The Complete Package

Yesterday, we took Ray to the vet. Not that he had anything seriously wrong with him, it's just that every since his friends left, he's been off his food. I couldn't tell if it was because he went from international superstar to just plain ol' Ray overnight, or if Ray was pining for his new friends. I thought it was more likely that he'd gotten into something he shouldn't. Turns out the doc thinks he just had a case of indigestion. (I've fed him boiled chicken with rice for a couple meals and the indigestion seems to have magically disappeared - every speck of food was eaten with gusto - maybe he was just languishing over his friends...)

I bring this up because, while we were at the vet's, the vet tech, who LOVES Ray (and even gave me his card with phone number "If you ever need anyone to babysit Ray, just call me. I'll even take him for just a couple hours if you want."), walked us into the room, turned to us and said, "I have something to tell you." Usually you expect bad news when someone says that to you, but there was this look of excitement on his face.

This particular vet tech had asked me a few months ago if he could take a quick one minute video of Ray doing his 'tricks' for a class that he was taking (Ray can sit and flop and shake). So I had brought Ray to the vet, the video was shot, and I thought no more about it.

"I presented the paper I did about Ray at a conference," said the vet tech (I think he said the conference had something to do with rescues of dogs considered 'unadoptable;' blind dogs, dogs with missing limbs, etc.), "I included Ray's blog site and the youtube videos. Ever since then, rescues (of the unadoptables) are up 20%."

I've never seen 'glowing with pride' in person before, but he was doing it.

I'm not sure how 20% translates to numbers - did they have 10 adoptions before and now they have 12? - but it doesn't really matter. Ray has once again inspired someone (click here to see the story about Bess, Beverly and Blanche) to take home one of his own kind and that's all that matters.

My dog, an international superstar and do-gooder all in one package.

Ray contemplating his life

(actually he's just 'watching' the geese)

Niki's Blog

I asked Niki and Jez if they would like to send something to post to the blog and, thankfully, they said yes. So, while I take a day or two off writing, here is Niki's story about how and why she became involved with Ray the Blind Dog.

Meeting Ray

Who would have thought that around two years ago when Jez and I agreed to foster a blind greyhound, only a week after adopting our first (sighted) rescued greyhound, that it would lead to a transatlantic meeting facilitated by the peculiar route of youtube and facebook.

Well, strange but true. As I googled the words....caring for a blind dog....in various combinations, I stumbled across a link to a video called Ray the Blind Dog at the dog park. I watched it and some of the other ones containing Ray and was heartened at the way this gangly pooch embraced life despite his lack of vision. So reassured was I by this revelation, that I decided I must contact the owner to thank them for helping me realize how a blind dog can just take life in stride. So, I sent either an email or a comment and received a really nice response. The rest is history.

Jean and I became facebook friends and I followed Ray's blog. From the written exchanges we had, it emerged we had a similar sense of the ridiculous, and I thought if there was not a huge sea between us, that Jean seemed like the sort of gal I could hang around with. So anyway, when Jez and I arranged to meet my USA-dwelling brother and his family in NYC in 2012, I had the idea of combining that with a trip to meet the dog that sparked an online relationship!

I sent a tentative email to Jean asking that, if she didn't think it was a bit too weird, we would love to come and meet Ray and his family in person. Thankfully, she didn't seem to think it was SO weird that her immediate reaction was "....er, no way, you strange English person." (Well I knew she was a generous spirited sort when she sent my greyhound a babble ball after I mentioned I was thinking of getting one!) And so plans were made.

We duly arrived in Fairfax County via the Megabus from NYC and the metro in DC, on Wednesday, 4th April 2012. Jean was unsure of exactly what we looked like so I just said Jez is tall and I am small and hoped that would be sufficient. In the end, we easily spotted Jean as she waited in the car park with the instantly-recognizable Ray attached to her. I know Ray loves to meet new people so I won't flatter myself that I got extra special treatment, but he was truly welcoming and showed the right level of doggy excitement when he grabbed my arm (very gently) and gave me doggylicious licks and snuffles. Jean managed to resist emulating Ray's exuberance, but then she is only the sidekick after all.

We were a little embarrassed that Jean had made a journey from the suburbs to transport us to our hotel a mere 0.9 miles from the metro, but as she explained as she dropped us off, that first impression was the make or break of the next couple of days. Had we failed to pass muster she already had the 'our house burnt down' excuse pending, should she need to avoid any further encounters.

Thankfully we passed the interview process and were able to move on to the next step of interacting with Ray in his home environment. This was set up to take place the following evening after Jean had spent the day fervently preparing the house (currently undergoing some renovation to the living room) and also creating a homemade vegetarian meal for the annoyingly fussy guests (who had also just sprung the extra issue of one of them trying to avoid dairy).

Her newly-formed taxi company was once again called into service and the overseas visitors arrived to have more face-to-face Ray time. He seemed impressed with the offering of home baked doggy biscuits all the way from England and although Jean seemed confident he would turn his nose up at anything containing vegetables, he did what most dogs love doing best....i.e. showing off in front of their owners, and scoffed one down heartily.

Jez and I were introduced to Ray's other chief carer, Gregg, and offerings of wine and chocolate were handed over so the humans did not feel left out. We then gave Ray lots of belly and ear rubs until he royally decided we had taken up enough of his snooze time and retired to the sofa.

He managed to come and investigate later on when he realized we were eating without having invited him to join in. Ray also magically materialized out of thin air while we were being introduced to Moonie, the elderly moggie upstairs, in a definite case of 'excuse me but I am the superstar in this house so don't even bother with the feline inhabitants'.

At the end of a very pleasant evening, Ray once again allowed himself to be fussed over, even though normally he would be getting his beauty sleep. He is getting used to the idea that fame comes at a price.

On Friday we were given the next level of doggy interaction by accompanying Ray to the lake for his daily constitution. It was a lovely day and Jez was privileged enough to be handed the lead. (He does have some blind dog-walking training under his belt though, having owned one back in UK for 2 years, so not everyone can expect this level of contact.)
Later that evening Ray co-hosted a beer and bonfire evening after he had supervised the preparation from the sunny spot in the border. It was a rousing success and the British guests proved to be a bit of a novelty for the older (not in years) members of the fan club. Ray took the opportunity to show off his baying skills, so that anyone who had not been invited was well aware of the intended snub.

Alas, the overseas guests then had to depart after a short but fulfilling visit to a hound so full of character and personality that we felt compelled to make that extra effort to make his acquaintance. The bonus was that his owners are of equal charm, and we hope to continue our newly-formed friendship with them, and Ray, in the future.

So long Ray, and thanks for all the fish.

Niki

DISCLAIMER: I only took one photo of the whole day and it doesn't contain Ray

We were all a bit tired from dinner the night before so the day started out slow. We had planned to pick up Niki and Jez at the hotel, take them on a hike with Ray, then to lunch, then back to the house to prepare for the 'Beer and Bonfire." I have these parties so that I can burn all the windfall from the trees that accumulates over a season - we hadn't had one for over a year and the twiggage was piled high. But we didn't get started 'till late so we made a last minute change of plans and decided on the closer and easier walk at the lake.

Pre-Party Activities

Gregg, Ray, and I piled into Gregg's sedan, the only one of our two cars that could possibly hold four people and a large dog, not particularly comfortably, but with all limbs contained inside. When we arrived at the hotel, I surrendered the front seat to Jez (more legroom) and made a Ray sandwich with Niki in back. Ray showed his delight at seeing his friends with ear kisses all 'round, then stood between Niki and I, looking supremely uncomfortable.

"You can lay down, Ray," said Niki trying to convince Ray to curl himself into the tiny little ball that he does so well.

Ray eventually obliged and we headed to our daily walk location.

We extracted ourselves from the car and started on our amble. I was holding Ray's leash but quickly turned it over to Jez so that I could concentrate on chatting with my new-found friend, Niki. Gregg, Jez, and Ray were out front and I couldn't resist the photo op. Unfortunately Ray, who was framed by the two men, moved at the last minute .

The difference between 5'10" and 6'4"

The day was clear, brisk, and rather gorgeous. We took our time, stopping to sniff tree trunks, clumps of grass, piles of leaves and anything else that caught our fancy. It was a most pleasant meander.

After an uneventful and delightful stroll, we dropped Ray at home and headed to lunch; more interesting conversation took place (not all of it was about dogs). We headed home.

At this point in the afternoon, the pace picked up a bit. Gregg took off to do the party shopping while Niki and Jez were pressed into service to move chairs and tables into the backyard.

We dropped the furniture randomly on one side of the fire pit, trying to minimize the disruption to the backyard while the blind dog was still out and about. I figured, optimistically, that once the sun went down, Ray would fall asleep and it wouldn't be so much of an issue to have furniture scattered about the yard. (One thing about having a blind dog, any change to their surroundings has to be carefully thought out.) Ray immediately came outside and bonked into the picnic table.

"Careful," I called too late.

We watched Ray for several minutes, yelling the same warning every time he neared something until he got the hang of things. He quickly adapted, picking his way carefully whenever he got to the end of the yard where the new things were located.

At this point Niki said that she needed to go buy T-shirts before heading back to her side of the pond. It was time for Ray's afternoon perambulation so I handed him over to Jez, told him Ray's usual route and Niki and I headed off.

I had told Jez and Niki about the many people I have met since we adopted Ray and by the time Jez made it around the block, he had met two of them and was finishing his walk up with Maddie and Sandra.

When we returned from T-shirt buying, Niki was put in charge of the music, Jez in charge of the fire, and I in charge of the food. Ray drifted between everyone, getting much attention and random belly-rubs from his friends. Gregg returned from the grocery and the activity level ramped up another notch. At 6:00 sharp, people started to arrive.

The Party

Ray is a true party animal. He loves to greet people and everyone got the same emotional treatment. Frantic tail wags, wrist and hand grabs, and a lunge to the face for a quick kiss. Usually I try to repress this activity so that it isn't intimidating to people that don't know Ray but I was in a festive mood so I let Ray do whatever he wanted. He was being quite good, greeting new friends and old, following them into the yard, announcing their arrival (only some of them got this treatment - I don't know how he chooses), then personally escorting them to the food table. I was keeping an eye on him but he was pretty distracted for awhile with all the arrivals and contained his celebration to licking the ice in washtub in which the drinks were nestled (it wasn't until later when everyone was cooking hotdogs over the fire that I had to lock him in the house for a time).

The night was crystal clear, very cool, and brightly lit by a full moon. The conversations was boisterous and the party was going fabulously when Caleb, our former next-door-neighbor and the artistic genius that designed this blog page, arrived with his wife, Lindsay. Caleb and Lindsay are particular favorites of Ray and Ray showed his favoritism, spinning in circles and fawning embarrassingly. Caleb had in his hand a present for the blind hound, a hambone, still in the store packaging. He handed it to Ray who immediately did a couple keep-away circles around the coffee table then headed outside to show everyone his prize and find a place to bury it.

It took Ray a good half hour to find exactly the right spot for his bone. He planted it (still in original package - they are more valuable this way) and covered it carefully.

A short time later, Caleb asked, "Where's Ray's bone?"

"He buried it," I responded, "Now he's guarding it."

Ray was standing near the fence, alert for predators. Caleb laughed and approached Ray. Ray nervously moved closer to the bone's grave, giving it's location away by "staring" at the exact spot he had buried it.

"I'm not going to take your bone, Ray," said Caleb. "C'mere."

Ray wagged his tail, embarrassed that he had mistrusted his good friend and went to Caleb to get his head and neck scrubbed. He then immediately returned to his guard post, dutifully protecting his prized possession. Caleb laughed and moved away.

Ray's friends, Niki and Jez, were a big hit with the assembled guests. After about five hours of food, fun, and random announcements by Ray, the party wound down. Jean's Special Taxi Service was pressed into service to return the Brits to their hotel.

Before they left, Niki and Jez went to say goodbye to their blind friend who, by this time, was locked in the house and standing with his head down, his nose pressed firmly against the crack of the door. Knowing that they probably wouldn't see Ray again, a touching scene ensued. Goodbyes were said all around. The two bundled into the cab and were driven off into the moonlit night.

The British Invasion was over.

Ray, missing his friends

Instructions: Please read all dialogue with a charming British accent

Last night, Ray friends, Niki and Jez, came to dinner. They arrived by Jean's Special Taxi Service at about 7:00, which is well after Ray's bedtime. Despite this, Ray roused himself from a sound sleep and greeted them at the door, absolutely ecstatic to see them. He grabbed Niki's wrist, then hands, then wrist again while Niki gushed over the excited dog. Niki turned away from the dog to greet Gregg.

"Why don't you do mine?" Jez asked Ray, offering him a wrist while Niki piled gifts into Gregg's hands.

Ray obliged, taking Jez's wrist in his mouth, chewing it a couple of times.

"Do you think it's a bone?" asked Jez. Ray stood for a minute, holding the beefy wrist in his mouth (Jez is about the size of a small mountain) trying to decide if he could take this one out in the backyard and bury it for later. He thought the better of it and let Jez go who was then able to shake hands with Gregg.

Ray wasn't finished with his greeting though. Obviously remembering the sweet kisses that he got from Niki the other day, Ray jumped up and planted one on her face, then tried to do the same to Jez but came up short. (Did I mention that he is the size of a small mountain).

I commanded my dog to flop, but now that he is an international superstar, he does things on his own time. Ray eventually flopped and was fawned over by his adoring fans.

Niki then unveiled a special treat that she had made for our blind dog.

"These are made with mushed up peas and carrots," she said, revealing a box of dog biscuits, one with Ray's name on it.

"Don't be too offended if he doesn't eat it," I replied, "Ray doesn't eat anything vegetal."

Ray, who of course LOVES to prove me wrong, ate it with relish.

"Could you send me the recipe," I asked, chagrined but not surprised.

Ray's special dog biscuit

(I find it ironic that the only photo that isn't blurry is the one where I cut off the head of our guest)

After another minute or two of belly rubs, Ray disappeared.

"Where's Ray?" asked Niki.

"He went over there," said Jez pointing into the family room. "Is that his couch? The one that was in the photo with the plastic draped over it?"

Ray was back in bed, curled up on his favorite pillow on his favorite couch.

"Yes," I replied, "that's it."(I thought briefly of charging admission for a tour of Ray's favorite sites - "Over here we have Ray's favorite couch. And out here is where he buries his bones. And this is Ray's favorite cat's bed. And here is where he carried a carton of eggs and ate them." - then shook off the image of me as tour guide to the stars and re-entered reality.)

After a quick cocktail and some scintillating conversation, we all retired to the dining room for a brilliant vegetarian meal (Ray's friends are vegetarians) prepared by Jean's Taxi Service with help from Gregg's Catering.

After the meal, I asked, "So, would you like to meet Ray's cats?"

An affirmative response took us all upstairs to the cat room. We were all making a fuss over our old lady, Moonie, (Hugo was outside) when all of a sudden Ray appeared and made a mad dash for the cat food dish. Jez snagged Ray's collar and dragged him away, then he (Jez) sat down on the floor to get some face time with the star.

We made plans for a hike the next day, called the taxi into service, and all retired for the night.

They're Here!

Ray's friends have arrived!

Despite the fact that we had exchanged emails the day before, and I had offered to pick them up at the Metro station and take them to their hotel, I was woefully unprepared to do so. I had been running errands most of the afternoon and cleaning everything in sight most of the morning (overcompensation for the lack of order in the house - the fireplace was half constructed, the walls and ceiling are half-covered with primer and there are no pictures hanging) and the last two things I had done before the call came were put down some mulch and sand a board (I was testing stain for the new mantle). I was running my last errand for the day and was on the way home when the cell phone rang.

After the initial moments of typical "can you hear me? hello? hello? are you there?" reception (we live in a hole), I told Niki that I would meet them at the station. I raced home, reconfigured the car (I have the back seat folded down and configured for Ray so that he can lay on a platform), and decided at the last minute to bring Ray with me. I figured Ray's friends wouldn't be able to recognize me without the hound and I knew he wouldn't want to miss his big moment.

Ray was slightly confused by the seats in back instead of his usual platform but he adapted quickly, curled into a tiny ball, and went to sleep.

We beat Niki and Jez to the station by about two minutes. Ray and I exited the car and stood, looking around, waiting for someone to recognize us, (but we recognized them first by the suitcases they were toting). Ray excitedly greeted Niki, grabbing her wrist, then hand with his teeth. (Meanwhile, I was inwardly squirming at the irony of my dog being much better groomed than I. He had a pedicure, was wearing a clean collar, and had had a bath; while I was wearing shirt with a hole in it and was not entirely convinced that I didn't have mulch and sawdust in my hair and eyebrows.) I gave Niki a quick hug, hoping that she wasn't breathing in while I did so. We threw their bags in the bed of the Baja. Niki crawled in the back seat with Ray who was trying his best to kiss her on the lips. Jez hopped in front and off we went to the hotel.

"Hey baby, how 'bout a little kiss for a blind dog."

(Niki and Ray )

"I don't have to do what you say anymore. I'm famous."

(Ray refusing to get out of the car after returning home)

Anticipation

Ray is going to have a foreign visitor!
One of Ray's fans, "am I a grownup now?" a frequent commenter to this blog, is coming from England, with her husband, to visit the blind hound. (In the interests of full disclosure, she is actually going to N.Y. to meet up with family. But then they are making a slight detour to the greater Washington, D.C. area to meet Ray.)
In preparation for the visit, Ray will be getting a bath today so that he doesn't smell like Fritos. (Oddly enough, when Ray and I went to the pet store yesterday to buy catfood, one of our favorite cashiers, who also has a Redtick Coonhound, said to me; "Have you ever noticed how Redtick feet smell like Fritos?" I admitted that Ray, on occasion, smells like Fritos but I didn't realize the smell was emanating from his feet.) Gregg was the first one to notice the Frito Phenomenon and ever since he mentioned it, I know when Ray is ready for a bath because I start to yearn for Fritos. So before our visitors arrive (tomorrow) Ray is going to get a bath.

We are excited. Ray is an international sensation!

(Mis)Steak for Dinner

Last night we had steak for dinner. This is pretty rare event in our household, maybe once or twice a year we have steak. It was celebrated throughout the animal kingdom by Ray and Moonie (Hugo was outside and missed out). The minute that steak entered the house from the grill, Ray was there to greet it. He stood with his head jammed between Gregg and I as we dished up our meals, then followed us into the family room and hovered, nerve-wrackingly, with his nose at plate-level (we eat at the coffee table) while we got situated.
Meanwhile, Moonie, was trying to access our plates more directly by jumping on the table and sticking her head in our food. She is the original Terminator (the one that wouldn't die no matter how you killed it). Jump on table. Remove from table. Jump on table. Remove from table. Jump on table. Remove from table. Knock dog nose away from plate. Remove cat from table.
By the time we got Moonie her own plate with a tiny bit of steak on it (on the floor - not on the table) and got Ray up on the couch in his usual spot and had given him a tiny bite, our food was not quite as hot as it should be.
Unfortunately, Ray could not relax knowing that that steak was right in front of him. He did his best impression of Snoopy doing an impression of a vulture. He stood, looming, on the couch, his head hanging down toward our plates, his ears fully deployed in Dumbo mode. He looked ready to launch. It was more than a little unnerving.
By the time we got Ray to lay down and pretend that he wasn't noticing the steak anymore, Moonie was back for another bite. I gave her another tiny bit of my steak (it was only the size of the palm of my hand, I admit that I didn't want to share).
Finally, Moonie retreated, Ray went to sleep, and Gregg and I were able to eat in peace.
"Next time we have steak," he said, "We're going to Outback."
I felt compelled to agree.