It was also their first time at a hotel. We wondered if they thought we had moved! They settled in quite nicely after checking things out. They loved looking out the window at what else, but the birds! Oh, and they had an eye on every dog down on the beach, no matter how far away they were.
Then we took them out on the balcony for a different perspective. I think they liked the view :)
Saturday came and went and by now it was freezing. Not only were the temps in the low 30s now, but it was so windy that it felt even colder. We spent most of the day inside, except for potty breaks. Buford was on a quest to pee on every shrub, bush, and flower in sight and by the end of the weekend I would declare him a complete success! He was lifting his leg non-stop every time we went out. I don't know how the boys do it, but they must have a little pee factory that can go into overtime. Amazingly, the pee factory and storage facility never did shut down, though at times all he could work out was just a tiny dribble!
I never, ever thought I would see this, but for the first time Macy and Buford actually shared one bed! It only lasted for a few minutes, but still...it was nice to see that Macy didn't bite her brother's head off! Usually she would have just stood over him and barked until he got up, but she was polite and laid down with him. She's been a little more affectionate with Buford and even laid her head on him a couple of times recently. I know this is a common sign of affection with greyhounds, but we never thought we'd see it with our bossy girl.
Anyway, back to my story of firsts. At home, Macy and Buford don't get on any furniture. They've never tried to and we never encouraged it. My husband and I both believe that it's for the best in the long run. We spend a lot of time on the floor snuggling with our babies, but sometimes we feel like we're missing out (and have even discussed buying a "dog couch"). So, we decided to let Macy on the bed at the hotel. It took a little coaxing, but then she made the leap (we never could convince Buford to). I think she looks quite comfortable, don't you? Once she learned about jumping on the bed, she spent a lot of time there. To our surprise, she got down on her bed when it was time to go to sleep and also has not been on our bed since we got home.
On Sunday, we bundled up and went for another walk. Who could resist these sweet faces?!!
It was enough to tucker Macy and Buford out for the ride home. Once we got home and they realized that we didn't move after all (yippee!), they checked everything out to make sure it was as we left it, played a little, had dinner and then they were conked out again!
As you can see we had a fun-filled weekend! However, there was one more first that I wish we had never experienced. Our room was on the 5th floor (out of 11). Oh yeah, it was the first time on the elevator too. Macy and Buford were pretty apprehensive about the elevator at first, but quickly learned to walk right on with no problems. Aside from conquering the elevator, we never gave the 5th floor a thought.
Then at 5:45 am on Sunday morning the fire alarm at the hotel went off. Everyone had to evacuate the hotel - without using the elevator of course. We took our time getting dressed - having no fears that there was actually a real fire and thinking that it would be easier getting the dogs down without all of the extra people. Our dogs go up and down carpeted stairs like champs. Stairwells in hotels of course are not carpeted and we witnessed first hand the difficulties for greyhounds. The dogs became very nervous with all of the noise from the alarm and wondering what was going on. Even though we were going slow, the stairs were too shiny and slick and Macy fell about half way down the first flight of stairs. Both dogs were trembling and shaking so hard - I hated seeing them in such distress. After Macy's fall, which could have easily broken her leg on the concrete stairwell, my husband picked her up and carried her the rest of the way down. Buford and I slowly and cautiously continued our way down. He was shaking so hard, it looked like he was going to come right out of his skin. Then an obnoxious family came tromping down the stairs screaming back and forth to each other like idiots and that was all it took for Buford to freeze and he would not continue. Each floor had two flights of stairs and I managed to get him down four flights of stairs (to the 3rd floor) before he would not budge. At 78 lbs, I cannot carry him. Meanwhile, my husband tried to find my family to hand off Macy, but couldn't. There were no employees at the front desk and we certainly couldn't leave her with strangers on the street. Tracy came back to get us, but still had Macy with him. He had to tie her leash on the railing at the bottom of the stairwell to come get Buford. We could both see Macy, but as soon as Tracy started up, she panicked, tried to follow, and fell again. As soon as Tracy got to Buford, I rushed down to get Macy. At this point, I too was nervous, shaking, and on the verge of tears. Again, never worrying about a real fire, but incredibly worried about the safety of my babies. Tracy carried Buford the rest of the way down, I got to Macy and all was well. Of course, there was no fire. We let the dogs go potty and sat in the van until all the firetrucks left. Macy and Buford left the scene completely unharmed (thank God!) and even though they were terrified they quickly calmed down as soon as we got outside.
I apologize for this extremely long post. Overall, Macy and Buford had a blast at the beach! I wanted to share our good time, but also share our experience on the stairwell. Whenever we travel with the dogs again, I will always request a low floor. When you make travel plans with your greys, I hope you will remember our experience, learn from it, and never have to go through it yourself.
3 comments:
Oh Angela, I'm so sorry all that happened on the stairs. I know how much Macy & Buford mean to you and Tracy. How stressful.
Thanks for sharing, I too would have not thought to request a lower floor.
On a good note, Macy SHARED her bed...WOW!!! Never thought she would do that. Good for her! I wonder what Buford thought : )
All the pictures are beautiful.
I would never had considered how difficult trying to get down from a higher floor would be, without the use of the elevator either. I am sorry that the wisdom had to come at so stressful a price for you! I am glad that Macy did not suffer any lasting effects from her fall, and that you can all still look back at your "getaway" as a success.
Nice beach pics. One day you're gonna come home to find they are sleeping on top of each other :) I will keep in mind to ask floor a first or second floor room if the kids are ever with me. Just never think about suck things.
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