it drives a dog to drink

In my last post I joked about a rescue mission for the dog being teased about food. It reminded me of this  page I did in my journal not long ago. If ever there was a dog in need of rescuing, this is one. 

journal page, ink and watercolours

I came across him in Luz, which is a tidy little village just east of Burgau. I’d spent a lovely afternoon walking along the cliffs, doing some birdwatching and sketching. In Luz I stopped by my person friend Meri’s shop for a drink of water (and she treated me to an organic dog biscuit – thanks Meri!). I did a sketch of a flower covered balcony just alongside Meri’s shop. As I was walking along the waterfront, heading back to Burgau, I came across this poor fella slumped beside an empty wine box. I tried to talk to him but he was pretty out of it. He barely looked at me, just gazed, unfocussed, out at the inviting rocky beachscape just on the other side of his prison. I hung around for a while, hoping his person would show up so I could give him an earful. No one ever did show up. Eventually I left. What could I do?

to err is human, but to tease a dog is totally sadistic

Well. This hurts. I just came across this video that shows what happens when we dogs let people control our lives. This man is a sadist. And the poor dog is totally under his spell. If anyone out there reading this can identify this dog and the cowardly person who doesn't show his face, please let me know. I'd be happy to organize a rescue party for this poor fella. I mean really! Bacon? Steak? Chicken? Cheese? This dog is destined to go crazy! Have a look for yourself. ... Okay, maybe it's a little funny. Thanks to YouTube's Break Channel for the video. You can see more here.

doggy dental dilemmas

In general, we dogs in Portugal seem to have a lot of teeth problems. That is, we have a lot of teeth (which can be a problem), and we have a lot of problems related to teeth. You can see it in many of my friends. I also know of a few cases of weirdly oversized teeth.

Fango, a friend of mine in Lagos, has pretty funny oversized teeth.

Take a closer look at those chompers!

I couldn't resist doing a sketch of Fango. I hope I captured his regal demeanor.

Underbites are quite common. Crooked teeth are as well. Both of these dental dilemmas run in my family. 

I prefer to think of myself as toothsome rather than toothy.

You can see from the photo that my teeth, while somewhat jumbled, are healthy and white. My secret weapon against dental disaster is raw carrots. It’s hard to get good and crisp fresh carrots though. They don't usually end up in restaurant garbage which is usually one of the best places to find good food. I know of a couple of places I can dig them up, but it’s only at certain times of year that I can find them. Hmmm. All this talk about carrots has given me a craving. I'm off to do some digging!

Tchao-wow!