Carry on, my Wayward Son

Despite a myriad of faults (we call him B-ruin for a reason, as in: he's b-ruined our furniture, our lives, etc) Bruin is a pretty cool dog. I'll be the first to admit (after a couple of beers of course) that I don't give him enough credit. He went from a knock-kneed, screaming, piddling puppy to a long lanky adult who no longer makes water in his pants when you speak sharply. Okay, there is still screaming. No one is perfect.

 To begin with, Noons has a kick-ass spot on his chest that looks a little like a butterfly.

It looks great on that fab brindle background! 

Secondly, Bruin is ridiculously FAST. At the dog park, he isn't the obnoxious dog humper that Gryphon was; he's too busy galloping in circles like a demented race horse. Few dogs can catch him. To see him flying across a field is a marvelous sight.

Despite being a tall drink of water, Runes will fold himself up into the smallest possible chair and go to sleep. God help this dog if Nik and I get struck by lightening and he has to go to a home where he isn't allowed on the furniture. The floor is for lesser beasts like cats and drunken house guests. In the summer, you can see him out on the deck sitting in 'his' chair for hours, much to the amusement of the neighbors.

 Another cool thing is that he sleeps LIKE THIS...

 

I feel like I cannot document this enough. It is frigging adorable. He also woofs in his sleeps and curls his back toes. B'awww.

Runes has a whiny husky-like bark, but he doesn't use it often. I think our neighbors will like us a lot better now that they can walk past our windows without hearing "BAWAWAWAWAWAWWARRRRRRGGGGGRRRR#$%$%@!@#!@#WOOWOOWOOOOOOOO!" 

Gryphon was determined to guard us from passing old ladies and babies in strollers with his hellhound baying, but Bruney feels no need to raise an alarm.

He WILL cause a racket if treats are not forthcoming, however.

Bruin is a bit of a loner at the park, but he sure does love his marfs at home.  What is a marf, you ask? Well, when he was a puppy, Bruin didn't WOOF, he MARF'd.  In time, a 'marf' became any loved toy (Go fetch your marf!) or small animal Bruin took a fancy to.  He LOVES pocket pets. He was a proper mum to multiple foster kittens, foster guinea pigs, and foster hamsters.

 

(He was always very gentle, although I will admit that moments after the last picture was taken, he put the whole hamster in his mouth. Oooops)

But the BEST marf of all has proved to be his weasel, Kirby.  A marf that likes to wrestle is the best marf of all.

 Yep, Bruin is kind of a cool guy.  

His coolness counterbalances his baffling nervous energy and separation anxiety. It all makes most of the following forgivable...

 Oh, your favorite pillow? Sorry.

 

Good job stitching it up, Mom! I won't touch it again.

 

Just kidding, fuck you pillow!

 And you too, other pillow!

 (....seriously, dog?)

 Stripes make me upset!

 So do IKEA chairs!

Funnily enough, his destructive behavior is mysteriously curbed when he is wearing an e-collar (aka "Happy Hat"), as we happily discovered recently.  So now we can leave him loose while we go to work and school, although tales of a weird screaming lamp have been noted in our neighborhood.

Old Long, Tall and Ugly is enjoying being a single dog. While we miss our old boy terribly, we are so glad to have Bruin there to love.

Oh, I Love You So...

Which Brindle is Best?

Choose wisely!

All Gryphon Updates, All the Time...

Newfound employment makes for a dusty, abandoned blog, it seems.  Sad for the blog, but good for my bank account.  Yes, that's right, I have finally given up being a perpetual student for a real job IN MY FIELD!  I've landed a dream position as a technician at the vet clinic where I take my pets. Everyone is very nice (and patient), and hopefully the daily newbie anxiety I feel will soon vanish.  I just want to be good at everything, stat!

Anyhow, this post is to update folks on Gryphon (yes, he DOES get most of the post content...don't tell the others, but he is definitely my favorite).  His back end has been steadily deteriorating.  Even watching him standing in the living room you can see his hindquarters sinking slowly to the floor (without his knowledge it seems. The front half is confused as to why we're so discouraged), and he is now permanently living on the top floor so he doesn't take a header down the stairs.

X-rays at the vet have determined that he has spondylosis, a condition (as I understand it) where bony growths projecting from the spine are effecting (affecting? I never know which one to use) the function of the spinal cord.  Certain reflexes are weak or absent and a pair of hemostats clamped between his back toes produces no reaction.  The (kind of) good news is that this growing paralysis does not hurt. Like I said, while the back half is having trouble standing and walking, the front half is happy and normal as ever.

It is heartbreaking to see him stagger or fall, but we try to help out as much as possible by hoisting him up stairs or onto the couch.  After our last visit to the dog park (a horrific experience where he momentarily went over on both back legs and was dragging himself like seal), Gryphon will not be going off leash anymore.  I have to wrap both of his back feet when we go for a walk, because they knuckle over and rub against the concrete, causing bleeding from both his toenails and toes otherwise.  We may look into a second hand doggie wheelchair if he gets worse.

We are trying to stay positive (I promise the next post will be cheery and chock full of dick and fart jokes) for our big boy. I love him so.  If you have a chance to stop by, please come and visit. Big Gryph would love to see you.

Homeward Bound

We often lament the presence of assholes in this world. While I can lament with the best of them, I have a special place in my heart for the gutless-dickwad who tossed two puppies on a busy highway some 11 years ago.

Thank you, douchebag, for being such an a-hole.  If is wasn't for your heartless actions (plus the goodness of quick-acting citizens and an accommodating animal shelter), I would not have adopted the dog who turned into my best friend of over a decade.

Yes, it's true. Some degenerate actually left two five week old puppies on the Hanlon (a busy highway in Guelph).  The story sparked enough outrage to merit a newspaper article, and people were actually queuing up to adopt the "Hanlon Puppies".  Coincidentally (and completely oblivious of the story), I had decided to adopt a dog and happened to waltz into the Guelph Humane Society while the black and brindle pup was still available (the other puppy was yellow).

(Excuse the cruddy-quality photos. They were taken with *gasp* FILM)

Flash forward 11 years and my puppy and I are still BFFs. True, we're both a little (okay, a lot) stouter and creakier than we were, but still happy together.  Adopting Gryphon is the absolute best thing I have ever done. He has taught me so much about life and myself, I feel that I can never repay him. Even as I type this, he is ignoring his cushy bed in order to snug up close to my computer chair on the floor. 

Hang on while I put his bed next to me...

 Much better. 

Anyways, Gryphon's health is pretty good for his age, despite back legs that don't seem to want to work the way they should (a repaired cruciate ligament in his right knee five years ago is now taking all the weight in the back end as the other knee deteriorates with no option of surgery).  He drags his back legs, wobbles and wambles like a bowlegged pirate when he is sore, but he NEVER wants to be left behind and is always wagging his tail. 

We have lived in several cities in Gryphon's lifetime, but I always wanted to take him back to Guelph to visit all of his favorite puppyhood places.  This summer, Nik (like the good guy he is) took us back home for the first time since 2003.  I think Gryphon could have cared less WHERE he was, he was just so happy to be with us (without Bruin, even!), but I was simply ecstatic to be back in Guelph.  It has changed a lot (in a good way) but most of my favorite places and landmarks are still intact.  

 Road trip? My favorite!

Checking out the view from the hotel balcony

Someone got his very own ice cream at The Boathouse

 

 The covered bridge along the Speed River trail leads from The Boathouse Ice Cream Parlour...

 ...to our favorite swimming spot (we walked this trail daily when Gryph was a puppy)

Ahhhhhhh

We hit up the university campus (someone had already painted the cannon when we got there, darn!)

 Gryphon blends in seamlessly with the abundant hippie population in Guelph

 Namesake

We wanted to wander in the Arboretum, but discovered that Gryphon had sprung a leak from walking on the pavement all morning (when his back legs drag on concrete his nails grind down and bleed) so we just snapped a picture of the sign and took him back to the hotel

After a power nap and a foot wrap, he was good to go!

I made this collage once we got home with a picture of us taken on the trip, and a photo that had been taken the day Gryphon was adopted. Same park, same characters, 11 year span. Pretty freaking cool...

We look good for a couple of old farts, don't we?