Entrapment

Everyone knows that whippets like to be above floor level. Give us a couch or bed any day, it sure beats laying on the floor like some common house pet.

If properly padded, even a couple beds like this will do the trick:


So imagine my surprise when this was introduced into the house:


What's the purpose of this? Am I supposed to jump into this and never come out again? Is this some kind of trap?

I know, you're probably thinking, "Smarty, that's not for you." I'm sure that's exactly what they would want me to believe. And yet, when I went to the owners' website I saw this con-trap-tion listed in a post entitled "Home Building for TBA."

Don't you get it? I'm TBA!! The Best Animal!

So now you're probably saying, "Smarty, you really shouldn't be reading your owners' blog. It's none of your business what sinister plots are being planned against you." Well, for starters, I don't read the blog... I just look at the pictures.

And speaking of pictures, the plot gets even worse! Perhaps you saw this picture on the owners' blog:


Well, I happen to remember that day... and look who was conveniently airbrushed out of the picture!!


Well, two can play at that game. I saw the picture of the new rug on the blog...


Now, with the help of a little technology, I'll just add a couple members of the family you apparently have overlooked....


Voila! Two can play at this game! Right, Scoche?

You've gotta get up pretty early in the morning to fool this whippet. In fact, speaking of getting up early, isn't it time for our walk?

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Strolling through the neighborhood to find furry friends is a favorite pastime here.

By the way, I define "pastime" as "cemented routine that we deserve and demand." For this reason, Scoche and I wake up promptly at 6am to beat the heat for this daily "meet and greet." We give the owner until 6:20 to wake up. After that, it's pastime indeed!

Once we wake him up, he stretches and flaps -- no, wait a minute, that's what we do. He just stretches...a little bit...somewhat unimpressive, actually. Then, after some of his delay tactics, takes us out for the aforementioned stroll.

There's always something worth seeing...


See what I mean?


Or not?

If you can't see what we see... you might need to get outside and take a look! In fact, you are welcome to join us, just show up at 6am any day of the week. If we're not outside by 6:20, feel free to knock on the door, ring the doorbell...really, whatever it takes. In fact, we'd appreciate it!

Three Wishes

I can relax now. I finally got three things I've always wanted.

The owners have been talking for a little while now about "the baby's room" -- which I could only assume meant my room, since I'm the youngest and cutest resident here. Though I admit I had trouble figuring out which room they meant, the kitchen or the master bedroom. It turns out they were actually talking about my sun room, which they call the backyard.

The first thing I got that I always wanted was a sign for my room:


I've always wanted one of those!

The next thing I've always wanted was delivery service. You know, breakfast (and lunch and dinner) in bed. Well, that wish was granted too. Look what was sent right to my yard:


The delivery schedule is a little odd. They tend to deliver when I'm inside, and currently my "doggie door" - what a demeaning term - is a large sheet of glass. They call it a "sliding glass door" because when you run outside, you slide across the deck. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time outside, waiting for the next delivery.

And the third wish fulfilled...


My own swingset! This was on my Christmas list last year, but I got some other cool stuff instead (see my January 25 post for details).

But wouldn't you know it? They came out with a new swingset model after we arrived here. We saw it on one of our walks:


Well, I'll keep wishing. That's the funny thing about wishes. You never run out!

Reporting for Duty

Sorry I haven't been able to write as much lately, but we've been very busy. After a long crate ride, we made it to Virginia once again. For this vacation, the owners brought a lot of their stuff! I guess they were tired of going back and forth for so many things. You'd think that if they wanted to bring this much stuff with them they'd just move here. But hey, what do I know, I'm just the whippet.

In any case, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone seemed to drive away with the truck that they brought everything in! They gave the guy some money, apparently to run and get some lunch or beach gear, and he just got in the truck and off he went! I have no idea how they're going to get all this stuff back to New Jersey, but I for one can't spare any of my crate space. While the crate may be an example of "modest elegance," truth be told it's not really the most spacious way to travel... though from what I hear it offers more leg room than your average airline.

So anyway, we've all been kept busy. We can't visit the beach until we get all our stuff put away, so we've all had to pull our weight in the unpacking process. Since I only weigh about 30 pounds, I figured I've done my share, but still no beach. (FYI, I still haven't found my surfboard - Lucy, did I leave that with you??)

So the way I've kept busy is by patrolling the back yard...


I keep a close eye out for predators. I've actually seen quite a few squirrels, which assures me that my work is not in vain. Maintaining security is a tiring job, as you can tell from this next picture...



Yes, that's Scoche for you - laying down on the job!

What's tiring about the job is actually the reporting process. Every time I see something of note, I rush back inside to tell the owners -- but, of course, I need them to let me in. Talk about bureaucratic red tape! And then every time they hear me sound a warning signal - for example, a bark or a low guttural whine - they have to come to the door and shout at the perpetrators. I'm not sure they've figured out who the perpetrators are, because they usually direct their messages at me and expect me to handle things from there.

So as you can tell, this is less of a vacation and more like a new job. But hopefully we'll get to the beach soon!