2 September 2011

Happy Birthday, Hartley!

My little man turned two years old a couple of days ago.

Not only did Grandma (who he adores with a burning passion) come over, she brought presents.  His favourite was a duck.


He got lots of nibbles from Grandma's lunch plate.  He also went on a walk, during which he chased grasshoppers and tried to eat toad jerky.*  This made for a blissful day - tiring, but blissful.



*Toad jerky = dried up toads that got squished on our road.  I think it's disgusting, but he is always trying to eat them up.  He can often be seen with a pair of legs dangling from his mouth. I know, eww.  Any body else have a toad jerky lover in their family?  Or is there another tasty treat that your dog, cat or other critter loves to snag, regardless of your distaste?

24 comments:

Jennifer S said...

My dog was chewing on mouse gum the other day. Yeah, she loves those cats for providing that little treat for her. Our old dog caught mice from under hay bales and ate them like shooters. Dog are gross somedays, and yet we can't help but love them.

Debbie Cook said...

Love that second pic of the Birthday Boy!

No toad jerky, but fresh lizard is usually on the pups' menu here. We could leave one in the sun for a day and mail it to Hartley. ;-)

gMarie said...

Oh thankfully mine only try to eat horse droppings. Toad jerky sounds like something they would love.

Hartley is adorable. I love V-dogs. they are so expressive. g

quilteddogs said...

That picture of him is gorgeous. Any idea what you had your camera set at to capture him? Here in Arizona, there is a certain toad that will kill a dog if the dog licks or eats him. Bad, bad thing.

Sew Wilde said...

Happy Birthday, Hartley!! He is so cute.

Julie

Anonymous said...

I have two Vizslas (Fred and Henry!) and i will not tell you what they eat when they are "out in the wild"...you'd lose your lunch! I will say though, Toad jerky is right up Fred's alley. I won't be telling him about it. :o)
Happy b-day to your little man, he's a beauty!
~Veedogknitter

Andrea said...

Happy birthday, Hartley! And yes, we have a toad jerky fan at our house too. Unfortunately, they have a very bad effect on my dog, and if he's allowed to eat one, it's destined to come back up. (It's not for nothing that his nickname is "the pukey little puppy".) I do my best to spot them first so that we can steer clear on our walks.

Rose said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Hartley! My Roxy would love toad jerky if she could find it. She goes for anything smashed on the road or, frankly, anything that goes in her mouth. Hartley was his usual adorable self for his birthday!

Stacy aka Stacybeads said...

Beautiful photos! My cats like to chase bugs of all kinds. The most disgusting is the palmetto bug, which we are cursed with in our climate (picture a 2-inch cockroach). The kitties will sometimes catch them and carry them around in their mouths, and the bugs will still be alive and you can see their wiggling legs hanging out of the cats' mouths...GAG.

RebeccaHoward said...

OMG mine likes to eat chooks. Live ones. Presumably escaped from some neighbor. It turns the place into a circus cause my daughter and I scream (what pussies!!) and my son runs to get the shovel to get the chook out of Max's mouth the kill the poor thing. Then dig a hole to hide the evidence. How is your new sewing room going?

Elizabeth B. (blue.crab) said...

My 5 year old lab has skipped the toad jerky delicacy, but don't worry, it's not a refined palette. I do have a list of 75 different things I've had to pull out of his mouth. Luckily he's managed to grow out of that stage.

JustGail said...

Miss Piddles sends happy birthday woofshes, I mean wishes. I'm not even going to list what I've caught her chewing on - toad jerky would probably be one of the less disgusting things.

Linda T said...

Oh, he's so cute.......yes, we are familiar with toad jerky and well as live toads--that cause foaming at the mouth. Happy birthday, Hartley!

april brooks said...

So handsome!

Anonymous said...

ah yes, Daisy loves "mystery jerky" as in whatever that smudge is in the road. Of course, it's a toss-up weather or not she'll eat it, or roll in it. Food or perfume? I suppose it depends on her mood. haha.

Kitty Couture said...

Happy birthday to your happy Hartley!

Queenlike and delicate as she looks, P'tite Mignonne loves nothing better than catching and eating flies.

redhotpepper said...

My wire-haired pointing griffon, Sigurd and little black lab, Sadie send belated birthday wishes to Hartley.

Both of my big sweeties love "kitty roca", aka what they can drag out of the litter box. Bleck.

Chris said...

Happy birthday, Hartley!
Our Edgrrr liked to chase the toads when we first moved her to FL....until he caught one and got a taste of their somewhat toxic excretement...yuck!

Jan said...

Happy Birthday Hartley, you're gorgeous - very photogenic!

Ann Made Studio said...

HAppy Birthday Hartley!

Anonymous said...

No matter what they eat, you've got to love them! Happy Birthday Hartley.

Janine said...

When I first got my dog he used to eat wombat poo but I have cottoned on to him now and don`t let him.

ReaderRita said...

Toad jerky would make a lovely appetizer for our Miss Sophie. for dessert, she would mash rabbit poop into her neck by rolling in it, grunting in unmitigated joy the entire time.
A good time would be had by all...

French_Seam said...

Our dog particularly likes to eat used sanitary ware, which she fishes out of the bin (garbage). Uck.