Monthly Archives: April 2012
4.2.12 “Got it !!!!”
"Oh, Lulu, I have the new toy ring. Come and get it!"
One of the greatest joys of having multiple animals, is watching them play. Play with me, play by themselves, and especially, play with each other. I love to see the silly games that they invent, and how they challenge each other in creative ways. For example. Louise is really really fast (she is a hound/lab and sometimes I think that may be grayhound), so she loves to run circles around things, again and again and again. Now Sofie being smaller and shorter legged, will run for a while but tires much easier. So Sofie has learned that after about the 3rd lap around the yard with Lulu, she lies in wait behind the deck rail or a tree and jumps out at Lulu as she passes. This to me is hilarious (I know I am easily amused, I guess).
Louise’s jaw power is probably about 20X that of Sofie. I have seen Lulu hold on to things with her 55 lbs of strength against dogs 2X her weight. If she really wanted to, she could pull things out of Sofie’s mouth in a second. But she doesn’t usually, because, I think she understands that it is all in the play. Lil’ Sofie actually walks around with Lulu’s toys trying to get her attention and Lu will ignore her, I think on purpose, as Lu’s game of, ‘When I am good and ready, little sister.”
In the end, it is all for fun. At the end of a hard day of work, or life, watching the goofies roll and tumble is a calming and joyful gift.
"I am going to lie here and see if Louise notices I have her new ring toy..."
"Where is she & why isn't she coming to get the toy?"
"Lulu , you see I have your new toy, right? You don't like when I take your toys"
"Sofie, Don't think you can have that ring, it's mine!!"
"Mommy - Sofie has my ring!"
"Got it !!!!"
Just another DogDaz morning at our house ❤ 
![prostheticknowledge: Sloth photobombs holiday picture [via The Telegraph UK]](https://i0.wp.com/24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1p3mxjjKy1qav3uso1_500.jpg)
4.1.12 Who’s a fool?
My mother’s birthday was April 1st. They call it April Fools day in many countries around the world, My mother was no fool, but the earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer‘s Canterbury Tales (1392) (so says Wikipedia). My mother loved Chaucer and Shakespeare, and used to recite lines from his plays to us all the time… “All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women are merely players….”
Being Silly
I am not a prankish person. I don’t find slapstick or sophomoric comedy funny. But, I think I am in the minority. Even the animals seem to prank each other. I have watched Louise pretend that she was going to give something to Sofie (like a ring or pull toy) only to yank it away at the last moment. I don’t think animals feel ‘foolish’ though. I think that is a human thing. I have never seen one of my zoo blush (can animals really get red in the face?) or get embarrassed. They just laugh and move on. I love that animals live so in the moment. I assume that is why they don’t get pranked, because they don’t worry about how they appear to others and just take the moment for what it is.
Happy birthday, Mom. You would have been 89 today. You would really have liked the dogs. Say hi to Dad for me.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 