St. Louis Vacation

Zuzu and Tootie quickly settled in at the house. While they love traveling, whether by car or motorhome, they equally enjoy relaxing around the house, preferably on something soft. Perhaps they spent the first five years of their life sleeping on a hard surface with a bit of straw tossed here and there. Not anymore. They now have two soft dog beds, a pad for the car, and our bed. Once at the house, Tootie had to try out the leather recliner. As you can see, it's the perfect width for her with just the right amount of cushion.

They also like their dog bed, which they share. Whoever gets on it first gets the soft, cushiony middle leaving the edge for the latecomer. In this case, Zuzu got on it first leaving Tootie the edge. I guess the saying is true for dogs, too...if you snooze, you lose.

We were in St. Louis during spring storm season, which didn't please our storm phobic vizslas. They have become more courageous during a storm retreating to a confined space within earshot of us. A year ago, they would seek shelter, alone, in the bathtub or try to crawl behind the toilet. Here, we emptied the floor of the small linen closet for Zuzu who is tucked in the back leaving just enough room for Tootie to look out for any potential danger.

When it wasn't storming, Zuzu and Tootie spent their mornings and afternoons chasing squirrels. A rarity indeed chez nous in the Keys, these furry little creatures kept Zuzu and Tootie's attention for hours on end. They intently watched as the squirrels ran from branch to branch and tree to tree. It became an obsession for Tootie.

Squirrel hunting wasn't confined to the backyard. There were plenty to chase with Wayne in tow at Lafayette Square park. It's a great time of year to see the park with the flowering trees in bloom, and to run from tree to tree chasing squirrels, of course.

After chasing one across the grass towards a tree, they can't quite decide which way it went. Zuzu thinks it straight above, but Tootie thinks it went over there.

After dinner and a walk, evenings were spent on the sofa or on the bed by the sofa catching up on some sleep. Here, their uncle Mike and aunt Amy dropped by for a visit. Zuzu is obviously enjoying the attention.

Zuzu may have been getting all of the attention from uncle Mike, but aunt Amy didn't forget about Tootie.

Our dogs sure got accustomed to hanging out on the sofa. They are not allowed on the sofa at home, but we figured the rules could be bent a bit at grandma and grandpa's house. Not sure what Tootie is doing below. She's hanging off the sofa with her back feet on the floor, not the most comfortable position, but it didn't take her long to fall asleep and begin snoring.

Happy vizslas resting after a busy day chasing squirrels.

More to come...