Welcome to my new life!

My name is Pirin (prounounced peer-in. One of my Mom's favorite movies is The Bird Cage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. There Is a part in the movie where they talk about "pirin" tablets that make Nathan Lane feel better. Really they are just aspirin with the A and the S scraped off. My Mom used to tease when she was having a cranky day, about needing her "pirin" tablets. So when I came to live with her, she named me Pirin, so that my she could have a "feel good" remedy 24 hours a day. :-)

I have lots of other names too. Her Royal Highness, Penny, who lives with Aunt Maureen, dubbed me Sir Pirin Hollywood because in my heart I know I am a movie star. My Mom calls me Señor Kookiebutts because even though most people think I am aloof and majestic, I can be a real clown. For short, she calls me The P-ster.

I spend my days on a 3,000 acre ranch in Wyoming. It is a big job guarding the house against bunnies, birds, pheasants, marauding neighbor dogs, and other assorted creatures. At night I love to listen to the coyotes yip and howl.

One of the things I have discovered, is that I love the SNOW!! It is the most amazing stuff, and there is nothing I like better than to roll in it, and to stick my head into snowbanks. Try it, you know you want to. . . :-)

When I first came to live with my Mom, I worried and worried that shewould give me away, or that when she left for a while that she would not come back. Now I feel right at home. I have come to realize how loved I am by her, and what an important place I have in our family.

On most days you can find me lounging either on the couch or in my favorite chair. Then about every 2 hours, I get up and patrol the house, going from window to window to make sure all is in order. We go for lots of long walks, and in the evenings my Mom and I have working sessions. I want to get my Canine Good Citizen's certificate, and my Mom says I am so smart and such a willing worker that we are going to see if we can go on into more obedience trials. I like to do things by voice request and by hand signals only, too. It is lots of fun!!

My Mom is a professional artist and a psychotherapist. She is very interested in animal/human interactions and also the psychosocial difficulties experienced by afghans and other breeds who have been placed in rescue.

My full-time job is sticking close to my Mom and following her everywhere she goes, day or night, or even in the middle of the night. I am never far from her, and I watch everything she does. I like to try to help her with things too, like jumping into the middle of the blankets when she is making the bed; snoozing in the kitchen when she is cooking. When she is sick, I plaster myself right up against her and only leave her for a few minutes when nature calls. Guarding my Mom is an important job.

I recently started a new job. I go with several other dogs once a month to visit elderly people and people with other special needs. It is really fun, and I am sincerely enjoying it. The people are very interested in me because out in this neck of the woods, you don't see many afghan hounds. A really cool group of my friends introduced me to this new job. Their mom's name is Linda, and she calls them the "Six Pack Plus." Drop in and visit them here and see the neat outfits they wear when they go to help make people feel better. You can read the stories of how they each came to live with Linda and you can even hear what a real live prairie dog sounds like! They are quite a crew and let me tell you, Miss Kitty might be tiny but even I bow down to her wishes. ;-)

One of my favorite things is to visit all my pals on the AOL afghan hound message board. Many of them have been there from the first day I was adopted, and they are all wonderful friends and very special to me.

Not very much is known about my life before rescue. I still carry a long scar on my back that runs through my saddle, but the scars in my heart are nearly faded away. I'm a very happy guy!

Your Pal,
Pirin