Woof Woofington

Smile? Poor Lily Allen Can't While Maggie May is MIA

Yes, another celebrity pet has been dognapped and this time it is English Bull Terrier, Maggie May, owned by singer Lily Allen.

Apparently, the pet pooch was being looked after by friends as Lily is on holiday abroad; the friend's van was parked in Forest Gate, East London, when Maggie May was pinched.

Lily Allen found fame via MySpace (http://myspace.com/lilymusic) and now she is using MySpace to tell as many people as she can about poor Maggie May:

"I am beside myself with worry because someone has stolen my dog Maggie May this morning.
"Not only am I devastated that my dog has been taken away, but I am also concerned for her well-being.
"She needs an operation on her stomach and is having medical treatment. Please anyone help. No one will be angry - me and my family just want Maggie home.""

If you think you can make Lily smile again with news of her stolen dog, call Dog Lost on 01302 74 33 61.

So to anyone out there thinking of buying a Bull Terrier on the quiet...DON'T.

Woof Woof

Desperate Housewives

Now, as it happens, I like this show even though it is a dog-free zone. And I like Eva Longoria - she's a pretty girl with global ambition. And why not?

So, it will come as no surprise to any of you that Mr Mohammed Al Fayed chose Eva to be the face of the Harrods Winter Sale this week. But what really annoyed me is that they used a couple of über cute puppies - from the pet department - as well.

Like that's a good message to promote during the Christmas break - come to the sale and maybe grab yourself a puppy too. You never know, they might be on special offer!!!

Surely, everyone knows, don't get a dog for Christmas and don't buy it from a pet store. And certainly NOT from a department store, even if it is the most famous shop in the world.

To my mind, the whole publicity stunt was desperate.

Woof woof

The Lion King Is Alive and Well in Ealing

According to news reports today, someone had been keeping a lion - yes, a real live lion, in a first floor flat in Ealing. Of course, I can believe it because earlier this year some bloke in South London had his own mini zoo in the back garden! Rescue organisation Big Cats in Britain has used a combination of clever detective work and legal loopholes to find out just who is keeping exotic pets here on our shores.

And here are how the big "pet" map is looking:

12 lions,

14 tigers,

50 leopards,

16 wild cats,

2,000 ostriches and

nearly 500 monkeys.

300 American bison and

6,000 wild boars are also kept privately while more than250 poisonous snakes and 50 members of the crocodile family have also taken private owners' fancy.

Forget safaris; all you need to do is organise yourself a private tour of the biggest and best here in dear old Blighty. Of course, I think it is sheer madness but what do I know?

Woof Woof

It's Finger Lickin' Good

So, it's Christmas Day again here in England. Last year I talked about the turducken that we wouldn't be eating, even though it was promoted as THE dish of the day.

This year, everyone is, apparently, basting their roast potatoes in goose fat because that's what Nigella recommends. Again, that will be a no-no in our house - the Mistress prefers Nigel Slater's version of roasties. Nigella also recommended foil trays to save on washing up but the Mistress said it was an unnecessary expense. Sadly, her other half has now made it clear that without a dishwasher, Nigella's suggestion would have been exactly on the money!

But while those two battle it out, I am thinking about our furry friends in Asia. According to China Daily, "dogs, bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken and barramundi" are the foods of choice! Nice. And if you check out the following link http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-12/25/content_766945.htm, you can see a lovely photo of some Vietnamese women selling roast dog from a street stall. And sadly, it's very obvious how those poor dogs have been roasted....

If you are in Japan for Christmas, you may well be heading for KFC! Can you believe it? Good old Colonel Sanders has done it again. But you'll only be getting your chicken bucket if you have booked in advance. The so-called Kentucky Christmas habit started more than 30 years ago when a foreign customer couldn't locate a turkey for his Christmas meal so headed on down to KFC instead. This inspired an ad' campaign for the all-American Christmas meal, which proved so popular it still continues today. And KFC will even throw in a bottle of wine.

How festive!

If I get a sniff of a wishbone this year, I shall hope that people would lay off the dog, particularly at Christmas but hey....that's a long way away.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas, wherever you are!

Woof Woof

Puff Daddy's Jackets - Strictly Off Limits

If you were thinking of buying a Sean John jacket (you know, Puff Daddy that was), think again. Well, actually, it seems that Macy's (New York) has done the thinking for you because surprise, surprise the supposedly fake (faux) fur jackets were in fact...dog fur and Macy's has pulled the lines off the shop floor and website! Apparently, the raccoon dog from Asia, Sibera and Japan has a fur that closely resembles the raccoon and so becomes the cheaper alternative option.

Now I know P Diddy is a fan of fur - remember his chinchilla coat? But, if you want to sell to the masses and avoid all the negative publicity, fur is probably not your best option and Sean Coombs held his hands up high:

"I was completely unaware of the nature of this material, but as soon as we were alerted, the garments were pulled off the Macy's floor and Web site. I have instructed our outerwear licensee to cease the production of any garments using this material immediately."

According to Business Week, upmarket retailers have been exposed for being less than vigilant on the fur front. The Humane Society of the United States carried out tests on other fur-trimmed jackets and nine out of 10 were raccoon dog! All the big stores - Bloomingdale's, Saks Fith Avenue - as well as big designers - Calvin Klein, Baby Phat - have been shown to be selling something "rather gruesome".

Yo! Listen Up! There is no reason why clothes should be produced with such materials. So keep your gear cruelty-free this winter.

Woof Woof

Home Alone

The Mistress works from home most of the time and if she goes out, she usually takes me with her. From time to time, she goes to a place where dogs are strictly off limits and that's when she calls in the dog sitter.

I like my dog sitter; she lives across the road and has two dogs of her own. It means she can pop across and check I am ok and not causing any damage to the house whilst searching for snacks. (Yes, it's a reflex action - the Mistress leaves and I raid the bin, even if it is out of reach....)

So, today the Mistress gave me an extra long walk (out of guilt for leaving me) before setting off at lunchtime. I do the whole "don't leave me routine" just to get extra treats. It works every time.

Today, however, nobody came. For ages. No dog sitter. Nothing. No one. Nada. The only thing for company was the TV. And whilst I like Emmerdale, I haven't worked out how to use the remote to change the channel.

Many hours later the Mistress and her other half came home. And then she realised the dog sitter had never turned up. She was beside herself!

Now she has a problem; the dog sitter has proved to be untrustworthy (we NEVER had problems like that in Central London!) but it could be a one off. Something could have happened to her. We just don't know since she didn't answer her phone.....

So, does the Mistress find me a new sitter or stick with the unreliable one and hope for the best?

Fortunately, I don't think I will be scarred for life but I am expecting a big present this weekend as an apology for being left home alone for so long.

At least it wasn't as bad as the Mistress's Mother's dog sitter. Oh no. Now that really was a tale of woe. MM came to stay with us - she lives in the middle of nowhere - but left her own dogs at home. With the sitter. She was away for several days. Three days after she left, her very concerned next-door neighbour telephoned to say the dogs were barking and what should she do? Catastrophe! It transpired that the dog sitter, who had been coming for four years, had left a day early so the hapless hounds were shut up for 24 hours. Imagine!

Of course, those two dogs got serious presents as a reward and the dog sitter got fired.

So is it one strike and you're out? It's too early to say.

Woof Woof

There's No Place Like Home

Lordy! A tornado in London! Yes, you read that right - the poor people (including the Mistress's godson) of Kensal Rise had a huge shock today when a tornado struck. Yes, a tornado! Of course, in the UK these aren't unusual but then again, they aren't an everyday occurence either. The Mistress's friend said the whole thing was extremely scary.

I bet those NW10 residents were all wishing for some ruby slippers like Dorothy's (Wizard of Oz, of course) so that they could just tap away the nightmare.

Fortunately, no one was killed - human or canine, which is a miracle when you see the damage and think what might have been....

I like to think that Toto is watching over the good folk of Kensal Rise and protecting them from further harm. No doubt there will be much speculation about the cause in the next few days...

Woof Woof

Motorbike Rider

For regular readers of the blog, it will come as no surprise that the Mistress can give as good as she gets. Having lived in London all her life, she's fairly streetwise and is ready to shout back if anyone starts ranting. Come on, admit it, if you travel by tube or bus, you get used to people going off on one.

But now we've moved to somewhere not so urban - and, to be frank, it can be boring at times but there's definitely less aggro on the streets so no bad thing.

Last night we were walking home along a very narrow street - we had come to pick up the Mistress's other half from the station. The road was empty, the street was fairly empty. And because it was dark, I had my reflective collar on - the Mistress, if nothing else, takes road safety very seriously. (She always asks mini-cab drivers to belt-up if they are not wearing their seatbelt - it's SO embarrassing.)

Anyway, along came a courier (the company prides itself on being the UK's biggest "built on service") on his motorbike and because he had to go wider to miss us - no we were NOT jaywalking - I was half on the pavement and half off - he started shouting. And I mean really shouting. And the language! Effing this and effing that with plenty of the 'c' word thrown in for good measure. We walked on. And then he started ranting some more.

Usually the Mistress would shout back with plenty of v-signs to go with the blue language. Last night she just cried. And cried. The Mistress's other half had just told her he was going to be made redundant. Shit happens - of course it does but sadly she just caved in. It was pitiful but then we've had a lot of bad luck recently. And it was shocking because this is supposed to be a nice place to live.

So, on behalf of the Mistress, go **** yourself, A****** L** Couriers. Get yourselves some decent drivers who aren't a danger to other drivers and pedestrians. A man that angry is only going to cause an accident.

Woof Woof

Chrismukkah is coming

Now fans of The OC will know just what I am talking about when I say the season of Chrismukkah is upon us - it's basically Christmas and Hannukkah together!

So, it's the first of December - not quite the fourth Sunday before Christmas but those advent calendars can go on display now!

The Mistress doesn't go big on Christmas - no outdoor lights on display that can be seen from space or anything like that - but I know that they are getting a tree this weekend.

I hope that they have bought me a doggy Advent calendar; these things exist! I know they do. I get a treat for every day before Christmas so it's got to be a good thing!

In the meantime, my new best friends at http://dogmark.net have chosen my blog as Cool Site of the Day. How cool is that?! And what a great start to the Chrismukkah season.

Woof Woof