Browsing: Animals/Pets

A Brief History On November 17, 2005, the puppy that came to be known as Giant George was born in Arizona, a puppy that would become the tallest living dog in the world and as far as we know, the tallest dog ever at that time. Digging Deeper A Great Dane, Giant George grew to a height of 43 inches (110 centimeters) which bested the previous record holder, Titan (another Great Dane) by ¾ of an inch, a clear margin.  Note: Dogs are measured at “the withers” to establish their height. (withers- the ridge between the shoulder bones, used to…

A Brief History On November 3, 1957, before any chimpanzee, any man, any woman, any Russian, any American went into space, the Soviet dog Laika became the first astronaut (cosmonaut in Soviet terms) in history, an indication of just how important dogs are to people. Digging Deeper Unfortunately, poor Laika was on a one way mission, as the fledgling space programs of the day did not include the technology for a safe return to Earth.  A stray found roaming the streets of Moscow, Laika was an 5 to 6 kilogram mixed breed dog.  (Note: We say mixed breed instead of…

A Brief History On May 8, 1877, the first of what has become perhaps the best known dog show in the world took place in New York City’s Gilmore Garden (later to become Madison Square Garden).  A group of hunters and dog enthusiasts had gotten together at the Westminster Hotel to form the Westminster Kennel Club, with the primary purpose of holding a dog show. Digging Deeper The Westminster Kennel Club is actually older than the American Kennel Club (AKC), and was the first club admitted to the AKC for membership.  Back then for the first 20 years of the…

A Brief History To take a step back from all the violent events we have recently covered, let us now celebrate some photographs taken by myself or family members in 2015 of wieners…well wiener dogs (Dachshunds), that is! Digging Deeper My mother took the above photograph of our Dachshund, Marie-Lousie, in February 2015 on a cold day in Ashland, Ohio. The above photograph was sent to my mother’s phone by my sister-in-law in March 2015. I took the above photograph at a gas station in Ashland, Ohio with my cellular phone in March 2015. This beautiful picture portrait taken in…

A Brief History On February 18, 1930, Elm Farm Ollie (Also known as “Nellie Jay,” “Sunnymede Ollie” and “Sky Queen.” Say, why does a cow need aliases???) made aviation history as the first cow to fly in a fixed wing airplane.  Since non-fixed wing aircraft include either helicopters or autogyros, we wonder if any cows flew in those first.  Just saying… Digging Deeper Not only did Elm Farm Ollie make the first bovine flight, but she also became the first cow to be milked while flying in an airplane.  (Who seriously keeps track of this stuff?  The FAA, Federal Animal Aviation?) …