Completely Uncivilized
October 1, 2010 
Somebody stop me from writing posts about dogs. Please. I just can't stop myself!
I've got dogs on the brain these days, I tell ya'.
There have just been a lot of dog-related goings on around here, I guess. And the dogs are sort of my cohorts in day-to-day child rearing, so I do spend a lot of time with them.
In case you haven't been reading lately, the newest addition to the pack is Henry...
Freshly neutered, sweet and gentle as a newborn lamb. Even though his doggy grin in this photo freaks me out a little, I love his black, black, black self. Other than rolling in some horse poop, as far as I can tell, he's quite civilized.
Then there's Keeper...
Other than his unfortunate venture into the dredge ditch a couple months back, he never goes farther than about ten feet from the house. And since he's old and completely deaf, he naps most of the day away in ignorant bliss, and really has no choice but to be quite civilized.
Timber...
God bless his chubby little beagle self. He's been a part of our family for a looooonnnggg time, and we love him. But in all honesty... There's just not a whole lot going on up there in that little noggin' of his. His world revolves around three things... 1) eat, eat, eat; 2) nap, nap, sleep, nap; 3) sniff, hunt, sniff, hunt. He has run away and returned 24 hours later more times than I can count, and most of these occurred when we lived in the Colorado mountains, so how he never ended up a tasty little mountain lion treat is beyond me. Yet here he remains. He now has to be tied up or on a leash whenever he's outside otherwise he runs away, so he doesn't have much opportunity for uncivility.
But this dude...
Completely uncivilized.
Okay, okay, maybe that's not entirely true. If it were, there are some small children and cats around here who would no longer exist in this world.
But his propencity for killing vermin is unmatched. How can he be so loveable and fluffy, yet so lethal?
The things I saw him do to a baby rabbit the other day... A little disturbing.
I won't share.
But I will share his most recent battle with a skunk... The other morning, he wasn't around when I called, but the air smelled skunky. A little later, I saw him across the road out in the field, pouncing and thrashing. "Oh dear," I thought to myself. "Lord only knows what he's doing to some poor creature out there." But, 'tis the plight of a farm dog to kill unwanted pests, and 'tis the plight of a farm wife to watch him do it and not intervene, so I let him go on about his business.
Shortly thereafter I saw him prancing down the field rows, with a limp skunk hanging from his mouth. Just then, I saw a lady drive by and do a double-take out her window at this wolf-like hound parading his kill. I'm sure that was a lovely sight for her to start out her day with.
I'm not sure how many skunks he has killed this summer, but I can tell you that he smells like he's been freshly sprayed pretty frequently, so I'm guessing it's a lot. And as ironic as it sounds, the only place I feel safe in petting him without my hand smelling is his rump!
I was thinking that maybe his new lease on life as a farm dog brought on all of his primal hunting skills. But then I remembered how, in Colorado, he... 1) chased off a coyote and stole its deer carcass; 2)faced off with a moose out in the woods; and 3) almost blinded himself in one eye by facing off with a marmot.
But when he wasn't busy with all that, he was our ever loyal and gentelmanly, pretty much perfect dog, by our sides through thick and thin, guarding over us and our babies. And for all of that, I am willing to put up with a pretty good amount of skunkiness on his part.
So that's the rundown on our pack. But what about you? Do you have dogs in your life? What kind? What do you love/hate about them? Do they touch your lives the same way I have confessed (repeatedly) that ours touch mine?
Reader Comments (3)
We are just not dog folks here....although all of your doggie posts are very persuasive......
WHAT?!? CATE?!? You're not DOG people?
Unheard of.
;)
Our sweet little doggy is spending her days being spoiled and loved on by my hubby's grandparent's. It makes my heart glad to know she is well taken care of right now. I think she'd be in for some trouble around here since we have no place for her to run around outside and two little boys who would pester her ALL day!