These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Monday, May 18, 2009

The Girl

I have been chuckling about Lolita a lot lately. She is the funniest little dog!

For one thing, there is a new twist in the bed time routine. When it is time for bed, we head to the bedroom , and I give them a treat. While they enjoy their treats (read that "scarf down their treats") I brush my teeth and wash my face. When I am ready to get into bed, they are all already on the bed, jockeying or having jockeyed, for favorite places. That's the normal routine.

Not long ago I began to have a problem every night that at this point Lola was not there. She had gone outside. No problem. I'm glad she does her business before bedtime. However, when she was slow coming in, I discovered that she was out there chasing bugs! Seriously! It is actually fun to watch her run and jump and twist around in attempts to catch moths. She is almost like a cat in her behaviors at this.

The problem is that she didn't want to come in! She is a night owl in this respect. The first couple times, I had to go pick her up and carry her in. Later, when this became a nightly event, I let her out, and after she is in I lower the doggy door to keep her inside. After she settled down I would slip out of bed and open the door again for the overnight. After a few nights of this, she got the idea, and I haven't had to close the door. She knows what the routine is, and she is doing well. So she plays a few minutes, and when I call her in, it is time for bed.

Once we are in bed, she has another thing that has recently begun. She loooooooves to burrow under the covers. I have only a sheet and a light blanket on the bed, but she gets under the blanket and scoots around all over the bed, bumping into her siblings or me. If someone on top or underneath where she is responds, she loves it. She will softly growl and struggle against the fabric and the unseen opponent for a minute then move on to the next one. Sometimes this lasts a few minutes and sometimes I have to tell her we are done and it is time for sleep. When I do, she rolls over for a belly rub, and we are done for the night.

Lola is a very smart little dog. She learns quickly about "no," or "go to bed," or "sleep now," and several other common phrases. She is pretty easy to live with, thanks to that. Yesterday I found my house shoe outside, and when I opened the door, she looked at it, about 10 feet away from her, back at me and ducked her head! She knew before I said anything. I just picked it up, saying "no," and came inside. She followed me in the house, and came to me with her head lowered, and we made up.

Lolita certainly entertains herself well. As you see in the above photos, she occupies herself well. While the others are hanging out inside with me, snoozing or following me around, she loves to be outside. So, The Girl sits on the deck and watches the world go by or catches a few winks. Or she does the same in the back yard. And when she wants to play with one of the others, she comes inside and aggravates him/her until the race is on. The Girl is self-sufficient!



And isn't she cute? She's really quite The Girl.

(Caroline, doesn't she look like Ali in this photo? :') I miss the old boy.)

10 comments:

  1. Yes she does look like Ali. I miss him too. He was such a great dog!!!

    I love when you do posts about your dogs. I love reading what they are doing and their routines. I think it's so funny that Lola will get under the covers and then play with the others that are on the bed.

    In my family Ben is the one that likes to get under the covers and it's funny because if I don't let him under, he will nudge me until I lift the covers so he can go under.

    I can't wait to come visit you and see all these routines in person.

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  2. your doggies are to shoes as pepper is to peanut butter and they are both expensive. Again I would love to steal lola she is such a cutie. We have the same routine with the kittens except they dont go outside. You dont dare move your feet under the covers.

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  3. Hey there, my wonderful friend! I've missed you...but I've been seeing you around on my blog and on FB...glad you're doing well.

    Ok, little Lola is the cutest thing! I enjoyed reading about her "routines". It's amazing how smart dogs are. It's so easy to see how they become such a part of the family.

    Love it!!

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  4. A dog sneaking out after dark, hmmmm. Aren't you worried about coyotes out there? She doesn't seem the type to be able to defend herself from one of the predators of the night. Then maybe she is. Being cute and cuddly doesn't necessarily mean you don't know how to defend yourself.

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  5. omg! she sounds just like my cat Bonita. Bo-Bo jumps at the moths on the other side of the sliding glass door. Bo-Bo, and the other cat, both like to swat through the blankets at each other.

    are you sure Lolita isn't part feline?

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  6. Caroline, yes, he was a dandy. :')

    The dogs certainly give me blog material, don't they? I like to write about them, but I'm afraid everyone else will get tired of hearing about them so much. Maybe not.

    I can totally see Ben doing that. He is a little clown in his own way.

    We are gonna have fun, aren't we!?!?!

    Bobbie, Lola doesn't make it impossible to move my feet, but she certainly entertains me and the others very well! And the shoes? Yeah, Jazi just a minute ago tried to walk out with a shoe! Not HER, too!!

    Dawn, remember, now .... *I'm* not the one that has been absent from the blogs, but you! And I've missed you a lot!

    Lola is a challenge, but a fun one! Each one of them is smart in his/her own way, for sure, and when they are in that special mode, yes, they are (almost human) family. I don't know what I would do without them. :)

    Dave, I've thought about that, but after talking with rangers, they think my fence is high enough to deter coyotes. If one is really, really hungry, it might jump the fence, but they tell me that coyotes don't like being in a small enclosed area like this. Let's hope! Lola's defense would be to freak and run like crazy! She does that at anything she doesn't know!

    (M)ary, I've wondered about that when I watched her play! She seriously does look like a cat when she does it. Cute as can be!

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  7. I also love to hear dog stories. She sounds goofy like Sadie.

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  8. She is really a cutie! :)

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  9. Seamus, thanks, I certainly think so!

    Cheryl, thanks!

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!