Things that make you smile

[Fading Fast]

Dogs have their favorite toys. Over the years, we've bought our dogs a lot of toys and each dog seems, over time, to find one or two that is his favorite. And they can become very, very attached to it. We had a lab who loved a little hedgehog we got him and a springer spaniel who dragged "his" cow around with him everywhere. A friend's springer loves his squirrel. To each his own.

And as you dog owners know, most dog toys like these have "squeakers" in them, little plastic bubbles they put inside the toy that "squeak" when the dog bites on it - it's part of the toy's fun for the dog.

Okay, enough background, here are my two "things that make you smile" experiences from these. We "share custody" with our neighbor for her springer spaniel. Awhile back, we bought him an ear-of-corn dog toy (he "picked it out" in the store). When his mom goes to work, my girlfriend or I will go down and get him to spend the day with us - he knows the routine well.

Anyway, a few days after we got him his new corn toy, we went down to pick him up and - as is his wont - he excitedly bounded out of the apartment to come over and spend the day with us, but as we were closing the door, he stopped, turned around, ran back into the apartment, came back out with his ear of corn in his mouth and proceeded to trot toward our apartment.

How freakin' great is that - he had realized that he wanted to have his corn with him for the day and ran back to get it. That has had us smiling for days.

Okay, second dog toy "brings a smile" event. Years ago, our dog at the time, a lab, had a stuffed lab (a fleecy fella) that he loved, but, eventually, he played with it so much, the squeaker stopped working which clearly disappointed him as he kept bitting and throwing it up in the air to get it to work again. Being naive at the time, I suggested that we buy another stuffed lab and perform a squeaker transplant since "his" lab was chewed just as he liked it.

But my girlfriend informed me - as if I was right off the bus - that they sell replacement squeakers like this:



How insanely great is that. There as so many people in the world as nuts as us - who are willing to buy and then do surgery on a dog toy to replace the squeaker just to made their dog happy - that there is a market for squeaker replacements. If that doesn't make you smile, well, I don't know what to say.

 

[2jakes]

This makes me smile.
Although first time I read it, I must say, it brought tears.

********
Our 14-year old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away
my 4-year daughter was crying & talking about how much she missed Abbey.
She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven,
God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could and she dictated
these words:

"Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday & is with you.
I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog
even though she got sick, I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim
and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you
will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith."

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey & Meredith and
addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith
pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would
take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven.

A few days later, she asked if God had gotten her letter yet.
I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front
porch addressed,

"To Meredith”
in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by
Mr. Rogers called, “When a Pet Dies”. Taped to the inside on the opposite page
was a picture of Abbey & Meredith with these words:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help & I recognized
her right away.
Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart.
Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have
any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book
for you to keep & something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it &
sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I’m easy to find.
I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God.

 

[2jakes]

Took this yesterday morning.
I know the routine so I had my camera ready.

Every morning after breakfast, Polo likes to go out and play
in the backyard.
Each time he has to show me by reaching at the door knob,
twisting it with his paws, then he looks at me to show me that this
is what I need to do to open the door.

Sometimes I reply, “ Gee thanks for showing me how to open the door,
I’m so dumb and didn’t know how, you are so smart, Polo!”

Sometimes he gives me a look of “ Let’s not get sarcastic...just open the door!”

And each time I let him in, he will meow indicating, “Thank You”!

The oddest thing is that he will give me eye contact when I enter the room.
His eyes will follow me as I move around. Sometimes we’ll have an
eye-staring contest, he usually wins.

If I say something like “WHAT???... he will respond by meowing that
everything is cool!
He has different meows for different things. He will only answer me and
no one else.
He is the only cat that will come to me like a child and put his paws around
my neck and hug me and will snuggle his head by my neck and fall asleep.

I have to wait until he falls asleep before I move him so that I can
get some sleep too.
Not only does he purr loud...he also snores!

 

[Zombie_61]

Dogs have their favorite toys...

Our Not-So-Miniature Schnauzer, Butch, always greets me and/or my wife at the door with one of his toys when we get home. One day a few years ago Butch heard my wife park her SUV in our driveway, and ran to get a toy. He paused, stood looking at his toys for a moment, chose one and turned to run to the front door, then stopped, turned back, looked at his toys again, dropped the one he initially selected and chose another one, then ran to the front door to greet his Mama. Obviously I have no idea about what his selection process is, but he definitely has one. I've read dogs that do this select their "favorite toy of the moment" because they are so happy to see you return that they want to share it with you; I have no reason to doubt that.

As for the dog toys that squeak, Butch loves them. Actually, he loves to tear them apart to get to the squeaker; once he's accomplished that, he usually shows little to no interest in the toy itself. I've often thought we should contact some of the companies that make "indestructible" dog toys just to let them know we have the perfect "test subject" for them; if Butch can't tear it apart, it's truly indestructible.

...If I say something like “WHAT???... he will respond by meowing that everything is cool! He has different meows for different things. He will only answer me and no one else...

Our first cat was a male orange Tabby which we named Junior. Cats and dogs communicate with us in various ways but, like you and Polo, Junior and I had several conversations during his lifetime that went far beyond him simply meowing in response to whatever I was saying. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but the shocked looks on the faces of family and friends who witnessed some of our conversations (many of whom had cats of their own and had never before seen such a thing) informed me that he actually was talking to me in his own way.

 

[BobHufford]

I've read dogs that do this select their "favorite toy of the moment" because they are so happy to see you return that they want to share it with you; I have no reason to doubt that.

Our late Poodle "Buddy" would always bring us (and guests) toys when we came in the house. If he couldn't find one he would grab a dish towel off the oven door handle and bring us that.

 

[2jakes]

It’s amazing what a homemade greeting card
can do to bring a smile and joy to the heart.
I never had kids of my own.
This is from son-in-law’s daughter in Temecula, Calif.
I visited them last summer.
Now I know how those who have children and
grandchildren must feel.
Nice!

 

[2jakes]

I am putty in her hands



(Family Tee Shirt Gift @ AMAZON.)

 

[Zombie_61]

^ Obviously Photoshopped, but point taken.

 

[Bushman]

Our Not-So-Miniature Schnauzer, Butch, always greets me and/or my wife at the door with one of his toys when we get home. One day a few years ago Butch heard my wife park her SUV in our driveway, and ran to get a toy. He paused, stood looking at his toys for a moment, chose one and turned to run to the front door, then stopped, turned back, looked at his toys again, dropped the one he initially selected and chose another one, then ran to the front door to greet his Mama. Obviously I have no idea about what his selection process is, but he definitely has one. I've read dogs that do this select their "favorite toy of the moment" because they are so happy to see you return that they want to share it with you; I have no reason to doubt that.

This alone was enough to make me smile.

As for the dog toys that squeak, Butch loves them. Actually, he loves to tear them apart to get to the squeaker; once he's accomplished that, he usually shows little to no interest in the toy itself. I've often thought we should contact some of the companies that make "indestructible" dog toys just to let them know we have the perfect "test subject" for them; if Butch can't tear it apart, it's truly indestructible.

Heh, I used to have similar thoughts about my Dachshund, Lucy. We never timed her, but we used to say that if it wasn't torn to shreds in 5 minutes, it was "Lucy-proof."

 

[2jakes]

^ Obviously Photoshopped, but point taken.

Gosh, it’s so hard to put one over you,
but thanks just the same!

 

[Fading Fast]

Google's Halloween Ghost:

Sure it's obnoxiously politically correct (not against the message, just don't need it embedded everywhere so that some people at Google can feel smugly good about themselves), but that's everything today - the ghost is still cute as hell.

 

[Zombie_61]

Google's Halloween Ghost...Sure it's obnoxiously politically correct (not against the message, just don't need it embedded everywhere so that some people at Google can feel smugly good about themselves), but that's everything today - the ghost is still cute as hell.

We wouldn't want to scare the widdle snowflakes into more therapy now, would we?

 

[HadleyH1]

Has anybody seen something like this before in their lives????

I think this is beyond sweet , funny, unbelievable and all of this mix together!!!!

What is going on inside that bird's mind? what is he thinking???? he is fearless!!!!!!! and he sings in tune too.....I adore him!

 

[HadleyH1]

My GOD! I love these adorable creatures so much!!! you have no idea!! they are so funny!!!
(this one here obeyed at the end ,haha)

 

[Fading Fast]

Has anybody seen something like this before in their lives????

I think this is beyond sweet , funny, unbelievable and all of this mix together!!!!

What is going on inside that bird's mind? what is he thinking???? he is fearless!!!!!!! and he sings in tune too.....I adore him!

I equally love the equanimity of the dog or, maybe, his complete indifference to the bird. He's having his meal and seems all but oblivious to the bird singing away. My guess, that bird (or a similar one) was in the house when he was a puppy and the bird is just a normal part of his world; had the bird been introduced to him later, it might have been rougher going for the bird.

That said, our shared (long story) springer spaniel will be bothered by some things I don't think he'd care at all about, then he'll be completely indifferent to something that I thought would bother him greatly.

Regardless, it's a fun as heck video.

 

[Rouck]

Taking my classic car out for a spin, cruising around on a hot summer day with all the windows rolled down and listening to a 60's compilation humming out of the tape deck. Appreciative people waving and smiling at me while I am driving my oldtimer adds a big bonus to the experience.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Took this yesterday morning.
I know the routine so I had my camera ready.
View attachment 91114
Every morning after breakfast, Polo likes to go out and play
in the backyard.
Each time he has to show me by reaching at the door knob,
twisting it with his paws, then he looks at me to show me that this
is what I need to do to open the door.

Sometimes I reply, “ Gee thanks for showing me how to open the door,
I’m so dumb and didn’t know how, you are so smart, Polo!”

Sometimes he gives me a look of “ Let’s not get sarcastic...just open the door!”

And each time I let him in, he will meow indicating, “Thank You”!

The oddest thing is that he will give me eye contact when I enter the room.
His eyes will follow me as I move around. Sometimes we’ll have an
eye-staring contest, he usually wins.

If I say something like “WHAT???... he will respond by meowing that
everything is cool!
He has different meows for different things. He will only answer me and
no one else.
He is the only cat that will come to me like a child and put his paws around
my neck and hug me and will snuggle his head by my neck and fall asleep.

I have to wait until he falls asleep before I move him so that I can
get some sleep too.
Not only does he purr loud...he also snores!

View attachment 91115

 

[2jakes]

 

[2jakes]

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ awesome.

Saw this beautiful one ⇩ in the WSJ yesterday (sorry it's a subscription site, but here's the link to the related story if you happen to have a subscription: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ford-woodie-americana-you-can-drive-down-the-road-1512484032?tesla=y

That said, it does't match the wonderfulness that is her campsite.