My Side of the Story

Dear Readers,

If you read my Mom's blog, you'll see her biased account of something that happened at my house a few days ago. I think I need to set the record straight on why I had to wear this silly hat.

My Dad came home and he had the biggest bag of treats and toys I've ever seen since I've lived here. I couldn't believe my luck! I got very excited, and Dad was excited too. He took some tasty jerky of the bag and I knew if was for me, so I jumped up and took it to show him how happy I was. Well, he wasn't expecting that and didn't like it much.

I know now that this is what people call "bad manners". Bad manners happen sometimes when you get excited and forget the best way to behave. I wasn't trying to be naughty, I promise. My people put me in time out for a while, and then they made me wear this hat and pose for this picture. I took it like a man, even though they made me wait a LONG TIME for my new toy, and then the people said it was ok but I'm not allowed to jump up anymore. Then we had a snuggle and I went to bed a wiser hound.

You learn something new every day around here! If you don't, they might make you wear a silly hat and go to time out.

Love,

Hoover

The Joy of Hairy Thighs!

Hello Readers,

Guess what? My Mom is pretty excited about this, and maybe you will be, too. My thighs are almost totally covered with fur now! Just it time, too, because it's pretty chilly this morning.

Now if I just had a little more hair on my belly, I'd be even happier.

Love, Hoover

My Top Ten

Dear Mom & Dad,

Now that I've been here a while, I thought I'd tell you the things I like most about retirement and living at home.

1. Sleeping on the sofa
2. Being petted
3. My toys
4. Bruno’s toys
5. When someone tells me I’m a good boy
6. Going for walks
7. Going for a ride in the car
8. Playing fetch
9. Things that squeak
10. Breakfast, Dinner, Snacks & Treats

This isn't a complete list, but there's just so much to like about this lifestyle. If I'd have known how great it is to be retired, I would have run really, REALLY slow in ALL my races!

Love,

Hoover

PS – A couple of things I don’t like much: toenail trims, ear cleaning, and being squirted with water when I’m “naughty”. I don’t even know what naughty is, so if we could stop doing these three things and replace them with going for rides, playing fetch, and snacks that would be great!

Thanks for Being My Pal

Dear Hoover,

It's me, Bruno. Remember when I sent you my list of tips before you came to our house? I mentioned that I was tired of being the only fur kid in this house, and that I missed my brother Cosmo. I still miss Cosmo, and I wish he would come back and nap with me again, but I'm glad you're here with me.

You're a good brother, and a good pal. You make Mom and Dad and the other guys happy, too. Have you noticed that the happier they are, the more toys and treats we get? Keep up the good work, buddy.

I love you, man!

Bruno

Daddy's Boy

Hello Readers!

I've got to admit it...I'm a bit of a Daddy's boy! Here's a great picture of my super-cool Dad, and that's me on his lap. I like my Dad because he always asks me how my day was, and he sometimes gives me my dinner, and he always throws my toys for me. He also lets me sit in this chair, which is LEATHER (apparently LEATHER is pretty cool).

As far as the rest of the family goes, they're pretty nice. My brothers play with me and my Mom lets me on the bed when Dad isn't looking. I like it here and I think I'll stay.

Love,

Hoover

I Love BARF!

Hello Readers,

It's me, Hoover. I just wanted to drop you all a quick note to let you know that I love BARF. Before you start thinking that I'm gross, let me clarify. BARF stands for Bones and Raw Food, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (see how smart I am?). Well, my Mom & Dad have started giving me raw chicken backs and other stuff instead of boring kibble, and it's fabulous! Today I ate chicken backs and an apple, and I hear that I'm going to have some turkey necks, pureed veggies, kelp supplement with yogurt, and all kinds of great stuff. Bruno won't eat any raw meat, but I don't think he knows what he's missing! Oh well, someone has to eat all that kibble.

Well, I have to go hide my toys throughout the house now. I'll write more later.

Love,

Hoover

Hoover's Update

Hello Everyone,

It's me, Hoover. I've been with my new family for almost a week now, and I wanted to give you all an update on how things are going. Things have changed since I stayed with the Jordans, and I miss them, but it's pretty nice here.

On Saturday, my new Mom & Dad bought me new bed and it's SO fluffy and comfortable. That's where I sleep at night, right next to good old Bruno. On Saturday night Mom went to a wine tasting and she came back with a monkey she called Jethro. Jethro was a present to me from my foster Grandma Graves. Thank you, Grandma! I love Jethro so much that I carry him around, I sleep with him, and I toss him up in the air and catch him in my mouth. I also like tennis balls, rope bones, and pig ears, but I like my baby Jethro best. Here's a picture for you to enjoy. I'm the handsome one!



I haven't done any of the "training" that Bruno mentioned in his letter, but I guess that's something I'll get to do later.

Overall, I like this place. The people are pretty nice and so is Bruno. Well, I'm going to go find Jethro now, and I'll write more later.

Love,

Hoover

Bruno's Tips

Hey Hoover,

It’s me, Bruno. Hurry up and get here, will ya? I’m losing my mind over here. When I first came here, I had the coolest buddy, and we used to lay around together, get crazy when people came home, we went outside together – we did everything together. Well, now I’m alone here, and frankly, it’s not working for me. That’s where you come in. We’re going to have a lot of fun together once we get used to each other.

Before you get here, though, I have a few pointers for you.

The lady in the picture here is our Mom. See how she’s hugging me in the picture? You can’t get out of it, so get used to it. But what you can’t tell in the picture is that I’m on the couch, so there are tradeoffs for everything. A couple of other things about Mom: she keeps pig ears under the sink, AND she’ll give you a liver treat when you come inside if you do your “business”.

The other people here are pretty nice, too. When Dad comes home he says, “Hello, Bruno…you’re a really good boy, Bruno. Did you have a good day, Bruno?” He talks really loud when he’s excited like this. I guess he really likes coming home. The other guys let me chase them outside sometimes, and they like to hear me roo, so you should roo sometimes.

Sometimes there might be mix up and we might get breakfast twice. That’s happened to me a couple of times since I’ve been here. If it happens too many times, though, your ribs won’t show and then the lady will put you on a “diet”. Avoid getting on a diet if you can, because it’s a real drag.

Sometimes you’ll play a game called, “Training”. This game involves a clicker, a bag of treats, and a leash. The people want you to do certain things, and when you finally figure out what they want and you do it, they click the clicker and give you a treat and tell you you’re a good boy. Oh, and if they say, “Hoover, Front!”, you should come back to them. They will give you a lot of treats for that.

I don’t know what countersurfing is, but don’t do it. The dog school teacher lady taught all the humans how to stop countersurfing. If this is something you like to do, get it out of your system before you get here because the trick sounds scary.

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. Just get here as soon as you can. I think I heard Mom say something about buying some stuffies and a Kong for you. I don’t like stuffies but you haven’t lived until you’ve had a Kong full of frozen vegetable beef soup outside on a hot day. It is SO refreshing!

See ya soon, buddy!

Bruno

You've Already Got a Nickname!

Hi Hoover,

Remember me? I'm the lady who came to see you last week, the one you charmed with your wagging tail and sneaky kisses. Well, I know you've really been enjoying yourself with the Jordan humans and hounds, and I hope you'll like it at our house, too. We can't wait to welcome you home on Saturday, and you've already got a nickname at our house: Groovy Hoovy.

I can't wait to see you, big boy!

Love,

Your Forever Mom

Catfish and Cows and Frogs - Oh, My!

Yesterday I took Hyatt and Shelly the beagle on a fun walk to the catfish pond. (Wish I could have taken Cosmo and Mr. Spock as well, but two hounds was enough - sorry, Caesar!) Impressively, Hyatt never tried to chase any cows on the way to and from the pond. He walks very well on the leash.

We stopped at the edge of the pond. I wanted to see Hyatt's reaction to the water. He took a few steps toward it but wasn't too interested. Maybe he would have been if I had gone right up to the water myself. It was kind of mucky from the cows. We saw tons of tiny frogs. I'm not sure what kind they were, but I'm sure they contribute to the frog chorus we often hear. Hyatt liked watching them hop around.

Hiya, Hyatt!

Yesterday my Aunt Betty (the one I'm named for) visited all the way from Texas. She enjoyed meeting Hyatt and agreed that he is a big sweetie and very adoptable! I thought about trying to convince her to adopt him herself, but Hyatt is a little too big for her suitcase.

Do I Have to Get Up?

All is well on the Hyatt front! He is so sweet. He especially enjoys a good tummy rub.

Last night when it was time to go to bed, which involves sending all of the dogs to the basement for the night, Robert called Hyatt. Hyatt stood up for few seconds and then plopped back down as if to say, "Aw, it's not worth getting up!" He was a good boy, though, and came when Robert called him again.

New Beds

New greyhound beds have arrived at the Jordan household! They will go upstairs, and the existing upstairs beds will replace the old, tattered ones in the basement. Hyatt can't wait to try out one of the nice, new, fluffy beds.

Honey of a Hound

Hyatt has been enjoying watching Robert and me bottle our honey this week. (We're beekeepers.) The labels on the jars show that the honey comes from Polyhound Farm. That's what Robert and I named our small farm in honor of our greyhounds and beagle. Hyatt may be a temporary resident, but for now he gets to be a polyhound, too!

A Horse Is a Horse, of Course, of Course

Yesterday morning I took Hyatt with me to get my newspaper. We walked down the driveway, which runs along our pasture. My in-laws share the pasture, and so sometimes we see their two horses and two miniature donkeys. The equines were there yesterday morning. Hyatt was very curious about these strange looking beasts. He enjoyed sniffing noses with them through the fence.

Good Dog!

Hyatt is a good dog! He is simply a pleasure to have around. Robert calls him a "helper dog," meaning that he likes to be nearby when one of us is doing something (e.g., washing dishes, working at the computer, or fixing a bicycle).

Sometimes Hyatt is a big goof, like Big Bird. Also, from some angles his eyes look like Richard Gere's. Isn't that a funny combination?

Hyatt Settles into His New Foster Home

Hyatt came to his new foster home last Wednesday, and he is fitting right in! He is very confident but not cocky or aggressive toward our other dogs, greyhounds Cosmo and Mr. Spock and beagle Shelly. He loves being around us, often wagging his tail, but he's not clingy. He likes to have his ears or tummy scratched.

His manners are impeccable. He has not had the first accident, he doesn't counter surf or get into the garbage, and he hasn't even barked at the chickens wandering around outside.

Hyatt is about as low-maintenance a greyhound as I have encountered, and he truly has a delightful personality. He will make a wonderful companion for whoever adopts him.

SEGA should run a contest to figure out your name!

What kind of name is that? You sound like a a spy from the 1960's.

What does that name mean?

Wednesday update

Hoov is a very sweet boy, walked nicely on the leash. He has a happy tail wrap, because he is a happy boy. He has a very gentle disposition and should find his forever home very soon.

Suzanne and Kelly

I'm very happy here

I love my new kennel and the nice people that are taking such good care of me. I didn't like having my surgery today, but I'll feel better soon.