Petey Louganis

So, Petey has been fascinated with the small swimming pool, called a “swim spa,” since Mom and Dad got it. He likes warm water and thinks the spa is his personal water bowl. Mom and Dad don’t let him drink much cause it has chemicals in it. Well Sunday, Mom and Dad are swimming and Petey takes a trip up the ladder to get a better look and a few licks of water. Mom says Petey should get in the spa, cause it might help his joints. Dad says Petey wants in cause he wants to drink all the water.

As Mom and Dad are discussing, Petey’s patience is wearing thin. Next thing I know, the darn dog just leaps in the pool with Mom and Dad. That’s right, he just jumps right in like he knew what he was doing. Mom and Dad are holding him up in the pool, but now Petey realizes that this is more like a bath than a large water bowl. His face is all wet and he wants out. Now!

Mom and Dad swiftly arrange an exit up and out of the pool by the ladder he leaped from. Petey is all wet and takes to running around the yard and into the house to dry himself off—just like he does after a bath. When he was in the house, Mom would ask if Petey was okay, and I would go in and check and he was okay.

I don’t think Petey will be jumping in the pool again anytime soon. But it was fun to watch, he is such a silly dog. I give it 4 roos.

Bad Words

So Saturday I am watching Dad cut the grass in the front yard. Dad’s cleaning up the place and we’re excited because Mom is coming home. I have to watch through the window ‘cause there is no fence in the front yard and I am not allowed where there is no fence to keep me safe.

While I am watching Dad, I see a kitty I know come around from the side of the house and head over across the road. I always notice kitties. Dad noticed the kitty too and was watching to make sure he crossed the road safely.

All of the sudden, I hear Dad starting to say something and notice a car coming down the road. Dad is yelling to the driver to watch out for the kitty—and he’s pointing at the kitty so the driver can see that it is in the middle of the road.

The driver did not pay attention to my Dad or the road cause he was headed straight for the kitty. We’re all getting scared and holding our breath cause he is not slowing down or anything. Sure enough, the driver hits the kitty and we can’t tell what happened to the kitty ‘cause it went running.

I was so sad for the kitty ‘cause he got hurt, and, oh boy, was my Dad mad. He was yelling and saying “rated R” words about that driver. My Dad don’t usually cuss, except when the Browns are playing, but he was saying bad words really loud and didn’t care if anyone heard him.

Dad said he knows that sometimes animals get hit by cars on accident, but he was mad ‘cause there was no excuse to hit this nice kitty. There was nothing going on. No cars in the streets, no kids playing, it wasn’t raining, it wasn’t dark . . . it was just the road and a kitty in the middle of the road trying to walk to the other side. That man wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.

Dad says people need to stop being distracted when driving, especially in neighborhoods. People need to slow down and look in both directions—you never know when a kitty or a greyhound or a kid on a bike will come out into the road.

I feel very sorry for that kitty. He didn’t do nothing to that man to deserve to get run over. We haven’t seen that kitty so we don’t know if he is alive or not. The neighbor went looking for it, but couldn’t find it. Me and Dad were very upset the rest of the day.

Seeing a kitty get hit by a distracted driver is 0 roos.

Update: I saw my Dad talking with the neighbor today and he came in and told me good news. The kitty is okay! The neighbor said that the kitty is doing okay and staying away from the road. Me and Dad haven't seen the kitty so we were worried and thought the worst. The neighbor said they saw the driver when it happened and he had his head down like he was looking at his phone. I hope he learned a lesson too! The kitty gets 4 roos for being okay!

Week at Bernie's

Tomorrow I have to say goodbye to my Mom. Not forever, just for a week. She has been working really hard and did all her homework so she is allowed to go on vacation for a week. She is going to Panama City to get a tan and talk to the dolphins. Mom loves dolphins and has pictures of them all over the house. She loves them almost as much as she loves me!

Dad is staying home to take care of me and Petey. We’ll probably do some “man” stuff that we are not allowed to do when mom is home. We’ll drink beer and burp. After we burp, we'll laugh like it’s really funny. After Petey burps he has that goofy “Weekend at Bernie’s” look on his face. We’ll probably turn the music up real loud and do hip-hop dances. We’re going to make messes and not clean them up and watch lots of ball games in the living room (roo, roo Tribe!).

We’ll probably get lots of human treats and I bet me and Dad will play lots of fetch outside. We’ll probably stay up past our bedtime, watch a rated “R” movie and then have pizza for breakfast! We just have to remember to clean up before Mom gets home and then act like we were good boys the whole time she was gone.

Okay . . . we probably won’t do all those things, I think I have been watching too much reality television.

I hope Mom has a nice vacation and I’ll miss her. I bet she’ll be telling Sky stories on the long ride to Florida.

Mom going on vacation is 4.0 roos.

Mac the Rooer!

My Mom recently went over my Aunt Julie’s house and when she came back she told me something very upsetting. She said Aunt Julie’s dog, a Lab mix named Mac, is not just a better rooer than me— he’s a way better rooer than me!

Say what? I couldn’t believe my silly ears.

Please tell me that’s not true! That doesn’t even make sense, I am a greyhound and we are supposed to be the best rooers. I am so embarrassed, I want to hide in my room and not do any roos. Why did Mom even tell me that—she should have kept that information to herself and let me think I am the best.

I am glad Mac has something to roo about, but how can he be better than me? He must practice a lot; probably when nobody is home and people think he is sleeping. Maybe he got professional coaching—probably from a greyhound. Maybe he takes a special pill that makes him roo. Or maybe he was raised by a pack of greyhounds and that’s how he learned. There has to be an explanation for this travesty.

I haven’t met Mac, but when I do, I am going to get to the bottom of this—and find out how he learned to roo better than me.

Being out-rooed by a Lab mix is not very good. I give it 1.5 roos.

Rally to the Rescue

Last Saturday I was at the Rally to the Rescue event at the Midway Mall. It was a pet adoption and there were lots of dogs who needed good homes. The nice people at WOBL/WDLW and Leadership Lorain County worked hard to make the event.

I was there from about 10 am to noon greeting folks who wanted to learn more about greyhounds. There were also some people who heard about my Five Roos blog and who wanted to meet me. I was glad to make their acquaintance.

My Mom and Dad were on the radio talking about my Five Roos blog, about Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio and all about the greyhound breed. They told folks how I started my blog and that it is fun and silly. Dad also said that my blog tells folks what good pets us greyhounds make and why we roo.

The man in the radio asked Dad to say what a roo sounded like, and Dad did a terrible couple of roos. I was so embarrassed, he didn’t do it right. The man in the radio should have asked me to roo for him. I am a good rooer!

The Rally to the Rescue also has a Facebook page. I looked on the Facebook and guess whose picture is there? Yep, a nice lady took my picture and put it on the Facebook. I hope people will “like” it.

I had a fun day and I am always happy when dogs get adopted. I give it 3.5 roos.

My Mom, the racer!

My Mom and my Dad did a 5K race last Saturday for the Red Cross. They said the Red Cross was nice to our family when there was an accident two years ago. They want to do one 5K race every month for different causes and to get some exercise.

My Mom did good in the race and the newspaper took a picture of her and put it on the front page! That’s right, she was on the front page and lots of people saw it. They said it was a “Fantastic Finish.” My mom looked cute in the paper, and she didn’t try to win the race like me—she just wanted to get healthy.

It’s okay when people do races, because they want to—it’s their choice. Us greyhounds don’t have a choice; the people who race greyhounds for money tell us we have to or we get yelled at. They say, “Go Sky, run faster.” I tried telling the people I was going as fast as I could go! I am Sky, not Jimmy John’s.

If we don’t run fast enough and win the race, then they don’t love us anymore and don’t care what happens to us. They don’t want to be our friends or feed us if we can’t win races.

Thank goodness rescue groups come get us because they give us to homes that love us and don’t care if we can win the race. I don’t care if mom wins the race either. I love her either way.

Seeing my Mom in the paper is pretty cool. I give it 4.0 roos.

Happy Anniversary!

On April 4, we celebrated my one year anniversary of my new family. That might not seem like a long time to you—but that is seven dog years to me!

I will always remember the day I got my new home; it was the day before my Mom’s birthday. That’s what she wanted for her birthday, a retired racer like me!

When I first came to my new family, I was real shy and tried to be real good and not get into trouble. I sat quietly in my bed to see if they liked me. I didn’t ask for any treats, and I stayed out of the kitchen and off the furniture. But I am not shy anymore, I like to run around and dance and roo. I think my family loves me. They always say they love me—and give me hugs and kisses. I think Petey even loves me!

It has gone so fast, I can’t believe it. It seems like yesterday. Now I have a nice family and I hope they are going to keep me forever—I think they will.

I am so happy ESGAO took good care of me and found me a new home!

Anniversaries are fun, I give it 4.5 roos!

A Murder Scene!

So we’re just sitting around last Tuesday when Mom comes home and says that me and Petey are going for a ride. I didn’t know where we were going, it was kind of yucky out for a walk, but I always like a ride so I was excited. Dad picked us up and off we went. Guess where we went . . . the vet! Right then and there I am thinking 0 roos, cause I wasn’t feeling sick or anything. Why I am going to see the vet?

I like the vet well enough, but they are always doing things to me—sticking me with needles, looking in my ears, my mouth (and other places). Turns out this time I was just there to get my nails clipped. No big deal, I thought. So I go in the back area and they do their thing. Clip, clip . . . a couple hurt, but I thought I was okay. I was being a good boy and not causing a fuss.

After I finished, I get into the car and Dad looks at Mom and says, “Look, there’s blood everywhere!” I did not know how the blood got there . . . until I saw my paw. It’s my blood! Mom rushed me back in there to see the vet. Mom also saw that there was blood in the parking lot . . . she told the vet it looked like “a murder scene!”

“A murder scene! Did the vet try to murder me?” I asked myself.

What did I ever do to the vet; aren’t they supposed to be nice to us pets? Mom and Dad paid the bill, so they weren’t roughin’ me up for money. Why would anyone want to murder me? I am a nice dog with funny ears that makes people laugh.

Turns out the vet wasn’t trying to murder me, they just didn’t do a good job clipping my nails. They cut my nail way too short and I bled a lot. Whew! It’s good to be alive!

Going to the vet is 0 roos and nearly being murdered is 0 roos.

Pit bulls and Parolees

Me, Mom and Petey have been watching “Pit bulls and Parolees” on the television. Dad doesn’t watch much cause he’s afraid he’ll see dogs who have been mistreated and that will make him sad. A couple of times Dad came in the room and we were all crying, but they are usually happy tears when a nice pit bull gets rescued or gets a treat.

Petey is an American bulldog mix; he is part of the bulldog family and has a big square head. The lady on the show said she likes all bulldogs. Pit bulls are often mistreated by people. They make them fight and hurt each other. And, if a dog is no good at fighting, they will sometimes just kill them or let them die. People bet on the dogs and who will win the fight, just like people bet to see which of us greyhounds will run the fastest.

The pit bulls are such loving dogs. They like playing with each other and lying around together. They love their owners, they don’t want to fight. People make them fight by doing bad things to them. Some people think that’s okay, but me, Mom, Dad and Petey don’t think it is okay. It’s against the law, and if you know of anyone making a pit bull fight, or hurting a dog, you should call the policeman.

It’s a good show and they do lots of good for the pit bulls, but bad people hurting dogs gets 0 roos.

Please, no touching!

Me, Mom, Dad and Petey took advantage of the nice weather last week and took a walk at the Beaver Creek Park. It was so nice and warm; I can’t wait until it is like that every day. We loaded up the car and got all hooked with our leashes and off we went. Petey must like the warm weather because he was doing good with his legs on the walk. He was having fun; he likes walks almost as much as I do.

There were a lot of other dogs out too, and Mom stopped to talk to this one dog who was walking his human. He was so cute, he looked like Petey a little, but bigger. And he was only two years old, that’s half as old as me, and so he did not know how to be a good dog yet. He was so excited to meet me.

We were just sniffing each other like we do, and our humans were talking when this young dog starts getting frisky with me. I liked this guy, but I don’t like other dogs touching me. When he jumped up on me, I had to give him a piece of my mind. I gave him a good roo and then walked away like the bigger dog. I was just warning him that he shouldn’t be doing that—that other dogs don’t like that so much. It’s not polite—sniffing is okay, but no touching.

But other than that, we had lots of fun. I was so tired when I got home. That’s a tough walk, there are hills and everything. We even got to go down and see the stream for few minutes. I got right in the stream, I don’t mind the water. I slept the rest of the day and all night. Petey too, he didn’t go upstairs all night.

Walks are always 5 roos, even if a young dog gets a little too friendly.