It's Been A While

Sorry for the delay between posts!  I'm sure Katie was starting to think she'd have to go the whole summer without news about her hound.  It's been a crazy week so I'll do my best to get to everything that Henry's been up to.

First off, we've had a family of fox pups living under our shed out back and we were a little worried that Henry would find them.  As much as we would've loved to have a Fox and the Hound situation on our hands, Disney romanticism aside, we decided that it may be better to keep them apart.  It sure would've been nice to see Henry playing with these little guys though.

The fox family moved out earlier this week but we had a new critter move in for the weekend.  My sister was in town for the weekend and brought her Jack Russel, Hunter, up from Tennessee with her.  Hunter had lived here for over a year before they moved down south and he was definitely not thrilled to see a new dog in his spot on the couch.  Henry was great with him from the beginning but he seemed a little confused about why Hunter didn't want to be friends.  Hunter warmed up to him eventually though and they spent some time running around and napping on the couch together.

Henry had a great weekend playing with Hunter and my aunt's black lab Mace.  The compliments on his looks and behavior have been pouring in and we were really grateful that he was so composed and gentle (even when Hunter was a little less so).  We've been keeping up on our runs through the woods too and he wakes up every morning with his tail wagging, ready to go.

Anyway, time to head off on some more adventures.  I'll make sure not slack off as much this week.  We can't leave Henry's adoring fans hanging.

~Chris and Henry

Crazy Weekend

Sorry for the gap between posts, but it's been a crazy weekend of graduation celebrations.  Unfortunately, Katie and I were in Boston (Henry-less) all weekend.  That's OK though because that gave him some quality time with the grandparents in between ceremonies.  They spoil him rotten so I'm sure it didn't break his heart.

Katie left today to head home for a couple of days before moving to Utah and Henry seemed to know something was up.  Or maybe he was just mad that someone was going for a ride without him?  Either way, he barked like crazy until he couldn't see the car anymore.  That just about summed up my feelings at the time too and I was grateful that he vocalized it for both of us.  I feel like Katie and her parents wouldn't have been as touched by me screaming after the car...

I'm glad to be back spending time with the hound and can't wait to get back on the trails with him in the morning.  It's not hard to tell when Henry's been kept away from his runs through the woods for a couple of days.  He's visibly antsy and is considerably more vocal on walks.  Luckily for him, we'll be out the door by 0530 tomorrow morning to get in some trail time before I head to work.

We're both going to be missing Katie a lot this summer and it'll be a tough few months.  Luckily, we share the same coping mechanism.  We'll just keep pounding the pavement (or the dirt) until we're too tired to think of anything else.

Happy Trails!
~Chris and Henry

Sir Henry is not a Hunter: Exhibit B

Today I was going through my usual post-run couch-to-the-kitchen-to-the-couch motion when I was stopped midstep in halfway to the fridge and asked myself a question:

Why on Earth, is my dog frozen?

He was literally, and I mean literally, frozen in place staring at something outside. I called his name a couple times and even opened up the fridge (which usually has him sprinting from anywhere in the house). No such luck.

Have aliens come and abducted my dog? Curiosity got the best of me and instead of making a grab for whatever food was closest, I closed the fridge and investigated.

The culprit?
Alvin the Chipmunk!


Yup. A widdle guy found his way from the big wild and onto the back porch step - right in Sir Henry's domain.
And what did my southern hunting dog do?

He froze. Henry choked!

Don't believe that this big, howling coonhound didn't so much as let out a whimper as this defenseless chipmunk naively stood on the step and munched away on his seed? 

I figured you wouldn't - so I took a video.

Henry's thought process: "I think I'm supposed to do something right now...but what? See a chipmunk, do....something! What do I do!? What to do, what to do...think...think think...OH! HE'S RUNNING! LOOK AT HIM GO! HE'S SO FAST! Oh crap. Wait. Can we start over? I think I remember what I was supposed to do. Hey - where'd he go?" 

To silent hounds,

Katie and Chris

Ready to Go at 6 am

Guess what I found myself doing at 6 am this morning?
Being pawed, yes, pawed, awake by none other than Sir Henry. I felt a slap on my face and felt those big eyes staring me down being I even opened mine. This guy is sure getting confident around here!
So at 6 am Henry decided he had slept enough he and pawed me awake, jumped up on the bed, licked my face, jumped off the bed, pawed me face again and then just sat there wagging his tail furiously until I opened my eyes. Then it was all, "oh good, you're awake! Leggo."
As soon as I climbed out of bed he did his whole stretch routine, then jumped up, licked my face, stretched some more, then ran to the door.
So I got up, let him out, gave him his breakfast, then went straight back to bed. I just couldn't do 6 am, not when I only have 2 weeks of summer vacation before grad school. Sorry, my sweet hound, you're on your own for this one.
I finally rolled out of bed at 8:30 and found Henry snoozing on the couch. That's the great thing, if you're not ready to run or walk him, he'll just snooze until we are.
Chris and I did a 30 mile bike ride, Henry was PISSED when we left!
"You're exercising without me!?"
But when we got back Chris took him for a 5 mile run at 6:30 minute miles, and he was a happy puppy again.
Now he's...you guessed it - snoozing on the couch.

OTHER NEWS! I taught Henry the command "down" in about 3 minutes today. Literally, 3 minutes. We have a puppy genius on our hands! After I taught him down he discovered he absolutely loved having his belly scratched so now whenever I do it he rolls over so I'll rub his tummy. Sly fox.

Love that hound,
Katie and Chris

Henry's First Triathlon

We brought Henry to his first triathlon today! For the most part, he was a good little triathlete pup. There were TONS of other dogs, and I mean tons. As in every single triathlete brought their kids, their mother, and their trusty dog. And, of course, Henry announced his presence at every opportunity - what a goof. I was kind of getting flustered with him until I saw these two Boarder Collies attack a puppy, then I completely relieved all Henry does is rudely bark in other dogs' faces. Sure, he's loud. But he's all bark and no bite. Just awkward.
For the most part Chris and I have figured out how his mind ticks and what signs to look for when he's about to let out that big ol' coonhound howl. However, grandma and grandpa aren't so good at it, and they were babysitting at the race today. They let him get away with a lot more than Chris and I do - typical grandparent fashion. It's like last weekend at Mikey's baseball game when Henry's great-grandparents snuck him treats at every opportunity and howled at him because they thought it was funny to get him riled up. Call me an overbearing parent, but I was so mad! Not really,  I was more amused...but still. Let's just say I won't be handing Henry off to their house for the weekend: I'd come back to a fat, non-stop barking dog who thinks he has his own spot at the dinner table.

Chris keeps claiming he's the fun parent and I'm the iron fist. Somebody has to make the rules around here! The funny thing is I can tell what kind of parent Chris is going to be from the way he treats Henry- if he so much as whimpers, Chris runs to his side. He's worried about the littlest sneeze and the tiniest cough. When Henry snores Chris is concerned he has a cold. If Henry is sleeping on the floor and he looks uncomfortable, Chris adjusts him. It's hilarious to see a big military guy so concerned over his dog. What a loved boy Henry is!

So anyway, when Chris and I could be around before and after the race Sir Henry was a good boy but during the race I could hear Henry barking after us from 1/4 mile away - I'm sure everyone loved that!
But oh well, he's getting better everyday and he had a blast at the race, so that's all that matters to me in the end. After the race I took him and slowly introduced him to some pups and he was a good boy. He absolutely passed out on the car ride home - he's so adorable when he falls asleep sitting up.
The best part about Henry is that his personality comes out more and more everyday - he even has started giving tons of kisses to the whole family! My favorite is in the morning when Henry wakes me up by pawing at me, stretches out, clears out his nose my making pig snorts, then jumps up on me and tries to lick my face. When we first adopted him Chris and I completely expected him to be as withdrawn as he seemed when we had him overnight and for the first few days, but he actually is an incredibly affectionate, snuggly fluff ball - who knew!? My other favorite is when Henry is napping on the couch and one of us comes and lays next to him and he leans against us or rolls over to paw at us. I think he's secretly loving all this attention and relishing in the fact that we fawn over him so much.

Today I was really happy because we had him in the backyard tossing around a tennis ball and running around and he was playing in typical puppy fashion - crouching down, jumping up, sprinting away, and barking happily after the ball. Chris noticed that he was also taking the passive position when playing, laying his back on the ground instead of trying to jump up on him, which is a great sign because it shows he views Chris as dominant. I'm not sure what he thinks of me...probably typical mom: the person who feeds him and snuggles him and follows him around worrying about him.
He just looked so happy and carefree - I think he's getting back all those puppy days he missed out on when he was homeless. I'll take a video sometime of him when he gets really excited and goes crazy in the backyard on his tie out - it's so hysterical to see him get a huge burst of energy and sprint in circles. I hope one day we can take him off his 30 ft leash!

Oh! News! We taught Henry to shake hands :) He doesn't do it every time but he's definitely getting the hang of it. He kind of looks confused when he does it, like he's thinking, "I'm not sure why I'm lifting my paws like this and I actually think I look rather stupid but I will do this because it results in a treat."

So today, all in all, I had a very happy mother's day with my hound Henry

High paws,
Katie and Chris

Bored with a Hound

I got this idea off of another hound's blog.

First, I wait until Henry is in a deep sleep...like an, "I just ran 5 miles" deep sleep.

Ohhh Henrryyy! Is that a treat!? Come on, sleepyhead, you can do it

Fine, I'll move it a little closer. I know you can smell it, your nose is twitching

Smell that, Henry? It's a bacon treat!

Is that an eye opening I see? I saw it flicker!

Nope, continues to snooze.

Fine. Let's try something a little more flavorful. Pringle?

He's waking up! Ohhh this is exciting!

He sees it! Now watch him snatch it up like a cobra!

.....Henry??? I don't believe this. He's asleep again. 

"Huh?"

Oh, snack!

Om nom nom

Ohhhhh yeahhhhh!!! Wake up, eat a little snack

What the hell are you looking at?

Chipmunk Troubles

Well turns out Henry isn't much of a hunter. In fact, I think the extent of his hunting skills involve watching a squirrel run in front of him then barking like a madman.
"HA! DID YOU SEE THAT!? I IS A HUNTER." Aww buddy, you're not a hunter, you're a Henry. And you'd be about as useful to a hunter as a screaming 2 year old.

Exhibit A.
Today while on his normal morning run I was fiddling with my watch, not looking in the road and Henry was trotting happily in front of me. I think he must be tired because he wasn't pulling me like crazy as usual (Apparently 7:45 miles are far too slow - Henry's a bit of a running snob.) So I let the leash extend out all 16 feet to reward him for being such a good running partner.

Anyway. So I'm not paying attention, Henry's in the lead. I felt the leash make a sharp right. I just so happen to look up, and what do I see?

Henry hunted down an already dead chipmunk off the side of the road, picked it up, and had it hanging out both sides of his mouth. My jaw dropped as I stared at intestines that were hanging 6 inches out of the side of his mouth, the chipmunks head dangling out the other side. And I'd be damned if I ever saw a dog looking more satisfied in my life.
"MOM LOOK WHAT I FOUND! WE CAN SHARE IT! WHAT A FIND! WHAT. A. FIND."
 I choked down puke as I turned into a psycho, throwing an absolute fit in the middle of the road.

"HENRY TOMMILA YOU DROP THAT CHIPMUNK RIGHT NOW! DROP IT! OH MY GOD. DROP IT! YOU DISGUSTING DOG!"

I screamed and yanked on his leash. But Henry didn't just drop it. Oh no, poodles would do that. Golden retrievers would do that. But coonhounds?
They fling it.
With a giant toss of his head, he sent the chipmunk sailing through the air about 4 feet into the middle of the road - in my general direction.
Spiting me? I think so.

He sat down and sent me the dirtiest look a dog can manage. I'm pretty sure he flipped me the bird.

And the whole time I'm jumping on the side of the road, flailing my hands screaming. I hope the neighbors were looking out their window at the whole scene.

The upside? He DID drop it immediately when I yelled, then sat down. So at least I was able to snap him back to reality after his little flashback to his homeless days.

However, I am still disgusted. Not a proud mom.

Also on the upside, we ran across a ton of dogs on our run and Henry hardly paid attention to them - even the big golden retriever tied up outside! And a little terrier who ran down his driveway to greet us. Henry's inconsistency definitely keeps us on our toes, but it's always an awesome surprise when he's good!

And now we're all sitting outside enjoying the sunshine, Henry on his tie out. We just had a proud parent moment when Bentley, the little dog across the street, came around the corner to say hi and Henry trotted up to him, tail wagging, and they played for a bit. Henry got a little rough (Bentley is a tiny dog) for a second but calmed down. After that Bentley left. I'm pretty sure Bentley thinks Henry is a little bit of an asshole, but Henry told me he thinks Bentley is a wuss. I think I see a love/hate relationship is forming with that little pup.

And now? Some pictures of Henry licking the inside of a peanutbutter jar we gave him last night. He was overjoyed. It was hysterical to see him hold it between his paws. 

Looking Smart

With a tutor like this, how can I fail my exam!?

An Adoption Story

This week we've spent so much time detailing the ins and outs of Henry's daily life in his new home that we haven't really had a chance to reflect on the unlikely circumstances that brought him into our lives.  Until we came across Henry's listing on Craigslist, we'd both agreed that we would wait to get our first dog until after Katie finished grad school.  We hadn't had any intention to change those plans, even after we found out that I would not be starting work in Utah until months after graduation.  I'd gotten used to Katie showing me pages of new dogs on a daily basis but neither one of us had seriously considered the possibility of actually moving forward and bringing one home; until we saw Henry's page that is.

One afternoon, Katie was making her usual rounds of various sites with puppy listings when she came across Henry's page.  Normally, we'd both agree that this dog was extremely cute and it was too bad we aren't ready to bring him home.  We'd also never seriously entertained the idea of rescuing a dog.  We had preconceived notions that we weren't ready to train a rescue and that we really wanted a puppy.  For some reason, this time was different.  I think that Katie showed me the page expecting the same old reaction.  I'm still not sure why, but I had an immediate, and distinctly different, reaction to seeing his pictures and reading his short bio.  Within a couple days, we'd decided that we should at least get in contact with Aviv and Janelle, his foster parents, and Ann, the director of Northeast Coonhound Rescue.  Shortly thereafter, Aviv generously offered to have us over to spend a little time with Henry. 

We were blown away the first time we saw Henry and had an amazing hour with him.  However, it took another week of soul-searching and correspondence with Aviv and Ann before we asked to take him for an overnight visit.  Needless to say, after that night we knew we had to bring Henry home.  Aviv and Janelle generously kept Henry for another couple of weeks while we worked out the adoption details and finished up with classes.  Since coming home last Saturday, Sir Henry has become the center of attention in our home.  It didn't take him long to win over every member of the Tommila household with his regal looks and gentle nature.  

He's also become an amazing training partner.  Katie and I had been in a rut with our triathlon training after a couple stressful weeks of completing our degrees.  Henry promptly snapped us out of it.  Every morning he gets us out the door for a run and has been inexhaustible.  He'll run 4 or 5 miles at a brisk pace through the woods behind the house, eat some frozen banana, nap for 30 min and be right back up to patrol his yard for squirrels.  It feels great to have a reason to get out and run.  Now, it's not just about our own training, it's about providing Henry with a happy, healthy life.  

Although we don't have too many details about Henry's life prior to being rescued in Tennessee, we do know that Ann, Aviv and Janelle saved him from death and for that we're incredibly grateful.  He was found starving to death, hairless, scared and alone in the woods.  Now, the woods have become his safe haven and his playground.  We feel incredibly lucky to be a part of his journey and to provide him with a permanent family.  When we're ready to bring home a little brother for Henry (and this time it really won't be for a few years) adoption is absolutely going to be the only option and maybe we'll be lucky enough to work with Northeast Coonhound Rescue again.

Happy Trails!

-Chris, Katie and Sir Henry

Dog's Life

Eat breakfast, take a little nap

Watching his favorite movie, The Fox and the Hound

Ohhh, dat feels good

I run this house.

We allow Sir Henry to watch 1 hour of educational television per night.

Vet Visit

Sir Henry must have been tired - we all slept in until 9 this morning! I actually had to wake him up.
Then something miraculous happened! After I took Henry outside we were in the living room and he jumped up, put is paws on my stomach and tried to lick my face. Sir Henry gave me a kiss! He DOES love me - I knew it.
After waking up Chris and eating we all went for a 3 mile run on the trail - Henry was awesome and didn't pull or bark. But we noticed there was a white worm in his stool, good thing we had a vet visit planned already!
Sir Henry was a perfect angel at the vet. I was a little nervous because he barked when he got out of the car, but after letting him sniff around he calmed down and walked right up to the door like he had been there a million times. We got him 2 more vaccinations, one to ward off bacteria in the woods and in water that isn't purified (Henry is going to be doing a lot of running and hiking in the woods so we thought it was important) and one for lime's disease, also important for outdoorsy dogs. I don't even think he noticed when they gave him the shots. And his health all checked out except the worm thing. Turns out Henry has a case of tapeworm :( So we got him medication for that and it should all be good. We also got him Frontline for fleas and ticks and heartworm medication. Whew!
When we got out there were 4 cats and 3 dogs in the waiting room, and all Henry did was quietly whine and stare. He only let out one bark when one of them barked at him first! We even let him say hello to a Boston Terrier and after giving him a sniff Henry completely ignored him. I'm so proud!

Hopefully Henry will be feeling better soon,
Katie and Chris

Sleepy Hound

Video of me trying to get Henry up for a run...and Henry being a sleepy teenager.

My favorite moment is around 50 seconds when he smashes his face back into the pillow

Henry gets creative with his stretching and leaves his feet on the couch 

After our 5 mile run that left both me and Henry a little shaken...a little bonding in the backyard - just happy to be together 

Ruff Times

Things were a bit rougher today than the past 2 days, but everyday with Sir Henry is a good day, so no complaining here.
It started off with the usual - Henry pawing me until I got out of bed before 7. We ran upstairs and woke up Chris and I let Henry at hi to the goldfish until he bopped it a little too hard and gave the fish a heart attack. He went from staring and following him with his eyes to downright biting the tank! The video cuts off at the end because I turned off the camera to grab Henry before he ate him. Poor fish. No more fish for Henry.

After breakfast I took Henry for a 5 mile run on the trail. Everything was going great until 2 golden retrievers off-leash approached and everything went downhill from there. As I saw them approach from far away I sat Henry down on the side of the trail and gave him some treats to keep him relaxed and distracted. My hope was that the other woman would put the other dogs on a leash, but instead they jogged up and one of the dogs approached Henry, which completely freaked him out. Henry barked madly and I just couldn't bring him out of it and then the retriever got behind Henry and tried to mount him in a dominant way, only raising Henry's fear. I was able to pull Henry away and the other woman got her dog under control, too. We both apologized politely but I could telll Henry was shaken with the whole ordeal. I sat him down a couple yards down the trail after they left and calmed him down. He was a perfect angel after that, running slightly in front of me.
...until we turned around and had to approach the woman with the retrievers again. I tried the same tactic by sitting Henry down, getting between him and the dogs and petting him/offering him treats. The woman was absolutely wonderful and held her two dogs back further up the trail and asked what I wanted to do. By this point Henry was wiggling around and barking like crazy. She was completely understanding and told me she had been there. She suggested I should get behind him and hold his head up so he can't bark. I thought it was worth a try so I did it, which resulted in me losing my balance, falling onto the small hill next to the trail, then Henry wiggling out of his collar and making a dash towards the dogs. I grabbed his harness just in time to be dragged across the trail my knees. Ouch!
In the end, the woman walked by, offered some kind words of encouragement and was on her way. They were less than 10 feet away before Henry completely snapped out of it and was fine. I suppose a situation like that needed to happen so I know how to handle it next time. He's just been such a perfect boy I didn't expect it! He was fantastic the rest of the run, and I'm optimistic about the next time that happens. I hate to have to run with him with his prong collar on, but it definitely needs to happen. At least until Henry realizes he's safe with us and we'll never let any dog hurt him, so there's no reason he should feel nervous and anxious.
I guess I'm not sure if it's better if I left him approach the dog and sniff him/bark in his face/possibly try to mount them, or if I should get him out of the situation as quick as possible. I would love for Henry to be around other dogs but I'm unfamiliar with him at this point, so I'm not sure if he's aggressive or just socially awkward. I also feel bad asking other dog owners to participate in Henry's training when they're just trying to walk their own dog - who is usually acting totally normal.
In retrospect, I'm laughing because we must have looked like the most ridiculous, spastic runners ever. Henry is just such a good boy and a wonderful dog - he just needs to show other dogs that!
Like right now, he's laying on my legs sleeping. What a goob.

This afternoon we took Henry to Mikey's baseball game. For the most part I was very proud of him and his behavior. There was a lot going on at the highschool and Henry, for the most part, was a very good boy. There were tons of dogs though, and I could tell he was agitated by them all. He just couldn't seem to relax no matter how much we petted him and tried to make him feel secure. So that led to a few barking fits that were only solved when the other dog walked by and was out of Henry's "range", which is about 30 feet.
I think maybe we've overwhelmed him with the amount of running, attention, walks, toys, treats, etc. we've give him. He's probably absolutely exhausted by it all, and that's adding to his "off" day today....I know he's definitely not napping as much as he'd like to! I feel bad because every time he closes his eyes we're on top of him, waking him to tell him how good he is and how cute he is and how much we love him. The poor kid probably just wants to sleep!
Also, Chris and I haven't really established a good system to dealing with other dogs. So far we just try to stay calm, get Henry's attention by sitting him and giving him treats, and then pretty much just seeing what happens..which isn't really effective. It would be easy to just lead him out of the situation all together because I usually see dogs before he does, but I definitely don't want to isolate Henry. Dogs are social animals and I definitely want him to have doggy friends he can chit-chat with. We'll keep brain storming and trying different methods. We don't give up that easy, Sir Henry!
Time to put this hound to bed, he's getting a little sassy tonight and I think he needs some serious R&R. Last night Henry was so exhausted he fell asleep with his head off his pillow, laying face down on the hardwood floor. Chris adjusted him so he was more comfortable on his bed and he stayed that way all night...I'm not even sure he woke up when Chris moved him.

Any advice about Henry is always appreciated :)

Howling good times,
Katie, Chris, and Sir Henry

Doggie in the Middle

Day 2 Pictures

On rabbit watch

On squirrel watch

Teaching Henry to stay then come, he's got it down pat!

Love that hound

I'm not 100% sure Henry loves the excessive amounts of hugs and kisses I insist on giving him!

Attacking his Kong - can't fool him, he knows where the treats are

Fish toy: dead in 2 minutes

Making sure the stuffed fish is actually dead

Don't take my fish dad!

Loving his new tie out

Demolishing his squeaky ball 

Hound of the House

So many firsts for Henry today! First of all, he's the best alarm clock. We set up one of those pillow-like dog beds with a blanket on top next to my bed for him and he curled up when I went to bed and stayed in the same position all night - literally. I woke up 3 or 4 times throughout the night to check on him and he didn't even open an eyelid until 6 am, when I peeked over the side of my bed to see what he was up to. Turns out, he was eyes-wide-open waiting for the first signs of life from me. He perked up as soon as I opened my eyes.

"FINALLY! I've been waiting forever!"

I groaned, rolled over, and went back to bed for an hour until I felt too guilty to snooze anymore. As soon as my legs went over the bed he sat up and pawed me until I was fully up. New sunrise running partner? I think so.

Another hour later we were sprinting up the stairs (yes, he went upstairs!) to get Chris. Henry's whole body was shaking he was so excited to get Chris up. 

...and then he discovered Mikey's fish, his new pet. I've never seen a dog that inquisitive before. He had absolutely no idea what to do except sit in front of the tank and follow the goldfish with his eyes...until he bopped it with his nose then freaked out when the water splashed in the tank. Then he circled the tank over and over and looked around and under the desk trying to figure out how to get the best view. We absolutely could not pull him away from that tank! What a riot. 

I didn't realize the easy part was getting Henry upstairs...because it took us half an hour to coax him downstairs. But I'm so proud of him because after half an hour of sweet talking, coaxing, and treats, he finally took a deep breath and charged downstairs. What a good boy! I think the combination of the wood stairs and the sunshine gleaming off of them completely freaked him out. But he was so brave! And now he can move up and down the stairs with no problem. The trick with him is to get him to do the thing he's scared of just once then after that he 's all, "I got this."

After we conquered the stairs and rewarded him with tons of belly rubs and pet names we put on his harness and brought him on a 4 mile run on the trail behind Chris' house. I was surprised at how focused he was on the trail! He only got distracted with a squirrel once, which caused him to stop dead in his tracks and howl like no tomorrow. I love that howl.

But other than that he kept a little under an 8 minute mile for 4 miles and still had energy when we were done. He is a great training partner! 

After his run we decided Henry definitely needed a bath, he was so dusty! 

I truly cannot describe the level of misery Henry expressed while in the bath. It was the first time I've ever seen him with his tail between his legs, but I really think it was more the fact that he was in a closed in space and not so much the water. The good thing is that he didn't jump or whine or growl, he just looked defeated in the saddest way possible. But he smells like baby shampoo now! And his coat is nice and shiny. After his bath he said hello to his fish and ran down the stairs (whatta champ).

The rest of the day was spent following us around the house, snatching up treats, playing with his toys, and going for two walks.

Chris and I left the house for a bit to go to the store to get him some more toys and a stake for the backyard. We really want him to have more freedom outside, so we got him a 30 foot lead so he can roam - he absolutely loves it! We bought him a supposedly durable fish, but he had it destroyed in less than 5 minutes. We played outside for half an hour between feeding him his dinner - a combination of Wellness food and half a banana.

And now, exhausted, Sir Henry is snoozing in his favorite spot on the couch.

The hound is going to sleep good tonight!

-Katie, Chris, and Henry

First Day at Home Pictures!

Henry amongst all his new toys on his way home

So excited he fell asleep

Squirrel scouting

Mailman.

No barking at the mailman, Henry!

Until next time, mailman.

Staring in awe

There are 'coons in those woods, mom and dad, I can smell them.

Dad, absolutely not.

My new favorite napping bed

Food?

No, Henry, you can't have raw chicken.