Whoa Nellie!

This is Nellie (track name, Regall Sit -n- Spin), and the picture just doesn't do her beauty very much justice. Nellie is a sweet, sweet girl and a strikingly beautiful 4 year-old brindle hound in surprisingly good physical condition for an ex-track dog - full coat, good weight, no fleas, ticks or other nasty bugs that some hounds come in with. Nellie is, however, a bit on the shy side. She's not a spook by any means but she can be a bit skittish sometimes. As is usually the case with most of the shy hounds, time and patience will lead to the emergence of a bolder and more confident dog. Nellie is no exception. In the five days she's been with us, she's made good progress towards being comfortable in new surroundings. She's started taking steps towards us for some petting and ear skritches, although she waits 'til her foster brother Coastal is getting some attention before she decides to inch her way towards us rather than us going to her, as we did the first two days she was here. Nellie is a very quiet dog - she hasn't barked once and she hasn't done any whining, either. She kennels up well and is doing great with the housebreaking. Nellie has done well on the leash so far and seems to be small animal safe (she's not taken notice of the household feline as of yet, that we know of, but we'll do a face-to-face with both of them in the future to see how she reacts). She's eating and sleeping well and is starting to get the hang of general household living. I expect her personality to really blossom over the next week or so as she gets into a regular rhythm. Nellie does not seem to be overly dependent on her foster brother - though she does follow his lead on potty breaks and such - so she might be suitable as an only dog, if the right circumstances present themselves. Patience and steady gentleness will be the key in her successful transfer to her eventual forever home. I think she's going to make a really nice companion for the right person(s). Though she's never going to be a gregarious, life-of-the-party hound, she will still be a real sweetheart in her happy, quiet way. Nellie has not done steps yet, but we'll be addressing that over the weekend. I have a hunch that she might make a nice jogging companion, so I'll take her for a run this weekend and she how she does with that. As always, drop Denise a line if you think this is the hound for you.

The Decline And Continuing Fall Of The Washington Redskins

Pity Jim Zorn, he's a dead man walking but hasn't quite realized it yet. The Washington Redskins are the worst team in the NFL, bar none. Forget for a moment that they actually won two games. One against perennial doormat St Louis and one against doormat wannabe Tampa Bay. They were lucky to get out of both of those games with a win and they've allowed 3 previously winless teams to beat 'em like an old rug. Why, though, that's the 64,000 dollar question on everyone's mind.
While there's a myriad of reasons, from under-performing players, to questionable coaching and time-management decisions, the real blame lies strictly at the feet of the Redskins' ownership. Daniel Snyder and his personal bootlicker/racquetball partner/Vice President of Fantasy Football Operations, Vinny Cerrato, have meddled and mismanaged their way to the NFL basement. Neither one knows the first thing about running an NFL franchise, nor does either one have the ability to evaluate talent. Throwing uncountable millions at every big free-agent available just means that you have deep pockets. It doesn't mean that you have a clue about what you're actually doing. Perhaps it's time to mention that selling a lot of jerseys with recognizable names embroidered on them doesn't equate to a winning season. This undynamic duo have been screwing things up for a decade now. That's right, ten years have passed by and what do 'Skins' fans have to show for it? A large bowl of mediocrity with a heaping helping of losing sprinkled on top, that's what. Snyder and Cerrato haven't the slightest idea on how to go about creating a football team that can win in the NFL. Snyder, despite having no knowledge about anything related to football, fails to realize this is somehow a hindrance and continues to inject his egomaniacal football fantasies upon Zorn just as he did with the last gazillion or so coaches that have come and gone during his reign or terror. Cerrato, meanwhile, is such a poor evaluator of talent, that he couldn't find a widescreen TV at BestBuy, let alone land a good player by researching his merits in concordance with the 'Skins actual needs.
At the end of last season it was well known inside the front office that the team's most pressing need was the Offensive line. Coach Zorn even went so far as to admit they couldn't call deep strikes because they were afraid Jason Campbell would get hurt waiting for the play to develop. When your Offensive line couldn't collectively stop your grandma from crossing the street last season, how are they magically supposed stop hungry Defenses this year when your management team ignored the problem completely. It's inexcusable and indefensible. The NFL is an Offensive league. You cannot win in this league without pass protection or run-blocking. You. Just. Can't. Getting to the end zone means having an Offensive line that can do their jobs. They're unsung and mostly unrecognized, and I'm sure that they don't sell a lot of jerseys, but they're the the underlying reason a team's able to score points. That "The Beast With Two Heads," Snyderrato, fails to understand this is why the 'Skins are now the laughingstock of the NFL. Any idiot could've - and did -
sign Albert Haynesworth and re-sign DeAngelo Hall to big contracts, but only a special breed of idiot would do so while completely ignoring their most pressing needs; revamping the decimated Offensive line. Forget the arguments over JC -vs- TC at QB. Forget the lack of depth at WR that allows defenses to concentrate on Cooley and Moss. Forget the fact that FB Mike Sellers has apparently forgotten how to block for Portis, or has just given up on it this year for some reason. Forget the fact that Mr. Fair Catch himself, Antwaan Randle-El is still, mysteriously, pretending to return punts. Forget the fact that last decent kick-off return for this team probably happened before Rock Cartwright was even born. All of those problems would be severely lessened if the 'Skins had been paying attention to the Offensive line. They'd still be issues of course, but the 'Skins wouldn't be watching NFL doormats come in and wipe their boots on the Burgundy and Gold like has been happening the past few weeks.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out where the fault lies. Jim Zorn ultimately got stuck with the Head Coaching last year job because nobody else would work for the meddlesome two-headed monster that runs this organization. Think about that for a moment. The front office rejected the best person for the job, former assistant head coach and defensive genius, G Williams, because he wouldn't have quietly acquiesced to their interference. Here was someone the players were passionate about and after the passing of Sean Taylor would've played their hearts out for, but the Beast With Two Heads wanted no part of that. Instead they wined and dined everyone else available to no good end because all of the candidates realized their Head Coaching duties would largely be a sham under Snyderrato. Now it's even worse. Things have righteously blown up in their faces this year. All the unfavorable media coverage of the decline and continuing fall of the 'Skins has most people wondering why any coach would want to come to DC and work for these meddling buffoons. Anyone really think that J. Gruden or B. Cowher would come to an organization that is known for hamstringing anyone wearing the headphones? One look at soon-to-be-gone Coach Zorn in the linked pic above (credit: the Washington Post) should be enough to scare any right-thinking person away from taking this job. Zorn is too nice of a guy to be hung out to dry the way he's been.

Dan Snyder has always claimed to want to be part of a winning team. Well, actions speak louder than words, and if Snyder truly wants to be part of a winning team, he needs to do what every successful owner in the NFL does: hire a real General Manager/Head Coach and get the hell out of his way. If Snyder truly wants to muck around with a football team, there are plenty of leagues on Yahoo and ESPN to allow that kind of yearning to happen.

RJ gets comfy

RJ has transitioned into home life like a champ! Simply put; RJ is a sweetheart of a dog and someone is going to be extremely lucky to have him in their home. RJ is completely housebroken and has no issues with anything. He walks well on the leash - and is excited to go for walks when the time comes to do so - does stairs, is cat-safe, is friendly, happy, sociable, and loves people. As noted in the last post, RJ is a leaner. If you're standing there and RJ happens by and you reach out to give him an ear skritch or a quick petting, well, be prepared for him to close the gap and snuggle up to you. Visitors are just as likely to receive this attention as family members are - RJ doesn't care who you are, he just wants some lovin'!
RJ is finally putting on some much-needed weight and his fur is starting to fill in nicely, though his rear-end and back legs are still mostly bare. RJ will be done with his medications in a few days and will be soon going in for his dental, and boy does he ever need one. He has the stinkiest breath - and the worst tartar/plaque build-up - of any hound we've ever had here in the house, so the teeth cleaning will provide benefits for both RJ and his future adopters! For those who like to trim their dog's nails at home, we clipped RJ's nails this week and he didn't put up a fuss at all, so no worries about that aspect of hound upkeep.
And yes, RJ still likes the chair and the sofa, but is also sleeping more and more on the floor or dog beds. Anyhow, to say we're happy with RJ's progress would be a severe understatement :-)