[Dailydrool] House Visits -- What to Expect

[Susan Randolph]

I know a few people have asked about what to expect from house visits... so 
I thought I'd share a few details of what you could expect if I were 
scheduled to do your house visit and took my little *demo dog* Daisy 
along... based on our experience today!

First, as we pull up to your home, she'd wail to get out of the car while I 
was trying to greet you, the prospective hound owner. This is to assure you 
that HER presence is central and to remind EVERYONE within ear shot (roughly 
a two-block radius) that hounds can BAY and should be listened to at all 
times!

Then she'd disembark the vehicle and pee -- on the sidewalk! Because of 
course walking 6 inches to either side in order to find grass (which was a 
bit cold and damp today) would just be WRONG. PULLING me to the door is 
next... waiting for the hosts would simply be a waste of time.

Once in the house, cruising for crumbs is required... Oh, and did I mention 
that she ventured immediately into the beautifully appointed dining room and 
peed on the floor ... even though she'd just peed on the walkway minutes 
earlier. Apparently this was a political statement.

During the rather short visit, she also managed to demonstrate her table 
dancing prowess (she often hops into my lap when nervous about her 
surroundings, and since we were at the kitchen table, it seemed quite 
reasonable to her to then explore the dining furniture -- something she is 
NOT permitted to do at home). In addition, she climbed into a comfy chair 
and nearly hurled herself into the kids' toy box (must have been some 
goodies in there).

I'm pleased to say the prospective adopters were amused and completely 
unphased by her antics (so of course they passed the tests with flying 
colors). For those who worry about such things, I can assure you that Daisy 
never inspected the home for dust bunnies (in fact, she opted to leave a 
plentiful volume of shedded fur to remember her by) or inspected the 
cleanliness (except to cruise for any stray crumbs). Her focus was entirely 
on the most impawtent factors -- their reaction to basic basset necessities 
(food, fun, attention).

I hope they are still interested in a basset... if nothing else, I think we 
made their Mother's Day memorable!

Drool on,

Susan (slave to Daisy, the ambassetdor, and Toby)