My life is rather upside down right now.... I have been away for a spell, as instead of free time, I now have a Zelda.
In January, my mother said farewell to Minnesota, and left me her lovely male Maltese-Terrier mix to watch, until she could send for him . His name is Bailey.
Bailey is a lovely, affectionate, funny, twelve-pound fluffball with limitless curiosity (esp. regarding cat-bottoms) and limited common sense. My 40-odd pounds of brother-and-sister-cats have limitless spite, and limited tolerance for bottom-sniffers.
This unhappy equilibrium came to a head in February, when Bailey got too friendly with the cat bottoms in a closed space, and brought my cats mounting aggressions to a bloody climax. Twelve pounds of fluff is no match for 40 pounds of tag-team, outraged hissy fit with claws, and both Bailey and I ended up seeing a doctor that night. Both of us got heavy-duty antibiotics - which went nicely with my guilt trip, as my five bites helped me imagine the poor guys pain.
The cats?
Not a scratch on them.
The Brawl (as it is now referred to) hastened my mother's efforts to get her boy back home (she succeeded wildly, the dog flew first-class to AZ and now has more fans than I do). This meant that my husband and I had to keep our promise to let our kids get a Dog of Their Own.
For one reason and another, we are now the proud parents of Zelda Emerson Von Sable Rock. German Shepard-Piranha mix, extroardinaire. She is cute, funny, affectionate, and has a somewhat consistent herding instinct. I can't say much for her taste in food, but I will say that when the weather behaves (unlike today. Sleet/snow mix. In April, folks) she gets a bit of exercise and is pretty well behaved.
When the weather misbehaves, so does Zelda.
Consequently, today we are thinking that Sunday puppy-school can't come fast enough.
Regular blogging may be on hiatus, but if I can recover my energy sometime soon, I'll post pics of the little menace.
With that, stay warm, stay safe, and do little somethings for strangers. Bought a starbucks for the gal in the minivan behind me today and drove off giggling - it felt terrific. This week, we can all use some of that.
Take care,
S.
Poor Bailey. :(
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your pics - we've also added to our furry family (although I put my foot down on a real baby puppy because they are more work than a real baby human), and our youngest dog turned out to be far more territorial than we imagined. No bloodshed yet, but that's only because the noob is a big soft, daft staffy cross. The shiba inu is picking on him for sure - and they are said to be the cats of the dog world, so go figure. :)
I have a soft spot for a GS, but as with all (super-intelligent) dogs, even the slightest hint of boredom leads to destruction. Just remember, they don't stay puppies forever, and even the best dogs can be bold if the opportunity arises. (The wind knocked our fence down this week - twice! - and the shiba inu went a-wandering while pretending she couldn't hear us). I find it less painful to just expect the worst at all times. ;)
Expecting the worst CONSTANTLY (although at least the cats won't eat her!!!)
ReplyDeleteAnd poor Bailey???? - didja miss the part where I got bit FIVE TIMES! I even had to have my poor doctor look under my undies to verify that yes indeedy, my evil black cat bit me in the arse as well!!
The fact she is a GS is one of the reasons I agreed - she is Very trainable and doing shockingly well - but if I weren't home all day, I think we'd be even more wiped out.......and by the way - HOW MANY FURRY KIDS does this make? You thought I was the busy one, woman, you are, I hate to say it, even nuttier than I am!!!
much love and commiseration,
s.