Categories
Animal Kingdom Awesomeness Weirdness

Hybrid Hijinks

Animal hybrids go way back in time. For example, the history of Ligers (a cross between a lion and a tiger) and zeedonks (a zebra-and-donkey combination) dates back to early 19th century. Dirds, however, are a entirely new invention courtesy of the Internet’s most mad scientists.

In a spot of hybrid hijinks, bird bodies and dog heads are being put together in a rather amusing way. Have a look at a small collection of Dirds after the jump.

Categories
Cautionary Tales Video Clips

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

In this cute little animated short by Birdbox Studio, a man comes across an unusual car guard in a parking lot. The man confidently taunts the captive dog but they who laugh last, laugh the loudest. That was a mouthful wasn’t it? See if the man bites off more than he can chew in Carpark.

[via Laughing Squid]

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Featured Photoworthy

Dogs in Cars

When British photographer Martin Usborne was a child, he was left alone in a car. Although it wasn’t for very long, the experience clearly stayed in his memory. In his photo series, Dogs in Cars, Usborne explores those childhood feelings of fear and loneliness.

Usborne didn’t happen to find and photograph dogs stuck in cars. These aren’t incidental images, the scene was set up and the dogs were placed in the cars. Like children, it’s easy to see the look of vulnerability on the faces of the dogs. See a few of the photos from Usborne’s Dogs in Cars after the jump.

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Photoworthy

Adorable Underwater Dogs

Whether they’re angry, irritated or happy some dogs have the kookiest of faces. In his latest series, photographer Seth Casteel captures canine expressions brilliantly, and from a different perspective.

Casteel takes to the pool and using his underwater camera, photographs the looks on the faces of the dogs as they dive into the water after their balls. See his fierce, funny, and utterly adorable photos after the jump.

Categories
Animal Kingdom Awesomeness Video Clips

The Bark Side

When I got married many years ago, I had a grand idea for my bride’s entrance. I imagined a pack of dogs — some small, others big — all dressed up in bowties, and in unison barking out the tune to the “Here comes the bride” march. My wife thought it sweet, albeit a bit silly. It never happened, but that didn’t mean that it was a bad idea.

Roll on 2012, and Volkswagen have created a super cute commercial with 12 dogs barking out the famed Star Wars Imperial March theme. An AT-AT walker appears in the video too, in an costume that looks similar to the one worn by our favourite AT-AT dog, Bones Mello. Check out The Bark Side below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ntDYjS0Y3w

[via @jessjorgensen]

Categories
Animal Kingdom Featured Video Clips

Moscow’s Subway-Riding Stray Dogs

The subways of Moscow are not only used by people. Some of the stray dogs who live on the outskirts of the city have learned how to use the transport system to ride into the centre of town, scavenge food, and then to return to the suburbs.

The dogs choose the less-crowded cars, and can be seen napping on the floors and on empty seats, or wandering amongst the commuters. Muscovites seem to tolerate the dogs, and in one station, there is a bronze statue dedicated to a stray who was stabbed to death by a heartless person. They rub its shiny nose for good luck.

Of the some 30,000 strays in Moscow, scientists seem to think that only a few have managed to master the subway routes by using the sights, smells, and announcements to figure out where they are and where they need to be. Some of the dogs have figured out where to sit to increase their chances of being fed. Others it seems are more cunning, and resort to sneaking up behind unsuspecting Muscovites and barking loudly so that they drop whatever food they may be eating. Some residents are incensed about the presense of the street-smart strays and want them deported, while others are pragmatic, asking people to learn to live with them.

Have a look at an ABC News report on the subway-riding dogs of Moscow.

To see more images and video clips, head to English Russia.

[via Oddity Central]

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Massive Cuteness Video Clips

Snow Motion: Dachshund Puppy Plays In The Snow

OMG, this is adorable. Meet Iso, the Dachshund puppy who likes nothing better than a roll around in the snow. It’s such a cute video shot in slow motion to the tune “Endless Song of Happiness” by singer-songwriter Yael Naim.

There is more slo-mo Iso goodness after the jump, where he plays fetch and takes a bath.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt04yX2ZRnY

[via The Daily What]

Categories
Animal Kingdom Featured Massive Cuteness

Whippets are Awesome!

If you’re a regular visitor to the blog, you may have seen photos of our toy fox terrier Mina and our zany whippet, Panya. Aside from another local, Mallix, who has one and a few other people we have encountered on the mountain and the beach, the whippet doesn’t seem to be that popular a breed in Cape Town. On a number of occasions, after Panya has jumped all over the people she meets, we’re asked if she is a Greyhound (bigger) or an Italian Greyhound (smaller).

Despite their sleek look it’s a fallacy that they need to be exercised constantly and rigorously. Whippets often spend the majority of the day sleeping, so much so that they even have a particular napping position, called the cockroach (example). Be it dozing on the couch, sporting a fancy hat, or careering off into the distance, a whippet is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. See a small collection of these lovable dogs after the jump.

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Video Clips

Amazing Cat and Dog Ads

The internet is a magical place, in fact it is the best source of weird and wonderful content. From the strange to the cute, almost anything can be found. More importantly I have had more time to troll my Twitter account, and I found some awesome stuff. @Pfangirl retweeted an amazing video originally posted by @Yolandi_JvR about a Pedigree ad, which involves cute dogs catching some treats at 1,000 frames per second.

After I showed it to prawn1, he sent me a link with a similar and on-topic video of a Friskies ad. This contained the first (and possibly only) video that was filmed by cats. Different cats across the USA were equipped with HD cameras and left to roam the world as they usually do, for us to see the world from a cat’s perspective.

So who do you think is the next generation of movie stars in the furry industry?

Categories
Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness

Who Let The Dogs Out 4: Behind The Scenes

Sometimes I wish I the ghost of Henri Cartier-Bresson would inhabit my body. It’s not just because I want to have a suave French accent, more so for his talent for snap-shooting photography. His goal was to capture the candid moments of life and it’s that kind of thing I attempt to do when I snap Mina and Panya on our outings.

I’m far from being an accomplished photographer so I end up with a boatloads of crap images which I have to sift through before finding a few gems to post here on the blog. I see a lot of bum shots, and ordinarily that would be a good thing, but in my case, the rear ends belong to a pair of dogs. In any case I thought I’d share some of these rubbish shots with you after the jump.