Sadie and Spike are in love. For those of you who have been following the happenings in these parts, you know that we recently adopted a little dog named Sadie in hopes that she would become a companion to our little guy Spike. Well, it's a beautiful thing when a plan comes together.
They start their day by chasing each other around the backyard, both of them running flat out. Sadie, the slightly larger of the two seems to recognize that Spike doesn't have the same level of endurance (he has some problems with his hips that seem to be congenital and will have them diagnosed under anesthesia as soon as we can make that happen) so she adapts her exuberance to his level of energy.
It is not unusual for them to come in from running and wrestle with each other all over the house. Then it's back outside to romp some more. This goes on for a good part of the day until they are both utterly exhausted and it's time for a nap on the couch.
Rusty, our wise old guy, seems pleased with the situation as he no longer needs to look after Spike. He did his best after Buddy died but just can't summon up that youthful vigor needed to romp with a youngster.
As with any dog who is resuced, it is hard to know their quirks until you've spent some time living together. Sadie can be quite jealous if one of the other dogs is getting human attention and she feels a need to thrust herself into the middle of things. She also hates to be scolded and will almost beg for forgiveness with her eyes and body posture. We feel she was probably harshly reprimanded (and maybe even hit) by her previous owner and so has learned to cower. She has a strong personality though and appears to be quite a resilient little girl.
We do crate Spike and decided it would be best to crate Sadie as well. Not knowing her well, and having cats who live in the house, it just seemed the sensible course of action. At first she was very resistant to the idea and we both sensed that she spent a lot of time left alone in her crate. She has learned that here it is usually for less than three hours at a time and there is always the enticement of a treat.
She is a very high energy dog and we feel this is probably why she lost her home. Her previous owners probably just didn't have the time to meet her needs and so we sense that she started to exhibit some destructive behavior. Bored dogs get into trouble, there's just no way around that fact.
Anyway, she seems pleased to be here, and shows us both lots of affection, and Spike is just head over heels in love. It has become a wonderful way to start my day, sitting out back in the morning, sipping coffee and watching the youngsters play.
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Comments: 42
Something interesting: if you don't know who they are, Sadie looks like a Spike and Spike looks like a Sadie. So they could be aliases for each other as well... OK, that was just silly.
Madame D - you made me laugh! Yes indeed, Salt 'n Peppa.
Thanks Lou Anne.
I hope you will tell us about your trip to Texas with your horses.
Love and hugs - S.
Thanks all for stopping by - it is really nice to share this little bit of joy with y'all.
I didn't grow up with animals. When my children were young, we got a cat, and for the first time, I really got to know an animal. I realized as Sadie demonstrates, that animals have emotions. I eventually became a vegetarian because of this close experience with my cat.
(Thought I'd catch you up on Shan and his horse Braveheart. They are developing a grand friendship. It's fun to see the happiness in Shan when he returns from time with Braveheart. Now that the weather has cooled down he's starting to fill in with his curly fur. I'll have to go out with a camera soon and let you see. The move was good for both he and Shan.)
Very revealing of my OCD personality, with all that running, jumping, rolling, and general horse play in the great outdoors, what are they like when they finally come back inside? If I remember correctly, your back yard leans toward the 'a la naturale' rather than a perfectly manicured Barbie doll patio with fake turf for grass. Haven't these two balls of energy turned into two tangled balls of sticker burrs?
Of course, even if that's true, that only means that they will both get a glorious daily grooming at the hands of their two loving ladies. So, I guess problem solved. 8-)
Shh!