I'm a sucker for gift items that are some combination of kitschy, humane, whimsical, animal-related, educational and/or... all of the above! I recently stumbled on my new favorite such item- one that offers a creative way to engage humans of all ages in an educational conversation about our fellow creatures.
1 This T-shirt showcases a swirl of information on what various groupings of animals are called. A favorite for this little wearer, it also encourages a broader perspective and compassion for animals of all kinds- centipedes included!
2 From a simple T-shirt, I learned that the proper way to reference multiple ferrets is as...A business or ferrets! Who knew?
3 The information-packed graphic makes you both smart and dizzy at the same time!
4 The collective-animal-nouns image is chock full of fun information and it's available in many color schemes and formats; art to frame, art to wear, art on a scarf, etc!
5 Rescued kitty Suki models the long sleeve version of the T with her human advocate!
6 Did you know that a group of mice is called... 'A mischief of mice...?'
7 A scurry of squirrels... kinda makes sense...
8 A warren of rabbits... hmmm... but what's the name for a gathering of pups in bunny ears?
9 ...A pride of peacocks
10 A gaze of raccoons...
11 A paddling of ducks. A kindle of kittens...or rather, 'one not-so-amused-kitten with a duck on her head...'
12 A drove of donkeys...sort of...
13 A gaggle of geese...on Martha's farm!
14 A clowder of cats, A sleuth of bear...
15 A cluster of spiders...
16 A herd of goats...
17 A pack of wolves. A shiver of sharks... or Sharkeys...
18 A steam of minnows... (brought to you by Minnow the dog!)
19 Rescued Ruby here is not partial to the animal-nouns T. She just likes helping to promote Xenotees creative designs!
20 Albie found a great shoulder to lean on in his adoptive human, who also moonlights as a T-shirt model!
21 This little animal lover- and budding educator- runs around proudly challenging many a smart adult to guess the names listed on her favorite T-shirt! That's education in action for sure!
22 Chester Taco handles the Xenotees studio security and assures all shipments meet strict guidelines. Anything suspected of containing catnip is immediately removed for inspection!
23 Mr. Blimp handles quality control for Noelle- he implements a very complex sniffing procedure with each item, assuring each and every Xenotees item is up to specs!
Sometimes the simplest thing can invite a new perspective or remind us that we humans are only one of many species who share this planet. Xenotees, collective-animal-nouns design also provides a great reminder that, no matter what kind of business you are in, you can apply your talent to education and the greater good.
Having reached out to Xenotees for permission to share the T-shirt image with you Daily Waggers, I learned that Noelle, the company's founder and creator of the image, currently has two rescued kitties of her very own. Noelle also features rescued critters in her Xenotees photos and donates her talent to a cat rescue group dedicated to helping homeless and feral cats in her native Phillidelphia.
Well done Noelle! Here's to all the compassionate crafters out there, putting education into action, one T-shirt at a time!
In kinship,
Dr. Pia Salk
P.S. I always love to hear about your favorite colleagues and crafters out there helping the critters!
P.P.S. You can catch me live on Martha this coming Monday. I'll have some adorable animals with me and we will be talking about great ways that ANYONE can help a shelter animal- even if you can't adopt!
From: Kirby Bear | 3/1/12 at 7:28 am
Hello ladies, Kirby here.
And hello to you too Dr. Pia. It must be spring time now. Was awake all night long with thunderstorms. I overheard that I am going to the Dr’s today. Wow, the whole day shot. What else could go wrong? Oh, and I had a B A T H yesterday; two days shot. You asked what you called a bunch of pups with rabbit ears? Well I call that being a good sport; everyone of them. I mean “pink” of all things. How about gray, brown or just white. Now that the storms have died down, I’ll try to get in a nap.
Catch you later, Kirby.
From: Maddox | 3/1/12 at 7:45 am
Good morning Dr. Pia,
What a clever idea. I think the peacock is such a cute outfit, very vibrant colors. As for the t-shirt, I think till I got done going around and around in a circle to read it, I would be one very dizzy boy. hehehehehe
Cora-Belle, you can use the hehehehehe anytime. To me it represents a laugh, but with a little sinister twist to it. I hope Kit-Bang is doing better. Zoe, how are things going with your mom? Basil, are you getting more settled in your new Basil Bungalo? Heck, they should put your grass and some sand in there and a little beach chair and you are all set.
Another day of rain. As you know I travel back and forth between Pa. and Maryland and today I am going back to Karen so I am very happy about that. I am taking the other chows. Rhyder and Harley with me.
Well, I better get my stuff packed. I hope you all have a great day.
Love to all,
Maddox
From: Jan Erickson | 3/1/12 at 10:38 am
Hi Dr. Pia, Once again you have given us another delightful blog post with such beautiful photos that I just love to view again and again! These photos have some of Martha's great animals that I was viewing yesterday on her website and I remember seeing all of them over the years-terrific! Photo #18, of beautiful Minnow, is so darling! It's so nice to see that there are more people who are rescuing lots of animals and I thank them all! We have lots of people in our area who rescue animals and people! Hope you have another great day and weekend! Hope all of The Daily Wag presenters and followers have a great day and that March starts out like a lamb for all of you! Love, Jan & DDR
From: Rebel | 3/1/12 at 11:52 am
Wow Dr Pia!
My Mimi was raised around hunting dogs and not so active raccoons..She had no idea that a group of coons was called a "gaze"! She just remembers gazing at all the food at the annual coon hunters dinner. lol Peek-a-boo little Minnow!
Have a great day to all my glue-squad buddies!
Your pal,
Rebel
From: delia | 3/1/12 at 12:35 pm
Hi Dr.Pia,
Happy March 1st! Could you hear me ooohing and aaahing with a big smile on my face? Those are adorable photos, Minnow is adorable and I love the Peacock...the shirt is a great idea and love all the funny useful information
Kudos to Noelle for adopting the kitties!
Thanks for sharing this, and please give Minnow a smooched kiss on the head for me...
Everyone one here have a wonderful,safe weekend,
delia & Kitty Miztka(her formal name) =(^. .^)=
From: cora-bell, the cattle dog | 3/1/12 at 2:27 pm
Dr. Pia, thank you for the info..a gaze of coons ..I didn't know that..I thought i was a quite knowledgable catlledog...I am being watched closely today..going up my stairs to my bed last night all was well then I got on the bed and just toppled to the floor and sort of passed out...gave every one a fright..I appear to be okay today..ate my breakfast and went outside..so I must rest....Cora-belle
From: Maddox | 3/2/12 at 12:14 am
Oh my, Cora-Belle, are you alright? I will say a prayer for you before I go to bed
I hope your doctor figures out what caused you to fall over. Make sure you take your medicine and get your rest. I just loved the picture of you that James and Lucinda sent to the DW a while back. You looked so beautiful laying there surrounded by such pretty flowers. You looked like you were deep in thought, like you were wondering what the critters were up to. I think it was one of the most beautiful pictures I have seen. So, Miss Cora-Belle, you better get all better so you can go lay in the flowers again and bark at those darn critters
Kirby Bear, why did you go to the doctor? Glue Squad, we have to send out positive thoughts to all our members who are having health issues. Basil, you are on the road to recovery so keep it that way little buddy
love to all,
Maddox
From: Karen Tracy | 3/2/12 at 12:21 am
Cora-Belle,
We all love you. Get better girlfriend. James and Lucinda,
you take such good care of your girl. We sure worry when our dogs get sick, don't we?
That is called unconditional love and there should be more people like you
in the world. We are all thinking of the both of you and your special wonderful Cora-Belle.
Karen