Gloria's Oversexed Mind

Saturday night Salsa surprise

Salsa Dancing Dog from Kristen Seymour on Vimeo.

The Holy Pee

Eli the Chihuahua Dons Pope Costume for Halloween.

And the winner is...Nora the musical prodigy

The only thing odder to me than this piano-playing cat was the reaction my dog Apollo had to her music. It made him stop in his puppy tracks and use his ears as sonar dishes. Of course, Apollo was the god of music so why am I surprised?

When Betsy Alexander and Burnell Yow of Philadelphia, PA, visited an animal shelter in Cherry Hill, NJ, they never imagined they would adopt a feline prodigy. Nora, a grey Tabby named after the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, appeared to be your average mischievous young kitten. But this seemingly ordinary shelter cat is receiving an extraordinary honor next week, when she will be officially named Cat of the Year at the annual ASPCA Humane Awards in New York City.

Originally deemed “bossy” by shelter staff, Nora wasn’t the most popular feline among her four-legged clan, but Betsy and Burnell saw something special in the demonstrative kitty and welcomed her into their furry family. Nora immediately established herself as the alpha cat of the family’s four other felines, but it wasn’t until she was a year old that her secret gift suddenly emerged. One afternoon, Betsy, who teaches music lessons, was startled to discover Nora delicately tickling the ivories of her Yamaha piano. Playing the piano soon became the cat’s favorite pastime. Her sensitive pawing, which several newspapers have described as "a cross between free jazz and Philip Glass,” became a YouTube sensation, drawing more than 20 million page views. It also inspired a Lithuanian composer to arrange a symphony in her honor.

via www.aspca.org

My favorite Folsom photo ever

Thanks to Mike for sending in this pic of a devoted dog daddy carrying his bichon in a baby-carrier at Folsom.

All I want for my birthday

Come this time of the year, some lovable individuals will send me a bunch of email or cards, or even surprise gifts. This year, I have a special request of you: instead of sending me a card or a present, please consider one of these options instead.  It would make me happier.

1. Follow this free link to the animal rescue site and click the purple button to donate food to a dog in need. Costs nothing but a few seconds of your time. If you can return for a few days and click some more, even better.

2. Donate to your favorite charity. You can do it in my name or you can leave me out of it, and do it privately and then email me to let me know.

3. Donate to my favorite BDSM charity, the Leather Archives and Museum.  While you're there, please consider becoming a member.  They need and deserve our support.

4. You all know I'm a dog-o-maniac. Perhaps the most personally meaningful gift you could give me would be to support efforts to rescue abandoned dogs and cats (and other pets and farm animals too).  Donate your time to a local group. Donate your money to a national one.  Or consider buying some of the adorable merchandise offered by The Animal Rescue Site. I am quite enamored of their LARGER THAN LIFE t-shirts (kittie themes also available), one of many awesome gifts you can get there.

Buy it now

Whatever you do, be sure to let me know (here or in email) so I can say thanks!

Why you should adopt an abandoned dog

Over the weekend, I took a picture of my favorite little dog-boy Apollo, the Powder Puff Chinese Crested that we adopted about 18 months ago and posted it on FaceBook. Got lots of nice comments about his perky cuteness.

As pretty as he's become (one friend suggested he's the Veronica Lake of dogdom and I can't help but agree!), the biggest changes have been to his personality. He was a fear-aggressive, starving dog who couldn't bond with people or other dogs when he got here. Now he's the favorite of everyone who visits and is everything you'd want from a companion dog: lively, funny, affectionate, cuddly, devoted, obedient. He's even given himself the job of being Official House Squirrel Chaser. He keeps us all laughing all day.

This is now. But back then, would you ever in a million years have believed the dog below had that kind of potential? This was Apollo soon after he was rescued and placed in a foster home.

Covered in red mange (some tiny chunks of his ears had to be amputated), and almost on death's door, he did not look very lovable back then. That's an understatement. AGH!

Inside every abandoned dog, no matter how ugly and scruffy, beats the heart of a sentient creature who can be nurtured back to health to fulfill his true destiny as a loving companion pet. Next time you toy with the idea of adopting a stray, follow through. There is no joy like the joy of rescuing animals in need.

All Hail the Spotted Hyena!

The female Spotted Hyena's urogenital system is unique among mammals; the female's clitoris is elongated to form a fully erectile phallus, and the vaginal opening is at the tip of this phallus. Only the shape of the glans at the tip of the phallus makes it possible to differentiate the sexes. The female urinates, mates and gives birth through this pseudo-penis. Since it is impossible to penetrate without the female's cooperation, female hyenas have full control over whom they choose to mate with. The male hyena's penis lacks a baculum, a bone found in the genitals of most mammals.

Group size is variable; a "clan" of spotted hyenas can include 5–90 members and is led by a single alpha female called the matriarch.

Subordinate members of the clan lick the pseudo-penis of a higher-ranked female as a sign of submission. The matriarch's pseudo-penis is licked by all members of the clan, while males' penises are rarely licked because the highest ranked male is subordinate to the lowest ranked female.^[24]

Spotted Hyena - Wikipedia.

Gay penguin gold-digging scandal

Bastard! He ditched his long-time companion for a better nest!

After six years together, the relationship between a pair of gay male penguins at San Francisco zoo is apparently over, with Harry leaving Pepper for another penguin -- Linda.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the relationship between Harry and Pepper, who lived side-by-side, protecting eggs abandoned by other penguins, came to a shocking end when Harry moved into a neighboring nest with recently-widowed Linda.

The development has sparked a variety of reactions in the blogosphere, where Linda has been called a "home wrecker" who "lives for her own happiness, no matter who gets hurt."

San Francisco's gay penguin has a change of heart

This isn't the first time it's happened. See Mike Draw captured an earlier betrayal.

15 pounds of fierceness

Our Chinese Crested pup thinks he's all macho, even though we know he's a total lamb. Just don't get between him and his favorite toy, "piggie."

(This is a first experiment with my new Flip Ultra Series Camcorder)

L'apres-midi d'un chat

(merci a alain)