The Canine Effect

I have been busy tending two extra dogs for the last....well....it seems like forever.  One has been a resident for a long time and seems like he should belong to me, but he doesn't.  Then, there is a sister of one of my dogs who has been visiting for about 2 1/2 months.  She seems like mine now, too.  But she isn't.  She must someday, go home to her own family.

The four of them have formed a pack.  Not only do they run as a pack, but I am pretty sure they talk to each other, and make verbal packs.  The verbal packs are the ones I would like to address today.

Don't let their innocent looking faces fool you.  Their eyes don't miss a thing.

Earlier in the day I saw them huddled, they were plotting, just like a football team.  They were huddled, then they all looked at me, and they huddled again.

I knew I was in for no good!

So, I took myself outdoors.  I carried my camera and a diet coke, and was not going to be a party to their shinanagins. 

But, no matter where I walked, I could feel their beady little eyes looking at me. Especially the tall quiet one.  He is the worst.

This fella doesn't make much noise.  But he watches me.  I can't take a step without him being in front of my feet.  If I go down the stairs, he lays on the top step and waits for me.  He stretchs out the full length of the step, and  just lays there.  When I come up the steps, he doesn't feel threatened by me at all.  He isn't afraid.  He just holds his ground.  He won't move.  I have to say, "MOVE", as gently as I can, but he still doesn't care.  He holds his ground.  Then I gently nudge him in the side with my toes and try to move him.  I evenetually loose the battle and step over him.

I have to go outside so he can't get me.  But he still watches me.  Stares at me. Watches me through the storm door. Makes me shake when I try to take his picture.

See what I mean.  He must be part gorilla or something.  He is as tough as they come at our house.

Then the last one that joined us, the one I have been tending for 2 1/2 months, well, let me tell you about her.

Her name is Sadie.  "Sadie, Sadie, Pretty Lady". 

Sadie was born with a few problems, but we don't talk about them in front of her.  She thinks she is perfect.  And she nearly is, except for her left eye.  It didn't develop correctly so we grow her "bangs" over her eye to hide it from anyone who might make fun of her.

She is a little lady and likes to lay next to me and be petted, for hours. 
She prances when she walks.
She prances when she goes outside to go potty.
She goes potty by standing on three legs.  She will not stand on four legs.  One is always up.

Sadie's a queen, and reminds us to not forget that she is here, at our house.
She uses her voice and pouts.  She does.  She pouts.  "hummph"...."hummph".  Quietly pouting.
She wants to be held, or petted, or fed, or thirsty, or just wants to be looked at. She "pouts".
"Hummph", in a singing dog voice, is hard to ignore.

Then she plays with the other dogs and she BARKS.  I mean, BARKS. Barks, barks, barks.
She is the smallest in the bunch but she has the loudest bark.  Almost.
She can be outside and running with "the pack" and barks and barks...especially at the biggest dog.
I think she has a crush on the biggest dog.  She chases him and barks at him.
He loves it.  He makes her took at him and bark.  Then he runs. And she barks some more.

Then there is this one.

You know Ivy.  She belongs to me.

She is Ivy Ballerina, truly, that is her legal name.  It fits her perfectly.
She is dainty.  Tall, skinny, and walks on her toes.

But, there is something odd about her.  My youngest daughter calls her "Creepy".  I wish she didn't.
But, it is a little bit true.  Because she is a Ballerina and she can skip past you and you don't see her.
She also has this ....this.....stare.  She stares at you.  It is impossible not to wonder what she sees.
Her eyes penetrate me.  I look at her and try not to blink.  But I loose.  She never blinks.

Ivy is very cuddley.  Almost to the clingy side.  She wants held.  She has to touch me.
She sits at my feet and must touch my leg.  That is, if she doesn't jump into my lap first.
I don't mind it because she doesn't wiggle around.  She sits on me.  She doesn't lay, she sits.

She is the mouser.  She has caught several in her short life.
We live near a field, so I smell her breathe all the time, just to check and see if she has eaten one.
I found a baby mouse skull in my house once.  I know she brought it in for me.  A prize!

Then there is Zoey.

No matter where I go, she has to keep an eye on me.  She protects me.  Always.
She barks at the slightest sound.  She is protecting me, and my family, and the neighbors.
She is so smart.
She tips her head back and forth when I talk to her.  She understands every word.
And she is the Alpha dog in this pack.  Always the Alpha.

She is a tease too.  She takes my slippers or socks outside and won't give them to me.
So, I get a treat for her, and tell her "drop it", and she does.  She loves treats.  Then I love her.
She sleeps by laying on her back with her feet in the air.
And she hates Ivy.  She picks on Ivy.  She herds Ivy.  She bites Ivy on her ears.  She hates Ivy.

But when they are all together they have a great time.  They run around the house.
They run outside and inside and outside.  They all bark.  They all run.

They are best friends.  They make for a fun day, if I just sit back and watch them.
Each one is so different, and yet, so much the same.
I know they are the same, because I shovel their poop in our back yard everyday.  EVERYDAY.

o,

So, like I said in the beginning.  I take my camera outside, and turn around and I see this.

The red reflection on Sadie is my Geraniums which are potted on the front step.

But just look at the face of the "White Alpha Female".

She's laughing at me.

She knows about the huddle they held when I wasn't looking.  "hummph".