Getting Down to Elsa’s Level

Elsa is beginning to love and trust, but it’s a long haul.

As difficult as it is, I now aim for the floor to meet her on her own level. Elsa is our little rescue dog who has been with us for three months. 

Getting up from the floor is the challenge of course but Big Foot (swollen foot that is now Slim Foot) is allowing weight bearing moves!

At first Elsa seemed confused and suspicious when I hit the carpet but she decided in two days it might be acceptable (if not alarmingly odd) human behavior.

She comes closer now when I am down there, close enough for a belly rub but not quite near enough for a hug.

We are making slow but positive progress.

Yesterday while Elsa and I were connecting on the floor,

the looming shadow of a man-person emerged. 

Gentle Bill wanted to join the party too and was on his way down.

Immediately alarmed, Elsa gave a mighty jump and hit her head on the coffee table. Then she crouched nearby in a terror pose.

She finally realized we humans were down there for family love and noone wanted to hurt her.

She inched closer, sat between us, and rolled over for double belly rubs.

This is true progress because Elsa cringes when we try to pat her head and shows unmistakable signs of previous abuse.

For now,  with patience and gentle handling,

Elsa is beginning to love and trust, but it’s a long haul.

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Elsa or the Bug Eyed Assassin

Elsa or the Bug Eyed Assassin

There is a new addition to my family!

Elsa is a gentle little rescue dog who was “meant to be” ours and has been with us for three days now.

But my son wants us to rename her B.E.A. – the Bug Eyed Assassin. 

I found Elsa on the same day Mackenzie, my grandgirl, brought her own dog for a visit.  Kota is beautiful, graceful, gentle, and sweet.  But Kota never stops moving.  And Kota moves FAST.

Also at home on the pup’s move-in day were Bill and our son and daughter-in-law.

It was love at first sight when my daughter-in-law and I spotted Elsa.  She (the dog, not my daughter-in-law) met all my stringent criteria and she slurped my fingers ever so gently.  So I quickly became a doggie pawrent and began mentally listing all the “things” the poor little thing would require.

Elsa shook and shivered in the car all the way home and was obviously frightened and confused about meeting a bunch of  strangers when we got there but she seemed to take it all in stride.

Then it happened.  Kota (the ever moving speed demon) kept dashing around and around and around and came whizzing by Elsa once too often.

Elsa then used her secret weapon (her evil eye) and began a campaign to stop the whirling dervish in his tracks.  You could say that sweet Elsa revealed another submerged personality that emerged as Alpha Dog B.E.A. (The Bug Eyed Assassin).

As the object of growling, and threatening shows of teeth, poor Kota actually stopped mid-stride and leaped to the safety of her mistress on a chair that was inaccessible to the short little crazed attacker.

Meanwhile The Assassin then patiently waited “on guard” for an opportunity to punctuate her message and stop the monster from any thought of advancing.

Kota Under Siege by Bug Eyed Assassin

Thereafter, if Kota thought about coming down from her safe place for a high-speed run, there was Elsa/BEA casting her “evil eye” at the twice-her-size new friend.

Laugh?  Suffice to say I couldn’t breathe from laughing.  We were all practically rolling on the floor.

It is quiet here now and the Assassin has gone back to being Sweet Little Elsa, the perfect pup.

She is 6 years old by the way, totally house trained, seems to love her two elderly new caregivers, sleeps at the foot of our bed on her Serta Sleeper Dog Mattress, and revels in tummy and ear rubs.

It must seem pretty boring here now though, with all the family gone home.

But do you suppose she misses Kota?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Conversations with a Golden Horse

Rosa is a most beautiful golden horse (a Palomino) who lives nearby.

I pass her paddock on my way to town.

“Stop to say hello,” she would always seem to say and I would make that stop.

We connected.

And I somehow knew she loved our visits.

“Hellio beautiful Rosa,” I would say.  “You are so sweet and so good and I love you.”

And then I would be smiling and on my way..

But one day Rosa was gone, and the next and the next.

It was so disappointing to drive by her empty pasture.

I missed Rosa and our odd communications.

At first I thought our neighbors sold her but when I inquired they said, “No, Rosa is lame.  We are trying to help her with vet care and hoping for the best.”

And Rosa was gone for many more weeks until I had almost given up hope of ever seeing her again.

But now Rosa is back!  And just in time for the holidays.

She seems to favor her left back leg and stands with it semi-bent as if to lighten the load.

But my hope is that she is mending.  It is the season for miracles after all.

How I love stopping for human conversation with a horse who is so skilled at silent communication.

Her eyes say it all.

And I think she knows that in my eyes, she is truly beautiful.

pal·o·mi·no

[pal-uh–mee-noh]

NOUN [PLURAL PAL·O·MI·NOS.]

a horse with a golden coat, a white mane and tail,

and often white markings on the face and legs,

developed chiefly in the southwestern U.S.

Source: Dictionary.com

 

 

 

 

 

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Announcing a Dog on the Bed

Noche and My Beautiful Niece

Noche doesn’t sleep in the bed, but stays on top of the bed to watch everything I do at my combo corner “office-nightstand.”

She is as clever and as smart as she looks too.

Noche viewed the pictures I took but as you can see, she is relatively unimpressed.

I will have to try harder and strive for more candid-camera shots to meet her expectations.

Bill and I are dog sitting but there is some question as to who is really in charge.

We almost forgot how much laughter comes with a pup in the house.

Like when Noche claims the doggy toy box is hers and brings each squeaky critter to the middle of the living room.

Or when she rolls over on her back to let us know she’s happy.

Or I love the “Lets play!” stance – tail up, paws down.  

So THAT’S where the Downward Dog yoga pose came from!   

Anyway, I am happy to announce there is a dog on my bed, and a lot of smiles in the house.

 

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The Invisible Spy

Maybe if I crouch down low enough she won’t see me!

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Beyond ESP – One Canine’s Messaging System

Noche, our visiting German Shepherd, has made herself right at home now.  It has been about a week.

She stopped watching my every move even though she still follows me from room to room.  She leaps onto our bed and stays there until asked to leave.  She seems to fit right in, loves her romps in the fields, is never on a leash, and has never lost her appetite.  She will even let me brush her for about three minutes.

But I try to see a sudden life with strangers through a dog’s point of view.

“Who are these humans who feed me?  What happened to my other humans?  I like it here all right but I don’t feel particularly safe.  What if they leave me too?  I don’t think they really understand me. I need to leave them messages.”

There are surely inside and outside country sounds and sights that puzzle Noche – the scent of a wild fox or raccoon, the deer who wander by, turkeys and other strange roaming critters, and the noises of a country night.  Sometimes she barks midday or mid-night and waits for me to respond.  “Shhhhhh,” I say, “There is nothing there.”  And I pat her noble head.  “It’s o.k.”

Mostly we are set in a routine.  If I’m not quite awake yet, she comes to roust me out at 7:30 sharp each morning .  “Rise and shine,” she says, and “Time to eat my two handfuls of dog kibble!” Can she tell time?  I think so.  This is a brilliant dog.

I was warned that Noche leaves little messages of dissatisfaction if she is left alone.  We practiced once and she pulled down a ball of twine and unwound it a bit.  It was a clear statement, “If you must know, I don’t like being alone!” 

But yesterday was one of those inescapable days.

Noche was alone in the house for exactly 30 minutes.

The blinds are inexpensive and easily replaced.   I know she was desperate to see the road and keep a vigilant watch for returning humans.  That window now has a clear view for her.

She pulled down Bill’s jacket in the mud room and devoured the “treats” in his pocket.  Like I say, “Brilliant.”

The ball of twine that ties up our old newspapers was out again….. “Just sayin’…….

Nothing serious, nothing earth shaking.

But the result of this exercise is that Noche’s replacement humans finally “get the message.”

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A Dog in the House

I got my dog “fix” last week with the arrival of family who brought

their family dog.

Noche (pronounced No-Chay) is a beautiful German Shepherd who stole my heart.

Or maybe my heart was ready to be stolen missing Rozie.

Noche found Rozie’s toy bin and brought out each piece with

loving care and then claimed a weather beaten hedgehog as her own.

She claimed Rozie’s washed and ready-to-wear orthopedic bed too

and nestled in.

I like to think she claimed us as hers along with all the rest.

My lovely niece and little brother and sister-in-law were here too.

What a joy to see them all.

But Noche stole the show and somehow I think she knew –

she helped to heal my broken heart.

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Grieving in Advance for Lost Puppy Love

Rozie is an old lady now, about 14,

 a big dog with arthritis in her hips;

a good girl, always by my side.

Today Rozie had real trouble getting up,

and needed coaxing to struggle to her feet.

and I am asking myself,

“How long will it be?”

And my heart is already breaking.

No, we have not been bonding

since puppy love.

Rozie arrived five years ago,

and she knew when to wag

and when to snuggle and

 how to twist our hearts

to loving.

Now,  I keep asking myself,

“How long will it be?”

My heart is already breaking.

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