Whippet Snippets

Good things: weathering the storm

When it rains, it pours. Project SOK reached its culmination today, with Girl being away at work (yes, a new job finally) all day and Boy on a aerial mission. Despite an afternoon thunderstorm in the 40 degree Humidex range that dumped a bucketful of rain and left the loft without power, Ribsy survived like a trooper. Neighbours said they didn't hear him cry, and all Girl found at both lunchtime (she's lucky she works a few minutes away) and at the end of the workday was a tail-wagging dog and empty Kongs. Thanks, animal behaviorist! You drew a terrific plan that Ribsy passed with flying colors.

By the way, Ribsy is thoroughly confused. It's nice and cool and comfortable in the loft. So naturally he wants to go out and play. But then why is it all hot and muggy once he steps outside? He just doesn't get it. How can the temperature change so darn fast?

More about bully whippets

Ever wondered what those muscle-bound 'bully' whippets looked like? Here is a photo of such a dog, chasing a normally sleek one, and an article about the potential consequences of applying scientific precision to the age-old art of dog breeding.

Humidog

Ribsy's been way too hot to post these days. Stubborn Boy and Girl refuse to turn the air conditioning on. As if a ceiling fan is all it takes to cool down these temperatures:

Eck! 34 with the humidity factored in. Ribsy's never experienced such heat before. His chest is going increasingly bald.

Back in the Hammer

The pack is back together in the Hammer again. 32 degrees today and a smog alert. Ribsy is barely moving and constantly panting. They are trying to see if they can make it to the first day of summer without turning the air conditioning on. Yes, the pack is cheap.

Anyway, a bit of a catch up post here.

This is what Girl was up to over the past week: great food, nice scenery, and good friends--

And this is what Ribsy was up to, over at Mabelle's: trying on her outfits!

He had lots of visits from folks and furries alike, and is spent from all the activity (including 5 visits to the park each day). He misses Mabelle terribly and can't wait to frolic again!

Mini trip to Mabelle's

Ribsy is heading to Toronto to hang out with Mabelle for a few days. It promises to be full of manic whippet action. Unfortunately, they'll probably give Woofstock - the largest outdoor festival for dogs and their people - a miss this weekend. It takes place in the St. Lawrence Market neighborhood and a turnout of more than 140,000 is expected. More details here. 

Ribsy will be back posting next week. Bye for now!

All I want for Christmas...

Now isn't this t-shirt cute? At least this design isn't corny. In fact, Boy and Girl are fighting over who would get to wear it, because heaven knows Hamilton isn't big enough for both of them to be sportin' it.  Thanks to the grillin' royalty at Castle Welwynstein for instigating the feud.

The best dog in the whole wide world

In this muggy Hamilton heat, Ribsy has understandably been languishing in the loft most of the day. This has given him plenty of time to think about his name. He does like his name as it's easy to hear from across the field - "Rib-SEEEEE!" - but he often wonders why people chuckle when they hear his name:

"Aw, he's so cute...can I pet your dog?"

"Sure."

"What's his name?"

"Ribsy."

Laughter. "I wonder WHY!"

"Well, actually, if you're really wondering, when I was a young girl, I loved Beverly Cleary books, especially Henry and Ribsy and Ribsy, because Ribsy was the best dog in the whole wide world and he seemed to really have this charm about him which meant you couldn't stay mad at him, even though he sometimes had challenges doing what he was told but he was so darn skinny and cute that it didn't matter, because in the end you would just end up hugging and squeezing the living daylights out of him since you adored him so much."

But this is what she usually says instead:

"Ha ha. Yep."

So remember, Ribsy, you were named after the best dog in the whole wide world. Girl didn't choose this name for you so that she could make fun of your physique.

In case any of you do know the Cleary books, here's an interesting, somewhat sad article, about the lost innocence of the Henry and Ribsy era.

By the way...there's a statue of Ribsy, in Portland, Oregon, near the real Klickitat Street where the books took place. It's part of the Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden. Maybe one day Ribsy can meet him. Certainly looks more fun to be splashing around than festering in this sweltering heat!