Preparing To Leave Houston - Two More Days

We started getting things ready to leave on Sunday.  Dad secured the awning.  He took the tire covers off and put those away. The BBQ is stored underneath the motor home.  He tested the generator and it was running rough.  That is not good. We run the generator when we are on the road so that the air conditioners can run just like if we were parked in a site. He then tested the air conditioner and it wouldn't come on with the generator. The transfer switch has worked on and off since we have been traveling.  Dad bought a new one in May, but since it started working again, he didn't install it.  Sunday evening was spent installing it. There are several things that are housed under the folk's bed and that is one of them.  Mama had to hold up the bed while Dad crawled under it and installed the transfer switch.  It works now. Dad worked on the generator Monday night and it seems better.

Mama shampooed the carpet yesterday.  We have a SpotBot and she uses the hose to clean the carpet.  The hose broke, so she had to use duct tape to put it back together.  It worked pretty good.  Then she cleaned the dash. Rumor has it that we are shedding a lot.  I think we are shedding the same amount as normal but we in a much smaller space, so it just looks like it's more hair because it is piled up.

This morning, Mama washed all the bedding including our sheets. Our sheets get washed quite often since we seem to shed so much. The sheets cover the big bed that we share. Well, we don't really share it.  We have a divided between us.  Mama will do the rest of the laundry tomorrow. That will make three days this week that she has been in that laundry room. The air conditioner is supposed to be fixed tomorrow, but she will be done before it is fixed. She does it so early in the morning that it is not a big deal. She will miss the $1 a load that they charge here.

Life is good!

The spread is freshly laundered and I need to break it in.

 Tonight, Mama is going grocery shopping.  She has to buy some quick and easy meals for our travels.  We know from past experience that we are very tired after driving all day.  We won't unhook the car from the motor home on Friday and Saturday nights, so we need to have food that Mama can just heat in the microwave.

Sunday, the folks ate lunch at Pallotta's Italian Grill.   It is a nicely decorated place.  They do not have TVs hanging on the walls.  Can you believe that?  There were a lot of families eating there. They ordered fried mozzarella sticks as an appetizer.  They were hand rolled and came with garlic bread.  Mama said she was full after eating that. It was very good.  She ordered lasagna which came with a salad.  The lasagna had the thinnest pasta that she has ever seen.  She liked it, but it did get a little mushy.  Dad ordered The Benjamin.  It had shrimp and spicy sausage with pasta.  He said it was good.  There are pictures, but they are on Dad's phone.  Mama's phone battery was dead.   That was the last restaurant that they will visit here. It is kind of sad.  Mama just saw a commercial for Luby's.  They never made it there.

I'm a little sad that we are leaving Houston.

What?  I look dreamy in this picture?

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Preparing Mentally To Leave Houston

New Dogs In Our Neighborhood

Yesterday morning, my Gotcha Day, a dog charged at me and Mama.  It was a miniature schnauzer.   I know that is a small dog, but you should have seen him coming at us. He ran at full speed and was barking like crazy.  Mama yelled at him to "GET, GO HOME, GET!"  He didn't have a collar on, so Mama didn't know if he was a stray.  I decided I was tired of these little dogs scaring us, so I kicked off my boot to show him I was ready to rumble.  Well, when I kicked off my boot, it flew over his head and he thought I was throwing a toy at him. He went after my boot.  It was at that time that his Mom came out and said "Miles, Miles"  Miles didn't listen to her at all.  She said "sorry" to us.  Mama said "He charged us."  No response from Miles Mom.  Mama put my boot back on me and we left.  Miles Mom was still trying to catch him as we walked away.  Grrrr!  I actually like when dogs bark at me.  I just whine.  I whine when I am excited.  Mama doesn't like when they chase us.

Later in the day, a new person moved into the RV park.  They have a little bitty camper.  They left for a while, but their dog was still in the camper.  We walked by not knowing there was a dog in the camper.  The dog started banging on the window and barking. He was banging so hard that Mama thought he was going to break the glass or cause the camper to roll forward since he was rocking it so hard.  Mama said we needed to stay away from him because she didn't want him to get hurt.  However, he barked at everyone who walked by and even at us when we were way down the street.  Several of his neighbors were talking about him last night and I think they told his owner how he acted because his blinds are closed today.

There are two other new dogs here, but we don't know which campers they live in.  They are leashed, so that is good.

This morning, Mama decided to shampoo the carpet.  The job would have been easier if the hose on the SpotBot hadn't broke.  She used some duct tape on it and was able to finish the job.  Our carpet looks much better now.

Saturday night the folks ate at Crabby Daddy's.  It was Dad's choice. Mama had read reviews that the portions were small and pricey and that the service was not good.  She wanted to have steak, but the steak was $30. She decided that was too much since it wasn't a steak house and she didn't want to take a chance on it not being good.  It was a little out of her budget, too.  She ordered a hamburger instead.  The menu wasn't clear what came with the meals.  She thought she might have to order fries on the side, but it came with those. Mama said the burger was delicious!  The fries had sea salt and pepper on them and they were also very good.  The menu said the bun was toasted with butter and garlic, but she couldn't taste the garlic.

Classic Burger $9.99

Dad's Meal - Monterrey Shrimp Brochette $18.99

 Dad's meal was jumbo shrimp stuffed with pepper jack cheese, fresh jalapenos, and wrapped in bacon served over seasoned white rice and mixed vegetables.   He said the white rice was not seasoned.  He was not impressed with it.  Mama thought she got a lot more food for the money. The service was good, but it was hot inside the restaurant. 

Sometimes I want to hide from the world.

Just chilling on the couch.

You know how they say that everything is bigger in Texas?  Well, you should see the mosquitoes!  They are huge!  We are having a problem with them now since there is still standing water everywhere. We are ready to leave Texas.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Knows You Can't Look Tough Wearing A Boot

It's My First Gotcha Day!!!!!

Today is my first gotcha day.  A year ago today, I made my way from Halfway Home Greyhounds in Tulsa to Springfield, MO. In Springfield, I was picked up by two women from Greyhound Companions of Missouri. I arrived at County Animal Hospital around 3:30 p.m.  My forever family was there waiting for me. I didn't know it then, but I would be spending a lot of time at County.

This is photo that was put on Halfway Home Greyhounds website.  Mama and Dad both thought I was cute.

I was a little wound up after my long trip.  I still act like this at times.  My attention span is very short.

Me and my new sister headed home.

Wow, look at all those cars.

I'm on my way to my forever home whatever that is.

What does this thing do?

This place is crazy with stickers all over the windows.

I had never lived in a house before.  It took me the rest of the day to settle down.  I just kept walking around the entire house. Mama thought I would never just lay down.  I discovered the couch the next day.

Things went pretty well that first week, but then Mama noticed something was wrong with my leg.  She took me to the vet for just a check up and he said it looked like it was something serious.  Mama sent Jane of Greyhound Companions a note telling her what the vet said and she jumped into action. I was taken to County Animal Hospital on Monday for x-rays. It was determined that I had an infection and had severe arthritis where my hock broke.  I was put on a lot of medication that I didn't want to take. I really stressed my new Mama. It was decided that I would need to have surgery to fuse my bones together.  I had to get the infection cleared up first though.   On August 31st, I had my surgery.  

The hospital staff signed my cast. They put Joseph on my cast.  Mama calls me Joey, Joseph, Jo Jo, Mr. Joe.  Sometimes she calls me Bubba Joe.  My real name is UCME Bubba Sparks.

My first day home after surgery.

A lot of people signed my cast especially at the GCMO reunion.

I got a Cardinals name tag.

I was a pirate for Halloween.

I met Santa.

My first Christmas.

My first Super Bowl.

In March, I had the surgery to remove the plate and screws.

Me after my second surgery.

On April 29th, we set out on our HUGE adventure.

Scout and I are ready for our HUGE adventure.

Ready for take off.

Walking along the canal in Florida.

My alligator impression.

Arriving at the 5 Star resort in Naples, FL

Bully sticks!

The first nine months of my life in my new home wasn't exactly fun with my surgeries and being on restrictions for that entire time.  I caused Mama to get a lot of gray hairs.  Mama had the support and help from Greyhound Companions though.  They definitely didn't turn their backs on us when they learned I needed some serious medical care.  They made sure I had the best care.  They bought an x-pen and a soft crate for me to use while I healed.  They were simply the best to us.   We really don't know other groups that do all they do for their dogs.  Heck, even now while we are living on the road, they helped me get medicine.

I am doing great now and just have a silly corn on on my foot. I wear a boot that really helps.  It's been a crazy year for me.  I went from living on a farm to living in a motor home and traveling the country.  Life is good!

What am I doing to celebrate today?  I am going to have some pizza bones for lunch.  We didn't have that on the farm. LOL   I am just hanging out with Mama and Scout today and enjoying the good life.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Can't Believe How His Life Has Changed In A Year

Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows

Mama just returned from the Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows.  She said it was a lot of fun.  She met a lot of dogs, including greyhounds!   It was a huge show.  There was a lot of shopping.  She didn't buy anything though.  Can you believe that?   She planned on buying some things from the GPA of  Houston.  That is the rescue group that we bought my Thera Paw boot from. They were there, but they were not selling anything.  Dad didn't see any of the rescue groups selling things.  They gave away some things.  Mama talked to a lady from GPA about my corn and she recommended a few more things to try.  Yep, it is still there.  It is really not coming to the surface.  I guess that should be discussed in another post sometime.

There were a lot of people that brought their dogs, but Mama said we wouldn't have liked it.  I would have been whining at every dog and trying to mark things.  Scout would have gotten tired and probably just laid in the aisle.  They said a lot of dogs that had accidents.  Some of the show dogs even had accidents in the rings. 

Mama said they went through rows and rows of vendors.  There was a lot of  neat things, but nothing that she wanted.

Granite dog food dishes. Nope, she didn't buy us one.

Exercise equipment - so glad she didn't this for us.

The greyhound group.

A greyhound collecting money and the GPA-Houston's mascot.

More greyhounds!

A Great Dane hoping for a bite of food.

This Cocker Spaniel has cancer.  She has a bucket list.  She has appeared on the news and threw out the first pitch had a baseball game.  She has done a lot of things, but Mama can't remember them all.

The show also had a dancing dog competition.

Dog dancing with his Mom.

There was agility.

Mama said she could have watched the agility all day long.

There was flyball and also a pulling competition.

They walked around and saw the dogs getting ready for the dog show.  Mama said it definitely takes a lot of work.  She didn't take photos because she didn't know if the owners wanted that to happen. If the dogs were not getting their hair fixed, they were kind of hidden.  They probably just wanted to be left alone so that they could rest.

There were only two greyhounds that competed today in the dog show.  The dog show was a lot different than on TV. There were not any announcements.  In fact, Mama couldn't hear a thing.  It is like it was done in silence.  She is not even sure who won between the greyhounds.

The folks thought the brindle was very handsome.
 
They watched some of the other dogs being shown. They noticed that one judge seemed pretty bored and didn't even watch the dogs walk around. It is definitely different than the shows on TV.

This is where the dog show was held.

Astrodome is across from the dog show. There is talk that it will face the wrecking ball.

We got treats from the show!

Lots of free samples of dog food.  Dad said we can eat them as treats.

Open them!

After the show, the folks drove to a restaurant that they wanted to try from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.  There was a line to get in and they couldn't find a parking spot, so they gave up. The place closes at 3 p.m. and is not open on Sundays. They will not be eating there on this trip.  Mama was disappointed.

The buffet where they ate.

They ended up eating at China Stat.  Mama said it was good.  The food was not labeled very well, so she didn't know what had seafood in it for sure.  She ate a lot of chicken.  The place was packed at 1.30 p.m.  It was $9.95 a person.

There is still one more restaurant that the folks plan on trying this weekend.  Our time in Houston is almost over.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Preparing For His Gotcha Day On Monday