Animals, Animals!

Carolyn and I had fun at the Scandinavian Festival! The town of Ephraim, Utah, gets so immersed in the Scandinavian culture on Memorial Day weekend that even the dinosaur at the Sinclair station wore a Viking hat.

This Great Dane walking around the booths was a bit too friendly, pushing his nose up into Carolyn's face. She didn't hold it against him, though, and still followed through on the owner's permission to pet the Very Tall Dog.

This monkey logo signaled Carolyn's favorite food...well, one of her favorites. There's always chocolate, but she chose a cool, sweet pineapple float.

Carolyn was very impressed when the owner of this animal identified it as a wolf.

We appreciate that Carolyn is always nice to our pets. I think she might have learned that trait from our father, who was a veterinarian, but it might just be her nature.

How about you? Are you a pet person?

Dressing up the dog.

Recently, we were lucky enough to watch our granddaughter at our house.

A movie only worked for so long, as did my box of moon sand and a frozen pineapple smoothie. She moved on to some of my fabric scraps and created some dress-up clothes for herself. But when I opened the gate in anticipation of her parents' arrival, and brought the dog in so she wouldn't escape through the open gate, our granddaughter had a new idea.

Dress up the dog!

I can't say whether Bibs was so compliant because that's her personality, or if it's because she's so old. (She's 13 or 14. I forget.)

 (NOW who's so old?!)

After awhile, Bibs did her please-let-me-out pose, but she didn't get her wish until Mom and Dad arrived. 

Are you the kind of kid who tied a baby bonnet on your pet's head before wheeling it around in a baby carriage?

Dogs and Cats

When we took our dog, Bibs, for a walk, we were stopped at our neighbor's house by a friendly cat.

(See the little kitty legs just under Bibs' chest? My little sister, Carolyn, who has Down syndrome, acted as our camera girl.

Bibs was lots bigger than the cat...

...who seemed fearless, even though she fit beneath Bibs' belly!

Who says we can't be friends, just because we're not the same?

Carolyn's favorite cat is our son's gray one, Moroni, because she doesn't bite or scratch.

Moroni loves to climb to the highest places she can find. (Bob's shoulders qualify.)

Our white cat, Sage, is not on Carolyn's Good List, because she bit Carolyn.

Since then, the white cat is working on becoming the master of disguise, yet she's better at hiding the identity of others.

What was/is your best pet? 

What did/do you like about him/her?

The Dog Who Loved Me

Note: Dogs are really supposed to be referred to as "that's," not "who's," (as in "The Dog That Loved Me) but then the heading wouldn't have the familiar ring of "The Spy Who Loved Me." (Did that adventure story even enter your mind?)

Whether you know it or not, I made an instant up close and personal friend when I opened my car door one day. 

He was so enamored with my presence that he didn't even ask before he put both paws on my leg and checked out the steering wheel, as if offering to drive me to the park for a picnic. (I would provide the picnic basket, of course. He didn't watch Yogi Bear for nothing.)

"Look into my eyes," he seemed to whisper, rather moistly, into my ear. "You want to share your food with me. You want to give me all your food. And pet me. And scratch behind my ears... for hours."

"Come with me to the casbah... bring doggy biscuits. Lots and lots of doggy biscuits."

Do you believe in the power of suggestion?

(Do you have a dog that loves you?)

How Dogs Improve Our Health

 After I posted my Easter Dog blog with the epic photo of Bibs nose to nose with the Easter Bunny, I was inspired by a PuppySpot graphic to blog even MORE about not only Bibs, but other doggies we've owned and loved.

As you might surmise from this new photo of Bibs, one of her favorite games is ball. She will chase launched tennis balls (thrown or kicked) or old, deflated balls of any sports type.

(Inflated large balls are of little interest, since they are too round to bite onto and carry to whomever she hopes is a ball-launcher person.) Bibs is very willing to provide hours of fun, healthy exercise for her and her human playmate.

Check out this awesome graphic from the PuppySpot.com:

Having dogs has definitely benefitted our whole family. My husband once had a Springer Spaniel named Trixie that he swears could read his mind on their hunting trips, a hobby that provided him with plenty of outdoor exercise and good heart health. She was a one-man dog, but would interact with the rest of the family, especially if my husband wasn't there. When she had puppies, our young sons enjoyed making sure that they got lots of love and human interaction.

They also wanted to keep all four puppies.

(Yeah, that didn't happen... we shared the joy with other loving owners!)

You can check out PuppySpot if you’re considering adding a fancy furry friend to your family.

After Trixie, we found a puppy named Griz from a classified ad. He started out as big as a cat, then grew to the size of a Newfoundland.

Griz passed on at 11 years old, a week after we had a new baby. After moving to a different house, our younger boys wanted a dog, but my husband said he thought we should be done with dogs.

I said it wasn't the younger boys' faults that they were born after our earlier dog years, and they should be able to grow up with the benefits of having a dog like our older boys.

My husband finally asked if I would be ultimately responsible for a new dog. Jumping up and down, I said, "YES!" and Bibs came into our lives. At 13, she our longest lived puppy dog.

When our boys were sad or upset, they would often go outside, and I'd check on them through the window. More often than not, they had their arms wrapped around a dog, telling it their troubles. While we have been fortunate enough to have good health, not needing doggie alerts for seizures or anything, Griz protected me a couple of times from questionable characters. Lunging, he barked like a maniac. I managed to hold him back with his leash, but they certainly didn't try anything shady with Griz at my side.

While it seemed to take our sons longer to get puppies, as of last month, three of my sons have finally adopted them "for their children." Yet when I visit, I see my great big boys holding those dogs, talking to them, petting them and deriving comfort from those furry friends in much the same way as when they were little, proving that you're never too old to benefit from the unconditional love of a dog.

What kind of dog do you like best? 

Do you have a dog now?

Did you have one as a child?

What is/was it like?

Easter Dog

When I introduced my dog to the "Easter" bunny, she (the dog, Bibs) was rather interested. When she found out eggs were involved, she was rather excited!

Of course, if we ever had Bibs as the Easter Dog, there would likely be no eggs for anyone else, because she likes them so much!

What are your Easter traditions?

Have they changed over time?

Doggy Snow Cone

I don't know what's on the snow outside our back door, but our dog, Bibs, thinks it's delectable. Every time I let her out of her dog run, she trots right on over and licks and chews a gouge in the snow in that one certain spot.

I'm just a little bit wondering if something spilled there, or if something's going to surface when the snow melts... something I might not want to see... like, I dunno, a body?

(What do you think it is?)