Cletus Loves His New Bed

This is my 2nd post on Sunday morning. South Central Bloodhound Rescue put his adoption announcement on their Facebook page yesterday. Down below his announcement was another where two bloodhounds that lived together before being an "owner turn in" were adopted together. So it was a good day Friday for the rescue service. Rick was telling me that he was headed to St Louis on Monday to pick up two litters of Bloodhounds, different owners and a third location to pick up another owner turn in of an adult bloodhound. He will train that one just like he did Cletus at house which sits on 20 acres of woods/trails.

As a reference to the type of bloodhound trainer Cletus experienced ... Rick told in the past he was rated #2 SAR in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. He currently has bloodhounds strictly for SAR work for four different local counties around his location. He also has 3 basset hounds and would have made Cletus one of his SAR hounds if no one adopted him. He was thrilled that I chose to adopt Cletus.

As can tell, Cletus was a favorite of theirs. He is such a good looking bloodhound and has the funniest personality it was just sad to hear his history.

His body is so loose, it is almost floppy as he circles at least five times before he lies down in any spot. He is lanky, a little clumsy like I remember bloodhound puppies being. The age is confusing. Based on that birth date I mentioned in my post this morning, he would be almost 3 months older than Watson. His skin is more loose than any bloodhound I have ever had, with my first being in 1997. 

I knew if I decided to bring him home that I wasn't going to have enough couch space for him while I watch a movie or a Saturday full of football games. I picked up this large soft orthopedic dog bed at Pet Smart the day before I was driving up to see him. It was too tall in the cargo area so I slid it behind the front seats where there was a gap before the folded back seats. I needed a way to keep him in back while I drove and that actually worked out. The cargo area was filled with a lot of blankets. 

The bed cover is washable but I didn't think it out well enough to get a darker color for the top surface. I could tell just looking at him, he really loves his bed. So far no other dog or hound has attempted to step on it or lay on it. 

Placing it in front of the fireplace was always temporary. I wanted it to be in a place I could see him and I wanted him to find it easily. I had a feeling it was going to go to the right of the fireplace but wasn't sure at the time if I would move the bookcase and slide the bed into the corner or move that case of books to open up that area.

I wasn't happy when I saw this as I stood on my patio during halftime of the Indiana at Michigan State game. I wasn't happy at all !!! I grab my camera for proof and head out to see the damage. Honestly I did not see if Henry or Ava did this when it happened so I cannot blame either one of them. Henry has never shown signs of digging but in the four years I've had him, he will scrap the grass to get a closer look at what he smells. He did the same thing as a puppy in the rock yard in Sierra Vista AZ.

This looks like an Ava hole though ... she was saved a lecture after I see what is on top of that hole all the way to my fence. The ground was raised and the hard clay was soft enough that I was able to mash the ground back down to grown level. It was a mole track and she was mostly likely trying to find him or thought she had him if she had seen the ground move.

Like I said months ago. When I bought this house the shed was empty except for a sander and 3 mole guillotine traps. My neighbor up the street claims he can catch them around noon as he sits in his lawn chair where he has seen mole activity.

I know it is only dirt and grass. It can be filled in and seed planted but honestly that is not part of my DNA. I have had to do that more than I want a there are more holes to fill besides this one. I can think of five of them right now. Someway in my breed research on German Shepherds I missed that they were diggers. If I had known that I doubt I would have taken her but she is such a great puppy that I could never give her away or back to the breeder.

I have heard of a "dig box" and that will be my research tonight and see how that works. From what little I know I think I can set one up in that rock area between my great room and the room size closet. YouTube and DuckDuckGo search is a great invention.

While I watched my team win their 9th game, setting an all-time school record of winning 9 games in a a row and remaining undefeated, Cletus didn't feel the excitement in the room. He and Ava had played all morning and he was tired. In fact all the hounds and dogs were back in their normal Football Saturday positions of ... sleeping.

Like I said earlier in a different post, he is a loverboy and likes to get close to me. He doesn't climb up on me to sit on my lap but likes to put his paws on my lap and fall into me if I am sitting on the couch or desk chair. Here he is listening to me explain to him the word "football", which the others know I am watching the game and they go off and do their own thing.

This is usually 'their thing' while I watch the games. 

You cannot get more relaxed than that. I think he is pretty happy with his new bed and his new home.

It is easy to see that there would have been no room for Cletus on the couch. 

Walter has handled the new addition pretty well. Better than I expected he would. When Ava showed up he went into a total revolt of the idea of a new puppy. He hibernated in the computer room and rarely came out to this part of the house unless it was to go outside or to get a drink of water. It was at least a couple of months before he did.

With Cletus he has growled at him at first, sniffed him and laid next to him while sleeping. So he is okay with the new addition I think. 

Another exciting day here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.