You know what they say about big dogs?  They leave behind big … ummm …. waste byproducts. I’d have to say no to this precious pooch - Giant George.

First, could you imagine wrestling with him?  What if your kid had this dog and wanted to bring it home for a visit?  Sure baby! He’ll have to stay in the barn!

Thanks Ron at Popular Fidelity for the link.

This big beast is 7 feet, 3 inches long, 43 inches tall at the shoulder, and weighs an impressive 245 pounds!  Every month, owners David and Christine Nasser feed George 110 pounds of dog food, and he sleeps in his very own Queen-sized bed.

Words fail me.

Joe Powell annually posts a caption contest for a Christmas monkey.  This year is no exception…

Here’s mine:

“Oy vey… How inappropriate to dress me like Santa while I play with my dreidel.”

This wigs me out just a little bit, yet the pictures are so stunning that I had to share at least one and the link.  Photographs of animals inside the womb - or shell.

These amazing embryonic animal photographs of dolphins, sharks, dogs, penguins, cats and elephants are from a new National Geographic Documentary called “Extraordinary Animals in the Womb”. The show’s producer, Peter Chinn, used a combination of three-dimensional ultrasound scans, computer graphics and tiny cameras to capture the process from conception to birth.

Truly amazing.

Hope your holiday stockings are full of chocolate BARK and catnip!

Photo by TW Collins via Flickr Creative Commons.

Several shelters throughout the country are seeking both individuals and families to foster pets during the holiday season.  In Colorado, at least 12 dogs needed temporary people so they could be home for Christmas.

“I think it (Christmas fostering) will be good for them,” Jensen said of the dogs. “Once they are in their small kennel, they get pretty depressed. I think having human interaction will help them get adopted. Hopefully, the public will pull together.”

It may not be too late for you to provide a temporary shelter for an animal in need. Call you closest humane society to see if you can help.

Photo from itchmo.com.

Although I’m linking to Newscoma two posts in a row, this is worth it!  Her view of shopping:

As she so aptly says, “In the world of retail, we are just food.”

Nevertheless, my daughter got our kitty a giant stocking filled with catnip treats. Nom nom nom…

Newscoma writes of raccoons and other varmints.  She is the new varmint blogger.

When I was a kid, my grandfather always told me that raccoons were most likely rabid. This was back in the day when any animal was rabid, Atticus Finch had to go and shoot them even though he was a pacifist. Or at least that’s what “To Kill A Mockingbird” taught me. See the fake knowledge I’m making up for your very own pleasure, all five of you!

This reminds me of a vacation once when we saw a raccoon rooting around in the trash can next to our cabin.  My brother very quietly sneaked out the door, tiptoed down the steps, gingerly reached, and GRABBED the raccoon by the tail lifting it up.  All four of the raccoon’s legs splayed out in panic.  My brother’s practical joke lasted only two seconds before let go of the poor creature.  We didn’t hear any more noise that night from the trash can.

To this day, I still feel sorry for that poor raccoon.

Photo from Kelley Eskridge.

My old cat Pootster used to talk.  Shut up… yes she did.  She’d say “Ouuuut” and “Mawwww” regularly.  She also knew who was who in our house.  If we said, “Go ask Annie.” she’d run straight to Annie’s room and say, “Ouuuut.”  Pootster also liked walking with us when we were outside, but she usually stopped at the edge of the driveway of our neighbor’s house. (That’s her in the picture saying “Mawwww.”

Aunt B.’s orange cat like walks, too,

… the orange cat has taken to going on our morning walk with us.  Side by side, with the dog, clear over until we get to Lloyd.  Then he waits there for us to be done walking in the street and he meets back up with us and walks home.

I just adore her cats and dog!

But my daughter’s wacky college friends like this.