Hound Supervision

A hound's duties are numerous....around here one of the chief duties is keeping an eye on the baby kittehs. This is not always an easy chore as they can get up to a lot during those rigorous two to four hours a day that they're awake. Witness the background of the following video for an example of said supervision.

The Watchers

Another element of homeland security:

What?! I'm working here!

Xander takes it upon himself to keep an eye on the perimeter...even if sometimes he gets a little sleepy.

Both guards on duty

Okay, I know...the glass is REALLY smudged (gee, wonder how that happened!)...maybe one of these days I'll actually clean it using one of Lori's tips from this post: Window Glass + Nose Slobber = Glue

But that, combined with the reflections make for some interesting shots!

Greyhond Home Security System (GHSS)

While there's no photo from this incident, I must relay a story LoML told me when I got home last night. Seems our sweet Gwyn continues to take her role as guard dog seriously (after all, she has a baby in the house to protect now!). LoML was watching tv, when he heard a *serious* growling coming from the dining room. You know it...the almost sub-sonic "I mean business" growl that's accompanied by full hackle-raise and meant to make the hairs on your neck stand up too. The lights were off so he couldn't immediately see what was there, but based on the sounds coming out of our sweet girl LoML was sure that something had gotten in the house. He flipped on the light....only to discover that the terrible intruder was none other than one of my felt leaf-shaped placemats that had fallen onto the floor (perhaps with assistance from the Orange Menace!) and was standing up diagonally  against one of the chair legs...the horror! All kidding aside, while I would never pretend that Gwyn is a guard dog, I do think it's nice that she will bark and/or growl if someone unexpected comes up to the house. She only barks once or twice, and we know that anyone coming in might be in danger of being bowled over in her exuberance and could be subjected to being French-kissed by a hound with stinky dog breath (hey! we're working on that!)...but potential burglars don't know that...and when she growls or barks it can sound really serious :D

I'll be embarking on a nostalgia tour here on the blog over the next few weeks as regards Solana (more on that tomorrow), so before I do, allow me to share our very first picture of Gwyn. This was the picture they had on the Greyhound Friends of North Carolina website where they show hounds up for adoption...the picture I was immediately drawn to...the picture I obsessed over and kept returning to out of all the others :D I've shared it before, but probably not since right after we adopted her and thought it was worth pulling out of the vault again. Isn't she quite the diva striking a pose?

Look out, Lookout!

Part of any dogs' duties is to keep a lookout. What's going on out there in the world? It's equally important to have backup:

Here Gwyn is out in the yard enjoying some sunshine...but still on duty! (Taken through the window shades.)

Speaking of looking out...Xander helps with laundry. A lot.

Patroling

How to climb the scratching post and look out the window:

Perimeter secure!