“The Bridge”? “The Watching”? “FRAP”? “RHT”? Find out here.
Bridge, The: see The Rainbow Bridge, below.
BHT: Black Headed Tri-Color
BTW: Internet Shorthand for “By The Way”
Corgwn: the Welsh plural for Corgi. The “w” has sort of an “oo” sound (the “oo” is pronounced as in “book”). However, “Corgis” is a perfectly acceptable plural, and is probably clearer to an English-speaking audience.
Corgwyn: Common misspelling of “Corgwn”.
DM: shorthand for degenerative myelopathy. It is a disease of the spinal cord, probably genetic in origin. It cannot be diagnosed definitively until the dog has died and the spinal cord and brain can be examined. The dog becomes progressively weaker in the hindquarters with the disease moving up the spinal cord. There is no cure at this time although a genetic marker may be close. It is more common in German Shepherds, not uncommon in corgis and a few other breeds. (courtesy Susan Piper)
FRAP: Frantic and Random Acts of Play — this is a slang term for when our Corgis suddenly start wildly running around the house. Most Corgis do this nightly.
FWIW: Internet Shorthand for For What It’s Worth
Heart Dog: “I’ve always loved all of our dogs, corgi or not, but there have been a few that put a pawprint that remains forever on my heart. A heart dog is that special one. Probably not the prettiest, smartest or healthiest, but rather the one that seems so to fill your heart, bring a smile to your lips, and you feel is closer to than your best friend. The one that seems to have so many special qualities that may or may not be seen by the rest of the world. They are terrible to own as you know you can’t replace them and you dread each passing year. They give you more love and joy than you ever thought possible, then break your heart when they leave. However, you will gladly bear the pain, than not to have had the joy of their presence.” (courtesy Diana Moos)
Hedgie: A Hedgie is a Soft Bite stuffed hedgehog. These toys come in lots of different shapes, such as sharks, cavemen, gorillas, etc. The small ones squeak and the large ones make a really comical grunting sound. Dogs generally love them, but they don’t last long in a household of vigorous chewers.
IMHO: Internet Shorthand for In My Humble Opinion
IMO: Internet Shorthand for In My Opinion
LCS: The “Lesser Corgi Society” – a ficticious (or is it?) organization dedicated to protecting the breed from becoming too popular by making sure that the general public understands such important issues such as shedding, barking and generally unruly behaviour that our dogs can exhibit. The LCS is loosely based on “Lesser Seattle”, the invention of the late Seattle newspaper columnist Emmett Watson attempting to protect the Seattle area from an influx of out of the area transplants. Watson’s slogan was “Keep the Bastards Out” – and spawned a legion of “KBO agents” among native Seattlites.
LOL: Internet Shorthand for Laughing Out Loud
NILIF: Nothing In Life Is Free. A training regimen where the dog must earn, through appropriate behaviors, absolutely everything. One reference: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm. You can also search the internet for “NILIF” for additional information.
Rainbow Bridge: The Rainbow Bridge is a story about where dogs go when they die. According to the story, there is a rainbow bridge connecting dog heaven and people heaven. When a person dies, his or her dog(s), who died earlier and are in doggie heaven, get to go across the bridge to be with their people in heaven. So when someone says a dog has gone to the Rainbow Bridge, he means that the dog has died. You can read the whole text of the Rainbow Bridge story here.
On Corgi-L, we also occasionally have the Klingon Ritual. On an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a Klingon dies. Worf and a few other Klingons let out a mighty warrior’s yell before they commit his body to space. Worf explains that the purpose of the yell is to warn the next world that a great warrior is coming. So it was suggested that when a Corgi-L dog dies, we could howl with our dogs to warn dog heaven/the rainbow bridge/the dog’s next life/whatever that a Great Dog is coming.
Reverse Sneezing: Sometimes called “backwards sneezing”, apparently known as “epiglottal spasms”. A sudden intake of air, usually accompanied by a loud wheezing, rasping or “honking” sound, often repeated several times until it subsides on its own. Some dogs do it more than others. Various approaches have been posted on-list to shorten an episode of reverse sneezing, including holding the dogs nose, blowing in it, stroking their throat to encourage them to swallow, to gentle pressure on an acupressure point between the eyes. The consensus seems to be that while sometime embarrassing, reverse sneezing is typically nothing to be concerned about.
RHT: Red Headed Tri-Color
ROTFL: Internet Shorthand for Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAO: Internet Shorthand for Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Assets Off (or something like that 😉
Secret Santa: For the last couple of years we’ve had a “Secret Santa” gift exchange among list members. Coordinated by list member Bonnie Giles, people sign up and receive the name of another list member who’s signed up to send a gift to. It’s “Secret” because the giver is welcome to remain anonymous. Watch the list in late November or early December for announcements.
Watching, The: “The Watching” has become a highly anticipated annual Corgi-L holiday tradition. In the days leading up to Christmas Day, Corgi-L member Millie Williams writes an original story and sends it to the list in parts. Each year is unique and very special to Corgi-L members.
YMMV: Internet Shorthand for Your Mileage May Vary