el gato. el humongous gato.

Well, it's by Botero, so what did I expect.

The sculpture was bought by the City of Barcelona in 1987, and is called "The Cat of Raval" for its current location in the historical El Raval neighborhood. Here's someone's tourist movie of approaching the Big Cat:

Why such an exaggerated style? Every artist synthesizes the world they see in their own way. In Botero's case it started with a childhood in Colombia and the many Baroque churches in the area. Here's a website on Botero to help you learn more.

That's a fine cat, any way you look at it.

from a year ago: cats in iraq

All the veterinarians were gone, so nobody could spay and neuter them. They only needed to hear a bomb blast once before they weren't surprised by the sound any more. Yet their vulnerability and need for care and love helped humanize the experience of reporting the War in Iraq.

Read "What Cats Know About War," by John F. Burns, from The New York Times of October 14 2007.

the surprisingly big world of the dog stamp

Yesterday I happened to see some images of dog breeds that have been on stamps and thought, "Why, those are quite attractive. I remember liking my bookmarks made of cat stamps. There must be many such." (cough) You think? Wait till you see the dog-stamp-collecting link I'm going to give you in a second here.

But first, did you know that the first dog on stamps was the Newfoundland, in Britain in 1887? And that subcategories (such as Dogs) of stamp collection each have their own hobbyist study unit? They're listed at the American Topical Association. (A subject, in a stamp, is called a "topic".)

But wait! You want to see beautiful dog stamps? You want to see if your dog is listed? (Ours is.) Well go here and seek alphabetically by dog.

Clown Loach Profile

One of my favorite fish, and one of the oldest in my aquarium (I've him him for almost five years), is the Clown Loach

The clown loach is an active schooling fish that is best kept in small groups of three to six fish. It will tolerate tankmates of other species, although docile species may become agitated by the constant activity of this fish. The clown loach may alarm its owner by lying on its side or back — while resting — appearing to be dead. This is normal clown loach behavior. It also makes audible clicking sounds in the evening, especially when feeding.

Because it is not a territorial fish, the clown loach generally poses no threat to its tankmates. However, the clown loach may become entangled in nets. This species can live for as long as 20 years in the home aquarium.

Provide a soft substrate because the clown loach likes to nose through the substrate to find tidbits of food to munch on.

The clown loach will accept most commercially prepared flake, freeze-dried and frozen foods. Its diet should be supplemented with small live foods, such as Tubifex worms, bloodworms and brine shrimp. This fish also loves snails. If you ever took home a live plant and ended up with a snail infestation, this is the fish that will take care of the problem.

a dogs in lit post

Every so often I stumble upon something utterly out of the blue....

as when a search for "puppies in literature" brings me to the blog Vulpes Libris, "A collective of bibliophiles writing about books," and more specifically this post on dogs in literature. There are books written of here of which I'd never even heard -- Timoleon Vieta, Come Home?

I do so appreciate finds like this. I'm sure you will too. Plus you have to love their header logo.

A New Puppy in the White House

In a historic speech following his election win, Barack Obama announced that his two daughters have earned a new puppy that will join them at the White House. This will follow in a long line of presidents who have had pets over the years.

No word yet on what kind of dog.....

Web Vet

Although nothing can take the place of taking your pet to a vet when there may be a problem, there are plenty of informative websites available.

One relatively new site, is Webvet, which is dedicated to giving pet owners all the news they can use. The site hosts the latest news and advice on topics ranging from pet weight loss to acupuncture for ferrets. WebVet does not diagnose, suggest treatment or editorialize but rather provides news, information and fact-based education to pet owners.