Dogged Blog

What I did on 'Black Friday' instead of shopping

I would say giving up shopping on Black Friday was a moral stance, but the truth is, I loathe and detest crowds, malls, and above all, big box stores, so it's not something I had to give up; I've never done it and would never want to. So, my friend Dawn came over and we watched It's a Wonderful Life (#OccupyPottersville!) and decorated my tree.

I went with a tabletop tree this year, because I thought a full-sized tree, set on the floor, might have been too tempting for the dogs, and I have no way to shut them out of the living room. A really lovely day, even if it's freakishly warm and sunny.

Not exactly the obligatory pet writer Thanksgiving food warning you might have been expecting

One of the biggest mistakes people make all year is feeding their pets such a freakishly restricted diet of the same endless processed food that the pets become violently ill from eating healthful, natural food like cooked turkey.

The remedy is not to refrain from giving your dog "people food" at Thanksgiving, it's to give up the junk food diet entirely and give them FOOD all year round.

Because there is no such thing as people food; there is just good, fresh, wholesome food and processed convenience food.

In case you're not sure what I mean, this is good, fresh, wholesome food:

This is also good, fresh, wholesome food:

This is a video of dogs eating food:

 

And this is processed convenience food, a mono-diet of which can render your pet unable to eat real food without digestive distress, a condition many veterinarians will blame on the real food:

How pretty is my Greyhound here?

It's backlit and so a bit dark, but I didn't want darling Stella to get the idea we didn't think she's adorable when she curls up in an armchair, too.

/besotted dog mom

Notes from a new Greyhound mom

It's been a long, long time since I had a dog who would curl up in an armchair! This is my sweet Val, who is 8 years old.

It's very interesting watching these two girls. (I adopted two rescue Greyhounds, for anyone who hasn't been following. They have been here five days now.)

Val is a very confident dog, calm, and fairly stubborn. She reminds me of my Scottish Deerhound, Lillie, in many ways. She wants what she wants when she wants it, and seems to expect that she'll get it, too.

Little Stella, who is 2 years old and very underweight, is much needier. She likes to be under the blankets on the bed. She can't sleep by herself; she needs to be physically touching Val, me, or Rawley. She's far less demanding than Val, easily startled, and defers to everyone while still being eager and ready to play, cuddle, or go out for a walk.

My guess -- and I could be wrong; the guesses of people who adopt rescue dogs are notoriously inaccurate -- is that Val had a long period of her life where things were stable, but Stella has not. Whatever her first two years were like, they coincided with huge changes in her previous owner's life, which culminated in the two dogs being given up in a less-than-ideal way.

This is why the rescue group, GRACE, was so adamant the two girls had to be adopted together. I think Val would have been okay, but Stella might not have made it.  What's lovely to see is Stella bonding with Rawley and with me. She and Rawls play all day long, and at night, when they're too tired to run or even stand up, they'll lie on the floor or on my bed and kind of feebly mouth-wrestle until they fall asleep. If you wake them up, they'll half-heartedly resume their game until their eyes drift shut again. It's absolutely adorable, and I've never seen it in my adult dogs, only in puppies.

Stella is also only the second dog I've ever had who likes to sleep under a blanket. Kyrie would do that when she was young, but hadn't done it in years. Stella noses her way under my comforter and finally settles in that way, not even her little nose poking out. Just like a cat!

Three dog bed, just in time for winter

Rawley and our new adopted rescue greyhounds Stella and Val knew each other in a past life. It's like they've been together forever.

He's ecstatic, they're settling in beautifully, and apparently I was supposed to sleep on the dog bed on the floor last night.

Welcome Rawley's new greyhound sisters!

Introducing our new family members, Val and Stella!

I adopted Val and Stella from Hounds of GRACE, a great greyhound rescue organization here in Michigan that gave them a soft place to land (see photo, LOL) while they looked for a home for them.

I'm not going to elaborate too much on the rest of the story, because  all's well that ends well for the dogs, right?

And from now on, girls, Rawley and I promise you smooth sailing! He already worships you, and he was well-trained by Kyrie to know that when it comes to pack dynamics, Girls Rule!