Whippet Snippets

2004 comes to an end

It's been a wonderful first Christmas holiday for Ribsy.  His Boy and Girl barely left him alone the entire time, except for the disappearance into the Golden Swan restaurant in Vancouver.  Not only that, he scored a cool reindeer toy full of fuzzy intestines to gnaw on.

   

In Vancouver he got to meet Grandma and Grandpa.  Apparently Grandma is one of his biggest fans so he was more than happy to surprise her with a celebrity visit.

 

Ribsy was feeling quite regal at his corner suite at the Hotel Vancouver, with views to the water and plush armchairs to lie on. Plus the Vancouver Art Gallery lawn as his bathroom. He was disappointed, however, to find no dog swag anywhere, nor sights of the yellow lab guest greeter.

Ribsy happily returned to Victoria where once again he was king of the dog park - until he spotted his first competitor, er, fellow whippet. Two of them, in fact, a boy and a girl, hotly contested Ribsy's stature in the park. Many minutes later they agreed to be friends and to perhaps meet again at the informal whippet group meet-up to take place in the near future.

But who's this? thought Ribsy. Found on Girl's camera he can only guess that it must be one of Girl's friends' pup. "Why that's Bernie, Ginny's Benese Mountain Dog," she said. I could totally take him on, thought Ribsy. Not for long. Topping out at more than 100 pounds, he'll soon be able to squash the Ribbers.

Anyway, Ribsy's now all cozy and contemplative about the days ahead in 2005.  What will the year bring to him, Boy and Girl?

Happy New Year! from Boy, Girl and Ribsy

Ribsy's First Xmas, Part V

Ribsy the black-nosed reindeer and Jingle Bell Rock Bailey are all decked out for Christmas eve festivities at Linda's house.

   

But Ribsy kindly reminds his folks that he is indeed a mucky mutt and not some hooved prancer. Filthy Magoo, courtesy of a Christmas morning romp at the dog park with Bailey and his new pal Sophie, a 14-month old German Short-haired Pointer.

Ribsy's First Xmas, Part IV

The cookies are baked. The lights are strung up. The presents are wrapped. The fire is aglow in the house. Everything's coming up very nicely in time for Christmas. Ribsy's not sure what all the fuss is about - he can sense some frantic, antsy people out there - but if it means that he will be with Boy and Girl, Linda and Bailey, by a warm, mesmerizing fire all day long, then this Christmas thing ain't such a bad thing. Except when he's forced to don this strange headgear that elicits roars of laughter and giggles from the people around him.

Merry Christmas to all folks furry and fine this holiday season.

Love, Ribsy

Ribsy's first Xmas, part III

The pup chucked this morning but is feeling fine now. Ribsy suspects he may sit too close to the fire. He gets mesmerized by the orange glow and heady from all the warmth. Maybe it's the fumes.

Anyhoo, he is looking forward to his holiday at the Hotel Vancouver next week.  They have a "Pets are People Too!" policy. But Ribsy didn't need a policy to tell him that! He knows he's a person too, especially when he wedges his little sleepy head between Boy and Girl on the bed each night.  The hotel folks are going to give him some swag too:

Welcome mat in the room       

Pet dish       

Welcome treats       

Toy      

Not a bad deal. He's coming over with the Boy and Girl on the 27th until the 29th, so if anyone in Vancouver is looking to shake the paw of this fine furry creature, please get in touch with his Girl. He would especially like to meet a few of the folk that haven't been out to his Island home yet, like that Rosanne. He wants her to squeeze him. And Boy's grandparents!  He can't wait to be cuddled many times over by them.

Ribsy's First Xmas, Part II

Ta-dah. Ribsy's place is now officially ready for the holidays. He thanks Boy and Girl for putting in the efforts. If you click on the picture on the left, and look closely, you can see Ribsy's eyes in the window. Festive indeed!

Watch the grand unveiling! Yes, feel as if you were really there as Boy excitedly plugs the lights in.  Click here.

Ribsy's First Xmas, Part I

It was a festive gathering at the dog park this morning, as the three wise men, er dogs - Roxy, Bailey and Lucy - look for the star of Bethle-ham in the sky.

Finding baby Jesus, er puppy Ribsy.

Christmas also means it's decorating the house time again.  Now, Ribsy was determined to lend a helping paw to Boy and Girl's efforts.  While not exactly always a paw per se, Ribsy can certainly hold his own weight (30 lbs to be exact) and pitch in, as illustrated in his burdening of the extension cord.

Thank you, Ribsy.  The grand unveiling of the lights takes place tonight.

Show and Smell

Now usually Ribsy pays no attention to the TV. Sure, it has a strangely warm glow about it, but the noise and the lights just don't make any sense to him. He literally tunes out - that is, until he discovered that whippets can hang out inside the TV! The Outdoor Life Network was airing Top Dogs, featuring a lure coursing competition out in Abbotsford. For anyone that's not familiar with lure coursing, the muzzled sighthounds are sprung loose from a box, and they proceed to chase a lure or bunny (not a real one) around a course. Speed counts, of course, but so does agility and finesse. Anyway, these whippets were going wild on the course, barking and yelping excitedly, and Ribsy started joining in! He made his way several times toward the TV, sniffing at the tube and below it and checking behind it, wanting to introduce himself to those lively whippets. When the show was over, Ribsy didn't quite understand. Where did his fellow hounds go? 

The Family Dogs

Ribsy eludes Bailey at the UVic dog park on the weekend. Great weather and tons of field space. Does life get any better for a sweatered whippet on a fine December weekend?

               

And here's one from the vault, taken during the summer when Ribsy was about four months old. Apparently this picture pose runs in Boy's family (albeit not with a dog, but Ribsy thinks he's a person, so why not?) so in the spirit of the holiday season, Ribsy re-introduces the Mindmeld. 

Paws n Claus

Presenting Ribsy & his man Santa.

Malldogs

Deer in headlights? No, dog in mall! It was off to Mayfair with Boy and Sniffy for some more Top Dawg pictures with Santa.

At first the trio were in doubt of not only Santa's existence, but of the entire Paws N Claus event. They were the only crew sportin' a four-footer, and they trudged through Mayfair Mall with a bit of trepidation.

  Their sense of dread was laid to rest by the calming though unusual sight of canines in line, with no fear of the white beard. There was even a cool cat in the crowd, nestled in the blue kennel.

      

Ribsy getting a pep talk from Jay Manuel, er, Boy.

Ribsy worked the mall photographer, 'stepped...it...up' as Tyra would say. It was a brilliant Blue Steel look, not quite Magnum-esque. But he only needed two shots before it was done. Quicker than he could wolf down a Milk Bone, Ribsy was shuffled off of Santa's lap to make way for the next good dog.

On the way out, Ribsy was a bit perplexed by a creature that bore a strange yet very similar resemblance to himself. It didn't bark and it didn't move though, so Ribsy moved on. He had much, much more interesting sights and scents to check out at the mall anyway.

And he got his paws on his first pics with Santa! The first set are still to come...