My dog doesn’t have fleas—she’s just obsessed with things on TV
Cartoons are popular
After the glitz and glamour of some treasures at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, I feel the need to add a bit of the ridiculous. Consider it holiday cheer.
My dog, Indi the standard schnauzer, watches television. She’s especially keen on watching animals of any kind (including cartoons). She even knows the music and voices for certain programs and advertisements. When an ad comes on for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), she tears in to the family room so fast that you have to jump out of the way or get knocked over.
I wish Indi would learn more from the dog training programs
When she first started watching television, she was rather puzzled when the horse that trotted across (and off) the screen to the right didn’t appear behind the curtains and chair.
She’s branched out lately and now shows an interest in programs on gardening, science, the weather, cooking and more. David Attenborough is a favourite too.
Over the years, I’ve owned or minded more than 20 different dogs. Indi is the only one to have ever shown an interest in television. That said, I had a cat that liked to sit on top of the television (an old bulky one) and bat at the sportspeople who ran around the field—any field.
Gardening is popular too
So what quirks do your pets have?
P.S. Yes, our television screen is huge. It’s one of Poor John’s guilty pleasures. I can watch TV from the backyard if necessary. And all those books you see in the pics are cookbooks. They are about a tenth of the cookbooks I use for the other blog. Check it out if you like to cook.
I don’t think she knows what a spider is
Now the weather report
Where to next? 
It is still the 25th here, so that post was a nice Christmas present.
What did/do you do with the dogs while you were out of the country?
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Glad you liked the post. When we travel, we always have someone move in to mind the house and the dogs.
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Does Indi hide the remote? 🙂
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Oh that gave me a good laugh. Indi doesn’t hide the remote, but Poor John seems to have the most frequent possession of it. 🙂
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🙂
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Merry Christmas to you, John and Indi! The only time our cats pay any attention to the TV is when a nature program has wolves howling or kittens yelling.
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Merry Christmas to you too. If Indi’s outside barking, I can get her instant attention by playing a YouTube clip of dogs howling.
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🐺
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Not so strange, indeed! My old cat Pallie loved the Discovery Channel documentaries 😛
Shaun the Sheep: I do love that cartoon ❤
Happy Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄
Sid
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We don’t have cable and don’t get the Discovery Channel, but I know Indi would love it. Merry Christmas to you too, Sid. 🎄🎄🎄
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😀
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Videos with prey animals appeal to my kitty boys, Andy and Dougy. Dougy looks behind to try to find where they went when they go off screen, but Andy is more direct: He pounces on them while they are on screen! Andy likes to watch pretty much anything on television, whether foreign films (he likes to hide the subtitles from me…) to news, though he still likes those programs with animals best. Dougy finds televison boring mostly.
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Must be fun to watch Andy have a go at the television. Even funnier that he hides the subtitles. Interesting how the two brothers have different approaches to the ‘machine’.
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You may have been traveling when this post appeared:
It’s the one where the little poop blocked the subtitles!
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That’s a terrific post. And you’re right, I was in Russia when you posted that.
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Funny! Our son’s Cairn Terrier does the same thing. It was very funny until they had a sleeping baby!
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Ah yes, the challenges that arise with a barking dog and a sleeping baby!
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Merry Christmas to you
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Thanks. Wishing you the same.
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I knew TVs were made for dogs and cats and not for me ! Have a great end of the year, Leggy Peggy.
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Wishing you a great end of the year too. Hope 2018 is good to you.
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Many thanks, LeggyPeggy. 2018 will certainly be a corner year to me : retirement, aeolus launch, move back to France ! The same to you, a great 2018 !
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Oh wow, 2018 is going to be huge for you. Hope it all goes smoothly.
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Haha! Merry Christmas 🙂
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Wishing you the same.
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Our dog, Milo likes to watch us watching TV. I think he likes our responses when some odious politician appears on TV and Helvi starts shouting obscenities while shaking her fist. He finds that interesting.
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Good for Milo. He knows that Helvi knows a shifty politician when she sees one.
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I always got a kick when my last dog would see a flock of birds flying on the TV screen. And when they fly off screen she would try to go behind the TV to see where they are. My Irish Terrier Laddy Me Boy (my present dog that leads me around the park) always barks when he hears other dog barking on the computer speakers…
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When Indi doesn’t want to come in at night, I play a YouTube clip of dogs barking and howling. Gets her every time.
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Merry Christmas! 🙂 I’ve never seen a dog that loves watching the telly so much! Ours have always pretty much ignored it but Brock does like to watch things on the laptop in bed for about 30seconds before he falls asleep. 🙂 xxx
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Aggie, our previous schnauzer, went crazy looking for me when he heard my voice over the laptop (Skype). He’d rush around the room looking for me. When he became deaf, he wasn’t interested anymore.
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This is a really funny story. I love that Indi loves TV. We don’t currently have any pets though I’m hoping to get a dog soon.
The dog we had when we were kids lived a very long life, and our two sons met him before he passed. He was very protective of his brothers.
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Most of our dogs have had long lives. You can’t always be sure how old a rescue dog is, but ours have all lived to at least the age of 12. We think Aggie was about 17.
Hope you can get a dog soon. Any particular option in mind?
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I’d like to get a rescue dog of course, saving the over populated canine world one puppy at a time. But several of my close family members have allergies, so a hypo-allergenic pup makes the best sense. I want a playable dog, not a lap sitter and not a wolf-sized one either. We’ll see what comes our way. It will be the right one when it comes to us. Do you have suggestions?
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Gosh, so hard to recommend a dog breed to another person. I’d always go for temperament and ease of care over looks.
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Merry Christmas to you and your family Peggy. All the best for 2018, looking forward to more of your posts, living vicariously through your posts.
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Thanks so much. Enjoying your blog too. Hope 2018 is good to you in every way.
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The cricket in TV gets Mr Tilly’s attention. He walks up to the screen and looks up at it, much like Indi in your photos. Being only five months old his attention span is short, and after a minute or so he’s lost interest. It is funny to watch though.
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Everyone in this house is attracted to the cricket—even Indi.
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A few years ago, there was a Chinese wildlife program on that our Burmese cat Ashoka was taking great interest in. Our television was a Loewe CRT with realistic European colours (as opposed to garish American ones). A flock of birds flew by on the screen and suddenly Ashoka launched himself at the television – and bounced off. No damage to the TV and no damage to the cat. He didn’t do that again.
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Oh my goodness, what a great laugh! Glad there was no damage to the launcher or the target.
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Ollie generally only reacts to dogs crying or barking on TV. Otherwise, he pays it no attention at all.
Just recently, an advertisement has been on that uses the same doorbell sound we have. When he hears that, he barks and runs to the front door!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh that’s too funny, Pete. Things like that make me think of Pavlov’s dog.
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I also have the guilty pleasure of a large screen TV, but I have gotten rid of about 60 cook books and now have only about a dozen (which I rarely use now that there only me and I rarely have guests). And I’ve re-homed about 120 DVDs, but still have about 100+.
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I would have loved to make the page-32 recipes in the cookbooks you got rid of. Maybe I could do a recipe from those you have left. We don’t have many DVDs, but there are plenty of CDs.
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You’ve probably got all the cookbooks I have. You’ve got Charmaine Solomon’s Asian Cookbook haven’t you. Have you got Kylie Kwong’s My China? Ottolenghi – The Cookbook?
Ottolenghi’s p32 looks yummy.
Surprisingly, I still use Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Cookbook for my Hummus recipe given to me by my best friends back in the early 1980s I think. I so rarely cook now because I can’t stand in the one spot for long. I cut the ingredients, sit down for 20 mins then put them on to cook, then sit down again and so on. Same with washing the dishes. Sometimes I even use the dishwasher for just little ol’ me.
Took me ages to make the recipes for the food photography contests I entered.
My Mother used to have about 150 cookbooks. My younger brother with all his produce from his farm still uses Mum’s old relish, chutney and fruitcake/pudding recipes, which were passed down from my Grandmother (born in 1900). I think he has got all Mum’s hand-written recipes after she passed away in 2012.
I have many DVDs partly because I am sometimes in too much pain to move and watching DVDs – mainly travel and Nat. Geo, but a few English or foreign ones passes the time of day. Sometimes the pain is too severe to type or do anything on the computer. I can no longer hold a book in my hands to read as it creates too much back/neck pain, hence giving away all my hundreds of fiction books (except about 7-8 short paperbacks). I can no longer stand in a shop queue, hence slowly walking outdoors stopping to take photos every now & then is a good hobby for me.
But I actually am/was a good cook (not baker – can’t eat too much dairy or grains).
People don’t realise that the secret to cooking is good fresh ingredients and not over-cooking them (unless its a slow cook meal). I worked for a family who had their own flour mills so when they brought me some fresh flour from the mill I would make scones or a vegetable pie.
The 2nd secret to good cooking is the way you serve it on the plate and/or the colour of the plate.
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This is a wonderfully rich comment. So great that your mum’s recipes carry on in your family. You’re always welcome to share any of them. I don’t known Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Cookbook. What’s on page 32?
You’re so right about fresh ingredients and presentation. I’m extremely good using fresh ingredients, but often hurried on the presentation. The cooking blog forces me to use my cookbooks, so presentation is secondary. I’ll try to improve.
My kitchen is a mess tonight. Better get to work.
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Hahaha thats pretty cute AND you can use the TV as a “companion” for the pooch when you go out and he is left alone! Currently a little pup that comes around and cocks his head from side to side whdn Ben plays his harmonica.
Peta
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Luckily Indi doesn’t need a companion. She loves being outside when we’re not home. I think she self-limits how much TV she watches. haha
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Aside- I have in my living room a 10+ year old Sony (Tube) TV (still working) and the screen is not that large. The newer LED TVs have a sharper image and a larger screen which might make it easier for dogs to see things on the screen. Give Indi a pat and scratch for me and me dog.
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Indi says many thanks for the pat and scratch. As for the sharper images on today’s TVs, I should mention that Indi’s predecessor, Aggie, once attacked a poster of a cat at the vet’s. That would have been more than 14 years ago and the vet said he’d never seen a dog recognise a cat on a poster.
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That’s adorable. Piper is the only one that really watches TV. For some reason she loves Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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Doesn’t everyone love Monty Python and the Holy Grail? If necessary, you should explain it to the other two dogs. I’m thinking The Princess Bride might be a must-see too.
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You would think so but Jack and Leo could care less. The Princess Bride is one of the best movies of all time along with The Labyrinth. Maybe a movie night is in order 🤔
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Good call!
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Everyone loves Shaun the Sheep! It is unusual I believe for animals to pay attention to a tv much like I avoid the bachelor show!
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I love Shaun the Sheep and avoid the bachelor show. Guess we both have good taste.
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I’m smiling!
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Clever dog…good way of keeping her out of mischieve for a while😄
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For a very short little while. 🙂
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What a little cracker! Hilarious 😂 Now off to check out your other blog. How can I have missed this?
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It’s not you, but me! I need to be a little more attentive to cross-promotion!
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So, apart from the dog, who else in the house watches Shaun The Sheep?
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Oh geez, the dog can’t change the channel, so it must be us! 🙂
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Well that’s good. I’m a fan as well.
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Nice…
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Thanks. It is fun to watch her.
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Too cute!!
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It really is fun to watch her react.
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My dog doesn’t watch much tv, but last year he almost lunged at the screen when a cat walked by in front of the yule log.
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Indi feels the same about cats.
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Yea Shaun the Sheep! (And happy holidays to you)
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Same to you Dave.
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Read about a dog today who likes the shopping news network but not the news. 🙂 Like the story about your cat that sat on top of the TV during sports programs and swatted at players running across the field. Find it interesting that pets like certain programs. –Curt
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I hope the dog who likes the shopping network doesn’t have access to a credit card.
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Me too. 🙂 But would a cat be worse?
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Probably.
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So tell me Indi, Q: How old is the average person posting in this blog? Watching cartoons..
Ok, Ok, Ok I had to Google and see the video(below) VERY FUNNY… and the farmer does not know what is happening on his farm;
“Shake It with Shawn” the Sheep!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNnEOqN2qcxeSQzBimv7h7Q
I don’t think this cartoon is seen (on regular TV stations) in the Americas…
Baa, baaing away now LOL,
Sy S.
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Indi is showing very good taste by watching ‘Shaun the Sheep’. It’s for all ages and possibly all species. 🙂 It’s an offshoot from Wallace and Gromit. http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/
Hope you can find more of it. Very entertaining.
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Good thing Indi self-limits TV time, or you’d have a huge couch potato! My daughter has a Jack Russell that not only watches TV but will jump up and try to attack anything that looks like prey. Needless to say, she isn’t often allowed near the TV when it’s on.
Do you ever cull your cookbooks or do they just keep reproducing like little mousies?
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Indi attacks occasionally, but luckily not with gusto, so all good. The cookbooks kept reproducing—prolifically—until this year. I’ve started giving them away. Want any?
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I’m trying to cull down my own herd!
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You are most welcome to pick a page 32 from your collection and do a guest post. Pretty please!
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Interesting. I did not know that dogs watch TV (not just look at it) and even have favorites. Happy holidays…
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Not all dogs watch TV, but the ones that do seem to have favourites. Happy holidays to you too.
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Aw, Indi loves TV as much as my cat loved the leftover turkey! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas 🙂
Caz x
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Too funny. Indi loved our lamb leftovers.
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I have Irish Setters. They have zero attention span. However the cat does watch tv and if he doesn’t like what’s on he’ll come stand on the remote.
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Clever cat. Guess you never get to choose what to watch.
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We hide the remote. A lot.
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I hope you had a Merry Christmas Peggy.
Awe, this is the cutest post ever! I can’t get over how engrossed Indi is over the TV and the way you describe her running into the room when her favorite commercial comes on had me in stitches. She’s a real cutie!! Thanks for making my day, animal posts never get old.
Happy New Year to you, Poor John, and Indi!!
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Happy New Year to you and yours too, Steph. I agree that animal posts never get old. We’ve just had a long walk on the beach and Indi is catching up on some sleep.
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LOL! Oooooh, Shaun the Sheep fun. Who wouldn’t stop and watch it? 🙂 Thanks for the fun little peek into your home. (My cookbooks are shoved into a crate at the top of the hutch. Humbug! 😛 )
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Impossible to pass up Shaun the Sheep. Sorry your cookbooks are at a very long arm’s length.
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So funny – one of my mini schnauzers watches tv, too. 🙂 Another schnauzer, from my past, watched if an opera was on. 🙂
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An opera watcher! Now that’s even funnier.
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Oh that’s hilarious!! Well I can understand watching the weather to see if it’s going to be a great day to play outside or if it’s going to be an indoor, snoozing on the couch kind of day. 😉
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Or maybe she wants to audition as a weather girl.
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Lol…she’d say…there’s some ruff weather coming our way…or if you’re expecting sunshine today you’re barking up the wrong tree! Hehe 😉
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You’re probably right. She can be quite noisy.
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Our kitty, Snickers likes nature programming, especially nature programming about insects. She watches intently and sometimes rushes the TV screen in order to squash the bugs. She’s baffled at her lack of skill. Lol. No idea why they keep buzzing/crawling around. Great post, btw. Lots of fun v
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Thanks. I can imagine a cat being fascinated by insects on TV. Every now and then, Indi lunges at the screen—usually when she sees a cat.
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Buon Anno! ciao Ago 🙂
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Thanks so much. Happy New Year to you too.
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Happy New Year!
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Wishing you the same!
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Hahaha. My rabbit Flower (rip) loved to watch tv with my husband.
Wishing you a 2018 filled with adventure!
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Oh that’s hilarious—a rabbit watching TV! Wishing you the same for 2018. Bring on the adventures.
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Our dog Gavin loves nature shows on tv. Of course the lions are scared as really big cats.
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Indi likes nature shows too, and especially keen on seeing (and barking at) cats!
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Very nice post!Thank you!
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Thanks for visiting and commenting. Most appreciated.
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Priceless pics. Our Lab, Dudley isn’t an habitual TV viewer but it is hilarious when he does so I know how you feel. I might shove on a blog myself about his viewing antics. Ta for the inspiration.
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I’m so glad you liked this post. Look forward to seeing yours of Dudley.
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Yes. We do have one of him gawping at a grizzly bear and cub marching accross the screen. Priceless….
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