On Monday morning HairyFace helped me put my harness on, and I wondered why he was doing that. We had already done the trash run a couple of days before. He snapped on a leash and walked me out to the truck. That was good news, I like truck rides!

After belting me in, he got in and started the make-it-go thing. He did not go get Blondie: Blondie’s not coming too? That usually means we’re going to the vet. Not that I mind going to my vet: she is very nice, everyone loves on me and I get lots of treats. But they also like to poke me with sharp things. I don’t care for that part.

We rolled down the driveway and turned toward town. Could be the vet, could be the cookie-window place.

There’s a place that Hairy goes sometimes to swap out pieces of paper with a lady behind a big glass window. She always sends out some dog cookies with his slips of paper. We could be going there.

When we got to the end of go-sorta-fast road he turned toward town. My vet is the other way: not going to the vet. I started licking my lips and thinking about those cookies.

But he drove right past the cookie-window place. I groused at him, “Growl-grr-ruff!”: “Where are you going, you missed it!” But he kept going and seemed to know where he wanted to go.

Continue Reading…

In our house we learn to share. If we get a new hoofie, we take turns at it (because if we each get one we still want the one someone else has). Blondie has a brand new hoofie. Jasper wants the brand new hoofie. What will Jasper do?

Jasper decided to go play ball instead.

Later Jasper got his turn. Blondie found something else to amuse herself with.

He chewed the hoofie for a long while. Then decided to go back to playing ball. He dropped the hoofie in HairyFace’s lap and said, “Watch that for me.” then bounded off down the hall.

Blondie asked, “That’s not how it’s supposed to work, is it?”

“I don’t know … no one has tried that before.” Said Hairy.

“I don’t think that’s how it works. We share.”

“You’re right, Blondie, here.”

Blondie took the hoofie back to her lounging spot and resumed chewing.

When Jasper got tired of playing ball he tried to bribe Blondie into giving him the hoofie again.

“Wanna trade Blondie? I’ll let you play with my Redball …”

Jasper was not happy about Blondie’s refusal.

To ease tensions, HairyFace put a dab of peanut butter in the Kong and gave that to Jasper. That made him happy.

But pretty soon Blondie offered a trade of her own.

“You want the hoofie, Jasper? I’ll trade you this hoofie for that kong.”

Jasper smiled slyly,”Ohhkaaayyyy … here.”

Although the peanut butter was gone, the scent was still there, Blondie still enjoyed licking it. Both were happy.

This evening we engaged in some casual dining and watched an old Science Fiction Theater episode (1950’s stuff). Mostly, this is a human thing, but the furkids like it too because they get to eat in the living room with us and they get a special treat after dinner. They generally sleep through the program, though.

At bed time Marie and I sit in bed and read for a while. Sometimes we use book lights and turn off the lamps. But tonight my batteries were low. Blondie Bear is saying, “Would you PLEASE turn off the lights and go to sleep … I’m TIRED.”

Cochise could not hide under the bed without risking getting stepped on, so he made do with what was available.

Eventually Marie and I got sleepy too, turned off the lights, and went to sleep. Then the furkids could take up normal sleeping positions and get some proper rest. The poor dears! (wink)

I took Blondie back to the Animal Hospital this morning. When we returned, she was sans cone. She, Volt and Cochise immediately ran to the low, shady corner of the yard and she gave them a full report.

Her sutures are removed (except one, I’ll get to that in a minute). The vet tech removed the sutures in Blondie’s shoulder, but wanted the doctor to look at her eye before they took those out.

Blondie and I waited for just over 1/2 hour for Dr. O’Connor to see us, most of that time a Cockatoo was shrieking and screaming in the back area and that sent Blondie into a frenzy. Didn’t do much for me either. I didn’t know what they were doing to it, but it was not happy.

Continue Reading…

On Monday, Blondie Bear spent the day at the doggie hospital to have two small growths removed from her skin. Neither were cancerous, but one was on the edge of her eye lid and was impairing her vision. As long as she was to be sedated to remove that, we decided to have a skin tag on her shoulder removed as well.

While waiting for the veterinarian staff to bring Blondie out after surgery and recovery, the surgical assistant told me a funny story about Blondie. Blondie is a big, sturdy girl, but gentle as can be. They gave her the pre-surgical anesthesia to relax her. After a few minutes they moved her to the surgical table, but when they tried to get Blondie Bear to lay down, she braced her legs out wide and stiffened up, “I will NOT lie down, and you can’t make me.” there was no aggression at all, just stalwart resistance. They could not budge her, so they waited.

Continue Reading…

One of the great things about dogs is the way the dogs welcome us home. It’s always a celebration. It makes us feel great to know someone is so happy to see us again — even though we may have been gone only an hour.

I cannot speak about goats, horses, cows, sheep, pigs, lemurs, guinea pigs, rabbits, ferrets, or ducks – I’ve never had those as pets. I have had cats and for the most part their reaction to our return was, “Oh, were you gone? When are you going to feed me?”

When the dogs welcome us home, it is always with enthusiastic glee.

Continue Reading…

Cochise is a talkative fellow, he knows the routine, and is not timid about asking for things he feels he should get. On weekend evenings we all eat in the living room and watch a DVD. On Fridays is a classic Sci-Fi movie, Saturday an episode of The Waltons or The Andy Griffith Show, on Sunday it’s a NASCAR race. After dinner the dogs get a special chew treat. This evening, Cochise was especially hungry … and impatient.

This was not the first such discussion. On another occasion he was feeling entitled to a second treat and made a persuasive argument.

As you can see, he can be quite reasonable, even about a treat.

And when he gets his treat, it makes him very happy, especially when it’s one of his favorites.

Kathy (the new little foster dog) wanted to go outside this morning, in the dark and in the rainy weather. With her it’s hard to say if she needs to go outside because she needs to “go” or because she wants to play around and hunt. She had been living the free-and-easy life for a while, just doing what she wanted when she wanted because no one was looking after her.

Marie let her out.

Kathy is the smallest dog we have fostered. I have been adamant about going out with her when she went, to keep an eye on her. I’m not at all certain she can’t squeeze out through gaps between gate and post in the fencing. Marie did not go out with her and I was contemplating whether I should put shoes on and go out after her — in my pajamas, in the rain. I decided since it was rainy, she probably would not stay out long.

Continue Reading…