The Marmalounger

Hi all, hope you're keeping cool, except old frosty paws in Alaska... It's been an eventful week--saw the vet yesterday and my bloodwork came back pretty good, so I can stay on my medication and keep gaining weight. I'm at 60 lbs now--up from 52 when I was really sick. I charmed the vet by giving her my paw and then drooling on her scrubs.
With all the action, there is one place that is my retreat--the place I can curl up undisturbed for hours--my arm chair, also known as the "Marmalounger". When I first got into it, Mom and Dad didn't think I would fit--well, I proved them wrong. I fold my long legs under and snooze for hours. Of course, when I want to stretch out, I just kick Bernie or the humans off the sofa and take it over. It's a hound's life.

Queen of the sofa bed

As some of you already know, Mom and Dad take turns sleeping on the sofa bed with me at night since the medicine I'm taking causes me to need to go outside very early in the morning (usually around 3 a.m.). I will admit that I thoroughly enjoy this arrangement, as does Bernie, who claims the half of the bed vacated by the downstairs-sleeping human. Besides the cuddles on the sofa and the human at my beck and call, I enjoyed some long baying sessions this weekend. Mom said one bay in particular was migraine-inducing (and she doesn't get headaches!). Anyway, if you look carefully at the photo, you can see the great shredding job that Bernie has done on the drape. Mom is in the market for hound-proof window treatments for the living room and is grateful for any suggestions.

We watched the US gymnastics championships this weekend. Lots of jumping and flipping going on--humans are weird. Anyway, if a hound competed in the sport, it might go something like this.

Hound-nastics

Tim Dagget: And here is Marmalade Bloodhound ready to mount the beam. She needs a perfect score to take the gold. Can she do it?

Elfie Schlegel: Well Tim, those enormous ears caused her to trip during last night's routine. It looks like she's wearing her pink snood (courtesy of teammate Bentley's Mom) to match her leotard tonight.

And here she goes--mounting with a graceful bound and bay. Then a sit; turn on one paw; then a back leg lift (a move in honor of her brother Bernie, a real expert on leg lifting); lovely pose--nose sticking straight up; tail whip connected to another tail whip; nice series of bunny hops (in her free time, this athlete enjoys terrorizing the bunnies in her yard); and here's the dismount--a double twisting tail grab stuck cold.

Her coach is baying with delight. Marmalade is back at the beam chewing the leather cover off and sniffing the chalk bowl.

Tim: and the audience is on their feet! Even the judges are baying! And she gets a perfect score! What a long way this hound has come--traveled all the way from Georgia to train with the best hound-nastics coaches in the DC area, and boy, it's paid off! She gets a standing ovation and is now flinging drool at the audience. What a talent!

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OK enough dreaming about hound-nastics... Gotta get Mom downstairs to open up the sofa-bed--it's almost bedtime! Good night all!

Hound brother therapy

Hi everyone. I was really under the weather on Friday with an upset tummy. Mom was really worried and rushed to pick up medicine. I was in good hands, or should I say "paws" though--big brother Bernie (who celebrated his fifth birthday and adoption anniversary on Saturday) took good care of me. He slept next to me all day. I feel much better now and scared the living daylights out of a man on our walk this morning with my powerful bay. A-rooo!

Marmie's Gallery of Drool Art

Hi everyone. Mom has a collection of needlepoint pictures from the "old country" hanging in the living room and last week I decided that the pictures needed a little something to spice them up. So I put forth my best drool flinging effort and I must say, the result impressed even me. Mom, on the other hand, was not pleased, although I was glad she photographed the evidence--hopefully to show how impressive our breed can be...