gonzo’s girlfriend

Gonzo has a girlfriend! She is a labradoodle, and she’s very fancy.

As it turns out, Gonzo loves stuffed animals. Come to think of it, he loves all toys. He likes to toss them in the air and then pounce on them, and to prance around proudly with them in his mouth. His favorite game of all time is “chase” — in which he is the chasee and you are the chaser. When he is feeling rompy, he will scamper about until he finds the nearest toy, pick it up, and approach you with a very cute and very devious look in his mouth — almost as if he is daring you to follow. The second you make a motion or take a step toward him, he whirls in place, and goes bounding away, stopping just before he’s out of sight to make sure you’re coming. He loves this game. But he also loves his girlfriend, Claudette.

Gonzo the Tourist, part II

When we first decided to skip the regular rescue show at the PetSmart and go touristing downtown, we felt a little guilty. How are we to get Gonzo Bunny-Ears adopted if we don’t give him any exposure? And yet, the cherry blossoms were calling. The weather oracle said it was going to be in the 60s and sunny, and the blossoms were at their peak. We decided we deserved it. To make ourselves feel less bad, I brought a bunch of Gonzo’s business cards (with our blog URL and the rescue’s info), decked him out in our cute “adopt me” vest, and loaded two dogs into the car.

Well, we need not have worried. Mr. Gonzo Bunny Ears and brother Sir Loverboy Chick were such a hit that people were literally stopping us every ten steps to ask about them. Everybody loved Mr. Ears in his vest, and a few people even wanted to adopt Sir Chick! The two dogs were petted by hundreds of hands, kissed by dozens of faces, and got to lick drool and baby food off the little fingers of several babies. Several people took photos of the dogs — sometimes with their children, sometimes all on their own. We were showered with compliments about our handsome and well-behaved dogs, and handed out business cards to a bunch of interested families. It was a blast!

In between the photo ops and meet-and-greets with new friends, we showed Mr. Ears the sights. There were some oddities that Gonzo found very curious, like this pink princess in a giant dress:

"Dad, what the heck is that about?"

And this weeping willow that was tickling Gonzo’s butt when it swayed in the wind, making him very nervous:

But mostly, we took in the classics. The National Mall, the Washington Monument, some climbing of cherry trees in bloom, admiring the flora, and the Lincoln Memorial.

grass smells like yum.

"part bunnyrabbit, dad, not part cat. sheesh!"

 

"i dont know what those are, but i hope they don't bite..."

noncooperative family portrait after a long day

 

Gonzo and Chick were both so pooped by the end of our visit that they both actually layed down in the middle of the grass, amidst the crowds. This is otherwise unheard of for Mr. Ears, who only sleeps in dog beds and laps.

 

too pooped to poop.

 

Our visit to the heart of our nation’s fair capital made such an impression on Gonzo, that he has made a very important decision about his life. A decision that he will share with you all tomorrow.

For more info about adopting Gonzo Bunny-Ears, contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com or through Partnership for Animal Welfare.

 

Gonzo the tourist

It occurred to us that although Gonzo is from the metro area of the great District of Columbia, it’s possible that he has never been there for a proper visit. Has he ever seen the Lincoln Memorial? The reflecting pool? The White House? We have no idea.

Sunday was beautiful, so we went downtown for a stroll, taking in the cherry blossoms and many, many, many throngs of tourists. Gonzo loved the cherry blossoms and tourists, and the cherry blossoms and tourists loved him. More on this later, but for today, just this photo that Gonzo insisted we take, after we saw several families putting their infants through this same sort of ordeal:

For more info about adopting Gonzo Bunny-Ears, contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com or through Partnership for Animal Welfare.

where’s waldo?

Waldo (aka Gonzo Bunny-Ears) likes to hide at the top of the steps and peer curiously down at us when we go into the basement to fetch the dog food. I can’t say that I blame him . . . those stairs are steep, and there are spiders!

For more info about adopting Gonzo Bunny-Ears, contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com or through Partnership for Animal Welfare.

 

a playdate

Well, Gonzo had his first playdate last night, and everyone agrees it was a big success. It was awesome not only because Gonzo is tiny and white while his playmate is big and black, but also because they are both wicked-cute, and because his playmate’s mom is one of our favorite pit bull lovers around!

I first met Sarah through the StubbyDog project, when I did a photo session of her and her adorable pup Blackie for the cause:

Not only are Sarah and Blackie the cutest human-dog combo I’ve ever met, but they are also wonderful pit bull advocates and keep a great blog, iLove-A-Bull.

Sarah and Blackie came over for dinner last night, and Blackie and Gonzo had a blast zooming back and forth and wrestling around on our deck and yard. As you probably know, Gonzo’s superstar foster brother Chick is a great mentor in good behavior and cuddling, but his days of playing with youngsters have passed. Not so for Gonzo. Nor for Blackie.

I would like to say that the evening was a lot like this:

But in reality, it was a lot more like this:

 

is your shutter super slow, or are those dogs bouncing at the speed of light? actually, both are the case here.

 

 

is Blackie launching an air-tackle of Gonzo? yes, he sure is.

 

is Gonzo retaliating with the biggest play-nip his mouth is capable of? why yes, he sure is.

Gonzo fell asleep swiftly tonight, after all this fun and excitement. Thanks for the visit, Blackie. We hope to see you again soon!

For more info about adopting Gonzo Bunny-Ears, contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com or through Partnership for Animal Welfare.

 

 

gonzo and chick, sitting in a tree

Gonzo and Chick, sitting in a tree.

t-o-l-e-r-a-t-i-n-g!

As long-term blog-readers know, our own loverboy Chick is a patient, wise, and gentle soul, but he does not like fostering as much as we humans do. Still, he puts up with it and the other dogs we bring into the house.

On the other hand, Gonzo’s attitude couldn’t be more different. He looks at the world with an attitude that says “Let’s Party!” He is always trying to play with Chick or at least be near him, and while Chick is reluctant, he is starting to warm up a little, as you can see below.

So we ask of you: what kind of narrative is going on between these two in the following series?

For more info about adopting Gonzo Bunny-Ears, contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com or through Partnership for Animal Welfare.

how small?

Turns out I am not the only one fascinated with the rather diminutive size of our adorable foster dog, Mr. Gonzo Bunny-Ears. His official chart says he weighs 38, but to me he seems like he’s in the low 30s. Barely more than half our Chick’s size (Chick weighs 52).

Regardless of the actual number, we can’t get enough of how little he is, and we love picking him up and carrying him around. We are almost starting to understand why people like getting tiny dogs and putting them in purses!

Chick’s position on fostering: still not impressed

Fostermom and dad enjoy fostering for the reasons we have already explained and the reasons we will explain next time we have the time to sit down and write about them, but as for Mr. Chick, our own loverboy, he is not so sure.

Of course, he has dog friends. He even has dog kindred spirits, like his uncle Tex the lab, and his old Texas pal Pancho the mexican bandito. But for the most part, Chick’s attitude toward other four-leggers of the canine variety is one of reluctant tolerance. He will leave them in peace, and ask the same in return.

You can tell by his utterly unimpressed and squinty expression in this sorry excuse for a portrait of him and Mr. Gonzo Bunny-Ears:

The only good thing in the photo is that it gives you a little bit of a sense of how very small Mr. Ears is, when compared to the very normal-sized Mr. Chick. Note how Chick has his legs all the way down on the step below,  and he’s just as tall as an upright Mr. Ears.

Chick’s real complaint with fostering Mr. Ears in particular is that Gonzo is full of boundless energy and is constantly running up to Chick, bodyslamming his tiny body against Chick’s, and saying (with his body language) “hey bro, wanna play? huh? huh? huh?” To this, Chick squints his eyes unamusedly, sighs, and saunters off to another room.

Gonzo has also learned that Chick’s back is the perfect height for putting your paws up on, especially if you are trying to reach, with your tongue, a cooking utensil in your foster mom’s hand. Chick does not find this entirely entertaining, but bears it stoically.

Not that Chick doesn’t like fun. It’s just that Chick takes his energy in small, very enthusiastic bursts, and when he’s not in a burst, he prefers to have fun by reading the paper and sipping a cup of joe. And he’d prefer if you would refrain from wrinkling his paper or spilling his coffee, thank you very much.

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