I bet you were wondering if I had “retired” from this blog after posting my last entry titled “Retirement Nevahh!” Seems like life got in the way; Christmas, New Years and a shuffle in the menagerie. On December 30th Dixie, our 15 and ½ year old lab mix crossed over the rainbow bridge and on January 7th Darcy, a 9 year old German Shepherd mix came to live here and keep Chester from being too lonely.
So things are in a bit of an uproar as the dogs figure all this out between themselves. The cats already have worked it out. They are disgusted with the whole thing. They are against the new world order. Patty was caught talking to a picture of R2D2 saying “Help me Obi Wan, you’re my only hope.” So, if you see any storm troopers in the neighborhood, I would appreciate the “heads up.”
I was wondering if the addition of Darcy would change anything in the behavior of our special needs doggy, Chester the wild man of all Catahoulas. I think that Chester believes that I am some sort of wayward steer that needs herding. If I am outside, he will bark and run around until I go back into the house. And if I am inside within the “danger zone” between the back door and the living room, he will try to herd me into my easy chair. Unless I have food in my hands; then I can go anywhere and do anything, as long as he gets his cut.
Not surprisingly, food seems to be the flash point between the two dogs. Their only cross moments seems to be when food is in play. Hopefully, making sure there is distance and maybe a barrier between them at feeding time will resolve the issue. Another couple of weeks or so and this transition will be complete.
One of the things that I missed the most when Dixie passed was being greeted at the door when I came home. Greeting is just not Chester’s thing. He just wants me to settle down in that easy chair. Yes – I know my place. Darcy however has taken Dixie’s place with wet kisses and a flurry of hair right at the threshold of the house. Another similarity between Darcy and Dixie is they are both double coated with tufts of hair all over the place. That’s gonna make my veterinarian happy. She got so much pleasure out of pulling the tufts off of Dixie on her visits. Dixie accommodated that by sprouting new tufts every time we headed to the veterinary office, even if we brushed her out good before leaving. Hopefully Darcy will be just as helpful. Oh, the poor vacuum cleaner is getting no respite at all, just more work.
We have always adopted rescue dogs and cats instead of purebreds. I think mutts generally have better personalities and appreciate a home more. We also usually adopt older animals as well. Sometimes I feel it is a pup’s or kitty’s last shot at a forever home. The good thing is that they are usually spayed or neutered and house trained by the time they arrive here. That’s a good thing.
The biggest surprise from Darcy is her energy. She gets around pretty good for a dog that will be 10 in a month or so. Comparing her to Dixie is like comparing a Jaguar XK-E to a garbage truck. Her energy has transferred over to Chester who is again living up to his “wild man” status. Come to think of it, her energy has transferred over to me too. My FitBit thinks that I’ve lost it somewhere and that it was found by a marathon runner.
I have to be honest here. I’m not wearing rose colored glasses. I know that older dogs present health issues sooner. In fact, a trip to the vet is coming sooner rather than later as we already have some minor issues to deal with. But when I look into those happy eyes so full of joy and gratitude in her new home, it is all worth it. Oh MY!
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