Hunger for Knowledge

When we first got Seka we never left the house, not even for 10 minutes, without crating her. She has always loved her crate and it seemed to help the panic she felt when we left her alone. It was her own little cave, with specialty bedding.

When Roxy was added to the pack, we continued with our crating ways, and while she doesn't love her crate like Seka does, she doesn't mind it either. I guess she doesn't like the color of her bedspread. But somewhere along the way, we started leaving the girls out when we left the house for short periods of time. You know, a short trip to the grocery store. A quick drive to get drive-thru. A little romp to the mall. Nothing more than a couple of hours.

The exception to this rule is during thunder storms. If there are storms in the area and we know about them ahead of time, the girls are left loose in the house - mostly because Roxy doesn't do well in a crate during a storm. I know that I would come home to a shaking, bleeding dog outside of a totally dismantled crate. So when we left to go to a play on Sunday night that would cause us to be out of the house for six hours and we were in the middle of a nasty storm, I really didn't have a choice but to leave her out.

Now, I have heard horrible stories about greyhound owners coming home to a house that looked like a frat party had been held while they were gone. Others have shared that they come home to find their dog injured - including compact fractures and blood all over the house. But when you crate you pretty much know what to expect when you walk in the door. When you don't it really is a crap shoot.

I guess we we've been lucky and were lucky on Sunday night that no frat party was held at our home. Instead some crazy grey-nerds preferred to hold a book club meeting. I'm assuming that someone didn't like the subject matter of the book that I was reading, since the first 170 pages were destroyed and ripped to shreds. The good news - I was on page 179. Despite the teeth marks in the binding, I'm golden.

Needless to say we're back to our crating routine and I'll just figure out something to do with her during potential storm days. As for the greyhound book club meetings, they may have to be supervised from now on, but it was clear that this author received two dewclaws down.

OMD

It's Mother's Day on Sunday. One of my favorite memories was going to the Family Mart grocery store and picking out a huge orchid corsage for my mother to wear to church and out to lunch for her special day. She hated it. Hated ever second of wearing it. But she did it for us.

I doubt I will ever be forced to wear a giant orchid corsage in public, unless one of my single friends gets married and has a retro sense of floral design. But that doesn't mean I can't be recognized as a mother. I mother my two girls (to death) daily. Feeding them nutritious food. Caring for their needs. Making sure they are comfortable and happy. Looking for ways for them to have fun. To me it sounds a lot like what my friends who have human children do daily. I just have the luxury of putting them in a crate for a few hours when I want to go to the store.

My Mother In Law recognized all I do for her grand-dogs and sent me a great gift, Beth Ostrosky Stern's new book, Oh, My Dog. This is a resource book for every aspect of raising your dog. From selecting the right breed and potty training to nutrition and preparing to let your pet go, this book was created with the help of leading experts in the veterinary, behavior and training fields.

While I've only had this book for a couple of days, I was really impressed with the nutrition section -  teaching readers how to read the back of a dog food bag, understanding the importance of keeping your dog at the correct weight and how to brush your pup's teeth correctly. She even talks about BARF diets. That's when I knew it was a complete guide. She also advocates for adoption and not shopping for a dog.

The best part, 100% of the profits go to the North Shore Animal League, of which Beth is the national spokesperson and a very dedicated, hands-on volunteer.

So don't forget your dog's mom this Mother's Day. Oh, My Dog is a great way to tell her you appreciate everything you do for your four-legged BFF. And it won't make her look crazy wearing an ugly corsage.


PS: Yes, Beth is Howard Stern's beautiful wife. Ba Ba Booey!

I'm Batman

It is officially spring/summer! How do I know? Bruce is back! Bruce is our brown bat that lives alone in the eve of our deck covering. Every year he comes back to spend the warm months eating our bugs and looking extra cute as he relaxes during the day. As the weather starts to get warmer Kev and I start looking in his little summer home daily to await his arrival. He's so cute I have to really control myself not to try and pet him.

Inspired

I've been following Yes I Know My Dogs Look Funny's blog for a few months now and I'm inspired by she and Girly Girl's fight with OC. Her online diary really speaks to me in so many ways, including my fear of losing one of my girls at a young age and wondering what decision I would make if either of them was diagnosed with this horrible disease. Thanks to her blog, I found my new favorite greyhound artist, Beth Wade.

Beth's work is inspirational. Mixed metal jewelry is the main focus, but in exploring her site and Facebook fan page I found the most amazing portrait quilts of her greys. I've always wanted to try portrait quilting, but I've never been good at applique, which this method requires a lot of. But the more I look at her pieces the more I want to try to capture Seka's dreamy eyes or Roxy's quirky smile in fabric.

I've thought of ways to keep my girls with me when they are no longer here. I've planned a tattoo of Seka's 3-toed paw and ear number somewhere. Maybe I'll add each dog's ear tattoo to my body art as we adopt and care for more greys. I love the necklace Denise had made in memorial of Spooky. It's on my list as well when the time comes. But, I'm currently looking for some sort of charms for a necklace to remind me of my girls when I can't see them - whether that's traveling for work or play.

I have decided to give this portrait quilting a try. I'll be sure to post my progress, but until then I will just marvel at the artistry and be inspired by Beth's work.

Swing Batta Batta Swing...

At GBD we are huge baseball fans, specifically we are members of Red Sox Nation. The last three vacations we took during baseball season (which includes spring training) we planned around seeing the Red Sox play. I'm one of the few girls that knows how to keep score at a game (and I don't mean knowing how to read the scoreboard). Kevin was an official scorer for a Braves minor league team for 10 years and even was one of the official scorers for the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. I worked in game promotions for a minor league club for a few summers.

There's been a trendy promotion recently embraced by major league parks across the country: Bark at the Park. Bring your dog to a baseball game. Our family has attended several of these events and everyone enjoys themselves - including the girls. They have special cooling pools, water, treats and prizes all for the four-legged attendees. We've already made our plans to attend the 2010 Bark at the Park at Turner Field on Sunday, May 2. 

When I saw this video on Yahoo, all I could think was, "thank goodness that wasn't a greyhound." They never would have caught this little escape artist!

 

Dog Poops on Field During Naturals Game @ Yahoo! Video

Walk it Out

Spring has sprung in the South. Everything is covered in green: the trees, the grass, my car (thank you pollen). You can't help but be cheerful when all this life is around you.

The warm weather and longer days also mean morning and/or late evening walks for the girls. Seka and Roxy are wusses when it comes to cold weather. I guess they take after me. I hate being cold. Even air conditioning in the dead of summer can be too much for me and I drag a hoodie with me everywhere I go. Roxy needs a jacket, pjs or a blanket when the air conditioning is going full blast in July. So even when it is 90 degrees at 7a, we like the warmth.

For the most part, I like walking the girls. Let me clarify, I like walking Roxy. She loves taking various routes around the neighborhood and will go as long as I ask her to. She only freaks out when the UPS truck passes us.

Seka, on the other hand, divides her walking behavior into thirds. For the first 1/3 of the walk she is horrible. I don't know what it is that makes it necessary for her to mark EVERYTHING she passes. We can't get more than five feet before she is sniffing and squatting. Sometimes no amount of correction will call her off whatever sent she catches a whiff of. After dragging her away from 10 different spots that she has to mark, she gives up and decides to enjoy walking for the next 1/3 of our route without too much distraction. Then the last 1/3 of the walk she decides to stop and do her best mule impression in the middle of the road. She just decides that she's done, no matter what Roxy and I prefer to do.

I carry treats and use it for reinforcement at the cue "keep it up." I only treat her when she is in motion and doing as I ask. But eating cookies as you walk kind of defeats the purpose. I think I'm going to start using a coupler and see if Roxy can encourage Seka to "keep it up" with some sisterly encouragement.

No matte how frustrating Seka's stubborn streak can be, I cherish the time we are out together. I guess Seka thinks we're like Hansel and Gretel, leaving her own brand of bread crumbs, so we can be sure to find our way home.

It's A Good Thing

I was an early Martha Stewart fan. Pre-orange jumpsuit Martha. If you asked my college roommates, they would tell you I worshiped her. I memorized every page of Martha Stewart Living. I saved every issue. I bought her fabulous Weddings editions, even when I didn't have a wedding to plan. I forced my friends to try just about every crafty idea published each month. I made everything from wreaths to cookies. When Martha went to prison, my girlfriends sent me sympathy cards, and I knitted a version of the poncho she created while incarcerated.

I mentioned before that I come from a crafty family. Knitting is my thing. I think it's in my genes as my grandmother could create anything and one of my aunts is a master knitter (yes, there is such a thing). For as long as I have been knitting, I've wanted to make a greyhound. There are plenty of crochet patterns for life-sized and toy greyhounds. I've even bid on a finished one at an auction. However, I really wanted to find a pattern to knit one of my own.

I Hate Toast sent me a pattern for a knitted mini-greyhound and totally renewed my knitting mo-jo. I created this little bugger from the HotDiggerdy Dog pattern in just three nights of knitting and one long evening of seaming. It was the perfect compliment to my Winter Olympics viewing.

The funny thing is, while I was knitting the girls could have cared less about the knitted mini-me creation. But once he was all stuffed and seamed together, I had to watch them like a hawk or else this little guy would have been shaken and disassembled in about one minute. My girls are very careful with their toys. Only a couple in their stash lack squeakers (all due to visiting dogs), and they have never disemboweled a stuffy. But for some reason, this little guy has their number, and I've caught Roxy and Seka prancing around with him in their mouths getting ready to move in for the kill.

I need a name for him, and I think I will take junior with me on vacation to remind me of my girls.  It's a good thing.

P.S. Seka has demanded a black version so that she will be represented as well.