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TOPIC:
Rescue Success Stories - "The Peanut"
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Rescue Success
Stories
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The Beginnings
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The Natural Order of the Pack?
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Peanut and the Crows - Too Funny!
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Fashion Plate - Peanut Style
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Peanut Peculiarities
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Peanut Gets the Last Word!
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Mom Says I'm the Smartest
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Why Do I Have to Share?
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Visitors for Turkey Day
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Dog Obedience Classes & Photog
The
Beginnings....
(REAL Family Press - copyrighted 2003 by Linda Nelson AKA
"The Lady")
Since January (I think I mentioned this in the first Press),
I’ve sorta/kinda had this deep desire to rescue a small and tiny
pupper - sorta/kinda one of those “purse puppers” as they've
come to call them… I truly couldn't explain why and someone
suggested to me that I was going through the beginnings of the
'empty nest syndrome' with Desiree growing up to fast and off to
college soon... I guess I just had the internal need to love up
on something teeny tiny again... (smile)...
When I first got the idea, I did look on the Internet, but
seldom does one of these teeny tiny puppers get into rescue… And
I’m really opposed to purchasing puppies because there are just
too many dogs and cats dying every day in shelters…
 But
I kept looking at the website of our local shelter anyway…
About
every 4-5 days I’d stroll over and look at the puppers up for
adoption… Since January, I’d also make trips out to the shelter
four times… I kept this information to myself around here
because there was no need to buy myself trouble, ya know?...
LOL… I can have enough problems around here just in the
day-to-day things!…
I also didn't want to 'jinx myself' by expressing
myself aloud either!
Early last week, a teeny tiny
white and honey colored Chihuahua appeared on our local
shelter’s website… In the past, I’ve gone to the shelter to look
at a specific dog to get there and find out it’s much bigger
than it appears in the photo…
Or it’s a major yapper that
non-stop drives you to distraction… It had to be a female so
that Rogaine wouldn’t get as jealous… And I didn’t want a pup
and be forced to go through potty-training again…
All four times, for one reason
or another, the pup I’d gone to the shelter to look at just
didn’t have all the criteria… My back couldn't handle another
large dog, it had to be a female and spayed... I wasn't
necessarily looking for a Chihuahua, but Chinese Cresteds seldom
come into rescue or shelters... I didn't know if any of the
other small breeds would work or not, but I had more experience
with Chihuahuas than say Yorkies... And whatever came along, it
HAD to get along with the other puppers around here...
I had prepared myself for this
latest little Chi to have some kind of problem – if not being snappy,
being a whiner… Or something… And when she turned out to be
smaller than I expected as well as a quiet type of personality
at the shelter... And fairly
young I was told (although once she went to our vets, we
discovered she was at least five years older than she was listed
as), I admit to getting a few heart tugs… And then the
shelter lady told us about the lotteries they hold – when more
than one person shows up for a particular pup, the shelter holds
a lottery… You’re required to be there ON THE DOT at 3PM when
they open, be in line and ready to enter the lottery… She sorta/kinda
gave us the “heads up” about all of this – how it works – when
she observed just how much we were interested in this little
pupper…
Desiree decided that she was “stepping up to the plate”
regarding this pup… She intended to talk to Paul about the pup
when I reached the conclusion I was not willing to struggle over
her… I told Des that Daddy would NOT want another dog –
regardless of the hows, whys, etc. – and that it was a complete
waste of her time… Paul ended the rather short conversation with
“Do what you want, but when you realize you’ve made a bad
decision, I’ll be sitting on my throne, ready to tell you I told
you so”…. (sigh)… One more item on the side of the sheet under
“Reasons why I should not attempt to adopt this pupper”….
Then I spent Thursday night not being able to sleep, worrying
about the lottery and if in any way I’d won the lottery, the
changes that would need to occur around here, my reasons for
wanting to adopt this pupper, etc… I did not have a good night
and the next morning continued on the same wretched vein… I was
about 2 hours away from the time I needed to leave the house to
be at the shelter on time when I just figured it was a complete
waste of my time… And that I must be a defective dysfunctional
human being to have this strong want and desire to rescue this
pupper…
Well, Desiree and I did indeed go the shelter… One mishap after
another began to occur… There was a traffic jam on the way
there and instead of being on-time, we were running about 20
minutes behind… We’re standing in line outside the shelter, and
overhearing others discuss this dog and that dog and the number
12 (our pup’s kennel number) coming up in discussion after
discussion… Once inside precisely on the dot at 3PM, there was
three of us in the lottery and after writing my name down on the
piece of paper, the rest of it was sorta/kinda blurry…
Des tells me that if looks could kill – the lady behind me also
interested in the same pupper practically killed me with her
looks and stares… The shelter employee led us down to an
exercise pen, told us to wait and then went inside to get our
pupper… Apparently this other lady (with her two “rug rats” as
the shelter employee called them), followed us and stared
wickedly at us the whole time…
I, on other the other hand, had gotten very misty-eyed once I’d
heard my name called out from the lottery… I sorta/kinda just
followed where I was led and the first time I held this little
pupper, it was serious love-struck… Serious… Her poor little
ribs are sticking out all the way down her sides and if she
weighs 3 pounds, she’s lucky…
I had brought some cookies with me (just in case) and when we
opened up the ziplock baggie, you’d have thought she’d never
been fed before in her life… She’s shedding like crazy because
of the stress of being in this shelter environment AND her
kennel being between two HUGE dogs (like 75 & 125 lbs… OMG~!!!!)...
She could hear their deep, deep barks, but can’t see them… She
doesn’t know that they can’t come into her kennel and I’m sure
in her little pea-brain, the whole experience is immensely
traumatic to her…
Walking around, it’s as if she’s operating in a fog… She went
and widdled (potty-trained – thank you!)… Then sorta/kinda
wandered around like she didn’t know where to go or why… I don’t
think she’s “slow” or anything like that, but we suspect she’s
1-2 years old (we later found out she's more like 6 years old)…
And at her size?... EVERYTHING
is huge and scarey… Plus all the things she’s probably never
faced before in her life… Just the concrete-only environment of
the kennel is probably a new experience for her… Her entire paw
is no larger than a quarter, if that… And there’s not an extra
ounce of fat on her anywhere… (sigh)…
I’d make a blankee for her the previous night and took it with
me… If I’d not won the lottery, I still planned on giving it to
the winner… Every little dog needs and deserves a blankee, ya
know?... She appears to be a quiet cuddler when she’s in normal
situations, but she’s definitely not in any kind of “normal”
now…
So, we went and did the paperwork… She’s got to stay and be
spayed today… They are closed tomorrow and so I can pick her up
anytime after 10AM on Monday… (ask me how close to 10AM I plan
on being there!!!)…
I looked for a sweater for her, but even the 'EX-Small' sizes at
the pet store were twice the size of her… The best I can do for
now is to have a few blankees ready for her, and once she’s home
here with us, I can make a sweater for her… Then it will fit for
sure… Anything else will just hang on her like a 'big sister’s
hand-me-down that is two sizes too big'…
Last night, it all started to sink in… That I had finally found
the cuddle-bunny I’d been looking for… And that things were
working out that she’d actually be coming home with us… I’m
still sorta/kinda overwhelmed that I was the winner of the
lottery… I do know all the odds were stacked against me,
including my own bad luck at things that I really want…
Now, here’s the part that I referred to at the beginning of this
“war & peace” Press… Last night after calling Paul and telling
him that we’d won the lottery, he revealed that he’d spent the
afternoon so far doing nothing more but searching the Internet
for a teacup Chihuahua… After hearing that, I was floored and
overwhelmed… As much as he didn’t want to add another dog to our
motley crew, he’d gone to those efforts to attempt to find one…
When I asked why, he told me that he didn’t like what he saw
when he’d left for work… The “so-down-in-the-dumps” attitude
that I’d been in and just how much passion I had to save a
little dog instead of seeing another one die…
Her name is now Diva… And for hours, Desiree and I have been
bouncing around saying “We’re getting a Diva”… LOL… We have the
“Diva purse” already, food of course, and I’ve gotten a black
collar (with diamonds of course), leash, etc… I’m working on
soft blankees for her and am counting the hours until Monday…
I’m some kind of happy camper…
This morning, I checked the shelter’s website and Diva’s picture
and information has already been removed… That tickled me too…
And I can’t wait to share photos of her on Monday… I’m keeping
my fingers crossed so that Rogaine, YogiBear and BooBooDog
accept her nicely… And I’ve embarrassed Paul by telling him JUST
how GREAT and NICE he was… LOL…
A new adventure for us has begun… And I can’t wait to start
experiencing our life with Diva being a part of it…
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
The Natural Order of the Pack????
(REAL Family Press -
copyrighted 2004 - Linda Nelson AKA "The Lady")
File this in the folder marked “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”
but I gave up trying to keep the name of “Diva” for the
Chihuahua I adopted… Paul took to calling her “Peanut” and
eventually it just stuck to her like peanut butter would… LOL…
And she is a little peanut, that’s for sure… She’s healthy now,
but still a bit less than six pounds… I have to watch her blood
sugar – it’s a Chihuahua trait anyway, but she’s so little, if
she starts smelling something good and hasn’t eaten in awhile,
she gets the shakes… The best thing for her is to have a few
little meals throughout the day and then it keeps her blood
sugar at the right levels…
The four of them have all developed their roles and places in
the “pack” now… YogiBear is still the alpha in the pack…
BooBooDog is still Paul’s baby doll, getting everyone else in
trouble and then standing back, watching it all… Rogaine is a
compulsive eater and you can’t leave food down all day – he
consistently does his prowling of the territory, looking for
something else to eat… Whether he is hungry or not… If it’s
there, he’ll eat it…
And Peanut knows she’s special, here and
there she tries to boss everyone else around – Yogi doesn’t take
any of it, BooBooDog goes back and forth over how much she’ll
take and Rogaine gives in immediately…
Peanut’s also gotten the nickname of “Mouth” ‘cause she’s the
one that alerts immediately despite what’s going on… And for
being a little itty bitty thing, she has one really, REALLY
sharp bark that goes right through it – especially if she’s
close by you… LOL… Like they say, little things in little
packages!
Funny thing though – both Rogaine and Peanut have to be aside of
me (or in Peanut’s case, on top of my stomach), Yogi, BooBoo and
Peanut will sleep with each other, Rogaine will sleep with the
twins… But Rogaine and Peanut will NOT sleep with their skin
touching each other~!!... Seriously~~!!...
So if they are successful in their quest to sleep touching me
like they want to, then they have to solve the problem of not
having their skin touching each other PLUS they BOTH like to
sleep TOTALLY underneath their blankees!... But if I can
out-think them ahead of time and determine where each one is
going, I can make everyone happy and make sure there is a single
layer of material between the two of them… And that
settles it, if you can imagine that~!!... That’s all it takes
for them… LOL… They just refuse to touch either one when they’re
sleeping aside of me… For the life of me, I don’t understand it
although Des says I’m an “animal whisperer”…. There must be
something in the pack hierarchy that doesn’t allow the two of
them to sleep together touching each other I guess… LOL…
There are those that must think I’m a simple minded fool to be
so close to my puppers… They are a tremendous source of comfort
to me though… That I cannot deny and in fact, I guess I’m a bit
proud of being able to count on their loyalty to me…
Just this morning on the way to school in the truck I told
Desiree I’d love to have some kind of electrode that I could
“plug into” with Peanuts that would enlighten me about her past
– what she’s had to go through, what her life was like before I
rescued her, what truly troubles her so that I will never do it
myself even accidentally, what pleases her the very most, etc…
I have to do a lot of observing and 'sensing' to be with her where
I am today… She came to us very damaged in so many ways… She
jumped like a jack-in-the-box all the time at first… Loud noises
scared her… Fast moves… Dog food was passed up for junk food (of
just about any kind- she’s a major fast food junkie with the
likes of greasy French fries, tacos, you name it)…
For weeks after she arrived
here, I could not get a harness and lead easily on her... I got
several bites just trying, until finally I got one on and left
it on (with the lead attached) just so that I could catch her
when I needed to!... More than once I thought to myself I'd
taken on more than I could handle with this little pupper!... I
'felt' inside she wanted to react differently and I can't
actually explain what I'm trying to say here, but it was like a
'6th sense' about things... She just didn't know how to react
differently to the circumstances and situations that were going
on around her...
Peanut was
also so tentative as far as new things she’d not experienced yet
– they frightened her and you could never be assured she’d not
jump out of your arms and head for the hills without a warning…
If you were lucky (and there was no guarantee that always
happened), she'd eventually come out from underneath a bed -
only on her time and not yours - but her eyes always said she
was scared out of her wits!
As they say, "we've come a long way, baby!
since THEN and NOW... Anything is possible, if only you believe!
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
Peanut
and the Crows... Too Funny!
(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted Linda Nelson AKA "The
Lady")
Morning, Y’all… For as long as I have had the privilege of
taking care of the puppers and providing them with a home, I
have never ever had a day when I didn’t get at least ONE major
“giggle ‘til the middle jiggles” or “laugh until you cry”
episodes… Yesterday was no exception either… LOL…
I think y’all all know by now just how much I despise those
*&?!^%& crows… Not simply because they prey on the songbirds and
their babies around here, or because some of the bigger ones
make it a hobby of theirs to peck at and destroy anything shiny
that’s at their level…
It’s not even because of that ridiculous “group participation”
thingy they do to gather on my roof and collectively
“tap-tap-tap” at my skylight… A few of them seem to enjoy it
immensely to stand there (once having gotten my attention) to
look down through the skylight at me, turning their head from
side to side with those dark black beady eyes and mock me,
‘cause they know my power is only as great as the end of my
broomstick… They haven’t popped a hole in the screen of the
skylight yet… (I did say “yet”)… But it’s just a matter of time
– you mark my words…
And I’m POSITIVE they just LOVE to see me fly out of my garage
in my pajamas and robe some mornings, fussin’ at them… “Shoo you
crows – shoo! Get out of here!”… Despite any speed of my steps,
they don’t even bother to fly away~~!!!… They just walk a bit
faster and if there’s even a chance I’ll catch one of them
varmints, they’ll fly up to the gable of the house and look down
at me as if to say “Nanny-nanny boo-boo, you can’t catch me…”…
LOL…
But the thing that gets to me the most is the absolute PURE
arrogance they express with everything they do… Most every
morning the crew starts at one end of the cul-de-sac and then
make their way down the street to the other end of the
cul-de-sac… There’s about 13-15 of them now…
Some walk on the sidewalks, most on the lawns and even some in
the very middle of the street… But as they walk with that “step
– head bob – step” swagger, stopping to poke at this plant or
that stone, they do it with pure arrogance… Like they are
they’re surveying THEIR domain and we’re just interlopers on
their property… grrrrrrrrrrrr……….
There’s one of them who seems to be the ring leader who’s
probably weighs in at about 20 pounds (seriously!)… I have named
him “Vito” because it’s not that hard to imagine him sitting
somewhere with the rest of his cronies, discussing today’s
“take”… He’s pretty darned smart too… I’ve watched him do some
amazing stuff in the past two years or so, but that’s another
Press one day… LOL….
So anyway, yesterday the puppers had been outside in the back
yard, doing their business… Runnin’ round… Loving life… I opened
the back patio door and called – all but Peanut came in right
away… Peanut looks at me, she knows it’s time for her to come
in, but heads in another direction because she’s not yet done
her business…
So I stand there at the back door, waiting for her to do “what a
pup’s gotta do” and then come in…
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vito swooping in on a slow
decline with the intended destination being the grass in our
backyard (which had gotten quite high recently)… Apparently Vito
had been waiting for the dogs to vacate the backyard and
apparently thought all had… WRONG~~!!!!
About ten feet away from Peanut and about four feet off the
ground, Vito spots Peanut and does this highly comical “Oh SH&T”
movement with his wings, flapping them like crazy and jerking
himself up and down in jerky movements as he’s trying to regain
lift and air underneath those massive wings to at least raise
him the two or three feet that he needs to land on the back
brick fence…
Then - almost at the same instant - Peanut spotted this huge
crow coming in for a landing in HER backyard and OMG – the
absolute NERVE of this crow~!!!.... She starts doing these mini
jumps up into the air from an upright position on her back legs,
doing her absolute best to just get her teeth into those black
tail feathers which are just inches away from her mouth… Just
inches~!!!...
From inside the house, I’m dying~!!... I’m literally
dying~~!!... I’m watching this whole chain of events unfolding
in front of my eyes between this huge black bird trying to stay
out of this tiny Chihuahua’s mouth with all of his power… And as
hard as he’s flapping his wings to remain airborne, Peanut’s
jumping up and down to get just one teeny tiny bite into that
crow’s rear end…
I don’t DARE laugh out loud because I’ll distract one of the two
of them, but I’m just about doubled over in silent laughter… I’m
also prepared to fly out the back door (literally) in the event
Vito doesn’t clear the back fence… He’s big enough and mean
enough to peck her eyes out without skipping a beat… So if he
had landed and Peanut were still out there, I knew I’d have run
out to shoo him away for Peanuts’ own protection~~!!…
Vito JUST makes the back brick wall at the very last minute and
then shakes his feathers off, proceeding down the fence with an
attitude of “Yeah.. did you see what just happened?... Well,
that’s what I planned to do all along.. Really!...” … And then
he starts preening his feathers as they must have been bent all
out of place when he turned on the nitro, trying to make that
rapid ascent as he did…
I guess Peanut figured that she’s not going to kick any “birdie
butt” this time… So she heads back to the “I am going to smell
this entire backyard until I find the perfect spot to deposit my
previous poo” routine, restarting crisscrossing the backyard
again… From the top of the brick back fence, Vito begins that
ridiculous “step – head bob – step” movement, and begins to walk
down the full length of the back fence…
Without warning, Peanut finds the ultimate BEST spot to do her
business…
I don’t know if you’ve ever watched a Chihuahua do this
particular thing (LOL, probably not), but they have issues
because of how their body is configured… I’m trying to stay
delicate here, so bear with me, folks… LOL… But this particular
dog breed has to REALLY curl themselves over into a ball to make
this particular body function happen…
And while she’s in this position, I guess Vito got tired of
waiting for her to go away… So Vito starts this large flapping
movement with his wings at the same time as he starts running
down the back fence in a “glump.. glump.. glump..” movement,
trying to jump up and then fly away… Peanut is beyond the
committed point (if you know what I mean) and she’s sorta/kind
stuck in this “curled over Nautilus” position…
But the object of her desire (Vito) is about to move out of her
range and she’s just SO close, ya know?... LOL… So she’s trying
to walk, hop, run (well, sorta/kinda run) in this major
bow-legged, doubled-over position, barking to beat the band as
Vito gets airborne eventually and start sailing away…
You can just see the dejected expression on Peanuts’ face of “Oh
well, folks… I tried… I really did… But what can you do, ya
know?”…
By this point I have been laughing so hard (silently), that I’m
doubled over, just about nauseated and can no longer hold it
back any MORE… Peanuts sends me this curious look as if “what’s
with you, Mom?”, does a few of those Moonwalk steps with her two
back feet and then makes a beeline for me as I’m still standing
by the back patio door waiting ... LOL… Like I said, every day
is a full joy of unexpected pleasures~~!!... Ya gotta love ‘em~!!
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
Fashion Plate "Peanut-style"
  
(back to
the top)
Peanut
Peculiarities
(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted Linda Nelson AKA "The
Lady")
Here I sit ‘still pregnant’… LOL… Peanut’s taken up her old
habits again… Her personal preference is to be on my lap
underneath my robe or whatever else I have on… (not always
convenient if you know what I mean)… It’s like being 6 months
pregnant with a 4 lb hot water bag on your lap…
…
What a funny little pupper she is… Des is going to the adult
school to get the jump on her studies with a class, so we’ve
begun the morning trek this week… Peanut used to go everywhere
with me before I got so sick in June, so for awhile those “Wanna
take a ride?” queries of her had stopped… Once I had said that,
Peanut would be up on the arm of the chair closest to the door,
waiting for her harness… As well as any other time she saw me
grab my truck keys… LOL… And if she didn’t go?... She give you
one of those REAL sorry looks of hers… LOL…
She has a center high seat in my truck so she can ‘survey her
domain’… While Rogaine will simply bark at other cars (no one
ever handed him an award for his smarts), Peanut is particular
at who or what she lords over… Other puppers?... Without a doubt
regardless of their size… People on the street usually get a
waggle of the tail until she determines they are not Desiree –
then she just watches, watches, watches them…
She lets NO ONE close to ‘The Beast’ as we call my truck… Think
she puts her ‘zone’ around the truck and if I’ve got the seat
pushed back, eyes closed, waiting for Des, she hits her zone
button and is on the prowl…
“HALT… Who goes there?... You’re not Mom, Daddy or Desiree~!...
Proceed any further and I’ll jump right out of my high chair and
give you a ‘what for’ bigger than I am… (Hey, Mom… Wake up...
low growl)… Some big ole goober is getting close to our big
white moveable dog house here”…
“YOU THERE – I MEAN WHAT I SAY – PAY ATTENTION TO ME BECAUSE I’M
THE PEANUT AND I OWN ALL I SURVEY”…. Lord have mercy, Peanut can
REALLY get to going with her jumping up and down, that SHRILL
bark of hers inside the cab of a truck – it makes your ears and
head hurt – seriously!!…
I’ve had more people in a parking lot move away from the truck
once she’s rolling just because she’s SO insistent about this…
She’s just as bad about my lap… I can’t tolerate the others
stepping on my stomach any more – and they step without mercy if
you’re not careful… She’s so tiny, the weight is not an issue…
So she knows she’s the only one that I allow to sit on my lap
and the others have to be my side… If they attempt anything
else, she licks their eyes over and over… Don’t know what that
means in dog-talk but I guess ‘cause I don’t let her growl at
them, she still thinks she’s establishing her dominance by
licking them to death… LOL…
Peanut’s figured out how to get from the back yard into the pool
yard… I’ve put garden fencing along the wrought iron gating just
about everywhere and I STILL can’t find how she’s doing it… She
knows how to swim (and the ONLY one of the four that know to
swim immediately to the steps to get out… Geesh… Smallest,
shortest time with us and smartest – wouldn’t that figure?)… But
I still don’t want her over by the pool when I’m not out there…
Just me…
So for weeks, I’ve tried to catch her ‘going over the top’ and
haven’t been… There’s an 18” brick wall the wrought iron fence
stands on… It’s only a lengthwise brick wide too… Not much of a
landing pad if she jumps up and onto it… But Peanut is like a
mountain goat as far as jumping and walking precariously on
things… Not a major risk taker, she’s still very nimble on her
feet… She’d rather get as close to you as she can, and then give
you those “Awwww… Ain’t I just tooooo cute???” (eyelash batting
looks) to soften you up!... LOL…
Before I got sick, Paul surprised me with a pink pupper pram I’d
been looking at and drooling over… I haven’t yet gotten to take
it out for a stroll with the Peanut but once I get the energy
levels back up, I’m going to use that for an exercise for her
and I… Don’t care one bit what anyone else thinks either…
Peanut’s my one luxury and comfort critter that tolerates just
about everything I come up with… LOL… Even has her own raincoat
‘cause she doesn’t like to get wet…
She just did a major readjustment on my lap - which
usually mean's she’s annoyed at what I’m doing with my hands –
must be making too much noise on the keyboard with my nails and
she can’t sleep well… LOL… Guess it's time for me to close
this now!... Until later, gators!
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
Peanut Gets the Last Word!
(excerpt REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted Linda Nelson
AKA "The Lady")
 This
morning when I grabbed my keys, Peanut's harness and said,
“Peanut, wanna take a ride?” (the command I use for her alone),
her head’s up, her ears are out, and she bounded out of the
cubby hole she’d formed in the blankets like a rabbit… Usually
she waits on the arm of the recliner for me to put her harness
on, and then I reach for her, carrying her on my left side about
waist high…
Once her harness was on, she had springs in her back legs…
Jumping, jumping… Almost flying into my arms and if I hadn’t
been paying attention, she’d have sailed right over my left
shoulder… Thank goodness I had the handle of the leash in my
left hand… Otherwise I’d not have stopped her ‘flight’
skyward~!!!... Peanut's like - ”OK, Mom… I’m ready… Are you
ready, Mom?... Let’s go… Whatcha waiting for, Mom?”... LOL…
Peanut doesn’t care for riding in Paul’s Saturn… Because of the
way the seats sit, she can’t see out the windows if she’s on my
lap in the Saturn… And MY lap is her primo choice of sitting
spots at ALL times regardless…
But in "The Beast" (my truck), she can sit on my lap, front legs
over my left forearm and she has an excellent view through the
window of everything going on… BTW, she also has her own pet
seat that hangs over the back of the truck seat in the center...
But she prefers to go back and forth in the front seat…
And Peanut's as nimble as a mountain goat with the ‘sea legs’ of
a salty fisherman… She’s learned to ‘lean into’ a turn, brace
herself for a stop, etc… Pretty amazing to watch her in fact…
Actually, really amazing...
This morning my daughter, Desiree, has not only her purse, but a
stack of binders AND another bag of stuff she’s stashing in her
locker… So she took up the entire middle of the seat where
Peanut usually patrols…
Not cool!!!!!!!!!! LOL...
I opened my side of the truck, Peanut took another flying leap,
found her usual spot taken and landed square on top of Desiree’s
freshly shaved thighs on her second 'bound'… LOL…
Peanut DID have the last word on Desiree’s ‘squatting’ on her
territory of the center seat…
… Might teach Desiree to not wear a skirt if she intends
on hogging up the whole front seat with her stuff!!!
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
Mom
Says I'm The Smartest!! <EG>
(excerpt REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted by Linda Nelson - AKA
"The Lady)
Afternoon, Y’all… I personally think Peanut is the smartest of
my four puppers… Smart as in ‘scary smart’… And yet again today
she proved it once again… LOL…
Desiree was sitting at the table doing her homework today as she
‘cheeseballed’ yesterday for most of it and didn’t get anything
done… I went to the sink to do something and turned on the
faucet… Peanut barked once – just once – VERY LOUDLY – and
looked directly at me with that ‘alert’ look of hers… Peanut’s
bark startled Des so badly that she wrote on her homework
worksheet by accident as her hand moved… LOL…
I looked quickly over to the water bowl on the floor and saw it
was empty… “OK, Peanut – I see it – I’m on it”… A few seconds
later (almost with an incredible tone in her voice), Desiree
turns to me (must have just sunk in) and said, “Mom – did she
just tell you she was thirsty?”… “Yes, didn’t you get it?... She
heard the water running and knows that’s where their water comes
from”… I thought it was pretty obvious, but then again I spend a
lot of time with the puppers too… LOL…
It’s not the first time Peanut’s ‘communicated’ but then again I
guess you need to connect stuff when she does… She has an
AWFULLY shrill bark and I admit it’s pretty darned annoying when
she gets going – especially if she perceives a threat to ‘her’
domain around here…
I have a habit of opening doors and windows to catch the breezes
and it’s not uncommon to have our front door open with just the
screen door locked… Usually the last one to bed around here
checks the windows and doors before they turn in…
Last week, sometime during the night, Peanut went into her
‘frenzy’ barking mode and woke me up… I heard Des holler from
her room “PEANUT~~!!” which usually does quiet her down, but
this time it didn’t… So I knew enough to get up and figure out
what made her bark – and found the front door wide open and only
the hook on the screen door – and found Peanut standing by their
gate between the kitchen and the living room, refusing to budge…
Obviously she must have heard something outside she didn’t like…
 She
is a quirky dog though… As little as she is, she HAS to be the
FIRST one out the back door, through the patio and around the
back corner of the house… Don’t ask me why, but she’ll break her
neck to be the FIRST…
And I can say ‘potty’ –
Rogaine, BooBooDog and YogiBear almost always go, but not
Peanut… She goes when she wants to… And when it’s chilly outside
in the mornings?... If I don’t pick her up and force her outside
half the time, she won’t stir from her bed at all… LOL…
Unfortunately, as much of a ‘mountain goat’ as she is, she can’t
jump up on the new bed ‘cause it’s too tall for her… She can get
down – just not up… And when I’m sleeping, she MUST be either
curled up by my stomach or RIGHT on top of my hip underneath the
covers…
If I’m sitting on the double recliner watching TV, ‘her’ spot is
on my lap… Regardless…
And if she happens to be a bit
chilly?... Out come the paws, pawing at my dress or nightgown
looking for a way to get covered up… I’ve learned (finally!!) to
keep a blankee right by my seat to quickly grab so she can
‘mole’ underneath it and leave my clothes alone… After she’s
gotten it just the way she likes it, she’ll then stick her head
out one corner of it with it draped over her head and ears,
looking like one of those berckas the Afghanistan women wear… It
never fails to make me laugh when she does it!!!
As smart as she is, she still hasn’t gotten the idea of why she
can’t sit at my lap when I’m on the computer or sewing…
Especially sewing at the sewing machine – that seems to bother
her more than anything else for some strange reason…
A few weeks ago I grabbed what my family calls ‘drumsticks’…
They’re ice cream in a cone you can buy at the store - know what
I’m talking about?... Paul and Des almost have a competition
over who eats the most of them when I buy a box… Dunno why I
grabbed it that day – I really only like soft ice cream (like
from Dairy Queen) or ice cream ala mode on apple pie or peach
cobbler… Guess I was hot that day and it looked good to me in
the freezer…
But Peanut is a major fast food junkie – or whatever Mom is
eating… We were headed out to go get Desiree from school and
once I got past the hard chocolate coating on it, I decided I
really didn’t want it (nor the calories)… So I debated as to
what I was going to do with it and didn’t want to toss it
outside the window either… I ended up ‘planting’ it in the
carry-all on the floor, planning on putting it in the trash once
I got to the school…
LOL… Peanut decided looking out the window wasn’t as intriguing
as that drumstick and moseyed over to the edge of the seat,
stretching as far as she could to reach it… She was too little
and when I saw what she was after, I picked it up and ‘anchored’
it with the cone between one of the two cracks in the bench seat
of the truck… To tell ya the truth, when I did it, I didn’t
think much of it – just made it easier for her to lick the ice
cream cone and figured better that then it melt and make a mess,
ya know?...
Traffic on the street around the school (or the streets even
heading to the school) around dismissal time gets pretty hairy…
You’ve got to have eyes in back of your head to avoid an
accident with the new teen drivers… Or the adults in a big hurry
– or trying to cut you off to get there first - because their
time is more important than yours, ya know?…
At first I didn’t pay much attention to this Explorer, but then
it seemed like he was almost trying to race me – pulling up,
sliding back and then pulling up aside of me again… Finally I
looked over when he was aside of me to see at least three kids
(and the driver) with their faces almost plastered to their
windows, (apparently) looking at Peanut licking this drumstick
stuck in the seat cushion cracks… By this time she’d licked it
WAY down and was trying to get at that bottom part, coming up
for air here and there… LOL…
I guess it was a funny sight to them but to us, that’s a pretty
normal sight around here… We’ve learned with these puppers to
always expect the unexpected – and you’ll always have a laugh at
something they do during the day…
Some things AREN’T funny – for example - Peanut is like washing
your car… Ya know? The day you wash it, it will rain?... For
sure as soon as Peanut gets a bath, she’ll find something black
or dirty outside to get messed up again… Maybe she likes baths
so much she’s gotta have two in the same day?... LOL… But for
the most part, I’ve gotta laugh at most of what Peanut does…
 Even
though she’s not even half the size of BooBooDog, Peanut will
always figure out a way to get around the other three – even if
she has to go underneath them… She’s right at ‘tail height’ for
the other three, so once they’ve started wagging their tails and
circled around me, it’s not uncommon for her to close her eyes
and just ‘doggie crawl’ underneath their bellies (and tails) to
get the closer than the rest…
Peanut also has a pair of
doggie goggles she likes to wear to put her head in the breeze
out the window… If she doesn’t have them on, she doesn’t care
much for that behavior and is more content to have the window
cracked and just look out… LOL…
Yep – she’s something else… Then again, all four are so unique
and different in their own ways, you gotta stay on your toes
just to keep with them and their behaviors!... Now if I could
just learn and advanced form of ‘doggie speak’ I’d have it
made!... LOL… I probably miss half of what they’re saying to
me!!... And it's NOT because I'm from the South either!!
As Always,
The Lady
(back to
the top)
Why Do I
Have to Share?
(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted by Linda Nelson - AKA "The Lady"...
as written for The Peanut as she can't type well!)
I'm the tiniest pupper around
here and get the coldest of all four, so my Mom has bought a few
'kitty' beds for me as well as TINY beds. As I like resting
aside of her, she's got a few scattered around the house for me
too... don't I have a nice momma?
My big brother Rogaine is FOREVER trying to fit into them - and
he's just TOO big. Sometimes he can only get his big butt into
one, but that leaves his front half hanging out on the floor. He
doesn't care much for that, so then he'll get up, turn around
and lay down - which then leaves his butt on the floor getting
cold. Why does he even try? Can't he see they are 'peanut-sized'
beds? Geesh!
My sissy BooBooDog is another one - regardless of where I am
sleeping, she has to come and squeeze in aside of me. What's
with that?
Recently I found a new spot to
sleep in - I'm not sure I'm supposed to be sleeping in that big
white tub I found but as Momma's just throwing scrap pieces of
fabric
in there, it sure did turn out to be comfortable and warm.
And ya know? Sure as sugar, BooBooDog just had to squeeze in
there, pushing me out of my newest 'cuddle spot'. What's a gal
gotta do around here to have her own space? Geezie, Peezie!!!
Love,
The Peanut
(back to the
top)
Visitors on Turkey Day
(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted by Linda Nelson - AKA "The Lady - for The Peanut)
 We
have visitors now... Well, at least I think they're visitors...
Two humans arrived here last week and they brought two puppers
with them... My mom acted like she knew them and so did the rest
of my pack, but I sure didn't!... And I'm not sure if I like
these new visitors or not...
They came with a WHOLE lotta stuff... Even beds, for Pete's
Sakes!... I think if you bring your bed with you, you must
intend to stay for awhile, right?... Ut oh...
My mom told me it's HER mom and her mom's rescues... Robbie is
an old man and really doesn't want to play with me very much...
And he coughs a lot too... My mom says I need to be more gentle
with him...
And the other one?... Muffin?... She does NOT like me and I feel
just about the same way too!... My mom fusses at me when I don't
get along with the visitors 'cause she says it's not very polite
at all...
But what's a peanut to do?... I mean, they're even eating out of
MY food bowl too!... What's with that?... And they get treats
and goodies just like we do!... Geezie, peezie!...
I thought I had enough to 'patrol' around here with the four
puppies next door... My mom says I need to be polite and not
bark at them too... But my dad says it sounds like we're out
'killing lions' in the backyard now... And they don't let me out
as much as I'd like to go because I bark too much at the puppies
next door... What's with that nonsense??...
I can see them... Well, sorta/kinda... Through the slats in the
fence... And I sure can smell them... They don't cry as much as
they used to, but they sure do run around and so I have to bark
at them anyway... Then mom comes out and fusses at me for that
too!...
Some days it just seems like I can't win no matter what I do!...
Ut oh - gotta go!!!... Those new indoor, UNINVITED visitors are
headed toward my food bowl again!!!....
Love,
The Peanut
(back to the
top)
Dog Obedience Classes for Peanut - the "Journey Begins" <EG>
(REAL Family Press - 2006 - copyrighted by Linda Nelson - AKA "The Lady - for The Peanut)
My mom tells me she's taking me
to this "obedience class thingy" tomorrow at the place she
adopted me from... I'm not so sure I know what that is all
about, but she tells me it will make me a better doggie...
I already do "stay", "sit", "come here", "heel" and "howdy-doo",
so just how much more does she want me to do?... She says she's
not 'officially trained' so I'm not either... I sorta/kinda
resent that... I mean - how will being 'officially trained" make
me a better doggie?...
I can also chase those big black crows out of my yard, sit on my
mom's hip when we go into stores, sit quietly for AN ENTIRE HOUR
on her lap when I need to, lick the whipped creme off of Sissy's
Starbuck Venti Carmel Macchiato and not touch her straw, find
the chicken strips in the truck's center console, share all of
my beds with my pack mates... Whew!... I didn't realize I knew
as much as I did!!!... What's with Mom?... How much more do I
need to learn?...
Now if she could teach me what that new animal is next door to
me that I see through the fence, that would be teaching me
something new... It's got four legs, smells like a doggie, but
doesn't give back the proper bark... Instead it makes other
sounds and runs around, chasing it's tail... It's smaller than
me... I think it's a doggie, but it must be a baby 'cause it
doesn't speak any kind of Dog-lish I know!
Maybe it should go to this class instead of me to learn proper
Dog-lish, huh?
I try woofing at it every time I'm allowed to go out back, but
it just doesn't answer me in any language I ever heard... Oh,
and that's another thing now that I come to think of it... I am
bi-lingual... I speak Dog-lish and People-lish... The more I
think about this whole thing, the more I think I don't need to
go to class on Saturday!!
I'm wondering if any of those dogs there tomorrow already know
how to eat off of a fork? I do... Ain't I a smartie??!!...
And I said a proper 'thank you' to Mom this week when she made
me another sweater too!... It's bright red - one of my favorite
colors... So I have proper doggie manners to boot!... Yep, the
more I think about it, the more I think I should talk Mom out of
this class... Wonder if she'll allow me to play hookey?... She's
been talking about this for the past month or more, so I'm not
so sure she'd be convinced...
I just don't know what else they could teach me!
Love,
The Peanut
(back to the
top)
Read more about the dog
obedience classes and "adventure" along with photos at Petster:
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