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........

The Boots, The Boots !!!

The universal signal, the donning of the boots... first, an awareness. Then quickly it turns to excitement, which gives way to euphoric dancing and singing. Wah-rooooo, ruh-rooooo... the game is about to begin!

We're going, we're going! I'm taking him on a walkie.... Rah-roooo. Soon I'll see the ted-dog, and bark at those nasty runts behind the fence, and maybe see a rabbit, and I'll make a really big poop on the neighbor's driveway - what a gift to receive! He'll be so pleased.....

We're going, my daddy and me..... rah-rooooo!

Somebody Didn't Get the Memo

Rox was very interested in whoever the poor body was --- seems there is a critter who dares walk across Rox's front porch! And yes, that is our front porch covered in snow. Blech!

Bob was as excited as Rox - came to me to get picture of prints so we could identify critter.

I say it's a hapless, half-frozen little thing with 5 long toes. Bob wondered if it was... eek! ... the possum from before........

Roxie did lots of sniffing and tracked it back to behind the bushes and around the driveway to the house next door......

Whatever it was, it was very brave to venture onto Rox's porch.......

Sunshine

28 degrees. Sun is shining. Roxie is happy. Maybe I'll survive this winter.

Still have snow, only now it's slushy, dirt black and ugly.

Roxie Wants to Move to Arizona or Florida

16 degrees. 9 more inches of snow last night...

At least the sun is shining today.

'Nuff said.

Another Grey Snowy Day in Michigan - Roxie's Ecstatic

Standing at the edge of the patio, watching for snow critters and possums. She stood there about 10 minutes, head moving back and forth in surveilance mode. I didn't tamper with the lighting in the picture. This is how dark it was at 3 PM.

The Patio Potty Spot that Bob cleared for her is in need of another shoveling... Roxie spent about half an hour sniffing the whole area. Not sure what she was checking out, but she was thorough.