The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.
The Art of the Chase
The 14th century French nobleman Gaston Phoebus declared that he “delighted all my days in three things. The one is arms, the next is love, and the other is hunting.” True to his humble houndish heart he added modestly that “There have been far better masters of the two former than I am.”
An expert hunter, Phoebus wrote the detailed manuscript “Le Livre de la Chasse.” Dedicated to his fellow sportsman Philip the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and later owned by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella, it became popular throughout Continental Europe and England and was widely translated under the title “Master of the Game.”
Read on…
Posted 12 May 08
Dog Duties: Hearing Dogs
All dog duties involve dogs doing things that help out the two-leggeds in their community, whether it’s shepherding sheep and cattle up and down the commons and mountains, or sniffing out accelerants and combustibles at airports and other security hot-spots.
A Charity based in Glasgow Scotland is looking for special dogs to help deaf people live independently. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People need young adult dogs which are suitable to be trained to act as the ears of a deaf adult.
They are particularly interested in dogs with a friendly nature aged between 8 months and 3 years. Anyone who has a dog they believe might be suitable should call the Puppy Socialising Department on 01844 348 105.
But surely one of the most rewarding of dog duties is to do for two-leggeds what they themselves cannot do. Seeing dogs for blind people is probably the best-known of this type of dog duty, but a relatively new charity that is equally important is that devoted to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Woof! (Hearing Dogs were launched at the world-famous Crufts Dog Show in 1982).
Posted 09 May 08
Sound Hound: Louis’ Gone Fishing
This little Louis Armstrong ditty was done as a duet with Bing Crosby.
Two greats of the greats. And wouldn’t you know it…? A hound dog called Cindy features in the song…. Awoooo!
Gone fishin’ (bah-boo-dah-do-dah-do-dah-do)
Got your hound dog by your side (that’s old Cindy-Lou goin’ with me)
Gone fishin’ (mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm)
I’ll tell you why I can’t find you
Every time I go out to your place…
You gone fishin’ (well how you know)
Well there’s a sign upon your door (uh-huh)
Gone fishin’ (I’m real gone man)
You ain’t workin’ anymore (could be)
There’s your hoe out in the sun
Where you left a row half done
You claim that hoein’ ain’t no fun (well I can prove it)
You ain’t got no ambition
Read on…
Posted 07 May 08
Can there be such a thing..?
I don’t believe it! I just don’t believe it!
Little feet always told me that there was no such thing as a bad dog: only bad dog owners. Which I’ve always, always believed. Woof!
But this little cartoon caught my eye and made me chuckle. Obviously the fantasy of some bad two-legged dog companion….
Awoof!
Archie
Posted 05 May 08
Beware the Strange Dog
I particularly like this dog sign…
Perhaps because it leaves you mystified as what to expect. A clown dog? A dog that won’t step on cracks in the pavement? Strange? Strange in what way?
Awoof! Archie
Posted 02 May 08
The Tale of Sun-Ka the Wise Dog
One day Old John the Indian came down the trail to the farmhouse. He was on his way to town to sell some baskets. As Uncle Mark was going to town with the team, he invited him to ride.
Since the town was several miles away, the old Indian gladly accepted the invitation, leaving Ke-ha-ga his old hound at the farmhouse.
In the afternoon little Luke was sitting on the fence when old Ke-ha-ga came over to him. Putting his front paws on top of the fence, he licked the little boy’s hand.
The story of Little Luke and his friends has been published on-line by the Gutenberg Project
“Hello, Ke-ha-ga,” said little Luke, “so you have come out to see me, have you? Can’t you tell me a story?” he added as he gently patted the old hound’s head.
“What kind of a story do you want?” asked the old dog.
“Oh, most any kind will do,” said the boy. “Tell me a story about some dog of the olden, days,—the days before the white men came to this country.”
Read on…
Posted 28 Apr 08
International Day of the Dog
The International Day of the Dog is traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday in April.
IDOD is celebrated by the following countries: Australia; Canada; Denmark; France; Germany; Holland; Italy; New Zealand; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; UK; USA; Venezuala.
Read on…
Posted 27 Apr 08
Snuppy’s Birthday!
It’s Snuppy’s birthday on the 25th of April. You remember Snuppy, the cloned Afghan hound?
Bona, also cloned, was born on 18 June. The scientific plan was to clone two separate dogs, male and female, and see whether they would be capable of reproducing.
Although ‘created’ by the now-disgraced cloning expert Hwang Woo-Suk of South Korea, the work of his team in creating Snuppy has been verified by SNU and other authorities.
Posted 25 Apr 08
A Horticultural Hound: Tulips
Just the other day I was trotting through a tulip bed. They were still, even so late in April, coming into flower. Apparently Istanbul has a Tulip Festival. Come to think of it there’s also a tulip festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Which raises the issue that not all flowers get their own festivals. I mean, there’s Orchid Shows, and meetings of horticultural societies devoted to the growing of carnations, sweet peas and the like. But not that many flowers that have actual ‘Festivals.’
Tulips are bulbs that are not as showy and extravagant as the lily, nor as heady-scented as the hyacinth, but that have, in their extreme simplicity of flower-form, an understated and luxurious elegance and grace.
All of this got me curious ’bout Tulips. What are they and why do horticulturalists esteem them so highly? So I decided to do a little digging.
Read on…
Posted 23 Apr 08
Happy Spring
This sweet old fashioned postcard features a dapper dog and a darling girl, both of whom bear spring flowers — bluebells and lilac by the look of it.
SuperWoof to Spring!
Awoof! Archibald, Esq.
Posted 22 Apr 08
Dog Duties: Sea Dog Emergency
I particularly like the jaunty logo of the ‘Sea Dog Emergency Response’ unit, that features a salty pirate-styled dog, complete with wooden leg and pirate eye patch. Notice also the head scarf and small barrel of rum borne on his chest. Grrwoooof!
As exciting as being a pirate dog is, I must admit that this is definitely not the job for me — just as being a whale poop sniffing marine conservationist dog was not for me.
Read on…
Posted 21 Apr 08
Spratts Stylish Advertising
Now this is how to advertise a stylish dog food!
Awoof!
Archibald, Esq.
Posted 18 Apr 08
Samuel Beckett’s Houndishness
Samuel Beckett was born near Dublin in 1906. He wrote narrative prose, poetry, drama and criticism in both English and French.
As a young man in Foxrock, Beckett kept a Kerry bitch, and he mentions her at some length at least three times in his writings.
Beckett would go on long walks, up to 10 miles, with his Kerry to find peace and inspiration. This picture shows Beckett with one of his mother’s Kerry Blues — though not the one remembered in Krapp’s Last Tape, whose death he grieved so much.
Read on…
Posted 16 Apr 08
Horticultural Hound: Dog Flower
Dog Flower — Trillium erectum — is a houndish plant listed by the RHS Horticultural Database. A native of Eastern North America, this plant has been given the RHS Award of Garden Merit, meaning it is an exceptional plant that is not difficult to cultivate.
Other accepted names are: BIRTHROOT; AMERICAN SHAMROCK; BATHROOT; BETHROOT; BLOODY NOSE; BUMBLEBEE ROOT; DEATH ROOT; DOG FLOWER; GROUND LILY; HERB PARIS; INDIAN BALM; LAMB’S QUARTERS; LAMB’S SUCCORY; NOSEBLEED; ORANGE BLOSSOMS; RED BENJAMIN; SQUAWROOT; STINKING BENJAMIN; TRUE LOVE.
These lovely woodland plants are the red variety of trillium. The white trillium are known as trillium grandiflora.
Trillium blossom in early spring and pepper the twinkling woodland floor with patches of colour.
Posted 14 Apr 08
©2008 Roleta Archibald, Awoof!™