A Pet Peeve is something you do that is highly annoying to your pet. Examples of Pet Peeves; your sleeping until dawn, or hogging more than 20% of the sofa, or making it impossible to nap comfortably on a warm keyboard, or your stubborn refusal to dump everything in the fridge/trashcan onto the floor for easy access.
Carnivorous mammals giving birth is called “whelping”. Where did that word come from? Perhaps from the sounds “mom” would make but she has to be silent to avoid attention from other carnivores.
You come home; canary’s missing, terrified dog is quivering under the bed, sofa’s shredded, house plants are chewed to nubs. The Cat says “I didn’t see nothing, I was asleep all day”. She’s guilty of purrjury.
Expecting another wretched dog breed pun? Sorry, a Black & Tan Coonhound is an AKC registered purebred dog and one of few American-only breeds. Heard this one? A rabbi, a priest, and a coonhound walk into a bar…
The trouble with a kitten is THAT
Eventually it becomes a CAT.
– Ogden Nash
Back in 1950, Andy’s Pet Shop was engaged in Monkey Business; buying and selling monkeys as part of the retail pet industry. Now the monkey business is confined to Andy’s staff and volunteers enjoying their work a little too much.
Another Artisan or Designer Dog is the Bich-Poo; a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Poodle. Can you think of a worse name for a companion animal? I’m not making this up, there are many Bich Poo puppies for sale on the internet.
Testudines (i.e. turtles) are reptiles (cold-blooded, egg-laying, air-breathing) with a protective shell. This includes sea turtles, land turtles, terrapins and tortoises. The oldest turtles existed more than 200 million years ago, which puts our short history into perspective. Turtles live long and prosper. A 100 year old turtle will have the liver, lungs, and kidneys of a youngster.
Pet Word of the Day: A dewclaw is a vestigial digit on the foot of many birds and mammals. A dewclaw grows high on the leg and is mostly useless. Dewclaw is also the surname of a webcomic family successfully resolving the problems of a mixed marriage (herbivore and carnivore).
Mammals and marsupials who are not native to a particular geographic area are “furriners”.
Happy rabbits do a little dance called a “binky”. It’s sometimes just a simple toss of the head, or an elaborate vertical leap with reverse kick turn and ears flying in all directions.
At mealtime, many waterfowl are buttinsky; feeding with heads down; rear end up. The ducks are minding their own business, so why is a buttinsky a phrase for a troublesome meddler?
A Pekingese mixed with a Lhaso Apso is a Pekaso; a talented dog known for creativity and getting into trouble with lady dogs.
Dogs worming their way into our hearts is good, but heartworm in our dogs is bad. Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm spread through mosquito bites and does most damage to lungs, not the heart. Life and language are full of contradictions.
Pet Word of the Day: Zoonoses: a study of human noses pressed against glass or cage bars. A mildly entertaining pastime for zoo inmates. Use Google for alternate definitions.
What word relates to a rabbit, cat, fish, or dinosaur? It’s applied to vehicles of air land, and sea; fictional characters; technology; geographic locations and more. A regal word of one syllable. You know the answer now: REX
Thousands of years ago, an experimental branch of felines devoted themselves to the domestication of humans. Their goal? To develop caretakers for basic needs and to cater to their daily whims. Today, many humans are considered successfully domesticated by The Cat.
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. -Ogden Nash
Species is a biology term defining a basic group of organisms. The exact definition is subject to much debate. It is generally agreed that dating outside one’s own species is not recommended.
Hair on the dog is called fur but it’s really just hair. Dog hair on the sofa is called hair, even though it came from a furry dog. Why? Because that the way it is.