Three Greyhounds

Are there any greyhounds out there reading this blog? Or Human Friends of greyhounds? You may have noticed that we prefer greyhounds, somewhat, over other dog breeds. (And cats? Fuggetaboudit!)

We've worked hard on our non-greyhound doggy social skills. We're just so comfortable with each other because we grew up with only greyhounds and then went to the racetracks with other greyhounds. We basically knew just greyhounds and humans until we moved into this house... (but we didn't know each other - we met here)

It's been a long time and we are quite well socialized. But, honestly, the cats are still not our very favorites. They tolerate (and sometimes try to dominate) us and we tolerate and sometimes fear them. Luci is especially leary of the felines since Nick used to get his kicks chasing her (kay-yi-ing!) up the stairs.

Yesterday we had a wonderful vacation day, completely cat-free! Finally we could let our fur down.

When we meet other dogs we are quite excited and interested. Cori likes to assert her dominance, of course, but she is quite refined about it - usually just a tail bulge and an episode of "standing tall". Tess thinks she wants to play with most dogs, until they become overly -friendly - that tends to freak her out and sometimes she even yelps (it's an ear-piercing shriek, believe us). Luci, who was once so terrified of a puppy that she jumped into Mark's arms, has come the farthest in her doggy socialization. She now tolerates most dogs and is especially fond of black ones.

But you should see us when we meet other greyhounds. It's like an instant reunion. It takes us right back to our puppyhood. They smell like us. Most greyhounds who have never met get along immediately. We spend quite a bit of time sniffing rears, of course, but no barking, no aggression. We're instantly comfortable as if we have always known each other. Come see us at a Meet n Greet someday and you'll see what we mean. Wait a minute - we're semi-retired from Meet n Greets - we'll let you know if they call us up for duty.

Now back to our couches.

A busy day...

Luci practices for Cirque de Soleil
Ouch - doesn't that hurt?
An exhausting workout!
A much-needed break from blogging



Photo Essay by Tess
(at least one of us was getting something done)

Sun!

Rain.

Finally! At Last! Just when we were at the end of our leashes, something is happening. Even though it's still cloudy and dank out, we're going on a little road trip to camp. We'll probably get a couple walks. Sniff a few new blades of grass. Relax on the couch. Dunk our toes in the pond?

It's been a tough haul for us since last Saturday when the rains came. We've been bored. We have cabin fever. This must be how the animals in the Ark felt - no walks, no excitement. Just wet, wet, wet.

Then the humans started ignoring us. They went out in the evening without us TWICE this week. They went away for most of the day THRICE (what else do we have to do with our time but wax poetic?). Did Noah go out for dinner or to a ball game when the Ark was afloat? We hardly think so. He stayed onboard and suffered with everyone else. These humans of ours could be more committed to our pack.

No thunderstorms last night. We all slept well.

Still raining though. [heavy sighs]

By Tess: It was the scariest night ever!

It started around 3 - flashing and crashing like you wouldn't believe. It was SO LOUD and SO BRIGHT. I was terrified. I tried to get into the big beddy but Cori was already there. (She pretends to be afraid too, but I could tell she wasn't really). Then I paced around looking desperately for a "thunder bunker". I have a great thunder bunker downstairs - it's under a desk. But I didn't want to go down there because no one else was there. Finally I settled on sticking my head between the edge of the bed and Cathy's nightstand. It wasn't perfect but it was ok.

But then, after all that stress I suddenly REALLY had to go out, in the rain, and the thunderstorm. It was pouring out. I got wet. But then I heard some funny noises so I had to patrol the property and repel any intruders. And tell them where to go, of course!!! Why does Cathy get mad when I patrol the property and bark at intruders at 4am? Doesn't she know that's when most crimes happen?

When I came back in there was still a little more lightning and thunder but it went away and I finally settled down. I was exhausted. I think I'll sleep all day today...

We joined this webring today (we're natural members since we clearly love greyhounds)...

Luci: For the record, all was not lost. I had MY pills in liverwurst at a much more respectable hour - 11am - plus I'm well-rested. A greyhound needs her beauty sleep.

Luci slept in this morning and missed our morning pb sandwich. It was delicious as always. The bread is Cori's favorite: oatmeal. Wheat is also acceptable. White is not. The peanut butter is smooth.

Before PB & Pills
Tess Approves the Sandwich
After PB & Pills

After all that peanut butter (and a couple pills) we have to spend some serious time working the pb coating off our tongues.

Boy was that good. Poor Luci.

You should smell the lilacs in the yard and taste the fresh grass! Absolutely sublime.

Mosquitoes are here. They arrived on Sunday. No more walkies in the woods until later in the summer. The little tormentors are fierce for a couple months and then slowly go away. Most of the time they don't bother us much, but when you come in from outside with fifteen of them clinging to your unfurred underbelly, it's just too much.

Luckily we're still resting up from all that recreating we did last week. In another couple days we'll be itching (no pun intended) to get out somewhere where the bugs aren't. Maybe the beach???!

The usual maladies today. Tess: gurgly tummy. Cori: biley vomit. Is Nature's Miracle produced by a publicly-traded company, one wonders?

zzzz... still sleeping off that demanding vacation...

Sat Noon (written yesterday - no Internet connection at camp)

We're on vacation at our beloved camp. What beautiful weather - sunny and warm, but not too warm - in the 80's. No one's panting, We're all just snoozing away. Ahh...

We got here last night. We've had a busy few days since Mark is on vacation and we're going on more outings than usual. Frankly, we couldn't believe we were getting in the crate-on-wheels AGAIN.

The car ride here was a bit hairy. They packed OUR doggy-mobile full of human junk and there was hardly any room left for US. Tess was in everyone's space, as usual.

Then when we got here we took a little walk, took a little swim and then they LEFT US to go for a boat ride. What a heartbreaker! We all LOVE boat rides. But they claim that they don't have a way for us to ride in this boat, yet. Well, get right on that, will ya? Cori wants a boat ride. She wants to catch the breeze in her needlenose.

So far we've each been in the lake twice. We've been on several little walks. The black flies are thick so we're not hanging around in the yard as much as we do later in the summer. In a few weeks they'll thin out.

We got rubbed down with some kind of stinky doggy bug repellent today. It's better than Frontline but what an assault to our senses! It does hold the black flies at bay. Maybe ticks too, but that remains to be seen. Tess has already had two.

Cathy finally noticed the weird growth (abscess?) on Cori's stumpie last night. (The affectionately-named "stumpie" is what remains after her left hind leg amputation - really her hipbone/socket.) Our vet will need to look at it next week, but it doesn't bother Cori at all. It's about the size of a large pea, swollen. Feels like it's filled with fluid.

Our vacation is wonderfully peaceful. No cats in sight. The only disruption is that Mark is doing some construction work, finishing off our bedroom so we can be completely comfortable here at all times. We approve of the concept but don't appreciate the pounding of nails and the saw noise. Disturbs our nappies.

By the way, in case you missed it, we were mentioned in the Houston Chronicle yesterday! How lucky can three hound dogs be?

Cori reporting: We had the MOST fabulous day yesterday. Early am we got in the doggymobile for the two hour ride north. A ride is a fantastic thing by itself. But then we got to hang out at "the cabin" all day, had two or three short walks and then the crowning glory: a walk down the causeway between the two sides of the lake. Nothing is more heavenly...

You have animal smells at every turn. You see birds and frogs and sometimes bigger animals - a fox, a beaver, something rustling in the tall grass... Then about halfway up the causeway you get to go for a dip in the lake - by then you really need it! I go right in and plunk myself down immediately so I don't have to bend down for a drink of that pure nectar - lake water.

Then a nice long walk back to the house...

I even got a second dip in the lake when we returned, then a long nap, part of a hamburger, some biscuits, another long nap and then the long car ride home.

We were EXHAUSTED when we got home. Had barely enough energy to eat a late supper and then we all slept through the night without twitching a paw. We also slept all day today.

This late afternoon we got another car ride and another walk at another of our favorite walking places - Royal River Park in Yarmouth. I was fascinated by a baseball game at a nearby ballpark. Wonder what that's all about? I especially like the flying ball.

These certainly are the glory days...

Unfortunately my tummy has been upset today. I ate a bunch of grass and had a very bile-y vomit session this morning and another one this afternoon. And I'm a bit off my food. I got an extra pepcid this evening and a while later they gave me some turkey which I gobbled (no pun intended) right down. Moral of the story: It pays to hold out for the good stuff.

It's been a slow couple of days. A little walking. A lot of sleeping.

But the good news is we're going on a trip tomorrow!! We all love going for rides and visiting people and places.

Tomorrow it's off to grandmother's (and grandfather's) house we go. For our excursions, we have a special vehicle we travel in. The humans call it our "doggymobile". We call it the "crate-on-wheels". It's a van with the middle row of seats taken out and several dog beds on the floor and it's very cozy. Despite the vast expanse of space, we all try to get as close to the front seats as possible. Cori gets the spot of honor betwen the two front seats. Tess spends most of a ride trying to push her way into the same space. We can't both fit. Luci, wisely, stays in back, usually behind the driver's seat.

Did we mention Tick Season? Tess had FIVE on her today after our walk in the woods. Even with Frontline on (which apparently kills ticks but only after a few hours; fleas right away, as we understand it). Ticks appear to like white. Luci hardly ever has any. Cori just had one. Again, they really don't bother us but seem to cause much human consternation.

Re: pill medium - This morning she tried Almond Butter. We say, "don't bother!" That was truly disgusting. Stick with pb, please. Cream cheese is good too (but not with antibiotics). Or liverwurst - please, please, please?

Tess is very restless and whiny this morning and now she's outside chewing up the lawn. Luckily it needed to be mowed and she's doing a great job. Her stomach doesn't sound gurgly but it must be upset. Time for a pepcid.

Just like some of our older human relatives, our morning meds routine is quite a rigamarole:

Cori gets a pepcid every morning since it helps prevent acid buildup/ulcers that can happen with the kidney failure. She likes to have her pepcid with a little open-face peanut butter sandwich (she prefers wheat or multi-grain bread - white bread leaves her cold). A little while later she gets the rest of her meds - minocycline, PPA, fish oil, and a multi-vitamin.

Luci, with her heart issues and slightly elevated kidney levels, gets enalapril and lasix, fish oil and a multi-vitamin every morning. Every other week she gets a round of antibiotics for her gums.

Tess gets fish oil and a vitamin. Poor Tess. So deprived. She does like a few bites of the pb sandwich.

Then we do the pill routine again every night.

Peanut butter is our usual delivery medium for pills. It's ok. We used to love it and Cori and Tess still do. Luci is not so thrilled with it anymore. Every once in a while Cathy switches it up and gives us pills in liverwurst. Now THAT'S a banner day!

We also get Sea Jerky once a day. It has chondroitin and glucosamine and we absolutely love the taste. Yummy!

Today we're feeling a little big for our britches. Thanks to the comments some of you have left we discovered that we're practically famous! There was a even a link to us on USAToday.com. We're trying not to let it go to our heads or interfere with our regular eating and sleeping schedule, but this is fun. Luci is especially excited because she's always felt a little let down since she stopped writing her advice column (Ask Miss Luci) a few years ago.

Here we are in the yard a couple weeks ago (before the grass grew back). We are told that the mud pit which is the yard in the Spring is somehow our fault. Just because we run around a lot and have a little digging problem? How can we help it if the grass doesn't grow? We water it A LOT!

Be sure to note Luci's "bat ears", in the second photo, also known as the "satellite dishes". Tess has pretty good ears too, but they're not as huge as Luci's. Luci can hear a biscuit drop on the floor a mile away.

Left to right we are Cori (brindle), Tess (white with brindle) and Luci (black).

We were so lazy today. We slept. And ate. And slept. We'd like to eat some more... especially Cori who is really hungry today. She's eaten two whole cans of food (she's spoiled rotten thanks to the kidney disease) plus some kibble. It's a great sign that she's eating so well. She has LOTS of energy.

Our cousin LM got loose yesterday. We haven't seen him yet but Cathy had to rush out of here yesterday to go try to find him. Turns out he was hanging out nextdoor and came right over when Greg called him. Phew! Personally we don't understand why he didn't sieze the opportunity to run, run, run. That's what Tess would have done, for sure. Cori would have sniffed and tasted every available blade of grass between the house and Portland. Luci agrees with LM and wouldn't have left the yard - why bother?- that would require too much effort.

Uh oh. Black flies are out. That's not a good sign for walkies. We had a nice one last night though. It was cool out - about 40 - and the woods were beautiful. Full of good sniffies.

Everyone is feeling good right now. Cori's not drinking as much water and is eating better. She hasn't been vomiting either.

But she is eating grass - as much as she's allowed (which isn't too much). Luci and Tess both love grass too. We just can't resist those tender green new grass morsels! Sigh... another sign of summer.

But we all know what happens when you eat grass and it comes out the other end! Dingleberry City! Yuck. We ALL hate that.

Wow - it got warm suddenly. It's been in the 70s-80s for two days. Mark put the air conditioner back in the window and we had nice cool air on us last night. Luci LOVED it.

We had a lovely sunbath yesterday afternoon. Sunny, warm - summer is here!

And with the warm weather comes the ticks. Cori had a tick on her face yesterday. A tick walked off one of us onto Mark yesterday evening. So we were forced to endure the ritual Frontline application, which we absolutely HATE. We don't mind a few ticks. They're just bugs. They don't even hurt. But that yucky orange-y smelling stuff is the WORST.