This week at doggie daycare we had a Rhodesian Ridgeback stay with us. I had never seen one before. I thought that their “ridge” would be sort of like a young man with a “mohawk” haircut. Instead their fur simply grows in the opposite direction on a strip down their backs. You can see what I mean in this photo:
These dogs were bred to hunt lions! They are sometimes known as African Lion Hounds. They keep a lion at bay until their human is able to shoot them.
Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred from Khoikhoi dogs, which are descended from Africanis, a 7,000 year old breed endemic to Africa. The Dutch brought European dogs when they arrived in the 1600s, and bred them with the Africanis, and by 1922 Rhodesian Ridgebacks were a standard breed.
According to the AKC, the first breeder of Rhodesian Ridgebacks in the United States was Errol Flynn. He bred Ridgebacks on his Hollywood Ranch. He also had a “heart dog” named Arno (a schnauzer) who always accompanied him on-set. The dog was famous for barking whenever the director yelled, “Cut!” Apparently the dog knew that his human would be coming to pet him then. In the 1930s Arno got as much press as Errol Flynn’s many romances.
This is a schnauzer (but not Errol Flynn’s schnauzer):
Reading about the Africanis made me curious about hyenas.
I thought hyenas would be related to dogs, much like wolves and coyotes are. But it turns out that hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs (according to the Smithsonian).
Hyenas live together in clans of nearly 80 members, led by females. The clans don't stick together all the time - they frequently break off into small groups, only coming together in big reunions a couple times each year.
Hyenas are omnivores. The Masai people of Kenya and Tanzania actually set their dead in the forest for the hyenas to eat. An ecologically hip way to dispose of dead bodies, certainly. I’ve been reading about the new composting tanks some mortuaries have been investing in. They stuff a corpse in the tank along with straw and wood chips, and six to eight weeks later they have a load of compost suitable for spreading on a garden. Human composting has recently been made legal in the State of Colorado - in fact there’s a place just down the road from us that does it. But, hyenas would be cheaper and easier. Although you wouldn’t be able to spread your loved one on your garden afterwards.
Hyenas are also great mothers. They invest more time in their children than any other carnivore on this planet. Hyena litters are usually one to three cubs, and they’re born with fully developed teeth. These toothy babies nurse for their first year of life - hyena milk is the richest of any terrestrial carnivore (in fat and protein).
Hyenas are also wildly intelligent and exceptionally curious. They frequently break into cars and homes. I guess that’s not an indication of intelligence. Still, their group problem-solving skills are on a par with chimpanzees and great apes. Their vocalizations are complex - not only their laughs, but their whoops and other noises.
I can’t wrap this post up without a Bonz update!
We gave our big Dracaena (frondy kind of plant) to my sister in order to turn our shoe organizer (which previously doubled as a plant stand) into a bench for Bonz to look out the window. This is now his favorite afternoon activity:
Our street is a real dog-walking thoroughfare.
Bonz has also prompted us to explore a bunch of new walking paths. This one is our favorite from this week:
It’s a path around Lake Macintosh. This is the view away from the lake - looking toward Long’s Peak and Mount Meeker. A lot of people walk their dogs around this lake. Several of the people we've met there have allowed Bonz to greet their dogs. This has been exciting to everyone involved. Bonz is a really friendly guy.
He tried to be friendly to a large group of geese, but the geese weren’t interested in an inter-species friendship. So, instead of a photo of Bonz and the geese, I have only a photo of goose footprints and dog paw prints. And one big human print. And a bunch of duck prints.
I guess I should close with a link to some soap! If you’re feeling in need of refreshment, try our nostalgia bars: https://www.serenasoaps.com/product-page/nostalgia-bath-bar-2-75-3-25-oz.
They are scented with a reverse-engineered aroma of the old Herbal Essence shampoo. Oh, how I loved that shampoo! Remember the ad campaign where they painted a bunch of VW beetles green and flowery? Here's a shot of a nostalgia bar:
