Melba's Musings

The one in which I tell everyone what's been going on...

2010-05-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yeah, there really has been a lot happening here in the DueWest house.

I have neglected telling everyone what has been going on with Melba for these past few months. Now that everyone who needs to know, knows, I feel that I can share with her blog friends.

On New Year's eve of this year Melba and I spent our evening in the emergency vet clinic. We were there for over four hours with a spinal injury.

When I got home on the afternoon of the 31st Mel came out to greet me at the car as she always does. I went to pet her face and she screamed the second I touched her. Something was wrong.

Not two hours later she was almost paralyzed.

We rushed her to the E.R. where I was asked if she could have been poisoned. Luckily the rest of the family was at home with her when the injury happened so I knew it wasn't poisoning. I let the vet know that there was no way that it could be something toxic and off to x-ray we went.

After many tears and much worry that I was going to loose my special girl, the vet came back out. Melba was put under anesthesia, x-rayed, poked and prodded. I was shown her x-rays and confirmed that it was indeed a spinal injury.

When we got home she could barely stand on her own, if at all. She cried all through the night in pain and confusion. I cried too. My gentle, sweet, amazingly wonderful girl, hurt. I could do nothing for her.

A few weeks were spent on crate rest and me holding her to potty. She would fall over if I didn't. Slowly she regained her strength. At times she is still 'off' when doing normal every day things. Her movement is still a little off and pottying can still be a small challenge. I am always here to help her when needed.

Melba has been diagnosed with Degenerative Stenosis. A spinal disease that will get worse as she ages. At 7 years old, she has a disease that will shorten her life span. At first I was devastated. Now we know that with regular anti-inflammatory treatment, massage and acupuncture she will lead a normal life. Yes, it most likely will shorten her life span, but, not by years.

My beautiful girl will live a happy and comfortable life. She will have ups and downs. It will not keep her spirit down. She is strong and has an amazing will about her. I have learned much from her in these last months. I can only hope to be half the being she is.

Please do not feel bad for her or me. I hope others that know her can learn from her as well. I will post about her condition as she progresses in hopes that others can be more informed about it.

Once again, she and I are learning something new together. We have been through a lot of 'firsts', she and I. I look forward to the next chapter of our lives together.

~A and Mel

An Introduction Of Sorts

2010-02-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

We here at the DueWest household would like to introduce our newest family member. She has been part of the family for some time really but only recently came to stay.

Please welcome 'Bzantium Metaxa At Lost Creek', Brandi! Thank You to Helen for the opportunity to bring her home. We just adore her!

This wonderful girl makes 5 for the DueWest house. Melba and the other whippets don't mind that she is here. Bella really likes Brandi and they way they play together shows it.

We look forward to many happy years together.

Keep an eye out for us in the show ring this year! We are hoping to continue the success that last year brought us. Maybe pick up a few more points along the way.

Dog Show News

2009-09-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well there hasn't been much happening as of late. We had a show this weekend that was pretty darn good. Nothing too major to report but nice none the less.

On Saturday, I went up with my friend Jessica. I showed Brandi and Jess showed two of hers, Dash and Vega. Brandi took 3rd in her Open class of 6 (I think). I was more than happy with that placement. There were some nice girls in that class. Jess took 3rd in Open Dogs with Dash and 4th in Open Bitches with Vega. So it was a decent weekend. I can't complain when we are in the ribbons!

On Sunday I went up with Helen (Brandi's owner). She had Audre (baby girl turned 2 on Saturday!!!) and Olivia, I had Brandi. Audre won her Bred By class. I was super happy about that! Brandi was again 3rd in Open and Olivia went on to win Open Bitches, Winners Bitch and Best Opposite!!! Yay Olivia!!!!!!

After whippet judging I had the chance to show a really lovely Greyhound boy in the group. That was a blast! A big Thank You to his owners for giving me the opportunity to show him and to Barb for asking if I would like to give it a go! We got pulled in the group, though we didn't place it was an honor to just make the cut. There were some very nice dogs in the group. Some being in the top 10 in the country so it really was an honor to be pulled with a puppy boy.

It was a good weekend out at the shows!

Fish

2009-08-19T11:25:00.001-07:00

Aren't they cute?! Go ahead... Feed em... You know you want to... Just click on the water...

New Beginnings

2009-07-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

There have been some pretty big life changes going on here. Something that once was beautiful and full of promise became tainted and ugly and has come to an end.

I couldn't be happier.

There is a new life in front of me. A new beginning. Full of promise and success. Of failure and lessons learned.

For the first time in almost 10 years I am free to be myself. To do the things that I want to do. Be the person I know I am and can be. To meet new people and friends and to get out in the world as the 'new' me.

I like the new me. She is fun and outgoing. She is no longer angry and hurt and bitter. She is a person full of emotion and joy that she isn't afraid to show. I feel amazing.

This life is too short to sit and dwell on things that I cannot change. Things that could have been. There are plenty of things that will be and still are.

I am lucky to have wonderful friends that were (and are)there for me when I needed them most. I appreciate them more than they know.

On to the next new chapter of my life!

(Sorry for the non doggy post, more will be following. Hopefully more regularly than in the past!)

Happy Birthday

2009-05-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Melba's Birthday. She is six years old today. I would like to know where the last six years went. She was just a six month old puppy yesterday, right?

Happy Birthday to the amazingly wonderful, beautiful, funny, smart (at times) whippet girl that makes my life better every day. Happy Birthday Mel,

Love,
Your ever grateful Person (mom)

P.S.
Happy Birthday to Melba's brother Buster!!! And the rest of the Dessert litter :)

Melba and the Bird Seed

2009-04-30T11:44:00.001-07:00

It all started when we came home from work two nights ago. There was bird seed. Everywhere. There were two girl whippets looking at us with innocent, 'we didn't do it' eyes. The following is what happened through Melba's eyes. 99.9% of what you read in this story is true. You decide what's not.....

Just another day at home. We sit here and sleep and wait. Twix barks at Buster as Buster itches his butt on the furniture. Bella and I sleep for the most part. Just a normal day. We sit on the bunch under the window and watch the cows and those damn golf course crows! How I despise them. We hop down after a good bark session at the crows and Bella spots something, something wonderful. It is the shiny, translucent, slightly smelly, noise making, Tupperware box of bird seed.

Oh, it can't be! Bella has gotten it open!! Oh sweet joy! Maybe if I just have a taste....

Oh this is so good... **crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch**

I better go eat it over here though so no one knows it was me... *crunch*

Why isn't Bella eating any? *crunch* This is her most favorite thing! *crunch, crunch* How can she pass this wonderful opportunity up!? *drool*

Well it's not my problem if she doesn't want to join in. The more for me!

What's that noise? **crunch, crunch, crunch**

Uh Oh, I think they are home!!! *** Increase speed of Crunch,crunch,crunch,crunch***

I will just go sit on the couch. They will never know it was me. Bella why are you laughing at me? What's so funny? I can't believe that you didn't have any, same goes for the boys for that matter! Dang that was good.

Oh yay!!! They ARE home! **Jump, Jump, Whine, Whine, WooHoo!!**

I'm still hungry. I know that they should be giving us dinner right now. Why are they bringing out the loud purple screeching sucker thing?! Hey humans! There are hungry whippets in this house!!!!

Fine, I will just go outside and wait.

Thank God! The kid knows we are hungry! She is making dinner!

Man this new dinner is good. Chicken parts, veggies and other bits... yummmmmmmm...

Uh oh...

Hey guys, Mom, um, I kinda, well, don't, oy, feel, too good... Maybe if I stretch that will help. Oh no, I can't hardly stretch...Maybe if I go for a walk around the yard... Oh, that's not going to work... What's wrong with me? I really don't feel good you guys... Bella, it isn't funny! Stop snickering at me or I am going to tell Mom what you did!

Where is Mom?

Oh there she is... Hey Mom, Bella opened the bird seed and told me to eat some... No I wouldn't jump off a bridge if all my friends where doing it. What does that have to do with Bella!?... Anyways, she opened it and told me to try some, so I did cause she Double Dog Dared me, and you know you have to do it if it is a Double Dog Dare!...No I am not lying! She told me to!... Hey Mom, I really don't feel good... I know my tummy is huge... I think it might explode... Oh that feels better when you rub my tummy, it kind of stops hurting... Uh Oh, Mom, I think, um, I think, oh boy, I'm gonna gack.... **** BLECK ****

Dang, that feels a little better. How bout a good stretch... Hummm still can't stretch... Alright... I'm going outside then... Hey guys, I'm having a hard time here... walking isn't as easy as it was a little while ago... What's going on?... Why are the humans following me around the yard? Why are they making me stay outside? I just want to go lay down inside...

Ummmm...Thank you for letting me inside humans... Here is the problem... I gotta gack again! ****BLECK,GACK,BLECK****

This is not good. I want to go to bed. Mom, make it stop... please...

***Here is where I will end Mel's portion of the story. Needless to say she was sick all night long. She is FINE now. She and I were up all night long while she threw up and I took her outside and cleaned up after her. I would like to say she has learned a lesson from all of this, but I am not that naive. She is still a dog, the best dog, but she would do it again in a heart beat if given the chance. In all, Melba ate two pounds of bird seed. It was ugly to say the least.

****Melba would like me to add a picture of Bella so everyone knows who made her do it!

~I think she is laughing a little, don't you?

Goings On

2009-04-30T11:19:00.001-07:00

Well once again (as always) I have been lazy and not posted a thing for over a month. Seriously, I am lazy when I get home from work. If I am not showing dogs, working or talking on the phone, I just sit here. I guess it is my way of getting away from the world. Maybe, just maybe, I should find something a little more productive. Like walking or something.

Eh, whatever.

So lots has happened in the last month. We had the American Whippet Club National Specialty show. It was a freakin BLAST! We had 4 adult women and FIVE dogs in one hotel room. Out of control you say?! Well only a little. We did manage pretty well and had some pretty fun times in between. We got lots in the ghetto trying to find a grocery store. That was an interesting experience. But what is life with out experiences?! They make us who we are.
There was a great welcome party that week with lots of drinking, dancing, singing and all that fun stuff. There was a costume contest for the dogs and people. The theme was Easter. I will post pictures of that later. They had a wonderful presentation by a very well know whippet person, Bo, that was very informational and like a history lesson too. I showed two dogs for Mary, she was a roommate for the week. The national was a good time. I can't wait until next year!

A little exciting news,
The Due West Whippet family welcomes a new half family member. Making our little crew of 3.5 jump to 3.5.5. Yes I know, that is two halves and that equals a whole, but the new member does not live here just like the other .5, the first 3 do live here. So she is still a .5. (I could run with that all day, but I will save you from that) The Due West crew would like to Welcome Brandi to the family! Brandi comes to stay on weekends sometimes for dog shows and we love having her here. A very sweet mostly white girl with patches of brindle on her head. We adore her and are so excited that her owner has allowed us to be a part of the Brandi adventure! Thank You Helen!!!!!!

Plenty going on out here, but no more time to write about it. I have to go be productive. I'm taking the girls out to lounge in the sun. Working on a tan is productive, right?

Curse of the Prowler Part 3

2009-03-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

I Lied. It was a month before I posted the next installment. Oy!

The giggling continues.
It sounds like a junior high sleep over in the trailer.
Except for the rain pouring down.
The sound of 'scritching' from somewhere in the trailer.
The dogs blissfully unaware that anything is out of the ordinary.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, morning arrives. We all wake up, though two of us barely slept if at all, and take the dogs out to potty. It is still raining. The ground is sopping wet and so are my shoes. We put the dogs back in their houses and start getting ourselves ready for the day ahead. Still can't figure out how to turn the water on in the Prowler. So into the big building we go to take our showers and get put together.

Fully ready now and it is time to take the dogs to ring side to wait for sweeps to start. I have two to show. Not bad. Show the Child, place in our class. Show the Child's Grand Dam, take Best Opposite Veteran. Good start to the day. Maybe the Prowler isn't THAT bad. Lunch break. Run to the Prowler and get a sandwich. Musty smelling, though maybe that is us from being in the rain all day and the smell of my suede jacket, which is soaked, is not exactly appealing. Trailer mate comes and talks to me, asking me to please, please, please not be mad. Hmmmm wonder what this is about? They found a room in the house that is on the show grounds. With a real bed that doesn't lean to one side and bathrooms. Lucky. So I accept my fate. The Prowler is all mine for the remainder of the weekend. Me and my two dogs. I can deal with that. We will be fine. Alone.

Scarf down lunch and run back to ring side. Show the Child again in regular class, place in class. Show Boo in regular class, nothing. Show Ciscoe as a special, nothing. My Trailer mates have a much better day than I had. Their young boy, Child's brother won his class and went on to Reserve Winners Dog and their Special, Ru-pee-toe (as I call him) was Best Opposite for the day. Nice!

Back to the Prowler for a change of clothes. My ex-Trailer mates take their stuff to the new room and promise to be back for dinner and drinks. There I sit. Alone in my little trailer. It's so quiet. My back hurts from the bed. My feet hurt from a long day of showing. Two more days to go.

My friends come back and we start making food. Drinks are flowing and we are basking in the great day we all had. The dogs are fed and pottied. They are happy too. Some of our show friends stop by and have some drinks with us.

This is how dog shows should be all the time. Friends, Food, Drinks and Fun.

One of my ex-trailer mates decides to help me find a way to turn the water on in the Prowler. We had turned all the knobs on all of the faucets and nothing happened. Interesting. We thought we had it figured out.

He goes into the bathroom.
"Hey! I think I figured it out!"
Flips a switch hiding in plain sight on the wall.
Water starts gushing out of every faucet in the trailer.
The screaming starts.
"Ack!!!! Turn it off!!!"
Turning the water off is much harder when you are getting soaked and panicking.
Turn everything back off.
"I guess it works now", he says.
"Ya Think?!", I say.
The clean up begins and ends.

Everyone starts to fade away into the evening. One by one. Off into their own little abyss. My ex-trailer mates head back to the luxury of their new found room. I am happy for them. The dogs and I will be fine. Alone.

I take the dogs out one last time before bed. They all get to stay loose and sleep in bed with me tonight. That will help keep the cold out. I open one of the windows to get some air moving in there. Throw on my pj's and get into bed.

The rain starts again.
My back already hurts.
At least I am toasty warm.
Then it starts.
Again.
No sleep for the weary.
Or at least that is what they say.
Super.

Two more days.

Tagged!

2009-02-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Melbie has been Tagged by Ribsy over at Whippet Snippets .

- Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

- Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog

- some random, some weird.

- Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.

- Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So Mel is thinking that she won't tag anyone back as most of her blogging buddies aren't big fans of being tagged. She likes it though. :)

1. I am a Mole Killer. All moles shall fear me.

2. I think it's funny when the human men get mad at me for whining.

3. I am fluent in 6 whining languages.

4. I love gardening.

5. I pretend that my little sister annoys me, but we sleep together at night and I love her.

6. I love puppies, but will never have any of my own. (I have a steady career and kids just aren't in my future)

7. Butt rubs are my guilty pleasure.

Curse Of The Prowler, Part 2

2009-02-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

Three hours a Box O' Wine and a couple dog potty trips later, the Prowler makes an entrance.

By now light is fading to dusk and everyone but us are comfy in their campers/motor homes. We get the Prowler parked, plugged in and emptied out. Crates get stacked, clothes are hung, food gets put away and drinks come out. We all make our respective beds. Take the whippets out and get them fed and watered and pottied. The hunger and exhaustion are taking their toll and we are a little pissy.

The BBQ has made it outside and charcoal has been thrown into the BBQ and doused with a hearty serving of lighter fluid. There is no way that it wont ignite. The familiar "Whoosh!" sound comes from the black bricks and the fire commences. There will be food soon.

Some friends come over from surrounding camps. They see we are cooking and have copious amounts of food and drink. They all come in and take a seat in the Prowler. Now we are more than a little cramped. Too many people in the Prowler.

My trailer mates and I decide to start cooking.

Take the burgers and chicken out of the freezer box and start the small amount of prep work needed to cook outdoors. Make sure we have enough chicken cooked up to supply 4 people with bait for the next day. Four or Five chicken breasts should do right?

What was that?
Felt like rain.
No, it couldn't be.
Someone help me set up the pop up just in case.
Oh no one is listening.
Try my self to put the thing up.
Rain, lots of rain.
Still struggling to get the pop up set up.
Everyone is inside the Prowler.
Everyone but me and my trailer mate who is cooking.
In the rain.
The pouring rain.

Finally I gave up with the stupid pop up that doesn't pop up its gets put together. Real easy to do in the dark when you and the canvas are soaking wet. Completely defeated and pissed I walk inside the Prowler and realize that I have no where to sit. There are too many people in the trailer. Food however is done. Thank all that is good in this world.

Another hour or so goes by and our guests start to head out for their camps. We take the dogs out for one last potty before bed. This day was finally coming to an end! The rain continues to fall. Hard. The dogs just want to go back inside. We oblige and take them back.

It's bed time. The three of us climb into our respective beds.
Then it starts.
The silence.
The strange noises.
The sound of pounding rain on a fiberglass roof.
The giggling.

This concludes Part Two of the Curse Of The Prowler. Stay tuned kids! I promise the next installment won't take a month!

Thanks Mar for getting my ass in gear! :)

Curse of the Prowler

2009-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Curse of the Prowler came to be on a sunny August afternoon back in 08'.

It started like any other summer day before a dog show. Packing the car with dogs, dog food, dog supplies, dog show clothes, you get the point. This time was a little different. We were going to stay on the grounds. No more commuting back and forth like normal! Oh no, we were staying there! This was going to be great! Three of us in a trailer that sleeps AT LEAST 5 people. Awesome! There is room for us and the dog crates.

And so it began.

We loaded up the Prowler. A lovely shade of late 70's oranges and browns and creams. You get the picture. Everyone cheery, knowing that it will be just perfect for the three day show. The Prowler is crammed to the gills with crates, bedding, clothes, food, BBQ, anything you could possibly need for three people and five or six dogs.

Hitch Prowler to Truck. Pull out of driveway. Or not....

This was the beginning of what was to be a very long day.

Prowler breaks don't seem to be budging. Hummm... well she hasn't moved in over a year. Maybe they are rusted and stuck.

Nope.

Prowler breaks are NOT connected to Truck. Connect breaks to truck. Prowler moves!!!

Starting driving down the road to the show site. It is only about 20-30 minutes from where we are heading for the weekend of dog showing goodness.

5 miles down the road... Nice trucker dude pulls up next to the truck. "Ladies, you know your breaks are on fire right?"

WTF?!?!? Yup, breaks are now smoking. This is normally something that would have been noticed as soon as it started due to the smell alone. But not today. Not with a car full of whippets with horrid gas. The stench inside the truck was worse than the smoking breaks.

Pull the truck over. Call the owner of the Prowler and have them come get it and bring it to the show site. I will not sacrifice my 2 month old truck to the Prowler, though I know it demands a sacrificial lamb or something of equal or lesser value. But that can wait. I have dogs that need to potty and people waiting for us at the show site. So on we go, leaving the Prowler behind at the gas station down the road.

We roll up to the show site about 3 hours after we were supposed to arrive with my trailer roomies waiting in what we now call the 'homeless camp'. They have all started drinking, with out me. I take out the dogs let them potty and put them back in their respective 'boxes'. Drag the cooler out of the car. No bottle opener..... now what?

Ahhhh yes, the boxed wine! Convenient dog show beverage. Now mind you these Boxes O' Wine are small. Not the giant boxes you stuff in the fridge at home. These are holdable and portable, great for just such a day. Bring on the Box O' Wine!

As we all sit drinking out of little boxed wine and twist top beer, we begin to wonder, if the Prowler will ever make it here. After a couple more hours and more than one box of wine in the 'homeless camp' we got our answer...

To be continued....

Bella And The Fake Puppies

2009-01-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

Bella seems to think she is having puppies. This is something that she does EVERY time she goes out of season. (Mind you there is NO chance of her having real puppies, never has, never will. Only one boy she comes in contact with and he has been altered for over 8 years) I am used to the whole "Bella, false pregnancy, thing." She gets pudgy and lactates. She mothers her little 'baby' stuffie toy. She loves the toy like it is her child. The poor thing gets groomed and carried around and she attempts to nurse it. It is really kind of sad to witness. So, soon she will be spayed and the curse of the fake puppies will come to an end. It is better for all involved. She is currently residing on the couch under the covers with me and her 'baby'.

Oh Honey, this too shall pass.

WooHoo!!!

2008-11-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a long one. For three days in a row I drove to Canada. Two hours each way. I know this doesn't seem like much but, when you do it for that many days, it is. I drove up there to show Audre. And show we did.

On Friday (Halloween) she was beautiful! Didn't do a thing wrong. We won our class and took Reserve Winners. Not too shabby!

Saturday she decided that this dog show thing wasn't for her and was a total brat. We took 2nd in our class.

Sunday she still didn't think this dog show thing was very funny and was a complete brat again. I had her other Mother (who she lives with) take her in for winners. Though this time she took Winners and went on to Best of Winners for 3 points!!!! WooHoo!!!!!!!

She now has 5 points towards her Canadian CH and I couldn't be more thrilled! 5 more points to go! Yay Baby Girl!!!!!

Crazy Puppy Play

2008-10-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought I would share some pictures of Audre and her brother Levi playing. They are so funny and cute together. Though they tend to sound like Tasmanian devils attempting to murder each other. If you have never heard whippet puppies play you would think that it is an all out war. Too bad I didn't take a video of the action. LOL! Anyways...Here are the kids in all their play time glory! Enjoy!

~Anne

How Lame!

2008-09-18T10:50:00.001-07:00

Oh How Lame Am I?! I never get around to posting anymore. I work work work and show show show. Dog show season is pretty much over for me for this year. One more coming up in November but that is aways off still. So lets go back a month or so and I will let y'all know what I have been up to!

The first weekend in August is always the WWWA Specialty show. I love this show. It is always fun with all sorts of friends, old and new. I had a few dogs to show. Let's see there was Audre, Brandi, Athena and Ciscoe.

Audre had a great weekend consistently placing in her classes (2 per day) and she took Best Opposite in Sweeps that Sunday! I am so proud of my little child! She just had her first birthday on September 5th. :)

Brandi had a great weekend as well. She took 3rd out of a large Open Bitch class. I just love this girl. She has grown up so much from the first time I had shown her.

Athena was wonderful! This was the first time I had gotten to meet her and show her. She is Audre's grandmother. Looking at pictures of both of them at the same age I can see where Audre gets her looks! They are almost identical at 6 months. Athena took Best Opposite Veteran in Sweeps! I could not have been more happy. Again, Thank You to Bev for allowing me to show her. It was a real honor.

Ciscoe was such a good boy for me. Even though we didn't do anything in the breed ring. He is always happy to show for me and is the best bed buddy a girl could ask for! I truly love every chance to show him. He is the bestest boy.

So the specialty was a big success! Audre's siblings placed well. We got to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. It is the best part of the summer!

A couple of weeks ago we had a photo shoot with Audre, Levi and Borzoi Jessica. That was a lot of fun. I have some great shots to share. Some are a little fuzzy but those children are so fast it is hard for the camera to keep up with them! I will post those a little later.

Not much else is happening. Just working and relaxing on my weekends for now. Enjoying a little down time. Melba and I have just been hanging out on the couch and in the yard enjoying the warm weather we are still having. Mel says Hi to everyone! She promises to make me get on here and update a bit more often. :)

~Anne and Melba

Ah the National

2008-04-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well we just got home from the American Whippet Club National Specialty show. It was great! A week of whippets and old friends and of course we made some new friends as well. We had some very good times. Lots of drinks and food and even a former President of the USA! It was an eventful week. All of the vendors had us spending money left and right for all things whippet that are hard to find or that you only get at the National. I can't believe that it is already over. Now on to plan for next year! I will post some pictures later of the dogs in the ring and in their team gear. :)

Photo Rama

2008-03-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

She got a new Camera.
Great.
I love pictures.
She insists on taking pictures of me and the others at all times. Making squeaky voice sounds to get us to look at her. Telling us to 'look pretty' and then the 'Oh that was so cute!'. I am not the photogenic one in this house. Let me tell you what. Now Bitch Puppy knows how to look good for the camera. Me, not so much. She did take some good ones though. Let me show you.

Here is Twix. The resident boy whippet. Typical man laying this way.

This is me. Of course I am looking away.

Bitch Puppy, better known as Bella.

This is Audre. Isn't she pretty? She is Mom's puppy friend.

This is Tyra. Better known to some as Bean. She is Mom's buddy.

This is Monika. She is our friend that posted last about her Jammies. Isn't she pretty?

This is Buster. Better known as Honey Bunny around these parts. He is our resident blind, old, Jack Russell Terrier. Or should I say Parsons Russell Terrier.

Those are just some of the many, many pictures she has been taking. I hope you enjoyed them. :)

~Mel

Letter From A Friend

2007-12-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

Dear Melba-

Thank you so very much for my new jammies. It's the best Christmas pressie ever! I have had them on ever since your human brought them to me, and I get very upset if anyone tries to take them off. They keep me very snuggly warm. At 13 years old you can imagine how important that is. Going outside, lounging around the house, and sleeping in bed have all been made much better with the gift of my new jammies.

The other morning my human took me out side with all the other whippies I live with. The little whipper snappers were running around while Toby and I were leisurely strolling about. Toby was over by the fence standing on three legs so I decided I better go check on him and see what he was doing. Next thing I know one of my humans scoops me up, runs me up the steps and starts hollering "Hon, hon come here." (I would sure like to know who "Hon" is. I live with my 2 humans and 4 other whippets, NONE of whom are named hon last time I checked).

Anyway, my other human comes to the door and I hear the one that's holding me say "Monika needs to be cleaned up, she just walked through Toby's pee." What?!?! What is he talking about? I didn't walk through anyone's pee. He MUST mean that someone peed ON me. This man is silly. He must be loosing his mind. What whippet do you know would knowingly walk through pee? Sheesh.

Well my other human takes me inside and to the room at end of the hall. She then proceeds to remove my jammies. Oh my god! What is this crazy lady thinking? Why on earth is she doing this to me? Then she takes them and throws them into this big machine! I was very upset, and getting more so by the moment. I kept pacing around in circles in the room, and nudging her with my head but it didn't stop her.... She turned the machine on! I stood there in horror as my jammies started to go around and around in circles... I could see them in there. It was like a bad nightmare. They were getting wet, and getting some bubbly stuff on them and still going around and around in circles. The crazy lady that put them in there left the room. She must have known I was thinking about biting her for all this trauma she was causing me.

So there I was... just standing there all alone... watching, and praying my jammies would survive....

I walked down the hall a few times to try and get the crazy lady to come and give me my jammies back but she just kept telling me "They'll be done in a few minutes Monika." Back I went to the room with the machine, to watch my jammies........

After some time, I think it was about an hour, not a few "minutes" as she had said the crazy lady came back to the room. I stood there very excited as she opened the door on the machine. "Yiippeee... Yippeee... my jammies" I exclaimed.

But do you know what that crazy lady did next? She put them into ANOTHER machine!! I am convinced as of this time that she isn't even "crazy." Now I think she belongs in a mental hospital for sure. Can someone help me contact the men in the white coats?

Atleast in this other machine my jammies weren't getting wet anymore... they were just tumbling around and around. Again, there I stood, just watching in horror.

After another 20 minutes the insane human comes back down the hall. She kept telling me how "cute" I was. Cute?!?! My legs were killing me by this point with all the standing around, and she has the nerve to tell me how cute I am??? Again.. someone contact the men in the white coats.

Finally, FINALLY she takes them out of the other machine. I decided before she did something else with them I would jump on her to remind her I was standing right there, and that the jammies were MINE. (She needs to keep her hands off of them if you ask me.) Amazingly she put them back on me.... I think I had her shaking in her shoes by then, and she figured she better give them back before someone got hurt!

After all that I pranced back down the hall to my bed by the fireplace. I stayed there most of the evening, and kept clear of the lunatic lady. I'll have my eye on her from now on.

So thanks again Melba, I do love my jammies. I promise I'll keep a better hold on them so they don't go falling into the wrong hands again. =O)

Love,
Monika

Christmas

2007-12-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

So I have been wandering the house singing "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for the last week. I like the Holidays for the most part. We never had the crazy family get together. Sure there was a little yelling from time to time but no major blowups during the holidays. My dogs think that I am crazy. Here is what they think about the Holiday.
"Why is she making those weird squeaky noises?"
"I think she is singing."
"Whatever it is I don't enjoy it."
"What is wrong with you guys?! Can't you see what she is doing?! This is her way of playing! It's great! Listen to the noises she makes, NO Squeaky can do that!"
"Well I guess it could be fun. Hey human, what are you doing now?"
(Putting up the tree)
"Look! She is taking neat shiny stuff out of that box!"
"Oooooooh. Hey lady, what is that stuff? Let me see. I just want to hold it."
"I got one!!!!! Woohoo!! Oh Crap! She's after me!"
"Nice try kid. You have to be a little more sneaky than that! Watch the pro. Hi there lady. What cha doing? Those are some pretty things you have there. What was that? Oh, yes I am a good helper aren't I? Let me just look in this box for another shiny thing for you. Oh I found one! Oh, you didn't want that one yet? Oh, ok. I will just take it over here for a second."
"Wow! How did you do that?!!"
"You just have to know how to work her."
"Whats that Smell?"
Unanimous.... "COOKIES!!!!!!"
The general noise of dogs rushing into the kitchen.
"Oh I was hoping that there would be cookies involved with this!"
"Me first!"
"No human! I didn't want biskies! I wanted cookies! People cookies! Can't you see that!"
"I will take what I can get! Thanks lady!"
"Oh Fine! I will take your biskies and go to my bed."
"The human is wierd you guys, ~crunch, crunch, crunch~ she just doesn't get us."
"I think she is alright. She did give us biskies. ~crunch, crunch~ Though I am not real sure why there is a tree in the house again. And I'm really not sure why she puts shiny things and my ribbons on it. I worry that she may be loosing it sometimes."
"She calls it Christmas. It happens every year. You guys always forget. I guess being the oldest I remember these things. Don't you remember? We get pressies and biskies and chewies and all sorts of good things. The humans open boxes covered in pretty papers and oooh and ahhh over the things in those boxes. They are all happier this time of year. She always says it isn't about the pressies though, it is about family."
"Oh, well I guess she isn't loosing it."
"I still think she is! Look at all of this!"
"Silly child. You will learn."
"It is about family and love and peace."
" Like she loves us and we are family and we are at peace with that?"
"Close enough child."
"I like this Christmas thing. It's nice"

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!

Wow A Blog!

2007-12-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well, she did it. She got a blog. She tells me that it is for my musings. I don't know what that is but I will go with it. She is my person. She says that she is going to write a children's book about the things we do together. Sounds fun! I love kids! Food is always at my level with kids around.

Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Melba. I am a whippet with a lot to say. I enjoy showing and Lure Coursing and Racing. But above all else, I love my person.

We have a couple friends that will be blogging with us. Tyra and her family and of course her person. They too have a lot to say! Tyra is a feisty little red and white whippet that we all just love! Her family is pretty neat too.

From time to time we will be posting pictures of ourselves and friends. But mostly we will be telling our stories. We hope you enjoy our little piece of web space!

Melba