Wordless Wednesday - To Infinity and Beyond!

This is what we call the 'Superman', it's a more advanced version of the 'Cockroach' and is much rarer when Barbie is concerned. 

City of Wanneroo - Dog's Breakfast

In my last entry I mentioned that we took Mouse to the TEDx talk simulcast at the Northbridge Piazza to prepare her for this Dog's Breakfast event up in Wanneroo. 

There were so many dogs there, big and small. This Great Dane was one of the biggest of course. Mouse did great. We were next to the Husky tent - they were trying to get people into dryland dogsledding and the dogs were very excited to be out and about so they howled and yipped and barked, as Huskies tend to do. Mouse was calm throughout it all.

Mouse even went through the indignity of a hydrobath before she got to greet her adoring public. She was so sparkling and white after her wash I had to wear my sunglasses the whole time because of the glare.

Barbie spent a lot of time chilling out, though she did do some meeting and greeting. She seemed to really enjoy the company of the dogs she has seen at the last couple of events, like Sabre and Annie. She also really liked Rudge, who she met for the first time today. 

We had a lot of doggie visitors, like this adorable little Husky pup. Annie made friends with some whippets - as she is in foster care with a couple I think she seeks them out now. 

Mouse had a lot of people pointing her out but after a while it was all too much. She tucked herself under N's legs and made herself small. I think she had enough attention for the day. 

I couldn't have been more impressed with her. She wasn't completely calm and didn't eat the yummy biscuit that she was given, but she didn't react to any dogs and was very friendly with all the greyhounds. 

House Mouse becomes City Mouse

This morning we went into the city to check out the simulcast of TEDxPerth at the Northbridge Piazza. The Piazza is a great public space that supplies umbrellas and vinyl bean bags for anyone to just come along and chill out. They often screen movies in the evening on weekends as well. 

We decided to take Mouse as part of our continued work on her socialisation. Mouse can be a bit reactive when she hears dogs barking, but we figured that there wouldn't be much barking in the city. We were right. Mouse met a few little dogs and was really well behaved. It didn't take her too long to find a comfy spot between our bean bags. 

I hope that big bird behind me won't come and eat me!

The talks were good, in particular I liked the lady who was talking about creating a sense of community on her street in Fremantle. There was also a presentation about wetsuits which are a visual shark repellent, and changing the model of cancer care in our hospitals to include more complementary treatments. Yes, TEDx talks can be pretty random.

yes, I am a good girl!

It was a pleasure to have Mouse there with us. So many people smiled at her as they walked past. A few people came up for a pat too.

this patch of sand looks comfy

She got a bit hot in the sun, and was eyeing off a patch of soft sand. Turns out the sand was really cool, Mouse ain't silly. We did have to stop her from turning over the dirt to get to the cooler stuff though - pretty sure a dog digging in a city park is not particularly welcome!

Hopefully this nice mellow outing will prepare her for tomorrow, the big Dog's Day Out up in Kingsley. She will be meeting and greeting the public and convincing people to adopt. I just hope all the people and dogs aren't too much for her.

Wordless Wednesday - waitin for Eye Scream!

Keeping a very close eye on the door of the shop, they wanted to know what flavor they were getting.

Guess who's back, back again...

YES! It's MOUSE!

It's a bit sad that she is back with us, because her 'forever home' turned out not to be 'forever' after all.

BUT

I get Mouse cuddles again!

She had to be retested with the cats, but she was fine. Mittens and Frou approved her very quickly.

Barbie and Bender were both beside themselves with excitement. More soon!

Wordless Wednesday - waiting patiently

Barbie and the Fosters at the Secret Harbour Spring Fair

Barbie's an old hat at these greyhound adoption displays, going to quite a few in aid of Greyhounds as Pets, the organisation I adopted her from. The fact that she is an old hand at this was evident pretty much immediately. She appeared to place herself out in the front line for pats for the first half an hour or so, standing out the front of the gazebo and helping to draw people in. After she had had enough of that she went down the back of the gazebo, but she was then confronted by young Sabre, who is fresh out of the racing kennel and is still in possession of all his parts. Barbie, being a proper lady, did not snark at him, but sought to get away by sneaking around the back and into a gazebo where they were selling jewellery (I think). The people there loved her and smooched all over her. She lay down in the shade there for a little while until I persuaded her to go back to the GreyhoundAngels display.

the crowd

Sabre is young, and cat friendly. Indy was the other young and cat compatible dog there on the day. Nic was supposed to be getting photos of everyone but she only got pics of Sabre with probably the ugliest muzzle in existence on, and no photos of Indy. Indy was a bit stressed out. She just wanted to get away from the display tent. Nic took her for a walk, and she was warned not to go too far as Indy wouldn't want to come back and she is very stubborn. After a while people were asking me where she was. I said she was on a walk, then Nic appeared, carrying her. Apparently she just refused to walk back and Nic didn't want to look mean dragging her.

Barbie totally chillaxing

Barbie laid down near the front of the gazebo with me after realising that she was safe there from Sabre's nose. She managed to convince a human to share his sausage sizzle bun with her as well so she was pretty satisfied.

Bronwyn was there, trying to find her forever human. Brownyn is mother to Mouse and Olive, and her face does resemble Olive's. They also got their soft, rabbit-like fur from her. She is even fluffier than they are. She also has a really strange tail - it is very bushy and has a white tip, like a fox. Her nickname is foxy lady. She had been standing up all morning, but when I got Barbie to lie down near her, Bronwyn laid down with us. I made sure that everyone who came by touched Bronwyn's rabbity coat. Every single person exclaimed in wonder at the softness.

LATE NEWS: Bronwyn met her forever family yesterday and is being adopted! YAY! 

Bronwyn and I sharing a joke

Annie, who is from the same kennel as Bronwyn, Olive & Mouse, was also there working the crowd. Like Barbie, she retreated when she had enough. She was a bit flaky at first, indicating a little bit of stress, but she settled into it very well. I think Annie was one of the favorites at the racing kennel, and she had been out and about even before she came into foster care. Her foster family has been doing a great job including her in everything they do, so the Fair was just another outing among many for her.

the beautiful Annie

The trio of 'old girls' was rounded out by Tess. Tess is lovely, and she likes to stand between people's legs for reassurance. She didn't lie down all morning though and she got quite hot! Tess is special because she only has a little stub of a tail. She won't be knocking anything over with it. Everyone has their favorite foster dogs, and Tess certainly has her groupies.

tess receiving pats

We waited around for the afternoon shift, as Nic was tasked with getting some photos of Gina. Gina is a really dark Brindle and is hard to get good photos of. Nic got a couple with her muzzle off but she was in the shade. I think the Volunteer Co-ordinator got a better shot of Gina when the sun was coming into the gazebo in the late afternoon.  Gina really coped well with the crowds and surprised her foster carer, as she was quite timid when she first came into care.

gina, bright and happy

Barbie clocked off after about two hours and moved to a shady spot down the side of the tables we had leaflets on. Other volunteers pointed her out every time they were trying to make a point about how chilled greyhounds are.  We left at maybe 1.30pm and Barbie seemed to enjoy the long drive home. The car was a bit cold because we had the air con on for her, and she seemed to appreciate it.

It was a huge Fair and I think quite a successful day for GreyhoundAngels. We handed out a few foster carer leaflets and a lot of people really enjoyed patting the dogs. Barbie got a great outing without having to walk or stand around very much, so assisting with her foot healing. I get the feeling Barbie knows these things are part of her 'community service' and just part of being a greyhound. She seems proud when she trots off for the day, knowing that she has done good work, allowing the public to adore her. It is really interesting watching peoples' reactions to the hounds, you can tell there are some that feel a very strong connection to them straight away. I know, I was one of those people probably 6 years ago, and it took a couple of years before I could finally get a hound of my own. Even though there may not be many hounds adopted immediately as a result of our public relations work, we know we are just there, planting the seeds and waiting for them to grow.  

Wordless Wednesday - The fluffy supermodel

Getting back to normal, slowly

*news just in* you can now buy the paperback of H.Y Hanna's debut novel: Big Honey Dog Mysteries #1 Curse of the Scarab over at Amazon. You can see my review of the book here.

Barbie's leg is slowly healing, and we have attempted to resume normal life as much as possible without overdoing it. We revisited the Kinky Lizard recently, which we reviewed back in June. We had to park in an expensive car park since we didn't want Barbie to walk very far. She did enjoy the flowers and the lovely spring day though!

We also tried out a new winery in the Swan Valley, Edgecombe Brothers. Honey the Great Dane had been to visit and recommended it, so we decided to give it a try. The cafe seating area is very garden-like and it was a great place for the dogs to chill out. 

There was an 11 week old staffy pup running around off leash, and his kids were not doing a very good job of keeping an eye on him. The first time he romped over to our table, Bender got up and he got scared and ran away. He came back a couple of times later though and didn't seem scared at all by the end. The only problem was trying to stop Bender and the puppy playing underneath the table. Unfortunately we didn't get a photo, but his name was Shadow and he was adorable!

We ate some lunch (I had a potato frittata which had more eggs than potatoes), and then we went for a very short wander through the winery. 

They were both very satisfied with their day out and slept all afternoon when we got home. Hopefully Barbie doesn't feel like she is missing out on too much life whilst she is still in recovery mode! 

Wordless Wednesday - BFFs