Blasphemy! (And other things)

Greetings Loyal Followers!

I know that it has been a very long time since we have had a posting and I fully blame this thing for it.

Don't let that smile fool you!

Since his appearance into our world, the secretarial staff of JoF has been extremely lax in their duties.

There have been many changes in our world recently.  In addition to the shrieking human child, we also moved!  One day in late July boxes started appearing and our stuff started disappearing.  Then a few weeks later Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and a big truck showed up.  That's when Mama and Daddy told us we were moving to Michigan.  (For me, Bunsen, and Beaker it was back to our home state but it's a new home for Rosco, Breezy and the rest of the crew). After a few months of living with our extended families, we moved into a new house.  Boy is this house great!  It has a new yard full of interesting smells.  Best of all it has SQUIRRELS!!!

Sadly after moving into our new house, Mr Nibbler became very ill.  Mama said he has something called infectious hemolytic anemia.  Unfortunately, it wasn't caught until it was too late because Nibbler hid in the basement of the new house.  Momma said it was too much for Nibbler to fight off even with the vet's help and he went to the Rainbow Bridge to be with Mr. Beau.

RIP Mr Nibbs

Now that you've had an update on our lives, I want to address a very egregious video of me circulating on Facebook. This video implies that I, Layla Jane Pretty Girl Basset Extraordinaire World Traveler, am lazy.  BLASPHEMY! HERESY!  LIES! ALL LIES!

I want to assure all our loyal readers that we are indeed hardworking hounds.  For instance, I am personally teaching the human screeching thing the art of dog massage.  Mama and Daddy don't seem overly concerned about this being's lack of employable skills.  I will soon have him trained so that he may contribute to the biscuit and kibble fund.

"A little to the left!"

We also take our roles as protectors of our domain very seriously.  Deadly squirrels run rampant around our new home and we must run them off daily.

"And don't you come back!"

 Finally the most important job we have is dual purpose.  Here we are demonstrating our ability to multitask by holding the couch in place and keeping the cushions warm.  God only knows where the couch would disappear to if we didn't hold it down!  I mean those things are known to run off at a moments notice.  We also use this time to keep the cushions warm so that Mama and Daddy will be more willing to relieve us of our couch sitting duties, that way we can refuel ourselves with kibble.

Keeping the couch captive is exhausting work!

So in conclusion, we hounds work extremely hard.  Don't believe the lies the internet tells you!

Just not fair

We don't get played with as much anymore.  That dumb baby gets all the attention.  And I don't get to lick his dirty feet.  I also get told not to sniff his butt.  Well I can't help it that is where the most interesting smells are!  Plus he gets all kinds of cool toys.

I wish I could play in that but noooo

Mama says he will grow up and want to play and snuggle with us.  I guess that will be OK, that is the only reason I am letting him stick around.  I can always use a new snuggle buddy.

An update

It has been so long since I posted to Jowls of Fury, I had nearly forgotten about it.  Hard to believe!  Me!  The hound who lived for this blog!  Well, my life has been very hectic since our last post.  I've had a lot on my hound mind.

First off, we were all very sad back in February.  Mr. Beau passed away, he had gotten very ill right after his last post and didn't want to worry anyone.  Daddy was out of town and when he returned he took Beau to the dog park one last time - we didn't get to go, but it was OK, because Beau deserved to have that one time to himself - and then he took him to the vet.  That's where Beau went to what they call the Rainbow Bridge.  I myself don't like to think about it.  Breezy took it kind of hard too, she hasn't slept well since.

RIP Mr. Beau

But life goes on.  Mr. Beau was a nice older gentlehound and he taught me a lot.  It was later in February that we got a ton, and I mean a TON, of snow.  It was higher than our heads!  Daddy cleared a path in the snow for us but it was still not very convenient to go outside and do our business.

Next time, make the path WIDER.  Bassets experience road rage.

Mama and Daddy bought a new houndmobile, we were very happy to see it had a TON of room to sprawl out.  That way we didn't have to hit each other in the legs while we slept.  But the windows are higher so it is difficult to look at the world going by.  Tradeoffs.

So much leg roooooooooooooooooooooom

We went to both our grandma's houses later in the year.  I always enjoy grandma's, because I get to see Max and Maggie.  It was about that time I noticed mama's tummy was getting bigger.  At first I thought she was just eating more food but she got really sensitive about me jumping on it.  Plus the visits to grandma's houses ended when we came home with a ton of stuff, and none of it for hounds.  Well, late one night Mama and Daddy disappeared.  They didn't come home at all that night.  I was very worried.  One of their friends came over to let us out and then put us in our crates.  Daddy came home the next morning to let us out and feed us...  and he smelled...  funny.  This went on for two days, then Mama came home.  Her belly had shrunk!  We assumed she went and saw the doctor about it and got fixed up.  But for the next month or so they left us alone a LOT.  Neither of them were working either!  And the both had that funny smell, I couldn't figure out what it was.

Well.  One day they brought home a new baby.  So that explains that.

You can see how happy we were

The new baby got all the attention.  We weren't allowed to lick him.  He takes up Mama's lap ALWAYS.  And he makes more noise than we do sometimes.  It has gotten a little better and Mama and Daddy are paying some more attention to us.  I guess it just took them a little while to get used to the baby.  He wakes them up every night to eat!  All he does it eat and poop and scream.  Like a stupid cat.

Yes we were all very happy to have this come to our house

So that pretty much brings you all up to date on what is happening at the Jowls of Fury household.  There are a few more things but I am going to let someone else talk about it.

The $125 fart

The other night Beau was acting sick.  He gets the lickies like Layla does sometimes.  Haven't heard of them before?  Well the lickies are when Layla gets a gas bubble in her tummy and walks around the house eating dirt and crud until she makes herself throw up.  Me, when I get a gas bubble, I stretch myself out until things work themselves out.  Usually I can do this without bothering anybody but sometimes I can't hide the fact.

What?  What sound?  I didn't hear anything

Well the rest of the dogs in the house are not so subtle.  Layla can't stretch as easily as me because she is so chunky, so she gets the lickies.  Breezy likes to pretend like she isn't gassy but she isn't fooling anyone.  And Beau is just too old to care.  But more often than not his lickies turn into worse tummy trouble because he breathes so hard that he sucks in a lot of air.  If he were to fart it all out at once it would probably blow the house up.  As it is he farts a lot and barks and coughs all at the same time.  It is not very endearing and he stinks the place up. So the other night when he started wheezing and his tummy was gurgling I thought 'Oh great here we go again'.  But instead he kept getting worse and worse until mama and daddy took him to the emergency vet.

I've been a lucky hound so far in life, I have only had to go to the regular vet.  The emergency vet sounds much worse.  We didn't get to ride along so I don't know what sort of torture they put Beau through.  But he came home good as new.  Daddy and mama were complaining that he just farted when they got there and it cost us $125.  I'm not sure if that is just a story they told to keep the rest of us quiet or if Beau really did just have such expensive gas.  But all I can think is how many treats $125 would've bought...  and it all went up in smoke...  sort of.

I think he just farted again

My recent visit to grandma's house

I guess I will write about Thanksgiving, since all the other hounds are too busy sleeping to do any real blogging.  It is a shame that an old hound like me has to take the time to do the work that younger hounds should be doing.  It wasn't like this in my day.

We went to grandma's house for Thanksgiving and got to see the family.  I was happy to see everyone again, but I did not care for the long car ride.  Breezy is always a bit of a drama queen and makes a big fuss if anyone bumps into her.  She needs to get over herself.

Drama queen

There is all kinds of wildlife at Grandma's, both inside and out.  There are lots of cats and dogs there, and most of them are polite enough to leave me alone.  Grandpa builds me my own personal ramp when I'm there.  I like it, but it is a bit of a challenge to go down due to how slippery it can be.  It is even worse in the snow.  And we did get a little snow, and all the dogs had fun in it.  I'm not much of a snow hound being a dignified southern basset gentleman.  We didn't get that much snow where I'm from.

Layla is built for this stuff

Of course the other hounds all went ballistic and ran all over the place.

Rosco has lost his potential dignified basset status because of this picture

Layla and Breezy behaving very unlady-hound-like

This is how a dignified hound does it

We all had a good time, but we eventually had to go back home.  But we will see grandma's family again before too long.

Layla Jane Basset Hound Extraordinaire, World Traveler

This summer hasn't been very hound friendly.  First it started with Daddy trying to plant grass in the backyard and we couldn't run and play.  Then it became VERY hot and we couldn't go to the dog park. All of Daddy's grass dried up and it's didn't rain for a very long time. 

This is the perfect patch of dirt for me to work on my tan.

 However, yesterday someone called Isaac showed up and started spitting stuff out of the sky.  Now don't get me wrong, this girl loves to swim but I don't like stuff spitting on me from the sky.  I think it's rude.

What's worse is that Mama MADE us go out in it to go potty.  I know!  She has some nerve! Well I decided to teach her. Mama accidently left the side gate open and I though since she made me go out, I was going to explore.  I had a grand time smelling all the new smells and wandering the neighborhood.  That was until the lady that lives behind us tattled on me.  Mama was so upset that I wandered off that she marched me back home.  

                                      

I made sure she toweled me off properly to give me that tousled, wind blown basset look. 

                                      

Ok, Mama.  That's enough fussing for now. I need my beauty sleep!

Just too tired!

We are officially just too tired to post.  It was a long day filled with great grandma's house, chasing kitties and car rides.  We shall return after some much needed beauty rest.

Aliens!

Recently the cat has been allowed outside the house.  I find this to be terribly unfair.  He gets to poop in litter boxes and probably gets to roll in it too.  If I so much as look in the direction of the litter boxes when we go through the mud room on our way outside, I get hollered at and my basset derriere gets a gentle nudge from daddy's boot.  He also gets to poop outside.  I am only allowed to poop outside.  And he is such a fast little twerp!  I try to chase him and keep him from getting away but he can squeeze through small spaces because he is a cat, and cats are all little and weak and stupid.

But that is not the point of this blog.  Today we saw aliens!  They were up on the hill, where we are not allowed to go.  And they are weird-looking aliens too, not the big-headed kind.  These aliens walked on four feet and one of them had horns on its head.  I watched them at first and then when I saw them move towards the house I started barking like crazy to make sure mama and daddy could come out and fight them.  Or maybe sacrifice a cat or two in hopes they (the aliens) would go away (and take the cats with them).

Well daddy eventually came out, and here is what happened...

So I think daddy has been brainwashed by the aliens.  Who calls aliens 'dear'?  They have come to eat our brains or something they are not dears!  And obviously they are worth points but I think a weird alien with horns is worth more than 4 points!  I will have to watch him closely to make sure he doesn't try and make me into an alien hound slave.

Stupid vacuum cleaner

So the other day mama got into one of her clean freakout modes. These happen every so often and when they do watch out. Nothing is safe, especially beautiful full-figured lady hounds who might happen to be a bit dirty because they don't live the pampered lifestyle of little foo-foo dogs.

To put it mildly we got baths. I was not very happy about this. Then she wanted to vacuum, at which point I knew she was really trying to get under my skin. I don't like vacuums. Well I was not sad to see the old vacuum finally break. Mama said a few choice words and made daddy throw it away.

This is a good place for vacuums

Well she wasted no time going out and getting a new one. I really wanted to go roll in the yard for that but daddy has been trying to grow grass and for some reason he won't let us out there, now we have to do our business in the front yard in a tiny little fenced in area. All the neighbor dogs can see us too, including the new dog across the street who is very yappy.

Beau is too old to understand why we hate the vacuum so much

Worst of all this vacuum is really good at picking up fur, so it makes it even harder for us to keep a thick sheet of hound fur on all the furniture and rugs. We try and do our best but it just isn't enough. Watch the video below and you will see what we have to put up with.

Urg

See now we will have to start all over again from square one. I let Rosco take the first crack at it, I really need a good long while to get all riled up and do my rolling and growling.

Take it away, Rosco

Now he has a puffy face

Poor Beau, he cannot catch a break. I feel sorry for him because he has had to go to the vet's for the last 3 weeks in a row, and he missed out on the dog park the other day. His face is all puffy and his eyes are leaking goo. Mama took him to the vet with Oliver and he has to take medicine and have stuff put in his eyes. I hope he feels better, because I am tired of smelling vet on him.

That looks uncomfortable

Beauregard the Dignified Southern Basset goes to the dog park

So today was another awesome day in the JoF household.  Mama came home early from work and whispered the words that every hound loves to hear, "Let's all go to the dog park."

Now the younger hounds went all crazy and started whining, barking and acting very undignified.  I, myself, let a few woofs to voice my approval and then waited patiently for Mama to put my collar on.  Then we all loaded up in the BUV (Basset Utility Vehicle).  The youngin' were acting all crazy hanging out the windows looking ridiculous.

Someone needs to teach these hound some manners!

This how they should behave!  I'm a dignified Southern basset waiting patiently to leave.

When we arrived at the park, we met a nice man named Joe and his cool blue tick hound Capella.  Of course Rosco and Layla had to embarrass me by chasing a blabrador.

I on the other hand walked around introducing myself to the other dogs at the park.

How do you do kind sir? My name is Beauregard.

I traveled all over the park making new friends with dogs and people alike.  I also made sure to correct any undignified behavior that I saw.

I managed to spread the word about how to be dignified to many dogs while at the park.  Mama just needs to bring me a soapbox next time so I can command the attention I deserve.

After educating as many dogs as I could, I decided that it was time for a drink and to head back home.

Now young Mr. Rosco seems to have the potential to become a dignified basset hound.  

Here he is in his handsome hound pose.

The lady hounds on the other hand chose to ignore Mama when she called them. Ms Breezy was so uncooperative that she didn't even get her picture taken at the park.

Here is Ms Layla paying no mind to her Mama.  Very rude!

I decided to let the other hounds know I was leaving with a few barks and then started walking toward the gate.

Mama insists that you all see how well I can walk since the big ole tumor is gone.

All in all it was a good day! I met new people and dogs and was able to educate the dog masses about dignified Southern basset hound behavior.

Stupid TV Commercial Sunday # 40

OK so this commercial has been on for awhile, but it is actually kind of funny.  Not because the dogs are right at the end - it's funny because it makes dogs look stupid.  I mean c'mon, where are those fierce fangs we hear so much about?  And NO amount of doggie treats can combat their horrid dragon breath.

You guys look really stupid

OK OK OK I can't pretend it isn't funny!  And there is a website that lets you try it on your own animals.  So we tried it out on our dogs, because dentures on cats isn't funny at all. If you have stupid dogs in your house you want to try this on you can go to this site.  But please note: we didn't do it to Beau, because putting dentures on a dog old and decrepit enough that he might actually need his own dentures just isn't cool.

First here is Breezy, because she always chases us.

Looking good there you dippy dog

Next is Layla, that blimp of a basset.  She likes to chase us too but she also takes up a ton of space on the couch, space that could be otherwise occupied by us cats.

Laugh it up blimpy

And finally is Rosco, all blinged up because of his obsession with GQ models and showing off his man region.  And Santa hat.

You have something in your teeth...  bwahaha...

This has been the best Stupid TV Commercial Sunday ever!

Rescue Me # 6

Today is Fat Tuesday. Unlike regular Tuesdays, on Fat Tuesday you get to eat more because you have to give up regular food for the next 40 days. Fortunately this only applies to humans. Us bassets don't do well with self-denial. But in honor of Fat Tuesday, I wanted to pick a hound for our latest Rescue Me posting that had to do with Mardi Gras, which is a celebration of Fat Tuesday and the 40-days thing. It is a celebration where girls show off their lady parts to get beads. Somehow this is all related to the Fat Tuesday thing again. Maybe the girls are giving up their clothes? Who knows. People don't make sense sometimes, but we keep them around because they can drive and get us food.

So anyway. Our latest Rescue Me hound is named Daisy. She is a senior hound in Louisiana, and is being fostered by the good folks at Looziana Basset Rescue. Not to be confused with the evil Nibbler, who also comes from Louisiana, Daisy is a good basset hound. To check out her page you should click here. Daisy is an older hound much like our new brother Beauregard. At first I was not too crazy about this arrangement but after having him here for awhile we are getting used to Beau. We haven't quite got around to snuggling with him yet though. But Ms. Daisy sure looks like a happy hound... she has quite a smile on her face.

Probably just saw a topless person

Oh what the heck I will get in on the action too, it is only Fat Tuesday once a year. Happy Fat Tuesday, promiscuous ladies!

Where are my beads?

Rescue Me # 5

As you all know we are big proponents of rescues here at Jowls of Fury. Recent studies have shown that 75% of all the hounds at Jowls of Fury are rescues. Technically 100% of us are because Rosco was rescued from not having a mama as good as our mama when mama went and got him. Well our newest rescue Beauregard reminded me the other day that we need to do another Rescue Me hound, since his story got so much attention from all our basset friends. He also wanted me to say thank you to all the people who have donated money to his Chip-In account. Mama and daddy are talking about taking him to the vet for surgery to remove some of his lumps so he won't breathe so hard when he walks.

I wish him luck with that. I personally hate vets.

Anyway, this week's Rescue Me hound is named Busby. Mama picked him out. And ohhhh my lady basset heart skipped a beat when I saw him. Being a red and white hound I am different colored than all the other Jowls of Fury hounds, and it sometimes makes me wish for another red and white hound to snuggle up with. The tricolors just don't get it. Well Mr. Busby is like an exotic foreign hound with his gorgeous mahogany coat! Plus he has very soulful deep looking eyes. Go see what I mean by checking out his page. He is a hound that is being fostered by Guardian Angel Basset Rescue, who we have blogged about many times when we go to their waddle.

Basset 500 hounds are the best

And I must say that while rescue hounds are great there comes a time when you can have too many bassets. We are not at that point yet here at Jowls of Fury but another hound might be too much. Still I am glad we rescued Beau, he seems like a nice hound for being so old and he definitely needs our love. I have not tried to snuggle with him yet though, I much prefer to lay on the couch with mama and daddy instead of sleeping on the floor. Hopefully his vet visit will make him jump better so he can sleep up on the couch with the rest of us (except Breezy, she does not like to snuggle - I wonder if she is really a basset hound?).

Super Beau Sunday

So today I've high jacked Bunsen's Stupid TV commercial Sunday to talk about something called the "Superbowl." It happens once a year, Mama says, but I don't get all the hype. She says that men in outfits take a ball and run it across the grass and that it goes on for 3 hours. Now I've run around with a ball, even chased a ball but I can tell you that gets old FAST. I could think of something more fun to do for 3 hours, like napping. Now that's a sport a basset can get into!

Our friend Worm over at Life As I Know it: by Worm, the basset hound thinks it's called SuperFoodbowl Sunday. He says its where all of our favorite basset foods get put into a big bowl and we all get to eat it. That sound like my kind of bowl! So far tonight Mama and Daddy have had pizza with bacon on it and they haven't shared! So much for favorite basset foods.

But Mama tells me that today is special for another reason. Today is when we will be meeting out new foster brother, Beau. She said Beau is coming all the way from the East coast and that it's a longer trip than going to our Grandma's in Michigan. Wow that's a long drive! Mama told me that Beau is a special dog because his person died. I would be really sad if Mama or Daddy died. Beau's extended family weren't "dog people" and they didn't want him. I don't understand how anyone couldn't love a dog. I mean I'm the bestest basset in our house (don't tell Layla or Breezy). Everyone loves me! I'm sure that Beau is just as lovable. Anyway he had to live in a garage (kind of like Breezy) until Mama said he could come live here. Two nice ladies named Nancy are driving Beau so he can come live with us. So I guess for Beau today is Super Beau Sunday.

P.S. Mama and Daddy said because Beau is older he has to do to the vets for a check up, to get his toes cut off (because they are really really long), get his ears cleaned, and get shots......after that I stopped listening. Anyhoo this will cost lots of money and so she set up a Chip in for those who would like to help contribute to Beau's vet care. Check out the Chip in Link on our page if you want to help.

Famous Basset Hound Friday # 45

So it is time for another Famous Basset Hound Friday. Daddy and I had a little discussion about this one. He thought we should do a non-blogging basset this week because "we don't want to develop a pattern". I told him that I was the creative heart and soul of Famous Basset Hound Friday and he should just do the typing and leave important work like thinking to us hounds.

So this week's Famous Hound is one of our very own basset GQ's! His name is Boomer! He lives in Nebraska! And he writes his own blog, with a very creative name! Cheeze Boomer! Daddy tells me it is actually pronounced 'shae', but I like Cheeze better! Cheeze is delicious, and it evidently comes out of cans!

But enough about delicious food! This week's Famous Hound has some wonderful news! He has a new sister named Biscuit! Boomer and Biscuit! It almost sounds like a delicious breakfast! 'Why yes I'll have the Boomer Biscuit, with Cheeze.' Uh oh I am back to delicious food again!

Biscuit is a rescued hound (yay Boomer and Biscuit's mom!) who joined the family yesterday. She is a petite hound who likes to run and play with her brother. I remember how I felt when Layla came to live with me. It was great having someone to play with! Although Layla was not that petite... but anyway! Plus Boomer is a tricolor like me and Biscuit is a red and white like Layla. Boomer and Biscuit are our newest famous hounds!

The dynamic duo

Happy National Peanut Butter Day

What a terrific day it is! It's National Peanut Butter Day! To celebrate daddy made some cookies for mama! Except they are no-bake cookies, and mama actually had the idea. She is not feeling well and wanted some chocolate! Chocolate is something we hounds would like to try very much but they tell us it is toxic and would make us sick. I've had enough of being sick thank you very much, even if you do get cookies that way!

So daddy got the recipe book out and followed it carefully. We paraphrased below.

What you need for no-bake cookies:

- 1 stick of margarine (yum)

- 1/2 cup milk

- 2 cups sugar (to bounce off the walls)

- 3 tbs cocoa (the forbidden... fruit I guess)

- 1/2 cup peanut butter (the ingredient of the hour!)

- 3 1/2 cups oatmeal (not very tasty)

First you melt the margarine and add the milk and sugar. Then you stir in the cocoa and wait for it to boil. While you wait for it to boil you check your computer sites because you get bored. Then you boil it for 2 minutes, but curse when you forget to start the timer and just hope that it has been almost 2 minutes. Then you add the peanut butter, but you curse some more because it is hard to get 1/2 cup of peanut butter out of the measuring cup. Daddy I would have helped if you had asked! But nooooo, no hounds allowed in the kitchen. Then you add the oatmeal and stir it really good, making lots of noise and teasing poor starving hounds with cookies they cannot eat. Then you drop the stuff onto wax paper in little cookie bits so it will cool and make the whole house smell like cocoa no-bake no-hounds-allowed cookies.

It's not fair. But daddy redeemed himself - he gave us some peanut butter to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day.

This is the best holiday ever

Rescue Me # 4

So I have been checking all of our former Rescue Me hounds... I guess Livingston got adopted. I cannot find his page anymore, which is a good thing, I suppose! I hope he found a good home. Unfortunately Mr. Duke and Mr. Houston are still waiting on homes. But one hound in a forever home is a good thing!

This week's Rescue Me hound is named Cody. He is from Pataskala, Ohio, which is close to one of my grandma's house! Daddy has been there! Picking apples, he says! When he should really be rescuing hounds! Cody is being sponsored by Ohio Basset Rescue, which is a good rescue organization that has helped lots of hounds find their forever homes. Some of the people at cyberhound that we talk to have found their bassets through OBR. OBR also does a waddle each year but we have yet to go to it. But back to poor Mr. Cody! He needs a home, even a foster home will do. I think we should foster him! But daddy says Pataskala is too far away to go pick him up. So I guess he will have to find another foster home... hopefully with such a sweet face someone will take him and make him theirs soon. If you want to check Cody out you can find his info here, and more info on Ohio Basset Rescue here.

Hello my name is Cody

Famous Basset Hound Friday # 44

It's so good to be back on my paws again! I had a really rough week last Friday. I did not feel so well and got sick in my crate. I felt horrible because while daddy was cleaning it up I got sick in the other room! Whatever I ate did not agree with my hound tummy, which is weird, because normally I try and eat everything that I can. So Layla did a Rescue Me post instead, which is just as good as Famous Basset Hound Friday. That way another hound might find their forever home!

But back to the Famous Hound part! This week's is a good one! We have known this hound for quite sometime now, and it's high time he got to be a Famous Hound. His name is Bowser! He is just a puppy! He can be a real maniac sometimes! But he writes his own blog and it is hard to read sometimes because he is still working on his spelling. He must not have a great typer like daddy! Bowser gets to play with his toys every night and he has a routine that must be followed no matter what. He was also one of our first basset GQ models! And he lives with fish! Although I think they are not really fish, because I have seen fish at the pet store and they don't look like this. But it's OK! We are very forgiving of mistakes with our Famous Hounds! Bowser makes me remember back when I was just a pup, full of energy and vigor! He loves his mama just like me! And he's our latest famous hound!

Heeeeere's Bowsah!

I hate sweetgum trees

I see that many of our blog followers enjoyed the sexy basset spread the other day! We were glad to see so many people happy to check out our hounds, especially our rescued hounds. However it almost didn't happen! I was just getting ready to blog that night when a terrible thing happened to me!

I went out in the yard to do my business so I had no interruption while blogging about all our sexy hounds. I was so excited about that blog that I had to romp and run around the yard. Well, I stepped on something hard and knobby and it really hurt. I stopped immediately so I could inspect my paw and make sure it was OK, and I realized that whatever it was had stuck in my foot! I wasn't happy, because it was my bad foot on top of it all. So I slowly limped back to the house, worried that my injury would prevent me from honoring our sexy hounds. Rosco and Breezy had already got inside, and daddy was hollering for me to hurry up (he is so impatient sometimes!). I finally got in and daddy realized I had hurt my paw. I bet he felt bad for rushing me. He better have.

I was so worried at that point, because beautiful hounds like me don't like to be laid up waiting for their paw to heal. I certainly did not want to visit the vet again, after my last two experiences. So I laid on my back so daddy could check on my foot and fix it and hopefully rub my belly afterwards. Well, I may not have mentioned it before but daddy is a doctor. He's not a vet kind of doctor though, he studied lizards or some silly thing - this was all before my gotcha day so I don't know the details, Rosco can tell you sometime - but he knows enough to fix feet I guess, because he pulled the thing out. Then he showed it to me and said 'Layla this is a sweetgum ball, they come off trees. Mama and I hate these things.' Well I hate them too, I'm the one that had it in her paw!

The culprit fruiting body

So I decided to educate myself so I know how to avoid that problem in the future. It turns out sweetgum balls are horrible things and sweetgum trees are hateful, terrible plants that exist to drop stupid little spiky balls all over a hound's yard and make it nearly uninhabitable. A sweetgum tree can drop lots of these stupid little things! And they persist for a long time. Daddy explained to me that he and mama set the yard on fire not too long ago (that was another terrible day, they wouldn't let us out of our crates and the yard stunk and was all black afterwards) to get rid of dead leaves and other stuff, but the sweetgum balls were still there. Upon learning this I asked daddy to chop the tree down, but he explained that it was in the neighbor's yard and we can't cut it down. So I have decided to step lightly in my own yard and bark at the neighbor at every opportunity for having such a dumb and basset-unfriendly tree.

And these keys are way too small!

But I might be a little too dramatic here. My foot was OK after that and daddy gave me a treat for the trouble I went through and told me I was beautiful and that I would be OK. That calmed me down, and then he said 'Layla we have sexy bassets that need our attention'. And then we wrote the blog!

But I still hate sweetgum trees!