Gwyneth the Baby Snatcher

A bit of background in the way of explanation here: We have a couple of upright plastic storage units in our exercise/utility room. They have doors on them and shelves inside. One of them contains, among other things, dog & cat food and supplies....including babies. I tend to buy extra babies when they're on clearance and save them for a rainy day, so to speak.

Yesterday LoML and I went out and about on various excursions and were gone for a good part of the day. As we began unloading some groceries upon our return I spotted a cow on the dining room carpet! Okay, not a real cow...but a hound baby that had been stashed away in the afore-mentioned storage.

I backed up into the living room area to inquire of Ms. SneakyDog if she could shed any light on the situation.

She wasn't sure, but thought maybe we'd had a break-in. Now you also need more information on the picture above. Gwyn's a little blurry because she's still moving, playing with the purple gorilla baby (remember Grape Ape from the cartoons?) that was in the storage unit. Also the girafe/ball toy was previously put away. Before you feel too sorry for this poor neglected hound, observe the long red baby, the elk antler, the orange kong-type toy on the right edge of the picture, AND the white thing above it which is the tip of the tail of her fox baby....all of those were already out and available to her!

But what ultimately sent us into hysterics was what you see in the left corner of the top picture. Let's look a little closer:

 What is that UNDER Ms. SneakyDog's bed??? Let's lift the edge of the bed up:

That's right...two more babies (one that still has its tag) stashed away under her bed....for those emergencies that you never see coming--when all infrastructure disintegrates and there are no more stores from which to purchase babies!

Under. Her. Bed.

Wow.

Get Your Hound(s) Now!

 So this month I need to stop every now & then and tell you wonderful things about adopted greyhounds and why you should adopt one or three or five!

Gwyn is actually not a couch potato...she's just never even asked to get on the couch. But she does LOVE her babies...as this photo demonstrates:

Did I tell you the funny story about that particular hedgehog yet? Well the quick version is that it was supposed to be for a friend's dog but I let Gwyn ride in the back of my car without getting it out...when the ride was over the hedgehog came in with her! That's the second time she's gotten away with stealing babies that were supposed to be gifts!

She has a sheltie friend down the street. This little sweetie loves to run her fence-line and bark at us when we walk by:

I think it's the highlight of her day. Her owner has told me that she pouts on days we don't walk by there.

Dogs are funny. Go hug yours...and if you don't have any, go find one to hug!

Birthday Girl

Guess who's six years old today? That's right. Gwyn. And I elected to use a slightly different perspective than the traditional shot :D Thought maybe I needed to shake things up since I've been suspiciously absent for 2 months! Geez. The quick version is that I've had some health issues that I won't go into here. One aspect has been a lack of energy and a lack of focus...with the result being that I just needed a hiatus from blogging. I'm feeling good again and am hoping to start back posting regularly.

So...back to Gwyn. Hard to believe she's six. She's doing really well....except that I don't think her birthday's turning out the way she would like.

It all started last night. She went out in the back yard for a little while. When she came in she rushed to the front sliding glass door and stared out and whined. It soon became apparent she was in that full-on greyhound fixated-obsessive....thing. You hound people know what I mean, right? She paced. She whined. She went out. She came back in. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. This morning it started up again and I think I figured it out. When I went to take her for her walk there was a timid black dog running loose. He (or she) appeared very interested in us but wouldn't let us get too close. I think this dog had been running around and gotten Gwyn all excited. I think that's what she wants for her birthday! I've tried explaining that it's just not gonna' happen....she's starting to believe me...begrudgingly.

Clearly we set the bar too high last year...after all, this is what we got her last year:

Because she's the

From now on it's stuffed animals and extra treats for birthdays!

Baby Thief!

Gwyn is  a good dog. But when it comes to "babies," she has no self-control. None. Anything she views as a baby should be hers.

And she's sneaky! She can be *very* quiet getting to them. I was cleaning out a cabinet for some furniture rearranging and came across a little bean-bag bear that was a souvenir from a trip. Obviously, bean bag babies are not greyhound approved!


What? Me?!?

I had to bribe her with a new baby to get it away from her :D The turtle was one I'd had in reserve for her. Note the other toys in close proximity...it's not like she's neglected!

Sadly, turtle didn't make it long....about 8 minutes.

Lest You Forget...

...or maybe lest I forget!...this blog is about dogs, right??? Though, in my defense, Gwyn's favorite topic of discussion right now is her kittehs. But if she's not watching them, she might be playing with this toy (which I had taken away to restitch its face up after the surgical removal of squeaky #1):

Happy Birthday Gwyn!!!

Today is Gwyn's birthday. She's five this year! Hard to believe! :D We decided to give her her birthday present a day early:

Okay, so that's only part of the story...but I have been asking her this week if she wanted another baby kitteh for her birthday! So, my friend, the vet who saved Xander and gave him a chance at life has been saving little kittens again!

Crashed in the crate on the way home

This little guy got into antifreeze a number of weeks ago. Only about 5% cats survive that. Maybe I have a soft spot for them since we had one survive antifreeze when I was growing up. This baby had a very high fever and has had some neurological damage (his head wobbles...a lot...he sometimes runs into things..), plus he's deaf (although that's likely from the white cat/blue eyes genetic thing. But he's a happy baby!

My friend was looking for someone to foster him. We don't "do" fostering. When I can, I'm happy to contribute money and/or supplies to help animals in need. I admire people who foster. I can't do it. Pretty much, if they come into my house, they're staying! So, I was particularly drawn to this little guy and hopeful that he'd make a good playmate for Xander...maybe Willow could get some peace in her golden years (maybe I'm delusional and they'll gang up on her!). We've taken him in with the understanding that my friend will take him back if it's too upsetting for Willow or Xander....'cause, it's definitely not too upsetting for Gwyn! :D

Tomorrow I'll share more pix of the initial adjustment and tell you his name...which I think I already know, but want to confirm that LoML and I are in agreement...

A Grand Day Out

I know I've been neglecting you, my four devoted readers! There's been so much happening....for now, allow me to tell you about Gwyn's marvelous day out Monday. She got to go to PetSmart with me. Even though we went ahead and let them trim her nails (which makes her tremble as she's sure that this time I will abandon her to them forever [despite prior trips where that's never happened]), it ended well when she picked out a new toy and used it to flirt with one of the employees!

Remember this commerical?


It's always been one of my favorites! Well, here's Gwyn's interpretation:  She picked out her toy (to be fair, I encouraged this one as it was on the clearance rack vs. the one the nice woman who was talking to her kept squeaking as it was full price...they don't last long, so it's rare for me to buy a full-priced one). She decided she would carry it around...she may be a bit big for the employee to pick her up to scan the toy! :D But I swear she batted her eyes at the nice employee who was admiring her after she dropped it at his feet...as if to say "I'm tired, here, you carry it awhile!" He put it in the cart for her!

Happy on the ride home (note: it's lying between her legs).

I made her carry it inside:

After playing like crazy, she was finally tuckered out. (Oh yeah. We also went through the drive-through at McDonald's where she got a cheeseburger and then stopped at the barn to say hi to Prince.)

Is it just me, or is it a wee bit ridiculous her sleepy grin right over the toy's grin?

And this is why we don't buy expensive toys:

Also why we try to supervise play....yes, the object closest to her tail is a squeaker. There's still one in there...

Hound Vacay...

...or Why Gwyn doesn't sleep on the bed at home:

 Gwyn got to go stay at her favorite hotel again...Not only does she enjoy sleeping on the bed, but she wants to lie across all of the pillows!

What's your point, Mom?

 

 I do enjoy some snuggle time with my girl! :D

Toy Thief

This is the face of a thief! A toy thief! She may look innocent...guileless, in fact....but looks can be deceiving.

On a recent trip into PetSmart I saw a stuffed toy turtle that I just "had" to buy for my girlfriend's dog, Abby. My friend recently moved to Iowa for a number of months and I thought it would be nice for a 'care package.' But I hadn't made it to the post office yet. Silly me had dropped the toy into a bag that contained some of my crafting supplies. While getting ready for work, I suddenly heard a very enthusiastic squeaking coming from the living room. What's this? It doesn't sound like the fox (Gwyn's previously-favorite toy!)! Sure enough, the sneakyhound had *very* *quietly* stuck her sneakysnout into my bag and removed the toy! (My fault for leaving said bag on the floor by the couch...) She was having so much fun, I couldn't deny her...plus she'd already slobbered on it. (Gwyn would like me to note here that greyhounds are regal animals and NEVER slobber!) At any rate, I did have to take it away for about 18 seconds so that I could remove the tags before returning it to her....that's what the top picture is...her expression waiting for me to return it.

Gwyn likes turtles! ;D (Maybe not as much as Buster, but that's a story for another day.)

I'm tired from playing, but I'm not gonna' let Turtle go!

This was actually taken before I could get away to take the tags off.

Truth in Advertising

It was entrapment!!!!

Exhausted!

Keeping the Watch

I've been explaining about the canine/feline homeland security system. But it has come to my attention that there are occasions where neither hound nor feline are available to keep the watch. Apparently on such rare occasions it is acceptable to turn to a fox substitute.

This is Gwyn's beloved fox toy (which looks suspiciously like Xander when it's sprawled on the floor). We did not stage this shot. Most days when I return to the house I check the sliding glass door to see who's keeping watch. This is exactly what I found the other day :D

cat or fox?

Gwyn's current favorite toy is her fox. It's like the one seen here on the left:

It's one of those that doesn't have any stuffing in it, but it does have squeakers in each end. She *loves* her fox! (I've noticed that Polly at Graceful Greyhounds has one very similar.) When Gwyn gets really excited she runs around with her fox and squeaks it frantically until she wears herself out. So...here's the latest development...and I'm not sure if it's good or bad???

Is it me, or do they look almost the same except that the fox has no stuffing and the orange menace has lots of stuffing?! By the way, that is Gwyn's bed they're lying on!

Queen of the Hilton

As promised, a  bit more about Gwyn's stay at the hotel last weekend. It was *cold* and even snowed a wee bit Thursday night:

As last year, the set-up started out about the same....Gwyn travels in her crate in the car...it sets up nicely in the room and we brought her other bed too.

But this year something changed! LoML did not really approve...he thought she'd be ruined for good....but here's where she ended up:

Aw, Dad! I'll be good...it'll be like I'm not even here!

Our room had two double beds...Thursday night Gwyn slept in her crate. The first number of times we left the room, Gwyn went in her crate. But then...we went out one time and forgot...and Gwyn discovered how nice the beds are in the Hilton!

Friday and Saturday nights we confirmed why Gwyn will never sleep with us in the bed at home...she takes up a lot of room!!! LoML had one bed and Gwyn & I shared the other. Well, at least Gwyn let me have a little of the bed :D But she mostly wanted to stretch out side to side...

I wouldn't be able to do it regularly, but I confess it was really nice to snuggle with her a couple of nights! Plus it was pretty cold on the floor.

Oh yeah. The fox went with us too. Best baby!!