iN PHOTOS: Goof ball dogs brighten up your day in Kamloops, Okanagan

This winter has been mostly brown and overcast in the valley bottoms this year in Kamloops and the Okanagan, so it’s a good thing there are four-legged fur balls to keep us entertained.

The dogs in this photo collection are goofy and adorable.

Dogs have served has human companions for thousands of years and are the most diverse mammals in the world.

Kamloops dog Dash loves his chew toy. iNFOnews.ca/ Alana Goldney

Here are some fun facts about our four-legged friends.

Derived from a now-extinct species of wolf, dog domestication began in Siberia up to 26,000 years ago, according to Readers Digest.

The oldest dog on record was an Australian cattle dog that lived to more than 29 years of age, while the heaviest dog on record was an old English mastiff weighing 343 pounds.

The tallest dog was a Great dane that measured 42.2 inches at the shoulder and the smallest a Chihuahua measuring 3.59 inches at the shoulder and weighing 1.22 pounds.

Logan Lake pup Rebel helps himself to his human’s drink. iNFOnews.ca/ Glenda Jansen

The greyhound is the world’s fastest dog and it can sprint up to 45 miles per hour using a stride called a double-suspension gallop, where all feet off the ground together twice during one stride. These dogs have bigger hearts, more red blood cells and more fast-twitch muscles than other dogs.

The smartest dog was a border collie who could identify and retrieve 1,022 toys by name, and the record for the most puppies in a single litter is 24, set by a mastiff.

A dog in Logan Lake appears to taste her corncob chewy. iNFOnews.ca/ Robin Trouton Smith

Dogs can sniff which way a human is walking in five steps even if they come across the scent trail at right angles, and they use their whiskers to maintain balance and sense how far away other humans and animals are.

If you have a funny photo of your pup you want to share, send it to news@infonews.ca.