
Groovy is younger and full of energy. She bounds up in the morning ready to play or go for a walk. Prada, on the other hand, is not a morning person (morning dog?). We have to drag her out of bed. It reminds me of trying to get my kids ready for school. Of course, greyhounds sleep a lot, but Prada loves to sleep in late on our bed.
Like most dogs, greyhounds love to go for a ride. Whenever we say, “ride” they get all excited. Early on, we switched to spelling the word aloud as we used to
with our children to avoid the excitement. However, those smart greyhounds learned to spell. We had to switch tactics again. We would use words like ‘journey’ or ‘outing’. Even so, they always seem to know when we are going to take them for a ride. At first, I thought they could hear my car keys, so I would grab them last but they still started jumping before I touched the keys. For a while, I thought they could hear me putting on my shoes. Still, they were ready before I was. I guess they have Extra Sensory Perception (ESP). I just have to think about taking them for a ride, and they come on the run. It is uncanny (un-canine?).
Going for a walk with them is another adventure. Groovy tries to be the alpha female and leads. Prada on the other hand is a Zen Buddhist dog. She lives in the moment. She takes time to smell the flowers…and the rocks, and the grass, and the leaves. They love to walk but they always want to mark their territory. Why do female dogs mark their territory? Prada especially, will stop a dozen times to leave her mark. She has the bladder of an elephant.
You might ask, “Why do we put up with it?” Every pet owner knows the answer to that question; our pets love us unconditionally. No matter what we do, they always forgive us and find room in their tiny hearts to love us. No one should waste that kind of love; it should be treasured.