Tucker

Tucker seems to be settling in just fine.

Did some googling on his racing name. His isn't as unique as Gertie's but I did turn up one racing program where both of them raced at Gulf Greyhound Park on the same day, but not against each other. Gert was third place in her race and Tucker was second in his. Alice said she turned up some info that showed Gert was racing in a higher classification than Tucker and that Gert won more. Also turned up some results from when Tucker was racing in Ireland where he was born.

The first afternoon and evening home, you could tell he was on sensory overload. A house full of stuff is just a lot more visually rich than a kennel and the track. He did a lot of pacing around looking at everything. He didn't poke or climb or jump, just had to walk around and eyeball the whole place.

As it was with Gertie when she first came home, the stairs are a mystery. When we go up them it must seem like a magical disappearing act to him. I did take him by the collar and walk him upstairs for a bath on Monday afternoon. He took this first trip up better than Gertie did her first one but he hasn't shown any sign of wanting to repeat the experience on his own.

Tucker also seems less interested in the cat than Gertie was at first. Hopefully it will stay that way. With Gert we had a good month of high tension when the two were in the same room.

Everything else is going fine, just more of a "production" than before. Mealtimes, walks, etc., all just a bit more complex.

Took the two of them to the vet on Tuesday morning. Plan was for Gert to get some needed annual stuff done and leave her for a teeth cleaning. Combined with a first checkup for Tucker. Turns out Gert was a bit off on some tests, kidney and pancreas showing some high readings and blood pressure high. Rather than throw in anesthesia to complicate things she ended up coming home.

I discovered from this trip that we're going to seriously have to think about a vehicle with more interior room. Two big leggy greyhounds just don't fit well in the jumpseat space of the pickup. And they don't fit a whole lot better in the back seat of the four-door Accord. I've been thinking about a small SUV anyway, Honda Pilot or Ford Escape sort of sized. Something where I'm still sitting up a bit, not looking at bumpers when in traffic. But something that gets better than the 15 mpg I get in my F-150 pickup. And now, something that will hold the dog pack.