Past the hurdle

Well, the time has come where we can say "Tori can do the Stairs!"

She has made it past the hurdle. Though her back feet sometimes get a bit over-zealous and she gets a bit jumbled on the way down, she is getting to be quite proficient on the stairs - Up and Down!

When she is ahead of the boys on the way down, they zoom right past and it is like watching a Yugo being passed by a Semi. But she manages to keep her balance and they have not really driven her off the road yet. OK - there was one time near the bottom that was a bit of a crash but she survived.

And she will still avoid the Log Jam by turning around and coming all the way down the stairs then waiting for the All Clear.

She's a Hugger

In the morning I sometimes sit on the floor to put on my shoes. I will say out loud, "I hope I don't get molested while putting on my shoes." Of course Kane and Dewey, our brindle boys, see this as an invitation to come over and lean on me.

This morning Tori came over to me and gave me the best hugs while I was on the floor. I scratched her thoroughly, and each time I would stop she would lean into me harder for more. She is a sweet, sweet girl.

Outing

Well, it was a bit delayed (and not even due to the rain), but the heavy sigh of a resting greyhound signals the success of an outing.

It just took us a while to get out there (like a day). Lowe's and PetsMart were the destinations and it was the typical impromptu Meet & Greet all the way around. The Boys wore shirts so that she could stand out in the crowd.

Tori is very enthusiastic. She has not given up on the idea that every human in sight is purposed to approach her and give her love. We are working with her enthusiasm with greeting people and helping her to be a bit more subtle with her excitement. She is visibly let down if her greeting is declined, but she is getting the idea that politeness is appreciated.

Today, the Cutest Moment award goes to Tori's impromptu play-date with a Welsh Corgi. The two dogs made their way down the Squeekie Toy Aisle and Tori picked out a keeper: a green froggie with ropes for legs. She was very proud of her accomplishment.

Rain rain go away...

Well, the rain has chased us away from the dog park today. Instead we are going to load up the crew and head to Lowe's to pick up a few things. We will report on our adventure when we return.

Sweet and Goofy

Tori is a total goof. We had a friend over and she was in the driveway with my wife when he pulled up. Although she had never seen him before she worked herself into an excited frenzy at the prospect of meeting a new person. She loves people.

We had a great New Year's party and she was very polite during the affair. My sister brought her small Bichon Frise with her, and Tori was perfectly behaved around her. Tori is also great with our cats. I have seen her sneak a kiss to one of our cats while it was in its cat bed.

She has mastered going up the steps, but requires encouragement to go down them. She is not a fussy eater and is great about going potty outside. Tori is going to do best with someone who wants an active hound that appreciates lots of love.

We are going to bring her to the dog park tomorrow so she can run with her foster brothers. Hopefully we can post some pics of her outing. Tori says goodnight to her forever family, wherever they are.

Up and Down....

It is a wonderful New Year and Tori has been really great at all of the "News" so far.

She has been very quick to learn how to play with New toys. Her favorites are squeekies that she can chew.

New treats of all kinds are thoroughly enjoyed.

She loves New people so much. She thinks that all people are put around her to love her. In fact, if you can see her, you are meant to love her! She gives kisses if you ask (and sometimes if you do not).

And then there are the big New One: STAIRS... Up has been way easier than Down. She has had Up for days now. Originally, we would have to lead her to the base and she would rumble right up them. Today she did not even need the lead. She ran right up after the boys.

Unfortunately, unknown to her, the door at the top was not open! We rounded the corner and there was the greyhound-log-jam at the top of the stairs. Tori decided to not participate, so she bailed. The only way to do that is Down.

Right - I was getting to Down. Down has not been as easy. That Gravity thing is always daunting for newly-off-the-track hounds. And stairs are a bit too close to the time-to-test-gravity front for most. Tori is no different.

Over the past few days, she has been getting more steady. But greyhounds have seem to have a natural challenge. Greyhounds have this very unfortunate reflex: when they are nervous, their feet arch. When their feet arch, they are walking on their nails, not their pads. The combination of arched feet and slippery floors is pretty bad. Make that slippery stairs and re-introduce the darned gravity thing and it is not hard to see why stairs are such a big deal for the newbies.

So, in the middle of the log-jam she managed to turn herself around, and walked pretty well down the stairs. Then she did a U-turn and came right back up.

Pretty soon, she will be following the boys Up and Down with no issue.

Tori will continue with the all of News in the New Year - will she help you have a Greyt New Year?