Ever Hopeful

Last night it snowed again. 6 inches. You know how I feel........

The night before last Roxie went out at 8:30 and stayed out until 11 PM when we went out and made her come in.

34 degrees. No moon. Neighbor lights were not on. Very dark.

She stayed in the way back on patrol, we figure. Ever hopeful, waiting for the possum, we figure. Bob and I both looked out at different times to make sure she was OK. She was. She patrolled back and forth, stopping to listen and look. Like a soldier on perimeter patrol.

She was tearing down little trees and sapling branches. We figure she smelled something on the neighbor side of the fence but couldn't see it. Methodically she was making a clear field for battle. No branches to get in the way.

This dog is different from our last three who were feminine or who just didn't like being outdoors. Roxie is a "real dachshund" who likes to go after the badgers. She's not afraid of anything and is perfectly comfortable in rain, ice, snow, dirt and mud...... much to my surprise and displeasure. Icky dirty when she comes in sometimes.........

We love her to death of course, but she's her own person. Her personality is definite and while she loves to cuddle and get pets, she is seemingly becoming (or returning to) an outdoorsy girl.

It's interesting to watch what she does. Just amazes us........ It's so clear that she thinks and plans. Again, I return to the thought that she is reincarnated. She is so human in her approach to things...........

Summer will be fun............. we hope!

It's Going to be A Long Summer

Last night. Last potty trip.

HUGE BARKING, SCREAMING DOG-FIT in the back yard. Neighbors' flood lights are popping on all over the place. Some neighbors came outside for the show.

Yes, you probably guessed it. Rox found another possum....... a bigger one this time from the west side neighbors yard. I get the call "Mom, you better come up; she's got another one."

Bob headed outdoors once again in his battle gear, loaded with the flashlight and leash.....

I must have been in a pretty mellow mood because I didn't feel the need to call Matt in Seattle, and I didn't have gaspy chest pains. OK, so this says what? I'm getting used to the idea that Roxie is not a girly-girl. She seems to be a hunter and a ferocious one at that. Man, oh man, did she go after that critter.

This cannot go on. I worry about her safety. So tonight we've come up with a protocol - PPPPP.

Pre-Potty Possum Patrol Protocol. Bob will circle the yard with the flashlight, hunting for critters before we let Roxie out. If he finds one, he'll explain to it that Roxie is on her way to tear it apart. Skedaddle will be the best plan.

Let you know how this works...... sigh.......

Dogs. Whatareya gonna do?

Be Careful What You Wish For...... Bob........

Bob has always wanted Rox to sleep in bed with us. I always said I didn't want that. "Thirty years is enough. No more dogs in our bed!"

So Rox started out the first couple of months in her fancy bed on the floor beside us. Bob would sneak her in when I went to bed later than he did... like I wouldn't notice a 30 pound dog sleeping crosswise on the pillows.... ha!

Gradually I caved ... she is such a sweetheart. So I gave up and snuggled, pushing her out of the way when she took over my pillow. Braved her rumbly growlies as I pushed her into a more central location.

Well, I had to get up and leave the room last night about 4 am because I was laughing so hard........ Rox had one of those doggie dreams where her legs were running and she was barking in her sleep.... you know the kind. She'd awakened me and I look over - she's got her head on Bob's pillow with him, her nose in his ear and she's pasted to his side like a spoon with glue. Bob was on the edge of the bed.

Today as we drove to Brighton to have dinner with his brothers and their wives, Bob says casually "I think she's gonna have to go back to her own bed. You know where she was last night?!" And he proceeds to tell me, with frustration, amazement and pride in his voice "she was stuck to me like glue, with her nose in my ear... I could hear her 'snuff snuffing' as she exhaled" "She was on MY pillow!"

And then I heard the story of the dream, the running feet which scratched him, and the "ra ra ra ra ra ra" barking as she chased the possum in her dream.

He couldn't decide whether to be proud or put out - it was hard to keep a straight face. He campaigned so diligently to get her into the big bed, and now he's thinking she needs to sleep in hers.

The most ironic thing of all is this: Roxie sleeps where she wants. She varies her beds according to how well she slept the night before, I think. If she's with us and we toss and turn, she tries the dining room bed the next night.

Seems she values a good nights' sleep like we all do.

Who Needs Warm Weather?

Couldn't find Baby Girl. Looked and looked. Who would have thought she'd be out on the porch in 30 degree weather?! Seems the sunshine has tricked her...

Take a look at the background - still snow and ice... she wouldn't come in! Finally had to haul out the ole "steak bits" trick.

Roxie, the Nature Queen. She's gonna shed like crazy this spring when she doesn't need her thick fur coat anymore....

I'm inside under two quilts.

This summer she is going to have a ball outside; I wonder if we'll even see her during the day...

Chicken Tartare

In her perennial place under the kitchen table.

Mom cutting chicken for stir fry.

Ooops. Dropped one piece.

Fast as lightening, into the battlefield. She won.

Spoils of battle: one half of a raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Galomp. Nom, nom. Gone. Tail waggy-waggy!

Call to vet: is it ok that she ate big piece of raw chicken?

Yes. Watch for diarrhea in the morning.

OK, thanks. Off to bed.

Good poop this am. All's well that ends well.

Muscle memory. She returned to under the kitchen table this am.

Hopeful....

She's a Truck Chaser !!!!!

Out and about this afternoon, I get a call from Bob. My heart is still pounding....

Seems Bob was sitting in front room doing his homework and Rox was sleeping quietly in her red plaid bed at his feet. Doorbell rings. Roxie doesn't bark because she never barks at doorbells. (Yes, we are lucky....)

UPS had just dropped off a box on the porch. Bob opened the door to pick up the box and Roxie charged out the front door like a bat out of hell. She's barking and running full speed, chasing the UPS truck down the middle of the street. Bob says she was only 4 feet from the bumper. The street is 4 inch thick rutted ice with a dusting of dirt, courtesy of this shitty winter and the wonderful folks at Oakland County who haven't plowed our street for the past two snowfalls.

Bob was in his socks and it's 26 degrees. He had to put on his slippery slip-ons and his coat and grab the leash and collar. By the time he got out the door, the UPS truck had outrun the dog and she was 4 houses down, in the middle of the street just looking around.

When she saw Bob she turned around casually and walked back to him and rolled over on her back for pets. Put on her leash/collar and walked home just as pleased as she could be. Got into bed and went to sleep.

HUH?! What the hell was this about? We've never had ANY sign that she is a truck chaser... when folks come to the door she sometimes doesn't even get up out of bed; although she will look at them, she makes no attempt to disrupt her repose. She's never shown any indication of anything like this on her many walks - not toward cars or trucks...

Has she been a truck chaser all along? Was this perhaps one of the reasons she entered the foster care system? Is it only UPS trucks? Was she mad at it, or did her first owner work for UPS and she thought she might have found her first owner? Do UPS trucks have a specific sound or smell?

This is unsettling to say the least. The statistics of dogs being injured or killed while chasing vehicles are chilling.

Roxie continues to be a loving, sweet little girl with her own mind and eccentricities. But this... this was absolutely unexpected.

When I got home, I found her safe and sound, reclining in plaid luxury. She gave me the most beautiful look. She doesn't have a clue....

We're So Proud...

Rox had her second mani-pedi today and she was fabulous! Different groomer this time, just as nice as last time, but this time a second groomer held Rox while the first did her nails.

We had prepped the groomer, and a couple of them in the shop remembered her from last time.

Roxie never made a peep. She stood there, got the work done and seemed very pleased to be handling it well.

She even agreed to a "sanitary" - where they clipped the back end a little bit for hygiene purposes. You know.... no more dingleberries.... eeeeuw!

She was very reserved on the ride home, and after getting her well-deserved treat, she made her feelings known: she got in her bed and ignored us.

She's willing to act well-behaved in public and put up with the grooming, but made us pay for it when we got home. We didn't see her again until dinner.

We're so proud, she was so good on the grooming table!

The Cure for Winter Blahs

I was taking a little snooze after lunch when Rox flew up on my lap. Not to be ignored, she turned and twisted, rolled and wiggled to make sure I knew she was there. As if a 30 lb dog on your lap could be ignored! ha

Next came the stealth approach, trying to see if I was really asleep or just faking. She took at least 5 minutes to make her move, edging forward quietly, shifting from foot to foot all the while moving the quilt down lower and lower. No hiding from Baby Girl.... sigh........


At last, THE ATTACK, wet and wild! Her style is to lean into your face, putting all her weight behind that hairy little snout. She pushes hands out of the way like a tank rolling through a war zone. The wagging tail seems to propel her like kicking legs move a swimmer through the water.

It's a challenge to laugh with a closed mouth. Open-mouth laughing leads to the dreaded frenchy-licky kisses........... haven't learned to appreciate those yet.

Random Thoughts

It's amazing, simply amazing to me that Rox likes winter and snow so much. I am near tears and feeling quite claustrophobic with winter this year. The weather forecast is for more snow this week, every day. Will this winter never end? The sun is out today and I'm planning to stand outside as long as I can with my face to the sun. You may have gathered from my recent posts that this grey, snoggy snowy winter is killing me. I want out. I reached desperation the last snowfall.

Remember when I posted that we'd have no more dogs in bed with us? Well, that's over. Bob and Rox won. We all cram together in a heap in the middle of the king-size bed. It's become a race to see who gets the best spot. Bob and I are two-quilt sleepers but Rox likes to sleep without benefit or the weight of covers. If she's on top in the middle, the quilts aren't wide enough so we all have to bunch up. And that works if Rox is having a vertical night. If she's having a crosswise night, we all mumble and grumble and sometimes she asks to get down to go to her own bed. She likes her sleep, hates being bumped and covered. Diva... Sigh, we've once again become The Flatley Pack. Shhh..... it's actually kind of nice...

Rox is a big dog. Bob kept saying he wanted a standard wirehair dachsie. Well, now that she is with us (4 months, by the way!) he comments all the time how big she is. At 27 pounds when she arrived, she was deemed 2 lbs overweight by the vet. We planned to have her lose, but she has added 2 lbs of winter weight.

Wait, how can that be?! She and Bob walk at least 1 - 1.5 miles a day... it seems that this spring will bring green beans and running. This dog will not be fat! Our goal is to get her to 25-26 lbs. She's young and energetic so I'm thinking 'piece-o-cake'..... mmmm. Will post about her dieting adventures. If I survive until sunnier warmer weather.

Would it be rude of me to leave Bob and Rox for a couple months next year? Spend January and February in Sante Fe, St. Petersburg or Sanabel Island? Would they miss me?

I Was Going Shopping...

I was going shopping but now I'm waiting.... waiting for Herself to get tired of the outdoors....

I let her out for her potty break before leaving and she obviously isn't thinking about my schedule - she took off straight across the backyard through the deep snow. As I type, she's in the way back sniffing, dawdling, looking at squirrels in the tree, chopping (chewing) down a little tree. She won't come in!

True the sun is shining, but it's still cold out there. She is oblivious to the cold I think.... Her coat is thick and shaggy, and I guess that helps, but geez louise, I spent 10 minutes taking pictures from the sunroom and I'm snowblind and freezing....

Here she is in the way back where the snow is less deep. She's looking at two squirrels in a tree who are chattering at her.

UPDATE: 25 minutes it took for her to get cold enough to come back. As I was picking ice balls out from between her toes she showed me all her pretty teeth. We had to have a discussion about that!

Wrapped up in her quilt, she's back asleep. How she does that I'll never understand. Head on the pillow, and she's out.

Uh.... or else she's keeping her eyes closed so I'll leave her alone.... sigh........