Wordless and Dreamy

Here Lie A Thousand Kisses

And here is where I'll place a thousand more.

A Holiday Greeting

Is it on me?

Crustacean Threat? Where?

Here is our guard dog Drive, alert and keeping an eye out for any intruders or threats!
None shall pass!
Okay, seriously? Do not ever expect a greyhound to guard anything other than a couch or a food bowl. You may be disappointed.

We're joining the blog hop again this week!

A Meaningful Look

This is the kind of expression that gets him squealed at and stuffed with cookies. He's not a brave dog or a smart dog or a young dog or even a particularly playful dog. But he's my best friend and my hero and when he makes faces like this I fall in love all over again.

It was this kind of woobie face that he made on the day we met, and then he gave exactly one uncertain wag of his tail as he looked nervously away. "Hi," his face said. "I don't know why I'm in here."

As it turns out, he was there because we needed each other.

Niblets

It's Too Early to Blog Hop

"But I s'pose I'd get up if there were donuts."
Welcome to our blog! We'll be right there.
Really.

Someone Has a Cold Nose

He Cares So Much

The intense love and focus evidenced in that shining eye are directed at the sandwich I am holding just out of reach.

And the Blog Hop, which I keep missing because November is just brutally busy:

Actually, there's no "may be" about it.

"Well, you can ask. But if you want Santa to bring you more trains, you need to start behaving nicely right now. Because frankly, my girl... You may be on the Naughty List."

Okay, so she's not what you'd call a "good" dog. But she's perfect anyway.

Cheek to Cheek

I Wasn't Wrong, Either.

It was that overbite, I think. When her hard luck abandonment story was posted on a forum and I clicked the link, prepared to be sad and regretful on her behalf, I saw those buck teeth.

And I knew we belonged together.

Bulldozer

Well of course I kissed that nose. Wouldn't you?

Words on Wednesday

On Patrol

I've mentioned before that Drive is my unofficial therapy dog and he's been working overtime for a couple of weeks now. I hope you'll forgive our minor unplanned hiatus. I've been spending a lot of time with my head pressed close to his and my arms around his neck. His velvet ears have soaked up so much of my misery and pain and his sweet brown eyes have calmed my nerves more times than I can count now.

Sometimes this happens, and I am grateful for the love and understanding that beams at me like sunlight determined to burn through closed curtains.

I have a different blog for the self-absorbed prattling about my brain and its various misfires, so I don't like to go into detail here. This one here though, while giving every appearance of being just cute pictures of my dogs, is a secret tribute to my heroes.


See, I was down in that well again.

And again, knowing what dogs are meant to do and knowing that Dog and Man are meant to live together this way, Drive and Lanie helped pull me out.

A Boy and his Egg Carton

"Can I take a picture of your dog?"

In the course of trick-or-treating in my hometown Saturday night, I was fortunate enough to meet these three lovely ladies. After sitting prettily for a picture or five, there was a torrid make-out session. Fortunately, their owner -- a complete stranger to me -- seemed to understand that he was dealing with a True Dog Lover. It didn't seem strange to him at all that I would sit on his steps and have a flirty conversation with his dogs.

Fly! Be Free!

We have three greyhounds. I can only assume that Lanie, our little brindle female, feels that is one too many. She loves to chew feverishly on Drive's leash, but only while he is attached to it. It doesn't interest her on its own. I sincerely believe she is trying to cut him loose.

Obviously Drive feels it is beneath his dignity to even acknowledge the antics of his sanity-challenged sister.

We're in the Blog Hop again this week. Thanks for stopping by! We love meeting new friends.

Thank Dog it's Friday

Friday Fact: Half a second before this shot, he looked majestic and noble, and then some blue jays got into a fight nearby, startling us both. I wasn't intentionally going for this artistic slant. Oh, well.

Actual Fact: Drive is older than he looks or acts, at a grand ten years of age. He was whelped July 3, 2000.

It's better this way.

Wordless Watery Wednesday

Coffee on a fall morning, plus a blog hop!

Time for another Saturday Pet Blogging Hop! It's a gorgeous New England fall day, and I think we're going to go outside in a while and appreciate a few rare moments of sunshine. For those of you less blessed with foliage, I will attempt to take pictures. Maybe I should take pictures of the giant piles of "blessing" I've been raking every day for a week now. Like snow, all the leaves are pretty -- until you have to deal with them!

The little girl trying to steal my coffee here is Kara-mel. She belongs to a wonderful friend of mine, and I love her. That's probably why I kept laughing and taking pictures instead of saving the coffee.

Wordless Wednesday

New Friends!

Today I met Stella.

Like all the greyhounds I've ever met, she has the most expressive, honest little face.

She knows how to have fun!
The lovely girl on the right is Kara-mel.

And she wasn't subtle about her feelings.

Good job, old man.

I want to take just a minute to thank everyone who had kind things to say as I fretted my way up to Bullie's annual vet appointment. It went very well.

He's lost a little weight in the year, but he settled in the back of the van happily with his human Dad there to hold him or catch him as necessary. Being fragile and unbalanced means lots of hugs!

On the way home we stopped at the "magic food window" and Bullie was thrilled with his life. As soon as we administered a cheeseburger, he forgot about his vaccinations immediately.

There's plenty of sparkle in his eyes still.

More dogs that are not greyhounds!

There's always some joker in the back making stupid faces.

Back on the Blog Hop!

I've been busy the past few Saturdays, but I'm happy I remembered to join the bog hop this week. Hi everyone!

The only thing on our agenda this weekend is Bullie's annual trip to the vet. We're honestly surprised to be making this trip, since we didn't expect him to make another year with us. He just turned 12 in June and he's still hanging in there. He can't stand for any length of time and he wobbles when he walks. He's had a few little accidents and he mostly sleeps except to eat a little and go potty outside.



I'm afraid he's going to get hurt. I'm afraid he'll fall and really injure himself and his last moments will be filled with trauma and pain. He's so fragile sometimes, but there's still a little light in his eyes. And today, he gets a cheeseburger and a ride in the van -- and someone sits in back with him, to keep him safe.

Wordless Wednesday Walkies

Streamlined

His ears are ridiculously far back on his head.

Friday Fact #1

I am posting this picture for no other reason than it never, ever fails to crack me up.

Friday Fact: Drive is male, in spite of his demure, princess-like beauty.

Stay!

He was too cute to walk past without snapping a picture, so I stopped and knelt down. He gave me this intrigued look and started to get up. With a memory card full of close-up snot-shots, I whispered, "No, no, stay down!" He relaxed.

I crept a few feet closer. He watched me, wagged his tail, and started to get up again. Because obviously I was coming to love him. I'm sure he had a day full of ooohs and aaaaahs, being this handsome. "No, baby! Lie down," I begged. So he did.

It took me about ten minutes to get where I wanted and take a few shots. When I put the camera down, I swear to you, he raised an eyebrow at me. (GSDs can do that, ask anyone who knows them.) I said, "It's cool, I'm all set."

And he tackled me.

Convenient

We call these "modesty flowers."

Wednesday Already?

Ki-lee

At Rest

Willow on Long Sands Beach

We walked up and down this beach, a group of folks with their greyhounds. It was amazing to see every hound's distinct reaction to the water. Drive regarded it with dismay and suspicion. Other dogs strained at their leads to get at the surf. I love the individuality of a dog.

Willow, an elderly and graceful lady in her teenage years, was not on leash. No need. She would amble a short distance after the crowd and then lie down. When the people returned along the shoreline, she heaved herself up once more to walk for perhaps a hundred yards before folding elegantly into repose and waiting. Patient and confident. At peace.

A Thought for Saturday Morning

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
Jimi Hendrix

I just helped. Your turn!

Do you have any idea how much a dog like this eats? I don't know myself, exactly, but I feel like it would be important to keep him fed.

For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19^th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

So I'm writing a post! If you haven't heard about this event, please check out the post on the Life With Dogs site here.

Twenty pounds is a lot of food. Maybe not for this guy...

Greater Northeastern Shadowhound

Good Morning, Bulldozer.

Scratched and Dented

I was relating some of Lanie's story to a friend today and it made me spend some time really appreciating how special my stripey-girl is. And brother, do I mean "special."

Oh, poor widdle baby.

Drive is making his woobie-face because it's 96 degrees outside and he had to go for a walk anyway. But you know what? So did I. So my sympathy is limited.

Proboscises

Drive

Lanie