A Barrel of Monkeys

Woof, I'm neuf!  

Cruce celebrates the big number 9 today.  As a special treat I ordered dog toys from Northcoast Greyhounds called a Screaming Monkey.  One poor specimen has already lost a leg after some overly  zealous play.  

Cruzin' Cruce, has been with us for 4 years.  He came to stay with us as a foster in the Winter of '05.  Preferring to stay in his crate, he was somewhat of a scaredy cat, he was not confident by any stretch of the imagination & took every opportunity to snarl & bark at us.  So we decided that he had to stay.  Part of me felt bad for him.  Part of me thought that another family might not be as tolerant.  And part of me thought, "what the heck am I doing?".  This was definitely a greyhound that missed the track desperately. He knew what was expected of him there.  Cruce is still a creature of habit. He likes predictability & structure.  But, he has made huge strides in the years that he has spent with us. We can now change the furniture around without him pacing for days.  We can reach down to pet him without fearing to lose a hand.  If water boils over on the stove he doesn't run for cover. And, no more acting as though he's possessed when he sees another dog.  

Cruce is now a bouncy, snugly, goofball.  He's decided that life in a house isn't so bad afterall.