That face…

 

Finn update…

Things have changed a bit since I first posted about Finn, the dog B adopted from the shelter who turned out to hate cats. Finn came here a few weeks ago so B could study for finals without the chaos of cat hating dog plus cat in 700 sq ft condo! 

It’s looking now like Finn is here to stay. I definitely fell in love with him, despite him biting me a couple of times when he first came. (Luckily he has only a few teeth!) And Christmas morning I opened a tiny gift from B and this is what it was…

She gave me Finn. It was such a completely unselfish gift, motivated by her knowing it would be so hard on him to go back and forth (after being abandoned, then moving back and forth from short term home to shelter a few times), and knowing that I had fallen in love with him. 

So, here he is! It’s been kind of a bumpy ride so far… He’s definitely a “good dog”, he’s house trained, doesn’t dig or tear up the yard, and isn’t nearly as barky as Piper… but does hate chickens as well as cats. So far, this week, he’s jumped into the clean-out door on the side of the coop while I was cleaning (I had no idea he’d fit, or could jump that high!), and I had to climb partway into the dirty coop to drag him out! 🤢 And… M let him out while I was feeding the chickens, he got into the chicken yard, chased one hen out into the yard and chased her around while she screamed bloody murder and I ran around behind trying to catch one or the other of them. He finally cornered her, and had her in his mouth when I caught him. She wasn’t hurt (luckily he has only a few teeth!) and we are now working hard on teaching him it’s not ok to try to eat my chickens. 

Mostly he’s a good dog though and fun to have around. He still bites once in a while… only M 😂… but never hurts him. (Luckily he has only a few teeth… Notice a theme here?)

Doesn’t he have the sweetest face? 

I think it’s pretty cool that I actually got a dog for Christmas. Maybe I should rename him something Christmas -y?

Finn

 B’s dog Finn, a senior rescue, is staying with us for awhile (he and B’s cat don’t get along!). 

He was so traumatized… being abandoned at a gas station, then several weeks in the shelter where he was neutered and had to have most of his teeth removed due to them being so rotten (many had already fallen out!). He was terribly scared when we brought him home from B’s, wouldn’t leave the crate, or eat, and was quick to bite if he felt threatened. 

He’s doing so much better now though…  Here he is after his first bath 

And trying to get up a tree he’d just chased a squirrel into…

He’s a really good dog… B was lucky to find him. He’ll be a good addition to our little family “pack”.

 It’s hard to hold on to your old dog dignity when someone accidentally throws a dirty sock on your head.

But Cody managed it. Such a sweet, funny, confused old dog. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Oh Maxwell….

 …you are so sweet and brave. 

You tried to show those big dogs next door who is boss, but just needed a little boost to be eye to eye with them.

Thanks for keeping the yard safe from bunnies and other potential intruders. 😘

meet Maxwell

Otherwise known as Max...

He's our daughter K's dog, and has been staying with a friend of K's since she left for the Peace Corps. Unfortunately, the friend can't keep him any longer, so he'll be with us until K comes home.

So we're back up to three dogs, which always feels like too many... but Max is K's baby, so what could I do? Turn him away?  (Not likely) 

Max has only been here a few days, but is starting to settle in and learn how to be more of a country dog. Cody has taught him how to chase deer (only through the fence, of course) and he's incredibly confused by the chickens (birds bigger than he is!). He does LOVE the woodstove though, this is his favorite spot in the house. 

And I don't blame him. We're definitely in the deep freeze here... our high today was a record breaking 16 degrees! I'm sooooo glad we bought the wood stove... even with the bitter cold, it's keep the main part of the house at a comfortable 68-70 degrees. 

But I'm still tempted, like Max, to just curl up in front of the stove and wait for the cold spell to be over with!

We're back!

Yes, we left for our trip to NE, despite M being sick the night before. (Miserable gastroparesis!) I had decided not to go (about the time I posted this), thinking M just wasn't well enough... but as the day went on he seemed better, so we decided to just go for it and hope for the best.



It was a good trip... I got to visit with my niece and her family, and with my cousin who recently moved back to NE after living in Denver for many years. We did a little thrifting, went out to eat (a lot!), and really enjoyed our visit. We only stayed a couple of days but it was good to connect with family I don't get to see very often.

It was good to get home though too (why does home always look SO good after being gone?) although I don't think anyone was as happy as Cody was when he finally realized we had turned onto our road and were almost home again.



The past couple of days I've been busy catching up on work that didn't get done while we were gone (and while I was working on the shed) but things are started to feel caught up again. I should also post an update on the shed, and another project I'm working on... I'll do that soon.

Enjoy the day! (and stay warm and dry if you're in Colorado... it's cooooold this morning!)

If Cody could talk...

I came in from working outside this morning and kicked off my crocs at the back door. I hadn't even left the room before Cody had grabbed one of them and started running wildly around the house with it in his mouth, shaking it furiously and growling at it. I've learned that chasing him to get it back only accomplishes his goal... and I can't catch him anyway... so, since he never damages anything he steals I just let him take it.

I went into the bedroom and as I came back out the door I almost stumbled over this...

... in the doorway.

My imagination ran away with me and I wondered... had Cody finally come around?

If he could talk would he be saying something like this? "Oh human master, I'm so sorry I stole your shoe... I lay myself at your feet asking for mercy... and giving your shoe back as an offering to you for your kindness in rescuing me from the shelter and putting up with all my naughtiness for the past year. I prostrate myself before you most generous of  masters... please forgive me."

Or maybe my dog of very little brain just got tired of waiting for me to come out so he could grab my shoe and run away again and fell asleep...

...completely forgetting he'd been playing keep away with my shoe.

the Cody Channel (all Cody, all the time)

Mid-afternoon siesta.





A sunny window on a cold afternoon...

A nice soft window seat...

Ahh....

The Cody channel... all Cody, all the time

Cody got a new "do" the other day. I finally took him back to the place that groomed him right after we got him... and did such a good job. It costs more... but he looks so good when he's done.



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When we got home I thought I'd snap of few pictures of his newly combed out cuteness... but it ended up being more of a job than I thought it would.



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He very obediently sat and stayed for me... all the time looking up down, over here over there. Unable to hold still for even a moment...



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He had mischief in his eyes and wanted nothing more than to run around the house like a wild dog (getting rid of the smelly stuff they put on him!).



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But finally he got tired of sitting and laid down...



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I love his tidy little feet ...



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We'll see how long it takes before he's looking like his scruffy little self again!

The Cody Channel... all Cody, all the time

Hi, I'm Cody. My family found me at the Dumb Friends League a few years ago. There had obviously been a terrible mistake made, because I ended up in a cage at the shelter... which really didn't suit me at all since I'm a tough, outdoor type of dog.  I was really happy when my family chose me to take home with them... I think they were looking for a Guard Dog, which describes me perfectly. At the shelter they said I was a mixed breed. I'm pretty sure I'm a cross between a border collie and a rottweiler (brains and brawn, you know...),  but I heard my family say something about shih-tzu and bichon frise (I wonder what those are).



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I protect my family against all threats.

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That's my main job... Protector-of-the-Family.

I am also training my family to pick up after themselves by taking care of the things they leave laying around. They aren't very smart, but they are learning... I'm a very patient teacher.





My main job though is Protector-of-the-Family, the house, the barn, the back pasture, the front pasture, the trees, the garden, the birdfeeder, the porch, the road...

And I am absolutely fearless!

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Except when it thunders...

or my family leaves...

or someone raises their voice...

or the wind tricks me into thinking there is someone on the roof...

or the kids next door play with pop guns.

It's really very hard to keep track of all those life-threatening things at the same time...

So my family bought me this special shirt to wear. It's not silly frou-frou clothes like those little dogs people carry around with them wear. (I'm way too big and tough for that!) No, this is tough-dog clothes. I heard them call it a thundershirt.

This is what the BIG TOUGH canines wear when it thunders.

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I'm not sure why my family likes me to wear this thing... maybe it's kind of like a super-hero cape that will help increase my super canine protecting  powers.

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I'll have to ask the border collie next door.

~in like a lamb~

(I started this yesterday, Friday... but things got busy and it's just now getting finished...)



Today is warm(er) and sunny... not a cloud in sight.

It's looking like March has come in like a lamb... I wonder if it will go out like a lion?



(scrabble letters on my fridge... can you tell I was bored? I've hidden several words in the tiles for the kids to find.)



Just a few random thoughts today...



We're still digging out from the storm... We've been snowed in for most of the week after big storms on Sunday and Tuesday... We finally got out Thursday, after a friend sent an employee of his with a snow plow to make a run up the driveway. (Tractor still wouldn't start... which means Joe couldn't plow. Thankfully he got it going last night...)



Poor Quin.. it's tough being a small dog, with bad hips and legs, when the snow is deep. He is spending a lot of time on the porch...

I've been thinking ahead to spring, summer, gardens, the excitement of growing things.

So I've got a few bulbs growing...



... and I've gathered some odds and ends from around the house to "spring up" the mantle a bit.



... a few pussy-willows I cut from our bush. :)





I've been thankful for a break from the snow and a bit of sun and warmth. Maybe tomorrow we'll spend the day working outside... It's too early to garden, but there is still plenty we can do out there. :)

Cody takes a stand...

Our little sheltie, Quin, has allergies.

Except for heartworm, he's completely unvaccinated... because he's highly allergic to the vaccinations he should have... like rabies, etc. They make him blow up like a balloon and it takes lots of benadryl to keep him breathing.

Luckily he's not a wanderer and isn't sociable with other dogs so his likelihood of getting some dread disease (that other dogs are vaccinated against) is low.

Quin also apparently has food allergies... but after a LOT of experimenting I think I've finally found a commercial dog food that he can tolerate. It's made from sweet potatoes and salmon (yuck!) and has no corn. After being sick off and on for months (years?) Quin is able to eat again without getting sick. I'm so excited to have found something he can eat...

Emma (our 13 year old Golden Retriever) and Cody (our "Small But Fearless" Zu-chon) are not as excited.

They hate the new food...

Even Emma, usually so laid back refuses to eat it.



And Cody, even without words, speaks volumes to me if I dare to put the new food into his dog bowl. Here's what it looks like...

Emma quietly refusing her food in the background, while Cody's body language says it all...

Checking the bowl out... but being careful not to get too close (it must even smell nasty to him!)

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Looking up at me expectantly... his eyes saying "surely this must be a joke?"

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Waiting for me to take whatever-this-stuff-is out of his bowl and give him some real food.

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The realization sinks in... this is dinner.

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One last pleading look... (he'd make a good "Oliver" in a canine production of Charles Dicken's classic, don't you think?)



I gave in of course... He and Emma now have their own food while poor Quin still eats the nasty sweet potato dog food. The good thing is that Quin is so busy making sure he's the top dog that he gobbles his food down quickly and doesn't seem to care what it tastes (or smells) like!

Cody's Lament Part II

... in which the deer don't take him seriously.

Despite planting his feet in his most ferocious stance, and pulling his deep, most threatening bark from the depths of his powerful chest...

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... the deer just stands there, watching him and chewing grass. For a moment it's a stand off, Cody aka SBFD (Small But Fearless Defender) watching her and wondering how it's possible that she shows no fear. Is there something the matter with this deer? How else could she possibly fail to recognize the danger in the terrible canine predator that stands before her?


Finally she turns and wanders away. SBFD is glad she's finally realized whose territory she's trespassing on but wonders why she isn't bounding away in panic...

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Later, after thinking about it, he decides to blame the groomer.

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It's very hard to be taken seriously when the groomer insists on giving you a "puppy cut".

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a stay at home evening...

We've been so busy the past week, I feel like I'm passing myself coming and going.

Summer is a busy time anyway, with the yard and garden work added onto my regular house and barn work... and this year has been especially busy because I'm doing the finishing work on the basement as well. So my days are a blur of watering, staking, weeding and mowing... quick trips to the barn to feed, groom, water... laundry, cooking, and inside work... and painting, staining, caulking, etc. in the basement. This week R's been working at the VBS-type program at our church, so things are even a little busier than usual.

So I really appreciated yesterday evening... There was no softball practice or other activity to take the kids too, and they were both tired and went to bed early. I pulled out the dulcimer and played for awhile... playing some old songs and working on a new one I'm learning. The house was dim and quiet (except for me!), with just one light on where I was sitting, and the dogs were spread around my feet fast asleep.

It was a very nice evening... a little recharging for the rest of the week.

The dogs are my constant companions. Quin and Cody compete with each other to lie closest to me. This time Quin ended up on the step just above the old rocker where I sit to play...

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...and Cody at my feet, resting against the dulcimer case.

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Emma, our old girl... who doesn't have a competitive bone in her body...was just a few feet away, lost in the deep, blissful, sleep of canine old age and deafness.

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It was such a lovely evening...