Maria’s view of Log Cabin Living

  I told you all about Daisy in a previous post.  Now, I’ll tell you about my other dog, Lucy.  She’s what I call “the intelligent one.”  She’s a sweet little dogs, and much calmer and quieter than Daisy.  Daisy, being a Jack Russell terrier mix, is very hyper and happy-go-lucky.  Lucy is more introspective… a thinker….a very devoted little pup.  She’s also the alpha dog.  At 20 pounds, she’s a little squirt.

Realizing that there’s a natural pecking order with dogs, I’ve always let “the girls” solve their own disputes.  Not that they fight or anything like that…not at all (well ok, occasionally over a bone)…but Lucy does feel the need to exercise her authority at times.  For example, if I’m petting Daisy, Lucy will strong-arm her way in by me, so that she can be the one being petted. 

I had rescued Lucy before I rescued Daisy, but under much less dramatic circumstances.  Lucy came from the same house…reputed at the time to be a crack house.  It seems that was true, because a few months later, there was a big drug bust at that same house.  But before that happened, Lucy, at about 4 months old, had been wandering around loose in that neighborhood during the cold of Winter.  A neighbor (and fellow animal welfare activist) told me about the poor little neglected tan dog.

My friend and I drove to the neighborhood and knocked on the door of the reputed crack dealer.  We asked them if they wanted the little dog.  They said no, take her.  So I did!  She was in good health and seemed to be well fed, unlike Daisy, as we later found out.

The thing about dogs is that, with them around, you can never get too much of a case of the blues.  Just the fact that they depend on you keeps you going.  And then there are their silly antics to keep you laughing.  They help to keep your mind off your troubles.  Yes, dogs are good medicine.

  In this picture, I’m sure the girls had no idea where they were being taken and what the heck was happening, as we moved me from Florida to Montana last February.  We stopped in motels for several nights, and one of our stops was at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota (a place I’d always wanted to visit).  Before we left Florida, I had bought harnesses and retractable leashes from Drs. Foster & Smith for the girls, and I was glad I did.  By the way, ’scuse how goofy I look…we’d been on a harrowing road trip in the snow and ice for several days!

  The girls, being terriers, absolutely love to dig for underground critters.  In this case, it’s moles.  Daisy does it for fun, but Lucy is very, very serious about her craft.  Consequently, Lucy has caught several of them.  Daisy… well, she has other good qualities!   They entertain themselves for hours with this sport.  

  This little dog can run like a speeding bullet.  I wonder if I can teach her to be a frisbee dog.  Trouble is, I’d have to put Daisy in the house.  I tried it with the frisbee once, but with both of them outside, there was too much confusion….neither dog could concentrate.

I remember when we first moved here (after all, it was only a year ago).  After having a small yard in Florida and never having been off the leash when out of that yard, they were able to run free on the property we have in Montana.  On the first day we let them outside, once Lucy discovered that she was “free,” she took off running ’round and ’round the house as fast as she could.  I swear she was smiling the whole time.   It was so cute to see her that happy!

   Last summer, we took the girls with us on an uphill hike on the Woodbine trail in the mountains nearby.  Hubby convinced me to let the girls off their leashes away from home, for the very first time.  I was a nervous wreck, but he insisted they would not run off.  And he was right!  They happily followed us on the trail, sniffing most everything, as we hiked along.  Once we got to the little wooden bridge that crossed this little river, the girls apprehensively crossed it with us.  We stopped to sit on the rocks and take a break, and Lucy promptly hopped into the rushing water.  It seemed as if she didn’t realize what she’d done, until she was already in the water.  I watched her closely, as she stumbled on the slippery rocks.  Then I called her out and rewarded her response with a ‘biscuit’…….one of the girls’ favorite things in the world!

Every day is a new adventure with the girls.  They light up my life.