Travel Tips

Over the course of my life, I have owned a variety of dogs and cats. Sometimes as little as one dog and cat, sometimes as many as 5 dogs and 1 cat. On cold winter days in maryland, it wasn't unusual for all the mammals in the house to be in one bed!
Many of the dogs I've owned have been rescues. In fact, of the six sighthounds in my life, only Carmen was purchased -- because Jessie the whippet needed a pet!
All of the italian greyhounds in my life have been rescues. The last one from Maryland was Angus -- named after the great AC/DC guitarist!

The rescued pet is a whippet named Zoe. Her original owners had to give her up when they moved to Australia, so they left Zoe with relatives. Unfortunately, there was a behavioral clash. The blog whippetworld.com has a stream of pleas from the new owner on how to stop Zoe's agressiveness. Finally, Zoe was going to be euthanized, but our veterinarian decided to try placing her with us. She has been a model pet ever since. She is so gentle, docile and even timid that it's hard to believe Zoe is the same dog.
I'm not not just saying that without any basis. In September 2005, Zoe passed the test to become a therapy dog -- beating Carmen and Angus to that honor. Yes! She was the first to visit sick patients in hospitals from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, helping them recover from their illness or deal with their unpleasant fates (now she visits in Hawaii -- though a serious heart murmur is limiting her activities). Zoe's gentle demeanor won praise from the Delta society certifying authorities.

Carmen is my oldest dog child, arriving in 1997. She is a whippet who once won a third place ribbon in a show before I got her as a pet. Now she loves my couch and lives to go on our bi-weekly 5-mile runs. Delta Society also tested Carmen as a therapy dog and she passed with flyinng colors. This is despite the fact that part of the certification test requires excuting basic obedience commands. Carmen knows them, but often is too much of a princess to actually listen to us give them. I had my fingers crossed and it worked.

Soju is the elder statesman among the animals. I got her in 1990 right after my first trip to Korea (hence naming her after the popular Korean drink). Her sister Winnie died several years ago. She is extremely sweet and waits patiently while I shower so that she can get brushed afterwards. She is now in the process of teaching Angus (the new IG) to respect cats.

Carmen has never been much of a player, but both Zoe and Angus love to horse around. Here they are playing tug-o-war in the yard. This isn't a match that an Italian greyhound should expect to beat a whippet at.

On 17 June 2004, my brother had his first child, Scott. Scott is already an avid reader. Here he and Carmen re-enact a chapter from "Little Red Riding Hood".

I've been to Buenos Aires, but this is the best tango I've ever seen!

Play play play