Lazy LEO hitches a ride home....

                                                                    
Leo's been showing his age lately! He's started to have the old man shuffle, especially going up the stairs to bed! I've been really diligent about getting him his daily walks. It definitely helps keep his short little legs in shape! Granted, sometimes it's impossible when the temps drop below 0 but for the most part, I try to get him out for at least 15 minutes of walking daily. Today we went a bit further than usual and he gave me quite a hard time coming back home. He started to take his sweet time! As it is, he's gotta stop every two seconds and get that snout down to the ground. After the snow melted, there are lots of amazing new smells on the pavement and he has to revel in each and every one! Naturally, he has to pee on everything he sniffs to let all those other dogs who passed by before him, know who's boss! As soon as I tell him that we're going for a walk, he immediately heads over to his water bowl, gulping furiously as he loads up his bladder for the journey! I suppose he does this so that he is sure to have enough in the reserve tank to pee on every single thing he possibly can! Today, I was ready to kill him as he leisurely walked along in no hurry whatsoever to get home. Why would he care that I was going to be late to work? I tried to explain to him that he was going to be late to the couch and that he had a lot of sleeping to do for the rest of the day! He didn't care! I was so happy when I saw a car coming down the road and recognized that it was my husband! I stuck my thumb out and hitched us a ride! Of course, my husband was laughing because he knows how slow and stubborn LEO can be! He pulled over and picked us up!  LEO seemed as happy as I was to jump on board!

Happy 9th Birthday LEO!

Leo’s 9^th Birthday was on September 24, 2013. Since he is so tuned into my mood, his mood often is nothing more than a mirror of my own. Well, he definitely sensed my excited mood that day, from the minute I woke up, he was EXCITED too!  From the first moment of the day (which always starts with a belly rub) he could tell that we were in the midst of greatness. Since he sleeps on top my feet, he has no other choice but to wake up when I start to stir. He usually comes right up to my face with his tail wagging like crazy. He almost immediately rolls over and waits for his belly rub. I gave him extra belly rubs on the morning of his birthday and told him over and over that it was a special day because it was his birthday! YAY LEO! I’m sure there was no doubt in his mind that it was his birthday! (and not just because I yelled it a million and one times)

He had his usual scrambled eggs and dry dog food for breakfast topped off with his favorite dessert, a few nibbles of the cat food. (He usually gets yelled at for this, but of course since it was his birthday, I let it go.) We went for a nice long walk outside and I told him that after work, I’d be making him a birthday cake. A lot of people suggested that I make him a meatloaf cake, but I decided to go with a white cake recipe by Fanny Farmer.

Since it only makes sense that everybody will want to share cake with LEO on his birthday, why not make something that the whole family would enjoy. Besides, it’s just too weird to put candles in a big chunk of meat and sing! And of course we would be singing! We had to do the traditional celebration and take lots of pictures.
In order to get ready for his birthday party, we blew up a couple of small balloons and tied them to his collar. Now to all the people who know LEO really well, they may be wondering how a dog with such anxiety (and a well-known fear of balloons) could have balloons tied to his collar. Well, although this may not make sense, he is only afraid of the balloons that have helium and float from a string. He doesn’t particularly mind when balloons are tied to his collar. Go figure. We then walked around the neighborhood with his party balloons on. He ran through a grass field, stepping on one at a time causing two little pops but he didn't seem to mind! (Again, he knew it was his birthday)

After our walk, we all gathered around the table and lit his candles. Although I held him up to the table in my lap, he was not allowed to get too close to the cake. My husband was yelling that he would drool on the cake that everybody was going to eat, so I had to respect this and keep him at a distance. He also loves to shake his head back and forth randomly which causes basset slime to go flying across the room and god forbid a stream of basset slime were to land on top of the cake. Well, that would have just ruined a perfectly good party! Yes, I insisted that we sing to him and everybody in my family complied even though they were shaking their head as my husband said, “You are a very sick woman.” Its okay, I don’t mind. If being a very sick woman means that I love my LEO too much, well then, I am perfectly fine with that description of myself. There are a lot worse things that I could be called. All in all, LEO had a wonderful 9^th Birthday!!!

 

Basset Selfies

I have to laugh at the recent craze with all these people who take "selfies", they stand in front of the mirror and just take a million pics of themselves. This does not interest me in the least, but what does interest me is obsessively taking pictures of LEO! I suppose I have no right to talk about these crazy people who take all these selfies because I am the crazy person who takes a million and one pictures of my dog! How on earth can I resist with a face like this?

It's a bit comical how much LEO hates the camera but now that all the new phones come equipped with cameras, I've hit the jackpot. As long as I keep the phone on silent and he can't hear the click of the picture being taken, he's pretty clueless. Although I have to be careful of sudden movements while holding the phone because at times he does seem to be able to put it together that I'm doing something sneaky. The other night at a family gathering, there were many people I hadn't seen in years. It was a little embarrassing when a few of them mentioned that they didn't know what my kids looked like but they sure knew LEO. They were telling everyone that I love to plaster photos of my dog all over my FB Page and, "Imagine, the dog even has his own blog?" Oh well, I still have no regrets! I owe my life to the new I phone because I couldn't even imagine my life without 962 million photos of LEO! JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE!!!

Spiteful little Basset!

This is the face of a fugitive! Golfers beware! It's amazing how spiteful Leo can be! After returning from a night away, he was so disgusted with me for leaving, he broke off the leash and ran away from me! It's not like he wasn't spoiled rotten while I was gone, but I guess it's just not the same! I wasn't even sure he could still run as fast as he did today but there's surely no doubt in my mind now! When he has a will, he will find a way. He wreaked havoc on the golf course and seemed to enjoy watching me make a total fool out of myself as I clumsily chased after him with a pound of salami in my hand screaming "Come back here you bad dog!!!"What was I doing with a pound of salami you might be asking? Well, I was desperate and I knew he was mad enough at me to not come back, so I ran back into my house and grabbed the first thing that I could find. He is usually a sucker for a slice of salami, but salami wasn't even cutting it today. The more I yelled the faster he ran! All I could hear was the angry screams from golfers as he ran through each hole! Finally one of them grabbed him and gave him back to me but not without a lecture to keep my damn dog off the golf course! As if I had a choice!!!!

The last old dog in the neighborhood....

I have a really hard time believing that LEO will be turning 9 years old in just two weeks.

Time has flown by so much since we got him from New England Basset Rescue, 8 years ago this Thanksgiving!  I can’t think of a more appropriate time to have gotten him because he has given me a million reasons to be thankful over the years! Despite the fact that it’s a lot of work to have a dog with special needs, it’s worth every minute of it because he gives it back to me tenfold in Basset Love!  

Yesterday, I ran into my neighbor who was outside playing with her brand new adorable Lhasa Apso puppy. As soon as I saw the new puppy, I figured out pretty quickly what that meant. I was afraid to ask but of course when I did, I found out that her beloved dog, Dunkin had passed away. She told me, she had to make the devastating decision to put him to sleep this past summer.  He was only 9 and he was the third dog in our neighborhood to pass away recently. I have a pit in my stomach as I write this because all three of these dogs were just 9. This is crushing. 9 is so young, even though it’s 67 in human years, it’s still young in my opinion. It's so unfair that dogs can't live as long as humans, isn't it?  I guess it wouldn’t matter much because even if Leo lived to be 100, it still wouldn’t be enough time for me!

My neighbor and I talked about all of the new puppies on the block and she brought it to my attention that out of all the old dogs in the neighborhood, LEO was the last dog still living. This broke my heart. It only served as a painful reminder that he is beginning to wind down now and approaching the last leg of his journey. I am optimistic by nature and I always tell my kids that he will far surpass the average life span of a Basset Hound which is 10-12 years old.  God knows, LEO of all Bassets is anything but average! If strength and longevity could be derived from love and love alone, he would surely live forever!

I have noticed so many changes in LEO as he nears his 9^th birthday. Some of the changes are good, and some are bad, but all point to the obvious fact that he is aging. We can now open up the front door and not panic that he will bolt. He no longer runs away. He can’t be bothered. He really puts off going up the stairs to bed as long as he can. It’s easy to see that the stairs are becoming a struggle for him. Last night he stopped half way up and rested. He has never done this before. He also doesn’t jump up into bed with me as fast as he used to. All I would have to do in the past is pat my hand on the bed, and he was there in a flash. Now, he waits until I coax him up two or three times and then he will jump. He’s doing a lot more moaning and groaning lately. He has always loved to nap, but it seems that he is napping more than ever now. He's really slowed down his game when it comes to harassing our cats. He actually gives them some personal space now! His precious face is almost all covered in white these days. Yet,he remains the most adorable Basset of all time and I actually love the white! He looks distinguished.

Thankfully, he still jumps up on the couch and cuddles with me every morning as I have my coffee.  He is still the first one to greet me with a big happy grin and a wagging tail when I walk in the door from work! Even though, I feel a bit sad that his 9^th birthday is approaching, I also feel blessed and grateful.  I have decided that his 9^th birthday is something to celebrate not  to mourn.  I vow to take a little extra time each day to appreciate all the sweet joy he brings to my life. Although he gets a million hugs and kisses from me on a daily basis, he will get even more. He will have more treats, more homemade dog food, extra walks, cuddles and lots of extra belly rubs. I have always appreciated what a gift he is, even in the most trying times, but for this last leg of his beautiful journey here with us, I am going to really make it as memorable and special as I can!

Doggie Love...

 

After a particularly long day at work yesterday, I came home looking for some comfort.

I usually walk into my house through the front door, and LEO comes running to greet me.
As soon as he hears the door open and my keys jingling, I hear the adorable pitter patter of those little basset feet.  He’s there before I can even shut the door and he jumps all over me and showers me with affectionate sloppy kisses.

It’s usually the very BEST part of my day!
Occasionally, I like to tease him a little by coming in the back door. He sleeps on the couch by the back deck and if I come in that way, I can sneak up on him and surprise him! I love the look on his face when he wakes up from a dead sleep and sees me coming in the back door! He can barely get up off the couch before I am in. He practically wags his tail off as soon as he sees me! So sweet!

Yesterday when I got in from work, I decided to do this and snuck in the back slider.

My husband was in his usual spot, perched on the recliner. He gave me a sideways glance, clearly a bit confused as to why I was coming in the back way. I guess, he hasn’t caught on to my little game yet! Sad but true that I resort to this for my afternoon entertainment!

Normally, Leo is passed out on the couch, but yesterday he wasn’t there. Now, the trick was on me! Where the heck was he? Before I even said Hello to my husband, I said, “Where’s my boy?”

Of course, he thought I was referring to our 13 year old son, so he said,  “He’s golfing with your Dad!”  At this point, I looked at him like he was out of his mind and said, “No, Not Tommy, I meant LEO! Where’s my LEO???” He rolled his eyes and told me that he was upstairs in bed. He said he’d been sleeping all day, the lazy basset. Poor thing was probably depressed that I worked such a long day! It took some time for LEO to realize that I had snuck in, but as soon as he heard my voice, I could hear his dog tags clinking and those little paws hobbling down the stairs.

I immediately jumped into the living room closet! A bit mean, I know, but I wanted to play hide and seek!

The kids don’t like to play anymore as they are getting older! Silly me, how could I forget that Basset’s have that amazing NOSE! Nothing gets by that BASSET SNOUT! My husband cracked up as he watched LEO beeline for the closet. LEO didn’t even have to look around, he didn’t even have to try, his nose took him right to the closet. The door was open a little and he found me in lightning speed.

He was so unbelievably adorable as he jumped up and down all over me. Even my husband, who is NOT a dog lover and not a LEO fan, had a huge smile on his face. It was the cutest thing to watch the excitement that he had won the game and found his MAMA!  In no time at all, I forgot my stressful day and basked in the joy of my LEO hugs!  It’s great not to worry about making a complete fool out of myself in front of my husband, because he already knows the lengths I will go to for my doggie love!!!

Dead Birds & Coffee

 

Ever since we welcomed a kitten into our home, LEO has taken on the role of "Daddy"
Our kitty, Panther definitely thinks that LEO is his father, or maybe even his Mother (who knows) but he follows him everywhere, cuddles up under his belly for a nap and quite simply adores him!
The two can be seen together all over the house, whether it be sunbathing by the sliding glass doors or curled up on the couch snoring. It's adorable when Panther rubs up against LEO and purrs loudly. Sometimes, I think Panther really expects LEO to go over to the food bowl and fill it for him.
The other day while having coffee on the back deck with a friend, Panther was outside in the yard. Of course, LEO wanted to come outside too, so I hooked him out on his run. Next thing I knew, Panther came prancing up the steps and dropped a dead bird down in front of LEO! Yup, a gift for his Daddy! I've heard that cat's like to bring their prey home to their owners to prove their LOVE!  As if to say,"Hey look, I protected you by killing this poor innocent bird!" Thankfully, he didn't bring it over to me! Thankfully, he thinks LEO is his master! Thankfully he proved his love for LEO and not me! LEO was so excited, he immediately picked up the dead bird in his mouth as if it were a brand new chew toy! He shook his head back and forth and threw the poor dead bird. He was heading over to pick it up again, when I realized what was going on! I do not like dead things of any kind. I don't even kill ants! (I pick them up and put them outside which really makes my husband mad) but imagine my horror when I found my precious LEO tossing around a dead bird. My friend is also easily horrified by anything dead, gross or germy! So here we were,two girly girls, trying to figure out how to get a nasty dead bird off the deck. I got a rake and she got a bucket. She jumped a mile high when I raked the gross thing off the deck. I think we both thought the head would rip off or something equally disturbing! I don't know exactly what she planned to do with the bucket other than maybe putting in front of her to protect herself. I raked the dead bird toward the fence and left it behind the rake for my husband to deal with! LEO wasn't happy that I messed with his new toy and Panther gave me the dirtiest look for taking his prized catch of the day away from his Master LEO!

For the LOVE of LEO...

Every morning after the kids leave for school and before I have to leave for work, I am blessed with the luxury of about a half hour of quiet time to sit and drink a cup of coffee. Leo and I have fallen into quite the comfy routine. As soon as he sees the coffee cup in my hand, he’s right behind me. I like to sit with my legs up on the couch and bent to one side. He loves to put his front paws right on top of my feet just to ensure that I can’t go anywhere. We sit like that together for as long as it takes to finish my coffee and it’s as much therapy for me as it is for him.

When the coffee cup is empty, I get sad, not just because the coffee is gone (because God knows that is depressing) but because it’s time for me to get ready for work.  Since his legs are on top of my feet, it’s a huge inconvenience for him to have to get down off of the couch when I get up! He looks at me with his big sad bloodshot basset eyes as if to say, “You’re leaving me already?” I know he’s thinking exactly what I’m thinking, “Why can’t we just sit here and snuggle all day long, how sweet life would be!”

As I head upstairs, I hear one of my favorite sounds in the entire world. The jingle of his dog tags and his short little legs trying to keep up with me always makes me smile. Of course he follows me upstairs and lies down right outside of the shower to wait for me. While it is a bit awkward to have a dog watching me get into the shower, I am grateful that he never laughs when he sees me naked! As soon as I finish blow drying my hair, he heads for the door. He knows it’s time to go. Every day it’s always the same, he tries anything and everything to get under my feet and out the front door.  He hates to be left alone and he’s probably secretly hoping that I’ll say, it’s “bring your basset to work day” Ironically, our office is a dog friendly place, but since he’s so high maintenance, for me, it would be the equivalent to take your toddler to work day! I wouldn’t get a thing done. Besides, he loves to leave his scent in all new places, and somehow, I don’t think that his peeing on the new office carpet would go over well.

When I get home from work, he’s the first one to greet me. (Of course, this has nothing to do with me  yelling, “LEO” before I even close the door behind me.) Again, I hear the sweet sound of those little jingles of his dog tags. He runs to greet me as if I’ve been away for an eternity. He jumps up and waits for his hug, as he practically wags his tail off. Nobody in my house is as happy to see me come home as he is! I love being greeted by him and I don’t care how impatient anybody else gets. They have to wait in line to start making their demands. Inevitably, there are always a million things the kids and husband want when I first get home from work. Everybody’s hungry, there’s homework, questions, concerns, complaints, but not from LEO. Just LOVE, that’s all it is, pure UNABANDONED, JOYFUL LOVE! Hugs, kisses, tail wagging, snuggly love!

Bedtime comes and he’s always passed out on the couch. After I get done putting the kids to bed, I go downstairs to let him know that it’s bedtime. Since he’s afraid of walking up the stairs in the dark, I have to put the flashlight app on my phone and walk him up the stairs. (My husband gets quite a kick out of this little routine) He always laughs at me when I come downstairs to tell Leo that it’s bedtime. But, if I don’t, he will only bother me later by standing at the bottom of the stairs and barking until I come down to walk him up the stairs. He jumps up on the bed and gets into his sleeping spot. Of course it’s right on top of not only my feet, but my legs as well! He sprawls out across the bottom of our bed. Luckily we have a king mattress because he’s really such a long sausage that he takes up a lot of space. It’s not always easy trying to sleep with a basset hound sprawled across my legs but for him, I’m willing to put up with it. He also snores louder than ten men, but again for him, I’m willing to put up with it. My husband snores pretty loudly too, and always complains that he gets yelled at yet LEO never does. I don’t know why he’s still complaining, it’s obvious who the most spoiled rotten basset of all time is!

And these are just a few of my favorite things about my precious LEO! As much work as it is to have a Neurotic, Special Needs Basset Hound, I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world!

Peek a Boo Bassy!

Poor Leo! He has just returned from another weekend at the Beach in Maine! He hasn't gotten off the couch since. He is completely exhausted and wants no part of anyone, especially the kids. Of course, because the kids know this, it makes them more determined to bother him. (Poor Baby)!
My 13 year old decided that it would be fun to try to engage him in a game of Peek a Boo Bassy! He kept putting his hands over Leo's eyes and then releasing them saying, "Peek a Boo!" The funny thing is that Leo's snoring actually grew louder the more my son tried to play the game with him. This went on for quite awhile until finally my son started to cover his own eyes and get in his face, yelling, "Peek a Boo Leo, Peek a Boo!" Still nothing! Leo snored away and was completely oblivious to the fun game that was going on while he slept. My son got annoyed with him for refusing to play, so he decided to try to put a few things on Leo's head. He tried putting a hat on him, a set of car keys, even a cheese stick! Still nothing! I can't say as though I blame Leo! It is Monday, and in my opinion, he's got the right idea! Put a cheese stick on my head and I'll gladly go back to bed instead!

Dirty Basset

My Mom is NOT a doggie fan! When she was a teenager, her family dog, "Tiny" stole her favorite pair of shoes & chewed them up. She renamed him, "Scupper," meaning thief and his terrible doggie behavior soured her taste for all future dogs. I, on the other hand, am a crazy dog lover! My Mom and I are definitely on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to our feelings about DOGS! But, I will even admit (being the self professed crazy dog lover that I am), there are times when LEO's behavior leaves me shaking my head. People have called me a glutton for punishment, a Masochist, even a Saint. But the truth is, my love for LEO is unconditional and therefore I will put up with all of his antics, the nice, the naughty & the neurotic! This past weekend up at the beach in Maine, he showed us all a little bit of his "naughty" side. After a good long run on the beach, and a nice relaxing nap, he stretched his long basset body, had a great big yawn and got down off of the bed. He nonchalantly headed over to the kitty litter box and before anybody even realized what he was doing, he gobbled up a pretty good sized piece of cat poop! (He had engaged in this nasty behavior when we first got the cat, but hadn't done it at home for a long time) I was pretty surprised that he was doing it again, although everyone at the beach always says that the salt air makes people hungrier than usual. I guess he was really hungry that day, or maybe just feeling like a snack. Sadly, for my Mom, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and witnessed this horrifying act. By the look on her face, I knew she had seen him and I feared she might faint from sheer disgust. Even though she knew what he had done, she started to yell, "Oh my God, he went to the cat litter box! He's chewing something! Oh my God, what is he chewing on?" Well, she knew exactly what he was chewing on, but I don't think she could really wrap her brain around what she was seeing. I just looked at her and in a very calm manner, I said, "Don't worry about it, he just felt like having a little tootsie roll, no big deal!" Let's just say, if her taste for dogs was soured before, it's sour with a side of throw up now. She wouldn't even allow me to bring it up again, because every time I tried, she looked as if she would pass out. What a Dirty little Basset!

Beached Basset

Nobody is happier that Spring has finally sprung than LEO! He has rejuvenated himself with a few weekends at the Beach in Maine! He's gotten rid of those winter blues and his anxieties are at an all time low. But then again, whose anxieties aren't at an all time low when they're at the beach. A little sea air, some sun & surf can soothe away almost any worries! As soon as we hit the beach, LEO wastes no time getting those cute little doggie paws in motion. I love seeing his paw prints in the sand!

 I also really love to watch his big basset ears flapping in the wind. I swear those crazy big ears help him build momentum and pick up insane amounts of speed! You should see the looks on people's faces as he whips by in a basset hound blur. Nobody believes me when I say he can run (with those short little legs) just as fast as the big dogs can. Not to mention, he has disproved even his Vet who recently called him a Senior Basset. I've got picture proof of this fact right here! He is only as old as he feels and clearly he feels as young as a spry little puppy! Don't let the growing white hairs on his face fool you, he's far from an old man and he's proving to age quite gracefully! Look at him getting his paws right off of the ground! AIRBORNE!

He loves the unique smells that the ocean brings in and he's always sure to roll in seaweed whenever he has the chance. I'm sure he thinks he's marking his territory when he pees on it afterward, but really all he's doing is getting all that sea stink embedded in his fur.

 

 

This past weekend, he met a beautiful black lab named Bo. Bo was just a puppy of 8 months and he was full of energy! Again, Leo proved he could keep up with the young pup as he wrestled and played for hours without missing a beat! Look at them SMILING at each other!

 

Our whole family enjoys taking walks out to the Island to look for sea glass. Although, Leo doesn't care about sea glass, he loves to go out to the Island to roll around in more stinky seaweed. Since, I'm the designated Doggie Mama, that means I'm the poop picker upper. Although picking up poop is not my favorite job, It did melt my heart to look ahead and see LEO stop in his tracks to wait for me. He didn't want to keep going unless he knew I was coming too! So sweet!

The BEST part of our Beach Adventures is when we get back to the beach house and he is so exhausted but exhausted in the best possible way! He curls up and passes out and It makes me smile to see him so content! If you heard him snoring, you'd be convinced it was a MAN!

And there's absolutely nothing better than bringing a little bit of SAND home in the BASSET EARS!

 

 

Some days, It's hard being this Basset's Mom!

Some days it's really hard to be this Basset's Mom! His anxieties were in full gear last night due to the first spring thunder & lightning storm. He started getting fidgety at about midnight. He was pacing the floors and panting. I knew a storm had to be brewing when he started to get shaky. I tried my best to settle him down and gave him a dose of his anxiety meds. He crawled into bed with me, but instead of lying across my feet like he usually does, he climbed right up beside me and got as close as he could get.  He snored that way for quite awhile. At 2am, he was up pacing again. I decided to take him outside to see if he wanted to pee. I didn't see any lightning or hear any thunder but he was such a wreck, I figured something had to be coming. Again, I settled him back down. He was up and down until 5am and that's when the storm finally hit. He was freaking out drooling, panting, shaking all over the place. (This would have been the perfect time for the "Thunder Coat" if he hadn't already tried it and actually suffered increased anxiety with it on!) Nothing quite like the hot breath of a basset hound on your head at 5am complete with a big slobbering splash of drool on the cheek. It's so frustrating when this happens because I can't put him in a crate since he has crate anxiety on top of all of his other anxieties. Not only did he drool all over the floor, but he peed and pooped as well! How Pleasant! After being up half the night, I started my day by cleaning up that mess before I even had my first cup of coffee! Poor baby, he's been sound asleep on the couch all morning. Well, except for of course the one hour that I went to the gym when he got spiteful and peed on the kitchen floor! I didn't bother to put the gates up because he was so exhausted from the stress of last night! I should know better than to trust him. He hates to be left alone and he always gets me back by peeing on the floor! Some days it's really hard being his mom, but I still hold true that I wouldn't trade him for the world!

Leo's LOVE for Snickerdoodles

I find it so adorable that LEO has a love for Snickerdoodles! Who would have thought a Basset Hound would have a cookie preference. But why not, he has his own thoughts & ideas on just about everything from why he refuses to dress up as a hot dog (with mustard on top) on Halloween to his theory on how Thunder Coats for Dogs cause anxiety instead of relieving it. He hates coffee but loves skittles, why shouldn't he have a cookie preference. My kids love chocolate chip cookies, and since I usually like to have a snack for them to come home to after school, I tend to make these a lot. Occasionally, I get tired of making the same cookies, so I mix it up a bit and make other types. My husband loves Raspberry walnut thumbprints and just about everyone loves my old fashioned Betty Crocker recipe for Snickerdoodles. One year at Christmas, I was making a variety of different cookies and as usual, Leo was lying underneath the stove hoping for some crumbs to drop on the floor. I realized when I pulled the batch of Snickerdoodles out of the oven, he wrangled up enough energy to stand up. Soon enough, as I was placing them on the cooling rack, he began to bark. He didn't stop barking until I threw one down to him. He gobbled it up in about two seconds. I thought it was pretty funny how he didn't stand up or bark once when I pulled any of the other sheets of cookies out of the oven! From that day on, any time I bake Snickerdoodles, as soon as the oven starts sending off the unmistakable aroma, he's up, off the couch and barking his basset head off! And with fierce determination, he won't stop until he's scored one and then he's off and running, tail wagging behind him!

Back to Normal (not that we are ever really normal)

LEO is back to his usual happy morning self, because I'm back where I belong, having my coffee by his side! He loves to hang out and snuggle up by my side while I'm drinking my coffee! He's really relieved that it's nobody's birthday today! :)

What? It's not MY Birthday too?

 

LEO was a little put out with me this morning! He is most definitely a creature of habit. Every morning after I finish getting all the things done for the kids to get them off to school, I sit down on the couch with him & my coffee! Today, it's my son's 13th Birthday, so I changed it up a bit, and sat up at the bar while he had his birthday muffin. WELL! Leo did not like that one bit. He came over to me, stood at the foot of the bar stool and whined. Although his tail was wagging away, as he was staring up at me with confused eyes, I knew he was jealous! Maybe he just wanted to share in the birthday muffins, BUT, they were chocolate chip and that's no good for a dog! After a few minutes of whining at my feet, he jumped up and placed his two front paws in my lap. This was quite the funny image since he's an extra long sausage! He stayed right there like that, just wagging his tail. I guess he didn't understand why it wasn't his birthday too! :) He'll have to wait till September for that! Now that the kids are off to school, I will pour another cup of coffee and go hang on with him on the couch, just as he expects me to do! :)

 

Ya Big Baby

Somebody's afraid of the dark....(shhhhhhh) don't tell him I told you! While he does know that I blog all about his special needs, he would be really mad if he knew I blabbed about his fear of the dark.
LEO absolutely refuses to walk up the stairs to bed, if he doesn't have somebody walking with him. If we forget to bring him up, he will stand at the bottom of the stairs and bark until somebody goes down to get him. You might think, he is struggling with the short legs, or that he is too lazy, or stubborn (two very common traits in Bassets) but nope, he's just straight out afraid of the Boogey Man! I usually take him out for the last time of the night around 9pm, then he curls back up by the fire and snores on the couch. I try to remember to nudge him out of his slumber and coax him up to bed, but there are many nights when I forget. Tonight was one of those nights. I just got myself settled into bed, when I heard the unmistakable BASSET HOWL! "Come get me Mama" sooooo, out of bed I go, and back down the stairs I go. As soon as I get to the bottom step, and say, "Come on", he steps up and climbs the stairs right beside me. He is such a big baby! A big baby that I love more than anything in this world! (Obviously by the lengths I go to for him) Brat! :)

Slow it down Mama!

MY GOD, DO I LOVE THIS FACE! Lately, my poor LEO has been feeling the stress of our busy life. You  might think he would've gotten used to the chaos by now, but I think he's still secretly holding out for a calmer lifestyle for his MAMA! I always find myself thinking about the life lessons I can learn from LEO! If only I could curl up and take a nap by the fire as often as he does. He's taken on a new habit over the past few weeks as a defense to my busyness! In the RARE moments that I make time to actually sit down on the couch to hang out with him, he crawls right up into my lap or onto my chest. He's no light weight either, believe me! He parks himself right on top of me as if to say, "Now, there! See if you can get up and leave me now MOM!" I have to admit, he does make it really hard. I am so in love with that face and those eyes. He has the guilt look mastered and I absolutely hate to have to get up and go again. I feel like I am always running here and there and rarely ever get a minute to breathe! Tonight, I am grateful to LEO for giving me this not so subtle reminder to SLOW IT DOWN and just SNUGGLE once in awhile!

Doggie Bag

Most often, when the waitress asks if you want a doggie bag, she is talking about taking food home, so that you can eat it later. A doggie bag is very rarely actually for the dog! Well tonight, the doggie bag really was for LEO! We brought him home some Chicken Fingers from the Chinese Restaurant! He was so excited, he actually JOGGED to his food bowl to see what the surprise was! I love when he jogs, because the sound of his tags make the best jingling sound! His ears bounce up and down and his short little paws prance almost like I imagine a reindeer would! He grabbed a chicken finger and JOGGED into the living room to eat it! He always prefers to eat his food on the living room floor! After all, why would he want to eat it in the dish and keep things clean! After he finished his first one, it was the cutest thing to see him JOG back to the kitchen to get another! He got more exercise jogging for those chicken fingers than he's gotten in the past week of winter weather! He obviously didn't count them ahead of time, because he thought there was another one. It was almost sad to see him come jogging back to the kitchen full of excitement only to find out that he had already eaten the last one! Oh well! He was still overjoyed and it was sweet to see him smiling an hour later!

Leo the Basset wins a Liebster Award

Leo the Basset would like to thank http://mommysbreak.blogspot.com/
for nominating him for this AWESOME award!!!

The Liebster Award is an award given to Bloggers by other Bloggers! That makes it even more special! Liebster is a German word meaning "Beloved"

 

Here are the Rules:

 

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

 

 

Here are my 11 Random Facts or I should say here are 11 random facts about Leo:

1. My paws smell like Fritos
2. The space at the top of my snout smells like beef jerky
3. I snore ridiculously loud
4. Sometimes,I sneak into the kids bedrooms in the middle of the night and leave a small amount of pee on their rugs. I do this to get back at them for annoying me when they are awake.
5. I despise dog food more than anything on the planet.
6. I am very skilled at cheeking my anxiety medications and spitting them out on the floor, long after my mom thinks that I've swalled them.
7. I once peed in the shape of a heart on the laundry room floor on Valentine's Day!
8. As soon as I hear the first squirt of whipped cream out of a can, I come running and bark until somebody squirts it into my mouth! Yup, my favorite guilty pleasure!
9. I have to get my teeth brushed with some crazy organic doggie toothpaste because my breath is offensive! I hate having my teeth brushed but I grin and bare it!
10. Once during one of my great many run away excursions, I ran through a family cookout and smelled a hotdog cooking on a grill. I followed my nose and found the grill. I stole the hotdog and kept on running!
11. I absolutely love the beach and my favorite thing to do is roll in seaweed and then pee on it!

HERE ARE MY 11 QUESTIONS THAT I HAD TO ANSWER:

1. Any Nicknames? What are they?

Leo has many nicknames, they include, Jinkies,Sob,Sausage,Sauce,Shleppo,Shortie,Mental Midget,and Bassy

2. Are there any subjects you will Not blog about? Why not?

Yes, Leo has asked that I not blog about his girlfriend. He likes to keep his love affairs confidential.

3. Absolute favorite food? Leo loves his Mama's homemade chicken, rice and vegies! Hates dog food with a passion!
 

4. Any weird talents? What are they? Leo can poop on command when mom sings the poop song! (And she does do it in front of neighbors and other random people!

5. Biggest pet peeve? "Pet" peeve, that's a little ironic. Leo doesn't see himself as a Pet, he's a human in his own mind, and we are his pets!

6. Favorite movie or book? Leo is much too busy being neurotic or sleeping to watch movies or read books!

7. Biggest fear? Oh boy, this could take all day! Leo has many phobias! Let's start with the obvious, Thunderstorms,Lightening, Fireworks, and now let's move on to the others, Cameras,Halloween Costumes,(especially hot dog suits with mustard and catsup on top)The Thunder Coat,(which was designed to reduce anxiety, but it actually gives LEO increased anxiety,Latex Balloons and all Balloons for that matter,being left alone, crates,confined places,cell phones, and any sudden loud noises or unexpected movements. That about covers it, but I'm sure I left some out!
 

8. When did you start blogging? I started Leo's blog a couple of years ago.

 

9. Biggest regret? Probably the day he ran away with his leash still attached and got caught up under somebody's deck and had to stay there for hours!

10. Can you dance? Definitely but only for treats!

11. Celebrity that you can not stand and why? Leo would probably say,The Hush Puppy Basset because He's cuter and could have done tat job and been rich!

Here are my 11 Questions for other bloggers:
Since I will be tagging doggie bloggers, I will make them dog friendly

1. Who is your favorite human in your house?
2. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
3. Favorite place to pee?
4. Favorite place to sleep?
5. Favorite place to run?
6. Do you have friends besides your humans?
7. What is your favorite toy?
8. Have you ever gotten into trouble for misbehaving, if so what did you do?
9. Do you have any nervous habits or phobias?
10. Have you ever had whipped cream out of a can squirted into your mouth?
11. What is your best quality?

 

 

Here are the 11 blogs that I choose to nominate for the Liebster Award

 

 

 

 

http://2punkdogs.blogspot.com/http://


www.dogbloggers.webs.com/


http://www.dogabouttownnw.com/wordpress/


http://modernscottiedog.com


/http://assistdogautism.blogspot.com


/http://calvy.wordpress.com


http://www.demonflashbandit.blogspot.com


/http://shaggydogblog.tumblr.com


/http://sams-voice.blogspot.com/


http://www.btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/



http://www.daytondogblog.com/










 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wait..Aren't you supposed to hunt these things?

One of my friends sent me this picture of her Basset Hound, "Lafayette"
He apparently doesn't know he is supposed to be a HUNTER of Bunnies!
He and this adorable little white cottontail are cuddle buddies & it's just the cutest thing I've ever seen! Basset Hounds really are such lovable breeds! :) I LOVE MY BASSET HOUND and wow doesn't Lafayette remind me of my LEO!