Archive for the ‘Purl (formerly Burro)’ Category

Despite early predictions of a big snowy winter, it hasn’t happened. We have had a few storms dump some snow, but for the most part, it has been unseasonably nice. With temps in the 40′s, it is like spring.

Perfect time to get the dogs and family out for a hike.

Let’s go, couch potato!

The kitties were exempted from the big day out.

We arrived for our hike by the river, greeted by the blue-est skies (and water) ever.

And look! See those little sprigs of green pushing through the pine needles? Oh yeah! Come on, spring!

We had to stop along the way. Argos did his “hunter pose” as my daughter calls it, when he sees something, somewhere. Purl, despite being a sighthound, usually follows Sophie’s lead – checking out good sniffs.

Sophie is always the lead dog of any walk; always moving, sometimes impatiently waiting on Greyhounds.

Now, this hike was to be a healthy day out. We had water and granola bars in our pack. Despite the outdoorsy views this trail provides, this trail also goes right behind strip-mall-land, including a Krispy Kreme establishment. This fact was not lost on the kids or the dogs.

I usually hike by myself with the 3 dogs, but since the the whole fam was along, my hands were free to take some photos along the way. This caused me to lag quite a bit behind everyone, and despite my (admittedly weak) protests, when I looked up, the trail was cleared of family and dogs.

I took the little side trail up to ye olde donut shop to find all of them there, happily munching away. Sigh.

Can I still count this as a healthy outing? I don’t know. Probably not. ha.

So we headed back, the sun sinking lower in the sky.

When we got home, I loved seeing that my favorite tree had a ticklish grasp on the moon….

Getting ready for Westminster 2012. I met veterinarian Terri Marks at this New York dog show in 2008 -  She came to the rescue after the video ‘props’ (toothpaste and toothbrush) were mysteriously missing from the video producer’s bag. Dr. Marks saved the day with dog toothbrush and toothpaste and her Mastiff Bo, who was a great sport and star in the How To Brush Your Dog’s Teeth video on about.com.

Yesterday I posted a photo of her French Bulldog Sherman on the Facebook page and asked viewers to caption it.

Here is the post on Facebook, and here is the photo:

Today, I posted this photo of my pets, sleeping as usual. Except for Barnie. What is he thinking…? Please post your caption here in the blog comments or on the Facebook post with this photo.

Like a lot of Greyhounds, Purl can curl up in a teeny space. Argos can too, but the cats steer clear of him, since he sometimes wakes up with a rattle.

But if Purl is first on a bed, this seems to signal an invitation to the cats, especially Quincy.

Argos, who we refer to as The Dog of Luxury, also knows how to just relax and fit in as the situation dictates.

So Purl gives it a go and finds a bed to call her own, a bed abandoned by Quincy and Barnie.

She circles several times and lies down. Repeats this cycle 3 more times to get it just right, but…

As soon as the humans vacated the couch, she was on it in a flash. Comfort at last!

And in case you were thinking that all my pets do is sleep, here is a recent video of Sophie, Purl and Argos enjoying a snow day.

Meanwhile, Barnie is still thinking about thumbs.

A friend sent me this video of a commercial from the UK featuring cats:

We all enjoyed it, even the cats.

But then Quincy got to thinking…

Quincy then remembers, with a shudder, when thumbs really would have come in handy

Remember these scenarios? (Click on photo to go to original story)

Next up: Barnie’s thoughts on thumbs

Our pets love the holidays for many reasons. One of the best and biggest reasons is that they have their humans with them all day long, with lots of time to slumber and be lazy.

Oh wait… napping and being lazy is part of each and every day for the pets here (punctuated by walks and hikes, but mostly the easy life).

This holiday was no exception.

Here is a recent “action shot” of Argos. The camera is blurry from the crazy activity.

Before…

Contrary to what many people think, Greyhounds, even ex-racers, are not high-strung wild dogs. They don’t need to run laps and laps every day. In fact, they are well known for being the “45-mile-per-hour couch potatoes,” preferring to live out their retirements in the sleepy luxury of comfy dog beds.

Or sometimes… our couch.

Argos took some time to get up the gumption to take over the couch. Purl, eyeing Argos and the comfort that awaited on the couch, wasted no time.

Poor babies having to share the space! While the humans sit elsewhere.

Sometime later…

Dogs are so easy to please. A coat (for Greyhounds) + my time to go for a walk = happiness.

The site of a Really Interesting Sound

The site of a Really Good Smell

The Really Good Smell captured their attention for about 30 seconds! All I could see were some deer tracks. Thank goodness no one found anything to snack on.

That would have ended the Really Good Walk quickly.