Sleeping with Seka

The Most Interesting Man in the World Loves Greyhounds

The latest in the Most Interesting Man in the World series includes serious screen time for a pack of greyhounds. In the first 10 seconds of this Dos Equis commercial there are a number of handsom needle noses. The hound that scored the close up reminds me of Jen's Travis.

Enjoy and remember: "stay thirsty my friends."




Update: I've been informed that the shot is actually a mix of greys and whippets and the close up is actually a whippet named Poly. Rumor has it, it took 10 hours on set to get that 10 seconds in the commercial. You know that it must have been like putting bullfrogs in a wheelbarrow for those 10 hours.

Super Mushy

An old greyhound trainer (by the way, is there such thing as a young greyhound trainer?) once told me that he gave his dogs a marshmallow and half of a banana when they came back to the kennel after a race. While the dogs associate this special treat as a post-race celebration, there is actual science behind this practice. Greyhounds' blood sugar drops dramatically during an all out sprint. Feeding some sort of simple sugar within 30 minutes after exertion will help stabilize their blood chemistry. The banana is to replace the potassium they lose during a run. Some also feed a small amount of protein, like raw hamburger, to help with recovery.

I like to believe that Roxy received treats like this in her successful racing days, but I highly doubt it since the first time I gave her a marshmallow she didn't know what to do with it. She eventually figured it out, with a little help from Seka, and giving the girls a mushy at bedtime has become a nightly ritual.

While replenishing our mushy supply today I found GIANT marshmallows intended for campfire use. I'm not sure why these crazy-sized balls of sugar are especially good for outdoor use, as I think it would take way too much time to properly scorch them in a fire, but I did think it would be fun to buy a bag and see what greyhounds would do with a marshmallow six times the size of their mouths.

The verdict, Seka can eat a super-sized mushy as fast as she does a jumbo and Roxy might choke without adult supervision and/or cutting it into bite sized pieces. 

Bruce is Back

It is the first sign that hot weather is here to stay. Bruce has arrived.

The cool thing about Bruce (Bruce as in Bruce Wayne), he chills alone. He's a rogue bat. The black sheep of his bat family. This is the fourth summer he has returned. He'll be hanging out until at least October. I always have to check myself so that I don't reach up and pat his little head.

Monkey Riding Dogs

Seriously, I am planning my vacation around the Team Ghost Riders's appearance schedule this summer. I cannot think of anything better than watching cowboy monkeys, riding border collies, herding goats on a baseball field. Boy I hope at least one of these appearances is on a Thirsty Thursday (2 for 1 beer, for those of you not familiar with the world of minor league baseball). After you watch this video, you will want to go too!

Now, does anyone thing I could get Jen on board to help me train monkeys to ride greyhounds in little jockey outfits? I think I've found my retirement plan.

Barefeet

If you were born and raised in the deep south, then you're probably like me. I prefer to go barefoot - especially outside. My neighbors marvel at my ability to walk on asphalt that is well over 100 degrees in the dead of summer without shoes. I mean, why would I put on shoes to go get the mail?  Gravel, sand, acorns, dirt - it really doesn't matter the surface, I prefer to be one with the earth. I know this comes from my southern roots, and since I live in the country, I continue to embrace this behavior. And yes, I wash my feet.

For the past 8 months Seka has been going barefoot too. No boot. No sock. No nothin' on that bad back foot. We've hiked a couple of trails. We've walked on the local paved greenway. We've strutted our stuff around the neighborhood. All without the support of that therapaw. She has proven that she is like her mother - barefoot is the way to go.

Unfortunately, and rather suddenly, she stopped using her back left leg all together this past week. After I've had several greyhound friends either lose a dog or have a cancer scare in the past month, I freaked the f out (to put it lightly). So off to Doctor Hottie we go.

We did a set of x-rays of her hips, leg, knees and toes. And because I spend so much money at their practice I am Dr. Hottie's favorite, he did x-rays of her chest and stomach to calm my nerves about that scary C word (which were all clear btw).

While comparing her x-rays from 2009 with the new ones we could see that the space where her missing toe once was was free of chips, which was our initial thought based on how she presented. That's good. What it did show is that her outside toe has actually twisted and started to grow over the top of the sesamoid bones of the missing toe. Ouch. She also had a small, old break in that outside toe and a lot of arthritis. Seriously, the GBD has a bunion that would rival that of any broke-down prima ballerina.

She's not a surgical candidate since her missing toe was a weight baring toe and removing the outside toe on that foot may make her not be able to use it again and put too much stress on her hips. There's nothing to do but try to reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain. Now we're on a Rymadyl/Tramadol cocktail. I'm cautiously pleased to report that after just three days of treatment, she seems more comfortable. She won't run in the backyard yet, but she is using it, which is a good start.

I hope we can get back to our walks soon. I'd like to get at least 5 lbs off of both of us this summer, but that'll be hard without some form of exercise. I feel like the pool may be calling her name!

PS:  I do wear shoes when walking her in the neighborhood. I'm not one of those crazy barefoot runners you see in Central Park, dodging hypodermic needles. And even if I decided to go shoeless all I would dodge here are beer cans and the occasional snake in the road.

Imprisoned

Thanks to a leaky tub from 1978, our master bathroom is being redone. While home improvement is exciting, I didn't marry a handy man. In fact, I'm Miss Fix It around our house. But there's only so much a girl can do without supervision and removing an ancient fiberglass tub insert and creating an awesome tiled tub isn't in my wheelhouse. So it appears we will have a few visitors in the house for the next five days.

Roxy wants to help. Or she just wants to see for herself what is making all that damned noise. She longingly looks at her prison bars (x-pen) looking for any way out. She is jealous of the cats who have figured out how to slip behind the furniture to break in and out of our makeshift jail cell. I seriously believe that today she wishes she were skinnier. Don't we all, girl. Don't we all.

Seka, on the other hand, has found her own solution to the noisy workers upstairs.