There is a lot of jealousy going on in the past year and a half since we rescued Charles. I definitely think it is a little dog thing. He came to us with resource guarding issues and it seems that it is contagious. Now, whenever I am sitting with Louise or Sofie (who were never jealous of my affection for the other), Charles appears and creates a conundrum. He is very demanding of attention. Mild-mannered Louise has had her full of the pipsqueak and has started to get demanding herself. Oh, my! Now no one gets attention. What’s a zookeeper to do?
When you have a fence, and you have 3 dogs, unavoidably, they will always want to know who or what is on the other side. In this case, at the side fence, it is a new black Labrador puppy named Sadie. Gracie, also a black lab, who used to live over there, passed away a few months ago from old age stuff. Now we have a new smell. Always something to bark at. We don’t really want to meet her. We just want to sniff and bark through the fence.
As you know, Louise and Sofie go to Sonya’s on Thursdays to run with the big dogs. I stay home and take care of Mom. Though I get a really special treat right after they leave (because Mom loves me best), I miss them when they are gone. I watch for them anxiously at the only window that I can see out of, the one over Mom’s piano. That’s why Mom calls me “The Piano Man.”
It works nicely as a lookout, don’t you think?
Even though Sofie is mean to me when she is home, I miss her when she is gone. Louise, of course, is my idol. She doesn’t cozy up to me as much as the cats do, but I really like to hang out with her.
I saw Louise try and look out the piano window the other day and Mom got really mad at her. I guess that is the benefit of being 15 lbs instead of 65.
Charles, the Mugwump, here. I need to tell you about Mini Cooper. She is a cat. But she thinks she is a dog. She is about my size which is somewhat disconcerting. I tell her to go away (GRRRRR) because the bed is mine and I am the King, but she doesn’t listen. When I try to snuggle with V, Mini pushes her way in and won’t leave. What is a Mugwump to do with a CatDog who has long sharp claws and can jump way into the air? No matter what Mom says I am never going to trust her, but I guess I will make peace, as long as there is no food involved. Then all niceness goes out the window.
Begging has gotten out of hand at the Zoo. Even Noel has joined in the staring contest.
“If I look at you soulfully enough you will surely give me a piece of whatever you are eating. RIGHT NOW!!”
Charles is actually the worst because he can’t contain himself and he starts to demand bark (with that little yappy PomChi staccato.)
The house rule is that no animal is fed from a human plate directly. Food needs to be in their bowl preferably or at least on the floor. If the other humans in the house followed my the rules, this probably would not be going on as much. I think it is much easier to train animals than humans. At least the animals are only staring and not grabbing. I guess I should feel accomplished at that much.
Mom got a gluten free cupcake for her birthday. It sure looks like cardboard to us. V says everything Mom eats is cardboard anyway (because she is gluten and dairy free and does not eat meat) but we think Mom’s food is pretty good since we eat simple too (and she shares lots of veggies and fruit with us).
We are going to throw a party for Mom. Shhhh… don’t tell her. She said she is feeling old this birthday, so we thought we would throw her a little surprise to make her smile. Noel, the Christmas cat, suggested we all pee on Mom’s newspaper but we dogs can come up with something better than that (right Sofie and Charles?). Maybe we can shred some of our toys and throw the stuffing around the living room as decorations? She would surely like that. What do you think we should do?
Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you – Louise, Sofie Bear, Charles,
DogDaz Zoo 