Opal & Gem - The Beginning
Opal and Gem - The Beginning
As many of you know by now, we lost our Greyhound Bobby on the 23rd of May with Bone Cancer. After 2 months of trying to come to terms with the loss, we made the decision to re-home Opal and Gem, they had been at the rescue for a long time and they both not only deserved a home but they deserved to be re-homed together. So on the 22nd of July it was to be the start of their new life, which was also Gems 10th Birthday.
It is now 6 weeks on, and really what can I say!! Or should that be where do I start! Within the first hour of their arrival, they had both tried to attack a concrete cat that was in the front garden, Opal had belly flopped into the pond and had come out a lovely shade of green along with 2 cut wrists after cracking them on the concrete trying to get out of the pond, and had to wear 2 bandages on her legs for the rest of the day! We had previously put up a baby gate so that they would not be running up and down the stairs and was a bit worried in case it was a bit to low and they would be able to jump over it, But we didn’t need to worry as Gem managed to get stuck underneath it instead! It then started to thunder in, and as we new they where both terrified we thought we could be in for a rough ride! Gem was trying her best to dig to Australia through the lounge carpet and Opal managed to squeeze behind the computer desk! Things would surely only get better?
NO, boy was we wrong! Life with Opal and Gem is what you could call either Interesting, Exhausting or “Oh my God what have we done”! Opal is just like a 3 month old puppy trapped in a 3-year-olds body, she knows absolutely nothing, never mind what anything is! She has eaten 3 tubs of fish food including the plastic containers, drinks every cup of tea or coffee that looks like it isn’t being drunk and is quite partial to the odd glass of Coca Cola ( like she needs anymore E numbers)! The living room is now an activity centre, where the settee and the chairs are used as climbing frames and something to jump off, cushions are ideal for throwing and knocking ornaments off with and my best crystal is great for sharpening your teeth on! They both prefer to wee on the kitchen mats and not on the tiles as they don’t splash their bum on the carpet!! They think that magazines and papers are not for reading, lipstick is better eaten not worn, all teddy bears, duvets and cushions must be de-stuffed at all times and if you jump up and down on the bed long enough it makes you sick!!
Although Opal is the main instigator of the trouble in the house, Gem knows this and uses it to her advantage, we have caught her on a number of occasions stealing things and then quickly laying down and pretending that it wasn’t her! Baseball hats and trainers being her main fetish. I could go on and on and on and on, but I am sure that you are all getting the picture now!
I have had 2 other Greyhounds off Karen over the many years that I have known her, Gypsy although he was a wonderful dog was completely neurotic, and lived his life at 100mph. And Bobby was the apple of my eye, but he was completely nuts and also suffered throughout his life with illness, he never left out side 24/7, and now their is Opal and Gem – I am now seriously starting to question our friendship!! Seriously though, I have and will always love them all dearly, but it still has not stopped me from learning a few things since these 2 have entered our life:-
1). A bag of sugar CAN cover every square inch of an average sized house!
2). I wasted £20 on a paper shredder
3). Duvets should be thrown on the floor – not folded!
4). Shoes DO NOT come in pairs – its a myth!
5). Mats are a useless form of floor covering!
6). Throw your rubbish directly on the floor – don’t bother with a bag!
7). Don’t bother setting your alarm clock – unless you want to be up before 4am!
8). Canaries can fly across a room, even when in a cage!
9). Poo bags are not big enough when you have 2 dogs!
and finally –
10). The surround sound is now obsolete as it makes everything sound like thunder!