Wordless Wednesday 10/27 -- Unleash the Hounds of Halloween

Halloween At The Nursing Home

Bunny here at the keyboard to share our visit to the nursing home last night.

Since it was just Morgan and me going this time, we decided to coordinate our costumes.  I went as Red Riding Hood and Morgan went as the wolf.  We had fun getting the costumes ready this week.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that we weren't the only dogs wearing costumes this year.  In the past, there haven't always been dogs willing to dress up and share in the festivities, but I am pleased to announce that we have been an inspiration.  All but three of the dogs had some sort of costume on.  The residents at the nursing home were so happy to see everybody. 

We didn't get any Milkbones this time, but we did get a lot of attention.  Everyone complimented me on my cuteness, and of course, they couldn't resist petting me.  That's the real reason I go to the nursing home.  It's great if you suffer from feelings of low self-esteem, because everybody fusses over how cute, soft, well-behaved and special you are. 

When Morgan and I weren't together, sometimes people weren't sure what our costumes were.  One of the nurses guessed that Morgan was a nursing home resident.  That cracked everybody up!  Even Morgan was amused. 

After a while, it got a little too warm in there, so Dad took Morgan's wig off and wore it himself.  Sadly, he won't let us post pictures of that.  It was pretty funny, though!  I was glad I had my Halloween collar on, because I did take off my cape after a while, too.  They keep it pretty darned warm there in the nursing home.

I am pretty sure that Morgan is glad that our costume wearing is over until next year.  When the trick or treaters come to the house, we'll all just wear Halloween collars and bandanas.  Mom has promised that next year there won't be anything that has to go on Morgan's head.  She's already very happy about that, and so is Dad.

So, that's my treat for the nursing home for this year.  Hopefully some people smiled and felt a little happier for a little while.  We'll be happy to see them again next month -- without our costumes!

 

Trick or Treat

This Halloween we had a good time. The main attraction at our house seemed to be the pumpkins. Bunny was with us last Halloween, but the weather was unusually nice and we did out pumpkin carving and gutting outside. This year, it was actually sunny out, but it was pretty brisk, so my husband decided to gut the pumpkins inside. Bunny felt that this task required her careful supervision. We quickly learned why when she began stealing stray pieces of pumpkin that were dropped and eating them. Apparently, pumpkin is some sort of hitherto unknown greyhound delicacy. None of out other hounds has ever shown an interest in eating the pumpkins before, although they do like pumpkin treats and canned pumpkin in their food on occasion.

Carving pumpkins is something we've always done and the results this year were pretty nice. Bunny was particularly impressed. The other hounds didn't show much appreciation for our artistic attempts this year. Perhaps Bunny understood that this was a beacon that would lead people to our house to admire her cuteness. I imagine that she would figure that out, as clever as she is. We got the pumpkins arranged, candy was ready, the weather was nice and the stage was set for people to come to the door.

I'm sure that the best part for Bunny was the people coming to the door. However, eating the pumpkin was a close second. She liked the pumpkin so much that she decided to try working on the second one before we even cut it open. She just started licking the outside before there was any of the good stuff to partake of. Of course at pumpkin carving time, she was unaware that people would be arriving. As far as I know, she just thought it was an entertaining afternoon's diversion.

Of course, after we started carving scary faces on the pumpkins, she was a little less sure that things were a good idea.

Me: Bunny, would you sit up here by the pumpkins please?

Bunny: I don't like the way those guys are looking at me!

Me: Maybe they're angry that you ate their guts.

Bunny: That's it! I'm hiding in the bedroom until you get these things out of here!

Me: Don't do that! I'm just kidding! There will be people coming by soon!

Bunny: Really?

Me: I wouldn't dream of teasing you about something so important!

Bunny: I'd better watch for them! When are they coming?

Me: You'll know when they get here!

Bunny: I think I hear someone coming right now!

(doorbell rings)

Bunny: Blueberry! Come quick! There are funny looking people here and they brought human puppies!

Blueberry: I'm coming!

The door opens to ooo's and aah's from the kids every time as the girls rush over to greet them. Hawk and Lilac consider themselves too old to get excited about these comings and goings, probably mainly due to the fact that neither of them wants to give up their cushy bed to Blueberry. Bunny was too busy standing sentinel to worry about laying down, and Blueberry knew she'd sound the alarm if they didn't ring the doorbell.

As far as Bunny is concerned, everyone who showed up last night came to pet her and Blueberry. We won't tell her that we bribed them to come by with candy. She had so much fun with the whole thing that I don't have the heart to burst her bubble. After all, Halloween is for the young and young at heart. We all enjoyed the magic of the holiday!

Wordless Wednesday 10/28 -- Halloween Is Coming

Howl O Ween Treats

Bunny here, taking over the keyboard this time, since I am a coauthor on this blog. Mom and Dad started talking about our nursing home visit last night and saying that we had to get ready for the nursing home visit tonight. My ears perked up a bit. Going to the nursing home means that people there will want to pet me. Sometimes they even feed me stuff. It's always great fun! Mom said she needed a model for the ghost costumes they were making, so I jumped off the couch and offered my services. I didn't ask what this job entailed, but as it turns out, it involved me standing up a lot while Dad cut up a sheet a lot. When they started gushing about how cute I was, I knew that I'd hit pay dirt. Then it came time for Blueberry's costume. She was supposed to be a ghost like me. Dad called her and she ran in the dog crate. Dad picked up the scraps of sheet he'd cut off and said that Blueberry could be a mummy. It was getting late, so Mom agreed to it, even though she wasn't crazy about the idea.

As it got closer to time to go, Mom started thinking about how long it was going to take to wrap Blueberry up in those strips and get them to stay in place without slipping off, so she decided to get one of the costumes that Treat wore a while ago and let Blueberry wear that. "She's persnickety about what she'll wear on her head," I heard Mom say. They decided to test it out on Blueberry real fast. Blueberry started shaking her head around. Mom asked me if I wanted to try it. Of course I did! Once Mom put the mask on my head, I didn't see what the fuss was all about. I went back to eating dinner and Mom and Dad both laughed and commented on how cute I am. I wagged my tail. They decided that I would get to wear the dragon costume and Blueberry could be the ghost. I just knew nobody was going to be able to resist me in that costume. We got in the van and Mom reminded us that it was Halloween at the nursing home, but not to be begging for treats. She said it wasn't really Halloween yet and I'd have to wait a few weeks for the real thing to get here. I laid down and waited for us to get there.

When we arrived, we got out of the van and went to the grassy spot out front where we take a little powder break, if you know what I mean. Only this time, I realized I'd hit the jackpot! There in front of me was a Halloween treat, just waiting to be plucked. A plump little rabbit was sitting, practically under my nose. Well, I did what any self respecting hound would do -- I went for it. That darned leash really cramped my style. I was left with some tail fuzz between my teeth, but no rabbit meat. We headed into the first building, I put on my dragon mask and went to work. Everybody went crazy over me and I forgot about the cottontail outside.

Soon it was time to leave and go over to the other side. Darned if that rabbit didn't hop right under my nose and nearly knock Mom down. It was an insult and I'd have had him if Mom hadn't pulled us back the other way so fast. That darned leash foiled my plans again. Anyhow, we went into the other building and I went to work, oozing cuteness and working the crowd. When Blueberry saw how much attention I was getting, she finally decided to put her costume on, too. Well, part of it anyhow. I think I looked cuter in it, but she had to have something. People thought she was pretty cute, too, but most of them were admiring me. It was a great time and I can't wait to go back. There was lots of petting and if I play my cards right, that rabbit will lose the next round. I hope everybody has a safe and happy Halloween!