Bow Vows Exchanged

Love Doggy Style


Does Cupid have you down? Don't get discouraged, love is for the dogs. The scene -- Valentines Day 2007, Hong Kong. 18 young pups gather to exchange their wedding vows.

These pups were hot to trot and ready to tie the knot at yesterday's puppy love ceremony. Nine canine couples gathered at a popular shopping hot spot in downtown Hong Kong on the eve of Valentines Day, dressed in tuxes, gowns and veils. Reuters news comments, "Bells tolled as the eighteen dogs, decked in full wedding regalia, walked the aisle at a shopping mall in Causeway Bay, the city's busiest shopping neighbourhood." The event was hosted as a publicity stunt to raise awareness and funds for local animal charities. The canine couples barked bow vows and exchanged wedding chokers in lieu of traditional rings.

Events of this sort have been gaining popularity recently in the UK and the United States. This week's hound wedding helps to introduce new dog concepts to the Hong Kong market and spark interest in canine culture. Thanks Hong Kong, for showing us that marriage really has gone to the dogs.

Photo thanks to Reuters

Daycare Down Under

Australian daycare caters to all kinds

Wagin' Tails Dog Daycare in inner Brisbane, Australia has seen it all and gives new meaning to the term "pampered pet." Does your pooch need a cut and color while you're at work? No problem, a full salon with veteran stylists can take that on. Does he have a finicky diet of only the finest? That's okay, Wagin' Tails can accommodate that too.

The pooch in the upper left is being treated to a new do, trying out pink -- the salon's most popular color for furry fashionistas. Wagin' Tails Daycare oversees 100 particular pups per week, each with his own tailored preferences and schedule. One client likes to start his mornings with a plate of warm scrambled eggs, another prefers to catch an episode of Days of Our Lives. Manager Jodie Hartz, acknowledges, "It's very similar to childcare. You've got packs of dogs running together and you've got to supervise them constantly.''

Anything goes at Wagin' Tails. And it's no wonder why -- Australians very closely tail Americans in pet related spending. In 2005, Aussies spent a whopping $4.62 billion on pet products, a figure that makes the $33 dollar daycare fee seem nominal.

Photo thanks to The Courier

Doggy 209

A resourceful, agile canine who eluded authorities for years has recently been rescued. Allow us to introduce you to Doggy 209 --the true king of the road. The infamous pup claimed the 209km marker on an expressway in Taipei, Taiwan for his home and camped out on the side of the road for two years, taking frequent trips into the flow of traffic and presenting drivers with safety hazards.

Taipei Police tried on 52 separate attempts to capture Doggy 209 and were unsuccessful on all counts. It wasn't until a crew of canine lovers on a mission came along that the homeless hound was finally brought to safety. Within six hours the ten citizens had successfully caught Doggy 209.

Why couldn't the cops nab the notorious pooch? "Some traffic officers said that Doggy 209 had shown high intelligence, distinguishing between ordinary cars and traffic police cars. When a yellow traffic police car pulled up, Doggy 209 fled. When traffic police left food in a cage to trap it, it never went near the cage," News24.com reports.

Onlookers were in part hoping the pup would remain at large in the spirit of freedom and rebellion, but inevitably Doggy 209 will be more comfortable calling home a house and not a highway.

Photo found on Flickr

The Weekend Wrap Up

You may have missed it, but you won't miss out. Here's a recap of happenings in the hound world that took place over the weekend.

On Friday, extreme sport pups, baby carriage-pushing and piano playing pooches put their best paws forward during a Charm School & Talent Show at the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in New York City.

Later in the day, Honda Motors released the Vamos; a minivan designed for your mutt. The Vamos includes pooch friendly options including water and odor resistant seats, spacious fold down rear seats and tick resistant floor matts. The dogmobile is currently available in Japan for a little over $12,000 bones.

Saturday was ultra stylish in Indiana as the Alterra Sterling House sponsored an exclusive dog fashion show, displaying the latest in canine couture. As a finale to the fashion show, two hounds got hitched. All proceeds benefit the local humane society.

Sports fans got riled up on Sunday watching the much less publicized PuppyBowl III on Animal Planet where young canines competed for the championship title. Get all the final stats and details here.

Moving on to the international scene; Bangalore, India offered the 84th and 85th All-India Championship Dog Shows on Sunday. Over 400 entries were received, but only a lucky few were chosen Best in Show.

That brings us to Monday, so let's get out there and make some doggy news!

Photo thanks to Hindu.com

Pups in the Promise Land

Canine culture takes off in Tel Aviv

A land of milk and honey...and hounds. Israel's pooch population is soaring as canines become a more essential part of the family unit. There are currently 20,000 registered dogs in Tel Aviv alone, making the human to hound ratio 1 to 18.5.

"It's fun to be a dog in Tel Aviv...The city considers the needs of dogs and their owners. It allows [dogs] to live in the public domain. It's comfortable for the animals, and it's comfortable for the people," Tamara Elbaz, a dog groomer and Tel Aviv resident recently remarked in an interview with the New York Times. Elbaz has witnessed the canine scene flourish in her city, letting way to a slew of grooming and specialty shops as well as dog parks and recreation areas.

Elbaz attributes Israel's booming interest in furry friends simply to companionship -- Tel Aviv is a city saturated with new immigrants, many of whom do not yet share a common language. Having a puppy serves as an icebreaker, as a way to make connections with your surrounding community. Elbaz comments, "People approach you, you get to talking. Dogs solve the problem of loneliness in a big city."

Are you curious about pooch-people relations in international destinations? Write to Signafur and we'll research the answer for you and post it to the blog.

Photo found on Flickr
Tags: tel aviv, New York Times, culture

A Brew for Bowzer

Ever care to share a brew with Bowzer? Well now you can thanks to Terrie Berenden of Amsterdam, the recent creator of Kwispelbier, a.k.a. "the beer for your best friend." Kwispelbier, dutch for "wagging tail" is not really a beer at all but rather a non alchoholic concoction of reduced beef broth and malt. Meaning unless you're a hardcore meat lover, you may still opt for a Heineken at a quarter of the price. Kwispelbier retails in Europe for around $3.00 a bottle, but can be found domestically under the name Happy Tail Ale from Dog Star Brewing.

What inspired Berenden to create the canine cocktail? She comments, "Once a year we go to Austria to hunt with our dogs, and at the end of the day we sit on the verandah and drink a beer. So we thought, my dog also has earned it."

Puppy Politics Tense in China

One dog policy infuriates pet owners

China recently began enforcing a stringent code of dog laws mandating a "one dog per household" rule. Additionally, size standards have been issued; canines in excess of 14 inches are also banned under the new policy. Any dog over the allotted limit is subject to confiscation by the officials.

The situation has become politically tense; reminiscent of days passed in Communist China, and has forced pet owners to hide their beloved animals and be wary of their neighbors. The dog policy states," Any individual has the right to criticize ... anyone who is doing anything against the regulations, and report them to the residential committee, the village committee or the relevant department."

The new laws spring from a recent rabies scare and the government's attempt to control the dog population. Protests and rallies have sparked throughout Beijing with no sympathy from authorities.

Photo thanks to Reuters

Technorati tags: one-dog policy, china dog raid

Doggy Fashion Gets Serious in India

Delhi, India

The days of having to outsource for pet fashion gear in India are long gone. As the pet fashion industry continues to grow globally, canine boutiques are popping up all through Delhi. The cold season is marked as a high time for pooch related shops, and sales on doggy sweaters, coats, and layers are expected to soar.

What else does India have in store for it's four legged friends? Oh, just a quaint group canine wedding scheduled for December 17th, 2006. The ceremony hopes to include participants from over 50 breeds in an attempt to gain recognition for cutting edge Indian canine friendly society and to earn a place in the Guinness book of world records. Stay tuned, Signafur will keep you updated!

Photo found on flickr

This Deli Goes to the Dogs

A new cafe in Mexico City caters to the city's most discriminating canines. The central cafe boasts a pup friendly atmosphere and mouth watering treats like ostrich liver biscuits with mashed potato icing.

Bow-Wow Deli is the creation of Miki Nakai, a Japanese entrepreneur with a vision to create a social doggy haven in the dog eat dog hub of Mexico City. Bow-Wow deli began when Nikai started cooking canine friendly meals for her finicky eater, an African greyhound. Soon her cuisine spread through the local canine community and left all pups panting for more.

Photo found on flickr