Nimby Twyla 1999-03-18 to 2006-06-13 She came to me as a foster in aug of 2002. I had been fostering for a year or two and had a number of pups come through the house. I was pretty convinced that it would be me and Kurt my omega dog just fostering down through the years. It only took a day or two with Twyla in the house before I made the call: "She's staying". :) What a sweet princess she was. She was always more interested in people than any dog. (She would politely sniff them and then move on to the important part of getting some petting out of the folks holding the other dogs leash). She would take petting over any other reward, including treats, walks, or naps. The 4 years we spend together were packed with love, petting, walks, petting, travel, cuddling, petting and joy. She was far from perfect, but even her bad habbits made her more endearing. Some snapshots of her: - For the first 6 months I had her she refused to jump into the back of the truck. She would walk over to the door and look at me: "I am ready to be lifted into my chariot". - She was a champion whiner. If I was somewhere nearby (bathroom too long, or the basement or garage where the dogs were not allowed) she would fire up the whining until I came back into view. - She would play with her food. If she wasn't quite ready to eat she would take a mouthfull of kibble and take it over to a blanket or dog bed and "burry" it for later (of course another dog would come along and eat it long before then). She would push her food and bowl around with her nose until it was in just the right position to start eating. Sometimes she would push the bowl off the table and look over at me with a glint in her eyes. - She was a therapy dog. She loved to go to the nursing homes and get attention. She loved people in wheelchairs. - She could care less about thunder and loud noises. - She would nest in most anything. Turning the make the perfect place to lay down and sleep. - Being the princess she was, she hated getting wet. When it rained she would just wait until the storm passed before going out. - She loved to cuddle, but couldn't really spend a night sleeping with you. If you started to go to sleep, she would jab you awake to keep petting her. - She was a fixture out at the colorado ren faire. I don't know how many people adopted because of her, but it was more than a few. I know many folks who said "I want one just like her". - She was an alpha girl who bossed all the fosters I had around, but yet when staying with a friend who had a alpha greyhound, she deffered to her host and was a perfect lady. - She loved to eat ice cubes and would demand one everytime I got a drink with ice in it. - On walks she was the marker, not either of my two boys. She would let the entire neighborhood that she was there and this was her turf. - She would roach often on any of the couches, usually with her tounge hanging out one side or the other. - If you were sitting down and petting her and stopped for some reason, she would poke you with her paw to keep petting. If she couldn't get her paw in place she would give you the look to keep petting. Stopping was not an option. - She wagged her tail often, and never knew a stranger. In her world there were people who were petting her, and people who _should be_ petting her. - She raced 61 races, and did ok, but not outstanding. greyhound-data.org - She was at countless events and meet and greets, always pulling hard on the leash to get to her adoring public. - She was often the rooing police. If a group of hounds started to roo and any of them were out of tune she would growl and let them know to stop. - She recovered quickly from her amputation, and got around very well on 3 legs. Running up stairs, chasing the other dogs in the yard, jumping right in the car. - No matter what she went though at my vet or at CSU, she was always happy to go there and get attention from everyone. This weekend we went out to one of her favorate places on earth, the colorado ren faire. Saturday she plowed up the hill and had a great time being petted by one and all. We went out again sunday and she was able to get in some more petting. Monday it was apparent that she was ready to go where she could breath easy and run whole and free from the cancer. She passed quietly with her paw on my arm. The rose collar is empty and Twyla is running free with a peice of my heart in her paws. I know someday I will meet her again, she'll nudge me and tell me to stop crying and pet her.