LOL Ms. Boods… was going to loan you one of my Border Collies but it sounds like your two pups have got it handled.
My sheep are wonderful creatures who usually reward me with lambs. Except when one decided to spontaneously commit suicide by running her little neck into a gate post. No reason- no excuse- tame nice little ewe, must have had a bad day.
The dogs on the other hand, their reward for generous amounts of sheep time (work), free vet care, premium dog food, couches and even their own extra bed (it was free, so I’m not THAT much of a crazy dog owner)… they pay me back by destroying anything of value that I leave down. I only have one pair of shoes without teeth marks on them- purchased last weekend- I lost a $250 pair of handbraided romal reins to one dog and my DVD remote is just barely held together enough to use. I always tell anyone getting Border Collies to let go of your materlistic expectations and embrace a more spiritual, poorer side of life…
The cats aren’t much better- Wily, who I love dearly, pisses on the bathroom rug if his litterbox isn’t pristine ( he likes it cleaned out hourly- I try to keep the bathroom door shut). His counterpart, the young Mojo, has torn out stuffing on both beds, pukes house-wide at least weekly, and loves to dash out the door and run under the house (he’s an inside cat and I live in scary neighborhood) on days I’m late for work and can’t get him out.
Gotta love them all though, or else I’d go insane.
** Blonde** – oooh, looks are deceiving…sure, he looks sweet, and kind, but then the other hoof drops – oh, crikey, I’m starting to sound like my mum…
Smokinjbc – what a lovely offer, but Timmy has got it all covered – Eggs likes to help, but she and the other 2 dogs, who couldn’t give a toss about the sheep, gets distracted at feeding time, as all of the dogs like to eat creep feed, too…
I’ve seen many Border Collies at work – it’s fascinating…the only time it went pear shaped was once in Wales, as my cousins’ neighbours decided to put their collies through their paces for me…dunno why, as these dogs are champions, but that day, they were just haywire…just Keystone Kops…the dogs would charge off across the fields herding the sheep, disappear behind a hedge row, and then everyone would come galloping back, on the sheep were sorting out the dogs…only in front of company, I suppose!
It was going to be very, very hard. My wife and I knew it was coming, knew that she would not be able to get around once winter set in.
She had 2 doggy doors, one upstairs one downstairs. And two ramps, one which was 16 feet long so she could get off the deck. Heh, I shingled the long ramp so she would have good traction. She was having problems with stairs.
Anyway, it may seem maudlin, but the best thing she did for us is to die naturally.
enipla: Words fail me. That is just so wonderful that you would do this for her. You and your wife will see Alpine again, and this time there will be no pain and no need for ramps.
From one pet-lover to another: Thank you, and God bless you and your wife for loving your Alpine.
My responses thus far have been a bit of a downer.
About my dogs death and all.
I have been working on the house and had some time to think about my dog Alpine.
My wife and I would take Alpine to my brothers house when we went for extended trips. Worked great. The airport is far away for us, and my bro’s house is only 30 minutes or so from the Airport.
My brother put in a doggy door for her as well, and has a real nice fenced yard. He loved her too. It was sort of like a vacation for Alpine.
My wife and I came back from a 2 week vacation to find Alpine asleep on her bed at my brothers house. It was late at night.
We whispered to her “Alpine”. And, in deep sleep she started wagging her tail. Then we called softly, “Alpine”. Still in a deep sleep, her tail started wagging more and more and more. Cutest thing I think I have ever seen. She kept wagging until we touched her and she woke up. Tired, tired Labrador eyes, saggy sleeeeeepy face. Even when she stayed at my brothers ‘spa’ (he would put out a kiddy pool for her to lay in in the summer) she missed us and was dreaming about us.
Don’t know what to think about our cat Stormy. Little girl cat, but thinks she runs the whole house. Not very affectionate most times. But if you get on the computer, she MUST sit in you lap. Watching TV or anything else she is by herself. But if you get on the computer, she comes up and immediately falls asleep. On your lap. No other time or place will Stormy ‘snuggle’.
My responses thus far have been a bit of a downer.
About my dogs death and all.
I have been working on the house and had some time to think about my dog Alpine.
My wife and I would take Alpine to my brothers house when we went for extended trips. Worked great. The airport is far away for us, and my bro’s house is only 30 minutes or so from the Airport.
My brother put in a doggy door for her as well, and has a real nice fenced yard. He loved her too. It was sort of like a vacation for Alpine.
My wife and I came back from a 2 week vacation to find Alpine asleep on her bed at my brothers house. It was late at night.
We whispered to her “Alpine”. And, in deep sleep she started wagging her tail. Then we called softly, “Alpine”. Still in a deep sleep, her tail started wagging more and more and more. Cutest thing I think I have ever seen. She kept wagging until we touched her and she woke up. Tired, tired Labrador eyes, saggy sleeeeeepy face. Even when she stayed at my brothers ‘spa’ (he would put out a kiddy pool for her to lay in in the summer) she missed us and was dreaming about us.
Don’t know what to think about our cat Stormy. Little girl cat, but thinks she runs the whole house. Not very affectionate most times. But if you get on the computer, she MUST sit in you lap. Watching TV or anything else she is by herself. But if you get on the computer, she comes up and immediately falls asleep. On your lap. No other time or place will Stormy ‘snuggle’.
They always know when company is watching- my sheep get really savvy about when I’m giving lessons. If its a dog they know, they are generally cooperative- but if its a new dog, they like to squeeze out ridiculously small sections of the round pen and put me through hell trying to get them back. My dogs work their hearts out but the sheep usually win that one but I get the last word because we can work in the other pen, just prefer not too for first time dogs.
Zenster… yes- very hilacious puking. Its always food too, its a eats too fast thing I think. Otherwise he’s perfectly healthy
I’ll echo Quasimodem and say that all our beloved animals will be there for us in the end. We had to put our dear Dobie, Lord Vader down two years ago, and I believe it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. As D.H. Lawrence put it: “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.” Animals give us a lot more loyalty and unconditional love than we give each others as humans. enipla, all we can do is love them back, and that you’ve accomplished.
Well, he probably is small enough to fit in his own mouth.
I must congratulate you on nicknaming your Chihuahua after a mosquito. It’s pretty hilarious, even if he’d only make a between meal snack for one.
enipla, thank you for sharing your story about Alpine. Your devotion to her was heartwarming. Wagging her tail in her sleep had me grinning from ear to ear. I can only imagine how much you miss her.
My Spassette (Springer Spaniel-Bassette) PBJ lets me rest my head on her flank like she’s a pillow. She lets me do this MAYBE once a month. She let me do this for about 15 minutes this morning, so I’ve used up my PBJ pillow time quota through the rest of the year. This is the ultimate reward because she’s warm and the rhythm of her breathing is very peaceful. But most of the time she doesn’t put up with it at all and rolls out of the way, makes it sound like I’m suffocating her or does her, “Get the hell off of me!” grrrrr.
I think this is my reward for that time she chewed up my $400 glasses necessitating an emergency trip to Lenscrafters for a much inferior pair with poorer-quality lenses the night before Thanksgiving. Or maybe it’s the two sleep apnea masks she’s ruined at $150 a piece. Or that time when she figured out how to escape her wire crate & I had to buy a hard-sided one. Or that other time…
My cat Kermit pees on the carpet if his litterbox isn’t absolutely spotless. Then he comes over to me and rubs his head on my feet so I won’t get mad at him. It doesn’t usually work.
My little cat Cricket licks EVERYTHING. She’ll lick me, the other cat, the couch, laundry. Then yesterday I caught her licking the kitchen wall. My fiance and I were talking in the kitchen when we heard a rasping sound. We turned and the cat had her head turned casually to the wall and was lapping at it surreptitiously (sp?). Probably not good for her, but it provided us a few minutes of intense entertainment, which I found incredibly rewarding.
