"Setting the Hook!!!"

When we were ready to get another dog, after City Boy died, we went to NGAP to get another greyhound. We had a few requirements (Male, cat/kid friendly, and playful). When we learned they had a dog for us, I went over to the kennel to meet the new member of the family. I brought a ball with me to make sure he was a playful dog. When they let him out of his cage, he immediately ran over to me, jumped up and gave me a BIG kiss. It was like he knew that I was a little unsure about a new dog; he was setting the hook.

Tigger in the Pet Store:

A week after we got Tigger, I took him to a local pet store to have his picture taken with Santa. As it turned out, there were people from NGAP there with their dogs. They were handing out information about the program and answering questions. I took Tigger over to see the other greyhounds. There was a lot of butt sniffing and tail wagging, and just then Tigger found a nice little girl greyhound to mount up on!!! She wasn't too happy, nor was the owner. When asked. "Isn't he fixed?", I could only respond with, "Yea, but I think they might have left something in!!"

Tigger goes for it?

One night, Jen and I ordered pizza for dinner. It was the usual large pie with sausage, green peppers, onion and pepperoni. After we were done eating, there was one piece left in the box. The box was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch where we were sitting. Tigger came over a couple of times to get a sniff in around the box. Each time he did I told him, "No Tigger". He was laying in the dining room when all of the sudden, Tigger jumped up and attacked the box. He had the last slice out in a matter of seconds. I started yelling for him to drop it and started chasing him around the dining room table (all the while, the piece of pizza is hanging out of his mouth 'point down' and dropping toppings all over the floor). I couldn't stop laughing. He kept looking back at me with that piece of pizza hanging out. I wish I had caught it on video; I'd be $10,000 richer!

Tigger Loves Apples!!!

When we moved into our new house, we found that our next door neighbor has two apple trees in her back yard. Well, the trees are not really near the property line. but we figure we get some apples in our yard because of squirrels and other animals. Well one day we saw Tigger in the middle of the yard eating an apple that he had found along the back of the property. After that, he would go on apple hunts looking for any new apples. Our neighbor would occasionally chuck one in for him(he still gets excited to see her, because he thinks she will give him an apple). We have started giving him an apple as a treat (hey, you know what they say about an apple a day!!!)

Tigger and the chipmunk?

One day when I was doing some yard work, had the garage doors open. When I closed up, there must have been a chipmunk in the garage (it wound up setting the motion sensors off the next day causing the alarm company to call me at work). When I got home later that day, I left the door open between the garage and the downstairs family room; the chipmunk found its way into there. For those of you who don't already know this, this is where Tigger spends the day when we are not home (he makes himself comfortable on the couch like most greyhounds) When I got home from work, I had found the basement was torn apart. Tigger saw the chipmunk and was trying like hell to catch it. In the process, he ripped out the air hose from my 55 gallon aquarium which caused the tank to drain (luckily the hose landed next to the garage door, so the water drained into the garage instead of the room). I found my 16 inch Oscar and a new Earth Eater laying on a bed of dry gravel. I filled the tank with a garden hose (from the garage) and amazingly they lived!!!! I was able to find the chipmunk and chase him outside.

Tigger Eats a Squirel?

Tigger is always stalking squirrels in the back yard. I never see him get remotely close, because he finds it necessary to creep on over rather than just charge them. Well one night he was in the back yard, and I kept calling him, but no Tigger. I kept calling him and he finally came to the back door (with a squirrel's tale hanging from his mouth. The next morning he threw up. Jen came running up yelling, "Tigger threw up and there are feet in it!!!"

Tigger Eats a rabbit

One cold night, I put Tigger and Irene outside to do their thing. Normally, when its cold, they are out for only a few minutes, however this time, they were out for quite a while. When I went out to check on them, Irene was in the middle of the yard by heself. Tigger came out with his head down like he did something wrong. It turns out that he caught a rabbit and had a feast! There was nothing left but the head, one leg, and a meaty spine.

Tigger passes away at home

When I first got Tigger, I was just getting over the loss of City Boy. Tigger was only two years old when I brought him home, but I knew the day would come where I would have to make a tough decision like I did with CB. We were at a dog walk on Saturday June 23rd. Tigger was limping pretty bad and I was concerned that it might be cancer, although the symptoms were much different than with CB. I kept an eye on him over the weekend. On Monday June 25th, I came home from work, and Tigger was limping real bad. He was panting like he does after he is done tearing up his yard, and he wouldn't eat. His coloring (his gums and tongue were pale and gray). We took him over to the Vet where he had x-rays done. There was no cancer, however the Vet did say that his spleen was enlarged. We brought Tigger home and put him on the couch. His breathing went from heavy to light. I knew that he was going to die. When Jen was upstairs, I told him that its OK if he needed to go, and to wait for me at the rainbow bridge (with City Boy and all of the other dog friends) While I was gently petting his head, he passed away (lying on his favorite couch with his mommy, daddy and Irene with him).