The Muttropolis Blog

Top 10 Most Awesome Dogs of 2011

The year 2011 was absolutely brimming with historic, hilarious and downright heart-warming moments of doggie awesomeness! Stories of heroic hounds, comedic canines and doggie Dilbert's certifiably made life so much richer this year and we've selected some of our favorite four-legged stand-outs of 2011.

It was not easy, sifting through the incredible, insane, inane and sometimes hair-brained dog stories of 2011, but for you, dear readers, we will stop at nothing to keep you on the cusp of mutt's hot and mutt's not.

Our Top 10 Most Awesome Dogs of 2011

1) Loyal Dog, Hawkeye, Lays at the Casket of Fallen Navy Seal: A beautiful tribute and demonstration of a dogs loyal and unconditional love. Reportedly this story alone is responsible for a 32.36% increase in Kleenex's stock price in 2011. : )  Full story here >

 

2) The Amazing Commando Dog That Helped Snare Osama Bin Laden: This special four-legged soldier was a heavily-armored, explosive-sniffing pooch who was strapped to an assault team member and lowered into Bin Laden's hideout from a Black Hawk helicopter! To ensure their safety, these special four-legged forces are given oxygen masks for helicopter jumps as well as helmets with videocameras for remote monitoring. Read story here>

 

3) Eco-minded French Bulldog Saves Water with Inventive Pup Pre-wash Cycle. Read story here >

 

4) Dog Saves New Family Only Six Hours After Being Adopted: Gentle giant Hercules proved his worth as a loyal canine companion only six hours after being rescued from an animal shelter by chasing after an intruder who was attempting to break into his new adoptive family's house. Read the whole story here >

 

5) Static Cling Dog Channels a White Porcupine: Combine super dry air, a fluffy white dog, a synthetic fiber blanket and a monotone voice-over narrator and you've got a nugget of YouTube gold. See for yourself in the video below and read the full story here >

 

6) Uber Happy Dog Plays Hide-n-Seek with Bouncy Sheep: The most adoro interspecies love affair between a bouncing, fluffy sheep and one scrappy happy dog. Dingleberries and all, watch what a good ole time this sheep is having clomp-a-clomping around the barnyard with a dog that seems to have decided "...to hell with the whole herding thing."  Read the full story here >

 

 

7) Greece's Riot Dog: Allegedly present at nearly every importantGrecian riot since in 2008, and even braving police with teargas, it is unknown what this tenacious yellow dog, Loukanikos, was protesing, but he is deserving of a nod for getting up out of his tent and getting into the action. Read the full story here>

8) I Lean: Seeing-Eye Goose Befriends Blind Dog. This heart-warming animal odd couple shows that love really is blind! A blind boxer named Baks got a whole new lease on life this year thanks to a good samaritan goose named Buttons who leads  vision-impaired Baks around everywhere either by hanging onto him with her neck, or by honking to tell him which way to go. Read the full story here >

 

9) Tenacity Defined - Brave Terrier With Knife Stuck Squarely in Head Chases Robbers. Bella, a brave terrier mix,  happily chased robbers down her street earlier this year despite the ginormous Ginzu protruding from her forehead ! She survived the ordeal with flying colors and gets extra kick-ass doggy awesomeness points for her selfless heroicism! Read the full story here>

10) Determined Pit Pup Harper, Rescued from Trash Bag, Learns to Walk. Severely deformed, yet darling pitbull pup Harper was abandoned to die in a trash bag, but angelic shelter workers rescued her and provided her with proper therapy and now she has a new leash on life! Today, Harper is a frisky, happy pup who is gaining more and more mobility each day, to the astonishment of onlookers and medical professionals. Read the full story here >

 

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Gus the Bulldog Gets An Indoor Pool [VIDEO]

Let there be no doubt that Gus is one tenacious Bulldog! With summer temperatures soaring, Gus the Bulldog has no interest in lounging in his baby pool in the heat of the great outdoors - but instead opts to take the fun indoors! 

[VIDEO: Check out Snowboarding Bulldogs]

What is Gus really thinking?

Knowing how dogs operate - my guess is that Gus's true intentions is to make this HIS personal pool and likely intends to take the pool into his bed to chew on in solitude...away from his accomplice. What do you think?

[VIDEO: Check out the "Running, Rolling & Strolling of the Bulldogs]

Adorable Beagle Plays Catch With Paws!

Forget Fetch...This Beagle Plays Catch!

Most fairly coordinated dogs can catch balls in their mouth, but just how many dogs can catch with their paws? Check out the remarkable eye-paw coordination of this darling Beagle pup who, after a few tries, masters the art of "catch" - and looks darn proud of herself I might add.

Adding to the adoro-factor is the off camera pitcher who hoots in celebration after each successful catch. If this doesn't put a smile on your face today, I simply don't know what will!

Thanks to Baby Praying Mantis for turning us on to this one!

Meet Chaser - The Smartest Dog in the World

Think your dog is the smartest pup on the block? Think again!

The new reigning smarty-pants pooch, Chaser, a border collie, possesses the largest human vocabulary of any dog! Chaser, who is a female dog - naturally -  can recognize the names of more than 1,022 objects. According to a report by the New Scientist, Chaser can categorize the various objects based on function and shape as well as understand the basic concepts behind nouns and verbs! Impressive!

The last record holder, another border collie named Rico, knew 200 human words - still impressive, but Chaser's vocabulary is off the charts, putting her on intellectual par with three-year-old human children (and..um... some adult males we know ;).

As part of a three year training course at Wofford College, taught by psychologists Alliston Reid and John Pilley. Chaser was introduced to the names of 1,022 toys. Over the three years, Reid and Pilley taught the collie the names of 1022 toys by introducing them to her one by one, getting her to fetch the toy and then repeating the name to reinforce the association. They say there's no limit to what the dog can learn! Watch the video below and watch the amazing Chaser in action! (via Discovery News).

 

 

 

WATCH: Muttropolis Talks Dog Poop on NBC's Today Show!

In case you missed it: Watch Muttropolis Co-Founder Janet McCulley talk with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb about pet product trends and dog poop -- on an apple! Seriously.

Last week we shared how thrilled we were to be invited to appear on the Today Show with none other than Hoda and Kathie Lee to talk about some of our favorite pet products. Without hesitation  we whisked off from California only a few hours later with our favorite dog toys, treats (and poop bags!) in tow for some fun in the Big Apple! 

Everyone at the NBC studios were so incredibly warm and welcoming, and we had an absolute fantastic experience---brief as it was!  All the innovative pet products featured during the segment can be found here at Muttropolis or on The Today Show website here! In case you missed the segment, check out the video below and be amused!

 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

WATCH: Chunky Dog Crashes Aussie Soccer Game

Jack Russell Bends It Like Bowser

Known to be one of the scrappiest dogs on the planet, check out the game face on this tenacious Jack Russell as he crashes this (random) game of "Footy" between Australia and Ireland. Amazingly, not one player has the wherewithal to pass him a ball, or high five him when the other team fouls (...at 1:36 in the video).

Amazingly, this portly pup manages to stay in the game for a good four minutes and the crowd is none too pleased when Angry-Man-in-Members-Only-Jacket has the gall to unceremoniously remove him from the playing field. Watch the video and be amused!  

Odd. Very Odd.

I found the following things to be particularly odd about this video - how about you?

1) None of the players are phased in the least that a portly pooch is ripping around the field

2) Since when is picking up and running with a soccer ball acceptable?

3) What's the deal with the dude combing his hair in the beginning (and end) of the video?

4) Who knew that there was a "Fox Footy" channel?

 

Top 10 Most Awesome Dogs of 2010

The year 2010 was a banner year for pup culture and we found there was no shortage of interesting, meaningful and often meaningless stories regarding canine culture!  Herewith are our top 10 favorite, most awesomest dogs of 2010! 

Did we leave out your favorite? Share your favorites in the comments below!

 

1. Complicated Yoga Pose Dog

 

 

 

2. Merengue Dog

 

 

 

 

3. Pug Sings Batman Theme

 

 

4. Abby Girl: The Extreme Sports Dog Breed Dog-umentary

 

5. Spot the Dog Remains Faithful to Dead Owner

 

 

6. The Synchronized Dogs (and One Goat) of the OK Go Dog Video

 

 

 

7. Target- The Amazing Afgan War Hero Dog

 

 

8.  Small Dog, Big Hero: Missy Alerts Neighbors When His Owner Collapses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Antoine Dogson

 

 10. Good Samaritan German Shepherd Leads Trooper to House Fire: (Watch video here >)

 

Story reprint courtesy of Janet McCulley's The Daily Treat at Animal Planet.com 

WATCH: Animals of YouTube Sing "Jingle Bells"

What do you get when you create a holiday video mash-up featuring one keyboard cat, a flappy-lipped horse, three pea hens, a turtle festooned with a bow, a tone-deaf Pug, a cat with a lisp, a hyperactive border collie, a school of fish, one shark, a spastic ferret, a shy caterpillar, a herd of bison and one nasally cat? 

What you get is the. Best. Holiday. Video. Ever. Never one to disappoint, the creative genius that is Klaatu42's Talking Animals is sure to put a smile on your face with this year's Talking Animals Jingle Bell Video! Enjoy and be sure to check out last year's "Deck the Halls" video too for an extra chuckle!

WATCH How to Gift Wrap A Cat For Xmas

DIY Cat Wrap

Ever wonder how to safely and efficiently wrap a cat? Wonder no more as the cheeky folks at FlippyCat have perfected the process!  We all know that cats love paper and better yet, crinkled paper, so for the most part, this patient little guy looks quite content in my opinion despite his mummified appearance mid-video....what do you think? 

 

Article reprint courtesy of Animal Planet's The Daily Treat with Janet McCulley

WATCH: Funny Holi-dog Celebration Video Has Great Message

With a focused mission on creating a world where there are No More Homeless Pets, the creative and caring folks at The Best Friends Animal Society created this darling Holi-dog Holiday Celebration video (below)! Watch adorable dogs (...and cats- see if you can spot the kitty cameo) decorate cookies, create crafty snowflake cut-outs and get ready to celebrate the holidays in style!

Spreading good cheer, this endearingly goofy little video has a great message: Think Adoption this holiday and make a holiday wish come true for a homeless dog or cat.

What is Best Friends Animal Society?

Best Friends Animal Society is a nonprofit organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are No More Homeless Pets. The core of  Best Friends' work is the dream that one day  animals will no longer be destroyed because they are unwanted or imperfect. Well said!

Working to make spaying and neutering a rule for all pets, the society's leading initiatives in animal care and community programs are coordinated from its Kanab, Utah, headquarters, the country's largest no-kill sanctuary. This work is made possible by the personal and financial support of a grassroots network of supporters and community partners across the nation. For more information visit: Bestfriends.org

Article reprint courtesy of Animal Planet's The Daily Treat with Janet McCulley