The Great Manipulator

black basset hound sleeping on tan couch with rubber chicken
Carol and I were sitting in the living room when Betty started whining at Carol. Thinking that Betty needed to go outside, I put my coat on and coaxed Betty to the backdoor. Betty was not happy about this, but I threw a treat outside and she couldn’t resist that. I had to use the old ‘pretend to go to the front yard’ trick to convince Betty to come down off of the deck and into the yard, but this just pissed her off. She moped around for a few minutes and then climbed the steps up to the backdoor. Going outside was not what Betty had in mind when she started whining.
black basset hound looking pleading into camera, laying on tan couch
We went back inside and into the living room and discovered that Carol had gone upstairs. Betty leaped into Carol’s chair and spent some time getting all comfy. She gave me a stare which said, “You stupid human, this was my demand,” and settled in for a nice nap.
Carol came downstairs and tried to reclaim her chair, but Betty wasn’t about to move. But every superhero has a weakness, and Betty’s weakness is treats. Carol tossed a treat onto the couch and Betty was forced to vacate the chair. Betty finished the treat and turned around to see Carol now sitting in the chair. The only way Betty could address this terrible injustice was to give Carol the basset hound glare for five minutes and then the pathetic basset hound mope for an additional five minutes.
black basset hound sitting up on tan couch looking into camera
It seems clear to me that the chair is Betty’s property. Carol is playing a risky game sitting in Betty’s chair all the time. All that basset hound glaring and moping aimed her way can’t be good for Carol. I’ve been trying to devise a compromise solution, but there is no compromise in basset hound.
black basset hound curled up on top of blue blanket on maroon recliner, asleep

Party at the Vet’s!

black basset hound looking out a car window, a orange/yellow lamp on a pole, an evergreen tree, and a house with holiday lights are reflecting off the window pane

I think that I have stated this before: I have never owned a dog who loved going to the veterinarian’s as much as Betty Zing does. I mean, she LOVES going there. This evening, we went, and she was just too excited. We waited in the car for the vet-tech to come out and get her, and every time it was another pet’s turn, she cried and cried like a little rejected and neglected puppy. However, at long last, it was her turn, and she literally dragged the vet-tech into the animal hospital. A while later, the vet called me to report and then casually said, “It’s gonna’ be a little while before she’s brought back out to you. Word has gotten out that Betty Zing is here and we all just love her, but not everyone has had a chance to greet her, and of course she has to greet EVERYONE (which we don’t mind), and, and … oh… oh! She just spied Joe coming out of surgery, so now she HAS to go greet him, too….” Never mind that she was there for a seemingly chronic ear infection and to get her nails clipped. As far as Betty Zing was concerned, she was at a party. And now she’s fast asleep: too much partying at the animal hospital, I guess.

black basset hound curled up, passed out, on a tan recliner

Betty’s Home Yard Improvement Continued

I thought the snow we had would make Betty put her sunflower stalk destruction project on hiatus, but I forgot that stubbornness is ingrained in Betty’s breed. I watched her find the snow covered stalk she’d been working on for the past few days and proceed to rip it to shreds as normal. Winter might be the off-season for most landscapers, but Betty doesn’t buy that wimpy it’s too cold stuff.

black basset hound standing on hind legs waiting for man to throw snow in the air