The Cuteness Factor

Some of the top visited websites in the world these days are animal picture sites. The one in particular that everyone seems to go to is I Can Has Cheezburger.com



The site is basically a cat lovers feast, with pictures and captions of people's favorite feline friends. I personally am more of a dog guy than a cat guy...but cool cats can be cool, and this site tends to showcase pictures of cats putting themselves in precarious positions. Although honestly, I don't like the captions. I think it's stupid and cheezy. I know that's probably the point of the site but still...I don't think cats, if they could talk, would speak in broken english like the site suggests. You'd expect the cat to be articulate and calculating with their words, much like their wary and cautious personalities. Not with a dumbed down "which way did he go, which way did he go" sense of personality. So personally I don't like the site. Is it tongue and cheek? Probably. But honestly, just show me pictures of the damn cat and I'll decide my own caption.

How would that work you ask? Well just look at The Daily Puppy.



The site is just pictures of puppies. A new set of pictures uploaded everyday. Nothing but cute, adorable puppies. No stupid headlines like "I canz eatz da cheezburgerz???" are placed on the pictures. Just the pictures of the dogs and the stories behind the puppies. Plus instead of one picture, the owners normally upload dozens of pictures of their dogs. Personally, I think that's the way an animal website should be done. Let me make my own captions without some idiot telling me what to think in broken english.

Anyway, in the spirit of showcasing your pets...while I don't have a pet of my own (just yet - will have one soon though!), I am an uncle of an American Eskimo named Max.







I'm also a "step-uncle" for an English Bulldog named Vegas







See, you can showcase your pets without captions. Let that be a lesson to I Can Haz Cheezburger! The battle of showcasing animal websites goes to the Dogs!

For the Dogs


So like all of you animal lovers out there I'm sure your eyes were glued to the Westminster Kennel Club 2007 Dog Show last night on USA. With all of the Grammy and Oscar hype, the dog show gets lost in the mix a bit. Although I think its sometimes just as good of a show and some of the dogs are a lot better actors and singers too!. Would you rather hear a spaniel bark or Shakira sing? Case rested.

For those who haven't been paying attention, last night an English Springer Spaniel named James won Best in Show. And I was excited because James appears to be a normal dog and is not one of those "fashion poodles" that look like Billy Ray Cyrus with a bad mullet.


Two such poodles were in the best in show ring last night and i'm happy to report neither won! Thank god. There's nothing worse than a primped out dog scampering around the show ring saying "look at me, i'm pretty". I mean it takes hours each day just to groom these poodles. Poodles were made to retrieve waterfowl, not primp in the mirror for hours a day. But whatever floats your boat I guess.

Anyway I was pleased and shocked to see that on Monday during the group finals, my sister's dog made it into the non-sporting group! Well not her actual dog, but his breed, the good ole American Eskimo. Although I can definitely vouch my sister's dog Max is a non-sporting dog. He neither retrieves nor fetches. He is very active though, and a lot better looking than those stupid poodles.


But glad to see Eskimos are finally getting their due!

Anyway, happy Valentines Day everyone. A special shout out to my sister Abe who is celebrating her 21st today. And a big shoutout to "my significant other" Bridget on our 4 year anniversary!