Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Rest In Peace GiGi

GiGi went over the Rainbow Bridge today at 6:30 pm. She went peacefully in the company of those that loved her. Her adopted sister, Heidi Q, another Greyhound, is waiting for her there.

GiGi was 2 weeks short of her 15th birthday.

She will be missed terribly, loved forever, and never forgotten.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Slander Is A Big Help


As some of you know, my mom is going to school to become a Vet Tech. She has to do certain things for her externship so she can continue on with her classes. Lately she has been taking little Slander to the vet clinic with her so she can practice her Vet Tech stuff on her. From what I've heard, Slander is a very good patient! She was X-rayed, pulled this way and that, and she was a good girl. She used to be a show dog so she is used to people poking her and positioning her every which way. In this photo she is getting some ear drops. 
I'm glad I am too old to go to the clinic, because I'm sure my mom would be making me do all sorts of stuff! When I was younger I would have been glad to help, but I would rather rest at home and leave the excitement to the younger dogs. 

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I'm Feeling Better Now


I was feeling kind of yucky on Monday. My mom came home at noon to take me out and I was not a happy Greyhound. I was dizzy and couldn't stand up and I didn't want to go outside. I have no idea what happened to me. My mom thought I was having another "vestibular event", since she knows the signs and I've had 2 already. 
She called my dad and told him to come home soon to take care of me, because she had to go back to work.
When he came home I was all better! I was able to get up and walk by myself and go outside like I always do. My mom was so happy to hear that I was ok, she was worrying at work about me. I guess that is what happens when you get to be a senior, but it's still scary sometimes. 
I've been ok for the last couple of days now. I have been getting extra hugs & kisses from my mom since Monday...I think she is still worried a little bit. I don't mind the extra love!



Friday, June 19, 2009

Rest in Peace, Rocket


Today is a very sad day. My mom told me that Rocket had crossed over the Rainbow Bridge last night. I was upset to hear that, after all, he was just here over Memorial Day weekend, sleeping on the futon and playing with my toys! 
His mom said he had a mass on his spleen. They didn't want to operate because he wasn't strong enough to have the surgery. He stayed at home with his family and they gave him lots of love, and soup, because he didn't have much of an appetite. 
I will miss him an awful lot! At least he can see Heidi Q, my sister again. There are so many greyhounds that went over the Rainbow Bridge, I know that when I cross I will not be lonely. I will miss my mom, but eventually I will meet up with her again. 
Rest in peace, Rocket. 

Sunday, June 14, 2009

I Was A Good Girl

Mom told me I was a very good girl yesterday! She was gone all day on her externship and my Dad was busy shipping horses, so he couldn't be home with me. I was put in the kitchen with my bed and lots of blankets so I wouldn't fall & hurt myself. 
Mom came home at noon and walked me, and then she came home for the night at 8:30. The reason I was a very good girl was that I didn't make a big mess. There was just a little bit of poop in the corner (easy to clean up, I really couldn't help it) and I didn't pee anywhere. 
I knew Mom was coming home so I wasn't nervous or anything, I actually spent most of the day sleeping.
My Mom was so happy when she came home and didn't have a big clean up to do! I got lots of hugs & kisses and a special treat in my dinner. 
I like being a good girl!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Soon To Be Alone All Day




Mom is getting ready to start her externship for school. This means I will be left alone for a part of the day until my dad comes home. I know my mom is not happy about it, because when I'm alone I like to pee and poop on the carpet! 
My mom was practicing leaving me alone by putting me in the kitchen with all my blankets down, and pushing Slander's crate into the doorway so I can't get out. That works for me, I can pee & poop in there too!

I can't help it really, I'm quite old and have to go out frequently. I guess we will have to see how it works out. My mom said her externship should only last about 2 months, so I will have her back home with me all day eventually. In the meantime I will try to be good and wait for my dad to come home in the middle of the day to walk me. 


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Rocket Is Here


I had another visitor over the Memorial Day weekend. His name is Rocket and he is a frequent guest here. I admire him very much because he cheated death! He escaped from his house and got hit by a car and had a lot of injuries. The vet was so worried about him that he took him home with him at night to make sure he would have around the clock care. He pulled through because he is a very strong dog. 
I also remember when my grandpa died, Rocket was over our house and my mom used to hug him and cry. He was very good at absorbing all her tears. 
He's getting old now, he is 11. He still loves to run around in our yard though.

Tonight his parents are coming to pick him up and the house will be quiet again. 

Monday, May 18, 2009

Nature is Amazing!


Sometimes my mom walks me in the backyard, she can let me go and not worry about me going into the street. We came upon this bird's nest today as we were in the yard. Isn't it wonderful? 

I like how the birds made the nest perfectly round. It must have been a lot of work for them to find all the materials and then fly back to build the nest. I hope the eggs hatch OK and the little birds stay out of trouble. 

PS: Those are my dad's feet in the picture. He came out to see the nest too.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

The Sun Shines

I have not posted in a while because nothing much has been happening! It rained for 8 days straight and everyone was very unhappy here. The grass grew so high Slander went on safari ever time she went out for a walk. My mom did not get to take a photo because as soon as the rain stopped my dad mowed the lawn. 

Today I heard rumors that there may be a BBQ! I hope so. Perhaps my mom will have time to take pictures of us out on the deck. I will post them up here.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

A Weekend BBQ

The weatherman said it was going to be a nice weekend so my mom decided to clean up the deck for a BBQ. Here is a photo:


Slander and I are going to sit out there and enjoy the fresh air and the smell of burgers cooking. We love BBQs because there is always extra food for us. Sometimes we get our own hot dog! 

Here is a photo of mom and Slander relaxing on the deck:



Slander looks angry in that photo but she is not. She was just barking at rabbits and then my mom picked her up for this picture. She wanted to keep barking. I never bark at anything. When I was younger my mom would make me "speak" and then give me a treat, but now I get treats without having to ask. That is one benefit of getting older.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

More Signs Of Spring

Sorry I have not posted in a few days, I have been resting. I fell during one of my afternoon walks and I was a little sore. I'm doing better now, my mom gave me a pain pill and that helped a lot. 
The grass is really growing in our front yard! It looks pretty but I know it has to be cut eventually. It keeps raining here so there is no time to get the mower out. 


There are also dandelions growing here and there. I was walking this morning and there was a very large bee near one of them. I sniffed it and it flew right at my mom! She did not appreciate that.


My mom did not try to take a photo of the bee. She hustled me back inside. I think she thought the bee was angry and was going to sting one of us. I have never been stung, but she has. 

I am going to have a nice afternoon nap now.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Spring Is In The Air

It is 65 degrees out right now and I'm so happy! My mom took me outside for about 10 minutes and I thoroughly sniffed everything. There are so many nice smells on the air..flowers, green grass, someone is cooking something yummy on the grill next door...


I stood outside until I was ready to come in. My mom didn't rush me at all, she let me look around (I used to be quite the nosy girl when I was younger) to my heart's content. I hope if tomorrow is nice also she will put my dog bed on the back deck and let me snooze in the sun. I would like that very much!


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Dewey Goes Home Today

Dewey's mom called today to say she will be picking her up. We will be sad to see her go. On the other hand, I will be able to reclaim my spot on the futon back. As you can see, she is quite comfortable in the position that I usually assume.


She is very smart to put her head on the pillow and everything. Greyhounds are not stupid when it comes to a soft spot. They can sniff one out no matter where they are.

I know Dewey will be coming back for another visit soon, but I think I am going to enjoy my solitude for a few days. Older greyhounds are set in their ways and don't like too much change. 
The next few days are supposed to be warmer so I will get to go outside and sniff up the spring air. I'm looking forward to that.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Looking For Treats

My friend Dewey is still here visiting. Sometimes the best part of having another greyhound here is the extra treats. Apparently my mom finds it hard to ignore TWO needlenoses in her face. Here is a picture of us bothering her while she was trying to do stuff on the computer.



It worked! We got some leftover lunch meat and some bread crusts too! I hope Dewey stays for another few days, that ham and bologna was really tasty.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Another Visitor



Cruz went home the other day, and yesterday my friend Dewey came over! I will be very tired with all these visitors. She comes over a lot so she really doesn't need her crate, but she likes it so she goes in it a lot. I won't go in her crate, it's just like mine.
Mostly she likes to sleep on the futon, where I usually nap. My dad falls asleep watching TV and she will climb up and sleep next to him. Then he wakes up and chases her out. She is smart though, when he goes back to sleep she climbs up again.

My mom was trying to take a photo of her "smiling" because she is a very happy greyhound...but she is also very active and it's hard to get a picture that's not blurry. 

She will keep trying to get some more good pictures.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

A Comfortable Crate


I never go in my crate any more. I used to love being in my special place but now that I'm older I can't maneuver around inside it. It's hard for me to go in and turn around in there. 
Imagine my surprise when I saw Cruz's crate! It was nice and big, and I could see everything that went on around me.
I found it quite comfortable.



Cruz was not too happy that I stole his spot. 
He kept looking at me as if to say "Get out of my house please."


I eventually gave it back to him, and he was a happy greyhound.









Monday, April 6, 2009

Our Visitor Is Still Here

It was such a greyt day yesterday! The weather was warm, I got to go out many times, and we had bagels with my mom for a snack. Here we are in the kitchen waiting for our treats:


Cruz was very happy to be with us during snack time. 

We are having a thunderstorm today, poor Slander is nervous again. Cruz and I are just fine, we know it's nothing to worry about. I'm hoping this afternoon will be nice once the storm passes by, there is always good sniffing to do after it rains! 

Saturday, April 4, 2009

A Visitor

Last night one of my greyhound friends came over for an extended sleepover. My mom will dog-sit for other greyhounds sometimes, and I love the extra company. Cruz will be staying until Tuesday, so there is a lot of dog activity in the house, especially in the morning with all of us clamoring to eat and go out!
Here is a picture of Cruz hanging out.


He is a pretty big greyhound but he has great manners, I never get knocked over or chased around the house. 
I like when visitors come over.

Monday, March 30, 2009

New Hope, PA


I had a nice quiet day to myself yesterday. My mom took Slander on a trip to New Hope, PA for a few hours. I held down the fort by napping on the futon. When I was younger I was taken to New Hope, but I'm just too old to walk around for that long. 
There were supposed to be bad storms all day but the only thing that happened was a little thunder and lightning at night. Slander was very scared but I was fine. Nothing really bothers me much!
Here are some photos of Slander's trip: 






Saturday, March 28, 2009

Studying

My mom is going to school to get her degree in veterinary technology, so she can help other dogs and cats feel better when they are sick. I'm very proud of her for doing that!
Sometimes she asks me to help her study, like when she was doing anatomy and she kept touching me to learn all the names of my bones and muscles. I liked that part, it was non stop petting.
Here I am helping her with her math class. It was really hard but she got a good grade. A rainy day like today is good for studying.




Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Visit From Grandma

The last 2 days have been a lot of fun for me. My mom went to Bayonne and picked up her mom for a visit! She was here for 2 days and I got lots of extra petting and love. I was hoping to get a picture of us together to post it but my grandma does not like having her photo taken. Maybe we can sneak one in somehow. 
Today is a very chilly and rainy day. I think it's a good day to nap in my favorite spot in front of the tv. I don't even feel like getting up to hang out on the futon!


Slander went out for a walk with mom before and then she tracked muddy paw prints all over the carpet. Mom was not happy.  It's hard to keep your paws clean when it rains and there is no grass in the backyard. 


Monday, March 23, 2009

A Chilly Day


I wonder where all the nice weather went? When I went out for my morning walk I was not happy to feel the cold wind blowing on me! I know spring is here because my mom hung up her spring flag in front of the house. 
My mom wanted to take some new photos of me but  it was too chilly for me outside, I kept trying to go in and she kept telling me that a picture of my butt was not what she wanted.

It was still a good day though, I shared a turkey wrap with my mom for lunch. Now I'm ready for my afternoon nap. I still hear the wind blowing outside! Good thing I'm on my futon where it's nice and warm.





Saturday, March 21, 2009

Beagles and Stew


The weather was nicer today, so I made sure to stand outside for a little while and sniff up when my mom took me out. There is a beagle that lives on my block and he always comes by to leave me lots of sniffing material on our lawn. My mom doesn't understand why I have to smell each and every spot, every time I go out!
And my house smells really good too. I think my mom is making stew in the crock pot...I hope she shares at dinnertime.

When I was walking outside by myself (sometimes I get extra help with a sling because I'm a senior) I was sniffing so intently I almost fell over. My mom got scared and ran over to check on me. I was ok though, I wobbled but managed to stay on all 4 legs. 
All that activity made me sleepy...so I came inside to have a nice nap. To my surprise, I discovered a big milkbone on my bed! Yummy!

Today was a good day..lots of good smells and a nice treat. 

Friday, March 20, 2009

First Day Of Spring

It was snowing out this morning, now all the snow has melted but it's still cold outside! Too cold for greyhounds to be walking around, I think. My mom is busy watching basketball on TV, something about March Madness..so I will take a nice nap. 
I heard that Rita's was giving away free ices today in honor of spring. I wonder if I will get a free ice? Sometimes my mom brings home ice cream or yogurt for me. I will have to look extra cute today so I will get a spring treat.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Welcome To All!



Hi there! My name is GiGi, and as you can see, I'm a 14 year old Greyhound. I have been retired for a long time, and my mom & I thought it would be nice for me to have my own blog. 
I used to race in Texas. I wasn't very fast though, and I was adopted out to live in New Jersey with my mom and another Greyhound named Heidi Q. She went to the Rainbow Bridge on this date 2 years ago. I miss her very much. 
My mom adopted a miniature Schnauzer named Slander last year to keep me company. We do a lot of napping together!



I had a stroke last year, and I was in the hospital for a week. I recovered pretty well, though. My vet was very caring and helpful. The hospital helped me rehab so I could walk again!

My mom was very happy when I came home, and so was I! Getting old is no fun, but we all have to do it. I will try to age gracefully.

 I hope you will enjoy my blog. Please leave me comments, as I like to hear from everyone. 


bye for now  ~  ~