Saturday, January 16, 2010

Photo Phriday: Installation or Editorial?

This afternoon I took Cole and Jasmine out on some errands.

An unknown dog or dogs had an upset tummy* in my office this morning, and the weather is turning mild, so I put all the others outdoors while I was away. Sophia (it was her, as it happens) in the indoor/outdoor kennel by the barn, and Pip, Rosie, and Barry White with the run of most of the foster kennel and play area.

Moe was by himself in a run in the foster kennel. Just before I left I hung a bucket of fresh water from the fence.

When I returned, it looked like this:



Yes, the two-quart bucket is completely filled with straw and mulch. Mostly straw, which came from inside the plastic doghouse about six feet away.

No, I have no idea how he did it.

I do not know why he did it.

Is it an editorial comment on the indignity of being left in a kennel, as if he was a dog for chrissakes? Protest over being confined alone?

Maybe. But I got this kind of Richard Dreyfuss sculpting Devil's Tower out of mashed potatoes vibe from it. It kind of felt like a compulsive act of art.

It was a deliberate and symbolic act. But what kind?

13 comments:

  1. Funny! That's the sort of thing that'd be great to get on camera. At least it'd solve the "how" question, if not the "why". :)

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  2. My Granddog Moe is bright, efficient and loving - you must have really PO'd him by leaving him alone - the curse of the Seven Snotty Orphans be upon you and may the fleas of 1,000 diseased camels infest your undergarments.

    Dad

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  3. He looks very proud, however he did it.

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  4. Our old Ivan dog used to make assemblies of dog dishes and stuff, like in the picture here:
    http://errantry.typepad.com/pondering/2004/08/new_dog_art.html

    Maybe you just have an artiste. :)

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  5. I think the water was not up to snuff, in some way. Perhaps he wants it flavored...?

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  6. Wow - that is quite a statement he made and he does look proud of himself. I saw that done many times to food bowls in the barns at the Metra but never the water bucket.

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  7. I had a neutered tomcat that used to drown orphaned socks in the toilet.

    Never paired socks, only the lonely ones.

    It taught my husband to finally put the seat down.

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  8. It's a message! Aliens will be landing soon in a wheat field somewhere in Pennsylvania.

    Has he been humming an eerily catchy tune?

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  9. I think the comment by Maurice explains a lot.

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  10. Clearly, Moe haz some mad skillz. Next time, leave him the infested undies and a tub of warm, sudsy water...


    eli

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  11. Dogs act symbolically, beyond economy of expression, all the time. Using symbolism to create a metaphor is what the best sheepdogs/retrievers/bird dogs/sled dogs sometimes do.

    Donald McCaig

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  12. Yes he is clearly impressed with his work. Funny!

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