GROWING PUPPIES

My girls are growing up so fast. They each have their own personalities.

Mattie on the left is the largest in all her features. Her ears flop like an elephants when she runs, and then they get stuck inside out. I am thinking of having her ears pierced so that I could add some decorative weights. ((kidding!). Her face is square with a prominent jaw line, and her feet….oh my god, I am so glad that I do not have to buy shoes. Mattie’s personality is quiet and observant. She cocks her head left to right when you talk to her.

Nellie is in the middle. She is the lover of the group. She will put her paws on your lap, get nose to nose, and look you straight in the eye when you talk to her. She likes to cuddle and except for ruff-housing with her sisters she has a likeable personality.

Last, but not least, is Sasha on the right. She is the “diabla” of the group. She can’t sit still, doesn’t like to be picked up, refuses to come when called and instigates most of the trouble. She insists on bathing in their water bowl and continually makes a mess on the patio. But we love her as the others.

Snoopy has become much more accepting of the girls, but as they grow he starts to look older, shorter and chunkier. He is a big help to me when we all go for a walk. He knows the way and follows my commands. Snoopy plays the alpha dog and leads the pack.

Who knew that one day I would lay claim to be the caretaker to dogs, chickens, roosters, goats, and cows!! You never know where this life will lead you.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM A FRIEND

First - Sorry the picture is sideways. Can't figure out how to flip it.

With the addition of the third puppy we built a larger kennel. The kennel is about 2.5’ x 4.5’ and 36” high with screens on the front, back, and top. The front screen is a locking door for easy access. The two sides walls have paneling with a 3.75” opening for additional ventilation.

About 5.30 AM today I heard the dogs scratching in their kennel. The local roosters tend to wake them up early. Our normal routine is to get up around 6.00 AM, let them loose, and feed them. But this morning, something did not sound quite right. I could hear a food bowl being kicked around the patio.

I came downstairs to find Nellie outside the kennel!! Obviously she had managed to escape, and the only possibility was through the side window. She must have stood on one of her sisters in order to scoot up and out.

Looks like I need to add screens to the windows!

Dog Emergency

All was quiet this morning. Breakfast consisted of the usual Purina variety for the young, growing canines, and eggs and toast for the middle aged homosapiens.

I stuck my head out the door for the routine head count and noticed that I was short one dog. I whistled and called for Sasha who I recognized was missing. In seconds she scampered around the corner towards me. At first I thought it was Mattie and that I was mistaken as to who was missing. But the cinnamon color of her fur indicated that I was correct on my first assumption. I looked closer, her eyes were swollen almost to the point of closing and her previously slender nose was now enlarged to the point of boxer like.

I immediately yelled to Sergio, “We have a dog problem…we have to get to the vet!” My concern was that she was having some kind of reaction, like a bee sting, and we needed to get her to the vet before she went into anaphylactic shock.

With Sasha in my arms, we corralled the other dogs into the kennel, locked the house and took off down the road to town. As you know, we have about 4 miles of dirt road. So the ride only compounded the problem. Now I had vomiting in addition to swelling.

Dr. Diana came to our immediate assistance. Sasha received an injection and we waited. One hour later the swelling was down somewhat. The speculation is that she was bit about the face and eyes by ants.

As I write this Sasha is back to her normal self and all four dogs are playing tug of war.

A happy ending to a long day.

With Three You Get Eggrolls

Yes, we adopted the third puppy, Sasha

Now we really have our hands full.

Snoopy has taken a liking to Sasha and so everyone is starting to get along better.

Just look at this photo.How could you not love them?