Rocky and Pete

Rocky and Pete Wednesday -- 4:50 PM 12/1/2004

A really nice pair of dogs came to stay with me for the month of December while their family goes on vacation. I think they're Brittany Spaniels. They brought lots of dog toys to share, and Starlight's delighted to have dogs to play with. She especially likes the younger one, Pete. Pete has more energy, and they have been running like the wind, around and around the trees in the yard, and once in a while they come in for a drink of water, then back out to the yard to run some more.

Poor Beau has to stay in his pen for now, so he doesn't overdo the exercise and strain his newly repaired knee. I'll take him for a walk later this evening and leave the other dogs home.

7:12 PM 12/1/2004

Beau and I went for a walk, then I left him loose in the house to see what he'd do. He tried to play with the others so I had to lock him up again.

Since then Starlight and Pete have been running and playing almost constantly, and Rocky has joined them several times. They are giving the dog door a real workout.

Thursday -- 6:47 AM 12/2/2004 three dogs

What an interesting night! I had 3 dogs on my bed and one on the floor beside me, and they didn't disturb my sleep. What a nice bunch of doggies.

It turns out that Pete would rather snuggle than breathe. He had his nose jammed against me and I heard him struggling to breathe, but it never occurred to him to move, so I moved him. That way he could snuggle and breathe at the same time.

As soon as I admitted I was awake Pete and Starlight began running and playing.

3:51 PM 12/2/2004

I've been busy, and so have the dogs.

I left everyone but Beau loose in the house while I took him to the vet for his tests, dropped him off and came home just in time to wait for another dog's arrival. I put everyone in the pens so I could let her and her stuff in safely, then I turned everyone loose to get acquainted. It went well, but I had to leave soon so I put her (Paris) in a pen, just to make sure she'd be safe while I was gone.

Then I came home a couple of hours later and let Paris loose, and soon after that I had to go pick up Beau again. We won't have the results from his tests until tomorrow. When I let him into the house he was happy to be with all his new and old dog friends.

Now everyone's just hanging about, doing whatever seems like fun at the moment. There are bones to chew, squeeky toys to squeek, a yard to explore. Everyone seems happy.

Friday -- 10:43 AM 12/3/2004

Again Pete spent the night with me and Beau and Starlight. Dunno where Rocky slept, but he didn't bother me or anybody else, so I guess it was OK.

Paris had to sleep in her crate because she wouldn't settle down and sleep at bedtime, and she was keeping everybody awake.

All the dogs have been running and playing, except Beau who knows he's not allowed to. He doesn't know why he's not allowed, but he's a good boy and just watches the rough play. His knee is recovering nicely, so he'll be able to play with the gang in a few weeks.

Paris decided it would be fun to dig a hole to China, and all she had to do was start it. Pete thought it was a wonderful idea and did most of the work. They would dig for a while, then everyone would dash around the tree once or twice, then back to digging.

Starlight was amazed. She's dug some holes big enough to bury her bones in, but she's never heard of anybody going all the way to China!

The lawn guys will be here in a couple of hours, so I guess I should put most of the dirt back where it came from before it disappears with their blowers.

Saturday -- 10:01 AM 12/4/2004

After I filled the hole the gardeners came and mowed. Soon after that the hole got open again. I wasn't surprised.

The dogs all slept in their usual places, and things were quiet and peaceful until about 5AM when Rocky tiptoed into the bedroom and whispered to Pete that he should come with him. I heard the dogdoor swing twice, then after a couple of minutes it swung twice again and Pete came back to bed and I thought I could hear him giggling behind his hand. Starlight then got up and went outside with Rocky for a couple of minutes and then came back to bed quite innocently. Hmmm.

We got up as usual, had breakfasts all around, and then I went out with them. I found out what the conspiracy was about. They had taken a bunch of toys and the small bed Rocky and Pete brought, and they had buried it all in the hole.

Now that they can't use that hole anymore Pete has started another one in the back.

The three youngsters have been running and playing all morning, and they were having so much fun Beau just couldn't control himself. He joined them in their scuffles, so now he's locked in his pen. I really hate to do that to him, but in a few weeks he'll be all better, and it will have been worth it.

4:54 PM 12/4/2004

This place is really going to the dogs. I love it! the young ones do a lot of playing keep-away, and 3-way tug of war, then they come in for a nap until they're ready to go out and do it again. They've worn a path around the peach tree that will soon turn to mud when the rain starts. I don't even want to think about what the hole to China will turn into.

The two older dogs mostly stay in the house with me, but Rocky does like to go out and supervise the others. If they get too loud out there Beau even goes out to tell them to quiet down. Problem is, he just adds to the noise level, and they ignore him anyhow.

Paris's mom called and asked if Paris could stay one more night. Absolutely. She'll go home in the morning.

Sunday -- 1:07 PM 12/5/2004

It rained a bit in the night, and it's been raining off and on all morning. Rocky doesn't care at all, and Pete doesn't care much. That means my house is beginning to reek of wet dogs. The labs go out only when they have to, or when it's not raining. The spaniels go out just because they can. Frequently.

Paris went home a few hours ago, and not much after that Alice and her dog Lexa stopped by for a visit. They just left. We'll spend the rest of the day at home, not doing much, I imagine. Maybe the dogs want to go out and play in the rain, but I don't. I'll stay in here where it's warm and dry.

Monday -- 8:27 PM 12/6/2004

They have settled into a pattern and seem quite comfortable here. They've decided on their favorite places to sleep at night, and nap in the daytime.

They stayed home by themselves for a couple of hours today, and everything was in order when I came home. I wasn't surprised.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving them for several hours, once with Beau and once with both the labs. They all get along very nicely, except that Beau occasionally barks at Rocky when Rocky isn't properly respectful. Rocky isn't too impressed, though.

Tuesday -- 7:02 PM 12/7/2004

We had a fairly uneventful day. The dogs stayed home and guarded the house while I went places and did things. They've been tracking in some mud, and bringing wet toys in, so I'll be glad when this rainy weather is gone. I think it'll be nicer tomorrow.

Wednesday -- 8:42 PM 12/8/2004

I left them home for a couple of hours this afternoon, and when I got home I went out to the backyard and found a blanket out there. It usually lives in a dog crate, but two young dogs can think of other things to do with blankets.

Later I heard thumpings and bumpings at the dogdoor, and after a couple of minutes Pete and Starlight came in with a food package that had been in the recycle wastebasket. They have been amazingly good about not taking things from there until now. Starlight gave it to me when I asked her for it, and when I put it back in the trash Pete watched closely and I explained "no" to him. They haven't taken it out since, so I guess they believed me.

I've been putting them in separate pens at mealtime, and letting them out as soon as they are finished eating. Pete and Beau are always the first to finish, then Starlight, and finally Rocky. They all think the other guy's food looks better than their own.

Pete loves to sit with me on the couch and lean on me. Rocky prefers to sit on the floor near me and look at me, and he's happy when I pet him.

Thursday -- 8:50 PM 12/9/2004

Not much to report. We're falling into a rut. It's a very pleasant rut, with everyone knowing their place, and having friends to play with and soft places to sleep and enough to eat.

My house looks like 4 happy dogs live here. Happy dogs that don't clean up after themselves or put away their toys.

Friday -- 9:38 PM 12/10/2004

Every now and then Pete and Starlight come crashing in through the dog door, side by side, carrying a branch or stick. They tug it into 2 pieces, then they crunch it into splinters, with Rocky and Beau giving them a hand. Once it's well scattered throughout the house they go outside to find a new one to bring in.

I rake up the living room once in a while, then I sweep up what's left, and I've even been known to vacuum up the remaining splinters. An hour later it looks pretty much like it did before I cleaned.

My first three name and address tags arrived in the mail today, so in case anybody wanders away they'll be able to find their way home. Not that anybody ever wanders away. The other six tags will arrive eventually.

Tomorrow morning we're expecting 2 more dogs to join us for the weekend. I think 6 dogs in one house should be enough for almost anyone. In case it isn't, Alice and her dog Lexa will be visiting on Sunday for a while.

Saturday -- 8:21 PM 12/11/2004

The two new dogs arrived right on schedule. Oreo is about 15 pounds, and Savannah is close to 100 pounds. They get along together beautifully, and it didn't take long for them to settle in and feel like they belong with the group. The little one is awfully interesting to all the big dogs, so they crowd around him to check him out. He scolds them and makes them back off when he gets tired of it.

Pete and Starlight have become very good friends, and Beau and Rocky enjoy being with all the others, so basically everybody seems to be happy.

Tomorrow morning Alice and Lexa will pay us a visit, and there will be 7 dogs here. In the afternoon/evening the two new dogs will go back home, and I'll be down to 4 dogs. It will probably seem like a ghost town around here.

Sunday -- 9:22 PM 12/12/2004

Alice brought 2 dogs with her this morning, so instead of having 7 dogs here there were 8. And they were all very well behaved. It was fun having such a houseful of dogs.

While Alice and her dogs were here Savannah and Oreo went home. Then Alice took her dogs home. I was right in expecting it to seem empty here when they all left.

Pete and Starlight have been dragging in ever larger things through the dog door. There's an old tree branch about 5 feet long that's been in the yard forever. The first time it came in I took it from Pete and tossed it out the back door, but it came back in within about 10 minutes while I was busy with something else so it's still in the living room being chewed on.

Mealtimes are so much easier with only 4 dogs. I've been locking everyone in pens and crates at mealtime so they don't try to eat each others food. With only 4 dogs I have enough large pens for everyone. And fewer meals to fix.

Monday -- 7:39 PM 12/13/2004

We've had one of those nice peaceful days when nothing noteworthy happens. Everyone's behaving nicely. Pete and Starlight demolished the 5 foot long branch and scattered 6 inch scraps all over the house. They love to run side by side holding a toy or a piece of wood by both ends, They go in and out through the dog door that way frequently.

I heard thumping and bumping and looked in time to see Pete trying to drag a large dog bed out through the dog door. I told him not to, so he dropped it and went outside, then came right back in and tripped on it.

Tuesday - 7:41 AM 12/14/2004

We had an interesting night. At bedtime we all went to bed, but Pete wasn't ready to sleep. He kept inciting Beau and Starlight to play with him, and of course they were all on my bed at the time. I found it rather difficult to get to sleep with 3 dogs wrestling on top of me. After telling them to stop several times I finally put Pete in the large pen in the living room and we all went to sleep. I really like that pen.

About 2 or 3 AM a firetruck went by, and Rocky started howling. Pete joined in, and Beau and Starlight had to go into the living room to see what all the commotion was about.

By 6 I was awake so I let Pete out, and he went outside and got a nice 3 foot long root segment from one of my trees and dragged it in through the dogdoor. It was a challenge for him because it was all twisted. It was also dirty, having just been dug up, but that didn't bother Pete. They all thought it tasted nice and they didn't like it when I tossed it outside. I tossed it into the front yard where they wouldn't be able to retrieve it.

8:33 PM 12/14/2004

We had a quiet day with none of the dogs getting into any serious mischief. Starlight and Pete had fun running and playing and tussling as usual, and Rocky and Beau joined in their play a little. All four dogs are very good friends and comfortable together. I really enjoy having all these nice dogs.

Wednesday -- 8:54 PM 12/15/2004

Pete and Starlight ran and played for a few hours in the morning, then I took Starlight to play with Max at Mike's house for a while. After she wore Max out Mike brought her home again and she was ready to play with Pete some more.

I've decided people with dogs that howl at sirens shouldn't live next to fire stations. Should have thought of that sooner, I guess. Fortunately the firemen are polite about not using their sirens in the night unless they absolutely have to, and if the dogs howl in the daytime it isn't so bad. Kind of cute, actually.

In a couple of weeks Pete and Rocky's people will be coming for them and Starlight will seriously miss Pete. He's an ideal playmate for her as they both think the same things are fun.

Thursday -- 7:51 PM 12/16/2004

I went riding this morning as I normally do on Thursdays, but I didn't come straight home this time. I guess the dogs got bored being home without me for 4 hours, and they took one of the throw pillows off my couch into the yard and shredded it. It looks like it snowed in the yard now with all the white stuffing scattered.

The gardeners are scheduled to come and mow the lawn again tomorrow. Before they come I'll try to get most of the holes filled, and the toys picked up (or taken out of the big hole) and the stuffing thrown away.

Rocky and Pete are getting really good about going into the pens when I ask them to. They've figured out I'm either planning to feed them or at least willing to give them a treat for going in. It's nice to be able to just send them into pens when I have company, or when I want to open the gate to the backyard.

Friday -- 8:06 PM 12/17/2004

We had a lazy day today. After I got all the toys and stuffing picked up in the yard, and most of the dirt put back into the holes so the guys could do their every two weeks mowing, I kept everyone in the house. We napped a lot.

Then we got to bark out the window as they mowed.

After that I took Beau and Starlight for a walk and left Pete and Rocky to guard the place. Everything was in order when we got back so I guess they did a good job.

Quiet uneventful days are my favorites.

Saturday -- 12/18/2004

Another uneventful day. I just love those.

Sunday -- 6:18 PM 12/19/2004

About 5 AM I heard barking and growling in the back yard. Starlight and Pete and Rocky were all out there playing. I'm trying to keep the neighbors very happy, and that didn't seem like a good way to do it. So I called them all in and sent them into the pen. After the first 2 went into the pen I shut the gate. Starlight was the one who didn't get to be locked in with her playmates.

I went back to bed and all was nicely quiet.

Alice and Lexa came for a visit, and I put all 4 resident dogs in the pen while we played cards. I love having the dogs around, but they seem to help more than I really need. The more I have that pen the better I like it. It's big enough that the 4 dogs aren't crowded, and I can keep an eye on them.

Monday -- 7:38 PM 12/20/2004

I noticed yesterday that I hadn't seen the small dog bed that Pete and Rocky brought with them recently. I know they tried to bury it last week, but when I filled the hole they used I made sure there wasn't anything in it. I have a vague memory of putting it somewhere where it would be safe from being chewed up or buried, but I can't remember where I put it. I suppose it will turn up before their parents come for them.

Pete and Starlight brought in a 12 foot long piece of rope today and Beau helped them play with it. They had 3-way tug of wars and managed to drag my furniture around. They also wrapped it around me and moved me around a bit. I think that's the rope that was tied to my small boat. I suppose I should go out and see how far they moved the boat before they managed to untie the rope. After they played in the house with the rope they took it back outside.

Tuesday -- 8:07 PM 12/21/2004

I decided to look harder for the missing dog bed, and I found it, under a larger dog bed that I had also put away for safekeeping.

Not much happened today. Everyone was good.

I like having Pete watch TV with me. He snuggles so nicely, and he's so very soft.

Wednesday -- 7:33 PM 12/22/2004

The hole to China is getting rather impressive. Maybe they really will make it all the way to China before Pete and Rocky have to go home. Probably not. I just hope I have enough dirt to fill it up when they're gone. Starlight goes into the hole but I've never seen her digging in it, and Beau completely ignores it. So once they go home and I fill up the hole it will probably stay filled. When I planted a couple of trees recently I saved the dirt without knowing why I needed it. Now I know.

I'm not sure exactly when their parents are coming to get them. If I wrote down when their flight gets in I can't find it. Maybe they will email me ( dlogara@yahoo.com ) and remind me. I want to be sure to be here when they stop by on the way home from the airport to pick up their boys.

Thursday -- 7:29 PM 12/23/2004

Someone was a very bad dog today. I'm pretty sure it was Beau.

I normally don't keep chocolate in the house, partly because I would just eat it, and partly becasue I know it's bad for dogs and I don't want to put them at risk.

I made an exception this time, since today was Mike's birthday. I bought a small chocolate cake yesterday, all nicely decorated with "Happy Birthday Mike" on it. I put it in the refrigerator, but in the morning before I went riding and taking Starlight to play with Max I took it out so it wouldn't be too cold. I put it way in the back of the kitchen counter, out of reach (I thought) of the dogs.

When I got home a couple of hours later the house was a disaster area. The cake container was on the floor, empty. There were 2 bread wrappers on the floor, along with an orange with tooth marks, an empty bag that once had 5 apples in it. And the trash bag that had been hung (out of reach) was torn open at the bottom and trash was scattered all over the house.

I phoned my vet and was assured that they wouldn't have gotten enough chocolate to hurt them. I didn't think it would be enough but I felt better when they reassured me.

Then I picked up all the mess and went out to get a new cake. This one wasn't decorated, but at least it was yummy. I didn't leave it where anyone could get it, figuring they'd probably had enough already.

When Mike arrived with Starlight the house was un-disastered and the new cake was ready to serve.

Friday --

Not much happened today. They were basically quiet and good. In the afternoon and evening I was out for christmas eve festivities and when I came home all was peaceful.

Saturday - Christmas -- 6:29 PM 12/25/2004

We had a nice quiet day. Lots of toys to play with, They found a child's plastic shovel in the hole to China this afternoon, and they've been carrying it in and out, chewing it to bits. They've been dragging each other around the house with the long rope, and having 3-way and even 4-way tug of wars.

I took the Labs for a walk this afternoon and the spaniels stayed home and took good care of the place.

I passed out the last of the bones the spaniels brought a little while ago and everyone's happily chewing. Some of them will probably wind up in the China hole if Starlight has anything to say about it. She loves to bury things.

Tomorrow is the big day. Rocky and Pete's parents will come for them, Mike will come for Starlight, and I'll take Beau to Andy's house. I'll be all alone tomorrow night, and early in the morning I'll take the bus to the airport. I'm going bye-bye! After a couple of days I'll be home and get Beau and Starlight, but I don't expect to see Rocky and Pete again until their parents go on another vacation.

Sunday --8:21 PM 12/26/2004

After a quiet do-nothing day, Mike came and picked up Starlight, then I took Beau to Andy's house. There's nobody here but me and the two spaniels. Their parents were supposed to pick them up this evening but they're stuck in Washington DC. They say they can get a plane in the morning early. I hope so because I'm leaving the house at 5AM and the dogs will be waiting for them in the yard.

Thursday -- 6:21 PM 12/30/2004

When I got home last night they were gone, and all their things were gone.

I got Starlight and Beau back from where they were staying, but the house really seems empty with only 2 dogs here. I guess I'll be getting another foster labrador retriever from Lab Rescue in a few days to keep us all busy