Yesterday on the Train a Blind Dog Winked at Me TWICE

Yesterday morning on the subway I heard a child next to me making an AWFUL noise. I was thinking, "Man, something is REALLY wrong with that kid." I wanted to look to see what was going on, but was afraid. I turned to peep the kid and discovered the noise was coming from this blind chihuahua wearing a sweater, lolling around in his owner's purse! His eyes were really cloudy but I'm telling you, he looked RIGHT AT ME and winked. And then he did it AGAIN.

I drew a picture after it happened. Other sketches on the page are: a tree branch, a building, a squirrel standing on his or her haunches.

Otter Travels Scotland in Postman's Sack

Kenny Wilson, Scottish postman, found Orla, baby Otter lying on the side of the road. He scooped her up, put her in his bag, fed her kitten's milk using a ballpoint pen as a tube (!!!), and took her to a Mini Cooper enthusiasts event before taking her home and letting her sleep in his cat's bed.




He eventually took her to an animal rescue shelter, so don't get your knickers in a knot. She's doing just fine, and eating 15 Pounds worth of salmon a day. (That's "pounds" as in "money", not "lbs." That would be awesome though.)

Cute Thing: Vintage Sesame Street

Hulu just uploaded a bunch of old Sesame Street clips, and they're so darling.

Johnny Cash singing "Five Feet High and Rising" as an exercise in counting:



The Cosby Kids helping old Forgetful Jones. You guys. Rudy is, was, and will forever be THE CUTEST THING EVER. Oh god. She is so adorable.



Okay, actually, you know who was cuter than Rudy? Her fat little friend Peter in the episode when Rudy has a sleepover. Oh my GOD.



My fave Sesame Street clip of the batch is Patrick Stewart doing a spin on Hamlet's soliloquy "To Be or Not To Be" called "B or not B".



CUTIE.

Dog Canvas

A little boy, Maxwell, drew on his dog with a permanent marker and then his mom blogged about it.

Look at this dog.



Hilarious.

A Love That Cannot Be Named

The love between a rat and a cat.



Peanut (rat) and Ranj (cat) are totes inter-species BFFs. At 1:03 in, Ranj gives the camera a look of true, unbridled snuggle ecstasy.

Adorable!

When Other Friendships Have Been Forgot, Theirs Will Still Be Hot

Tarra (the elephant) and Bella (the stray dog) met on an elephant preserve in Tennessee and became total BFFs. This is probably the biggest size difference between animal friends I've ever seen! Which makes it that much sweeter, obvs. It's like a teacup and Marmaduke became friends!

They run around together, snuggle with each other, and Tarra even gives Bella belly rubs with her giant hoof! Cuties!



And once, when Bella was sick and visiting the vet, Tarra stood watch outside the building waiting for her buddy... for three weeks! Sniiiiff. (Don't worry, Bella got better.)

Anyway, this vid is awesome. You might have to watch a crummy commercial beforehand but hang in there. Totes worth it.

Cute Thing: Steve Martin and Martin Short on the Beach

They look like they're having SO MUCH FUN!

Wobbly Dog

Yet another animal who can't walk well. Will this ever not be cute?

This Jack Russell pup, Katy, was featured in a British (!!) television special called "Special Needs Pets". Remember Charley the cat? I think this dog has the same wobbly disorder.

You have to watch this video of Katy bumbling around. My word! Poor thing. Can't go a few steps without toppling over. Also, Katy is a bit pudgy, due to the BREAD AND BUTTER and CUSTARD her owners feed her. But the extra pudge probably helps with the falls.

Guess who else is featured on "Special Needs Pets"? Former Snuggle Factory subject ETHEL THE BUNNY!



Here's a video of little Ethel in action. It's so dear. You can tell she's really happy to be zipping along!

You can watch the entirety of "Special Needs Pets" on Channel 4's website.

Animal-archy in the U.K.

Oh British media, always with the delightful animal stories. What's that all about, anyway? The Telegraph is always on top of the latest animal friends. Like this owl and basset hound:



They always describe these creatures in the most charming way. For instance:

"Beryl the Basset Hound, who is a grand old dame at 16 years old, and four-year-old tawny owl Wol struck up a friendship when their owner realised they both loved watching television in the evenings."

This seems like an apropos time to introduce my newest theorem, which I have deemed "Gretchen's Theory of Across-The-Pond Cuteness". Inter-species animal friends + British colloquialisms ("grand old dame??") = Near-Unbearable Snuggle Feelings Inside One's Heart.

Even stories just about one animal (sans animal friends) tend to be more interesting than the ones we have here in the U.S. Lest you forget, this is the country that brought us Fat Boy, the drunk pony who fell into a swimming pool.



In a similar vein, how often do you see a headline like "Escaped Horse Bursts into Cinema" in your local American rag?

And look at how the Telegraph describes the incident:

"The horse was one of three which escaped from a farm and ran through the automatic doors at the Cineworld complex in Boldon, South Tyneside.

The incident was caught on CCTV and was put on the YouTube website [emphasis mine], but it has since been removed."

Oh, and the section of the Telegraph's site that houses many of these articles is called "How About That?"

I wonder if they even realize how adorable they're being. Sigh.