Posts Tagged ‘photos’

Previously I wrote about 13 baby Muscovy ducklings born in late July and living on the canal near our home in Kissimmee, Florida, plus I published some updates of how they developed. In the course of nature the number of survivors dwindled down to 4 of the last 5 shown here. The 4 ducklings are now young adults and capable of flying away, so for this group this is the last chapter in my baby duck story.

While losing any of my little feathered friends is sad, this is the first group in several years to have at least some of the ducklings survive to become adults. The Mom (center) with her back to the camera and 2 of her ducklings flew away and live somewhere else. Poppa duck (far back) and 2 male ducklings have stayed on at the canal.

4 baby ducks have made it. Since my previous report a 6th duck was killed and eaten by a bald eagle. I know because Dad and I saw the eagle having breakfast one morning on the grass at the edge of the canal while going for a walk. **it Happens. The 5th of the young adult ducks shown here was killed in traffic when flying too low across a divided highway. I expect there will be another brood next Spring, so stay tuned for future baby duck news.

While at Fleet Peeples Dog Park near Orlando yesterday Corky the shelter dog had the opportunity to show off how he learned fireman rescue techniques. On the beach and not far from the edge of the lake other dogs had dug a deep pit in the wet sand.

While play wrestling with another puppy, Corky decided to show what he calls the Corky fireman rescue demonstration. In the photograph you can see how he climbs out of the sand pit while carrying a doggy actor who is pretending to be injured.

The same method of rescue could be used in a house fire, drowning rescue, mountain rescue, and maybe even situations like Timmy fell down the well! Take a closer look and you may notice that Corky stopped to smile for the camera to show he is super strong and has no problem carrying a doggy pal to safety.

This gives a whole new meaning to doggy rescue!

Earlier this afternoon when it was time to review Twitter new followers and tweets I checked in and won on Twitter! Yes, pals, talk about great timing.

My brand happens to be Nutro dog food (and Greenies), so I follow their reps and Natalie was doing a contest for the fastest answer to a product question. The photo here shows what I won including a NEW flavor of Nutro for small breeds.

Special thanks to Natalie at Nutro aka @NatalieatNutro on Twitter for such great timing, and Dad for being a fast typist! If you’re not already, follow Natalie plus ReneeatNutro and EdnaatNutro who are the other Nutro reps on Twitter (*pssst – all 3 are giving away daily prize packages this week).

I’m so excited I’ll be sitting at the window looking for the mailman every day, and promise I won’t scare or bite him!!

Footnote: Photo credit: Twitpic – would not load properly, so a copy was placed on this site rather than leave a BIG blank space there.

What started out as a shopping trip for a jingle bell for training me ended up as a cowbell and puppy training lesson for humans. The photo below shows me, Corky the shelter dog, and a cowbell that hangs by the back door that I ring to let my parents know I want to go for a walk.

When looking for a jingle bell to hang on a ribbon, Mom got excited seeing the cowbell and decided on that instead. Dad hung it nose high using a piece of old nylon leash. Here’s how the training began. Each time we left for walkies they’d ring the bell on the way out. Eventually I caught on, and would ring the bell with my snout to signal I wanted out.

Guess what? They’d come running to take me for a walk! The next lesson was teaching them that I wanted out 5-6 times a day! Weak bladder? No. Mom complained that we walked and walked but I would never pee, and said the bell idea wasn’t working. Dad chimed in and said the training works just fine! Corky rings the bell when he wants to go out, not when he needs to go out.

Keep an eye on Corky. He may want driving lessons next!

When taking pix of me for blog post illustrations, Twitpic, Flickr, or desktop wallpaper, my Dad envisions an imaginary frame for pet photos. As shown here, this is me Corky the shelter dog in the lake at Fleet Peeples Dog Park near Orlando on a recent visit.

Dad uses a simple point and shoot camera, specifically a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150, and to his credit around 2/3rds of his photos are keepers. That same camera has created all my YouTube puppy video footage, too.

Like anything, practice practice practice. You too can get great photographs of your pet using this imaginary frame for pet photos.

The group of ducklings living around the canal nearby home in Kissimmee, Florida, continue to grow and develop their adolescent colors. One in particular as shown in the photo here has turned out to be the duck leader of the pack. He is male, dominant, and larger than all the others.

Notice the dominant duckling’s inset photo taken 7 days earlier. The dark tail feathers are appearing, and then the current photo shows down feathers replaced with darker wing, face, and chest feathers. Though you cannot tell, the size difference is remarkable in just one week much like human (or puppy) teenagers.

OMD (Oh My Dog) did you notice the teenager spiked “hair” just like humans? View or download the duck photo closeup wallpaper (1200px wide) for details to compare him now to one week ago.

Sadly, only 5 of the 13 original baby ducks has survived. An unrelated duckling was rescued and brought to the Momma duck by strangers 10 days ago. It was found far away from any water by a couple on a walk who knew about this group living at the canal. Its coloration was about a week younger than the Momma duck’s family, so the duckling was shunned at first and just swam around alone and scared.

As a rescue dog dumped on the street I know that feeling of being abandoned. Imagine being a 4 month old puppy let out at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. That’s where I was found when captured and sent to doggy jail. I know that fear the poor duckling was feeling.

Fortunately, the Momma adopted that baby duck within 24 hours, and then the family had 6 ducklings again. It is common to see a line of babies following the Momma duck while waddling around or swimming in the canal. Now that he’s older, at times the duck leader of the pack charges ahead in and out of the water, and the family follows him instead of Momma.

Study the colors in the photo here and compare that look to previous pictures in posts on this blog over the last few weeks to see how the baby ducks have changed. This will be the first group that survived to be young adults in over 2 years, so it’s exciting to see how they’ll do with Momma being helped by that duck leader of the pack.

Footnote: I realize ducks don’t actually run in packs. These don’t bark either. However, the dominant duckling has learned Momma’s peep-peep and quack-quack vocalizations, and I do believe he’s sounded an alarm more than once.

During Twitter chat yesterday a Corky puppy pal had a wish list to pick just one fun thing for the weekend that included: dog park, bacon, long nap, long walk, or cheese. Dad decided we could try to do all in one day, and almost did.

The photo above was taken earlier today at Mill Slough Dog Park in Kissimmee, Florida, and shows Corky the shelter dog peeking over a tree stump. The long nap, long walk, and cheese were a snap. I’ll get bacon tomorrow to complete the weekend quadfecta.

Any day is a good day going to the dog park, and after days and days of rain today was perfect. The wish list and Dog Park Weekend Challenge will be a huge success even if we miss that bacon tomorrow. With so many pals still in animal shelters waiting to be adopted, I really am a lucky dog.

Thinking of adding a pet to your family? Visit your local animal shelter to rescue a cat or dog today.

The photo below shows me close to baby ducks (again). I figured I’d let out my secret for getting close to baby ducks. The photo is cropped for this blog illustration, so follow this link to the baby ducks and puppy pal wallpaper (1200 px wide) for a big version of the complete graphic, or click the illustration here:

The illustration shows a Momma duck with 8 baby ducks looking at me, Corky. Notice the leash is loose so I’m free to move about while Dad was taking the photo, and then realize Momma knows I won’t lunge at her or the ducklings.

The secret to this trust is revealed in the photo insert that shows a big knife used to prepare bread cubes. Besides those pieces of bread just cut on the paper towel, some are already in the plastic bag Dad carries to entice the ducks closer (and closer).

Look in the green grass between the ducks and me and see pieces Dad tossed on the ground. He has taught me “leave it” and “stay”, so he trusts me and so does the Momma duck after getting closer and closer over weeks and weeks. That’s my secret for how you become a puppy pal to baby ducks.

It’s my birthday! How time flies when you’re a rescue puppy in a forever home! I have nearly forgotten those distant memories of being dumped on the street at 4 months old, being scared about finding food and shelter, and then doing time in doggy jail including a jailhouse tattoo.

The photo below shows my new pal Beauregard met outside the groomers today on my birthday. He’s a rescue dog like me. I’m 2 today and Beauregard was born a day earlier only 3 years ago. If I’d asked “What WERE you… born yesterday?” his reply would have been “yes”.

That’s me (top left) and Beauregard (right) touching noses, and then two circle photo inserts of him showing off two more views in the lower corners with his BIG puppy eyes. He’s a rescue puppy and his parents live in Jacksonville, Florida. That’s hours and hours away yet they were in Kissimmee on business, and took Beau with them!

Besides the two puppy birthday boys, @PrincessGwenie my Twitter puppy gal pal and cutie patootie was 3 today! Happy Birthday to Beau and Gwenie!

This title describes ME, Corky the Shelter Dog. I am one of those dogs who entertain themselves. As one example, I play alone with my ball flipping it in the air, letting it bounce, stalking it, chasing it, and pouncing on it. I play from one end of the house to the other for long periods of time.

Watch my eyes and you’ll discover I’m in another world just pretending while having fun yet oblivious to anything or anyone around. Here’s another of those dogs who entertain themselves.

The photo of this medium sized brown dog stalking a dragonfly was taken 2 weeks ago at Fleet Peeples Dog Park near Orlando. The circle above his head shows the dragonfly in flight while the large insert shows an enlarged view of the bug.

Use the circle above the dog’s head for reference for a better look. How? View the brown dog stalks dragonfly wallpaper (1200 px wide) and study the look in his eyes as he stares at the bug. Remember the circle above his head, and the dragonfly should be easier to spot now.

Unlike this narrow strip illustration cropped from the original photo, the desktop wallpaper version shows a large and beautiful area of Fleet Peeples Dog Park including trees, grassy area, bushes in bloom, the wooden bench, and woods.

That brown dog stayed on the grassy area playing alone for 10-15 minutes as he leaped and chased the dragonfly back and forth in a 30 foot square open area. The fun time continued similar to me “in another world just pretending” while maybe 30-40 dogs frolicked on the beach just 100 feet away.

A dog can be alone at home or out with 40 dogs nearby while playing solo to entertain themselves. Dad’s theory concludes this canine behavior is a sign of superior intelligence. Who could argue with that?!