Dean's Welcome Notes

We've made it past the Ides of March, and Spring will soon be upon us - we hope!
To while away the remaining time, enjoy a bit of culture with our artful trivia, a history of dog collars, and an ancient breed of cat.

As always, here at BreedersClub.net and CatsForYou.com we value your opinions and enjoy hearing from you.

Until next time,
Dean Hamill

Animal Trivia:

Can you name the brilliant artist that
took this photo, the dog's name, and of course,
the breed of dog?

Go to the end of the newsletter for the answer.

Collecting Antique Dog Collars

Animal memorabilia has always been popular - and antique dog collars are some of the most unique items animal lovers collect.

Hundreds of years ago, dog collars were used not only to protect the vulnerable throat area of the dog but also to display the wealth and status of its owner.

Here's a brief chronology of the types of dog collars:

Ancient Rome - broad heavy collars with spikes

Ancient Egypt - dogs of nobility wore collars of precious metals i.e. gold and silver

Middle Ages - spiked leather collars but also ornate collars studded with jewels

1500's - leather collars without much ornamentation - but with padlocks

1700's - brass, silver and gold collars engraved with sayings became fashionable. The inscriptions were usually about the owner and not the dog.

17th-19th Century - also had lined metal collars with rolled edges made adjustable by slits and fastened with a padlock

Victorian era - leather collars adorned with bells or studs

There is a Dog Collar Museum in Leeds Castle (Kent,England). That alone gives you an idea of how unique and interesting these collars are!

If you're looking to invest in one of these, note the word "invest", as they can be dear in price. On the other hand, now that you know what they are, you might just stumble across one of these treasures in your travels. Happy hunting!

Cyber Fiber - those pesky WORD documents that won't open!

Ever get a file from someone that ends in " .docx "?

When Microsoft put out its latest and greatest version of their WORD program (in Office 2007), it caused and is still causing chaos for lots of us. A .docx file is a WORD file - just from this later version.

You have 2 choices for trying to read this. The simplest is to get the person who sent you the file to re-save the file in a different format - as a .doc file (under the "Save As" command in the File tab).

The second choice is to download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

My Apple (Macintosh) friends tell me there is a third choice - that involves obliterating all PC's that are not Mac's! Options 1 and 2 cost less at this point.

Cattails

Persian Cats : Just look at those faces!

These are purportedly the most popular breed of cat - and for good reason. They are gorgeous - and contrary to popular belief - they do have wonderful personalities. These beauties should be raised as indoor cats and by people who don't mind grooming them daily.

Persian cats have many colors and markings to their long, thick hair. A colorpoint Persian cat is known as a Himalayan.


Leo Dworken:

"No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove
his fur from your couch."

Animal Trivia Answer:   William Wegman, Man Ray - his beloved Weimaraner

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