Friday, December 3, 2010

INTIMATELY CONLEY

Conley makes me laugh.
All the Bassets make me laugh but Conley most of all. He has a very intelligent gaze. He believes he can make food levitate off counters, and when that doesn't work, he just stands up and takes it anyway.
He sleeps on my bed in the morning.
Because there is sunlight (sometimes). He is a sunlight pig. All the Bassets are but Conley is especially drawn to spots where another Basset is the most comfortable and then bugs them until the other Basset moves. With sighs of accomplishment and pleasure, he takes over. Except on my bed, where he is king.

Positions vary from the sublime
to the .... uh....not so sublime.
Like many male animals he has
no problem showing off his
masculine attributes. Dogs are,
of course, not burdened with
attitudes of modesty.






I think Conley has cute feet. He needs his nails trimmed more in this photo but that was as far back as I could get them, sitting on him as I was while he yowled and tried to squirrel out from my grasp.







Isn't that a lovely foot? Nails are better in this one. It is always easier to trim the back nails than the front. I have never figured that out but it crosses all breed lines. Is it because they can see what you are doing?
Are the nails thicker on the front?
More important to survival?
Conley just wiggles constantly and whines. Cooper is a jerker. Just as I go to clip, he jerks his paw away.


This is the hardest working part of Conley and probably any Basset.
It never rests, even in sleep.
It is huge. It is cold and damp. It can tell Conley what I ate for breakfast two days ago. It can find underwear in any room in the house.
And his is not the best Nose. That belongs to Nigel, who ferrets out months old biscuit crumbs from under the stove.




Another view. Altho it appears to be resting, it is not.


Another working part. This is the part one wants to keep an eye on. While I have never known Conley to bite a person, or even threaten to, he has bitten his housemates, altho he never draws blood. Fights are short and full of sound, but lack genuine rage, thank heavens.
But it is a reminder that he is still a dog and can do damage, mostly to sticks.


And of course, here is Conley supervising Dad while he lays tile. It would never do not to supervise. I put a towel on the table so he would not scratch it. Note that he is actually PAST the gate.... typical Conley, defying our norms.