Playful "Pup'

Miss Lizzie, who used to live here with her dog Hazelnut, now lives in an apartment of her own.  After poor Hazelnut was killed in a car wreck, she got a new dog, PepperJack.

Yes, my mommy named me after a food, like she does all her dogs.

He's not really a puppy, but you wouldn't know that from the way he jumps around and plays.  He's a bit over 2, i believe, and as Bigger Girl says, he's grown quite a personality since being adopted out of the cage at animal control.

Miss Lizzy does her best by him, feeding him high quality food, giving him only treats produced in the US, and taking him to the park or on a good, long walk each day.

Being Miss Lizzy, though, and living on disability, she does need help with him.  Bigger Girl helped me get him to the vet for his annual check-up.  He's now good on his vaccines, is protected from heartworm for 6 months, and i got her the flea and tick preventive that they take once a month, so no more trouble with ticks like he's had in the past.

While i know i wouldn't be a good dog owner, as i wouldn't spend the time training them that i should, i am a dog enjoyer, and don't mind helping keep him healthy.  After all, Miss Lizzy lives for her dog, he's the reason she stays clean and sober and is exploring ways to get her surgeries so maybe she can work again someday. 

Besides, he's a big goofball and i never could resist a goofball.

Goofy dog!

Today is:

Alasitis Fair -- Aymara Indians, Bolivia (offerings to the god of prosperity, now celebrated in conjunction with the Roman Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Peace, for whom La Paz is named)

Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show -- West Springfield, MA, US (8 1/2 acres of hobby train fun; through tomorrow)

Beer Can Appreciation Day -- the first canned beer went on sale today in 1935

Belly Laugh Day -- at 1:24pm local time, join the Belly Laugh Bounce Around the World!

Big Garden Birdwatch -- UK (sponsored by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; through tomorrow)

Eagle Day at the Lake -- Wyandotte County Lake Park, Kansas City, KS, US (learning about bald eagles in the environmental learning center, as well as eagle viewing over the lake and children's activities)

Economic Liberation Day -- Togo

Eskimo Pie Day -- patented this day in 1921

Fairy-Four Paganalia -- Fairy Calendar

Gasparilla Extravaganza -- Tampa, FL, US (the rum free version of the Pirate Festival celebration, with a kid's parade and lots of fun; the adult version is next Saturday)

Gold Rush Day -- US (gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill, sparking the California Gold Rush, in 1848)

Greater Springfield Garage Sale -- Springfield, MO, US (if you want to find it used, you can probably find it here; through tomorrow)

Hoggetowne Medieval Faire -- Gainesville, FL, US (jousting, birds of prey, medieval arts, food, entertainment; through tomorrow, and again next weekend)

IceFest -- Ligonier, PA, US (ice sculpture contest and lots of family fun; through tomorrow)

Kidfilm Festival -- Dallas, TX (international children's film festival; through tomorrow)

National Compliment Day -- begun by Debby Hoffman and Kathy Chamberlin, a day in which to compliment at least 5 people

National Peanut Butter Day

Opposite Day -- internet generated, and fun if you play it right

Orange City Blue Spring Manatee Festival -- Orange City, FL, US (learn about the manatee and have fun doing it; through tomorrow)

Paul Pitcher Day (So called because it is the eve of the Celebration of St. Paul's Conversion on the road to Damascus.  Cornish tin miners would traditionally set up a water pitcher in a public place and throw stones at it to destroy it.  A replacement pitcher was then bought and filled with beer, which was drunk and replenished through the day.  These miners were great inventors for reasons to celebrate, and they did this to rebel against the rule that only water was to be consumed during the work day.)

Sailing of Bast -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (people sailed the Nile to converge on Bubastis and celebrate the cat goddess; date approximate)

Sementivae, in honor of Ceres and Terra, begins -- Roman Empire (one of the few dating approximate items on the Roman Calendar, as each area of the Empire celebrated according to the timing of a local magistrate, but now through Feb. 2 was a typical time)

Social Sipping and Nibbling Rehearsal Day -- a day to practice cutting a piece of cake on a paper plate, using a plastic fork, and also balancing a napkin and punch in a paper cup; or practicing what clever thing you will say if you drop it all

SOS Radio Week -- UK (The Royal National Lifeboat Institution keeps the seas safer, and Radio Amateurs help them raise funds)

Sounkyo Ice Festival -- Hokkaido, Japan (snow and ice sculptures that are almost too good to be true, through March 29)

St. Francis de Sales' Day (Patron of authors/journalists/writers, confessors, deaf people, educators/teachers; Champdepraz, Aosta, Italy; against deafness)

Swamp Buggy Races -- Naples, Florida (the world famous swamp buggy races; through tomorrow)

TV Game Show Day -- birth anniversary of Mark Goodson

Vasant Panchami / Saraswati Puja  -- Hindu (celebrating Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge)

Wakakusa Yamayaki -- Nara, Japan (Grass Burning on Mt. Wakakusayama, and fireworks; an annual New Year tradition)

Ziua Unirii -- Romania (Unification Day)

Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities -- Eatonville, FL, US (celebrating Hurston's work, hometown, and cultural contributions, and the contributions of all Africa-descended people; through the 29th)


Anniversary Today:

Popeye meets Olive Oyl, 1929 (in Elzie Segar's Thimble Theater comic strip)


Birthdays Today:

Mischa Barton, 1986
Tatyana Ali, 1979
Ed Helms, 1974
Matthew Lillard, 1970
Mary Lou Retton, 1968
Nastassia Kinski, 1960
Jools Holland, 1958
Yakov Smirnoff, 1951
John Belushi, 1949
Warren Zevon, 1947
Michael Ontkean, 1946
Sharon Tate, 1943
Neil Diamond, 1941
Aaron Neville, 1941
Ray Stevens, 1939
Maria Tallchief, 1925
Jerry Maren, 1920
Oral Roberts, 1918
Ernest Borgnine, 1917
Jack Brickhouse, 1916
Mark Goodson, 1915
Granny D, 1910 (formerly Granny Haddock, or Ethel Doris Haddock, political activist)
Edith Wharton, 1862


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"I, Puritani"(Bellini Opera), 1835


Today in History:

Caligula, known for his cruel despotism, is assassinated and succeeded by his uncle Claudius, 41
Connecticut colony organizes under Fundamental Orders, 1639
The first Jewish doctor in US, Jacob Lumbrozo, arrives in Maryland, 1656
Henry Knox arrives at Cambridge, Massachusetts with the artillery that he has transported from Fort Ticonderoga, 1776
The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first full-fledged university in south Asia,1857
The Romania principality arises under King Alexander Cuza, with Bucharest as the capital, 1862
General Baden-Powell's publication of Scouting for Boys starts the Boy Scouts movement, 1908
The Gregorian calendar introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective from February 14(NS), 1918
Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada, 1952
A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost, 1961
Jackie Robinson is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, 1962
Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II, 1972
Soviet satellite Cosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered, 1978
The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale, 1984
Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus, 1986
Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe,and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States, 1990
Lara Giddings becomes the first female Premier of the Australian state of Tasmania , 2011