Mammals: Blind Runner. Dog Exercises. Baby Elephant. Baby and Dog. Dog's Yard. Shakespeare.

For "Mammal Monday":

SAMI and CHLOE RUN - When teenager, Sami, lost her sight she thought her track days were over. Then Chloe, the GOLDEN RETRIEVER GUIDE DOG came into her life. After intense training, they now are "the first blind athlete and dog sanctioned to compete." Is there anything our dogs won't do for us? Just DOG IT!

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Four Simple Stretches to Keep Your Dog Moving

Story at-a-glance:        "No matter the age or lifestyle of your favorite canine companion, regular stretching sessions can significantly improve comfort, mobility and quality of life. Senior dogs … canine athletes … big breeds … and animals with chronic joint or bone disorders, in particular, can benefit from stretching, massage and maintenance chiropractic care.

Why wait until your dog is injured or in pain to take action? Natural therapies like exercise and stretching, done proactively, are among the best ways to keep your pet in good physical condition and prevent conditions that may require drugs and/or surgery down the road.

Good areas of focus for stretching your dog are the hips, shoulders, chest and back. Simple, gentle stretching exercises take just a few minutes a day to complete.

Maintaining your pet’s frame, feeding biologically appropriate nutrition, and protecting her immune system from the ravages of over-vaccination, environmental toxins, and poor quality food, are the best way to keep your four-legged family member active and healthy throughout her life." 

More at:  http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/09/dog-athletes-stretching-exercise.aspx
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Elephants Rescue a Trapped and Drowning Baby Elephant.

http://youtu.be/kayoX9j0ugE

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World's Biggest Baby Shower for Animals
http://youtu.be/fWYyNKVb7Hg       
More at: http://www.animalrescuechase.com/baby-shower/
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Baby Laughing Hysterically at Newfoundland Dog
"This is a video of my son, Oscar, laughing hysterically at our 145 lb, 2 year old Newfoundland Landseer, Tatou".
http://youtu.be/cYl8SYNuaKQ
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Create a Lush Outdoor Space That’s Also Dog-Friendly

Story at-a-glance:     Many dog parents love to garden and take care of their yards in the spring and summer months. But often the presence of a dog seems to cancel out the prospect of a beautiful yard.

It doesn’t have to be that way! With a bit of creativity and planning, you can create a lush outdoor space everyone in the family can enjoy … including the dog!

The first priority should be to create spaces in your yard specifically for your dog … for example, a play area and place for your fur-covered friend to cool off.    Once your pet has places to go and things to do while you’re out in the yard, you can turn your attention to pooch-proof gardening and landscaping.

There are even ways to deal effectively with dog urine burns on the grass and all that scooped poop.

More at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/21/dog-friendly-outdoor-environment.aspx
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On This Day:



Birth and death of William Shakespeare celebrated, Apr 23, 1564:

"Historians believe Shakespeare was born on this day in 1564, the same day he died in 1616.

Although the plays of William Shakespeare may be the most widely read works in the English language, little is known for certain about the playwright himself. Some scholars even believe the plays were not written by William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon but by some other well-educated, aristocratic writer who wished to remain anonymous.


Shakespeare's father was probably a common tradesman. He became an alderman and bailiff in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Shakespeare was baptized in the town on April 26, 1564. At age 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, and the couple had a daughter in 1583 and twins in 1585. Sometime later, Shakespeare set off for London to become an actor and by 1592 was well established in London's theatrical world as both a performer and a playwright. His earliest plays, including The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew, were written in the early 1590s. Later in the decade, he wrote tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet (1594-1595) and comedies including The Merchant of Venice (1596-1597). His greatest tragedies were written after 1600, including Hamlet (1600-01), Othello (1604-05), King Lear (1605-06), and Macbeth (1605-1606).


He became a member of the popular theater group the Lord Chamberlain's Men, who later became the King's Men. The group built and operated the famous Globe Theater in 1599. Shakespeare ultimately became a major shareholder in the troupe and earned enough money to buy a large house in Stratford in 1597. He retired to Stratford in 1610, where he wrote his last plays, including The Tempest (1611) and The Winter's Tale (1610-11). Meanwhile, he had written more than 100 sonnets, which were published in 1609. Although pirated versions of Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet and some other plays were published during Shakespeare's lifetime, no definitive collection of his works was published until after his death. In 1623, two members of Shakespeare's troupe collected the plays and printed what is now called the First Folio (1623)."
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Yesterday:
Maddie, the little Yorkie, spent the night again, and just curled up in a little doggie bed and slept soundly the night through.  They picked her up about 11.00 am.  She was so pleased to see Jay, as he spoils her.

Again, too many hours wasted trying to figure out this non-connecting between Live Writer and Blogger.  I just don't like drafting in Blogger.  Why can't Blogger be easy like Live Writer.

The weather has been gorgeous, and it was another "windows-and-doors-open" day.