Internet Hoaxes: Dogs, Part Six

Claim: Thousands of Japanese pet owners were victimized by swindlers who sold them sheep and told them the animals were poodles.

Status: False.

Reference: Snopes

Lenore and Brutus, an unusual love story

John Katz has lived for some years with sheep, cows, steers, goats, barn cats, chickens—and dogs—on a farm in upstate New York, Bedlam Farm, but he had never encountered a situation where animals of different species have fallen in love, or even had much of a friendship.

In an article for Slate Magazine, "My Dog Has a Crush on My Ram," he writes about Lenore, a highly affectionate black lab, who is is utterly smitten with Brutus, a neutered ram.

Each day, the pair seems more companionable. Lenore looks for Brutus, and when she finds him, she sometimes challenges him to romp, occasionally rolling over and flirtatiously showing her belly. She isn't above giving his nose or ear a lick. Some days, they just graze side by side, Lenore also chomping down the grass.

The two of them are always together. She cleans his ear, he noses her or butts her gently. It's something to see.

(via: The Roanoke Times: The Happy Wag)

Springtime sweetie

This sweet little girl's name is Bluff County Debutante.

She is an HST marked Shetland Sheep. HST is shorthand for a solid colored sheep with white on it's Head, Socks and Tail. These markings make for a VERY flashy Shetland sheep yet preserve the solid colored body fleece that is preferred for spinning.

I found her in the pasture at The Shepherd's Voice.

Putting Turin's sheep to work

For the second year in a row, sheep are being used to trim the lawns of Turin, Italy's parks.


The first herd of sheep arrived Thursday at the Meisino park, a vast area of land along the Po River on the city's eastern outskirts, while a second herd will be brought to the Sangone park on Monday.

The two herds will graze in the parks for two months and officials believe this will save the city some 30,000 euros in gardeners' fees.

Last year, in addition to sheep, cattle were used in the Maddalena park. This year it was decided not to use cattle because they produced significantly more manure that sheep.

Source: ANSA

via: eternally cool

Joke: The consultant

A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of the dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young man in a Broni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the shepherd, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The shepherd looked at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looked at his peacefully-grazing flock and calmly answered, "Sure."

The yuppie parked his car, whipped out his IBM Thinkpad and connected it to a cell phone, then he surfed to a NASA page on the internet where he called up a GPS satellite navigation system, scanned the area, and then opened up a database and an Excel spreadsheet with complex formulas. He sent an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, received a response. Finally, he prints out a 130 page report on his miniaturized printer then turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1586 sheep."

"That is correct; take one of the sheep." said the shepherd. He watches the young man select one of the animals and bundle it into his car.

Then the shepherd says, "If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my animal?"

"OK, why not," answered the young man.

"Clearly, you are a consultant," said the shepherd.

"That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required," answers the shepherd.

"You turned up here although nobody called you. You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked, and you don't know crap about my business. Now give me back my dog."