Annie

The Mighty Pippin

I stated yesterday that Pippin over-estimates her limitations and animal prowess, which leads her to have her own shelf in the medicine cabinet filled with Pippin bandages, antibiotic creams, anti-inflammatories, and the like.

Here is an example of Pippin’s over-inflated self-image at work. It’s as if she thinks she’s a super Dobie. She is body slamming Annie as Annie is coming in for a landing as she jumps off the table. The light bulb over Pippin’s head isn’t too bright about things like this!

Pippin Body Slamming Annie

Pippin body slams everyone. She body slams Luigi, and he’s the biggest kid on the block. Lucky for her, he’s tolerant. Ollie’s not so tolerant, and Pippin found out yesterday that Aussies do not appreciate body slamming. It’s not even in their vocabulary. But jumping out from under a body slammer and nipping the snoot belonging to said slammer is!

Taylor

Pippin chooses to relax in one of the spots voted most like to get trampled while sun bathing.

Pippin Shitz Sunbathing

She’s a pip!

Helen

A few moments lived at Fort Doberdale

Raven can do this with her toy.

Raven’s balancing act

Pippin can do this with her tongue.

Thhhthhhhthhhhh…

This is where Luigi put his biggest ball yesterday.  Up on this table!

I put this ball on this table.  I did.

The wheels in Raven go ’round and ’round … ’round and ’round … ’round and ’round … the wheels in Raven go ’round and ’round … all day long!

I am thinking how to snatch that toy!

This is what my knees look like these days.

My fuzzy knee pad

Helen

Three Wonderful Years

Today is Annie’s and my third year anniversary.

Angel Face Annie

Three years ago, I drove for a little over three hours north to adopt this little character.

The shelter staff as Annie takes her leave

She is a beloved member of the Fort Doberdale Squirrel Posse, and dare I say, her I.Q. is higher than Raven’s shrieks.

When she first arrived on the FD campus, Annie loved Dove bars. She ate soap.

Annie’s Dove Bar

Another favorite activity of hers was pulling the toilet paper out from the roll and drawing it across the hall into the bedroom. She is very artistique.

Dobies admire Annie’s toilet papering job

That’s Ollie, above, looking at Annie’s artwork in silent disapproval. Ollie didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t control Annie and that she touched his toys.  Pippin is looking our way with that “someone’s in trouble and it’s not me” look on her snoot.

Here is the toilet paper and my hairbrush, which Annie enjoyed swiping, chewing on, then using to brush her hair.

Is that my hair brush?

Here she is using my hairbrush as her own while touching one of Ollie’s toys.

Feels so good.

Oliver used to stand guard at the bedroom door because he thought he could stop her. He didn’t appreciate her artistic flare or that she was on his planet. Now he’s afraid of her when she gives him what for on those days he oversteps his boundaries.

Annie was notorious for getting into the no-dog zone, and having no remorse.

Annie in the no-dog zone

Now, of course, she knows better and when she gets caught, has a way of looking like she’s remorseful, when she’s still really not.

In the beginning, Annie would jump up on my bed and nip my toes to wake me up in the morning. She’s not done that for a long time, and I miss that. I am cautiously optimistic that one day I will run across an Australian Shepherd who needs a new home and is on the Beta side of the dog ruling hierarchy. I would like to find one of Annie’s own kind to remind her who she is, an incredible herding breed with phenomenal instincts and smarts.

Annie

These days, Annie hunts lizards, rescues toys for Luigi, guards dinner (taste testing when she can get away with it), and is the numero uno doer-inner of varmints that have the unfortunate luck to run across her path. She can press levers to get treats, ring bells, crawl, speak, and learns whatver is asked of her at a phenomenally fast pace. She is one of a kind.

Happy anniversary, my sweet Annie B.

Helen

Springtime Easter Sunday

Springtime. A time for flowers.

Ostara Hibiscus

Regis and Leissl are springtime Doberflowers.

Ma & Pa DoberKettle?

Regis loves it, but Leissl is not so sure.

Regis and Leissl Springtime Flowers

Regis soaks up some sun rays, while Leissl, a very sensitive Dobergirl, is soaking up rays of humiliation.

“But Leissl, you look so cute!” Regis.

Regis and Leissl Springtime Flowers

“I am cute, just not sporting spikes.” Leissl.

“They’re not spikes. They’re petals!” Regis.

Regis and Leissl Springtime Flowers

“Oh dear.” Regis

Regis and Leissl Springtime Flowers

“It looks like I have to be the Springtime Happy Petal Puss.” Annie.

Happy Annie Petal Girl

Here’s a bit of news from Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2008.

ostara-03-23-08.jpg

Helen

Sunday’s Goings On

One night late last week, I was ready to shut my eyes and go to sleep, when I heard Annie’s bark. Rather demanding, might I say. She usually sleeps on the floor in the bedroom, so why I heard her barking from another room, I don’t know. Especially being all she had to do was use her legs to walk to our room.

So, I got up and followed the bark. Then I saw what happened. You see, Annie was in Raven’s crate, when I put that little rascal in for the night. Annie didn’t say a word till she saw where the night wind was blowing, and that wasn’t where she wanted to stay.

Here’s the picture I got, half awake, but you can make out the dilemma. Quite amusing.

Let me out of here with this loon!

On Sunday, I found these two green parrot types hanging about in one of my pine trees. I think they are looking to start a family. I know there are some notches in that tree, though not at all sure if that will suffice for a nest. Though I hope it will!

A pair of parrots thinking about building a nest?

Well, not sure if he was the one, but someone caught and did in a lizzard on Sunday afternoon. Bouchard is the fellow who got to carry it around and show it off. He tries very hard to be a fantastic Big Lizard Safari Guy, but he falls short of bagging the game. Usually, Pippin or Annie makes the catch, then Bouchard and others display it.

So here is Bouchard, with the trophy. He thinks it’s so lovely, he can’t take his French eyes off it.

Bouchard’s new “pet.”

And we have Raven, who would like to have that trophy. (What’s new?)

Raven wants that.

The tail gave Baby quite a bit of trouble. She just couldn’t get it to stop wiggling. Eegads!

Baby Paw-Paw

Luigi put his toy on a dog blanket that was out drying. He barked at it, and when he realized no one was going to fetch it for him, he took action. (Luna was eye-balling it at that point.)

Luigi fetches his own blue Dino Cuz ball

This pair of doves sat in our dead grapefruit tree for quite a while. Even during a mellow rainstorm.

Pair of Doves

This is a spider that reminds me of a crab! I stay away from them if I can. They make their webs so transparent that if you don’t see the speck in the middle, boink! But they run away from me as much as I do from them. Yet, I’m the one with web all over my face. Yuck!

Crab spider

Here is the sky on Sunday afternoon. We expected something transformational from this, but it was only a few minutes of sporatic big rain drops in our neighborhood, though I think elsewhere, the weather was more phenomenal.

Beautiful stormy afternoon moment

Helen