Wordless Wednesday

Ricky and the Fat dog.

Me: Kassa?

Kassa: yes...
Me:  Why is it that I'm trying to fatten Ricky up.. but You seem to be the one getting fatter....

Kassa:  I don't know what you mean.. but maybe it has to do with you just walking us and not running us daily...
Me: .. So why is Ricky not gaining any weight?

Kassa:  I don't know .. maybe its his metabolism...  He does runaround like the freeken Easter Bunny.
Me:  I don't think that's whole story... Kassa why don't you waddle over here and bring your brother with you.

Kassa: waddle my eye!

Ricky:  Whats up dad?
Me:  Well I need to get to the bottom of this.  Ricky.. Whats going on.. Why am I feeding you more but magically Kassa is gaining weight?

Ricky: Well I am more athletic than my tubby buddy over there... Have you seen my Moves!
Me:  Well yes you are stunning.. but still.. there must be more.
Ricky:  Well there have been a few crimes of opportunity going on?
Me: explain.
Ricky:  Well you know how Specs has been visiting.... I like Specs food MORE!
Me: Yes.. but I don't let you at Specs food at all..
Ricky: Other than the few bites I get as I go down the hall..
Me: Uh huh...
Ricky:  Well I've been abandoning my food early... and trying to snag some of Specs food..
Kassa:  And while you are tied up blocking Ricky from Specs bowl.. that left extra Scoops in Ricky's bowl for ME.  Then all I had to do is trot by Specs bowl without trying to eat it.. and you would PRAISE me for being such a good dog. LOL
Me:  You sneaky sneaky fat one you..

Kassa:  "To be certain to take what you attack is to attack a place the enemy does not protect." .. Sun Tzu .. The art of war.. Ricky is more of a pawn than a general.
Me: Foiled again!.. 

Synchronicity

We borrowed a dog for a week!  He is one of the greyplay boys and his peeps are off on a little vacation.  Now that we have three in the house I have been amused by how often they exist in a synchronous state.

Synchronous walking:

 Synchronous sitting:

 Synchronous sleeping:

These dogs are so easy to manage and are really fun!  I'm sure it helps that they have all been walked individually a lot, however they are a joy both indoors and outdoors.  People stop and ask questions about the hounds even more when you have all three trotting up the street.

Wouldn't it be cool...

Care2 and ASPCA are sponsoring America's Favorite Animal Shelter Contest.  Wouldn't it be cool if a Greyhound Group won!  It would be fantastic publicity for all greyhound groups.  Now I realize it is totally presumptuous of me to ask people to vote for the group my dogs come from when there are so many groups for all breeds and species doing great work out there.  But I will anyway LOL.  Seriously, vote for what ever animal shelter you like, but keep in mind if we unite behind one group then a greyhound group has a better chance of winning.


Here is a link to vote for GPA/Nashville 


If you want to hunt for your own favorite group you can do so here.


Thanks very much for tolerating my shameless plugs for Greyhound adoption as of late.  Stories of Ricky and Kassa and friends will be back next weekend :).

Seventeen : Adopters wanted.

Seventeen!!.  That's the number of greyhounds that are currently in the Nashville foster system at  http://gpanashville.org/adoptable_dogs.php right now.  These dogs are fantastic dogs.

Dogs101 classifies the greyhounds as:  

Environment: Can live anywhere.  (That includes apartments btw.)

Health: Subject to Bloat, Tumors and Hyperthyroid.  (Overall a very healthy dog btw as they are bread for athleticism not looks).

Grooming: Minimal Grooming.

Training: Easy to train.

Racing politics aside, here is the youtube clip of the dogs101 segment on greyhounds. You can find segments on other breeds as well at http://animal.discovery.com/videos/dogs-101-season-one/?smid=YTAPC-YTD-PLP

Adopting greyhounds is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.  I think the value of these dogs stands on its own. I honestly don't know why there isn't a line up to get them. Just because they are retired from racing doesn't mean they are old.  Dogs come to the adoption group with ages typically ranging from 2 to 5 years and the dogs typically live to be around 12 years old. Beautiful pups like River and Nate need to find homes.  If you know of anyone searching for a new companion please ask them to consider greyhounds.

River

Nate

Working Dogs

Well today we had a wonderful time at grey play.. but it was done sinfully camera free.  It amazes me that the dogs will play without cameras pointed their way.  For this weekends blog entry I wanted to share some pics from my wife's recent trip to Alaska.  She was missing the boys a lot and so she found some other working dogs to keep her company.

Here is a neat video of the dogs in action.  

You know who all these dogs remind me of?  Shep.  Yep Shep is still in the market for a home. Please keep him in mind.  You can find more info on him at http://www.freedomfarm.net/

 

Remembering the Cicadas

Remembering The Cicadas : by Ricky Bobby
Oh Mr Cicada...
We are brothers in life.
Although both our times on this earth are but 13 years, you spend most of yours below it.
I am glad that you decided to surface when I was but four and could enjoy the pursuit.
How I loved to pounce on you and hear you buz around in my mouth.
How I loved my evening walks filled with fields of noshing oportunities.
How I miss your daily chorus.
But now you have gone.  Nothing but shells and smells remain.
Once per lifetime our paths intersect.

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Remembering the Cicadas : by Kassa
Cicawhat.....











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Remembering the Cicadas: By the Two Legger

Oh Mr Cicada...
You made the shortest outdoor conversations painful.
You made Ricky nearly pull my arm of in order to nosh on your delicious juices and made walks take 4 times as long as the norm.
You made Ricky's output messy and inconsistent.
You near drove me deaf when cutting the lawn.
Good riddance.
See you in 13
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Pick pick pick

Kassa and Ricky had a good week.   They had some good greyplay today.  The recent heat has been a bit hard on the guys and the dogs do more lounging than running.  So do their peeps.   While Ricky was between soaks last week one of my friends picked quite a bit of tarter off of one of his teeth. Now I can always count on this particular friend to call it like she sees it.  This time was no exception.  Now I must admit I had gotten lax in regards to tooth care for the boys.  Early in Kassa's adoption I gave him a big raw hide chew to work on every evening.  When tarter built up on his canine teeth I got a dental scalar to pick it off.  The last few times I was at the vet they said his teeth looked like he had just had a dental.  After researching raw hide more, I decided to back off of it and use pig ears (made in the USA) instead.    While tasty, the pig ears are a quick snack.  The dogs nosh them up pretty quickly in comparison to raw hide.  

When I got Ricky I was told he didn't tolerate brushing well.  Beyond the pig ears I haven't been spending much time on it. Now the honeymoon is over.  Ricky is getting reasonably comfortable with me working on his mouth with the dental scalar although I'm at the mercy of which side he chooses to nap on. Last week I got a lot of the tarter off in a few problem spots, but there is more to do.  I gave them both some raw hide this evening to break stuff up and plan to give them another marrow bone soon (which works really well but is stinky). Hopefully with practice I can get Ricky to be comfortable and hold still so I can feel confident working closer to the gum line.  It isn't that going to the vet to have a dental done is the end of the world or anything, but it is the fact that they have to administer an anesthetic that makes me nervous.  Greys are particularly problematic when it comes to anesthesia and so if there are simple things I can do to avoid it, I will.

I wanna be a Cowboy.

I wanna be a cowboy

And you can be my cowgirl

Or you...

Never mind I found a toy that squeaks!

Back of Kassa.. this toy is mine. 

You boys are so silly.

Hey! Someone put the toy up here!

Ricky.. I think your efforts are futile..