Saturday, August 29, 2009


This is how I know Sophie loves Graham




That, and this.
A full-fledged, authentic Sophie smile.



That last picture was from a long walk the other day.
Sophie wanted to show Graham her favourite parks.



and guess who we ran into?



No really.
Guess.


CHA CHA!





Sophie was pretty excited, because she hasn't seen Cha Cha in about 8 months, but her attention was diverted by a dog of a whole other sort.


They just walked on by, without even an obligatory sniff of the bum.

Stuck up dogs.


***
So we all went home and my dogs did this.


This is how I know Sophie loves Graham.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Sophie & Graham




Tolerating the kitchen renovations.







Sophie has lived through many renovations, including one when the house collapsed (really).




Graham is sort of oblivious to the whole thing.

Thursday, August 20, 2009


Graham Rabbit Riggins McGrey
is settling in nicely



And Sophie Brador is totally content

to watch him check out all her squeakies.



Even the ones from Joe Stains.



Sophie is a bit shocked by his super long toe nails and bad, bad breath.


But realizes that even Greyhounds need some diva training .... and a few Greenies.


P.S. We are super skeptical about Greenies. Do they really do anything?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Introducing Sophie's Brother
- Son Frere (en Français) -

Graham


Graham is 4 years old and ran 18 races. He won 2. I don't know if that is good or bad. Some dogs run no races and some run 200, so I don't really know what this means. The rescue told me his former owner is one of the better ones, who actually cares about his dogs and where they go after their racing careers. I hope that means that he was treated well during his time on the tracks .... or as well as can be expected. It is a crappy industry.


He is settling in very well and Sophie seems quite content with his presence. There is no jealousy at all, but then Sophie is not the jealous type. She is probably relieved that there is another beast around who is getting hugs and pats so that she doesn't have to put up with it as much.


So far, Graham has mastered going up stairs. Down is still pretty wobbly, but he'll get it. He has also met other dogs of all shapes and sizes (from pitty to puppy) and is totally cool with all of them.

Monday, August 17, 2009

OKAY


I like my brother.



But he still needs a name.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

He's Here!


Introducing
The as yet unnamed Greyhound


who came from the track with the name Valita,


and was renamed Marley at the rescue.


He has a beautiful new collar


But he still needs a name.

Friday, August 14, 2009

THE LAST DAYS



of
SOPHIE BRADOR



as an



ONLY DOG



Sophie is currently exploring other housing options




and hoping against hope



that the new flat dog disappears when it turns sideways.


Note to Mango: We'll let you know if that actually works.

Thursday, August 13, 2009


Even More Frightening

than the Greyhound who is coming to live with us
(this is the one I'm most fond of at the moment. Sophie is fond of none, yet.)



is the squirrel currently running rampant in Banff National Park.

Narra promised she had taken care of all of them. I guess she needs to go back and finish the job.

Sophie's Concern




She's been hearing the word Greyhound a lot lately, but she can't figure out if I mean this


or this

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Walking in the Neighbourhood
with Sophie Brador


featuring
Hedgehog in a supporting role




this is the back lane we walk almost everyday


Sophie loves it, because it takes us to the Boulangerie


Where she waits outside by the bike stand where I never have to take my eyes off of her,


while I purchase yummable breads made of organic flours.


But Sophie has very little patience for waiting around and the minute I step back onto the sidewalk, she is ready to go.


This is the fire station on the corner of our street. The top windows are all boarded up because the firemen were making French Fries one day and forgot to turn off the oil when they rushed out to fight a fire. They're lovely old fire hall almost burnt to the ground while they were away.



This is our local fruit and veggie market, also on the corner of our street. They were just putting out their local produce for the day. Inside, is a very chic-chic shop with all kinds of nice olive oils and cheeses. I wonder if that's where the firemen got the oil for their French Fries.



This is Sophie, espousing the benefits of eating veggies.



This is our local hardware store, which is right across the street from the fruit store and kitty-corner from the fire hall.


These are a few of the things not allowed in this store.
No roller blades and no plastic bags.
You have to bring your own canvas bag to shop there.


But Sophie is always allowed in and all the young guys who work there know her name and give her lots of attention.



These are Bixi bikes, which is a public transit system. I am very proud of my city for putting this in. There are bike docks like this all over the city and you simply take a bike from one, go where you need to go, and dock it there. Now if only the blasted vandals would get over it and stop stealing the bikes and wrecking the docks.


Some houses on our street.


and gardens on our street.


And Sophie looking beautiful in a Cosmo patch.


Over and over and over.


These are kids crossing the street.



This is the Dépanneur around the corner and down the street.


There is a closer, much nicer one, but they don't let Sophie in and are generally kind of grumpy, so we walk the extra short block to support the nice people who run this store.



This big truck was parked in front of the house when we got home from our walk. We thought it looked a bit surreal.




This is Sophie on the landing outside our front door, waiting for me to stop taking pictures and let her inside.



This walk around the block was brought to you by
Ms. Sophie la Brador.


Note to readers: Hedgehog made it home as well. Sophie likes to take him out and then abandon him half way, presumably to see if he can find his own way back. I usually have to carry him home myself.
Drooling Furballs?
A special report by Sophie Brador

*****

Of course we are smarter than 2 year olds? This is news?
http://www.livescience.com/animals/090808-smart-dogs.html

While dogs ranked with the 2-year-olds in language, they would trump a 3- or 4-year-old in basic arithmetic, Coren found. In terms of social smarts, our drooling furballs are even better.

Friday, August 07, 2009

The Return of Sophie Brador

starring

Sophie Brador as Sophie Brador
and Hedgehog as Hedgehog




Upon returning to Montreal, Sophie immediately began scoping out her neighbourhood. This film was shot in her favourite back alley, known as a "ruelle" in Montreal. Unfortunately, it was garbage day. Sophie thinks that is fabulous. I usually have to drag her away from the garbage bags.

Note: Sophie is a diva, and while she will stand for being photographed while peeing, she deserves her privacy while pooing. My apologies to all you pervs who really wanted to see that.