LBass

Ruth, I really thought when I unpacked the Slumber Ball that my timid boy SPirit would be hesitant to climb aboard. Wrong! He hopped right up there and loves it. I'd be very interested in talking about purchasing your unused bed.

My 2 hounds actually like the antlers chews. I got a large one that is split. It has a hard inner pulp that is still a bit softer than the outer wall of the antler. They seem to focus on that inner pulp. The large antler was fairly costly (Amazon) but is lasting really well. I anticipate months of regular chewing before it gets small enough to need the toss out.

I so hope some smart company will start making these beds again. I'm currently struggling, with much frustration, to make a knock-off Slumber Ball because my 2 dogs are constantly squabbling over who gets to sleep on the one real Slumber Ball I have. After the expense and hassle of trying to sew something similar, I'd so happily pay someone else to do that!

Best of wishes for your grad school experience. How exciting! I love your comics and I will continue watching for updates when your time, energy, and inspiration coincide.

What a great story. Good job. Finn!

What a beautiful boy! Welcome home, Banjo!

I'm glad the coordinator finally came to her senses. Congratulations on Isabella!

What a lovely story. Nate's collar was one of Piper's and I firmly believe Nate was sent to me by Piper, so that collar seemed very fitting. I love the idea that its sentiments are powerful for the hound wearing it. Thanks, Jan.

I'm happy (delighted!) to say that last night and this morning we've had 5 good dog/cat interactions, or lack of interaction. He's beginning to see the cats walking around and not barking, lunging, or trying to chase. Yippee! We're a long way form taking off the muzzle and taking down the crate, but I'm so pleased with him and with the cats, who are getting braver. And perhaps more desperate for their humans' laps.

Name change! Confusion reigns! 8 becomes Eight becomes Bertie and FINALLY becomes Nate. I'm not usually so indecisive.

This poor boy doesn't stand a chance of settling in. I've decided to change his name to Nate.

We've got 2 "runners" and 1 "stand your ground" cat, so I am sure you're right about different cattitudes having a lot to do with the different reaction Bertie is having to our cats. We're trying hard to get confident Seiko to take the lead among the cats in training Bertie.

Saturday (12/15) I adopted a young greyhound. He was tested with cats by the adoption group and has been in a foster home with cats successfully for the last couple of weeks. Bearing those things in mind, it seems reasonable to believe he'll do well with our 3 cats. However, we're off to a bit of a rockier start than I'd hoped for, and I'm here looking for a refresher course in introducing hounds to cats--it's been 10 years since I last did that. There is an additional wrinkle to everything with this boy. Bertie has PRA, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, and is losing his sight rather swiftly. He currently sees better in daytime than at night. He clearly sees the cats' movements in the house (these are strictly house cats) and gets excited and chases them. He also stares at the cats when they are out and about. In any other dog I'd be more worried about that, but I think its just that anything that he still sees right now is "precious" to him and he pays attention to it. What we're doing now: 1) he wears a muzzle 2) he's either crated or 3) attached to a human with a leash 4) he gets scolded with the VOG if he chases a cat 5) I'm not scolding him for staring at cats but my sister is. The crating and tethering are also useful since he's very new to home life and needs house training as well. We've got lots of baby gates deployed around the house to manage both dogs and cats. I'd appreciate some ideas about helping this boy ignore those tantalizing cats. TIA Lucy

I've been haunting the Greyhound Crossroads Available Hounds page, just looking for the last year without much in the way of criteria other than that I'd know him/her when I saw him/her. Sunday a week ago it happened! http://greyhoundcrossroads.com/index.php?page=2018-adoptions At posting time he's the first hound on the page, Eight, the adorable tuxedo with the white stripe on his face. I filled out an application when I saw him and waited to hear from the adoption group. The call came Friday and Eight came home with me this past Saturday. Crated... Checking out the kitchen. And showing the delightful, dorky, hilarious overbite his has! He's a young one, just 1 1/2 years old, who never finished training or raced at all. His foster family realized that he was having trouble seeing and the specialist diagnosed him with PRA, Progressive Retinal Atrophy. Hereditary, not curable. He will fairly soon lose his sight completely. Something about him spoke to me. I believe he's the hound I was waiting for. He's actually just been in his foster home a couple of weeks, so he's pretty much farm fresh! He's getting to know his new humans, his big brother Spirit, the house and yard, and the cats ( ) He's a tiny, slender, delicately built boy and I love him already. The adoption group called him Eight because he came off the hauler with a muzzle with the digit "8" on it. I've spent most of a week thinking of him as Eight, but I really want to give him a name of his own and I think we're settled on Bertie. I've done a bit of collar shopping for him. Now to get jammies--he got cold the first night but Piper's jammies swallow him up and he can just step out of them. Clearly he must have a tiny pair of jammies that fits him. Also, off to the Health and Medical forum, and Training as well to see what ideas I can get about managing his dwindling sight and his cat chasing habit. Welcome home, Bertie!

Sammy is precious! What a sweet old fellow. Thank you for sharing those lovely pictures. I have an Oriental Shorthair cat as well so I an familiar with their strident squall robust voice. LOL Like Batmom, I built a screen door custom sized for the hallway leading to the bedrooms. It worked well to keep the cat in the bedrooms (with sunshine, windows, litterbox and water) so he couldn't sneak out through the dog door while I was at work. Even my duffer-level skills pulled off a decent looking product. If Sammy can't warm up to the idea of sleeping in you room, I think Chris's (greysmom) advice is going to give you the best resolution in the long run--a dog who can sleep quietly on his own until the household wakes up unless he has a genuine potty emergency. It's a lot of work initially but the payoff in sound sleep will be worth it. Also, though Sammy is an old hand at living in a home, your home and family are still quite new to him and I expect that he's still scoping out and getting the feel of his new people and his new home.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/is-pet-insurance-worth-it/2018/10/23/64ff3dfa-ccb1-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html This interesting article was in the Washington Post a few weeks ago. I appreciated the cost estimates for insured vs. uninsured, for the various insurance companies, and for healthy vs. less healthy animals.

I am enjoying your comic so much! Thank you for the so-true humor and the charming illustrations.

Joe is a gorgeous boy and I particularly love the first picture. Such a good smile! Welcome!

I'm so sorry your beautiful girl is gone.

A shocking, tragic loss. I'm so very sorry.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. That's woefully inadequate, but then we all know that everything is inadequate in the face of such a loss. Lucy, who also loved a Gable Dodge boy

Your Marty is a good looking fellow.

Done. No new names turned up.