a keeshond says, "i bide my time"

http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.503183  www.rijksmuseum.nl

At least I'm pretty sure that's what the slogan in this Dutch emblem says.  What would a Keeshond be plotting that his time needs biding?  As it happens, this emblem, dating from 1787, falls during a time in Dutch history when a political faction calling themselves the "Patriots" were actively opposing the rule of William V, Prince of Orange.  The Keeshond dog became the symbol of the Patriot party, while the Orange party was associated with pugs.  In 1787 the Prussians defeated the Patriot faction and many went into exile; this must be why "I bide my time."  Here's a bit more on that from the Rijksmuseum. 

arkansas vs massachusetts

thanks pixabay

Actually, dog vs. cat.  The article I'm sending you to today was written in 2014, but 2.5 years won't have greatly changed the fact that Arkansas is the most dog-friendly state.  Massachusetts, meanwhile, could be Catsachusetts.  ("But how about pet-friendly US cities?" you ask.  Someone mapped that out last year - congratulations, Orlando.)  And does that say anything about the politics of said states?  Maybe.

the uk bureaucats

Longtime friend of the Museum, Everycat (@WhickyWhuudler) sent me to an excellent post from the UK's National Archives:
The bureaucats at the heart of government
 There you will learn about such vermin-removal public specialists as Peter the Great (also known as Peter II), whose slim pay packet was meant to keep him recompensed but not so comfortable that he would grow lazy. (Can anyone out there relate?)  You can also see a list of the Chief Mousers to the Cabinet Office since 1924 here at Wikipedia.
 

lisette, the dog who changed peter the great's mind

thanks karenswhimsy.com (PD)

In which Peter the Great is moved to mercy when his beloved dog is roped in to intercede:
* * *

. . . Among the powers that were, who had their pets, Peter the Great must be included -- the Czar whose evil-tempered monkey was a terror to all the attendants at court, obliged as they were to endure without resenting its malice. A much more agreeable favorite was Lisette, an Italian greyhound presented to Peter by the Sultan. Once she saved a life, and her Victoria Cross is the record in history of this achievement. A poor fellow had been condemned, for some small error, to the knout. All intercession had failed, and the hour of execution was at hand, when his friends bethought them of fastening a petition to Lisette's collar and sending her with it to the Czar. This was done, and what he had refused to his loyal subjects he granted to little Lisette. Not without reason is the skeleton of this timely advocate still preserved in the city where she lived!

--- From Lewis, E. (1892). Famous pets of famous people. Boston: D. Lothrop Company. 83-84.  As it happens, Lisette - along with a horse also named Lisette, and another royal dog named Tirana - are still present at the Zoological Museum in St. Petersberg, though rather inexpertly taxidermied.  You can see them in this blog post, halfway down the page.  That post also tells me they're on the Facebook page of Badly Stuffed Animals...somewhere.

pushinka

You learn something new every day. For example, today I learned that during the Cold War, President Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev got along well enough to exchange letters with warm greetings, and once those greetings came with a puppy.  "Pushinka" was the pup of Russian space dog Strelka; Strelka made it into orbit and back alive.  Could a fluffy white dog have been one of the last thin barriers keeping the world from nuclear war during the Bay of Pigs conflict?  This BBC article thinks so.

the life of a munich cat

This short passage describes Munich right after it became the capital of the short-lived Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806.  I'm surprised that court life there was that vapid, because the king at the time, Maximilian I Joseph, sounds as if he were a decent sort of man.  Courts are always weird and artificial, though, I think.

* * *
. . . The manners of the inhabitants of Munich are such as might be expected from forty thousand people who depend on the court, and for the most part go idle at its expense. Among the nobles there are instances of good breeding and politeness; but the people at large are eminent for inactivity, and a strange want of attachment to their country. Many of the court ladies know of no other employment than playing with their parrots, their dogs, and their cats. Some keep a hall full of cats, and several maids to attend them; they converse half their time with them, and serve them with coffee, &, dressing them according to their fancy differently every day.

* * *

Sir Richard Phillips, A General View of the Manners, Customs and Curiosities of Nations: Including a Geographical Description of the Earth, Volume 2 (1810: Johnson and Warner), pp. 139-40

pet life in a raving loony party

A British political party that has stood in elections since its inception in the 80's, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party actively embraces the absurd as a means of pointing out the frequent foolishness in UK government. You will find there pretty much what you would expect from an entity founded by a 70s glam-shock musician called "Screaming Lord Sutch," except that some of their absurdities are a bit more on the ball than you expected.

I can't believe I'm trying to explain all this in one post.

Anyway, I had heard that the OMRLP had put up a Parliamentary candidate in 1982 who was a bit of a stretch, even for them: he was a springer spaniel named "Bob." And while I can't find anything more on Bob, I did refresh myself with some of the Party's many, varied and famed Manifesto Proposals:

Animal fashions
It is proposed that:Pets, especially cats and dogs, may not be dressed in miniature human clothing for the purpose of human amusement, unless the animal in question can equip the clothing himself/herself. Punishable by dressing the owner of the animal in miniature human clothing.

Guard Dogs
Guard Dogs shall no longer be permitted.(they're so vicious)
It is proposed that they will be replaced with Guard Tortoises,
called Shelly.

K9 IQ
The true intelligence of dogs will be fully recognised and appreciated. (when did you last see a dog step in a human poo?)

These are mixed in with things like:
Politicians are Shocked
Politicians to be fitted with electric shock collars, the type used to stop dogs barking, and shocked every time they lie.

Delightful.
Homepage of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party here.