Farewell Parker, Hello Beatrice

Not the best way to return to the blogosphere after a little hiatus.

It is odd to follow up a Sweet 16 post with sad news. We let Parker go the other weekend. Right after his birthday, his kidneys started to fail. We were able to have his kidneys flushed once, and that gave us an extra 6 weeks or so. We appreciated every extra day we had with him. 

Kris had gotten him when he was just 8 weeks old. And he lived a long and healthy life. We couldn’t ask for more. It is weird not having a non-greyhound around. 

Parker was such a good boy.  He could curl up into a little ball when he wanted to.

He was our original guard dog. Always looking for something to bark at.

He had an underbite and bowed legs, and that made him all the cuter.

He loved playing in the snow, and it made for such contrasty pictures against his black coat.

Whenever we went on road trips, the greys were relegated to the back, but Parker always got to sit up in front in the passenger seat lap, and had a great view.

He did everything with us. We never left him out of greyhound events. Whether is was just our guys, like this trip to Asheville. He was always the most energetic out of the bunch. Sadly, only Stanley is still with us from this picture.

Or Christmas parades.

Or St. Patrick's Day parades.

And always a gracious host, and willing to share his house with others. 

Stand tall Parker.

Hope you're catching some rays.

And playing Bitey Face with Jaime.

Say Hi to Stella, for us. 

Run Free, sweet little Parker Dog.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I'd like to introduce the newest member of the family. Miss Beatrice. I'm glad she was able to overlap, and meet Parker.  She retired before she was two years old. From a track injury that required amputation of a front leg.

It didn't take her long to figure out the bed was a great place for hoarding toys.

And in the spirit of Parker, she likes to lay on the deck and watch for things to bark at. Luckily, there are only three houses past our's, so not much traffic.

She likes to lay with her one front leg like this.

As a youngster, she has loads of energy, so we took her on walks to wear her out. Jenny could keep up on the walks. But Bea recovered by the time she got back home. 

She did not try her doggie paddle skills at the river.

When she is still being busy after everyone else has settled down for a nap, putting her in my lap seems to calm her down. Hence her nickname, Busy Bea. 

As you can see, she fits right in at our house.