she's a little crazy."
Mickey says, "I didn't say she was crazy I said she was fucking Goofy."
If you're done groaning from the last joke, here's one of my favorite cartoons (Surprise, it is dog related):
Want more silliness? Click around below and see what others are sharing today. Do you have something silly to share? Link up! As always, thanks Sandee for putting this together every week. Later, -- K
We had the newspaper delivered when I was a kid. I loved looking at the Funny Pages. One of my all-time favorites was The Far Side. Gary Larson has a strange sense of humor, especially when it came to animals. Anybody remember these?
30+ years and they still crack me up. Good thing it's Silly Sunday! Want more silliness? Click around below and see what others are sharing today. Thanks to Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this together for everybody. Later, -- K
P.S. Did you know you can follow The Far Side on Facebook? You can! Click here.
It's Sunday. While most everybody else is halfway through a holiday weekend, I'm stuck at work. Tomorrow too. Ugh.
Right now things are slow. I'm in between beach patrols, all animals in the kennel have been tended to and I can't finish my bite reports because the victims aren't returning calls. (They're probably at some fun BBQ. I'm so jealous!) To amuse myself I'm scrolling through the latest set of silly dog-themed memes my friends have tag me in. Wanna see my favorites so far?
I hope these memes amused you on this Silly Sunday. Click around below and see what other silliness people are sharing today. Do you have something silly to share? Link up! As always, thanks Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this together every week. Later, -- K
P.S. I hope you are enjoying your holiday. Be safe, because some people "enjoy" too much. And please take a few minutes to remember the reason for this holiday. Photo to the right is from the United States War Dogs Association FB page.
P.P.S. Don't tell my boss I'm blogging at work. Shhh . . .
Well, it's that time of year again. As the weather warms up the weirdos come out. (Who am I kidding? This is Florida! Freaks and roaches live year 'round here.)
I've given you Freaks on the Beach stories before. And last December I shared the extreme grooming competition from AKC Eukanuba National Championship. Today, I saw a little bit of both. While on routine beach patrol I came upon this:
No, it's not a lion. It's a labradoodle. For real!
How's that for a Silly Sunday post? Want more silliness? Click around below and see what others are sharing today. Thanks to Sandee at Comedy Plus for putting this together for everybody. Later, -- K
Last week I admitted that I'm a little silly when it comes to dogs and dog shows. This week I'm sharing another (not-so) secret thing about me. I'm silly about Star Wars. As such, we celebrate May 4 every year in my house -- as in "May the Fourth Be With You." Here are a couple holiday pictures from years past.
I named my dog Zente's Jedi Mind Trick -- so that might be a clue to my zeal. Here Jedi models his Yoda ears and sand colored padawan robe.
I love Jedi's Han Solo smirk in this picture. If you look closely, you can see Jedi is wearing one of his many Star Wars collars.
Not to be outdone by the dog, Drogo, the World Famous Bearded Dragon* has a couple Star Wars photos too.
Here Drogo pretends to be a dewback on Tatooine. (If you don't get the reference, that's OK. Just be impressed that I got the lizard to hold two plastic storm troopers on his back.)
And here's Drogo, R2-D2 and the Millennium Falcon. Yep, I'm a bit silly when it comes to Star Wars.
How's this for a Silly Sunday? Hope it made you giggle a little. Click around below and see if anybody else can elicit a snicker or two. Thanks Sandee for putting this together. Catch you later, perhaps in a galaxy far, far away . . . -- K
It's Silly Sunday. And here's a surprise . . . I'm silly when it comes to dogs. And I get a little goofy about dog shows. (OK, so maybe it's not a surprise.) My friends and family think it's pathetic funny. Sometimes they'll see silly dog memes on FB and feel the urge to tag me. Here are a few of my favorites.
Have a silly Sunday! Click around below and see if you get a case of the giggles. And if you have a rib-tickler of your own, link up! Thanks Sandee for hosting this each week. -- K
