Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. So only a few more days until Christmas and as such us foxes put together a little present for all my Vladiators. We all worked real hard training our trainers to give us our favorite treats so we could accomplish this. They call this activity mental enrichment....we call it an easy way to get chicken. We tried to include a cameo by Lucan aka #dorkwolf but he couldn’t seem to get past trying to eat the bells. Oh and I apologize for Panda’s performance at the end. She likes to showboat. I try to explain to her there is no “I” in team but it falls on deaf ears.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Jan 6, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Happy New Year to all my Vladiators. I spent it pretty low key snuggled up to my foxy vixens. Yep…I am sure it comes as no surprise to anyone but I am quite the ladies man. Whether it is my boyish good looks or my laser sharp wit or maybe the fact that I am a natural born leader but the ladies dig me. You know what I always say… lead, follow or get out of the way. I do possess a certain “je ne sais quoi”. that makes me irresistible. You can clearly see in the picture that Lena and Sasha are enjoying their “Vlad time” and then Leika comes over to get some Vlad lovin’ as well, No problem, there is plenty to go around.
In the wild quite often red foxes are monogamous. I say quite often cause there are some players out there. In reality at JABCECC we are all “fixed” but don’t tell anyone cause I have my reputation to think about.
I hope all my devoted followers had a delightful New Years and you got to spend quality time with those close to you. We are all now motivated and energized and ready to fight for the canid cause.
Vlad out
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Jan 20, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Good morning my friends. We have a guest here today. Everyone please welcome Vasily. Howzit Vlad, I’m really amped to be here. Obviously Vasily…tell my Vladiators a little bit about yourself. Sure thing Vlad. I came to the center a few years ago. I am one of the Novosibirsk nine, who as you know where rescued as part of the Panda and her pals project. Now Vasily, don’t you think I was more instrumental in that rescue than Panda? Not at all bro. It was 100% Panda that got our butts out of there. Vasily, we can just agree to disagree about that for now. How do you feel about being called the “pretty boy” by everyone? You know Vlad, if I’m breaking hearts where ever I go that’s fine by me. I am a very rare color that some people call a Georgian red but is more accurately called a Georgian white with red. This just enhances my already bitchin’ foxy beauty. Sure Vasily, what about the notion that your super laid back. Right on Vlad, yeh I always try to hang loose and not sweat the small stuff. I have a roof over my head when I want it, good food, mental stimulation and all the love a fox could hope for…like is good. Now you Vlad, you seem to be a bit uptight at times. I’ve seen you go aggro at the smallest of things.. like that time Lena accidentally stepped on your shadow and you went all postal on her like a junk yard dog. Vlad, you need to practice the fine art of chillaxin’. It must be nice living without a care in the world Vasily. I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Lena but her reprimand probably saved canid lives and my existence while grotesque and incomprehensible to you saves canid lives. Really Vlad.. a few good foxes ?? Vasily, we could go round and round on your life style versus mine but we have a code Yuri drill to get prepare for. We always need to ready for when, not if, Yuri gets his head stuck in something. I’ll get the jaws of life warmed up, Vasily, you get the butter.
Vlad out
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Jan 27, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey guys, it’s Stumpy. Vlad could not be here today cause he has other business. I’m not sure what it is but he said something about world domination. Anyway those who have met me know I am a New Guinea Singing Dog. We have also been called New Guinea Dingoes or sometimes Forest Dingoes. This is cause in the wild we live in the cloud forests at high altitudes. The western world didn’t really know about us until the 1950s when some of us where sent to the San Diego zoo. We are considered primitive dogs. If you could go back in time thousands of years you would find us there. The same can not be said for Chiweenies, Chidoodles, Puggles, Schnoodles or the vast majority of dogs around today. My dad was born at the San Diego zoo and my mother was born at a zoo in Canada. Oh, and by the way, we are called singing dogs because of the unique sounds we make. I have a wonderful voice but the same can not be said for my mom. She always gets pitchy and then turns into a canine beat box.
My nickname is love and butterflies cause I love meeting new people and they all fall in love with me. My brother Nick is not nearly the social butterfly I am. I’m called Stumpy because I have a shortened tail. I do get a bit tired of hearing people say Nick has “a normal singer tail”. This would make me abnormal which is just ridiculous. I think my tail is just perfect and everyone I meet thinks so as well.
I know everyone tunes into Vlad’s chat to hear his snarky commentary but that is just not me…it’s not how I roll. I need to be authentic. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed learning more about me and New Guinea Singing Dogs. It would be great to get to meet some of you in person sometime. Until then stay real.
Have a great day
Stumpy
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Feb 3, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Happy Friday my friends. Unfortunately I can not say it’s a happy day for me. I am still trying to recover from a positively mortifying experience yesterday.
It started when management came into our enclosure to engage in some enrichment. These are activities that are done in order to keep us both physically and mentally in top shape. Some nimrod decided that the enrichment activity would be playing with a flirt pole. For those of you who don’t know, a flirt pole is a long stick with a rope attached. At the end of the rope is a fuzzy blob that is supposed to simulate some kind of rodent. So they hang this blob in my face and it is immediately evident to me that this is not a rodent but in fact polypropylene synthetic fur stuffed with polyester fiber fill. Foxes have a great sense of smell and are wildly clever so I don’t know why they thought this would fool me. If these facts weren’t enough to identify this as a pseudo mouse, it also had a big label on its keister that said “made in China”. I thought, what sort of mook would be fooled by this? Well, it didn’t take long for my question to be answered…. Yuri comes running over, as fast as he can, screaming, at the top of his lungs “ mouse, mouse, mouse !!”. Close behind him were Lena, Sergei and Leika. This surprised me as I always found Lena to be fairly bright. I guess her instincts got the best of her. I did the best I could to get out of the way of this approaching freight train but despite my ninja skills, I got tail whipped in the face. While I was pulling the hair out of my eyes, Lena latched onto the fluff ball and ran my way. Sure enough I got cloth lined by the rope which caused me to face plant in the dirt. Now I had fur in my eyes, dirt up my nose and a rope burn on my neck. I got up and made my way to the safety of higher ground and surveyed the juvenile antics of the others from above.
I wish management would have thought this through better. Perhaps next time just a nice game of chess. Or better yet Stratego…a game about world domination, right up my alley.
#foxes #fridaychat #vlad
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Feb 10, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Well I was supposed to have Vinnie as a guest on our chat today but as it turns out that will not be happening. I went to her enclosure this morning, before the interview, to discuss things we could talk about…you know things like having her tell my Vladiators her favorite thing about me, or perhaps the thing she admires most about me. Instead of welcoming me, as she should have, she just gave me this nasty look and said, “go away Vlad”. Now I am paraphrasing a bit as truthfully Vinnie has a bit of a potty mouth. I would hate to offend my fans who no doubt have outstanding morals and a strong ethical compass. I am not sure where she picked up such “colorful language”, maybe from one of her care givers…but I’ve got to tell you, some of the things that come out of that girl’s mouth would make a longshoreman blush.
We do give Vinnie some slack as before she came to JABCECC she had a hard life. As many of you know, Vinnie was born on a fur farm destined to become a coat or some other equal offensive item. When it was determined that her fur wasn’t “good” enough she was just going to be killed. Thankfully, due to the Vlad and his pals project, which you may know by the highly inaccurate moniker of the Panda and her pals project, Vinnie was rescued from the fur farm with 29 of her friends, and came to live at the center.
You may have noticed she is missing an ear and her tail. This is due to the stress caused by the horrid conditions at the fur farm. Nowadays she spends her time sunning her buns, eating her favorite foods and apparently flashing me “stink eye” when I stop by to include her in the highly coveted role of guest on my chat. Well, her loss.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - Feb 24, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Well, we have had our first significant snow at the center. Being canids with thick coats we are all very well equipt for dealing with the cold. Some of us however are a bit constitutionally weak and have become soft and what one could call a prima donna. I not gonna mention any names but if anyone would guess that it was Viktor, I would not be able to say you were wrong.
Last year we were all very exited for Freddy Snowball to see his first snow. I mean being an Arctic Fox we all thought he would feel right at home in the snow. Boy, were we all surprised when he took one step outside of his house and as soon as his foot touched the ground turned around, headed back inside and said wake me come spring time. Since that time Freddy has gotten in touch with his inner Arctic Fox and now he really enjoys the snow.
Vinnie was born on a fur farm in the upper Midwest so she is no stranger to snow. Predictably, she came out and played for awhile, got annoyed and then headed up on her platform to wait for the sun to come out. Her favorite thing in the world to do is to sun her buns. Unfortunately for her this storm is going to stick around for some time so her buns are going to have to wait.
Lastly, we come to the coyote girls Agnes and Wilson. They had a ball in the snow. They started with a game of catch me, followed by who can eat the most snow in 1 minute and ended with hide and go seek.
So all the ambassadors at JABCECC had a great time and experienced the snow in our own way. We all have very different personalities which is something we really like to show people when we meet them.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - March 10, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. I hope all my peeps are doing well. You are all in luck as I have a special guest with me for our chat. I am pleased to introduce you to one of our senior ambassadors, Hello Mikhail. Hi Vlad, I’m happy to be here. Of course you are Mikhail. Why don’t you start by telling my Vladiators a little about yourself. Sure Vlad. I came to the center about 8 years ago with Viktor and Maksa. Originally only the two were coming but when management was informed that I didn’t have a home they decided to bring me over as well. You lucked out Mikhail. Yes Vlad, that is an understatement. Now Mikhail, you have a reputation around here for being friendly with all the other animals. That is true Vlad. You see my attitude is you don’t start nothin’ there won’t be nothin’. I hung out with our little apex predator New Guinea Singing Dogs, Nicky and Stumpy when they were just puppies. I also played with everyone’s favorite dorkwolf when he got here. The list goes on. I was the welcome wagon for Vinnie and Libby as well as your group Vlad, the Novosibirsk nine. I remember that well Mikhail, It was great that you were so nice to us from day one. I am happy to have helped you guys feel at home Vlad. I’m just so grateful to have ended up at JABCECC that I just want to “pay it forward”. That is a great attitude Mikhail…it is sometimes hard for me to be so positive. After all I am such an exceptional fox that demands so much of himself. Well Vlad, I would say humility can go a long way, also always look on the bright side. If a bird 💩s on your head, just be thankful elephants don’t fly. Mikhail are you suggesting I’m not humble, cause that’s what it sounds like and I am exceptional at being humble. Vlad…doth protest to much methinks…but seriously I need to get going, I promised Dimitri I would hang out with him for a bit. Ok, Mikhail. Thank you for your time.
Before I sign off Yuri requested I let everyone know he is still recruiting for his fan club, the Yurethras. So far the only interest was from the Mississippi chamber of commerce. They want to use the slogan, “Yuri..He puts the pee in Mississippi”.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - March 24, 2023
Friday Chat w/ Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. Greetings and salutations from sunny California…NOT. Have you guys heard about the weather out here?? It has been raining for what seems like weeks. As a matter of fact I recently sent a memo to management inquiring about the possible construction of an ark. When people out here talk about it they always end with “but we really needed the rain”. That is kind of like saying “but I really needed the root canal”. Sure, it may be helpful, but it is not something anyone really likes. Now I know what you are thinking….jeez Vlad, why are you out in the rain getting all wet when you have an absolutely delightful indoor habitat?? I will answer that by saying I am not going to let the rain spoil my day. After all without the rain there would be no rainbows 🌈. That does sound nauseatingly positive but the truth is there are always ways to keep oneself entertained even on days like these. For instance just a bit ago I told Yuri there was a bear claw pastry at the bottom of this big puddle and then watched in delight as he dove in face first only to reemerge with a mouth full of mud…good times.
Unfortunately the rain is delaying some of our important projects here. Both the healing path and the perimeter fence expansion are on hold until the weather clears. The healing path is the area dedicated to the most known and abundant canid, the domesticated dog. And of course the perimeter fence expansion will allow us to rescue more animals. Hopefully they both get back on track soon.
So until the sun comes back I will just be a soggy and slightly disgruntled fox. Luckily everyone here just loves the smell of wet fox in the morning. Truly something to put on your bucket list. I’ve just been told that Panda and Sergei are trying to get a game of water polo going in one of the larger puddles…l’m just not sure how they are going to get the horses in there, maybe we can use seahorses.
Vlad out.
Fridays Chat w/ Vlad - April 7, 2023
Friday Chat w/Vlad
Hey, it’s Vlad. I thought today we would put our intellectual hats on and discuss a question we get quite often. What is the difference between taming and domestication? Now I know this is not the most entertaining conversation. It’s certainly not as exciting as talking about Yuri getting his head caught in stuff.
I am a Russian domesticated fox. This means that first humans selectively bred my relatives for a particular trait, tameness. They did this for many years to a lot of foxes. They did this so much that it actually changed my genetics. This means that my offspring, if I were to have them, and we all know I am the most eligible bachelor around here, would be tame just because the fact that they possess my genetics. If someone were to take a wild fox baby and raise it away from other foxes and only around humans, this fox could grow up friendly to people. This fox is not domesticated because if it’s offspring were not socialized around people they would be just like other wild foxes. It’s tamed.
This can get tricky because different animals can be more or less susceptible to being tamed. Us foxes being of superior intellect do not look a gift horse in the mouth. If a human seems nice enough and wants to give us all the food we want, who are we to turn it down. We are ok calling this human our friend. Other animals might not be such opportunists. Some have even questioned if all house cats are actually domesticated or are they just tamed animals using humans for their tender vittles.
Animals like Nick and Stumpy fall into a grey area. While they can be quite friendly with people and they certainly enjoy a comfy sofa... mostly to sleep on but sometimes to eat, we don’t know enough about their evolutionary history to definitively categorize them. We do know that NGSDs can live in the wild without human help quite well and if not socialized can be very wary of humans. So they remain a enigma wrapped in a mystery.
Next time we speak we will go back to our normal fun and hijinks. I will see if I can get some pics of Yuri with a “kick me” sign stuck to his back side. That will be worthy of a lengthy chat.
Vlad out.