When fellow Bay Woofer Tad Toomay (aka Herb Canine) succumbed to cancer, we lost more than a friend and colleague. His sense of humor was second to none, and when he applied his wacky wordplay or bemused contemplative bent to the topic of dogs he made us smile, laugh, and sometimes groan with delight. Here are some of our favorite Herb moments from February issues past.
The rainy season can be tough on dogs and dedicated dog watchers such as myself. We sit inside, steaming up the front windows with our eager breath, waiting for a break in the weather.
During one of those breaks recently, I accompanied a friend to Golden Gate Fields. While he watched the ponies on the big screens, I wandered down to the little cove below the parking lot and watched a guy throw a tennis ball out into the chilly water for his young Basset Hound to fetch.
The hound was in heaven, paddling far out and back in, dropping the ball at the man’s feet and baying with such ardor for another go that his muzzle jabbed at the sky and his front paws left the ground with every outburst. He was pushing the legal limit for cuteness.
Such moments have helped me survive many a soggy winter.
♥
In honor of this season of hearts and flowers, I offer up a top five list: Endearments Our Dogs Would Send to Their Sweethearts
- You make me shake, rattle, and roll over.
- You’re so fetching I wanna play ball.
- Can I interest you in some heavy petting?
- Let me be you’re boy Toy Poodle.
- You’re heaven-scent!
♥
It’s February, and I’m thinking that if dogs can have blogs (which they do, wink, wink), they ought to have their own online card-sending service. Then when they couldn’t be out frolicking with their sweeties in the dog park, they could send a heartfelt puppy “ciao” via the Internet.
And for Valentine’s Day, picture adorable animated dogs popping up on the computer screen, saying the most romantic things. Such as: “Let’s be lovers on leashes: it takes two to tangle!” or (from the X-rated section) “I’m stuck on you, at least until they squirt us with the hose!”
♥
This is President’s Day month, so why not celebrate the dogs behind the presidents? After all, presidents and dogs go together like candidates and baby kissin’. FDR had his Scottish Terrier Fala and Nixon had Checkers. (Can’t say “king me” without Checkers.)
George Washington, half of the dynamic duo celebrated in February, scored valuable political points with his fondness for dogs. During the Revolutionary War, generals generally took their dogs with them to the battleground, and Washington was no exception. While fighting the Battle of Germantown against General Howe and the British forces in 1777, Washington rescued Howe’s dog from the perils of battle when it got loose from the enemy camp. (You know dogs, all roads lead to roam with them.) He sent the dog back to his master with a white flag and a gracious note, which, some say, weakened the resolve of the enemy soldiers against the kind-hearted Yanks.
The other half of the President’s Day ticket, Abe Lincoln, had his own ideas about animal protection. At home in Springfield, Illinois, he noticed that the cannon fire celebrating his election badly scared his Irish Setter mix, Fido. Abe decided to find a good home for him in Springfield rather than dragging him along when the family moved to the raucous capital of a turbulent nation… Alas, Fido was eventually conscripted to be a public figure anyway. After Lincoln was assassinated, what better way to aid the nation’s grieving process than to put the fallen leader’s favorite horse and dog on display before one and all? Despite Abe’s best intentions, Fido endured many noisy train rides and twenty-one gun salutes before he reached the end of the road.
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