Lab is ball spelled backwards
January 2, 2012 Autzen, Emma, pets 5 Comments
To our favorite goldens in BZTraining land, I really didn’t mean to call you a lab, as in black, brown or yellow. Really. Lab is just ball spelled backwards… it’s secret code for “Happy Dog.” And besides, you have to cut me some slack. I’m one of those sight hound people.
Happy park dog with ball/lab
Not so happy lab/ball because the grandmothers do not have a tennis ball
Happy dance down the beach to chase lab/ball
Happy water dance for lab/ball
Happy jump for joy lab/ball, even if it isn't a tennis ball. Bad grandmas.
Minto Belle, tale of a ball thief
January 1, 2012 Mickey, Minnie, Minto Brown Dog Park, pets 7 Comments
Minnie
We had planned to go out to the coast today. But you know, some days the best laid plans of mice and men go straight to the dogs. About a month ago Minnie got called into the e-vet to donate blood. Last night the e-vet called back saying that the same dog needed blood and even though it had only been a month, I felt that Minnie was healthy enough to handle another donation. Because this was the second donation even though she is a universal donor, they have to type and cross match the blood. It involved a different test. Her blood wasn’t going to work, so I took her home and grabbed Mickey.
Mickey
Mickey and Minnie are the last of our universal donors, all of the other greyhounds have aged out of donating blood. Mickey’s wasn’t going to work either. It was really sad for us, we couldn’t help this time. Not a good way to start the flipping new year.
By the time I got home, it was noon and a trip to the coast didn’t feel warranted.
We thought we would try to find a new place to shoot the sunset and headed down to Minto Brown Park in Salem. Every path we headed towards was closed due to high water and flooding. Minto Brown is well known in Salem for it’s dog park and we decided to just walk over there.
I hit pay dirt! There were millions (ok, a slight exaggeration) of happy dogs just running around.
Enter Minto Belle, the grand dame of ball thieves.
Belle
A drop-dead gorgeous five-year old golden retriever, was thrilled to see a camera to capture her beauty.
When she first approached us, she had an orange ball completely slobbered up. Her mom Dee laughed when she admitted it wasn’t Belle’s ball.
Note that this time Belle’s ball is not orange. She managed to confiscate some other pups ball.
Clearly Belle had no shame for her ball thievery, although I don’t think the other dog’s owners were thrilled with the trade. I found the entire event completely amusing. Greyhounds do not steal balls. It’s gotta be a lab thing.
I was like a kid in a candy store at the dog park. The people we met were fabulous and all of the dogs rocked my world.
Yep, this is the way to start a new year. If you want to see what a few of Salem’s other wonderful dogs look like, you can see them at terrijacobson.com
A greyhound party – the finale
October 4, 2011 greyhound, pets 8 Comments
When greyhounds gather, especially when they don’t live in a household with other greyhounds, they are always happy to see more greyhounds. Ears go up and tails wag. Then they remember why they really came. They can be quite poofy dogs. Fancy schmancy collars, coats with matching boots and fluffy beds fit for a king.
What are gently demanding? Where are the treats and where is the shopping?
Karen from Greyt Outdoors was there with her beautiful coats. The winter season is here and her coats are second to none.
This lucky hound went home sporting a little royal blue.
We can neither start nor end our working day without a cup of coffee. I guess we could be considered coffee snobs. We are also greyhound-aholics when it comes to shopping, so when we see anything that has a greyhound on it, our interest is peaked.
The greyhound coffee rocked the house. We bought a pound.
I saw lots of hounds prancing around with bright and colorful bandanas and their humans carried paper bags. I’m guessing every greyhound got their own goody bag. (Shush, we won’t tell our guys).
This beautiful wall hanging was part of the raffle. I’ll bet some lucky hound thought they were getting a new blankie.
And last, but certainly not the least, the 2012 greyhound calendars were hot off of the press and ready to sell.
This calendar is full of whimsey and fun. You can purchase on here.
Now this was a party Pacific northwest style.
When greyhounds bring their humans to a party
October 3, 2011 greyhound, pets 8 Comments
It’s a love fest. People love their greyhounds.
And greyhounds adore their people.
Greyhounds are very contagious. The highly infectious disease is called “chipping.”
In the beginning I was told that greyhounds are like potato chips, you can’t have just one.
This is a demonstration of human multitasking. You have to be able to carry on a conversation with a perfect stranger while untangling yourself in a “Twister” like fashion from multiple leashes and never miss a beat.
Greyhound humans are masters at this task, even when greyhounds become bookends not allowing their human any room to move.
When a gathering of greyhounds and humans come together, there is always a whole lot of flirting going on. It’s shameful I tell you.
New friends are made and the story swapping begins. Tales of races, weight, cats, beds, poops, kibble and collars… all are fair game for discussion when greyhounds bring their humans together for a party.
The finale is tomorrow.
Here are some of the other photos I posted of hounds and their humans: terrijacobson.com
Ya shoulda been there
October 2, 2011 greyhound, pets 8 Comments
They came from far and wide. Greyhounds love a good party.
And it was a perfect day for a picnic. Weather.com had threatened rain, but we merely had pleasant overcast skies. Not to hot, not to cold.
The best part for the volunteers was meeting up with old friends. This senior girlie is Jan and secretly I think the volunteer wanted to scoop her up and take her home but instead, she was happy to see Jan and even moire happy to know what a wonderful and loving home she had.
The men were back in the kitchen serving up the lunch. To the best of my knowledge, no greyhounds were served as the main dish.
One of the favorite booths… pedicures. I should have been in that line.
Looks like Apollo will be going home with silver tootsies.
Who wouldn’t want a pedicure when you get this type of loving? No wonder the greyhounds avoided the hot dog line and waited for pedicures.
Wanna know what else happened? You’ll just have to come back tomorrow.
Roxy’s swimming friends
September 24, 2011 hydrotherapy, pets, Roxy 8 Comments
Roxy
Today was Roxy’s swimming lessons and she thought she would introduce you to her friends this month.
Dakota
This is Dakota, she’s 15 just like Roxy. Yesterday was her first day, she was adorable and just rolled with the waves.
She wore a little life jacket as she paddled around the pool. She’s so little that she only had to swim back and forth a couple times to have as much exercise as Roxy.
Charlie
This handsome hound is Charlie. Yesterday was his first day at the pool. He’s recovering from surgery.
He really doesn’t like the water. He kept looking out at his humans, hoping beyond hope that they would end this madness.
Ryder
Ryder had a stroke about a month ago. He’s rehabbing at the pool. His spirit is amazing, he is such a happy little guy.
Jesse
Jesse is 13 years old. I love, love, love her face. It is so soft and gentle, just like her.
Her beauty demands that she not get her face wet.
Emily
And last but not least, the elusive Emily. Every week I watch her from across the room. She’s the wise one and oh so beautiful. She was a little camera shy, I laid down in pool water to get an image that would really capture her wisdom and beauty.
But when a treat is waved in front of her nose, her attention came right to me. Or at least my direction since the treat was over by me.
Good Golly Miss Molly
September 18, 2011 greyhound, pets 6 Comments
Molly
Debby adopted Molly from our group about 1 1/2 years ago and I have been promising to get over and take pictures. We made it over there today and what a delightful hound Molly is.
My first thought was OMG, this dog looks just like Flocko. My second thought was who loves who more. Molly was velcroed to Debby’s side nearly the entire time we were there.
It was a perfect day for photos in the backyard and Molly was ready to show off, that was until some mysterious injury happened to her paw. She wanted in the house and nothing else was going to substitute.
The entire time we were there Molly stayed close to mom. It was a true mutual admiration society.
Molly did leave Debby’s side for a few minutes when she realized Karen had one of her squeaky toys.
The rousing game of tug-o’-war was entertaining to Molly for just a few minutes.
And then, it was right back to Debby’s side.
Molly is one happy greyhound. Despite her reluctance to leave Debby’s side, she was smiling the whole time we were there and was eager for an ear scritch or two from us.
When we drove into the driveway, Molly was peering out the window with these fabulous ears. I wanted to capture that look more than anything else.
Meet Molly.
Moving targets
September 17, 2011 pets 11 Comments
Rosie
I am fairly certain that it would be no surprise to anyone to know that when I grow up, I want to be a dog photographer.
When a friend on campus popped into my office the other day to show off the pictures of his 10-week old basset hound puppy, I’m pretty sure I began to drool, practically throwing myself at his feet begging to take puppy pictures.
A moving target
I am not a stranger to basset hounds. When I met Karen, she had a basset hound named Lucee and she was with us until old age got the better of her at 16 years old. I experienced many a walk with Lucee and she had two speeds, slow and stall. Since my experience with puppies is really limited, I thought puppy plus Lucee equals a slower shutter speed.
Ha, ha, the joke was on me and I was re-evaluating on the fly.
Like all puppies, her world was full of curiosity and caution. At first glance I should have been just another friendly human wanting to love the puppy, but I came with a big black mask and one eyeball. I’m sure she had a few reservations about me.
In true puppy fashion, when she was awake, she was ready for action.
She already has that nose to the ground basset mind.
And a face that totally turned me into a puddle of goo. I guess that is why they call it puppy love.
I enjoy several pet blogs on a daily basis. Just last week Dog By Nature had pictures of a puppy posted. I got a chuckle out her last paragraph and thought I would borrow it for this post.
Warning: Cute puppies may cause Puppy Amnesia. Symptoms include the inability to remember the following: chewing, digging, sharp little puppy teeth, bites, lack of sleep, house training, jumping, general spaziness and becoming a big dog. Will require: tons of exercise, plenty of food and water, toys, vaccines, vet bills, love and attention. Always exercise extreme caution when considering a puppy. Is a life long commitment.
