Dogs are as hard to photograph as chickens
As a kid, I had wild notions of becoming a veterinarian when I grew up. (I also thought that I would eat dessert first once I "got big.")
Here's Lily. She's our new Australian cattle dog, or Blue Heeler. She's about 2, and was pretty badly abused. Penny is our first cattle dog, with a similar history. Penny had never been an only dog, though, so I thought she might need a friend.
Of course when you get a dog from a breed rescue, you're usually getting A Lot Of Work. And Lily needs a lot of work. The breed is a very intelligent one, though, and she is old enough to have all her faculties, so I believe she'll be relatively easy to train. She, unlike Penny, at least has been on a leash before, but other than that it is very sketchy: she's not housetrained, she doesn't know "sit," and she can't yet be reliably let off her leash, and she barely knows her name.
But today, for the first time ever, she was off leash. And, for the first time ever, she got to chase and retrieve something. And she brought the frisbee right back to me. (Just call me the "dog whisperer.")
I think all sentient domesticated animals just want to make a connection with we two-legged big-brained world-ruling animals, really I do.
Herding dog herding a dog (Penny is on the left)
6 comments:
what a good dog mom you are. how sad that they were both abused. I will never be able to understand how anyone could abuse an animal. Emmett, our brown rescue dog, was badly abused. We've had him since the summer of 2002 and to this day when I walk towards him outside carrying a tool like a shovl or a rake, he shrinks away and puts his head down. Awful. Your new doggy will bloom when he realizes that he won't be hurt by you and will do everything he can to please you. what a lucky pup!
Blue Heelers are kick-ass dogs.
(Sorry for the language.)
El,
Just wanted to thank you for your kind words at my place by visiting yours. Any fan of McCarthy (and, for that matter, any fan of Hank's blog) is at least a potential friend of mine. I look forward to returning here.
I share Hank's sentiment on blue heelers, by the way.
Oh, you are a hero.
I suspect your Penny will be a great help in shaping Lily's behavior.
I know it's hard. But I kind of envy you.
M, I can't understand abuse of any kind. War, either, come to think of it.
Hank, what language? ;)
John! Thanks for stopping. I'll have to pick your brains about Richard Yates.
CC, monkey see, monkey do is definitely true: Penny, though not a saint, is certainly a good dog. But envy? You should just think I am nuts and leave it at that.
What a cutie! Like everyone else, I just don't understand people who abuse animals, but now Lily has a wonderful new home.
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