Small but mighty

My friend Tanya's little kitty Fiona is spending the weekend avoiding the dogs at her house, including some guests who are Labradoodles. She has found the perfect spot to monitor and taunt them: the little door to the basement (where her kitty litter box is located).

Fi is small but mighty, and a thousand times smarter than any dog.

Crunchalicious

My friend Tanya has been a bit worried about one of her dogs. Katie has been very subdued since starting Prozac to treat OCD. I'm not sure that first sentence is clear enough, so I need to emphasize that it's Katie, not Tanya, who's taking Prozac. Katie is an obsessive water drinker, but otherwise a wonderful, lovable girl.

Except when she does stuff like this:

 

Tanya said she's acting more like her old self again. I told her to be careful what she wishes for.

 

Home delivery

Yesterday afternoon I did some errands in town. When I got home I discovered that UPS had made a delivery. We never know where the driver is going to leave a package. Sometimes on the front porch. Sometimes on the cement apron in front of the garage. Sometimes behind the driver's seat of Mr. P's truck. This photo shows where I found it. Mr. P. thinks that the UPS driver encountered Ginger at the garage door and decided he better not mess with a big ol' pitbull. He doesn’t realize that the biggest threat that Ginger poses is sharing her ticks!

"I'll be happy to sign for that package, Sir!"

Caught in the act

My trip to and from the Northeast was wonderful, and I was never dogless for long. For some reason, all of my friends and family are animal lovers. I wonder how that happened.

Yesterday, however, I received notice from authorities in New Hampshire that I'm being charged with contributing to the nutritional delinquency of a dog. They have photographic evidence of the crime:

In my defense, I will mention the following facts:

1. At home, I never feed dogs people food unless it's something that falls on the kitchen floor and they get to it before I do.

2. But I admit that I lost my head while in someone else's house in NH, possibly because I'd had a few sips of wine.

3. Please be aware that my act was intended as therapeutic because Chelsea, my so-called victim, was moping and clearly in need of some TLC.

4. And finally, my so-called victim is a mistress of manipulation.

Possum's Revenge

This is the first day of a 2 week road trip I've been planning since January. Yesterday I decided it was time to retrieve a suitcase from the attic. I pulled down the hatch door and a large suitcase (not the one I wanted) fell out of the hatch and crashed down onto my left foot. When I had finished (for the moment) cussing and screaming with pain, I gingerly climbed the ladder to find the right suitcase, and at the top of the ladder found Possum sitting on a suitcase (not the one I wanted), watching me with wide-eyed innocence which didn't fool me for a moment. Since I couldn't find the suitcase I wanted up there, and the dogs were leaping around at the foot the ladder, all eager to join Possum in the attic (or better yet, chase her around the house), I exited the attic, shoved the door back up, and examined my grievously-injured foot.

When I saw the damage the suitcase had done - the day before my freaking vacation began - I had to conclude that Possum had pushed that big suitcase out of the hatch for the sole purpose of hurting me. She is probably the most disagreeable cat I've ever met and that kind of murderous intent is entirely consistent with her character. It's just as well that I won't see her again for 2 weeks because my own intention for her is murderous right now.

Makin' tracks for home

Blackie is the senior Outdoor Dog now. While she's grateful to live here in the lap of canine luxury, she's still very much a neighborhood dog, long used to roaming wide while socializing, sniffing, accompanying our neighbor to church 3 times a week, and begging for treats wherever she goes. How anyone could look at her chunky body and believe she's starving is beyond me.

When Mr. P. mowed the front yard (calling it a lawn would be torturing the truth) last week for the first time this season, he discovered that Blackie's habitual path to and from the house had worn a track across the yard.

Stylin'

When we took the Dunderheads to the vet for their annual exam and shots last week, one of the assistants gave us 2 kerchiefs imprinted with the name of a flea & tick medication. I wanted to put them on Meg and Berry, but they weren't interested. Teddy and Jinx quite liked them, though.