Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Darling Emma Lovers….

Emma has a carpet runner in the living room that actually lets her run towards the kitchen.  OMDawg she loves her runner.  I on the other hand was not so thrilled with her runner!  I referred to it as a dog hair magnet.  It was hard to sweep and just smelly.  So, I did something about it!  Throw rug runners, that I can wash!  Do you likee?

Emma loves them!

Bless her heart, she is so smart and cute!

Here she is flipping her ears.  She always flips her ears when she is learning new paths.  They act like radar.

Of course, Chaps was worried…..

Turns out he hates the new IPhone’s flash.  Poor boy thinks it is lightening.  I don’t have a flash on my other camera.  He has been heading towards his storm center everything I take a picture.  I really need to figure this one out.

We can’t have my new Iphone scaring the Mayor!

My pictures might be dark for awhile!

More figuring out stuff later…Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Birthdays lasting for days lovers!  Well, when we returned home from Cumberland Falls we had a package from Colby Chaps (Chaps’ Son) and his family.  This package was packed with so many cookies we could not believe it!

Look at the kids!

Emma is howling like a banshee!  Her ears are even flipped back.

That plate was filled with cookies!  Some had icing on them.  OK, we all know that Emma is allergic but for special occasions will will test one and see what happens.  This time, she seemed fine.  So today they both had another one!

Chaps had his blue birthday cake…

And Emma had the pink one!  Our Emma is so girlie!

Well, no happier hounds were on the planet at that particular moment in time.

Thank you to Audra, Mike, Jourdan, Colby Chaps, Abby, Charlene, Glen and Clancy.

I don’t think there was a happier girl on the planet at this moment!

Jourdan gets a bug for her sweet 16!  OMDawg!  How pawsome is that?

Happy sweet 16 darling….

More loving birthdays later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Pawty Lovers!

Wow, I cannot believe that this is the 10th annual House of Puddles Pawty!

MEET THE HOPPERS!
October 22, 2011
Noon-5:00pm

It’s not a fundraiser, just FUN!

Any of the bassethoundtown residents going?  I would love a report from the Puddle Palace. I swear to Dog that I am going next year.  It might take us a month of Sundays to get there but get there we will.

More hopPing to hear more later….Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Pristine Supreme Puddle Ring Lovers…..

This precious item has now sold to one lucky lady.  I am very attached to this ring as I feel it is symbolic to House of Puddles.  To me it looks like a single drop of tinkle that makes so many of the puddles that Marilyn cleans up.  These elders are just like us as we get old and sometimes we just can’t hold it.  Case in point, Emma on vacation!  I had a first hand experience and it was just with one hound, not 22!  I really don’t know howl Marilyn does it, I am just glad she does.

I have asked that the person who bought this ring to let us share in her purchase.  I never reveal any purchases unless that person gives the go ahead.

I am packaging up the precious shipment right now.  I will insure it for 200 dollars.  It really was a steal at 140.00!

All I know is that I enjoyed wearing it at the Basset Hound Nationals and ranting and raving over House of Puddles. If you click on the picture you might be able to see that I had 140 written in a sharpie below my knuckle.  Too funny!

Thank you to the person who purchased this very symbolic ring.  I know you will enjoy knowing that your purchase of 140 dollars went to House of Puddles.  100% of it!  Also a special thank you to the person that donated it!

Ms. Jenny Stanridge.  It is folks like you that makes House of Puddles shine.  Thank you Jenny!

More loving supporting of House of Puddles later……Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and TripAdvisor Lovers….I don’t know about you but I don’t book a thing when I am traveling without checking my TripAdvisor.  What a wonderful resource.  I love rating and reviewing where we have been and I always review with my main objective…DOG FRIENDLY OR NOT?  I depend on these reviews and I read every one of the reviews about the Dupont Lodge in Cumberland Falls Resort State Park in Kentucky.

My review is very, very long winded but I wanted to cover it all!

I would have provided a link but TripAdvisor reviews all reviews before they post them. I will add a link when it is up on their site.

REVIEW

The Dupont Lodge is a dog lovers dream!  It is not often you can find a hotel with no restrictions on the number or weight of your dogs.  The Dupont Lodge welcomes all dogs regardless of size or weight.  I cannot stress howl rare that is.

The Dupont Lodge is a KY state run lodge nestled within 3 minutes of the magnificent Cumberland Falls which is also VERY DOG FRIENDLY.  This is a very old lodge and the rooms, hallways, and decor reflect it’s age.  Howl ever….The place is extremely clean and the beds are soft and the sheets are bright white.  It seemed to me that this place is really taken care of.  The Lodge has 2 dog friendly rooms out of 52.  My room 216, overlooked the patio and the stunning sunrises you are sure to see if you get up early.

In my opinion it was one of the best rooms in the place.  I was also told if both dog rooms are taken the staff will work to find you another one with the extra dog charges that come with traveling with hounds.  Speaking of the staff they are warm and very friendly.  So friendly that I think they found it hard to correct the guests with small children.  At one point a group with small kids over took the lobby right by my room and it sounded like I was in the middle of a prank gone wrong.  I cannot believe howl some parents let their kids run rough shot over them. Anyway, it is a noisy place and the doors slam hard but for the most part it all settled down after about 9:00ish.

While we are on the topic of noise….my AC sounded like I was back at GE aircraft engines in the test facility.  No kidding.  This thing will turn your room into a blast freezer in about 5 minutes.  So the good news is you don’t need it on very long.  It came in handy for my storm phobic hound because I just turned that sucker on and we couldn’t hear a bomb go off.  It also came in handy when the kids were torturing each other in the lobby.  So, all in all, it worked for us.

If you want your room cleaned by the maid staff you must inform them that the dogs are not in the room.  I am of the ilk that I just don’t want maid service at all.  I have them put on their sheet that my room requires and demands no one enter the room at all.  I hang my do not disturb sign up the entire time.  The only time my hounds were in the room alone was for meals which we ate at the Lodge.  The Riverview restaurant.  OK, here is where I disagree with almost every reviewer of this dining experience.  WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE FOOD!  All I can say is that maybe the Dupont read these reviews and did something about it.  The food was magnificent!  My only complaint is one that I have in every restaurant I go to.  TOO MUCH SALT.  But that is just me.  The food here was delicious.  The buffet looked wonderful but we always ordered off the menu.  I am a KY girl and I like me some hot browns!  Let me tell you what, the Riverview’s hot brown rivaled the Brown’s hot brown and gave it a run for it’s money.  (The Brown in Louisville invented the hot brown).  One big difference was the size!  The Riverview’s hot brown was twice the size and had that wonderful country ham included.  Oh, it was so good.

I saw a very popular dish at most tables and it was the black eyed peas with sweet corn bread.  Everyone was raving over it. I heard that the banana pudding is the favorite dessert. I saw that coming out of the kitchen by the tray fulls.  I am kicking myself for not trying it.   The breakfast was worth waking up for.  Again, we ordered from the menu but the buffet looked sooo good.  Just too much food and I know I would have over done it.  The wait staff was excellent and the view!  Howl did I leave the view for last?  The view is smack dab of the Cumberland River.

The only thing blocking the view are the families of racoons that come up to the windows and beg for that last bite.  Their eyes so pleading.  It is very cute.  The Dupont Lodge of Cumberland Falls made our mini leaf viewing trip a pleasure.  I would suggest, that if you have a choice, go during the week and not on the weekend.  I could tell from the parking lots that this is a big time attraction.  We checked in on a Monday and left on a Wednesday.  Cumberland Falls is most certainly a 2 day experience at the least.  A huge attraction is the Moon Bow.  A Moon rainbow that you can see during a clear night and a full moon.  If you want to see another one you must go to Zimbabwe Africa.  This rare phenomena did not really make a difference to us.  We usually don’t venture out after dark.  If you do want to see the Moon Bow check out the schedule on the Cumberland Falls website.

Check the sunrise weather before you go to bed to see if you will have a jaw dropping experience on the patio.  This is not to be missed.  The lodge was obviously designed around this experience back when these parks were being forged.  This lodge was built in 1933.  I have learned from researching other parks that the architects, designers and visionaries would camp for years or more in the area to find the exact spot to build a lodge such as the Dupont.  This proves true to form with the Dupont.  The lodge patio faces the east and is nestled between the Cumberland River and the two mountains that frame the sunrise.  The patio is a viewing area for the most magnificent show on earth.  Just breath taking.

The entire time we spent in this area we thought about the Native Americans that called this area home.  We could just picture their dwellings and their horses drinking from the cool pools at the base of the falls.  I pictured the families gathered around telling stories.  It was really very real.  I suggest you take your family and make your own stories.  There will be plenty.

Cat Rudert
TripAdvisor reviewer with you dog friendly destinations.

END OF REVIEW

More Dog friendly destinations later…..Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and e-mail lovers!

I just heard from the House Mother of Sr. Hounds Abound.  Wendi Prince…

Hi Cat,

wen and the Bounders
www.seniorhoundsabound.org    check us out!
www.bassetshop.com

End of Wen’s e-mail

Well…..this is the date for Baby Emma!  Wen did not have her actual birth day 4/21 available but she did have 4/19 so I bought it.  I thought I sent her Emma’s baby shot but maybe I did not!

This is baby Emma sleeping.  Howl cute is she?

Here she is Wen….

More loving Emma Angel later…Cat, Chaps and my Angel

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Dog Friendly State Park Lovers…OMDawg!  We are home now and I just cannot gush enough over Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky.  I am just freaked out that we have never been to this phenomenal Kentucky State Park. It is only 4 hours from our home and that includes a stop for lunch and a long potty walk.  So, really if you drove straight through only about 3 hours from near Cincinnati, OH.

Internationally famous for its MOONBOW, a rainbow that shows up during a full moon in the correct weather conditions, you can only find another one of this kind in Zimbabwe, Africa.

You can park, walk and see the falls in a matter of minutes.

We did not visit during a MOONBOW but we did see a rainbow!

See it?  YES!

OK, check this picture out….

It was so loud we could hardly hear each other!

It was really crazy howl you got to this area.  You had to walk over a huge rock slab with all kinds of bumps and lumps.  We keep the kids in this area….

You can see the lay out from this picture….

Get this, there is a huge walking path all around the falls for flat walkers like us or you can do serious top level hikes up and down the cliffs.  It is so cool. We saw them in full gear.

We stayed on the flat paths!

Does The Mayor looked freaked out?  Click the picture and read the sign!  WTHeck?  Are you even kidding us?

Dog Slaughter Falls?

Wonder what the lore is behind that name? Hopefully it is just a lore!

The path was wide and the smells were out of this world!

This path lead us to this view!

We had so much fun.  The weather was perfect…..

Until we got home and the Mayor heard one rumble.  Thank Dawg it was only one rumble.  Himz still talked his Mom unto sleeping in the bed.

I hate putting the kids in a real bed because they might jump off.  The Mayor wasn’t going anywhere but the problem becomes getting him off.  I just stacked up the dog beds and basically let him crawl off.  We all slept like the huge bolders that had fallen off of the cliffs eons ago that lay in the river bed.

Emma got up early at 5:00am scratching on the door.  I was so proud of her!   I jumped out of bed, threw my hoodie on with the hood in the front.  It looked like I had a pink goiter on my neck.  My hair looking like I had a side 80s pony tail and rushed that little girl out.  Chaps was SO not moving so I made a run for it.  Our girl just made it out the door!  What a a smart girl.

As we came back in the Mayor opened one eye half way.  I tucked Shimlette back in to her nest.

I could not go back to sleep thinking about that KY breakfast that awaited us.  I could smell the coffee wafting though the air.  I just knew they were cooking up the county ham and the fluffy biscuits.  We always had a floor to ceiling window table overlooking the river.

The Riverview Restaurant was fantastic.

Gosh I miss the falls…..

More Loving road trips later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and you must see Cumberland Falls, KY Lovers….OMDawg.  Words were very hard to come by this morning but the smell wasn’t!

Early this morning I was shockingly awakened to the worst smell of tinkle I have ever smelled.  It was about 5:15ish.  It hit me like a ton of stank.   This is about the time that darling Emma goes out the dog door at home.  Poor girl was looking for her dog door and just could not hold it:(

I cannot thank her enough.  As I was mopping up the room and doing a bit of make shift laundry in the bath tub I glanced out my window.

My mop and jaw dropped.

I called my Mom and told her to come right out with her camera.

It was time to be awe inspired!

The patio that we are on is right outside of our windows.  If you turn around there is my room with the light on and the little sunrise stink sprinkler is waiting for me.

LOOK!  The Cumberland River turns orange for autumn.  Howl delicious….

This river runs down and goes over the falls.  I cannot wait to show you those pictures…

Now the sun says hello and mist rolls over the mountains and starts one of the best days the 4 of us have ever had.

I cannot wait to share it with the bassethoundtown residents.

Mornin’ Glory!

More sharing this must seen wonder of the world later….Love, Cat, Chaps and little sunrise sprinkler!

PS – Not one single bit of photo correction was done to any of these photos.

All of these pictures were taken with the new IPhone4S.

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and Darling Mayor Lovers!  OMDawg.  I am so happy I have the Mayor in my life.  Right now him and my other darling life lover, Shimlette are all long in the jaw because they think I am leaving again.  I have been gone so much lately.  What they don’t know is that they are going with us!  The Mayor and shim are going on a mini leaf viewing birthday Trip!

The Basset Hauling Vehicle is all loaded up and we are ready to go!

Unfortunately, there is not internet service for the most part.  I can’t load any of the thousand or so pictures I have taken today!

More later…I am going to try and post this before I go off the grid again……

More loving the Mayor on this birthday later…Cat, Chaps and Emma

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Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and new HoPper lovers.  Please, let us welcome…LUCY!

THIS MESSAGE JUST IN FROM MARILYN OF HOP!

“Happy Gotchaday, Lucy! I picked her up a few hours ago in Chambersburg, PA. I think she’s pretty tuckered out from her long ride from Columbus, OH. She explored, ate, explored some more, and finally settled down. She’s a blue basset and has lost most of the hair in her gray areas. But I’ve put her on melatonin and hope it will eventually grow back. Cricket, also a blue, lost all her gray hair, too, but it finally grew back. I’m thinking it might be an annual thing for blues.  She’s really sweet and doesn’t seem to be traumatized by the other 20.

In case you didn’t see her story, some guy supposedly rescued her from an abusive situation and put her on Craig’s list.  That’s how the lady I got her from found her.  She only had her 3 months, couldn’t afford vet care for her and didn’t even have her on heartworm preventative.  When Lucy started peeing all over her house, her husband wanted to take her to the pound. The lady contacted Ohio basset rescue but they didn’t respond so she contacted me.  I had her sign Lucy over to HOP and drop her off at Jessica Dworkin’s vet in Columbus on Wednesday, then someone fostered her until the transport. Lucy’s got a UTI, infected ears and horrible teeth, but she was HW negative.  I’ll have a dental done with my vet in a couple of weeks when she’ll get a recheck on the UTI and ears.

Marilyn, Alvin, Lollipup, Ricky, Boomerang Jeeps, Hermey, April, Polly, Bowser, Daisy, Buttermilk, Jiminy, Cricket, Andy, Jake, Dora, Bogie, Ringo, Chloe, Max, Caterpillar, Sophiebelle…
House of Puddles,
Frederick, MD”

More loving Lucy and the HOP later….Cat, Chaps and Emma

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