chris leavins

A Dog and his Liquor

Samson has problems. (Sent in by Sarah, WASHINGTON.)

Canada Rat

Michelle is a Canadian viewer who wrote me and told me she works with homeless animals at a shelter in Ottawa.  She sent along pictures of several Canadian rabbits, cats, and guinea pigs who are available for adoption.

I've been meaning to feature some homeless pets from Canada, so I thought I'd go ahead and post Michelle's pic of this guy. If you're in the market for a rat, this one looks pretty good to me.

Michelle didn't say a lot about him, but she did she did say this: He was named long before she discovered my show. His name is Chris.

Viewer Tongues

L: Nala, sent in by Amy in ENGLAND. R: Pepsi, from Brittney in TENNESSEE.

CBC Tee

As the viewers of my show Cute with Chris know, I've been doing  a lot of stories on Canada lately. 15 year-old Shari from Texas sent me an email about it:

"Dear Chris," she wrote. "Please quit talking about Canada. Canada is boring. Stick to cute stuff."

Whatever you say, Shari. How about this cute Canadian T-shirt? 

The beavers, snowflakes and Maple leaves are self-evident, but if you're not from Canada, you're probably confused by the circular symbol in the small of the model's back. It's the official logo of the country's public broadcaster, the CBC.

I'm sure you're just dying to learn more about the CBC, Shari. That's why I'm happy to point you to Tod Maffin's excellent blog Inside the CBC. I read it every day. Now you can learn about dreamy Canadian broadcasters, like hunky 79 year-old anchor-man Knowlton Nash. It's an American teen girl's dream.

You can also check out my current fave CBC show: George Stroumboulopoulos' The Hour. T-shirt via Inside the CBC, via Gillian.

Monday's Cutedown

Leave a comment below. Do tell. Who do you think is cuter?

L: "Sphynx (Likes Pink Underwear)" or R: "McTavish (Dang Pissed)"

Watch these cats on Cute with Chris Show 93.

Viewer Eskie

"Trooper".  If you look closely, you can see he's missing his nose.

48 days in the shelter. Rescued by CWC viewer K.C. in CALIFORNIA.

Next Stop Deer

Hoppy?

Discovered by Cute with Chris viewer Dina. via Towleroad.

Woodsy

I'm sure you recognize Woodsy, the official mascot of the USDA Forest Service. He's the one with the motto "Give a Hoot, Don't pollute".

You may have heard the USDA did a little revamp on Woodsy's look. On the left is the original Woodsy and on the right is the new and "improved" Woodsy.

Before I weigh in on which design I prefer, let me give a little background on my personal experience with mascots.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I did what any bored, unemployed person who'd just moved to the California would do. I took a trip to Disneyland.

I didn't think I was the Wonderful World of Disney type but something got a hold of me when I walked thru the gates of the Magic Kingdom.  I'm fairly low-key in everyday life. Apparently, I'm not so low-key when I see a life-sized plushie of Pluto the Dog. He came strutting past the line-up for Splash Mountain and when I saw him, I lost my mind.

"I fuckin' love you!" I screamed, and I bounded over like a nine year-old and gave him a hug.

The strange part was the guy playing Pluto didn't seem to mind. He hugged me back. When I wrapped my arms around him, he wrapped his own arms around me even tighter. I think he petted my hair. When I walked away, he waved extra hard-- and as a joke, came running up to me for one last fifteen second bear-hug. He even lifted his leg and wrapped it around my waist for comedic effect. Everybody laughed and pointed. "Look! Pluto's hugging a grown man!"

It was about an hour later, alone in my boat on the Small World Ride, that it dawned on me--  Pluto just molested me. There was an actual person in that suit. The type of person who could only get a job requiring him to cover up his entire body and face.

I guess I asked for it. After all, I was the one who hugged a perfect stranger in a fun-fur jumpsuit.  A stranger who probably had several prison tattoos under his costume, and four brown teeth.

As far as Woodsy the Owl goes, I have to say I like the new look better. That big head attached to that human body is so creepy that I can't imagine anyone would want to give him a hug.

Fine by me. You never know who's in those things.

Woodsy tip from CWC viewer Ted.

Jemma: Three Legs

Since I'm featuring "Mojo" the three-legged dog in this week's episode, I thought it might be cool to look back on some of the other three-legged guests I've profiled. Remember Jemma? The three-legged dog who rode around in her own personal wagon?

Watch her in Show 60 of "Cute with Chris".

Viewer Panda Art

Olle is a 20 year-old who lives in Sweden. He drew this evil Panda. If you check out his webpage on Deviantart he also likes to draw fetuses in jars, and floating eyeballs. Such a nice normal boy.