Invite from the Innocents

Guess what? Kobe and I have had a dinner invite from some dogs living in Ferndale. Luka (left) and Frodo (right)  very graciously invited us to play with them while our parents have dinner. They don’t even know us, but they laid out the welcome mat.

But these kind and innocent animals don’t know that: we don’t do play dates. We don’t play well with others. Our mom stopped taking us to the dog park since we were not acting nicely. Nothing too awful, but I was ambushing dogs and speeding away, sort of a blitzkrieg approach. Kobe would follow up by barking in their face and trying to nip them.

 Now, I’m not even going to go into the incident of summer, 2010, when I got off my leash during a walk, ran at leashed dogs walking by in the neighborhood and got this (see picture) in return. Or the time that while playing with Kobe I accidently removed a piece of his ear (see picture).

 No, as they say, let’s not go there. So, Luka, Frodo, I thank you. We appreciate the invite. But you have nooooooooo idea what you would be getting yourselves into. Still, hope to meet you dogs in 2012!

Tootles, Barcelona 

The Holidays are Here!

We don’t really understand this whole “holiday” thing. The family put up a Christmas tree and decorated. Is this festive? From our point of view the tree blocks our view and monitoring of the front yard and sidewalk.  So we’ve had to knock a number of those pesky “ornaments” out of the way. 

What does it mean to us dogs? I don’t think we got any gifts last year although we did have a visit with Santa. The visit was at Wags to Wiskers in Ann Arbor, MI.  As there was a huge blizzard that day, we were the only dogs there. We find other dogs scary (for reasons I don’t choose to divulge right now) and Brother Kobe gets a little crazy.

Here’s the photo. I’m on the left looking alert and cute, Kobe is on the right looking scared with his ears back. That ninny is even afraid of Santa Claus!

Well, this year we are headed to the 2011 holidays. There are some very interesting plans with the extended family which happens to include both other dogs and other cats! We are supposed to act as if they are just our relatives.

Kobe and I will also experience our first night in a hotel. I can’t wait to report on all the new experiences! Maybe the holiday will be interesting.  Happy Holidays everyone, canine and otherwise!

Tootles, Barcelona

Why Whippets as Pets?

Well, I thought that a dog writing a blog was unique. But after doing some surfing, I see that I’m just one of many!  So I had better focus on the quality of my writing.

Living in a densely populated home (18 dogs no less) did not allow me to hone my writing skills, but I did gain perspective. Kobe my brother and I were among the younger whippets there. Naturally, Kobe, who has a club foot, was not high in the pecking order.  (He limps or hops when walking but can still run pretty fast. Not as fast as me of course...)

Do whippets make good pets? Are they good dogs? As Sarah Palin would say, “You betcha”! Of course if you are fussy and dislike having little white or brown hairs on your furniture, nose marks on the window or dogs snoozing on your best couch you might want to reconsider. Or if you want a large, slobbery ultra-shedding, energetic and smelly sporting-type dog that can live outside, whippets are not for you.

We need, nay desire, a soft place to sleep without drafts, lots of time to snooze and an absence of chilly temperatures. We will either run like the dickens or else barely move. Your lap or upholstered furniture are to us the best bets for a nap. 

Barcie the Blogger's Bio

Name:  Barcelona; Barcie for short. In my previous life my name was Precious, my AKC name was Carjo’s Jumpin’ Jitters. (Eeek!)

Birthplace: Racine, WI. Rescued by WRAP (Whippet Rescue and Placement) nearly three years ago.

Early childhood:  I was being groomed to be a show dog and attended some AKC (American Kennel Club) events. One of my original owners died and things got a little crazy.

Family:  my littermate, brother Kobe and my two humans. We are a nuclear family in Ypsilanti, MI.

Favorite food:  liverwurst. The humans bake it to perfection to use as treats when they reaaaaaly want us to do something.

My figure:  I have a coat with what is called a “watermark”, a rich swirl of white and chestnut. I am sporting a few scars from my old life as well as a one or two recent ones.  (I’ll ‘splain later)

Romantic Interest:  Guenther.  He’s a whippet my size in town and we have raced together at the Ann Arbor Dog Park. On him I bestow my greatest praise:  he’s so fast!

Life Goal: to be the lead singer of the rock band “Little ‘Lona and the Whippets.” I need to learn to sing first though.