Bugsy With His Ball

Not content with being featured in my black & white photo challenge offering on Facebook today, Bugsy asked if the color version could please be today's blip. Well, what could I say? Of course!

The ball story:

Bugsy is obsessed  with balls - any and all balls. However, if he is given most moderate sized, guaranteed chew proof balls, he immediately rips them to shreds. So I discovered these "play balls" - designed for children - that are sufficiently tautly blown up, and have a recessed valve that he can't immediately get his teeth into. Eventually he does manage to destroy them, but most of them last for months. I have a big supply of them in the garage, so he's not in immediate danger of running out of them. This is an inside ball. Outside he has a big old basketball. Occasionally the outside balls go missing, sometimes never to reappear - and of course must then be replaced.

His play method is to push the ball around with his nose while yipping madly. He then encourages his humans to attempt to take the ball from him and kick it somewhere so he can rush after it. But he's an excellent soccer/football player and it's very hard to get the ball away from him or past him. He does not play "fetch" in any real sense. Also, he considers my vacuuming the house as an opportunity to play ball with me, so when I get the vacuum cleaner out he immediately gets his ball and starts following me around with it. That's what was going on this morning when I took the photo. In order for us to have some peach and quiet, the ball(s) go to bed at about 5:00 and are presented again by The Husband in the morning. 

I must add, as a side note, that our granddog, Jezebel - the dog companion of #1 Son - is far more obsessed with balls than Bugsy is. And I find her much more annoying. She wants the ball, a smaller ball, to be thrown for her. All. Day. Long. When she comes here she immediately grabs the one indestructible small ball that Bugsy owns (and cares almost nothing for, since he got his big ball) and plays with it until she goes home. Meanwhile, Swee'pea, our other dog, has no interest whatsoever in balls. But she knows not to get between Bugsy and his ball!

PS - if you visit Jezebel's link (her facebook page) - I took the profile pic. That's her with the green ball that belongs to Bugsy.