Yo Santa Drew - Elf Garth at Your Service

Hey Santa Drew,

I've got Mommy and Daddy's presents hidden behind the tree... actually I'm trying to hide one in this picture, but I'm not doing a very good job. I guess you could call me Hound Elf, 3rd Class (since this is my 3rd and final bounce). I'm still learning the ropes, but should be all ready to join you on your sleigh ride delivering packages tomorrow night.

If I heard Mommy and Daddy right, they said they were taking us on a W-A-L-K tomorrow night through the neighborhood to look at the lights and hand out treats to our friends. Wait a minute, those better not be our treats from our Howliday Pawty!

I saw Daddy hide some toys in my stocking today, shhh... he doesn't know I was looking, but I did. He said no peeking, so I turned my head away for a minute, but I think it another mailman toy. I should have the squeeker killed in under 20 seconds on that lame toy, er, I mean greyt toy!

Santa Drew, thank you for making my Christmas wish come true - a wonderful family who loves me for Christmas! That's the best present ever!

Ho Ho Ho from Santa Drew

Santa Drew here. I've asked my main elf to post a couple of pictures of me begging... er, uh, putting on a couple extra pounds for my busy day tomorrow evening. We certainly don't want Santa Drew working on an empty stomach now do we? Which reminds me, don't forget to leave me out a tray of cookies. Rumor has it I'm not very picky. Just no wax fruit. Now on to the important stuff. The naughty or nice rule -- out the window. I wouldn't even be able to bring myself a bag of treats with that rule in place. I Santa Drew personally find it almost impossible to stay out of trouble for more than 6 hours. For some reason my elves call me 'Drew No' when I cause mischief. Not sure what's up with that. Elves... go figure.

Any who, I'm off to take a nap. Santa Drew needs his beauty sleep you know. I'll see all the wonderful greyhounds of the world tomorrow night.

PS: don't tell Handy and Garth, but they're really not getting a bag of coal under the tree. I just made that up because they took the couch the other night.

UPDATE: This is Santa Drew again. Hopefully I can get off probation before tomorrow evening. To underscore the reason that I removed the naught rule, when Daddy elf and Handy went to the mailbox I suddenly felt compelled to rip to shreds one of Mommy elf's favorite Cooking Light magazines. I was just looking for healthy cookie recipes... honest. It's not my fault they make um out of flimsy old paper.

Garth aces his first public outing

I'm so proud of our little man Garfy. Yesterday he ventured out to his first greyhound social event (the howliday treat exchange) and he took it in like a champ. I was a little unsure how he would handle it. When we picked him up at the kennel he was initially a bit shy and his first trip to PetSmart was almost sensory overload for him, but over the last month his confidence level has really grown.

So with optimisim we took him into a room full of 30 some old unfamiliar hounds and about the same number of strange people. He quickly got in line to sniff every rear-end in sight and seemed to enjoy the attention he got.

Handy on the other hand, was just generally put out with us that we disrrupted her Sunday afternoon nap to take her to that noisy place. She stood the entire 3 hours. I did share my pizza crust with her, which is one of her favorites, so all was not lost.

Drew... well, was typical Drew. He made an apperance in his Santa's Helper costume (complete with fake beard this year) then promptly layed in the floor the rest of the afternoon. Sometimes I think he's more three-toed sloth than greyhound.

Garfy... 2 weeks and counting

Wow, a little over two weeks have passed since the sweet little man Garth came to live with us. I just wanted to give a quick update on him.

Before we got him Marie had mentioned to the vet that she noticed a lump on his throat, so when we took him back for his dental and to have his stitches removed they looked at the nickle sized spot and decided to remove it. They sent it off for a biopsy and we're happy to report that it was benign. So now he has more stitches. That and during his dental they removed several of his front teeth... poor guy. Being the complete optimist that he is, none of this has gotten him down :-)

We have discovered that he REALLY likes squeaky toys despite what his previous owners said. He has a particular love of the ones that have the box inside them like the screaming money. All of those around the house are now broken. The last one he killed took all of 30 seconds to silence... and he loves tennis balls!

Basically Garth is just being the great sweet lovable hound we knew he would be and he's a great addition to our expanding pack.

Seniors rock!!!

Handy's Gotcha Day!

We've officially had our Handy for one year today! She's really brought some spirit into our lives. She turned 10 in September, and you wouldn't know it from the wheelies she pulls in the foyer when her leash jingles, or by the skids she leaves on the linoleum as she slides sideways to the back door. She's always up for a car ride especially, or a little zoomie in the back yard.








I know you're thinking - did she get the cat? No, that's Scrappy that she's kissing. Scrappy thinks he's the alpha pet in our kingdom. He ceremoniously chases and scratches the hounds when they first come to the Poolie animal kingdom, just so they know who's boss. Handy went along with his prank to appease him. She already knows who's the boss, and that all righteous royalty live inside the house, not outside!









We found Scrappy in the retention pond behind our house 3 years ago. He only had fur on his head and tail; he was bare skin everywhere else. He weighed 4 lbs, and is missing parts of both ears with many scratches on his body. We can say he is the best 'guard animal' we have. He sits on the driveway at the street and warns all the other neighborhood animals to steer clear of his property line. I've seen him duking it out with an opposum on the back porch over a bowl of catfood. You guessed it - the opposum took flight off the deck, missed the stairs, went boom on the ground, and took off running for a tree. Scrappy was in hot pursuit to make sure he went where he camest from...

Tea for two?

Rumor has it that our knuckle-head Drew will eat practically anything that will fit in his mouth. I believe this picture pretty much confirms that suspicion. Before you are the remains of 16 tea lights after Drew decided they might make a good mid afternoon snack. These aren't even scented candles, just your basic old white blobs of wax. Tell me tomorrow morning's poop won't be an interesting one. Sometimes I honestly think he has a death wish.

Where's Da Sunglasses When You Need 'Em?

Ma, where's our Doggles? The setting sun is a little too bright for our eyes on this day! Can you say Squinting!

We had a wonderful walk on the Silver Comet Trail and are ready to go back as soon as the Roo heads that way again!

Drew, Handy and Garth

WOW, What O Woad...

Handy, Drew - I've never seen such a wide open road before! Drew, thanks for lending me your oversized jacket; it's a little chilly out this evening. When mom and dad said, "Let's go for a walk," I never thought it would be so great. I know I tend to get 'just a wee bit' excited when it's time for a walk. There are so many 'smells' that need checked out. I know I'm just the hound for the job...

Hey Drew, that was so cool when you jumped up on the bank to catch the squirrel! I know you must have jumped up 3 dog lengths to get to him. Just a few more inches, and you woulda had him.... better luck next time.

Miss Handy, you're quite a walker. I can barely keep up with those little pistons you're walkin' on. I guess that's why mom and dad call you their little Pistol, huh?

Garth, signing off...

Our First Road Trip Together...

went without a hitch! We rode in the Roo down to the Silver Comet Trail, about a 5 minute ride from the house. Momma said watch out for that Handy girl to growl at me, but I never heard her on the way there. Drew on the other hand, took up so much space, I didn't have any room to lay down too, so I stood over him with my nose out the window. Handy kept bumpin' me with her blue mask. It didn't feel too good; I guess she doesn't like it too well.

I liked riding with my new best friends. I hope we get to go again soon!