Happenings

Big Mac has been making himself right at home at our house. Nicky does really like him, even if he complains about him! lol Mac thinks he's a lap dog. At 17 months old, he's still just a big baby and he really does act like it!

Here is a tank Indy made one day. It's obviously made of an old cereal box and some legos and some pens for the flag staffs and a pencil for the gun. Since we really don't have room to keep such a great project around, we decided to just take a picture of it so he could remember it. He did have fun making it though. He always makes these kinds of tanks and such of old boxes, milk jugs, and just about anything else he can find. He's very inventive and sometimes surprises me.

Ahh, Springtime!

**WARNING: Parts of this post are graphic in nature and might be offensive to some readers.**

Springtime is such a busy time, especially in the animal kingdom! There is a bird who has made a nest in the top of the pine tree in our front yard, and we assume, has eggs and/or babies in it. How do we know this? Well, almost any time of day or night for the last 2 weeks, this bird has been fussing at our cat every single time he walks by....or even if he's just hanging out somewhere nearby. It's sooo funny to us and that stinkin' bird is soooo loud!! Argh! But, it is funny and even though it's also annoying, we're enjoying the show. I even took some pictures.

See? Here's the bird, sitting atop the window fussing at Chaser (our cat), who is comfortably laying in the window....on the inside....just watching the bird fly and flutter about. See the cat in the lower left of the picture?

Here the cat has moved to the other side of the window. I'm not sure if the bird realizes that there's glass between him and the cat or if he actually thinks the cat is an immediate threat. Either way, the cat has pretty much gotten used to him and just ignores him, though he seems to enjoy watching the show the bird puts on.

The bird usually starts on the roof, leaning over, to glare inside the window and fuss at the cat.


Then he flutters about and moves to the top of the window, again leaning over to fuss at the cat.

Then when he gets tired of flying here and there, he goes to the ground and literally paces back and forth, fussing the whole time up at the cat in the window. Isn't that funny?? The boys are getting a big kick out of the whole thing!

Now to the graphic part....

You know what else goes on in springtime, right? Well, the turtles are all going crazy trying to mount each other. Every time I turn around, someone is on someone else's back. And, worse....the dogs. Argh.

See, we got Bessie in early March. We kept her for about 2 weeks before deciding for sure we would keep her. I immediately called the local Humane Society to make an appointment to have her spayed. I got someone who didn't make appointments and she took my name and number and told me someone would call me back within 48 hours. I waited and waited, a whole week. Finally, I decided to call them again, which I did, every other day for the last 3 weeks or so, only to get a ringing phone with no answer. Not even a machine. I got so frustrated that I finally got in the car and went over to the Humane Society near my house to make an appointment. When I got there, the waiting room was plumb full and they told me that they were short staffed and that in order for me to make an appointment, I would have to sign in and wait with everyone else (who actually had animals with them) and when they got to me, they could take the time to make the appointment. The wait was about a 30-35 minute wait and I was on a tight schedule. I was so frustrated!! I have to go back on Monday or Tuesday.

Unfortunately, in the meantime, Bessie went into heat. Man! I just knew that was going to happen!! I'm so mad! If they had actually called me back when I first called, we could be all done with this by now, but no, they had to ignore me! Now, I'm dealing with a dog in heat and two males who are going crazy! First, she's bleeding everywhere. Second, we have to keep her away from Mac and Elvis, which is nearly impossible. Third, we have to keep her inside almost all the time, as we've had neighborhood dogs sniffing around and I don't want them digging under the fence to get to her. This is such a pain! I can't even go with her out back to let her go to the bathroom, because Mac and Elvis won't give her a minute's peace just to pee!! So, we have to walk her on the leash out front just to let her relieve herself. Oh, and feeding her is so much work! I have to let her out back with just Elvis, while I stand guard the whole time to keep him away from her, just so she can get some food and water. Then, I have to put her inside and bring out Mac so he can eat. Man! I wish this was over already!! I'm so stressed with this whole thing, I can't believe it! So, even though they'll spay her while she's in heat, it costs $20 extra. I wouldn't' mind paying this, but I'm a little concerned that she could have gotten pregnant before we realized she was in heat. If so, I wouldn't want them to spay her and kill any puppies. So, I think I'm going to wait out her heat cycle, then watch for a month and see if she's pregnant and if by some miracle she's not, then I'll make the appointment. How frustrating is all that??? Argh! Don't you just love animals?!? lol I'll let you know what happens.

Big Mac

No, I'm not talking about a McDonald's Big Mac. I'm talking about our new doggie....Big Mac. (We didn't name him. His previous owners did.) And, boy, is he big! We love big dogs here. lol We call him Mac for short and he's sooo sweet. Last month, we got Bessie, remember? I wrote about it here. Anyway, we finally got her brother. He's a beautiful dog and sooo happy. He looks like he's got a smile on all the time. It's so cute. And, he's a big baby. lol He's afraid of the turtles (which most of the new dogs are) because he's not too sure what they are. It's funny. But, his tail could be deadly!! It certainly causes a lot of messes!! lol So, without further ado, here's Mac.


Look at that happy face. :-)

He thinks he's a lap dog. lol When he just puts his paws on your leg, it feels like a 10 lb. weight!


He was nose to nose with Levi, so Levi kept saying, "Sit Max. Sit Max." and we kept telling him the dog's name was Mac, but I think he's going to call him Max for awhile. Anyway, the dog sat right down and Levi started petting him, then Mac started licking Levi on the side of his head and he started laughing this too-cute laugh...well, giggle really, but it was cute.

Here's Bessi and Mac in the kennel together. Yes, that's a huge kennel. It's funny, but because Bessie was here first, and now she's having to share her attention, she's none too happy. Last night she was sprawled all out in the kennel sleeping (and snoring) while Mac was laying down in a small corner. Too funny. I guess their hierarchy is already mapped out, huh? Maybe so, but they're sure having fun running around together!!

Bessie

About 3 weeks ago, Savannah brought home a dog...yes, another one...big surprise, eh? Anyway, it's a one year old female half black lab, half mastiff that belonged to a friend of hers, from school. The family has a mom, a 16 year old son, and a 6 year old son. They are living in a rented house and they have 5 dogs. They have a female black lab and a male mastiff (not the daddy), who are grown. The neighbor's mastiff is the daddy. Anyway, the lab had a few puppies and they gave away all but 3 last year. Bessie was the runt, so they kept her, along with two of her siblings. Well, apparently, the landlord is planning to move his grandmother down here and wants to put her in the house they're renting, so they are soon moving to an apartment. Obviously, you can't have 5 dogs (big dogs!) in an apartment, so they're slowly giving away the puppies. Bessie was the first to go. Savannah's friend told her about the puppies and she stopped by the house and brought Bessie home for us to see. We balked at yet another dog, but Nicky really liked her, so we've kept her. And, man, she is the best dog! She is house-trained and listens very well, fetches, comes to her name, sits, does not jump, does not bark too much, does not chew on stuff, gets into and stays in the kennel with no problem and is great with the kids. FINALLY! A decent dog!! Not a runaway with emotional, mental, or behavioral problems! You think I jest. Anyway, she's been great and we're really enjoying her.

We had to get rid of the remaining "New Kid" (the puppies we found last year), because she was very erratic and began growling at the boys. Plus, she was attacking our old basset hound, Elvis. So, we put her in a shelter. Having Bessie has been great for the kids. Even though her breeding is large, she's not really that big. She's only about maybe 2 feet tall at the back. I guess because she was the runt. But, she's really sweet and very submissive to us.

Now guess what? The friend wants us to take Bessie's brother, who is a brindle and looks more like a mastiff and is much larger! His name is Mac, as in Big Mac. lol We haven't seen him yet, but we're anticipating seeing him later this week or next. We'll see. We'll see, too, if Nicky likes him. I imagine he will since he loves mastiffs. I just hope he behaves as well as Bessie does.

I know it seems like we have a lot of dogs, but in fact, we don't. Savannah is a dog magnet and all the strays or runaways seem to find her (or our house!!), which is why we always have new dogs. Mostly, we find homes for them, but sometimes, if we can't find a home, we'll put them in a shelter. I don't like doing that, but we can't keep them all. Of course, Savannah thinks we should. lol Believe me, when she moves out someday, there won't be any more of this bringing in strays! But, as for now, we have a new doggie, with another *maybe* on the way. I'll let you know.