<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV>Hi all,</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>"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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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 .....</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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.</DIV>
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<DIV>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?</DIV>
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<DIV>The clueless momPerson, who will never ever know and suspects that might be best</DIV></div></body></html>