Whippet Snippets

Mandate

It's gonna be a 'man-date' for Ribsy and the Boy today, as Boy has the day off from work. He reckons that he will ring in the start of gardening season (in February! only in Victoria). That means lots of lounging around in the backyard for Ribbers. That's ok. He should rest up for the upcoming whippet meet-up, again this Sunday at Lakehill School at 10am. There might be a couple of new whippets who didn't make it out last week, in addition to those who want to show up and have a blast again. It's going to be wild.

Victoria: No fun zone for dogs

From Citizen Canine, an advocacy group for dogs and their owners in Victoria, Ribsy receives upsetting news that could potentially see him banned from that nice big park he walked through this past weekend. Plus 42 other play areas. Is it just him, or is the world shrinking for dogs that just want to enjoy a little freedom now and then?

"At this Thursday's (Feb. 24) Victoria City Council meeting, the city will be receiving and filing an amendment to its Animal Control Bylaw amendment (No.8) - No. 02-110.

The amendment will prohibit dogs completely from a central part of Beacon Hill Park and from all 42 playgrounds in the city. There has been little opportunity for public input on this unprecedented change. The city's survey on off-leash parks last summer did not even include a question on the proposed "no dog" areas. This heavy-handed ban on dogs, which impacts hundreds of responsible dog owners and park users, is taking place with no public hearing or public discussion about its impact.

A letter from Citizen Canine, other dog groups, the SPCA, dog trainers and veterinarians went to the City specifically requesting a public hearing, yet Council ignored the request, referring it back to the Dogs in Parks Committee which is where the idea for the ban originated.  Now, with this bylaw change the City of Victoria, instead of opening up more off-leash areas as it promised, is actually reducing the areas in which dogs are allowed.

City Council will receive the bylaw amendment on and proceed with an
unjustified dog ban as part of its one-year pilot project on off-leash
access for dogs.  If you wish to protest this, contact your city councilors to let them know your views.

http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/cityhall/mayor_cprof.shtml

If you wish to address Council this Thursday evening you may do so by completing the form at the following:

http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/cityhall/meetings_addrs.shtml

All regular Council meetings are open to the public.  The location is:
#1 Centennial Square - Victoria, BC

This is a major setback for dog policy in the region. Unsubstantiated and unnecessary bans set to municipal bylaw do little but reproduce and legitimize the irrational paranoia about dogs. Once law, they are all but irreversible."

Warning: all about Ribsy's poo

The air in the house returned to normal this evening, minus the wafting smell of Boy's post-work vinegary socks. Washing and scrubbing the floors, tossing all the dog blankets into the wash and burning 22 sticks of incense can indeed eliminate doggie poo odor! Poor Ribsy. Must have been the fresh morsel of lamb that he consumed during Sunday dinner. Or something he chewed on at Lakehill or in the neighbourhood. Whatever the source, it caused Ribsy's bowels to erupt like Mount Ve-poo-vius. Several poo pancakes later, Boy had a dangerous fecal landmine situation upon his return home yesterday thus bringing out another round of Project Clean. Sigh. In his defence, Ribsy was perfectly accident free today and still cute as pie. Aww.

9 1/2 Whippets

9 1/2. Count 'em, 9 1/2 whippets tore up the turf at Lakehill School this morning. From left to right: Trooper (Ribsy's pal who puts the 1/2 in, with his Whippet/Poodle/Maltese mix), Millie, Max, Derby, Ribsy, Nitro (with his backside to the camera), Theo (who's exchanging air with Ribsy), Mani (from Vancouver), Scott, and Louis.

More class pictures - actually WAY more pictures - can be found here on Heather's photo website.

Here are some of Girl's photos from the hound hoopla.

Whippets whippets everywhere.

 

 

Ribsy and Theo get acquainted, while Millie tries to figure out why she's been left out of the equation.

   

The young and the restless. Scott and Ribsy battle it out for Derby's affections.

   

From left to right: Millie, Max, Louis and Derby.

      

 

Barking and sprinting, sniffing and mounting, chasing and tackling...these skinny specimens sure had spunk. It was hard to tell who was enjoying the morning more, though - the hounds or the humans.

"We must do it again!" said a few in the field. So how about it? Same time, same place - if y'all can make it, then great. To the friendly folks from Vancouver, please come visit us again whenever you're in town!

Wet n' Whippet

Dogs were out all over the Island this sunny weekend, Ribsy was certain. He himself was all over Victoria, putting the vibe out on the beach, in the park, and yes even in the water at Island View Beach on Saturday.

For the first time in his tender life, all four of his dainty toes dipped into non-bathtub water. At least it lasted five seconds. See for yourself.

   

A lot of sand, surf and sniff!

Pondering

Boy spent sunny Friday with Ribsy Magoo on the back porch, letting the sun soak their faces in warmth. Upon Girl's return home, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Boy was sporting a Pingu t-shirt. Boy, who had a childhood fascination with penguins, and Girl, who has a present-day obsession with the claymated darling of the South Pole were disappointed to learn that Pingu was no longer the spokespenguin for the Mr. Donut chain when they visited Japan. He was replaced by Pon de Ring, a lion with a honey crueller donut for a mane.

That didn't stop Girl from buying a collector cup of the Mr. de Ring, but she sure gets more excited from the little Pingu things, such as this cereal box that her friend Chris in Tokyo found.

   

Speaking of 'pondering' look who appears to be in a contemplative mood. Guess a nice, mesmerizing wood fire can do that to skinny dogs. He has no idea the jam-packed fun that's in store for him today. Although he can't go with Girl to the Pet Expo he's still going to be very busy on this gorgeous-looking Saturday.

Speeders Alert

Ribsy's got a playdate all lined up with Max & Millie this weekend, and they're going to bring their good whippet pals Nitro & Derby. Ribsy invites other skinny dogs like them to come out to Lakehill School on Sunday at 10am for some dustcloudin' and general hound clownin' action. Get in touch with Girl if you're interested!

Puppy Love

February 14. To a dog like Ribsy, this day doesn't have a special meaning. It's another night in as the temperature hovers around freezing, cozied up with his best Boy and best Girl. He already suffered through his tortured evening alone, having witnessed from his window perch Boy and Girl leaving on Saturday night to Adriana's Cocina Mexicana for a Valentine's Day feast-out. Hearing them talk about their scallop-filled soft flour tacos, Cancun prawns, and spicy taco soup made Ribsy's catfish-diet-filled stomach gnaw with envy.

On Sunday, though it was Ribsy's turn to ditch the Boy and the Girl, as he romped over to the Saanich Fairgrounds for what they call a sanction match - which Ribsy figures was a fun test. He got a Third Best in Group ribbon, which if it counted, would have been his best result yet. 

But tonight, it was back to just the three of them. And that's all Ribsy's quick-beating heart ever desired. If his people want to slap on a funny name and call it Valentine's Day, he sure isn't going to woof up a fuss.

Packrat

Cozied up in his new pet bed, Ribsy thought it was going to be a quiet Friday night. By the way, it is really hard to find a pet bed here in Victoria that doesn't cost more than $50. Boy and Girl lucked out with this sturdy, modestly-priced number from Zellers.

Boy told Ribsy to expect a few new persons at the house. Ribsy was looking forward to being coddled and petted and cooed at, and hoped that if he made his eyes look that much bigger tonight, he was going to get fed a few morsels too.

Well he struck out with the Double D, Duncan and Desiree, who Ribsy thinks were turned off by his potent, ill-timed, diesel-y farts.

   

He also didn't get any scraps from Brian, here pictured with Boy. Ribsy sniffed away but couldn't coax anything out from those pockets.

   

Oh well, it was a treat to have such nice, fun people over for the evening anyway. Hmm, Ribsy thought, as he inspected the picture closer. He's sure looking awfully big to be held like a baby by Girl.

 

But like lots of fun nights, this one was followed by a wake-up call. This time to go to the vet down the street. Ribsy waited anxiously, his raw nose quite evidently still, well, raw. Red. What was the vet going to say?

 

Well, after a brief examination on the table, it was determined that Ribsy may be suffering from a combination of separation anxiety disorder (or appropriately, SAD) and a sensitivities to his food diet.

Ribsy's now on a Royal Canin Hypoallergenic RC21 formula, comprised of catfish protein, and will be on it for at least a month. Boy and Girl also had the option of an x-ray and/or blood test, but opted out, for obviou$ rea$on$.

Poor Ribsy. Maybe the only real remedy is to get him another pal to hang out with during the day...

Ribsy got a raw deal

Ribsy's adjusted to his new routine, finding lots to get excited about in the morning. He's met a fun bunch of pooches right in his neighbourhood, especially Gunner a Pointer/Lab X who likes to chase Ribsy and show him who's boss but usually doesn't end up catching him. So he ends up peeing on Ribsy's coat and the like whenever he gets the opportunity. But Ribsy doesn't care. He pees on his own coat too.

Tonight though, Boy discovered that Ribsy had rubbed his nose raw and bloody again. Girl administered Vitamin E to help the healing, and a check-up with the vet is in the works. Besides the raw nose, Ribsy's just not wowed about his food anymore, and he's been having more barfy dog days than non-barfy dog days as of late. Plus he's still a bit sneezy. And he has a funny dark bump on his leg.

Hopefully it's nothing serious. Ribsy thinks he feels fine, especially when his pack is around. Then he doesn't barf. Then he eats more. Then everything is poochy keen.