[Dailydrool] Sweet/Silly/Smart Gracie

[Dale Rutz]

Hi all,

It's the clueless momPerson here.  Or should I say Gracie's mommy?  She is the 
first basset I've had who doesn't seem to realize I'm clueless.  She's SO cute.

She gets up between 4:30 and 5AM every morning.  She sleeps on an orthopedic dog 
bed on the floor by our bed because LuLu says she CANNOT sleep on the big bed 
with us.  She can get up there during the day, and she can get on all other 
furniture day or night BUT Gracie may NOT sleep on the bed with Greg and I and 
Snoopy and LuLu.  No reason given and Gracie is fine with it, she sleeps on her 
own bed right next to ours.  So, at first, Gracie would get up and come get me 
and say I'm up, I'm up, I have to go potty.  But I wouldn't get up and she 
REALLY has to go when she gets up.  So, she's changed her routine.  She gets up, 
races outside, goes potty, and comes back and comes around to my side of the bed 
to tell me all about it.

"Mommy, mommy, I went outside and went potty, am I a good girl?  Do you love 
me?  Can I have a hug and a kiss and a pat?"  Once I assure Gracie that she IS a 
good girl and I DO love her and she gets her hug and kiss and pat (with me 
hanging off the bed) then she will go back to bed.  Until 6:25.  She is SMART.  
I will NOT feed anyone before 6:30.  However I will not get out of bed until I 
have hugged BOTH Snoopy AND LuLu in a chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat 
hug, complete with kisses.  One at a time.  And it takes 2-3 minutes apiece so 
if she gets me back up at 6:25 by the time Snoopy and LuLu are properly hugged 
it is 6:30 and time to get out of bed.  The last week or so she has insisted on 
her own chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat hug on the floor.  And Gracie 
jumps around excitedly while LuLu gets her hug so LuLu jumps down and returns 
the favor prancing around with Gracie gets hers.  And then it's time for turn 
out and breakfast bowls.

Gracie loves to play with LuLu.  Those two chew on each other all day long, 
rolling and prancing and chasing and playing.  Snoopy joins in some too, but 
largely he rubs his head on the other two and does a half roll and some 
nibbling.  He is recovering.  His back is bothering him less and his leg only 
gives him an issue when he lays on it funny but he isn't as wild as he was 
before he hurt himself in July.  Gracie gets a little taken aback by all his 
barking, so he is toning it down and she is learning to deal.  She is also 
learning to work the crowd .....

Last night Gracie must have spotted some crumb on the kitchen floor and scarfed 
it up.  Snoopy saw her do it and his food aggression kicked in and he went WILD 
.... just went after her in a big way.  Now, Snoopy does NOT bite and he would 
not nor has he EVER injured anyone.  But he's nasty when he gets set off, he had 
her cornered and on her back and was just SCREAMING in her face and wouldn't let 
her up.  In the past she would have yelled and tried to defend herself but now 
she has realized he would never ever hurt her even a tiny bit and there is a 
better way.  She let out the most pitiful whine I have ever heard ... it was 
like a sob.   The whole family came running ..... I pulled Snoopy off and 
Natalie scooped up Gracie and cuddled her and Greg told Snoopy just EXACTLY what 
he thought of that behavior and Julianne was just petting little Gracie.  We all 
went into the living room and LuLu was standing between Gracie and Snoopy and we 
were all petting Gracie and telling her how sweet and how wonderful and she had 
the smuggest look on that cute little face ..... I SWEAR she stuck her tongue 
out at Snoopy who was of course mortified.

And then ..... here's the cutest part.  Snoopy had gone to bed with Julianne.  
LuLu went to bed with me and Gracie was in her bed on the floor.  Greg came to 
bed and as he settled in Gracie started to cry.  We couldn't figure out why.  
She got up and ran into Juliannes room and came back and cried again.  It turns 
out that Snoopy was stuck .... he wanted to come to bed with us and couldn't see 
the ottoman to get down in the dark and he is too dignified to cry ..... so 
Gracie told us for him.  And, once I turned on the hall light and helped him 
down he looked dubiously at the ottoman next to the bed in our room .... it's 
right next to Gracie's bed on the floor and he was worried that she might be 
still mad at him from earlier.  At that moment Gracie got out of bed again and 
ran out of our room and back into the back corner of Juliannes room behind 
Snoopy and me and waited.  Snoopy walked across the hall into our room and 
approached the ottoman.  He looked back over his shoulder cause it takes him a 
minute or two to climb up there.  Gracie was standing with me in the hall 
waiting.  Once Snoopy had climbed up onto the ottoman and then onto the bed only 
then Gracie came back into the room and settled down on her bed again and went 
to sleep.

I love my bassets.  I just cannot believe these dogs were ever abandoned.  WHO 
did that to these kind gentle caring loving sensitive souls?  And how do they 
live with themselves?

The clueless momPerson, who will never ever know and suspects that might be best
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