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K9VeteransDayMontage
K9 Veterans Memorial

K9 Veterans Memorial

Today is an especially fitting day to share photos of the K9 Veterans Memorial. Because today is K9 Veterans Day.  Established on March 13, it’s the anniversary of the 1942 founding of the United States Army K9 Corps. If you’ve followed my blog for long, you know I’ve recognized K9 Veterans Day several times. Some background on the K9 Veterans Memorial The K9 Veterans Memorial’s centerpiece is the sculpture Unbreakable Bond. Wisconsin animal sculptor Mark Dziewior created a touching vision in bronze. It’s in McCoy Park in Fort Atkinson, WI. The…

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A German Shepherd sits alertly in front of a glowing Christmas Tree.
Seasonal K9 moments

Seasonal K9 moments

The Artdog Images of Interest It’s the end of the week, and for many of us it’s the start of a holiday break. I thought you might enjoy some seasonal K9 moments on a Friday-before-the-big-events!  Home for the holidays One inevitable problem every year is the struggle to travel. We Americans live in a far-flung nation, so we’re always going to grapple with travel woes. But it’s far from only an American problem.  Crowding, bad weather, and security bottlenecks create chaos wherever we are…

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Three dogs hug their humans.
Could it be love?

Could it be love?

Does your dog love you? Or are you just projecting? Scientists try very hard to avoid anthropomorphizing their animal study subjects. Emotions are difficult to measure. But now we’re finally getting closer to answering the question, “could it be love?” This is the third and final (for now) post in a series about dog cognition. In case you missed them, click: “Dogs: verbal virtuosos?” and “How much does your dog understand?” I’ve also previously written about working dogs on this blog–a post that touched…

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this graphic shows where dogs look on dog or human faces to get clues about the other individual's emotions.
Dog cognition: how much does your dog understand?

Dog cognition: how much does your dog understand?

Back in August, I wrote a guest post on dog cognition for Booker T’s Farm. That blog also later posted a very nice review of What’s Bred in the Bone. Booker T’s style, however, didn’t include the hyperlinks to my sources that I’d suggested. Because science doesn’t stand still, there’s also some updated information to add. I’ve previously written about working dogs on this blog. So I’ve decided to expand on my August post. How much do dogs really understand? Have you ever wondered how much your…

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All the artwork at FenCon's art show is being prepared in this photo.
Artwork at FenCon

Artwork at FenCon

The Artdog Image(s) of Interest I displayed my artwork at FenCon XVI. You might remember I mentioned that in my mid-week post. I spent a large chunk of time Thursday on the FenCon XVI Art Show. That was “setup day,” when the tables and display panels went up, and then the first of the art (the mail-ins and the work of artists able to arrive today) did, too.  As much as possible, all the rest of the art went up Friday, preferably before the Art Show opened to the…

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Honoring K9 veterans

Honoring K9 veterans

Today is National K9 Veterans Day in the United States. It’s an annual observance on March 13, the anniversary of the date in 1942, when the Army started training for its War Dog Program. Chris Crawford, the designer of the National K9 Veterans Day Facebook group’s composite illustration above, added these notes about her illustration: “The dogs depicted are the Belgian Malinois, Doberman, mixed breed, Labrador, and Husky and, of course, the German Shepherd in silhouette at the bottom.  The breeds are commonly used working dogs. German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois…

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So, I wrote this book . . . the saga continues.

So, I wrote this book . . . the saga continues.

Anyone who’s been reading this blog periodically may have stumbled onto a mention or three about the science fiction novel I’ve been working on. To be fair, it’s a science fiction universe I’ve been creating, the physical setting and milieu for a whole series of novels. Any blog posts I’ve written about future trends, such as last year’s series on automation, the DIY Space Station series, first responders, and/or police K-9s, MWDs, or service animals, all have been directly inspired by research aimed at making my fictional world seem more real. The book’s still not…

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Never too late to thank K9 veterans!

Never too late to thank K9 veterans!

Well, darn it–I missed it this year. K9 Veterans Day was Monday, on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the US Army K9 Corps. A couple days off or not, however, it seems reasonable to honor the bravery and sacrifices of the magnificent animals who help keep our nation, and its human defenders, safe. Dogs have been going to war with their humans for millennia, of course. Sergeant Stubby, of World War I fame, was very far from the first, although…

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