Gus Tails
Episode 3 - Gus and Dyna in the backyard, a tale of Gus the freight train in submarine mode, smiling Gus and Gus at the end of a ruff day. May to October 2010.
Welcome to the third episode of Gus Tails where we take a look back at the life of Gus the Basset Hound. Last week in Episode 2 young Gus acts like a cat and other things.
Gus was one of the most friendly dogs I have known. Every new person or animal was automatically a friend. Gus immediately made friends with Dyna, though Dyna was a little slower to warm up to the relationship.
Though a feral cat, Dyna had little interest in being outside and once being outside was rarely interested in leaving the safe confines of a fenced yard. Here Gus and Dyna pose for a photo. Gus stares at the camera (or perhaps me holding the camera) while Dyna looks appropriately bored with the whole scene.
While it may look like Gus spent a lot of time resting, he was, in many ways, a tireless worker. The fall before Gus arrived I had put down weed barrier fabric in our beds and covered them in two to three inches of mulch. Gus within a few months of arriving informed me that weed barrier made of woven polypropylene is environmentally unsound and then he proceeded to remove it piece by piece. That’s a piece of partially removed weed fabric you see next to Gus.
Of course, sometimes Gus would take his break on the St. Augustine grass that grows like a weed in West Columbia.
Here is a great example of Gus on the move. Notice he is moving so fast his ears are spread out, almost like Dumbo the elephant.
In this close up you can fully appreciate the sense of speed that only a running Basset can create. I don’t remember what Gus was running to or from, but he was moving fast like a freight train. In this closeup you can see the ears flying and Gus’ blur of a tail.
Speaking of moving like a freight train a quick story about Lynn, Gus and Dyna. One day Lynn had arrived home from work. She entered the house and opened the back door to let Gus in. Dyna walked over to Gus then ran away from him as Lynn was walking toward the stairs. Thinking Dyna was in for a game of chase Gus went into freight train mode, reaching full Bassett speed quickly. Gus, in his excitement of chasing Dyna who had ran up the stairs, submarined Lynn, who fell to the ground breaking her fall with her left wrist. End result, Lynn fractured her wrist from the fall and for a short time dog/cat chases were outlawed in the house.
While I am not a strong believer in “a picture is worth a thousand words" this picture of smiling Gus, well, I think this tells you exactly what kind of dog Gus was.
Gus at the end of a long, tiring but satisfying day.
Next week in episode four more exciting tails of Gus.