happy tired dogs

Sugar Beet & Baby Duke in the throngs of round 1

Well that Miss D, she's surprised us all. I had no doubts that Winnie would like Baby Duke 'cause Winnie is a dog's dog. She had an unfortunate beginning in life and was not socialized at all with people. One of those poor dogs, we're quite sure, that lived her life at the end of a short rope or chain, tied outside. She was surrendered to a shelter when she was just shy of a year old. My friend Jean, from this local shelter said she was one of the worst cases of fear that she's ever seen. Her previous name was Princess (Princess Winnie Poo Poo from some speck of an atoll in the South Pacific). Jean asked if I would foster Winnie because she was very concerned that Winnie was so frightened, so freaked out by being at the shelter that she was going down hill at a rapid rate. I picked her up one Saturday morning years ago, Em & Jake welcomed her with open paws and giant retriever hearts and Princess Winnie was flinging teddy bears around and grinning ear to ear that same afternoon. It was Em & Jake, I'm convinced, that made Winnie feel safe and at home here.

She loves the girls that we walk with and now seeks out and requests their love and pats and scratches several times each early morning. But she mistrusts and won't go near anyone else. If I have company (which is a very rare event here at 29 Black Street) she skulks from room to room, from dog bed to dog bed, avoiding even the slightest eye contact with whoever (evil demon) might be here. If those same girls that she loves in the morning arrived at my door she behaves like she doesn't recognize them and insists (by barking her scraggly face off) that they go away now. As far as she's concerned they can't come in her house.

But she loves other dogs. And she sure is sweet on that Baby Duke dog. They have at least three rounds of this flat out running and tumbling and chasing, gnashing and bumping and rolling until their tongues are hanging out and their eyes are sparkling with pure, happy, dog delight each morning.

It's so good for Winnie. It's the best kind of exercise a dog can get. That perfect combination of flat out physical aerobic exercise combined with the incredible mental stimulation of doing something that they love. In this case planning their fancy footwork or their next tricky move. And my Miss D. she's got the moves, she loves to spin and twirl. For my boy Jake, his thrill was endlessly retrieving 2 or 3 (sometimes even 4) sticks, at the same time, from deep water, never ever 1 stick - that was boring Jake loved the multi-stick challenge. Planning his strategy as he swam around collecting his sticks. Which one would he gather first? No question he was put on this earth to retrieve things from water- he loved it so. And our Miss Maggie Sue, well she prefers to retrieve large round rocks, the occasional stick does add a little spice to her morning routine, but her true love is scuba retrieving - plunging her head under water, holding her breath for awe inspiring and (we're sure) record breaking times while using her front paws to gather submerged items, rocks, perfect white clam shells, etc... and she swims lengths back and forth parallel to the shore in between scuba events.

When we arrive home, these recent mornings, Winnie's been skipping sleeping in her dog bed under the teak topped desk and preferring to immediately hop up on my bed or the guest bed where she can completely stretch out and snooze contentedly.

She's a happy tired dog. Smile.




Maggy Sue joins in the play fray, taking a very brief break from her scuba duties