Whippet Snippets

Great Friday

A Good Friday turned out to be a Great Friday, thanks in part to unseasonable, summer-like 25 degree weather. Ribsy and Mirabel thoroughly enjoyed their hike through the Elora Gorge Conservation Area, happily following the leader of the pack with smiles on their faces and wagging of their tails, whether it be exploring the riverside trail...

Posing at a scenic overlook...

Jumping over a stream...

Wading into the river...

Or simply gazing deep into his eyes.

You will be sorely missed, Boy.

Back up to speed

Mirabel's back to her usual pesky self! With her stitches taken out, she got the go-ahead to run like a maniac and chase after the frisbee and torment her brother again.

"Hey! The vet didn't say THAT," protested Ribsy. He is glad, though, that the blog can go back to focusing on him. It's about time.

Mirabel would like to thank everyone for their support and kind comments. And special thanks to Shaunna, Skeena and Olive who sent this very lovely get-well card:

Hot on His Heels

Now and again we all need a little push to get through the daily trials of life. Mirabel 'encourages' Ribsy to guard his food like it was steak, sprint faster, and assert himself more. Nothing gets you going quite like a pesky, bigger little loving brute of a sister.

"We picked a good one, didn't we?" winked Girl.

Ribsy sighed. At least he doesn't feel five anymore. Mirabel brings out the youth in Ribsy, and that's a good thing.

Not your Girly Girl

Girl often finds it ironic that she's known as Girl on this blog. She grew up a tomboy. Has never applied mascara in her life. Doesn't know what a girl's night out is. Has never been asked to be a bridesmaid or maid of honor. Walks like a boy. Was mistaken for one at a golf course after a Katie Holmes-style bob in grade nine: "Hey sonny, you're gonna tee off or what?"

So the point of this post isn't to talk about Girl. It's not called Girl Snippets, after all. She just wants to express a big sigh of relief that Mirabel is not a girly girl, either.

She's never asked for her nails to be done. Or her whiskers to be trimmed. Or her ears to be cleaned. She'll muck in the mud, eat poo, scuff grass after peeing. Heck, she barely ever shivers in winter (yes this is pointed in your direction, Ribsy). 

She's a hardy, muscular girl, with speed to spare and a devil-may-care attitude that propels her to the front of the pack during every hike and every walk. At a solid 34 pounds, Mirabel is definitely not your dainty girl whippet.

She falls and bouces right up. If a dog snarls at her, she snarls back. Always determined to succeed, Mirabel carries herself with a positive gait and self-assurance that would make any mum proud. She can ride in cars, stay quiet in her crate, and handle new situations like the ultimate social butterfly with cocktail in hand.

Sure, Mirabel's not too feminine. Sure, she's a big girl. But she's also got a big personality and a big heart.

And this human Girl wouldn't have it any other way.

Slug and the Lugs

Whippet Comforts

Five more days until spring. Hopefully the Hammer has said its farewell to winter and isn't lookin' back.

Today was a laid-back Monday and Ribsy has spent a great chunk of it gnawing on a stick whilst sunning in the backyard.

There's something relaxing and satisfying about the methodical, continuous gnaw-gnaw-gnaw action. Whittling the branch down to smithereens is also quite gratifying. And he loves the way the sun warms him up and makes his fur smell nice and well, sorta sun-kissed.

A stick to chew + rays of sun = happy whippet.

Old School Ribsy

With all this puppy talk as of late, Girl felt like looking back today, so she went digging in the virtual vault for some Ribsy puppy pics.

The day he came home:


A bit camera shy as a youngster he was:

He trusted Boy and Girl right from Day One:
 

He loved this bear (99 cents from the IKEA As-Is section):

With his breeder at a dog show in Vancouver:

Inseparable.

Fresh start

Once upon a time, before he moved in, Ribsy's bedroom looked like this:

Being a fickle dog who appreciates life's niceties, he moved in his furniture right away, but took his time selecting the right layout and paint colour. This is the result:

Home reno project for the month of January is complete. He's glad he helped out Girl, as it's on her list of 43 (ok, 5) things that she wants to accomplish in the future - some in the near future, others far into the future. However, more contemplative thoughts are reserved for a more contemplative time.

Back to the painting.

Not long after Girl took this photo did Ribsy saunter in, re-claiming the bed that he has missed so sorely the past week. Girl has to admit that things, like life in general, just look better when Ribsy's around:

And then, you can probably guess how this ended up. Yup. Dissolved into another impromptu Ribsy photo shoot. What is it about this dog that totally sucks Girl in?

*Gratuitous Ribsy Photo Alert*

Help feed hungry dogs (and cats)

RNOF (Ribsy's Number One Fan if you're new to the Whippet Snippets scene) told Ribsy and Mirabel that since they lazed around in luxury all day long, surely they could spare a minute each day to visit Free Kibble - a web project dedicated to providing food to shelter dogs (and those annoying cats). And they couldn't agree more. After it, how easy is this:

All you have to do is visit the site each day and answer a fun trivia question. Regardless of whether you get it right or wrong, 10 pieces of kibble will be donated to animal shelters to help feed hungry dogs (and cats). Over 67 million kibbly bits have been donated so far.

It's just the simple. Thanks, RNOF! Really, you should just be taking over this blog.

Yes we can

With the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the U.S. only three weeks away, Ribsy became all shook up with Obama fever once again. To help calm his whippet nerves, he pawed onto Logobama and made his own special logo, seen here:

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."