Scottish Terrier and Dog News

Westie Wednesday: In Australia, a ferry turns around to rescue an overboard West Highland Terrier

AnnB — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:16:35 +0000

The Bayside Bulletin's reports on the dramatic rescue of an Australian rescue who went overboard on what should have been a routine ferry trip

The editorial director of the Scottish Terrier and Dog News was reading this story about a dramatic Westie rescue at sea, wondering in which country it had taken place when she came to this:

“When we got back on the boat everyone was cheering and wanted a photo with him and I shouted everyone a beer.”

Got to be Australia, she said, and sure enough it was. Queensland.
———

Read another dramatic water tale about a Scottie.

I need to take this like a Scot

AnnB — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:21:39 +0000

My migration of the Scottish Terrier and Dog News from Blogger to WordPress has been a disaster.

Things that used to take me five seconds now take five minutes if I can figure out them out at all, five hours if I can’t. The site is slow as molasses and my readership has been dropping like a stone because, for whatever reason, Google no longer indexes some of the Scottie News‘ most popular posts.

Scottish Terrier and Dog News traffic plummets after August 21st migration to WordPress despite the fact it followed all the Google rules

This is particularly ironic given that I left Google-owned Blogger in the first place because its internal blog search — the one in the top left-hand corner — no longer worked and hadn’t for an entire year. This meant people would come to the Scottie News, plug something into the search box and be told it wasn’t there or didn’t exist even though it did. And then they would leave instead of staying on the site like I want them too

Despite many complaints from users, Blogger didn’t take this issue seriously at all. In fact, the people assigned to the issue didn’t even realize the extent of the problem and kept proclaiming it solved. They no longer even bothered to reply to user queries. Clearly they weren’t interested in fixing it because the right people at Google could have solved the problem instantly of they had wanted or even known about it.

The whole issue turned me from a Google booster into a Google hater. As one other blogger in the same position noted:

I think one of the things that Google are overlooking is the emotional impact this has upon their users and those that placed their trust in them. If only they would communicate frequently we could be a bit more understanding. But right now we cannot help but feel abandoned and treated with contempt.
Google need to understand the amount of work that some people have put into their blogs. Some are a virtual labor of love. I acknowledge that blogspot is a free service but we were encouraged to use it by Google and were reassured all will be well. To be treated like this by those we have put trust in as the custodians of these blogs is very disheartening. It does not reflect well on Google and I am quite at a loss as to how they can be so indifferent to the situation.

Google’s customer service is appalling. And while I did pay a very small fee to the company for my domain names, the experience made me realize the problems that can crop up when you use a free product and get what you pay for. Facebook people, are you listening?

But enough about me and why I can’t put up all your wonderful dog photos — namely because I can’t figure out how to edit photos in WordPress without taking a week off work — there is a little something all you people with websites could do for the Scottie News. Could you please post a link to our new address or update your old links. Every little bit helps.

Oh yes, and if you want a link, leave a comment or email me at scottishterriernews@gmail.com. Many thanks.

In the mean time, I’ve asked myself what a real Scottish person, someone like the Dour Scotsman, would do in a case like this. And the answer is pour himself a stiff one. In this case I’ve just emptied out the last of the Labour Day weekend Shiraz. Cheers, everyone

No related posts.

this is a test

AnnB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:51:33 +0000

this is a test

No related posts.

Scottish Terrier puppy leads the good life

AnnB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:21:44 +0000

Dougal McBugle gets delicious bones:

And after he hid his toys away so that his humans couldn’t find them, they were kind enough to replace them:

Back to work, summer’s over for Scottish Terrier lovers and all the rest of us

AnnB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:55:40 +0000

Playing Chess by sharm_el

Find out more about this photo at Flickr

Anyone run with a Scottish Terrier?

AnnB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:37:59 +0000

The Scottie News will be very surprised if somebody actually answers yes. Westie or Cairn, maybe, even a Yorkie, but Scottie? They’re more suited to wrestling.

This video from Runner’s World, captures a photo shoot of dogs and their human running partners. We’d like to dedicate it to the marathon-running readers of the Scottish Terrier and Dog News who hit the wall all alone and dogless. We know you’re out there.

Scottish Terriers and children

Read about famous Scottish Terriers

AnnB — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:04:21 +0000

It’s been a bit of a rough week so we’ll probably take the long weekend off.In the mean time, why not read all the tales of celebrity Scottish Terriers in our archives. Famous Scottie owners include Shirley Temple, Eva Braun, George Bush and the late Polish president, Lech Kaczynski.

If I don’t see you, have a good long weekend.

NY Times features stylish design for pet lovers

AnnB — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:09:24 +0000

Pet-centric and stylish homes via Moira at Dog Art Today

For some animal lovers, that means not just buying aesthetically pleasing pet supplies, but creating their own animal-friendly design solutions to complement their human-centric décor.

Amy Britton, an interior designer who owns Artisan Kitchens in Osterville, Mass., on Cape Cod, said that more of her clients are asking her to include amenities for their pets as part of their renovations. One example is a kitchen island with alcoves for food and water dishes, drawers for leashes and treats, and roll-out storage bins to hold bulk kibble.

The Scottie News especially likes the feeding station for cats and dogs. We’re not so sure about the giant turtle in the living room.

Weird and worrisome West Highland Terrier Wednesday videos

AnnB — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 03:55:33 +0000

If the art house cinema in your neighbourhood — oh wait, do they even have art house cinemas any more? — did Westie Wednesday, these videos would be on the agenda. Viewer discretion is advised

Apparently this fellow is looking for the owner of a lost Texas Westie. Scottie News isn’t sure if it’s real life or performance art:

This Westie was forced to dance in a video is so compelling we turned out laptop sideways to watch. The problem is we feel guilty for peeping:

What kind of vaccination makes you crazy after the jab? The Scottie News wants to know:

No Scottie News today – blame the dentist

AnnB — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:27:26 +0000

Aargh, the head of editorial operations at the Scottish Terrier and Dog News spent three hours in the dentist’s chair this afternoon, and then took the evening off to watch Mad Men with a giant gin and tonic. See you all on Westie Wednesday.