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The Beach is NOT for Basenjis

If you’ve read Boudreaux’s post (if not, scroll on down) about how “great” the beach was in Surfside, Texas, you have to realize that it is pure propaganda. The beach is not for basenjis! Basenjis are from Africa where there is heat but not all that water, especially water that smells funny. I didn’t like the icky wet sand either; not only was it hot to walk on (we are in Texas in the middle of August), it got all stuck up in my foot pads making it necessary to step in the stinky water just to get it off. Yuck! Besides that, there is no grass at the beach. I had to go potty while there and could not find a proper spot for such delicate business. I ended up pottying in some kind of dune bush that only resembled grass in that it was green.

We walked a little way down the beach and Mom kept encouraging me to get in that stinky water. I whined and whined and kept pulling to get back in the truck. Mom finally gave in and let me go back. I really do not understand why you humans like the beach. Give me my grass-filled back yard and my dry, warm snuggle ball in my air conditioned home and I’m in basenji heaven.

Ah, the feel of grass! No sand in sight!
Ah, the feel of grass! No sand in sight!

 

Even Boudreaux likes it...see him getting very sleepy?
Even Boudreaux likes it...see him getting very sleepy?
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Surfside Beach Adventure – My Side of the Story

What a girl! A scaredy cat girl. That’s how I describe my sister on her first encounter with the beach.

Mom & dad took  a day off to take us on an a new adventure. THE BEACH! We have never been to the beach, seen the ocean, or anything to do with wet sand. I think we were just so excited to be going on an adventure that we really didn’t know what to expect.

It takes about an hour and a half to get to the Surfside Beach where we decided to go. Galveston was pretty messed up from Hurricane Ike so we went west. Since we didn’t want to be on the beach at the height of the day, we left early. Like 6:15 am early! Well actually that was OK we me and my sister. I think mom & dad would have liked to sleep in.

So we leave at the crack of dawn and hit the road. Traffic was quite good on Friday. We think maybe a lot of people took off to go shopping. Some tax free thing. There were no tax free dog treats so, frankly, we didn’t care! When we reached the beach, mom woke us up to get us ready for our first experience with the beach. What? Of course we were sleeping. It is one of our top 5 favorite things to do!

Leashes on. Beach here we come… and this is where my sister became a big baby! Yeah, you heard me. She definitely did not like the beach, sand, ocean…. I don’t get it. It was a little different but hey, mom & dad drove us all the way to the beach and she wanted to get back in the car. What up with that?? Dad even captured a few pictures of our “hour” on the beach!

Here’s mom walking us on the beach.

Mom Boudreaux & Roux on Beach

Looks like Roux want to get away from the water, huh?

Boudreaux, Roux on Beach 01

Yep, I was right. Scaredy cat she is.

Roux runs Away

A boy enjoying the surf.

Boudreaux in the surf

All this walking makes me thirsty.

Boudreaux & Roux - Water Break

There you have it. My side of the beach story. You can bet Roux tells the story differently. Woof!

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Wash Day

Yes, it’s wash day. But not clothes though, it’s Roux & me! Most unfortunate but this happens every so often. Mom & Dad get a whiff of something rank and say something crazy like “Whew! Boudreaux you smell, it’s time for a bath.”

Well, it typically starts with mom clipping our nails (she’s pretty good at it and rarely clips the quick–I usually only wince when she does that and then she gives me kisses; Roux–well she turns into Cujo and cries; Mom calms her down then kisses her). Next, the collection of our snuggle balls, crate beds, etc is all dumped into the utility room for washing. Then we hear the call from the bathroom, “who wants a treat?” And not just any treat, a kitty treat! They know we are just goo goo over kitty treats and just can’t resist them. Yum!

And of course, we are too curious to just run in the other direction. It’s a Pavlov thing, I think? Anyway, once we round the corner and se the bath set ups in the shower…. Well let me tell you, the message is VERY clear. Wash day! We start wimpering and whining and trying to baroo our way out of the bath. You know, it never works!

There is just no escape at this point because dad is behind me and Roux and won’t let us escape. Then the whimpering really begins! Yep, we can’t help it afterall. We are Basenjis and the Basenji mortal enemy is water. We don’t even like stepping in the grass when it is wet. Baths just are’t on our top 5 list. Heck, they’re not on our top 500 list. Eating cat treats, walking around the neighborhood, and naps, NOW THAT is on our top 5 BUT not baths. Although it doesn’t take very long it seems like days that we are in the shower. Dad even cruelly took a picture of us getting our bath.

Roux bath

Boudreaux bath

And to make matters worse, when we’re done mom & dad won’t let us go outside! We’re all clean and they won’t let us go outside and rub off this clean smell in the stinky grass. Life is so unfair!

Oh well, I guess we will take advantage of one of our top 5 things to do…. take a nap and sleep off the stress of this bath!

Boudreaux

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Dog Days of Summer…Reloaded

I don’t know about you all but I think the dog days of summer have arrived a bit early for my taste this year. They started in June and haven’t let up. We’ve had over 100 degree temps here something like 11 out of the last 20 days. Now, we basenjis love the heat, but we don’t love that kind of heat…especially not when it’s coupled with what seems like 100% humidity. Mom took us for a long walk this morning. It was so oppressively humid that when she asked, “Are you ready to go home?” Boudreaux and I started running for the door. We love walking so much so that mom & dad have to be careful about using the “W” word (and any of its variations like klaw) but the walk this morning pooped us out big time. We’re lying on our snuggle balls right now with the fan going just trying to recover.

Boudreaux in his snuggle ball
Boudreaux in his snuggle ball
Me in my snuggle ball
Me in my snuggle ball

Y’all stay cool out there. I’ve got to get back to may napping.

Baroo to you!

Roux

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Happy Birthday, USA!

Hooray! This was the best Independence Day ever! Boudreaux and I had company over for a holiday barbecue. Well, really mom and dad did but we got the benefit! There were three little girls (dad’s nieces) who were messy eaters! We got to vacuum up mac and cheese, hot dog, baked beans and cake off the floor. We say invite them over some more!

Afterwards, we took a long nap before the fireworks started. Boudreaux is not so fond of fireworks but I don’t pay them much attention. We went to downtown Houston to see the big Shell fireworks display. Uncle Chad just happened upon the perfect spot for fireworks viewing. The humans got out their chairs and cooler and set up right on the sidewalk. Then, the show started. It was like we were seeing them in 3D! When they burst in mid-air, we could literally feel the paper and debris hitting us where we stood on the ground. It was truly bow-wow-beautiful! We came home exhausted but very happy that we are American dogs, that we get to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Thanks to the Troops for keeping it that way!

Baroo, for now! Time for a nap.