Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Cranky Boys

Yesterday we finally had a respite from the rain, so we stuffed ourselves into the VW and headed out to visit with some GPA friends.



Harvey and Jackson (aka The Cranky Boys) were enjoying the sunshine and surroundings, until... One of the GPA members arrived with her hounds in tow, and... The Puppy.


That's when it all fell apart for The Cranky Boys. Jackson broke protocol for a moment, Harvey got snippy, and then there was a brief altercation. Not exactly the impression we'd hoped to make for folks who were meeting Greyhounds for the first time!

Then the clouds moved in.


Just as The Cranky Boys were making a spectacle of themselves the skies opened up.

So we stuffed ourselves back into the VW to head back home. Unfortunately, The Cranky Boys weren't quite finished with their argument, which resulted in me pulling off of the road (in traffic, during a crazy downpour) to settle their disagreement. Oy vey.


We did manage to make it home safely, and The Cranky Boys spent the rest of the afternoon in time out.

On a positive note, I stumbled across this giant pet bed! It's a great color, washable, and was priced right.


And... just the perfect size for a Cranky Boy.


Enjoy the rest of the weekend!


P.S. Roozer, please come home soon.

Friday, April 4, 2008

About Roozer (It's a Truck)

Before I adopted Jackson I asked around about how I might possibly transport two Greyhounds in my VW Passat. Everyone said the same thing..."It's no problem!" I heard about the lady who toted three hounds in her Honda Civic. I heard about the two in the Mini Cooper. And on and on.

Apparently transportation wasn't going to be an obstacle, so I decided to adopt Jackson. And hauling Harvey and Jackson in the Passat was fine... for a while.

You've heard (and maybe were one) about young siblings traveling in cars. You know, "Mom, he's looking at me!", "Mom, he's touching me!", or "Mom, he's on my side of the seat!" That's exactly how it was with Jackson and Harvey. Having those two in the car was like transporting a small circus.

Enter Roozer, my 1983 Toyota Land Cruiser.


Harvey and Jackson gave me an excuse to buy something I always wanted, and before them, I could never justify the purchase. But hey, I needed something for the hounds, and for all of those bags of mulch, right?

I found the truck via Craig's List. Turns out, the owner lived close by. The truck was in great shape, ran ok, and had lots of room for the boys. When I took the boys for a "test drive", they jumped right in, which if funny, because Jackson would never get in the Passat on his own.

Harvey and Jackson love that truck. One day, Jackson tried to jump in the truck before I lowered the gate and was left dangling by his armpit.

Here's the thing about Roozer. It has a crazy bumper. The story is that the truck belonged to a Texas cattle rancher. He had a run-in with a steer that resulted in a missing bumper. He replaced it with a homemade bumper with a horseshoe embellishment. That bumper is cool. Who cares if it weighs a few hundred pounds?


Right now my beautiful truck is sitting in one of the bays at Iron Pig. I gave the guys at Iron Pig a laundry list of things to check/fix, including the wipers that gave out while I was driving down I95 during a rainstorm. And the bumper? I hated to do it, but with gas prices the way they are, the bumper's getting replaced by an ARB bumper (it'll look like this). I have mixed feelings my decision, and will really miss that horseshoe.

I hope the guys at Iron Pig finish soon. Harvey and Jackson have places to go, and driving them in the Passat is like driving a couple of six year olds to Disneyworld. From Virginia.

Roozer, we miss you. Please come home soon.