Sometimes I Envy My Dog

Dog's sure have it good!
They never have to clean or cook or do laundry or play endless games of "Sorry".
They are served food regularly.
They get to sleep whenever they want.
They are petted and told "you're so cute!" just by wagging their tail or sitting near you and looking up at you with their big eyes.
They get giddy just hearing the words "outside", "walk", or "eat".

But what I envy most is how they bounce awake every morning ...
Happy and energetic to face a new day.
Wiggling and wagging when they first see you.
Dashing joyfully outside as if it's the first time they've ever seen the back yard.
Running around the yard with abandon, sniffing intently for any new or interesting sights or smells.

Full of contentment and joy, without worrying if their nose is too short, or too long; or if they're having a bad hair day; or if they've gained a few pounds; or how much they have to do that day.

I'm glad that I don't have to eat the same dry "food" every day that's been sitting in a bag for months, or have to sit on command. But I could use a few lessons from them on contentment and joy!

Dog-sitting

Our dog Chester is having a 6-night sleepover with his friend Pharoah.  Well, perhaps calling them friends is not exactly accurate.  Chester is a little annoyed with having another dog invade his territory, but they're getting along better than they did the first day.  Maybe by the end of the week they will be friends!

Don't they look like they could be related?  Chester is the smaller one.  Pharoah lives up to his name and is the larger, grander one.  We love Shelties; they make great pets!

Still Calm and Quiet Around Here!

Even the dog has been well-behaved . . .



Practicing jumps and flips from the mini-trampoline on to the couch counts as P.E., doesn't it?!

Such exciting times . . .

It was mostly gray, cloudy, and rainy yesterday. Not very refreshing or cheerful for me, but Chester loved it! He loves running around in the rain. He looks sad in this picture because he knew I was going to dry him off and make him come inside.




After helping Aaron in the bathroom and flushing, I had to look inside the tank because it didn't sound right. Aaron was absolutely fascinated with all "that stuff in there!" He wanted to know what everything part did, which is not my expertise; so as soon as Daddy came home, Aaron excitedly dragged him to the bathroom so he could explain the fabulous inner workings of a toilet. Oh, the excitement of youth! (please excuse the dust clinging to the wall behind the tank!)




A cozy nap for Aaron and Hazel.

Meet Hazel and Whiskers

We've always been dog people. We've never had cats before. But last year, after Isaac kept asking and asking for a cat, we finally agreed. Then we heard from several people that we should think about getting 2 cats because they're less trouble if they have each other to play with. (good advice, we have learned)

So, we found 2 gray, short-haired sisters at a farm last June. Isaac had already named one Whiskers before we even got them. The other was eventually named Hazel. They were so cute and fuzzy and tiny when we first got them, at about 8 weeks old.




(if you look closely, Whiskers is in the background, under the grill!)

A few weeks later, after we learned that they had both fleas and worms, Rashed and I didn't think they were so cute and fun!

But after rounds of medicine and furious cleaning, we eventually we got all that cleared up and started to like them again. We also decided that they couldn't go outside anymore, which I don't think they're happy about. (besides which, as they started getting older, they were roaming too far and learning how to climb trees.)

We soon learned their personality differences. Whiskers is more moody, doesn't like to be held as much, and likes to be by herself. She also likes to eat and now weighs one pound more than Hazel. She also loves to sleep on Noah's bed, which gets the best sunlight.




Hazel is more relaxed and easy-going. She likes being held and even lets Aaron rest with her on the couch. But she's also the more sneaky and devious one. She likes running and dripping water in sinks, she likes to watch Jeffrey (Noah's leopard gecko), and was even found inside one of our nativity sets at Christmas.










Last fall, they discovered how to get up above the dropped ceiling in our basement. We're pretty sure Hazel instigated it first, but both have been caught up there.


(getting up into the dropped ceiling from the ledge of a basement window.)


(trying to get Whiskers down with a laser light)


(walking on the ceiling!)


crazy cats - they're definitely different than dogs, but quite fun and they don't bark!

Chester

Meet our dog Chester.



He's a 3 1/2 year old Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie).

He LOVES (LOVES!) being outside. We have a fenced-in backyard, so he's outside much of the day during good weather. He has designated himself as Official Guard of the Backyard. As soon as we let him out, he tears around the perimeter of the yard at least once, checking for any new scents or sights that he needs to be aware of.

If there's anything moving in the yard he goes crazy! I think it's usual for dogs to try to chase squirrels or birds, which Chester, in fact, does. But that's not enough for Chester. He also chases and barks at falling or blowing leaves, falling snow, rain drops, water dripping off our trampoline, even the sound of the wind. He gets very intense and obsessed about it, like he's on an important mission.

He also does this funny leaping and pouncing thing. First he cocks his head and stares at the ground like he hears something. Then he leaps up into the air and pounces back down toward the ground as if attacking whatever it is that he "heard". He does this the most in the snow. It's hilarious, especially when he leaps several times in a row - he looks like he's bouncing across the yard. (makes me think of Tigger!)



He's a great dog and a great addition to our family.