Dogs who read calenders

It’s been a quiet week.  It started rainy and mild, ended up cooler and sunny. This morning there was heavy fog.  The hose has been running at least every afternoon, although there have been some mornings when the water on the animals dishes was frozen pretty deep.  Still the ducks have been out on the pond and the turkeys and chickens are ranging far and wide.  Its nice they don’t have to be shut up yet.

I wish I could keep the hens and young roosters from being out roaming in the front yard and garden.  It always gets bad in the late fall when they have to go farther to find yummies.  They think if they meet me at the back door they might get something extra.  That doesn’t work well when I am coming out of the door with a dog or two on a leash like this morning.  Lucky it was the cockers and not the Jacks I was taking to town with me.

I don’t know how they know the date but Honey, Barack and Ginger at least always know its Sunday.  On Sunday I go up to the little town nearby to buy newspapers and I usually take dogs with me.  The named dogs above, who love to ride in the car, like to go anyway.

Honey begins watching me the moment breakfast is done on Sunday.  I don’t know what I do different from any other morning.  Maybe it’s what’s on TV as Steve can’t be without TV in the background.  I think Barack and Ginger pick up on it from her - or maybe Ginger also knows as she’s pretty smart.  Anyway they won’t leave me alone until I pick one or two to go and leave.  I can handle Honey and Barack together but Ginger, although she’s smaller I take alone. 

Honey and Barack are the cockers.  They walk fairly well on a leash and jump in the car when told to.  Inside they sit on the console and passenger seat and behave pretty well.  Ginger is a Jack Russell mix and she is just itching to get away and chase something when she goes out the door.  I have to carry her to the car and I don’t let go until the door is closed.  Once inside she insists on sitting crammed between me and the driver’s door with her nose pressed against the window.  It makes it hard to get out but she does love it so.

It’s only about 2 miles there and 2 back but that little drive each week means a lot to some dogs.  Sometimes when the weathers nice I take Ginger for a drive after I get back with the cockers.  The things we do for dogs.  I am glad most of the dogs don’t care about going in the car.

Bugsy, our old farm terrier has started following me in the office to sit at my feet while I work.  I put a rug there for him.  It’s between the heating vent and the little heater I sometimes use in there.  Cricket, our little yorkie-jack mix lives in the office.  She is old and getting very blind as well as deaf.  She doesn’t mind old Bugsy in there but she barks when the other dogs come in.  She used to fight with them and that was why she was separated all the time as she was very aggressive with the other girls.  Now she is very docile, in fact I sometimes chase the others out if they threaten her.

Honey loves to come in the office and sit and eat Crickets food, which is the same exact food she has out in the kitchen.  Unless I pick it up she eats every crumb.  And she sure doesn’t need the extra food.  They all like to drink out of Crickets water bowl and they take turns checking out her kennel run, the ones who can fit through her doggie door anyway. 

When they sense I am going to my office all the dogs follow now. Honey beats me to the door.  It’s great to go to work with Mom I guess.