Today is the fifth anniversary of the passing of Dermot, my beloved Basset Hound. He lived to a ripe old age of 13 years. ('Ripe old' for Basset Hounds, though I would love to still have him around today; we never have enough time with our dogs.)

I regularly groomed Dermot on a table (as I do today with Pippin, Dermot's great-nephew), but I had neck surgery in the fall of 2012 and was unable to groom him for several months. Until I found a mobile groomer willing to work on a Basset Hound — most professional groomers do not want to deal with the nails, and I was fortunate to chance upon a groomer who regularly boarded Dermot's uncle Gus, and so was familiar with the breed — I was able to have my nephew, who was 12 at the time, groom Dermot. Dermot was a very well-behaved dog, so even a 12-year-old human with no dog grooming experience was able to take care of him. My nephew is now 26 and much larger than he was in the photo.

I still miss Dermot every day.

#DogsOfMastodon #BassetHound

Meet Archie! This adorable Basset Hound / Rat Terrier / Mixed dog is looking for a forever home in East Derry, NH. Adopt Archie: Derryhumanesociety.com

Hello there! I know what you're thinking: you see my bowtie and think 'Wow, this dog is very important. He must have a very serious occupation.' And you would be right. As of today, I am no longer Archie the dog. I am now Archibald, Attorney at Paw. I specialize in represe...

#adoptdontshop #rescue #East derry #dog #bassethound/ratterrier/mixed

Since folks were asking, I thought I'd share a couple of photos from Pippin's 6th birthday party a few days ago at the assisted-living facility he visits as a therapy dog.

At the party were decorated cupcakes (which were promoted to the residents as 'pupcakes') with a frosting design to look like Pippin's head.

I forgot to bring Pippin's birthday hat, so he was bare-headed this year, but everyone had an enjoyable time, and one of the residents also brought her dog along to wish Pippin happy birthday.

(Photos are verticals, so you may need to expand them to see the full image.)

#DogsOfMastodon #BassetHound #cupcakes