Lots of parents write notes on their kids’ napkins and they may even come with little hearts and smiley faces, but artist Nina Levy has taken lunchbox napkin art to a whole new level. She decorates her nine and five-year-old sons’ napkins with superhero versions of dogs done in full color with waterproof markers. I think Nina qualifies as a bona fide Super Mom.
See more Super Dogs after the break…
Real-world dire wolves really did exist, but unfortunately died out about 10,000 years ago. The animals used on Game of Thrones are Northern Inuit Dogs but they don’t make the best of pets if you’re not a member of House Stark. Dog breeder Lois Schwarz of White City, Oregon has a solution with her specially breed American Alsatian.
She’s been breeding dogs for 40 years and began working with the American Alsatian to produce a large, smart and calm companion dog. This led to the birth of The Dire Wolf Project run by the National American Alsatian Breeder’s Association. Although not as big as the Starks’ Dire Wolves, these guys weigh in at about 130 pounds of over-sized, wolf-like affection that will happily cuddle with you as you watch season three unfold.
If you want to add a Dire Wolf pup to your family, they can be had for $3000. Just prepare yourself for a long waiting list.
(via Wired)
If dogs were characters in the Star Wars universe, the Battle of Yavin could have been solved with a few squeaky toys and some biscuits. Artist Brian Rubenacker has put Boston Terriers, pugs, and weiner dogs in the robes or armor of icons such as Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Obi-Wan. Even though I’m more of a cat person, I can’t deny the results are adorable.
You can get 6×8 prints of the images, or you can go for magnets (link to his Etsy shop below).
Check out more fun paintings after the break.
Just to get it out of the way: the title of this post isn’t a joke. Play Dead is an actual 18 minute short about dogs versus zombies made possible by Kickstarter. I’d classify it as lighthearted horror with some sad, sweet, and silly moments and plenty of gore. I know that sounds weird. You could even say it’s about friendship and sticking together. Humans could stand to learn from the behavior of these dogs. Take notes now for the impending zombie infestation.
The synopsis is as follows:
A zombie apocalypse unites a ragtag pack of dogs in the ruined streets of Miami. Immune to the epidemic, they must stick together to survive in the midst of ferocious undead and human survivors in this unauthorized sequel to “Homeward Bound.” Sit. Stay. Play dead…
Watch the short after the break (potentially NSFW).
You’d like to think that good ole’ Fido would attack the first zombie that broke into your living room, but what if he freezes? Start preparing him now for the sight of half-rotted feet with this zombie foot chew toy. It even comes with a squeaker, although it really ought to moan, don’t you think?
Product Page ($10 via boingboing)
Whether it’s a seagull trying to swallow a camera or a Roomba terrorizing a gaggle of kittens, the bitter rivalry between animals and gadgets runs deep, as you will see in the videos below. Let’s hope it doesn’t go further than this. I’m not one to believe in crazy conspiracy theories, but if cats suddenly ordered all animals to stop doing cute things, the entire Internet could dry up.
For this year’s Super Bowl, Volkswagen will follow up their popular “Vader Kid” ad from last year with two new Star Wars-themed commercials – both of which feature the cute dog cliché. The first is the “Bark Side” spot we posted a few weeks ago, and the second is the video featured after the break, entitled “The Dog Strikes Back”.
After watching these ads it seems that Volkswagen is doing a better job pushing Star Wars than cars. Will the concept work again, or are they just beating this into the ground? Check out the video after the break and decide for yourself.
