Photo Dump 3

Krazy Kody came to stays wif us a while back too!

After investigating my whole house, he finally crashed on da kitchen floors.

Dis me being Mom's foot warmer/rest.

Sometimes, it's hard to get all my parts in da bed.

Dis how you know I learned to sleep from mah mommy.  She has to have a pillow between her wegs too!

Kody didn't know dat we don't bring da stuffies outside!

Here Kody is keepin Mom's seat warm.

Kody was also supervisin' Mom in da kitchen.

Just weraxin'.

Did you miss meeee???

So the past few weeks have been pretty busy for me...  and by weeks, I really mean the month that Mom was gone to Australia and the week of July 4th and the week after.  You see, I only got a week with Mom before Miz Monica came and got me again!

I was so confused, but happy of course.  Mom is starting to realize that I'd be happier with a sibling, but she says there's really not enough space for another puppy... yet.  She's also working on Dad to get another Greyhound, cause Mom loves me..  but Dad says we need a different kind of doggy.  He's silly.  For once, Mom is right.

But anyways, Mom was slow getting around after she came back from Australia. I thought she was just out of practice, since she was away from me for so long, but apparently she was broken! The morning Mom found out she was going to the hospital, I could tell she was nervous. Since Mom had been moving really slowly, I knew something was up, so I always made sure I was watching her. More than normal. This wasn't, Oh you're going to the bathroom, I'll come with you since you will have no where else to go to avoid petting me... This was, I'm going to make sure Mom is going to be ok, Oh you're going to the bathroom, I don't need pettins today, but I'll be watching you. When she called Miz Monica early and she started packing stuff in a bag, I started to get a little nervous. When Mom did leave with her lap-clicker-machine and another full bag, she told me that everything was ok and she would see me soon. She made sure to give me my PB Kong before she left, she's such a trained good mommy.

Miz Monica came to get me the day Mom went to the hospital and I stayed with her while Mom was getting better.  No Grampy this time!  Instead, it was all Boston Terriers and Greyhounds and Humans and a backyard for zoomies and new squeaky toys and it was just sooo much fun!

Miz Monica met Mom at the California Meet and Greet, so I got to hang out with every more pups before it was time to go home!!  Sooo much excitement in my life.  Dad tries to tell Mom that I think she's deserting me, but I know that sometimes these things can't be helped.  Mom does a good job making sure that I'm taken care of.  

Miz Monica said that I had no issues with the loud sky boomers going off on July 4th.  Mom was very proud of me.  I can tell Mom is very glad that I'm home.  She's spoiled me soooo much!  She says she's got to go back to work next week and then things will be more like normal, but she better not stop with all these treats!  Mom isn't very good at finishing her foods, but I'm a pro, so I help her finish her foods (sometimes, when she lets me) and mine!!

But how about some pictures to make up for lost time????  

Gettin pettins at the M&G

Mom wanted to take my picture...

There were WAY more interesting things going on.

THUNDER THIGHSSSS!!!!

Look at what a good job I'm doing decorating the living room!! 

Mom was doing this photography thing.
Please excuse my nostrils, but I do have a REALLY long nose...

I am so very handsome.

Mom, really, let me sleep.  Stop blinding me.

Fine, I'll make everyone think you killed me.

I wasn't lookin at the camera, but Mom seemed satisfied enough.

Last night there was a storm comin in and I went to the bedroom to hide out, but I kept hearing some boomies, so I came out to investigate what was going on.  This was as far as I'd come out of the doorway before I would go lay down again. Mom thought me poking out my head was particularly cute.  Obviously, she didn't understand that I was protecting us, you crazy lady!

Mom, do you smells that?  Are you sure there isn't a treat for me somewhere?

Every move you make...
I'll be watchin you.
Even if I look completely uncomfortable....

While Mom is away...

Did you miss me?  Well, I'm not back yet, but I thought I'd share some photos with you of my vacation so far!

Me and Scarlet!

My nose was cold.  

Me and vacation Mom.

I was cold, so they covered me up!  Mmmm, this is the life.  I never get this kind of treatment at home..
Mom, take lessons!

Temporary Brother didn't eat all his breakfast, so I helped him!!

Yum!  Yogurt!!!

Mom will be back soon, and she's not sure I'll remember her...  She's such a silly Mom!

Posting Hiatus

Hi, Phil's Mom here!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Phil is still doing ok.  I'm currently work-cationing in Scotland, and Phil is staying with the Whitlock family while I'm away.  He's not figured out how to feed himself or use the toilet, so I figured it was for the best..  :)

So far he's only had one incident where he peed on Jester, the smallest pup of the house.  I guess is it pretty hard to see underneath yourself when you're chest is so huge!  From the updates I've received, Phil is doing better on the hardwood floors with some super yummy bribery of chicken treats.  He even got to go to work with Amber one day!  Why don't I have a job where I can bring my dog with me?!  That would improve my work morale sooo much!

I've not seen any Greyhounds in Scotland, only terriers, golden retrievers, and black labs.  I'm only slightly disappointed in the variety, but I didn't come for the dogs.

That floor must be really hard for him to have fit his whole body on his bed!

PS.  I miss my sweet stalker boy.

Making Mom love me.. LOTS

Mom came home from work early today because her internets have been actin weird.  These strange men show up, AND she let them in the apartment!  I'm not her guard dog, so I didn't really mind too much, except that these men weren't interested in petting me, so I wasn't interested in them!  I laid down on my bed in the living room so I could keep an eye on them.  They left after a few minutes, they said they had fixed the issue.  Mom seemed satisfied, so I helped escort them out.

Mom was very proud of me for being so good.  After they left, we laid down for a nap.  I love naps!  When we woke up, Mom started messing around the apartment and she acted like she was getting ready to leave.  She even got my last kong out of the crate, refilled it with peanut butter, put it in the freezer, and pulled the already frozen one out of the freezer for me.  And then.. she hesistated.  I was soooo close to getting my peanut butter kong!  Instead, she decided we were going to go somewhere!  Surprise!

Mom brought a huge bag of treats with her.  I'm not really sure why.  She only gave me 2 the whole trip, but either way, I was excited.  Mom showed me the treat, but I still was very scared about getting in the car.  She put my front paws on the back seat and then lifted me up the rest of the way.  UGH I hate it!  Either way, I got my treat and Mom cracked the windows so I could sniff outside while we drove to the place we were going.

I think Mom was rewarding me for being good while those strange men were at the apartment cause she took me to the public dog park!  They have an area for big dogs AND little dogs.  There were a lot of small dogs in the big dog lot.  Or maybe I'm just really big?  There were a few teeny-tiny dogs in the big dog lot though..  I think they were in the wrong place, but everyone was having fun, so it was ok, I guess.

I had a blast, even though I didn't really socialize with the other pups.  I really am a loner.  Mom was worried for a while that I was going to be lonely as an only-dog, but I think I've put her worries at ease.  I don't really socialize when I'm with other dogs.  I don't feel the need to play with them either.  So I spent most of my time at the dog park, walking around the perimeter of the fence, marking every spot that I possibly could.  I also marked all the trees and benches and I even tried to mark the water buckets, but Mom stopped me.

There were so many dogs, and I wasn't interested in any of them!

My only issue at the dog park was that I kept having the poopies.  I went normal business, then I went poopie, but then I kept having the runs.  Mom wasn't really sure what was going on, and I think she's worried about me.  She is thinking that hopefully, I was just nervous about being around so many new dogs.

Mom could tell I was getting tired cause I had stopped prancing around the fence and I was just moseying along.  I had walked around with some of the other doggies, but we just sniffed each other.  I really am not a player.  I'm a stand there and be petted dog.  Seriously.  When we left, Mom tempted me with a treat again to get in the backseat.  She put my front legs on the back seat and then I surprised her.  I jumped in on my own!!!  For the first time ever!

Mom is super proud of me right now.  She kept saying, "Good Phil!!!  Good boy!!"  I'm sure the people at the dog park thought she was crazy.  (Psst, she is!)  Mom then brought me home and fed me dinner.  She said I made her really proud today for being such a good boy!

I'm really just trying to be good because the other morning I tried to eat Mom's banana (and I did a pretty good job at munching on about 1/4 of it) and I got in the bathroom trash and was eating the dryer lint... all in the same hour.  Mom was definitely not pleased.

I showed her who the good dog is though!!

Mom deserted me!

Ok, she really didn't desert me.  She left me with a nice-other-doggy-mommy named Monica... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Mom found out her best friend from college was having her bachelorette party this past weekend in Raleigh, which is only a 5 hour drive away.  Mom is silly in that she thinks 8 hours is "too far", 5 hours is "bearable", and anything under 2 is "just fine".  At first, her plan was to bring me with her, but since she was staying at someone else's house, they said there probably wasn't room for me too, which was sad.  I'm not that big, gosh.  Didn't matter none, if Mom was going she had to find a dog-sitter.. and FAST.  She found out that I couldn't come with her on Wednesday night and she was supposed to leave Friday afternoon!

Mom posted on the GEGR forums (<3 those guys) and Monica offered to take me for the weekend.  She suggested that I could play with her son and pups and it would be fun.  She drove all the way from DE to pick me up.  Monica is amazing (and I'm not just saying that cause she might read this, maybe).

Monica got this video of me playing while I was at her house:

Mom picked me up on Sunday evening.  I was torn between pettins from Mom and pettins from Monica.  I started shivering and Mom decided it was finally time to stop yappin and get me home for dinner (and out of the cold).

Mom surprised me with a new present for ridin in the vroom-vroom.  A "hammock" for the backseat.  I really slip and slide when we're riding in the car because Mom's car has leather seats.  Mom laid a blanket down a few times, but she threw me in the floor one day when she had to stop suddenly for a lady backing out of a parking spot who didn't see her and we weren't even going that fast.  Mom was really concerned after that, and she also wanted to try to relieve some of my riding anxiety, so she was hoping this would help.

I was a little uncertain at first.

But I quickly settled in and got comfortable!

Hiiiiii flashy pointy clicky thingy!

Mom has a picture of my half-brother Zeplen with his eyes kinda blinky.  She really liked this one of me.

Ok, Mom, that's enough with the flashy, pointy, clicky, blinding thingy!  I'm cute, we get it!

After dinner, I promptly started my naps.  I was pretty tired from the awesome vacation from Mom weekend and the drive.  But every time Mom would move, I'd be right behind her.  I really missed her.  Mom kept saying how much she missed me, but she didn't seem to appreciate me being behind her all the time.  She said, "Phil, I don't need a doggy shadow!"  Although, Mom softened up later and let me sleep in her bedroom that night.

Home Alone!

I think Mom is starting to trust me.  Which is weird, cause all I ever did was nap a lot.  I rarely even listen to things she says unless its dinner time, then I'm super quick about going to my house to wait.

Tuesday Mom came home for lunch.  She took me outside for business and we came back in while she ate lunch.  When it was time for her to leave, she didn't tell me to go to my house, but instead just dropped my favorite treat (kong with pb in it from the freezer) in my house and said she'd be back.  MMMMkkkk, I'll be here!

When she got home, I greeted her at the door.  I know what the sound of the key in the lock means now, FREEDOM!  But since I was already free, I figured Mom deserved some special attention.

That afternoon instead of Mom taking me on a run, we went to the 4-legged-folks-park.  There I met 2 other pups, one of whom wanted to play and the other who wanted to play at first till he was intimidated by my size, and 2 2-legged-folks who were so kind as to let me lean on them for pettins when I wasn't sniffing the fence and marking the trees.  I'm not really playful yet.  Mom's not sure if its because I'm still adjusting or if its because I'd rather just spend my retirement napping.  I will play with my toys for about 5-10 minutes before its nap time and when it comes to being around other dogs, I'd rather just get pettins from humans.

Wednesday morning, I woke up Mom with my whining (which I'd probably stop if she'd just deal with me shaking and waking her up in the middle of the night in her bedroom).  She took me out on a short walk/run and fed me breakfast.  Then she left.  No Kong?!!  Outrage, woman, O.U.T.R.A.G.E!

Mom came back pretty quickly, but I was sleeping on my bed in her bedroom so I didn't really hear her come up the stairs or unlock the door, but as soon as the doorknob turned I was up and peeping at her from the bedroom door.  She was pretty sweaty and smelly, so I left her to her wet water time and went back to my bed to resume napping.  She said she was really proud of me for being so good while she was away.  I'm Phil, of course I'm going to be good, I'm awesome at napping, Lady!

While Mom was at work, she put me in my crate, but I got my delicious black treat dispenser, so I was fine.  After Mom got off work, we went on another short walk since the wet from the sky had stopped.  When Mom had taken me out at lunch, I had difficulty finding my favorite business bush because I was standing in puddles and the wet from the sky wouldn't stop distracting me.  I napped while Mom played on her clickity-clackity lap thing, then she fed me dinner, then she left again!  Mom is a deserter!

I greeted Mom at the door when she got home, she had several bags in her hands when I made sure to thoroughly inspect.  Nothing for me this go around.  Well, kinda.  She bought some corner guards for the footboard of the bed.  It's got some pretty sharp corners that she (and I) often run into.  I think she's worried I'm going to hurt myself one day hitting the corners too hard, which I guess is good, cause sometimes it does hurt.  It's just hard to remember I'm so big!

So I think I've won Mom's trust for the most part.  That's good, right???

What I do best.

Mom bought this just for me and my most favorite delicious treat..
6 POUNDS of peanut butter for $14.
Mom = Trained.

That was WET!

So today was a good day.  Mom and I hung out, she left for a little while and came back.. with no goodies for me..  I'll have to teach her better.

The evening went well.  We went on a medium length walk.  Mom was piddling around in the kitchen for a while.  I left her alone and laid in my crate watching her and napping.  She fed me dinner and continued her kitchen activities.

The evening was pretty lazy.  Every so often I'd find a toy, play for a few minutes, then resume my napping.

Tonight though...  was a different story.

I went into the kitchen to do some sniffing around.  Mom has pretty much taught me counter-surfing is a no go, but she always puts my kongs with peanut butter in this high thing.  It has a door on the top and bottom and its cold every time she opens it.  I figured I could just get my kong on my own, cause that peanut butter is tasty!  I was scratching at the door, but I heard Mom get up, so I stopped and greeted her as she came around the corner.  She was suspicious of what I'd been scratching at, but she thought I was just trying to get something from in front of the cabinets that maybe she had dropped on the floor.  She went and sat back down and I knew she wasn't going to be listening so I went back to my post.

I again started scratching on the door.  Then out of NOWHERE this water hits me!  I scramble all over these stupid, slippery floors... all the way back to my house.  Where I'm now laying dejectedly, staring at Mom.  She's smiling and I could tell she was laughing a little.  I'm not so sure what is so funny.

At least I know I'll get my kong tomorrow when she leaves for work!  She better put extra peanut butter in it after tonight's fiasco!

Siiiiigh.. Home sweet home.