Doggie Downers

Gypsy has always been a "Nervous Nellie." I'm not sure if this is just something that is in her DNA or if it is a result of the way we raised her. Probably a combination of both I suspect. From the beginning, she has always been happiest when she is with us, not by herself. To this day she hates it if we leave her behind while we go out. If it is hot or rainy we leave her in the office. She has a bed in there and she can look out the front windows. When I tell her to go in the office, her tail drops and her head hangs low. Lately, when we return, we can hear her crying and whimpering. If we leave her with friends or even family, she does the same thing. The last time I left her with my sister in a house with a few kids and another dog to play with, all she did was pace back and forth, crying until I returned. I think with age she is getting a bit more insecure.

Gyp is getting increasingly nervous while she is outside too. When we put her in the yard by herself, she paces back and forth between the back door and the deck. She sits and stares at the door and then paces to the deck and stares in the window. She then goes back to the door. She is wearing a path between he two. If I go out back and join her, she jumps (literally) for joy and grabs Dino and wants to play.
We talked about all of the above with our Vet that just happens to live across the street. How convenient is that. Plus she is the owner of NOBELLS. Anyway, she suggested we put Gypsy on a mild Doggie Downer to try to take the edge off. I don't really like the thought of medicating my dog for something like this but I am not sure we have another choice. We began giving her just a tiny dose on Friday to see how she responds. I'm not so sure I see a difference in her yet. We will give it a few days and see how it goes. We just want Gypsy to be happy and less stressed out.

Another Walk



It's Saturday morning and time for another walk with Gypsy. I've said it many times but walking is one of her favorite things in the world to do. We usually run into other dogs that she can bark at and she is always on the lookout for bunnies. After all Gypsy is "the Bunny Hunter." We didn't see any rabbits this morning but right down the street from us we see a squirrel. This is very unusual for this neighborhood. This area used to be a corn field and didn't have any trees so, no squirrels. Sandi claimed to have seen one a few years ago and we saw one this summer by the bird feeders. But that has been it. Gyp would take off after a squirrel in a heartbeat if I let her.

When we got to the field behind our neighborhood we hear gun shots. They were all set up with the geese decoys trying to lure innocent geese in to murder. A few geese flew by but fortunately these guys didn't have a very good aim.

About half way through the walk we come across a chicken. It was just walking down the sidewalk towards us like she was on her way to work or something. Gypsy obviously took great interest in this. She had never seen a chicken before.
Hello KFC!!!

Once Gypsy started licking her lips, the chicken did an about face and headed in the other direction. The bottom line is someone in our neighborhood has fresh eggs.

We have several storm drainage ponds around the neighborhood. We usually circle one at the end of the walk and we came across this Heron. We see him all the time but this time I just happened to have my camera.

The only thing that would have topped all of this is if we would have run across Oliver the pig.

Window Art

We've had this glass art thing hanging in our window for years. I think it looks a bit like Suede.  He is proving to be a great addition to the family.

Cold, Rainy Night and Moose

Last night was cold and rainy. the weather guru's had predicted snow but what do they know. As advanced science and technology are today you would think they could get it right every once in awhile. Anyway, it was wet and cold. We kept the front door open just in case NOBELLS made an appearance. I think it was too cold for him. Our cats enjoy looking out at the rain.

What better way to spend the night than to give the cats some catnip and watch them make fools of themselves. It's true, after a bit of the catnip even the most sophisticated cat will chase their tail like a crazy kitten. We get the real thing and put it in a dish. They eat it, rolls in it, and sniff away at it. Then the fun will begin. Here is Moose enjoying some of his favorite herb.

Here is Moose not long after enjoying his favorite herb. Passed out in his favorite chair. He can't party like he used to do. Must be an age thing. This thing is supposed to be a scratching post but Moose likes to sit in it. It conforms to his butt just right.

After a brief catnap, Moose is warming himself by the fire. We should have put on some Grateful Dead tunes for him.

No Snow For Us

 

The weather people around here are growing long noses. Yes they are from all the lying they've been doing on the forecasts.  We have had a few flakes here and there but nothing to speak of. They predicted a few storms but they have gone just to the north of us. The storm that came by this weekend gave us a bunch of rain. Since when have we been naming winter storms? How silly is that. I think it must be a Weather Channel thing.  It has been cold so Gypsy has been wearing her coat. We saw a few other dogs out this morning and she had to bark at them. We were also on the lookout for a neighbors cat that went missing a few days ago. We didn't see it but learned that the cat returned home unharmed.

Weather Advisory

 We are under a winter storm warning today. It is definitely cold enough. This morning Gypsy and I were greated by loads of geese coming down into the field behind us. Group after group came in one right after another. I think they were getting ready for the looming storm. Gypsy is well known for her birding ability but she is friends with geese.
Talk about a well fertilized field!

Gypsy has always liked the snow. I think it is one of her favorite things. Here she is as a puppy with her first experience in snow. She jumped out the garage door and stopped in her tracks. She runs in it, eats it, and rolls in it.

My Shadow

I always hang a few lights in front of the house for the holidays. Yesterday I was trying my best to get some greens to stay put over the front door. Am I the only guy that needs a hammer and nail to hang these things?
My Shadow kept an eye on the proceedings from inside.

Tis the Season

Yes, it's that time of year when dog owners across the country dress their dogs up in ridiculous Christmas outfits. This is a picture of Smiley from a few years ago. If you notice, she isn't smiling much in this picture.
Why do you insist on dressing me like this???
I don't know why we do stupid things like this but what the heck, it's fun.

 

This picture is more current. It has become much more cold and we might get some snow this weekend. Gypsy likes her sporty red jacket with the fleece lining during the cold spells.  She had just finished a play date with Dino and needed a quick nap.

 

New Addition

 I came home from work a few weeks ago and Sandi had been busy at the cat shelter. She stops in from time to time to either donate something or just to check out the cats. This is a very dangerous habit of hers and she needs to stop. She had a secret relationship with this guy for some time. Neither Gypsy or I suspected a thing until he came home with her. He is about 5 years old and his name is Suede. He is all dressed up in this picture. Honestly we need another cat like Gypsy needs to loose weight. Not at all! When I got home I began to protest (as if that would have done any good). Before I could say anything, Suede came right up to me and started to purr and look at me with this sweet little face. I tried to resist his charm but, he then started to follow me around the house.

So that began my relationship with a very cool cat named Suede. It doesn't hurt that he likes to share an occasional beer with me too. He is the most laid back cat I've ever seen. Nothing seems to upset him and he projects a very confidant and calm air about him. He still follows me around. When I go to the bathroom he waits outside the door for me. When I'm in the kitchen cooking, he sits off to the side and watches me. In the morning he and Gypsy trot down the stairs side by side with me. Right now he is laying at my feet.

He and Gypsy seem to get along very well. Suede likes to drink out of Gypsy's water bowel and I think Gyp likes the company. Suede is a big boy and I have to watch him when I feed Gypsy her homemade food. He'll walk right up and help himself and Gypsy just walks away.



I think most people that adopt usually go for the cute kittens. I always feel sorry for the older cats that spend months and years in shelters. It seems like nobody every takes the older cats home. Suede will have a great life with us and Gypsy. He won the cat lottery like the rest of our cats. Sandi is the "Cat Whisperer" I think. She sure can pick out a good cat.

They say you never know what you are getting when you bring an older cat home. I wasn't sure if I believed this or not...that is not until Suede came down from upstairs dressed like "Captain America."

Little did we know we were adopting a super hero.