It's Not Easy Being A Cute Little Puppy

It's not easy being a cute adorable, puppy. It means you begin to think that everything you want, you will get. Over the past five weeks, I have been at home on summer break. Bunny has been a very happy puppy thanks to that fact. However, all good things must come to an end. In order for the kibble, toys and fancy collars to keep coming in, I have to go back to work. Bunny is not thrilled about this. There is much sighing, soulful eye gazing, leaning against me and general moping. She is smart enough that she knows the routine about when I go back to work.



We have been constant companions over the past weeks, usually with Bunny leaning against my leg while the two of us veg out on the couch, her napping and me writing. I am so thankful for that part. When Treat passed away, I felt like I'd lost my muse in some ways. Bunny does an excellent job of providing inspiration and moral support.


Last school year was very difficult for me for several reasons. My teaching partner had breast cancer and had to be out of the room for half the year. The substitute teacher situation was a difficult one at first. We got a new sub, a wonderful lady, but it's still a large burden on one person's shoulders. I also had a particularly difficult child in class this year who will be returning for one more year. This coming school year brings a lot of anxiety for me as well as uncertainty. One thing is a constant, however. There is always a furry little counselor waiting at home to do her best to alleviate my stress, whether it's dancing around like a crazy little monkey, pressing her warm little body against me, or simply curling up beside me on the couch to gaze at me with adoration, she is always waiting with something.



So, it tugged at my heartstrings quite a bit when I came out of the shower in the morning to find that she decided she couldn't face the world. Apparently, it was just a little too much to bear on a Monday morning. I figured I'd try to have a little chat with her.

Me: Bunny, what are you doing under there?

Bunny: Woe is me!

Me: What seems to be the problem?

Bunny: You're leaving today -- I know it!

Me: Well, I do have to work so that we have money to feed you and keep you in the fashion to which you've become accustomed.

Bunny: Who will pet me all day?

Me: I'll be home to pet you before you know it. You'll be sleeping most of the time I'm gone anyway.

Bunny: It's still not the same...

Me: I know. If it makes you feel better, I'd rather be here at home with you.

Bunny: That's not helping.

Me: I'm sorry, puppy girl. The weekend will be here soon and we'll be together all day.

Bunny: Okay.

Me: Before you know it, fall break will be here and I'll be home again, too.

Bunny (a little more of her nose emerging from the blanket): Really? How soon?

Me: Only about ten weeks. It will be fall time, so we'll be able to go to the dog park all the time if it's not raining, as well as doing other fun stuff.

Bunny: You promise you're coming back though, right?

Me: Yes, I promise. I'll have a lot of time to pet you, then, too.

Bunny: Well, alright, I'll be here waiting!

We'll both be counting the days until the end of September! Hopefully, the time will go quickly. It's awfully nice to have some great dogs to come home to in the meantime.

Wordless Wednesday 7/15 -- Art Show Swag

It's always a good thing when we find greyhound art at the art festivals.

Wordless Wednesday 7/08 -- From Head to Tail

Bunny's Secret Passion

If you have been reading the blog much, you know that Bunny has one particular love in life. That is being petted. Give her a room full of people and she is more than thrilled to work the crowd. However, there is something else that Bunny loves -- her dark mistress as it were. Every morning she stalks us for, dun dun dun, yogurt. She lies on the floor, pretending to be asleep, or sometimes on the other side of the couch if Blueberry hasn't gotten there first, and feigns sleep. However, soon, as you begin to get near the bottom of your yogurt cup, you will see one of her delicate little ears begin to twitch. An eye might pop open even, if she hears the rattling sound of your spoon on the bottom of the cup. As soon as you move to set it down, she springs into action. Magically, she will appear beside my husband or me, sitting and practicing all her skills of cuteness. Her doe eyes will look up adoringly, she'll give a gentle, graceful wag of her golden tail, and then curl up into a very pretty little sit. If this doesn't elicit immediate results, she will quickly lay down on the floor beside us, looking for all the world like a regal sphinx. As soon as we set the cup down for her, she goes to work.

She seems to have been working on improving her technique over the past weeks. At first, she was content to lay on the couch and lick the rest of the yogurt out in a leisurely but efficient manner. Of course, she always has to be dainty and ladylike about it. Here she demonstrates the wrap-your-paw-around-the-bottom-of-the-cup technique for keeping the yogurt cup in place. I thought this was working pretty well for her, but apparently it wasn't enough solitude for her to properly enjoy the yogurt in peace.

She learned to pick the cup up in her mouth and carry it to the dog bed. I wish we had pictures of her carrying the cups, but she has been very elusive and refuses to do retakes. Eating the yogurt on the floor seems to be her preference, but the cup kept tipping on her while she was licking it. Still, she was very proud that she'd managed to make the cup mobile. I think it's possibly just her little show of Independence -- eating it where she wants to, instead of where we set it down.

After she mastered moving the cup, it began to bother her that a drop of her ambrosia might be left in the bottom of the cup. She learned that if she put her entire bottom jaw into the cup, cleaning out the bottom was much easier. This must have come from her discovery of how to carry the cup to the bed. I can just imagine how proud she was when she discovered this technique. It must have been better than finding gold. Now it doesn't even bother her if one of the other hounds comes over for a taste of yogurt. She knows that what's left in the bottom is all hers.

Still, keeping the cup still on the floor while she was working on the rim proved to be a problem. That is, until she discovered the art of using her paw to hold it still. I find myself relieved that she wasn't born with opposable thumbs. There would be no stopping her in any endeavor that she undertook. Despite her innocent looks and the fact that she's a natural blonde, Bunny is extremely smart. She could be a mastermind of any criminal organization and be very successful, but fortunately, she uses her powers for good -- and being petted.

On some occasions she works her incredible powers of cuteness to get two cups of yogurt at one time. There are not too many foods that she doesn't like, but I haven't seen anything that she craves like the yogurt. At least she's eating light yogurt to keep her svelte, girlish figure.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Usually, she will lie on the floor in denial that it's all gone. She will hang on to the yogurt cup for a few minutes afterward, basking in the glow of yogurt in her tummy. Her favorite flavor seems to be pineapple upside down cake, but she's also a fan of raspberry cheesecake, strawberry shortcake and apple pie flavors. Actually, I haven't seen her turn her little nose up at any flavor so far, but she doesn't go nearly as crazy for key lime pie and boston creme pie as some others. She will lick the cup completely clean, and we let her keep the cup until she starts to chew on it. That's when Husband intervenes and takes it away from her. I've also had to start being careful to look because she's taken to hiding the cups in strange places, like our bed. She always looks so crestfallen when I find them and throw them away that I almost feel guilty. I can't complain, though. As far as secret passions go, hers isn't too bad.

How May I Help You?

Yesterday something happened here that rarely occurs. Our greyounds are pretty typical of the breed in that they rarely bark. If someone comes in the door, there is about thirty seconds of fanfare before they go back to their respective napping places, well three of them do. Bunny will hold out until whoever had come in pets her. Alas, I digress. Yesterday afternoon, as I sat on the couch trying to get some writing done, Lilac stood on the other side of the coffee table and began to bark at me.

I was surprised. Lilac is not demanding at all. Sometimes she wants attention, but when she does, she simply walks up and buries her head against your chest. I had taken the dogs out an hour and a half earlier. They had been fed. It was an unusually cool summer day, so the temperature was comfortable. What else could she need?

Being the caring dog owner that I am, I got up and walked around the coffee table. She leaned against me, letting me know, as if I didn't already, that there was something she wanted. I petted her a little and leaned over close to her. We had a little conversation.

Me: Lilac, what's wrong?

Lilac: (barking meaningfully) Can't you tell?

Me: (whispering in her ear, lest the other dogs hear this part and start a riot) Do you have to go potty?

Lilac: (rolling her eyes and barking more insistantly) Of course not, I was just outside! How can you not see this?

Me: (looking around at the lay of the land) Oooooh! I think I get it!

Blueberry, in true diva fashion, had fluffed the two prime dog beds together so that she could lay her body on one bed and her head and front feet on the other. Hawk lay comfortably on the big orthopedic dog bed. Bunny was stretched out on the couch. Two small cushions lay unoccupied on the floor as a last resort.

Apparently, the cushions were not good enough for Lilac. There was a time when she would bark at Blueberry and Blue would instantly retreat to her crate. Now she simply ignores the scoldings of her mother. She closed her eyes and burrowed deeper into her nest of beds, pretending that she had no idea what Lilac wanted. Lilac barked at me again. I knew what I had to do. I oh so carefully pulled one bed from beneath Blueberry's front paws. She gave me a royal case of stinkeye when I did. I tossed the bed over to the side and fluffed it up a little. Lilac gave me a grateful look, then curled up on her bed, gave a little sigh and closed her eyes in contentment.

So who has who trained in this house, anyway?