Amber Opal

Senior greyhounds are special - we all know that. There's something about that gray face and wise eyes that makes your heart melt. When Amber Opal (aka Amberly) came into my friend Amy's life she had lived a full life at 9.5 years old. Full as in 20 pounds overweight full. Amber didn't really look like a greyhound at first, but make no mistake, that sweet old face was one of a former racer - tattoos and all.

Amberly settled right in with Amy and her family. She made herself right at home in her daughter's bed in less than a week. Her new pack buddy, Josephine (a senior herself), loved showing her the ropes of country living and they became fast friends. She also adapted well to her weight loss plan and soon took on her appropriate shape.

Amberly began doing therapy visits with Seka just a few months after arriving in her forever home. Amberly seemed to know who needed love in some way totally unknown to us humans at the other end of the leash. She was a good therapy dog.

When her family went away, Amberly came to stay with my pack. During Amber Camp, Roxy had a fellow brindle to hang round. Even at 12 years old, that girl loved to play with a stuffy and trot around the yard with Roxy. And let's not forget that she was a stick magnet. If there was a stick anywhere in the yard, she could find it and be chewing on it in a matter of seconds. I could go out and clean up all of the sticks in my yard and she would still manage to find one to chomp on.

Amberly went over the Rainbow Bridge on Monday at the ripe old age of 14.5. We will miss that silly old girl. Godspeed, sweet Amberly. I know you and Josephine are playing the day away together right now.

Amber Camp Day 7

I never liked going to sleep away camp. That may sound funny coming from a girl who is a life-time Girl Scout. It wasn't the act of camping, the out-of-doors, the bugs or showering in cold water. I wasn't home sick for my parents. I just hated the organized activities that they forced you to do. Crafts after breakfast. Swimming before lunch. Games before dinner. There were a lot of forced activities that I just didn't like to do that I had to, because they were on the schedule. I preferred to do things on my own time and enjoying my experience to the fullest. The whole "planned fun" wasn't really my cup of tea.

I hope Amber doesn't feel like her activities are too planned here at "Amber Camp." I've let the girls set their own schedule; requesting outside time when they want it, sunning themselves as long as they prefer, and sniffing everything they want. I'm lucky that they are pretty easy.

Instead of swimming, we've had stuffy chasing. Instead of arts and crafts, the girls have been enjoying experimental bed making. As you can see here, Amber and Seka were inspired by my daily yoga practice and made me a ying-yang symbol.



Later on, Roxy and Amber practiced their stacking skills and built me a cute greyhound tower. They tried to convince one of the cats to top it off by placing a pillow on the top, but they just couldn't make it happen.



I whipped up a special meal for the campers one night - turkey necks. It took Amber a few extra minutes to get the hang of eating it, so Boo Radley stood guard and made sure no one bothered her.





Amber has tried to convince us that she is carving a totem pole out of sticks for her mom and dad as a souvenir from Amber Camp. I keep trying to tell her that stick carving often leads to intestinal impaction, so we don't allow such risky activities here. But she is a rebel and will try to work on her one-of-a-kind craft project every chance she gets.



And of course we've indulged in snack time - marshmallows, cookies, ice cream, cheese, yogurt. What's a vacation without snacks? And of course we've had lots of nap time.

All in all I think Amber Camp has been a success. I don't really want it to end and I think Roxy and Seka feel the same way.

Wii Like to Play

I never really liked video games as a kid. My sister had an original Nintendo and she and my dad played Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong for hours on it. I on the other hand preferred our Calicovision that had more creative games like Smurfs and Cabbage Patch Kids. As you can see, I really wasn't the gamer type. And if you've ever seen me attempt to do anything that requires hand/eye coordination, you'll know why.

So, I think Kev was more than shocked when I started talking about getting a Wii. And after playing my sister's Wii for three hours straight on two consecutive nights two weeks ago (see pic, even my 65 yo mother became addicted), I went into nagging mode. Kev is a true child of the 1980s. An arcade junkie. A Joust, PacMan, Frogger, Donkey Kong freak. He and his buddies had some sort of Sega and played football or hockey or something until the wee hours of the morning during grad school. I thought he'd be excited to have a game system in the house again. Not so much. Wiis are for girls and kids in his mind.

But despite his reservations, we celebrated our country's freedom by supporting our economy and purchasing a Wii. What followed were hours of challenging each other to multiple games of bowling, baseball and tennis to see who would do laundry, dishes, etc. Wii had way too much fun and I have lots of housework to do.

The dogs are playing their own games. Roxy has never really played with toys. Even after being here for six months, she still isn't really all that interested in stuffies or balls. That is, until Amberly came to stay. The brunettes take turns slinging the stuffies around inside, moving them from one bed to the other. Seka lets them play, but if she feels it gets out of hand, she goes over and puts a stop to all the ruckus. It's funny to me to see her as the alpha, when she was so cautious and scared three years ago.



Outside, Roxy and Amberly race to see who can get the stuffy first. The funny thing is, Roxy can lap Amberly easily, but that isn't really fun. Roxy matches Amberly's gait in the race to retrieve. Sometimes they both come up with the toy for a tug of war. Other times it really isn't about the toy at all and it's more about the running around. It really is fun to watch them interact.

I've realized that Roxy is a good greyhound friend. She lets Amberly win equally and makes her feel good about their play. She doesn't make her do all the housework even if she can beat her at every game.

That's okay. Seka and I are a lot a like. We both like to beat the competition unexpectedly and then rub it in.

Three Isn't a Crowd

If two's company, and three's a crowd, what are four and five?

Nine.

Try to contain your laughter.

It's an old joke that I still remember from my Golden Books. My father read to me every night before bed until I was six or seven, and then I read to him. Once I got into chapter books, I read myself to sleep and woke up eager to pick back up where I left off the night before. As an English minor, I read lots of books, sermons and poems, most of which I barely remember. It's funny what sticks with you from those first books you read snuggled up next to your dad just before you doze off.

I thought about this kid's joke as Amber Opal (Amberly) arrived on Tuesday night for an extended stay at our home while her family enjoys some time at the beach. Ten-year-old Amberly recently had her toe removed due to an old injury that just wouldn't heal and since we have LOTS of experience with bad feet around here, it just seemed like a good fit.

It's no shock that Roxy has taken on Amberly as her special project, sticking by her side throughout the day. It's really sweet to see them both together. Looking at Amber for us is kind of like a sneak peek into what Roxy might look like when she is a senior, with an all white face and shuffling gait.

For now, the two brindles (or brunettes as I call them) pal around together inside and outside, each taking their cues from the other. If Amberly sees something to explore, Roxy is by her side. If Roxy takes off running, Amberly trots right behind. Seka continues to be above the fray as she monitors their behavior, stepping in when she believes it is necessary and leading the charge if she feels they are losing their way. After all, black dogs are superior.

Kev and I laugh about how these three dogs, who weigh in at a combined 185 lbs (give or take a few), are less trouble and take up a lot less space underfoot than my mother's three miniature schnauzers who have a combined weight of 57 lbs. When it comes to greyhounds, three is certainly not a crowd. In fact, it might be the perfect number.