Deep hound thoughts

The Munch Chronicles

2011-09-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Bernie and Emma's human here. Just wanted to update you on our newest family member, Munch. He is doing very well. He's gained some weight and is adjusting to life as an indoor puss. He hissed a lot in the beginning and spent a few weeks in my office closet, but slowly he began to discover that humans aren't that scary and they do provide good food and treats. I also got him the "cat dancer"--the best cat toy ever. It drew him out of his shell like nothing else.

I even managed to film him in action.

Anyway, I will write more and I'm sure Bernie and E-kitty will have more updates soon. They're very curious about the new addition and might be meeting him in the next few weeks.
Happy fall!

A new addition

2011-07-20T06:05:00.001-07:00

The humans finally succeeded in trapping E-kitty's not-so-small kitten. He's been living outside for the last year or so and has been a regular visitor to our porch feeding station. The humans kept trying to trap him, but he'd just swipe the tuna and take off. We finally got him Sunday night and off he went on Monday for his neuter and vaccination session. He came home on Monday night and has been recovering downstairs in a big dog crate. While not thrilled to be inside and confined, he is loving the regular meals. He's still quite scared and probably a bit cheesed off about losing the family jewels, but we think he'll come around. His name is Munch (after the Law and Order character). We have a detective theme going with the cats in the house. Anyway, there is always something going on at Hound & Coon HQ. Must nap to recover from all the activity. Happily, the morning Coon-cat smack-downs have stopped for the moment. Paws crossed.
--Bernie

Morning conversations

2011-07-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Bernie and E-kitty here. Hope you're enjoying the summer. We've been really busy--lots of visitors and good times. It's been awfully hot out but we're hanging in there. Hope you like the pic of us lounging in bed--we wish the humans would get the hint and just sleep on the sofa--more room for everyone! Anyway, we just wanted to share this morning's conversation with you (the humans, once fully awake, thought it was hilarious).

E-kitty: Meowwww! Chirp! Mrrrr-row! It's breakfast time! Let's get up, people!

B-hound: Snore... (One eye opens) Leave me alone. Need to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

E-kitty: Niaoouuuuuuuuuu! Chirp! (Swats Bernie's head). Come on--feed me!

B-hound: (Eyes both open, lifts head slowly) Grrrrr. Leave. Me. Alone. Zzzzzzzzzz...

E-kitty: (Pounces onto the bed, yowls, and continues swatting Bernie's head) Feed me! I'm starving! It's 6:30! Seriously people!

B-hound: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Do NOT disturb!

E-kitty: Hmmm... teeth showing might not be a good thing. Will dive onto humans and see what they do. (Chorus of ouches follows)

As you can see, E is a morning person, while B is definitely NOT.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, the humans and Bernie had a little cat follow them home during a late night walk. He had a tag (his name was Midnight), but nobody answered when the humans called, so they decided to keep him in the bedroom. B thought Midnight was really cute, E did not and wanted the invader out of her house. Happily his family came for him the next day, but he certainly did not hesitate to make himself comfy while he was with us.

E-GAD--what a week!

2011-06-13T06:35:00.001-07:00

Hi all,
Bernie here. What a week it's been... Hundred degree temperatures, no rain in sight, and poor E coming down with an infection. She was really sick--you know you have to worry when E won't eat. Anyway, the human took her to the vet and they discovered a really high fever and kept her there for a few hours. She was amazingly cooperative (a miracle given the fuss she makes when being groomed) but was very happy to see the human and come home later that evening. I did my happy dance and offered her my toys when she arrived home. She was definitely happy to be back.

I'm also helping her out by finishing her leftovers. The humans get really mad, but waste not, want not, I say!

Snoozing our way into spring

2011-04-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Bernie here. Our apologies for the lack of updates. E-kitty and I have been busy keeping the humans in line. In addition, we have spent the last few months snoozing and waiting for the weather to get better. We didn't really have a "snowpocalypse" this year, but it was cold and yucky and although E is an indoor cat, she loves sleeping in front of open windows and listening to the birds. As for me, my favorite thing, winter or spring, is sneaking upstairs and sleeping on the humans' pillows. I've recently figured out how to wedge open the gate at the bottom of the steps and have had long, satisfying naps on the bed. On my way to the bedroom, I usually stop and finish whatever is left in E-kitty's bowl. Waste not, want not, I say. The humans are not amused, but how can they get mad at a face like this? It's not possible!

The big gray Maine Coon may not snore like a hound, but she can nap with the best of them. She seems to be getting a bit big for her cat bed. I will have to alert the humans to put her on a diet--more cat food for me!

Lighting a candle for our girl

2010-12-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Bernie's human Ilonka here.

I can't believe it's been a year since we lost our wonderful girl Marmalade. She left us so suddenly and the void in our lives seemed impossible to fill. We still miss her and regularly bump into people we haven't seen in a while who ask about the "hounds". She was such a huge presence in our lives, our families, and the neighborhood. My parents were visiting us last year when Marmie died, and I don't think I'd seen either of them cry the way they did that day in very long time. People who are not dog people don't understand. To them, it's "just a dog." We dog people know that these creatures are our family--we worry about them and take care of them as we would a parent or child. Yet the bond is different--they're entirely dependent on us for their well-being, love us unconditionally, and are there with the same tail wag, bay, and silly grin no matter what kind of day we've had.

Marmalade was rescued from a horrible situation down south and we will always be grateful to Liz at Sterile Feral in Rome, Georgia, who pulled her out of one of the worst shelters in the country with a raging eye infection. We will also never forget the staff and vets at the Washington Animal Rescue League who took such wonderful care of her during her time in the shelter (special thanks to Dr. Caruso, who saved Marmie's eyesight).

We had gone to the shelter to meet Marmalade on a whim, and after a handful of drool and an hour in the interaction room (where she mostly ignored us and sniffed up a storm), we were filling out the adoption papers. We guess Marmalade was about eight years old when we brought her home. We have no idea about her life before she came to us, but she had a great retirement. She had a huge yard to romp in, critters to chase, hikes in the parks, and as much kibble as she wanted (supplemented by freshly baked bread, cherry cake, or steak--whatever she could get off the counter). She had a beautiful, melodic bay and was lovingly called the "neighborhood rooster" by our neighbors. She survived bloat surgery and fought back from a difficult bout of IBD, and through it all she was the same loving, sweet hound.

Her "marmalounger" is still in our living room and sometimes when I come downstairs, I still see her curled up and snoring. Bernie hound often curls up on the spot on the floor where Marmie slept, and both Paul and I are convinced that Marmalade has come back to us in feline form. She's not black and tan, but Emma Peel (E-kitty) is like Marmie in so many ways--she even moves like her. She definitely has comparable vocal cords and is constantly hungry. She also has the same sweet personality and is as smart and independent as Marmalade was. I guess everything happens for a reason.

To anyone out there considering adopting an older dog, you will NOT regret it. Although we only had three short years with our girl, she enriched our lives in ways we never thought possible.

My Favorite Things by Bernie

2010-12-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

In response to Wimsey's Testicle Song, I give you another Rogers and Hammerstein classic...

My Favorite Things

Pee drops on roses and hydrants and leaf piles
Licking my privates and sniffing for miles
Liver and sausages tied up with string
These are a few of my favorite things!

Warm cushy sofas perfect for napping
Rubs on the belly and wagging tail tapping
Jaunts in the park running like I have wings
These are a few of my favorite things!

When it thunders
When the cat bites
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Stealing the cat food and chasing the moon
Hogging the bed and sleeping till noon
Snowstorms that cover the ground until spring
These are a few of my favorite things!

Jumbo soup bones
Sweet potatoes
Dead stuff on the ground

These are a few of my favorite things
That make me one happy hound!

Things to be thankful for...

2010-11-24T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Bernie's human here. One of the things were most thankful this year is the nice little relationship that has developed between Bernie-hound and our main Maine Coon, Emma Peel (E-kitty). We came up the stairs one night and found them both snoozing on our bed. We've come a long way from the snarling, hissing, and chasing of last winter and I figure if a hound and cat can do it, why can't humans get along as well?

Bernie hound will resume blogging next week. He's recovering from a staph infection/hot spot and has been supervising Paul's brewing operations at Baying Hound Aleworks this week. Of course, he spent some of the time "sleeping on the job" but that's OK. House-guarding duties have thus fallen to E-kitty, and she is doing an admirable job from her sentry on the bench at the top of the steps.

Anyway, we wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving--may there be lots of turkey and trimmings for everyone. Bernie is joining us for Thanksgiving at his grandparents' and E-kitty has a previous engagement.

Inspired by Wimsey's Testicle Song, Bernie is now working on his own version of "My Favorite Things"... stay tuned!

--Ilonka

Bernie's best girl

2010-09-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Bernie here. Fall has not yet arrived--it's been really hot, but I've definitely got the fall friskies, as Wimsey would say...

One of the reasons behind this friskiness is the lady in my life, Portia the Great Dane. She lives a few doors down and boy, do I ever like her. She's an older lady--twelve to be exact, but she's really beautiful. She's a lot taller than me but height has never stopped love (I should know--my Mom was a Bloodhound/Great Pyr mix and my Dad was a Cocker Spaniel!) Anyway, we ran into Portia and the human happened to have her cool new phone equipped with camera. She complained about us being moving targets but managed to get some good shots.

Well, I'm kind of hidden due to obsessive sniffing...

Portia was really happy to see me and pranced around.

Humans really don't have to bend down to pet us, do they?

Anyway, it's pouring rain today. The humans are out of the house so I'm settling in for a good nap. Hopefully my lovely Portia will visit me in my dreams. Sigh.

The "Maine (Coon)" attraction: E-kitty photo shoot

2010-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Emma Peel here. The hound is fast asleep and I'm taking the opportunity to post some "modeling" pics that one of our human guests took during his visit. I must say, they are quite good. If anyone is wondering about my clipped ear, my humans had assumed that I was feral and took me to a spay/neuter clinic at the Washington Animal Rescue League, where they clipped my ear so that if anyone trapped me again, they would see that I'd already been spayed. Anyway, it's kind of funny that I was clipped and released, and then decided to befriend the humans and join them indoors a week later.

I still spend most of my time upstairs. I love the human's office--I sleep on her desk and look out the windows--optimal bird viewing!

My relationship with the Hound has improved. We started at the hiss and growl stage and have progressed to both being on the humans' bed at the same time. Of course, he takes up too much space and doesn't heed my meows asking to be fed... perhaps he can be trained. Of course, the humans are proud that the Hound tolerates my presence (even though it's the other way around). I put it down to one thing--the power of claw!

Bacon Boy's Cabin Trip

2010-08-15T08:50:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone. Bernie hound coming to you from soggy Silver Spring. We've been getting lots of rain, which is resulting in some good wet-hound odor. Anyway, the humans took me along on their cabin trip this week (the CAT had to stay home--ha!).

It was really nice at the cabin. I got to see my favorite girl, Mona, who still likes me (sigh--absence makes the heart grow fonder). There were also lots of other animals to check out--deer, turkeys, peacocks, chickens, rabbits... there was lots of good sniffing.

There was a lake and a canoe and the humans decided it would be a good idea to get me into the canoe for a spin. I was a bit scared at first, but it was OK. It was cool seeing all the geese and ducks in the lake.

I also showed off my escape artist abilities--the humans went to take a Japanese bath at the B&B by the cabin and left me in the cabin with the windows open. Well... they came back an hour later and found me running toward them--I had busted right through the window screen. They were pretty shocked to say the least. Evidence of my escape:

Anyway, I have to take a nap now--I was so tired from all the activity. It's amazing how tired a hound gets when he doesn't get his all-day naps.

Have a great week!
Bernie, a.k.a. Houdini hound

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-08-10T07:42:00.001-07:00

It was an eventful Sunday as the humans celebrated both my sixth birthday and my gotcha day. It's been five years since they sprung me from the West Virginia shelter where I was at the end of my time and brought skinny little me home for some TLC. I was only 60 lbs when I came home--a couple of months later, I was a whopping 80 lbs! Impressive, I know. Anyway, as a special treat for my dual anniversary, I got a pig ear, a new bone, and doggie frozen yogurt--banana and peanut butter flavor. It sure was yummy! Anyway, we're off on our annual cabin trip tomorrow--I'm very excited. There's a cute Ridgeback named Mona there (I hope she remembers me) and lots of other dogs, peacocks, turkeys, and assorted wildlife. There will be some most excellent sniffing. The humans are thrilled to be getting out of town since it's 100 degrees again. Happy trails!

Lights out!

2010-07-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Emma Peel, a.k.a. "E-kitty" here. I managed to finally get the laptop away from the large Hound, who is sleeping off three days without air-conditioning. We had a huge storm on Sunday. Well, I heard it was huge. I didn't really notice it since I was having my afternoon nap, but the Hound came upstairs to check on me once the worst was over. (I know--it was kind of sweet, but he's still a Hound.) I think he was surprised to find me asleep on my chair. Now that I am an indoor diva, I'm not afraid of anything. After all, I managed to survive on my own outdoors until last January (I'm at least part Maine Coon--we're pretty tough cats and the smartest cats in the domesticated cat world). Life indoors is good. It was especially fun watching all the snow fall last winter and knowing that I wouldn't have to get my paws wet.

Anyway, it was awfully hot and the humans were not impressed by their lack of food options, given that the big thing in the kitchen they keep their food in was out of commission. Me--I had my kibble and was just fine, thank you. I heard that the Hound gets salmon oil on his kibble. Hmmmm... E-kitty will have to investigate... and make the humans get some salmon oil just for her... Feline fish breath must be superior to hound fish breath.

The heat and lack of light put a damper on our nightly games of feather wand this week and the human was not particularly happy when I dove on top of her at 4 a.m. asking for breakfast. I have the routine down pat--first I head butt and purr, then I swat, then I do the E-kitty shiatsu special right on the stomach. If all else fails, I start to yowl at full volume. I mean, seriously--these humans should sleep more during the day and get up earlier. Anyway, I need to get back to my power nap now.

Ironic how the smallest creature in the house keeps the humans in line.

Emma Peel
Maine Coon, Kibble connoisseur, and Feline Diva beyond compare

Bernie's new trick

2010-07-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

Hello all, Bernie here. I'm happy to report that it rained this weekend and it's no longer 100 degrees outside. Big tail wags about that! Anyway, the humans constantly challenge themselves by teaching me tricks and I like to humor them by going along with the act. Here the latest--my new roll-over trick.

Impressive, yes? Who says you can't teach a middle-aged hound new tricks.

Speaking of age, my birthday and gotcha day are both coming up and the humans are thinking of baking me a liver cake--YUM! I've also decided that I don't like kibble on its own, so the humans have been adding salmon to it. I know, I have them trained.

I wish you all a good, houndly weekend. We're going to watch the world cup final this afternoon. All the hype about that octopus in Germany predicting the game outcomes got me thinking--grilled octopus might make a nice meal...

Sick as a dog (hound)

2010-06-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. It's Bernie coming to you from roasting hot Silver Spring (the "spring" has long dried up, I think). Anyway, there was some hound-induced drama at the end of the week, when I caught a nasty bug--probably from something I ate at the park during my long grazing sprees. The humans think I'm part cow, but I do not want to contemplate the further implications of that analogy. Anyway, I got sick and then became really lethargic. I was promptly whisked to the v-e-t, where the techs loved on me while giving me fluids and medicine. You should have heard them in the back--"he's part cocker spaniel--can you believe that???" Yes dear vet-techs, DNA does not lie.

Even E-kitty was worried about me and had a sympathy hairball (the human was thrilled).

Anyway, one of the humans stayed home with me on Friday and was very worried since I just lay there not moving. After shoving another pill down my throat, I started to get better and managed to eat some chicken and rice. Later on in the afternoon, I got up and had a good bark at the fed-ex man, so it was clear that I was on the mend. Anyway, later on Friday evening, the humans discovered why it had taken a while for me to get better--I had spat my first pill out on the sofa and hid it (yuck!). We hounds are very smart indeed. In fact, I'm so smart that I'm refusing to eat my kibble--the chicken and rice was YUM! The humans are NOT amused.

Anyway, I advise my fellow hounds to be careful about what they eat outside.

Bernie, pill-spitter-upper extraordinaire

The humans visit Wimsey

2010-06-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, my humans left me with my favorite uncle a few weeks ago. I was a bit upset, but it was for a good cause--they went to visit Wimsey--the spectacular bloodhound who rules New York's upper west side. In a bit less than 24 hours, there was much baying, bottle crunching, pizza eating, and, of course, a Wimsey-guided tour of Central Park. It seems that Wimsey is as impressive a sniffer as I am and took his time inhaling the scents of the park.

My male human Paul had never met Wimsey before and he was duly impressed. He was well trained--making the customary plastic bottle offering to Sir.

Anyway, later that night, a pizza offering was also made, which the Great Hound enjoyed immensely. He was so grateful, in fact, that he sat on Paul!

I wish the humans got ME pizza!
And no blog post would be complete without a display of the wondrous Wimsey wrinkle.
Of course, I was very happy when the humans returned. A-roo!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Bacon Boy goes hunting

2010-04-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well it's been an eventful few weeks with lots going on in the yard. The humans have been busy mulching, weeding, and planting and they could not have done it without the excellent supervision of yours truly. Speaking of supervision, E-kitty and I have had a few "supervised" nose-to-nose moments--which resulted in both noses remaining intact, so the humans hold out hope that one day we will like each other. Hmmmm... we'll see about that!

Since E-kitty is off limits, I decided to use my houndly hunting prowess in the back yard last weekend. It was a rather successful outing, as I found, caught, and ate an unsuspecting bunny. The humans were not impressed but I am, after all, a hound.

I've also been digging myself nice snooze-spots in the garden bed, which the humans are now talking about fencing off. Really--after all my efforts to make it comfy... A hound's labor is rarely appreciated. Dejected, I returned to another favorite snooze-spot.

Bernie a.k.a. Hasenpfeffer Hound

Spring hike

2010-03-21T19:36:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like spring weather to make this hound all frisky. The humans decided to celebrate the end of a long and painful winter with a nice spring hike in Rock Creek Park. It was a bit muddy from the snow melt from the last few weeks and there were very few dogs around to say hello to, but I had a great time. The humans even packed bananas to snack on--my favorite!

As you can see, it got a bit warm, so I was panting and had my tongue sticking out in all the photos. The humans call it my silly face.

I've been busy helping the humans in the yard. My personal favorite activity is digging a nice hole in the garden bed and then lying down in the cool soil. It's a hound's life!

Dispatch from the other (species) side

2010-03-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

You all have seen pictures of me. I'm Mrs. Emma Peel, also known as Emma-cat or E-kitty. For those of you not addicted to old 1960s crime shows, I was named after Diana Rigg's character on the Avengers. Although my "cat-suit" is gray, not black, I think there is some resemblance.

Anyway, I've been living the good life since wandering into Bernie's house on New Year's Day. Bernie is not overly impressed with my stately feline presence, but we both have our spheres of influence. I own the upstairs while Bernie rules the main floor of the house. Of course we do have some encounters (which usually involve some growling) but all in all, it works out. The humans have a window seat upstairs that I have appropriated since it's perfectly positioned for optimal kitty-vision watching. I can see the entire back yard and regularly comment about all the birds and other critters out there. My other favorite past-time is playing with my feather toy downstairs when Bernie's not there.

The humans think I'm a lot like Marmalade the bloodhound (albeit without the drool). I will say, I'm a heck of a lot more graceful than any hound.
On that happy note, I will sign off.
Emma Peel the Fur-st

Snowpocalypse--the aftermath

2010-02-15T18:53:00.001-08:00

Bernie sleeping off all the digging and tunneling in the snow. We have never seen him so excited or so tired.

Blizzard hound

2010-02-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

The weather people promised a huge storm this weekend, and wow--did we ever get snow! I've never seen so much snow and the humans were amazed as well. The main road to our neighborhood was totally deserted, as was our street.

We played a lot at first, but this morning, I discovered that too much snow makes it hard to get around, even on four paws! Here I am in the snow with Dad.

Here's a clip of me stuck in the snow. I needed a bit of encouragement to tunnel back to the house.

Sniffing in the snow

2010-02-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! A-roo! It's fun sniffing in the snow--I can smell all kinds of stuff. We got over eight inches on Saturday and this hound was very excited. I played outside with the humans. Since my big ball is missing in action, the humans threw snowballs for me--which had the added feature of being edible.

I am usually a happy dog, but playing in the snow makes me even happier.

Everyone had fun in the snow, but Emma-cat preferred to watch from inside.

Winter hound blahs

2010-01-26T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hello all. It's definitely winter blah season. I'm finding it difficult to get up in the morning and have been the official weekend-sleeper-in hound. When Dad leaves for work on Saturday mornings, I vault into bed and spend the morning snoozing with Mom. Once we're rested, we go for our late morning walk.

Emma the cat has made life a bit more exciting and more complicated. I'm gated downstairs during the day and she sits up in the window seat at the top of the steps and stares down at me. I've started making all kinds of funny sounds resembling something between a squeal and a bay, so Mom is holding out hope that the bloodhound genes will prove to be the dominant ones. We've had a few close encounters and last night the sneaky little thing came downstairs while I was asleep. The humans hope that my chase instinct will fade with time. Um, I don't think so--I am a hound.

Anyway, the week is almost over. Time for a power nap.

Upstairs cat, downstairs dog

2010-01-15T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hope the year has started out well for everyone. I really miss my sister, but promise to keep blogging and entertaining everyone and perhaps bring out my inner bloodhound even more. Mom says I try to bay sometimes but it comes out funny. Oh well.

We had an interesting New Year's--the cat that Mom has been feeding decided to adopt us. Needless to say, there was some initial growling (on both parts) and hissing (on Emma the cat's part--I do NOT hiss). The solution you ask? For the moment it's "upstairs cat" and "downstairs dog"... We look at each other through the gate at the steps and I really just want to smell her and maybe chase her. Anyway, the grand-humans were here for over a month and left this week, so I'm feeling a bit lonely. Sigh... Perhaps this blog will need to be renamed the cat chronicles...

A sad kiss goodbye

2009-12-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Marmie's human here. I just wanted to let you know that we lost our beloved girl this Sunday. She had a wonderful Saturday morning romping in the snow with Bernie and was fine until the evening, when she got very sick. We were completely snowbound and the vets we spoke to on the phone gave us some advice but we had no choice but to take care of her and hope for the best. I stayed on the sofa bed and tried to reassure her. She eventually settled down and I fell asleep. We found her the next morning. In hindsight, there was probably nothing the vets could have done. It's likely that her liver failed as a result of the medications she was on. We are consoling ourselves with the fact that she had a great last six months and was happy almost until the end. Her grandparents have been visiting and she got more love and affection than ever the last few weeks. Needless to say, we are devastated and shocked at this great and sudden loss. Marmalade was with us for almost three full years. Whatever her past, we know that these were three good years. She was loved and cherished every single day by us, our friends and neighbors, and her brother, Bernie. The sadness on people's faces when we walk down the street with only one hound is palpable--she was such a fixture in the neighborhood. We will all miss her beautiful bay (she was known as the neighborhood rooster) and I will miss our sofa-bed snuggles so much. People thought I was crazy for spending the last six months downstairs with her on the sofa bed; I'm so glad I had that time with her. She fell asleep every night with my arms around her and woke up to a kiss on her beautiful, noble head.
Rest in peace, my beautiful girl. You will never be forgotten.

--Marmie's human, Ilonka

By the way, the photo above was taken on Saturday morning while they romped in the snow. I could not think of a nicer picture to post.

'Tis the season...

2009-12-11T19:46:00.001-08:00

'Tis the season to be houndly, fa la la la la--a-roo!

I was not amused and suffered the indignity of wearing antlers for only a few short minutes. The things we do for our humans... seriously!

Anyway, life in Houndonia has been quite eventful. The grand-human from Canada is visiting and another is set to arrive tomorrow. This means more pets and hugs and, of course, opportunities to swipe food when they're not looking (alas, they are not owned by hounds). Speaking of being owned by hounds, Dad gets us on weekends and last weekend we managed to successfully sandwich him on the sofa bed. With all the snoring going on, Dad said it was like sleeping on a massage-bed.

I also have to share this pic of Bernie doing his pig imitation:

This was taken on Thanksgiving. Of course, the humans gave thanks for having us hounds around. They also got on the topic of what life would be like without us. Unimaginable!

Food could be left on the counter;
There would be ample sofa and bed space;
The humans would gain weight and get way too much sleep;
The vacuum would get a well-deserved vacation;
The neighborhood would be quiet--no ear splitting bays;
The postman would actually walk up to the house slowly, instead of sprinting up to the mailbox and back due to the furious barking and baying;
The humans would have something called "disposable income" since they would not have to shell out for food, treats, medicine, and expensive vet visits;
The walls would stay clean;
Clothing would remain undecorated by rope drool;
And the list went on until they humans decided that houndlessness would be boring beyond belief!

I will sign off on that happy note.

Marmalade, a most festive hound

Cats

2009-11-22T05:41:00.001-08:00

It seems that the cats the humans have been feeding are here to stay... We have not yet worked out a peaceful coexistence, however. Right now, the cycle is, cats eat and sit on porch, we stare, we chase. They are kind of cute though.

This is the mother cat.

And here is me staring at one of the kittens on the chair.

She was clearly not amused...

I spent the rest of the morning looking out the windows and tracking their every move.

Mom thinks I'm more curious than anything. Bernie, however, was sent downstairs. He's a lot more than curious.

Leaf pile adventures

2009-11-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

The weather turned cool and the leaves have really started to turn and fall to the ground. Fall is a great season for us hounds--all these smells--mold, decomposing stuff galore--yum! Us hounds have it good. The humans spent the afternoon raking while we hung out and sniffed. Here's Bernie lying in his favorite leaf pile. I don't lie in the piles, especially since Bernie likes to "mark" them...

I don' t mark, but I sure sniff. I smelled squirrel and even the cat that's been eating on the porch.

The humans get mad when I eat yucky stuff in the yard, but I'm a hound--I can't resist!

This hound sure does get tired at the end of the day, though... So tired that I decided to take up two dog beds instead of one. My humans call it "bloodhound sprawl". The photo below shows my massive paws--which lately are in the habit of socking Mom in the face while she's sleeping. It's not my fault she takes up so much of the bed. Perhaps I should petition for my own futon, like Wimsey has...

Anyway, I'm off to the vet tomorrow for a weigh-in and some bloodwork, which means the vet techs will love on me and tell me I'm such a good girl, and so on. The best part is I get to ride shotgun (I have a doggie seat belt that keeps me safe). It's funny watching people pull up next to us and seeing their reaction when they see a large hound staring at them. It takes so little to keep humans entertained...

Sunday trail adventure

2009-10-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

We woke up to great weather this morning and the humans decided we all needed exercise, so we went down to our local trail to enjoy the pretty fall scenery.

Lots of people and dogs about--we said hi to quite a few.
Mom tried to get a shot of me baying--this is the best she could do...

Ever the photogenic hounds...

In other news, it seems that a little cat has adopted our porch. The humans have been putting food out for her and a little box to sleep in... Cat food smells GOOD! It's not on my prescription diet, though. Not sure what the humans are thinking--I mean, a cat??? When they have hounds? Bernie was quite confused when he saw the kitty (named Emma by the humans after Mrs. Emma Peel of The Avengers' fame) sitting on the fence. He sat in front of the window and barked, but didn't really go into his usual "attack" mode. There are a couple of huge orange cats in the neighborhood and we've chased them quite a few times... Not quite sure what I think about the whole cat thing.

Sunday trail walk

2009-10-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long break--Mom has been too busy to download photos. The real reason is that all the crime shows are back on... Everyone knows that Law and Order and CSI would be so much more interesting if there were a bloodhound in the mix. But then the criminals would be caught in no time, leaving the networks with no substance for the shows.

I was most impressed to see the pics of Wimsey on Park Avenue. What a busy week our handsome Wimsey had!

Anyway, last Sunday we met with our friend George the lab and his human, Tanja, and went for a nice walk along one of the trails in the area. It was a beautiful day and a great day for sniffing. Lots of critter smells. The experience proved yet again that it's impossible to get a non-blurry photo of a lab. Case in point:

Anyway, we trailed for about an hour.
Here we are looking rather noble:

We hounds just want to keep trailing... while the humans want photos.

I must admit, George the lab has a pretty good nose on him (for a lab). He's a year older than I am but did really well on the walk.

No trail walks this weekend. We went to the park in the pouring rain today--I was not amused. I wore my coat but my head and ears were dripping by the time we got home. Hope it stops soon. I'd rather have snow, like Gus and Bentley.

Fun videos

2009-10-04T14:24:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. We got a bath today and are not amused--now we have to go back to the drawing board to get our houndly odor back...
Mom finally got around to attaching video from our day trip. The first has a story attached to it. You see, we'd just arrived at Pembroke Springs and the fresh country air proved to be very good for Bernie's digestive system. So good, in fact, that he proceeded to take a very large poop in the field. Me being a hound, and a curious one at that, wanted to investigate. Of course, Mom had other ideas about this--hence the furious barking and baying.

This is some footage of us on the trail tracking the bear that was in the area.
Enjoy!

Day trip

2009-09-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. The fall weather has been fantastic and Mom and Dad took us for a day trip to one of our favorite places on Sunday--Pembroke Springs. I snoozed the whole way there, while Bernie looked out the window the whole time. Anyway, the hiking trails were really nice--lots of wildlife smells. Apparently the innkeeper had seen a bear last week. Here we are with Dad ready to hit the trail.

Mom and me looking cute.

Some nice bits of drool going on.

Begging for cake and cookies didn't quite go as planned...

Anyway, we were exhausted from all the activity and sacked out the whole evening and next day. We barely managed to drag ourselves around the block on our Monday morning walk. Videos will be posted soon.

Under the table dog

2009-09-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Hounds and humans alike enjoyed the lovely weather this weekend. We all lay outside on the grass this afternoon and snoozed. By the way, a shout out to the Life with Dogs blog for awarding this blog the Golden Hydrant. I and my team are honored. Although with all of Bernie's leg lifting, he might be a worthy nominee as well :)

Anyway, while I spend mealtimes in the corner of the dining room waiting for something to drop, Bernie lies under the table. As soon as Mom and Dad sit down to eat, down he goes and spends the duration of the meal there. He is one funny hound, but I love him.

And here he is showing his lovely leg lift position--Mom thanks her lucky stars for all the acid-loving plants in our garden.

The Marmalounger

2009-08-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

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!

***

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

2009-08-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

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...

Clean for a cause: PART II

2009-07-25T18:29:00.001-07:00

***
We heard this week that the dog wash raised over $3000 to benefit the county K-9 unit. That's great news!!!
***

Continuing our photo montage of last weekend's exciting K-9 squad dog wash benefit, we have some photos of the "aftermath" and return home. While I enjoyed the event (and even tolerated the bath), once we were clean, I felt it was time to go back to the car and go home. Lunch and a nap were in order after all the excitement. Anyway, I towed Mom back to the car in fine bloodhound style.

Wimsey would be proud of my towing prowess--Mom could barely keep her balance. People walking by were suitably impressed.

Here's Bernie looking handsome in his driving vest. He was definitely happy to be leaving the event!

Me looking particularly noble and houndly.

Anyway, we spent the week working on our smell but it's been so dry that there's a shortage of stinky, decomposing stuff to roll in. We'll have the invite the rabbits over... although they don't seem to like to visit our yard. I wonder why...

Clean for a cause: County K-9 squad fundraiser PART 1

2009-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. We had quite a day today. Mom and Dad took us to the K-9 squad fundraiser. Our county has several police dogs--they even have two bloodhounds (who were working today and not present). Anyway, besides the fact that the fundraiser involved getting scrubbed in tubs, we had a great time.
Here's a fellow rescue hound checking our Bernie's hound credentials.

A couple of Great Danes also got in on the action...

Bernie was up first and did not enjoy his bath. Here's his best "poor me" pose.

Me... knowing what awaits.

Scrub time!

Toweling off yours truly.

It was a very eventful day to say the least.

Another droolcicle!

2009-07-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Fellow hounds--here is another entry for the droolcicle challenge!

Summer hounds!

2009-06-28T16:43:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,
It's been a restful weekend for us hounds and we've definitely been enjoying the cooler weather. The week has been less restful for Mom and Dad, though... I've been getting them up extra early to go outside. As a result, Mom spent a lot of time this weekend snoozing on the sofa (which is fine as long as she leaves it for me to sleep on at night). Anyway, the last week was quite hot and Bernie decided to find a nice cool spot to sleep. He dug himself a nice hole under one of the shrubs and snoozed the day away.

Here's me surveying my yard (and making sure it's not invaded by birds, squirrels, or rabbits!)

The one that got away...

2009-06-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's been looking like the west coast in these parts with all the rain. YUCK! I got Mom out in it at 5:30 this morning. When she let me out later, she noticed I was sniffing hard around her hydrangea bushes but thought a rabbit had been through there. Clearly, she does NOT have my sense of smell because there was something there--a bird. A rather large bird for that matter. Never one to hesitate, with one most cat-like pounce, I caught it!

Unfortunately, it managed to get out of my jaws and hide between the fence and the porch and Mom grabbed my collar and picked me up and put me inside (I was not having any of the going inside thing). Anyway, I sat down in front of the porch door and bayed for over half an hour to no avail. When we went back out later, the bird was gone and Mom's shrubs looked quite beaten up after all the action.

Whenever I want something...

2009-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

I bay. Full volume. Mom says I have a beautiful, melodic singing voice and took some video to showcase it. So here goes.
This is my "I'm hungry--give me my dinner already" song.

And this is my "Put my bowl down already--please" serenade.

A-roooo!

Central Park Safari with Wimsey

2009-06-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Marmalade's Mom here. I got to meet his royal houndness Wimsey in New York City this week and was it ever an experience! Sir was very happy that I brought with me an entourage of admirers (my brother and his partner visiting from out of town). My brother in particular is a serious dog person and with Wimsey he got to experience some serious houndness. We had a blast--thanks to Wimsey and his humans. The weather was perfect for a lovely jaunt in the park. Here's Sir looking very handsome with my brother. Do they look alike? Perhaps a little...

And here's his royal houndness baying for attention (we had momentarily stopped petting him).

Anyway, we walked some more, he bayed some more, chucked some drool (his smart humans are always armed with drool rags), and then we ended up at Grom's Gelato--Wimsey's favorite ice cream spot. Here is some footage of Wimsey being grommed... We had quite a laugh when Wimsey got brain freeze!

And finally, Wimsey walking off into the sunset. No other comments necessary here.

A little drool...

2009-05-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. It's been nice and warm out and we spent time in the garden and lounging on the sofa with Mom. Dad is off work tomorrow, so we're going to make sure he spends lots of time with us. Since the bloodhound bloggers mentioned drool pics a while ago, Mom decided to immortalize my latest contribution to the world of drool art. This masterpiece was created last night after the dinner dishes were cleared away. Note the lightness of the drool in contrast to the gleaming teak of the table... the shape of this goober is also impressive--certainly some of my best work. Top this, fellow bloodhounds!

Mantrailing and Bernie's bloodhound heritage

2009-05-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We had some fun today--Mom and Dad did a mantrailing exercise with us. Well, in our case, it was a woman-trailing exercise since Mom was the quarry. Basically, Mom took off and we had to track her down and find her. It was lots of fun! After getting sidetracked due to the wind blowing her scent around, we found her. She decided to take off one more time and I bayed furiously for her to come back. She didn't so we had to find her, which we did five minutes later. Dad observed that Bernie and I have very different traits when trailing. I'm the nose (obviously!) while Bernie relies on his eyes and ears... The combination of the two of us is impressive indeed! We were pretty tired when we got home and had a nice snooze once we got home...

Speaking of noses and such, Bernie had a DNA test a while ago and it turns out that Bernie is part bloodhound, part Pyranees, and part Cocker Spaniel (!!?). The bloodhound part is definitely there--he has quite a nose of him and he even has a few wrinkles, as you can see on the photo.

Bernie and Marmie bath day!

2009-05-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I think you can tell from the subject line that our Sunday afternoon was not very enjoyable... Mom and Dad decided to give us a bath outside. We were most unimpressed and tried to get away but the humans prevailed...
Anyway, a bath photo gallery follows.
Here's Bernie getting soaked...

My turn...

Bernie posing after he shook all over Mom.

And little old me posing for the camera.

Don't worry--we will be back outside rolling in stuff and working on our smell very soon. Here's a final shot of Bernie flirting with the camera. What a ham!

Bloodhound with Attitude

2009-05-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I think Mom is particularly happy that it's the weekend but little does she know that I have a most houndly baying session scheduled for 7 a.m. tomorrow morning that promises to penetrate the most high-quality earplugs... Since I've been feeling better, I've been extremely loud, greeting everyone on the street (scaring the living daylights out of most strangers) and baying when I want something--food, outside, etc. Mom took the above photo and thought it reflected my "don't mess with this hound woman" attitude. I think she's right. Although the drool on the ears proves that no matter how much attitude, I will always be her favorite slobber hound.

Snood fashion

2009-05-03T08:20:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. I got another package in the mail yesterday (the postman actually asked Mom what a bloodhound was and whether it was contagious [!!?]). Mom of course set him straight. Anyway, the package contained two beautiful snoods made by Bentley's Mom for little old me. One has bunnies on it and the other one is a butterfly motif, so I fit right in with all the pretty flowers outside. Anyway, snood fashion show part 1:

Anyway, I decided I wanted to be snoodless after a while.

Ah yes, sniffing with free ears--much better!

Yardwork, snoods, and my brother Bernie

2009-04-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Spring has finally sprung and all we seem to hear these days is "out of the flower beds! Don't crush the plants! No digging in the compost! No eating the compost!" and so on. Can't a hound have any fun? Anyway, I'm feeling better and am getting into all sorts of trouble. I swiped Mom's dessert off the coffee table today--will she never learn? Anyway, I was overwhelmed by Bentley's snood-modeling pics. What a handsome hound. I don't think Mom knows enough about sewing to make me a snood... Oh well. If I could have one, I would get one with bunnies on it. Anyway, speaking of handsome, my brother Bernie is a pretty handsome devil. The ladies in the neighborhood definitely love him and he's a nice hound guy to have around the house. We're going to surprise Mom for her birthday today. I suggested a liver cake, but Dad doesn't think it's a good idea. I know I'd love a liver cake for my birthday... A hound can always dream...

The Great Steak Caper

2009-04-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Marmalade here. I'm feeling much better--I'm getting my energy back and am up to all sorts of no good. Tonight as Mom and Dad were getting ready to sit down to dinner, I decided to help myself to the steak sitting on Dad's plate. It was a stealth grab and go, but unfortunately the clattering of plates and silverware gave me away. Mom tried to get mad, but she laughed and shared her steak with Dad after prying Dad's steak from my jaws. I'm on a special diet and apparently steak is a no-no. It sure tasted good while it lasted. Anyway, there are the remains of the steak in the garbage can. So sad...

Our girl Marmalade

2009-04-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, Marmie's Mom here. Our girl is really very sick. She went for a sonogram this week, which showed nothing, but blood tests reveal that she has one of two things--inflammatory bowel disease or cancer. We're thinking it's the first, since she's had periodic flare-ups over the last few years, and will begin medication for IBD today. Please keep fingers and paws crossed for our girl. We love her so much and 2 years is not long enough time with her. I think Marmalade agrees that there is much more baying and counter-surfing to be done. I'll keep you posted.

Tennis ball hound

2009-03-22T17:38:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone. It seems that Spring has sprung, which meant Mom spent all weekend in the yard. Well, almost all weekend. She spent some of Saturday at the vet with me trying to figure out why I'm down to 55 pounds from 86 two years ago. Mom's really worried and I have to go for some more blood work tomorrow. I'm not worried--I have my tennis ball and my lounge chair--all is well.

Bernie and I enjoy supervising yard work. Humans are so slow--it takes forever for them to dig a hole. They should really let us handle it. Anyway, it's cooler again in the evening, so we're all snuggled on the sofa waiting for Dad to get home from work. Have a great evening!

Monday morning gross-out

2009-03-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Hope you had a good weekend. I'm writing this entry while Mom is lying on the couch feeling a bit faint. You see, my bro Bernie, who may be what Bentley's family might call a "quarter-hounder" (part bloodhound, part spaniel, part Pyrenees and who knows what else) caught a rodent last night and decided to show Mom his catch this morning. I was intrigued, but Mom never lets me near the good stuff. In fact, she made us go inside and we watched from the window as she executed her disposal routine using our scooper and plastic bags. Humans are really funny about that stuff--she should have just let me take care of it... Anyway, she did not photograph the evidence--hence the neutral and non-gross picture to go with this post. A-roooo! (And birthday greetings to buddies Wimsey and Gus.)

Snow videos starring me and Bernie (finally!)

2009-03-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hi there,
Mom finally got her act together and got the videos to work.
Here are me and Bernie enjoying the snow.

And enjoying it some more...

And more...

Hope you all like the vids!

Snow day!

2009-03-04T07:35:00.001-08:00

Wow--we woke up on Monday morning to six inches of snow on the ground and boy, did we have a good time! Mom and Dad took us for a long walk to the park. It was all white and beautiful. We sniffed and sniffed (stuff sure smells different in the snow--we had to sniff extra hard for all the critters and stuff underneath). Anyway, we returned home very tired and snoozed away the rest of the day.

Here we are in the park with Dad.

And me in my sweater and coat (can't wait for spring!).

We promised video will follow soon--Mom is a bit inept when it comes to getting the video off the camera and into the blog. Sigh...

Marmie's Gotcha-Day

2009-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Marmie's Mom here. I just wanted to let everyone know that February 21st was the second anniversary of Marmalade's adoption. It's safe to say our lives have not been the same since we brought her home. We now have the cleanest counters anywhere (with everything out of hound reach); we have a weekly wall washing ritual; I'm adept at spotting dead and decomposing stuff on the trail before she can get it; and Marm's Dad and I can actually identify the many melodies in her houndly "songs". Her hound brother Bernie agrees that life would not be the same without her. We almost lost her to bloat last November and the good outcome makes us sure that she will howl, drool, and eat her way through our lives for many more years to come.

She was eight when we adopted her and it's been so wonderful seeing an older dog discover the good life. We don't think she'd ever lived in a house before--she had to learn to go up and down stairs and the day she discovered upholstery, she didn't leave the sofa for ten hours. She's happy and on her way to getting healthy. The highlight of our morning is going downstairs and seeing her lounging on her arm chair. Her enthusiastic songs greet us whenever we walk in the door and she is more than happy to remind us when we're a little late with her meals. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics of our beautiful girl and her latest masterpiece--rope drool (flavored with duck and sweet potato dog food) on my piano sheet music.

Valentine's weekend walk

2009-02-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone--hope you had a nice weekend. Gus, our bloodhound of the frozen North, is probably still frozen, but I'm happy to report that we have started to thaw out a bit on the East Coast. We had a great time today--Mom and Dad took us to our favorite trail in Rock Creek Park and I towed Mom all the way down the hill. Her feet barely touched the ground! It was a nice day to be out and about, and it seems, like Wimsey has chronicled in his blog, that love is indeed in the air. Mom said she hasn't seen so much sniffing of dog behinds in ages. A young yellow lab got a bit fresh at one point--I was not amused.

Indeed, love was indeed in the air and poor Bernie was on the receiving end of several amorous advances. I just sniffed and took the air like Wimsey's Phoebe. I was indeed the perfect lady, except when I tried to eat some decomposing stuff that Mom quickly managed to get out of my mouth. Anyway, I digress. We met an amazing dog today. Not a hound, but a Newfie. His name is Moose and he really lived up to his name. He towered over me and Bernie and I was afraid that one swipe of his paw would send Mom off the edge of the trail and down the hill.

He was a friendly and sweet fellow and has an artistic bent just like me--he does drool art on the walls of his home--something that, just like at Casa Hound, is not appreciated to its fullest extent. I could hear Mom complaining again about having to wash the walls. She's destroying my art... Perhaps Wimsey will include drool art in his studies of houndish art...

Anyway, we saw lots of dogs swimming today and I was so impressed to read about Bentley's adventures in the swimming pool. This hound woman definitely does NOT do H2O!!! Hope you all enjoy the pics.

Ice hounds!

2009-02-01T18:46:00.001-08:00

Wow--has it EVER been cold and icy this past week. This hound woman is ready for spring. We got snow, then freezing rain, and it all froze on Tuesday night, turning our much-loved yard into an ice rink. Bernie and I both had a few wipeouts and quickly figured out that we had to slow down. Walks were only attempted during the middle of the day--Mom, like Wimsey's guardians, had visions of broken bones as a result of hound-towing and ice so she played it safe. Today was beautiful and we got some shots of the ice before things started to melt. Gus, I don't know how you survive the frozen north... this girl is definitely a southern hound!

By the way, I counter-surfed this weekend and took off with a bunch of garlic cloves. Mom caught me and made me spit them out. I didn't want to give them up, but at least I had a memento for my efforts--garlic breath!

Play date!

2009-01-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Sorry it took me a while to write. I've been hibernating because of the unusually cold winter we've had this year. This southern gal does NOT like the cold--Mom and Dad have to drag me along on our walks. The weather was nice on Sunday, though, so I got my coat on and we met a new dog friend for a play date at the park. Her name is Remi and she's a Boston terrier. She moved here from Indiana with her Mom, so I guess these temperatures are pretty balmy compared to home. Neither Bernie and I had met a Boston before and even though I think our large houndliness was a bit overwhelming for her, she came around and went for a walk with us. I think Bernie thought she was really cute--he LOVES the ladies. Anyway, some photos of our walk and the snooze that followed.

To my friends who have been discussing the stuffy issue, I am sad to say that Mom decided not to let me have any more. After reading Gus' description about pooping white fuzz for a week, Mom decided that my sensitive tummy would not like to digest stuffing. So I await my indestructible kong.

Marmageddon II--Inaugural Chew Fest

2009-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. It's been an exciting few days with the inauguration of our new president. Mom and Dad decided to watch the activities from the comfort of the sofa. I agree--it's way too cold to be outdoors for more than a quick pee. Anyway, I'm trying to petition our new president to consider a bloodhound puppy... although perhaps the first lady would not be happy about drool on her outfits. Oh well, one can dream. Anyway, I had my own inaugural weekend. I finished off a project I had started while Mom and Dad were away--Mom's cat slippers! I was bound and determined to gut them, but didn't get very far since Mom took them away.

She was mad--they were really warm apparently--I don't have a problem with slippers, per se, just the ones shaped like C-A-T-S! Once the offending slippers were disposed of (note the impressive teeth marks in the photos) Mom decided to give me something appropriate to chew on--my old hedgehog squeaky toy she'd found in the basement. It went well, except I destroyed it in less than ten minutes. Next on the menu--when Mom has time to go to the store--indestructable kongs. No more toys with stuffing for little old me.

A Happy, Houndly 2009

2009-01-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long hiatus. Mom and Dad were somewhere called Vancouver and Bernie and I got to hang out with our favorite uncle. We were really spoiled--lots of walks and treats. Bernie even talked him into three meals a day, which resulted in Mom and Dad calling him Bacon Boy again due to some extra poundage.
Speaking of poundage, Mom and the v-e-t had lots of discussions about little old me before the holidays and the Dr. E decided to put me on an enzyme supplement to help me absorb nutrients (which seems to be the reason I'm losing weight). Anyway, no complaints about the enzyme stuff, except that it has to sit on my food for 15 minutes, meaning 15 minutes of pacing and howling for my dinner! I am NOT amused. I am starting to get my energy back, though, and feel a lot better. I was so impressed by the Christmas videos of Gus, Dimond, and Molly. Bernie and I don't really unwrap anything unless it contains food. Bentley and Wimsey's puppy pictures were adorable as well. Happy New Year and a howling 2009 to all my hound friends and guardians! A-roooo!

Marmageddon!

2008-12-08T10:45:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! We don't have Gus' 30 below temperatures here, but it's been awfully cold. So cold in fact that on Saturday, I refused to go on my afternoon walk. The pics of Wimsey looking unhappy in his halti inspired me to wage my own houndly campaign of resistance. I planted my feet, hung my head (causing some sinister-looking wrinkles), and flatly refused to move. Mom finally decided it was too cold to stand outside and beg me to go, so I was returned to the comfort of my lounge chair and Mom went on about bloodhound stubborness.
If you're wondering about the title of this post, it's the new word Mom and Dad thought up to use when I exhibit particularly houndly behavior, most of which involve making some kind of mess. Recent examples are:
Eating canned food--it gets EVERYWHERE--my snout, my ears (perhaps I need a snood), on the walls, the floor... you name it. Mom always stands by with a wet rag for the wipedown.
Counter-surfing (the successful kind where I actually find and decimate something). The most recent episode involved Dad's spent grains from beer brewing, sitting in a bowl on the counter ready for me to take down and enjoy. Unfortunately, the bowl falling got Dad's attention and he snatched the yummy stuff away before Bernie and I could really go to town... oh well, next time.
My howl when I want to run over and sniff someone or tell off other dogs--usually the not-so-nice dogs in the neighborhood. My voice reverberates through the entire neighborhood--it's rather impressive, really.

Anyway, as promised are some pics of me in my new sweater, which is very snuggly and comfy indeed. Hound fashion and function at its finest. A-roo!

Leaf pile hounds

2008-12-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I am feeling great and think that my duck and sweet potato food is the best stuff ever invented. Mom says I'm looking very shiny and is hoping I'll put on some weight soon.
Unlike lucky Wimsey, we didn't get to supervise the roasting of the turkey this year since Mom and Dad went over to Grandad and Grandma's for dinner. Mom still has nightmares about the turkey leg she had to pull out of Bernie's mouth last year. He was about to swallow it whole!
The weather was yucky, but luckily we still got some nice seasonal shots in. There is a mouse that lives in our wood pile and I was bound and determined to flush him out. Bernie, on the other hand, was playing in the leaves. Mom and Dad wouldn't mind him diving into the leaf piles if he didn't pee on them first... typical male dog, I say.

All is well in Marmie's world

2008-11-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Just a quick note to say I'm feeling much better. I got home from the hospital on Saturday night and Mom, Dad, and Bernie have been taking great care of me. I'm on special food and tomorrow I start my new food--sweet potato and duck--YUM!! Hopefully I can start having my yummy chummies again soon. Thanks to everyone for their get well messages. It was a scary time, but Dr. Foster and the staff at the emergency clinic in Rockville were fantastic. They saved my life and this hound girl is forever grateful. A-roooo!

Bernie saves his sister's life

2008-11-21T22:03:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone, it's Marmalade's Mom here. Marmie can't blog for a few days--she had emergency surgery tonight for bloat. It came on really quickly and luckily we were able to rush her to the emergency vet in time. It was thanks to her wonderful hound brother Bernie that we noticed and took action--he was so agitated and out of sorts--at one point going down to the basement and "marking territory", something he NEVER does. His strange behavior prompted us to examine Marmie and sure enough, she had bloated. The vets took great care of her--we were quite a sight dashing into animal emergency with Marmie's dad carrying her in his arms. The other dog guardians there were wonderful too--a great comfort since we were a real mess waiting for her to come out of surgery. She's all wrapped up in a heating blanket and in snoozing away. We'll visit her tomorrow. An awful night that turned out OK, thanks to Bernie. Big guy, this one's for you!

Presents from Alaska!

2008-11-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

Bernie and I are so excited! This week a package arrived with my name on it (the postman knew which house to deliver it to without even looking at the address, since I serenade him through the window every day when he brings the mail). Anyway, there was much excitement as Mom opened the package for us. It contained Yummy Chummies--salmon dog treats from our friends Edie and Gus in the great white north. We were most eager to sample these treats and as soon as Mom opened the package, the living room was filled with the pungent odor of salmon (which Mom said warms her west coast heart). Check us out helping open the package.

Anyway, the treats are delicious! We get some after every meal. The best part is that they seem to agree with me--my tummy wasn't upset at all yesterday, which made Mom and Dad very happy. Anyway, there's some video footage of me enjoying my treats.

The humans say thanks for their "treats" too--they're going to have some this afternoon (although Bernie and I think Mom is wired enough without the espresso beans!) What wonderful friends we've made through this blog... Thanks again, Edie and Gus! Bernie and I will sniff around for some real Maryland or Washington DC treats for ya. A-roooo!

Here's me sleeping off the treats.

If hounds ran the world...

2008-11-10T18:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Sorry for not posting in a while. It's been busy and Bernie and I were under the weather for a day or too. While Wimsey was withholding poop, me and Bernie were quite the opposite. Serves us right for raiding the compost! Anyway, all is now well. Speaking of eating stuff, check out our pumpkin--the squirrels carved it for is this year. Mom decided just to stick candles in it anyway. The trick-or-treaters thought it looked really cool.

Things were quite exciting in Washington with the election, which leads me to wonder what this country would look like if hounds ran the world. Let's see...

We're tenacious and resourceful--if we want something, we go after it. No flip-flopping here!

We're smarter than we look--always an advantage in politics I find. Never underestimate a hound!

We don't waste anything--talk about cleaning up government--there would be nothing left in the oval office--just a few pieces of shredded carpet.

We would drool on friends and enemies alike--helping them find common ground.

We would go our own way through any obstacle. Whoever coined the term "maverick" must have had a hound.

We would make our opinions known for all to hear. Mom says even people in the arctic can hear my howl.

We would make sure everyone would have a long nap every afternoon. More sleep = a more peaceful world.

Anyway, we had some family in town on the weekend and had a good time. We really enjoyed our outdoor time and the nice fall weather. Needless to say, we were pretty tired when everyone left. Bernie draped himself over the sofa and promptly fell asleep.

A very social weekend

2008-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

We're sacked out this morning--the weekend was very busy and social. It rained all Saturday, so we all hung out and snoozed (hounds do NOT do H2O at all!). Yesterday, we went to Paws Fest at the Washington Animal Rescue League, an annual celebration of all the good work the shelter does to help homeless pets. We had a good time--lots of people and even tv cameras. I'm featured right at the end of the clip. (I wasn't feeling very verbose, but Bernie thought I looked very nice indeed.)
Check it out at: http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=83017B54D4161FD26E7788D274DD7202?contentId=7727965&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

After the event, Mom and Dad decided to take advantage of the nice weather and took us for a hike in Rock Creek Park. We sniffed and snorted--there were lots of smells. Unfortunately (well, fortunately for Mom's shoulder) there were no deer to be chased.

Mom was laughing at Wimsey's comments about his guardians' "hound wardrobe". Mom definitely owns a lot of "hound clothes" too. It's funny watching her dash out the door in the morning if she's wearing something nice in an attempt to avoid drool and fur. One of her winter coats is black, and I take great pride in the fact that whenever she wears it, she has furry mementos of me and Bernie all over it. We believe that when you live with a hound, they are ALWAYS with you! Anyway, Mom and Dad also had time to take new howl footage this weekend--the results are impressive.

Critters galore

2008-10-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like fall is definitely here (and as you can see on my face, it's getting harder and harder to get up in the morning). Forget daylight savings time, we need to be on Bloodhound Time--alarms going off no sooner than 8 a.m., with a mandatory mid-morning nap followed immediately by lunch. I've been happily wearing my warm winter coat on the recent cold mornings and have been making quite the fashion statement. I've even heard comments like "Marmie for Vice President". While this liberated hound woman is flattered by such utterances, I think that job would require early mornings, leaving too little time to snooze. Speaking of jobs, Bernie and I have been working hard keeping critters out of our yard, especially those pesky rabbits. Check out the photos from our last big "hunt".

A howling good weekend

2008-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Weekends are really fabulous when we spend it lounging around. The weather was great, so Mom and Dad treated us to a hike on Saturday. We also had Marmie-bath-day later that afternoon, which was not fun. I was most unimpressed and luckily Mom was too distracted to take the dreaded bath photos. Unlike Wimsey's guardians, my parents didn't spend any time inhaling our freshly-washed smell--probably because wet hound, no matter how clean, is not a very appealing smell. We were so exhausted after the bath ordeal that we spent much of the afternoon snoozing in the sunny living room.
Our big excitement on the weekend was a runaway dog on our front lawn--she had taken off out her gate a few doors down and her Mom was having a hard time catching her. Being a little thing, she yapped and yapped, which resulted in me and Bernie howling and barking through the fence at her (which probably did not help much). Anyway, she was finally caught and stopped yapping and all was well with the world. Check out the pics of us howling--I must admit, we make pretty fierce guard-hounds.

Howlin' and stylin'

2008-10-07T09:18:00.001-07:00

A big howl to everyone from the houndly capital Washington, D.C. It's been getting cooler outside and Bernie and I are really enjoying our romps in the park. There is so much stuff to sniff. Since I'm an older girl, our friend Karin gave me a winter coat to wear on cold mornings. I was a bit skeptical, but I must say, it looks rather fetching on me. Check out the photos from my Saturday photo shoot with Mom. Luckily Mom was so busy snapping pics that she forgot that she was going to give me a bath. I'm with Wimsey--I'll do anything possible to avoid the dreaded B-A-T-H! Anyway, enjoy the pictures. I must get back to my morning power nap. Mom has Japanese class tonight, which means Dad gets to walk (be dragged by is more accurate) both of us together.

My story

2008-09-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings from soggy, houndly Maryland. Despite the many H2O events the last few days, Bernie and I have been enjoying our romps in the park. Fall is here and the squirrels and deer are out in the mornings just begging to be chased. Last week I treed 5 squirrels on two separate trees at the same time. I was quite proud of myself. Life is definitely good.

Life wasn't always so good, though. Almost two years ago, I was left at a kill shelter in Floyd County, Georgia by my owner. I had an eye infection that had gone untreated for a long time. One Saturday morning, a nice cat rescue person named Liz was at the shelter looking to take photos of the dogs to put on the web so they would have a chance at being adopted. She saw me shivering at the back of my cage and couldn't believe it--my eyes were so infected they were barely visible. She pulled me and took me to the vet, thinking that at least I would be put to sleep and would not have to suffer any longer. The vet took a look at me and declared that all I needed was eye surgery and a bit of TLC. So there's Liz at the vet with me, a very large hound, with no idea what to do next. She called her colleague who told her to call the Washington Animal Rescue League. She did and they promised to be on their way in a few days. In the meantime, they took good care of me. When I came up to Washington, the vets continued to treat my eyes and the adoptions staff made me available for adoption. As a senior hound girl, I think they thought I'd be around for a while, but within a few weeks, I was living it up at hound central with Mom, Dad, and Bernie. I still remember everyone at the rescue league. When I go to the vet I greet all my former caretakers with great enthusiasm.
Below is a pic of how I looked the day I was pulled from the shelter. Mom says it still makes her cry. To end on a happy note, a video of me howling is also below. Enjoy!

The way to a hound's heart ...

2008-09-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

... is definitely through it's stomach!
Mom and Dad spent Saturday afternoon searching for treats that would not upset my delicate stomach. I don't see why they're so concerned. After all, I'm able to digest all kinds of interesting things. Anyway, they're on a "Marmie's so thin--we need to feed her more and give her treats" tear, which is just fine by me. My hefty brother Bernie, who is built like a tank, has had his food portions reduced. He hopes Mom will stop calling him "Bacon Boy" if he doesn't gain his usual fall/winter poundage. I hate to say it, I think the Bacon Boy name has stuck.
I have a few nicknames too--Marma-hound; Marma-tank (since bloodhounds don't go around obstacles, but through them); Marma-lady; "neighborhood rooster"--not sure I like being referred to as a critter with feathers; and Marma-howler. Speaking of howling, I was in fine form this morning, greeting all the construction workers in the neighborhood. It's only polite to say hello, after all. I think I did wake everyone within a 4-block radius, though. But, as Wimsey argues, humans are around to serve us, so if we're awake, they should be too.

My brother Bernie

2008-09-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I want to introduce you to my brother Bernie. He's also part bloodhound (and part cocker spaniel and great pyr--DNA doesn't lie!) He was rescued from a shelter in West Virginia when he was a year old. He's four now and is quite the ladies' man in the neighborhood. He loves sniffing just like me, but is a much slower, methodical sniffer than I am, so there is often a twenty-foot gap between us when we go for walks.
I'm trying to teach Bernie how to howl, but he can't quite get the accent right. He does have an incredible bark, though. When he hears someone coming, he stands in the front window and barks. The mail carrier and fed-ex man sprint up our door, leave the packages, and sprint back to their vehicles. He's a pretty impressive guard dog.
Bernie is also a food snob. He has to have olive oil sprinkled on his kibble. He was also afraid of going down the basement steps for the longest time--I had to show him how. His favorite thing in the world is playing with his squeaky egg toy. That thing is so loud. He'll play fetch for hours while I relax in the shade garden.

The "Marmalounger"

2008-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

When I was adopted in February 2007, my parents promised that I would never be cold, sick, sad, or lonely ever again. Life definitely got better fast when I arrived home. There were regular meals, a warm bed, and nice long walks to the park. Since I'd never really lived in a house before, I hadn't really experienced furniture--especially the upholstered kind. At first, I took to climbing and sitting on the living room coffee table, but I soon discovered that the stuffed arm chair was much more comfortable. It was love at first snooze. I spend so much time in the chair that Mom and Dad named it the "Marmalounger". When we have guests and all the seats (including my armchair) get taken by humans, I'm known to stare at the offender and snort my disapproval. Wimsey would agree that after all, once an object is appropriated by a hound, it's for keeps!

Life with a Bloodhound

2008-09-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

My Mom was refilling a prescription for me this morning and the pharmacist said,
"Wow, I haven't seen a bloodhound around here in a long time." Yes, we are rare on the east coast and people really don't know all that much about us. When the pharmacist asked what life with a bloodhound was like, my Mom gave him her usual answer: we're loyal, loving, affectionate, funny, good with other dogs and kids, and so on. My Mom also thinks we're smart (she's so convinced of it, she and Dad even put a bumper sticker on our car!), although other bloodhound guardians may disagree. Anyway, I digress. Bloodhounds are very special dogs and living with one is an experience like no other. Here are some things to know before considering being owned by a bloodhound:

1. We are LARGE dogs. Not only do the bones of your feet get crushed when our large paws step on them, but we have an amazing ability to spread out on furniture in order to take up as much space as possible.
2. We can smell everything. Absolutely everything. Don't think that we're not going to notice you silently opening the jar of peanut butter. We will and will be right there demanding a spoonful (or the whole jar if we can get it).
3. Kitchen counters are our domain--anything on them is meant for us. The fresh baked cherry cake last summer? The leftover Thanksgiving turkey? MINE--all mine.
4. We bloodhounds like to express our opinions and do so often. We do not have a volume knob--only two settings: loud and louder. Placing hands over ears is futile.
5. We snore. Loudly. My snore can be heard on all three floors of our house. Mom can even hear it through her earplugs.
6. We like smelly stuff. Poop, trash, dead things on the trail--if it's there, we will get into it. With three million scent receptors in our distinguished snouts, who can blame us?
7. We have a distinctive houndly fragrance that no amount of Febreeze can mask. We spend weeks working on this smell, only to have to go back to the drawing board after bath day. I don't understand why humans shower every day...
8. The bloodhound appetite is legendary. Mom heard a story about a hound that ate a whole goat on a spit (spit included!) and lived to tell about it. Sounds yummy!
9. Many bloodhounds have second careers as interior designers, specializing in rope drool art. We fling drool onto furniture, onto walls and clothing... the possibilities are endless. Of course, the humans in the house don't appreciate our art and feel a compulsive need to wash the walls on a regular basis.

Now, I hope this doesn't put anyone off. Bloodhounds are really wonderful dogs. As Mom and Dad say, life would be very boring without us hounds to keep them on their toes.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-09-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. My name is Marmalade and I'm a nine-year old bloodhound girl from Georgia. I was rescued in 2007 and now live in the Washington DC area with my Mom and Dad and half-bloodhound brother Bernie. My parents had never been owned by a bloodhound before they rescued me and it took them a while to clue in about certain things.

First of all, I sing... a lot. The first time I started singing for my dinner, my parents thought I was growling at them. Silly humans! But I don't just howl. I sing melodies with complex tunes and rhythms. Mom especially loves it when I serenade my friends on the street during our 6 a.m. walk! She keeps using the word "mortified"... I wonder why.

Inspired by Beijing games this past summer, my parents are convinced that drool-slinging should be added to the list of Olympic sports. During a recent dinner party at our house, Mom looked up at the corner of the ceiling and, lo and behold, a huge Marma-goober was hanging there in all its glory. Nobody else noticed, but it was kind of funny watching Mom balance on a chair trying to clean it off.

Third, this hound has a penchant for baked goods. Dad bakes a lot of bread and has taken to putting the warm loaves in top of the fridge to cool after losing one too many loaves to my intrepid counter-surfing skills. The great counter-surf of summer 2007 was an amazing event: Two loaves, two hounds, some agile moves, and a lighting fast sprint through the house with our prize.

Last but not least, I eat anything in my path. Last summer I managed to successfully digest a bird, a bat, and various rodents. I haven't tried horse-do yet, but I'll take Wimsey's word for it that it's yummy.