Parading with the Big Dogs

This weekend, we went to the Big Dog Parade. Odd phenomenon, that one. The concept is simple enough: dress up your dog and walk through the streets as part of the procession. However, that little synopsis hardly does this even justice, and that would be because there are some incredibly creative people in the world. Here is a sampling of some of my favorites.

Here, a Spuds Mackensie lookalike rides a bike in a most uncomfortable-looking position. Regardless of how uncomfortable it looks, I can attest he hung out there for at least the five minutes we could see him.

I loved the giant dog dressed up like a clydesdale, and accessorily, I loved the mini-kegs in the back of his wagon. Hee hee!

The retired greyhound group was too cute dressed as busses and RVs. Winnegreygo is a surprisingly funny word to say out loud. Go ahead and try it.

Apparently, if you don't want to dress up your dog, you can just paint him. It was a good paint job, too, since I had to do a double-take to be sure what I was seeing.

Token hot dog costume. Someone had to do it, and I'm glad they did.

One group emphasizing the need for environmental awareness wore shirts saying "Reduce your carbon paw print", and hooked up a passal of dogs to this makeshift car they named the Hounda (there were several other puns around this one, but now I don't remember them). I put more info here, because I know my picture didn't turn out that well.

Anyway, the point was that it was fun. There were a lot of zany costumes, and some where the people looked funnier than the dogs, but most of them made me laugh in one way or the other. I don't think I would be one of those people that dresses up her pets, but for something like this I could make an exception. How about you -- would you dress up your dog or cat? Any fun ideas for funny pet costumes?

Life Without A Dog

It's been a while now since we had a pet in the house. Shiner went to a new, permanent home back in August, and we've been dogless ever since. I have to admit that it makes me sad to not have a compelling reason to come home after work. I know he was destructive, and gave us cause for concern, but he was a sweetheart, and I miss him.

That's all. And with moving, likely to a rented place first, it'll be a while before we're in a position to have one again. Anyone want to share their's with me for a week or two?

The Devil Dog

We have decided that our sweet Shiner is the Devil Incarnate. I present for you the evidence:

• He has a forked tongue, much like a snake or a lizard or other Satanic-ish animal. It looks like it's probably a birth defect, rather than an old injury, because the two halves are wider than one tongue. But there it is: about an inch of split tongue-ness.


• He kills small animals and eats them for breakfast. Or lunch or dinner. So far, his body count sits at 5 -- 1 possum, 1 cat, 3 birds. That we know about. He is a terror on the furry little animals, and the neighbor dogs greet him with barking meant for a gladiator-esque scene. I think they enjoy the bloodsport that our back yard provides as entertainment.


• He makes Darth Vader noises. We haven't fed him out of a food bowl since his first week here. Instead, we feed him out of a plastic ball that he rolls around for a half-hour or so to sprinkle food out on the floor. He has learned to bring the ball to us when we tell him to, but when we walks around with it in his mouth, his breathing sounds like Darth Vader in his mask.

Okay, so it may not be the most compelling information ever, but he does seem to exude Death everywhere he goes. Maybe he's a Death Dog, instead of a Devil Dog.

The Killer Revealed

Shiner is a documented attacker of cats. Last night he had his first kill.

I let him out in the back yard, and he made a beeline for the fence. He returned with something fluffy in his mouth, and I got him to drop it. But it didn't get up and run away like the last time. My heart sank...which neighbor do I have to go tell that my dog ate their cat?

I got Shiner back in the house and away from his prize. It was late, so I got out the flashlight and went to check it out. It wasn't a cat -- it looked more like an enormous rat with huge teeth. That's right, Shiner killed himself a possum. Now, some people think possums may actually be smart, but I mostly think they are what they look like -- enormous rats. So, once I saw I wasn't going to have to apologize that some other cat wandered into our yard like an idiot, I was very pleased with Shiner. He got treats and loving, but he didn't get to eat his possum. They have random icky diseases that I'd rather not have to take Shiner to the vet for.

Oh won't the sanitation engineers have fun with my trash this week!

Special Needs Dog

I recently wrote up my paragraph on why someone should adopt Shiner for the website describing the available dogs at this time. I went to the site and saw Rufus' story. As I read his description, I realized this was the dog that was originally slated to come to my house, instead of Shiner. Having been out of the fostering realm for a couple of years, I don't think that would have been the best way to start back in. Thankfully, the foster coordinators saw the better plan and gave us Shiner for the time being. And he's been a joy.

Shiner Update

I know I haven't spoken about the dog lately, so I thought I'd provide a bit of an update. After eating me out of house and home -- I mean, eating my house and home -- he's settled down quite a bit. I am tentatively calling him housetrained (no accidents in 2 days). He is not jumping up on people anymore, and we've found better outlets for his energy during the day when we're not home. Here's hoping he's done chewing on random fluffy things around the house. I'm running out of fluffy things for him to find.

Speaking of fluffy things...

A feral cat was in our back yard when we let Shiner out this evening. The cat ran immediately for the fence to get away, but Shiner was a little too fast, and caught up before the cat escaped. When I got to him, he had the cat by the neck and was shaking it furiously. I got his attention, and the cat managed to get away. That may be the end of our feral cat problems in our yard. And, I think I can safely declare Shiner "Not Cat Friendly." Danger to all cat-kind seems more appropriate.

This probably confirms something we suspected about Shiner's background. As a shelter rescue whose tatoos are illegible, we don't have anything definitive about the kennel where he was bred or any racing history. And since most kennels keep a pretty good handle on their animals, we thought he might have been a coursing dog. In racetrack racing, dogs are baited with a mechanical rabbit (usually just a tail attached to the inside of the oval), and they chase that, but don't catch it. In illegal coursing, the owners use live rabbits in an open field. The dog who catches/kills the rabbit is the winner. These dogs tend to be less able to happily coexist with small animals and maybe children.

I better see if I can't find a really strong muzzle for him before I attempt the introduction to small children. And maybe I shouldn't warn their mothers that I'm experimenting with their kids. I wonder, after 5 dogs, if my neighbor realizes how many times I've tried her son out as my small child measuring stick. Is that wrong? If I told people that I was testing with their kids, would anyone let me find out if this dog is okay to be adopted to a family with children?

Shiner Joins the Household

No, not the beer. Though there might be a few bottles in the fridge.

Shiner is a two-year-old brindle greyhound that just came to live with us this morning. We are fostering him to figure him out and hopefully find him a great home in the process. This is one of the first dogs I've ever worked with that is straight from the kennel to a home. Adjusting them to pet life from the racing world can be difficult. I'll let you know if anything particularly amusing occurs during the first few weeks. Otherwise it will likely be the accidents and the chewing and the general acclamation to living as a pet and not in a crate.

He seems to mostly be in pretty good shape. He's got some dry skin, and he's really skinny. Now, greyhounds look skinny anyway to people that are familiar with other big dogs like labs and retrievers. You are supposed to be able to see two ribs -- any less than that, and they are fat and bearing too much weight on their little legs. I can see 7 of Shiner's ribs. So, some fattening is in his future.

He was neutered 2 weeks ago, so at some point, I'm supposed to check and see if his stitches have already been removed, and take them out if not. Hmmmm...Welcome to the family...now spread 'em...and I need my scissors. We'll see how that goes.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is New Year's Day, in the Chinese zodiac calendar. We mark the change from the year of the Rooster to the year of the Dog. Woof!

Wanting a Dog

It's been two years since our greyhound, Geiger, died. She was the sweetest dog, if not real smart. She was old, and it was time for her to go, but it was still hard. Now that I'm traveling less for work, and my husband is done with school, it seemed like a good time to get another dog. We combed the internet, that ready source of all, um, knowledge, to try to figure out the perfect dog breed for our lifestyle. You can do that with dogs, you know. Not with kids, but with dogs. Apparently, the perfect dog for us is the Hungarian Visla. Ever heard of one? The closest place we can get one is Dallas.

I personally would like to go back to fostering greyhounds until we find the one with the temperament that fits us, and adopt it. Greyhounds are such sweet dogs, and fulfill my desire for a cat (please leave your comments about crazy cat ladies down the street at home). They have very short hair and a penchant for cleaning themselves that means you only have to bathe them every month or two. They "take retirement very seriously", meaning you don't have to walk them very often either. By the time Geiger was 10, she not only did not require a walk (not that she required more than 10-15 minutes before that), if you wanted to go for a longer walk than around the block, she would lay down in the grass and refuse to go any further. So, they are low maintenance. But, you also get all the great things about a dog -- the way they are so excited to see you when you come home, even if you're just coming back in from getting the mail. They want to be around you, and tend to get into things, which is endearing.

Fostering would be so hard, you say? No, no, it's not. We've fostered 3 so far, and I've been happy to see them find homes. The great thing about fostering a rescued greyhound is that you get to know them, to characterize them, and help them find a good loving home. Then there are more greyhound evangelists out there. Did you know they can find homes for 20-25,000 dogs each year that are discharged from the racetrack system? However, there are easily twice that many that are killed each year and never given the opportunity to laze around on a soft bed and bounce around happily when their owners come home.

So get a dog already!!! But then we started down this remodeling path, and now doesn't seem like such a perfect time for a dog. We'll have a kitchen that's a mess and potentially dangerous construction materials everywhere. So, I guess we'll have to wait. But I know my dog is out there, just waiting for me.