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HUMAN PUPPY (PART 2)

A correction from my last post:

Tigh is my nephew, not my cousin.  I guess that makes sense, since I'm older than he is. Does it? 
I won't know for sure until I get a good whiff of him.


Grace

A New Human Puppy

Big news!  My human brother, Peter, and his wife, Christine, had a human puppy this morning!  His name is Tigh Scott Hall, and he weighs a little more than five pounds. I thought it was odd they had only one puppy. But, then, humans are so strange, nothing surprises me. 

Anyway, if Peter is my human brother, I guess that makes Tigh my human cousin. Come to think of it, I've never had a human cousin.

I can hardly wait to meet him. I hope he'll want to play "sniff the tail" or "bite the ear."

I tried to upload a picture of Tigh (from Christine's FB page), but I couldn't figure out how to do it.

Grace

MY HUMAN MUMMY (PART 3)

My human mum is sick.

How do I know?  First, off I can tell by the way she moves (not quickly like she usually does). I can tell by the way she smells. This morning, for example, she smelled of cough medicine, herbal tea and antibiotics. Last night, I caught a whiff of lemon, brandy, honey and cinnamon. Mom told me it was a "hot toddy," a British "cure" that Dad whipped up for her.

To her credit, she took me for a walk yesterday afternoon. But she was coughing so much, she forgot to give me any treats.

I hope she gets better soon. I want my healthy mum back.

Grace



 

I'm in love! (I am?)

"Look, Gracie!" shouted my human mum. "They're here!" a big white van pulled into our driveway and parked.

On these occasions, instinct (not training) kicks in. I bolted out the door and barked and barked and barked.  Two humans and a huge white dog got out of the car.  I didn't give a rat's ass about the humans. (I picked up that expression from my dad.) All I saw and smelled was Bailey. Bailey is a drop-dead gorgeous Old English Sheepdog with huge eyes and a winning smile (only visible right after he's been trimmed).

I first met Bailey a year ago, when Liz started tutoring his human brother, Harrison. At first, we did the usual "sniff-the-tail, etc." routine humans expect of us. Sometimes we "played" (e.g., fought over my bone. Bailey usually won 'cause he's bigger.) But, most of the time we ignore each other, or so the humans surmise. 

Now Liz refers to Bailey as "Gracie's boyfriend."

What's a "boyfriend"?

Grace (confused as usual)

Bailey at home in Alexandria, Virginia

Aunt Abbey

I wasn't always the only Airedale in our house. For most of my life, I had Aunt Abbey for company.

When I was a little puppy, she showed me the best places in the woods to do our business.  She taught me how to look adorable, so Liz would give us treats. She was my role model for "sit, stay and heal."  We ate together, slept side by side, and flew in an airplane without our humans all the way to London.

Sometimes, we got into trouble, like the time we chased rabbits in England and upset Liz. (Dad told her it was "just instinct.") Abbey tried to teach me how to climb up on the kitchen counter and steal pork chops, sandwiches and whole loaves of bread. But, I was never as quick as she was. 

Abbey died while we were living in England. She was almost 14. Now, I don't have anyone to play with, except for my human mom and dad. I want a puppy!

Grace

Aunt Abbey (right) and me in Cornwall, UK

Grooming

Why do you groom your dog? Let me guess. You don't want your house to smell like a kennel. You don't want your dog to look "scruffy" ("woolly" is the one I hear). You think your dog is more "comfortable" with a neatly trimmed, clean coat.

Well, speaking for myself, I don't notice the difference. I don't care if I look like a lamb before the shearing season. I don't mind when my coat gets all knotty. Most important, I love smelling like a dog. It's who I am.

So, don't waste your money on high-cost groomers and herbal shampoos. Just be happy that your dog is healthy and friendly and doesn't attack the UPS delivery guy or gal.

Grace