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Category: Pets

The adventures of greyhounds and cats around the house.

Phoebe, Still a Puppy

October 26, 2005 • • Leave a comment

Phoebe seems to be adjusting well to her new life. She has discovered the couch and even wags her tail when we come near her, but she is still afraid to look at us. She comes to the door to greet us, but runs away when we notice her. She watches us constantly and with great interest. It seems she wants to like us, but is still afraid of people.

Yesterday was her first day at home without the humans, and she had great fun tearing up some paper, eating some blinds, and stuffing her leash under the couch cushions. It looked like the work of two dogs, so I suspect Daphne also participated since she has a record of paper shredding. For now, we’ll call Daphne an unindicted co-conspirator.

Phoebe does posess the greyhound quality of being a packrat, collecting bones and fluffy toys and taking them back to decorate her place. Yesterday, in addition to pieces of paper and the blinds, she managed to collect every dog toy in the house and bring them back to her place.

When I let Phoebe out, she likes to run around the backyard and once even rooed and then barked at the neighbor’s lab. She’s almost two and now that she’s off the track, she is probably beginning her real puppyhood, which means lots of exploring, testing the chewability of various objects around the house, and continuing to follow Daphne around like…well, like a puppy. A very large puppy.

We Be the Master Now

October 24, 2005 • • Leave a comment

When we got our first dog, Zephyr, she was a self-feeder who ate only when she felt like it, usually every other day. When we got Daphne, Zephyr began eating every time there was food around, and Daphne knew that she was not to eat until Zephyr had eaten all of her food and whatever of Daphne’s she could steal while we (the food police) weren’t watching. Daphne, until yesterday, was never terribly interested in food one way or the other, which made it easy for Zephyr to help herself to Daphne’s dinner.

When Phoebe came on the scene, however, Daphne suddenly started eating her own food and then investigating Phoebe’s. We never thought Daphne would ever exhibit any alpha behavior, but recently she was heard mumbling something along the lines of, “We has the precious, and we be the master now.” Zephyr would be proud.

New Hound in Town

October 23, 2005 • • 5 Comments

Phoebe This is Greyhound Phoebe. She came to us yesterday from Greyhound Pets of America – Central Texas, and has spent the past 24 hours relaxing on her place by the back door and observing our habits. She is a spook, which means that she is afraid of many things, particularly people. She does not seem to be afraid of Daphne (see the picture beneath my profile) or Morrison.

Phoebe will be two on November 8. We haven’t weighed her yet, but she appears to be about 65 pounds. She is a racer who was forced into early retirement after twice being defeated at a racetrack in Corpus Christi. Her racing name was “Rayna Ann Walker” but for the past six weeks in foster care, has been called “Geena.” She is a sweet girl who loves to eat. She likes chewing on fluffy toys and seeMorrisonms to enjoy exploring the backyard.

She was fostered with several cats and appears to be as ambivalent towards them as Morrison is to her as can be seen in this photo (although he does try to get on her place).
Daphne is marginally interested but mainly when they’re outside. In the next few days, she will probably begin exploring and interacting a bit more, and I’ll keep you posted.

A Great Dog

October 12, 2005 • • 3 Comments

ZephyrWe lost Zephyr to cancer a month ago today, and that’s kind of what’s on my mind. The house is quieter as our cat and other dog don’t make nearly as much noise since they don’t tend to follow anyone around the way Zephyr did.

We got her 8 years ago at the Town Lake Animal Shelter in Austin, and she proved to be a loyal companion and a wonderful friend. She was a greyhound/whippet mix possessed of the greyhound’s natural friendliness and sensitivity combined with the courage of a whippet. She would actually bark at the doorbell while our purebred greyhound always runs away.

I’ve always felt that one of life’s cruelest injustices is the fact that we live so long while they live such a short time. She may have been “only a dog,” but the heart does not discriminate when a friend is lost. Still, there are so many great memories of hill country hikes and shenanigans around the house that it’s hard not to smile when I think about her.