room w/a view

X-ray Specs

like so many greyhounds, Jesse's racing career ended w/a bad crash & a broken leg.
the specifics of the incident & his recovery have been something of a mystery to me. I know that he has had a very long recovery, spending nearly a year in foster care. yesterday I received another piece to the puzzle, though. (thanks Sharon) I was simply shocked to see the size of the plate that remains in his leg. I didn't suspect something this substantial. I have to say, he's come a long way & with barely a limp. he favors the leg only slightly, & usually right after he gets up from a long nap. he's able to walk off the stiffness in no time, though. what a trooper.

over the river...

we chose a very soggy weekend for our first foray into distance travel. Jesse did very well in his new car hammock on the way downstate this past weekend. sleeping most of the way, of course, despite having to navigate through some fairly heavy rain. the residual effects of hurricane Ike did hamper our outdoor activities somewhat, once we got to our destination. Jesse, however, found plenty to occupy his time indoors. meeting the family & making new friends, especially G-ma & G-pa. loads of new toys were presented & much romping ensued. He's quite the mama's boy, as we all watched him 1st attache himself to G-ma & then to both of my sisters as they each arrived.


the last day cleared up nicely & we were able to take some good walks around the lake & surrounding neighborhood. Jesse was mesmerized by all the new sights & smells. plants, ducks, geese, blue herons...it was nearly sensory overload for his manically twitching nose. I can see that exploring the Chicago lakefront will take top priority in the near future. all-in-all, a wonderful trip & one that I can see we will be making again very soon.

are we there yet?

X-Treme Power Napping

with each passing day I learn 1st hand something new about this creature. In my research over the past months I had read about greyhounds sleeping 12+ hours a day, but to actually observe this phenomena in action (err....inaction!?) is something to behold. we've fallen into a routine of dinner at 5pm then a walk, then Jesse curls up on his comfy bed for a nap. I was amazed at 1st to realize that this 'nap' was stretching into 3, then 4, then 7 hrs of good, quality sleep. at midnight I have to physically wake him up, (I've found jiggling his leash produces the best results) wherein he bolts from his slumber to the back door in mere seconds. then it's out for a walk & his business, & then back to bed for another 7 or 8 hours of sleep through the night.
My God, such effortless discipline, such stamina... this hound is my buddha.

best. question. EVER!

posed by a boy tonight on our walk through the hood:

"hey mister...is that a horsedog?"

horsedog!? kids, Gawd love 'em.

portrait w/kong