The poor little guy

Well, he has been with me since Friday and is adjusting well. He was abandoned in a yard with people who didn't feed him. So the neighbors tossed food to him whenever. He is pretty skinny, but is a happy happy boy even though he looks perpetually sad. Check out his cute face.  Who could toss out a boy with a face like that?

His name is Ralph or Ralphie or T-Ralph after my dear friend who died last month.  It is sort of a tribute to Ralph that this guy is named in his memory.  That way Ralphie Tebbe will always be close in our thoughts.  The real Ralph was perpetually slow and this pup is soooo slow eating his bones he drives Chloe to tears.  She has swiped every bone he has started because he stops and looks around to see what is going on.  Once he followed me to the door and left his bone snack just sitting in the middle of the kitchen!  Dutch took advantage of that one.

Chloe has taken a restraining order out against him.  He thinks she is so sexy!  Now when he walks into the room and looks at her, she flies over to him with teeth bared.  She wants no part of that, her momma taught her to be a good girl.  This is what a tri colored basset looks like, the original Smelly Basset.  Here is Chloe hunting lizards.

And while I talk about Ralph as if he is not so bright, he is the only dog I have who actually looks up in the trees for the squirrels.  The other two race out toward the squirrel, then look around the yard at dog level.  They think squirrels are some sort of magicians who disappear on cue.  Maybe that is why they want to catch up with one, to check out his act.

Ralphie is a big boy and I figure around 9 to 12 months old.  He still has puppy fur, gangly legs that don't always cooperate, and a free abandonment in play.  Something that 9 year old Dutch does not share all the time.  Although Dutch will get a good game of chase going, Chloe the Smelly Basset is none too impressed with a low rider at full tilt heading toward her.  She lays him down to show him who's boss lady around here.

He does have his quiet moments.  Here are Ralphie and Frank watching TV.  His face is too cute!  I can't keep my eyes off him. 

Tonight he developed a bad cough and is coughing up some phlegm.  I am hoping he is not allergic to something.  Or that this is not heartworms.  He has an appointment at the vet for a workup tomorrow morning.  And he is getting snipped as well tomorrow. 

So far he has coughed for 4 hours straight and there seems to be no stopping.  I have a lot of dog medicines, but none for coughing.  So he has to wait for the morning to see about it.

The first night he was here he took every toy out of the toy box and test chewed each one.   Here he is surrounded by less than 1/3 of the toys.  Yep, we sure do have a lot of dog toys......and that makes him very very happy.

He is totally housebroken, not a single accident in 4 days, and he asks to go out very politely.  Bonnie Doon used to bang her huge paw on the door and attempt to knock it down.  

He is so sweet, a cuddle bunny for sure.  He is learning the ropes here at the house, the hardest thing for him to remember is that he CANNOT get food from the counter.  That is a No Dog Zone!  He can't quite remember that however. 

glen:  I wonder if the Original Ralphie Tebbe had a snacking streak........