...would be as sweet.
I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family...but he doesn't have a name yet.
Ivan?Beauregard?Leroy?
Sam?
I'm long past hoping that he's lost or that I'll be able to find another home for him.
I try to stay positive here but, I have to admit, I find humans to be consistently disappointing -hamstrung by stunted imagination and conditional compassion.
Not worth the gunpowder to blow them up, as my dear Grandma used to say.
I went out to investigate some canine goings-on on the beach. Occasionally the dog of one of our distant neighbors gets left behind on walks and has to fend for herself; I hate to see her get harassed by strays, so I go out and play chaperon. This time it wasn't her and instead I broke up a dog sex party...a bitch in heat and a few determined males. That explains all the noise at night lately.
I scooped her up (really she jumped into my arms) and headed home with her suitors in tow. She'll be going to the vet to be spayed just as soon as our truck is working.
After that I don't know.
Soon after she was taken out of play the males wandered off, but for one.
He sat at the gate looking forlorn and wouldn't be run off.
He's big, scarred, covered with bite marks, ticks and fleas
and is perfectly wonderful.
I went out to see him and fell in love. Seriously unbelievable...
intact, with a bitch in heat around and yet everybody liked him immediately.
Even Bosha, the weirdest dog I've ever met
(she's our neighbor's dog and is staying here while her human is out of town.).
Bosha and Maggie
We built a pen for him to stay in at night and when the bitch is loose,
but within a day or 2 he has taken to sleeping on the upstairs porch.
He hasn't ventured inside more than a few feet; he isn't sure about those ceiling fans.
He looks like a cross between a yellow lab and a pit bull to me.
Sweet, silly and slightly cross-eyed; you couldn't wish for a nicer dog.
Well... he is a little too interested in the chickens, but we'll work on it.
Update: We're calling him Floyd. He's a sweet, fun guy -an overgrown puppy with plenty of bad habits. He also seems to have some vision trouble that we're trying to understand. He's been neutered and blood tests turned up ehrlichiosis, a common tickborne bacterial infection that would prove fatal if untreated. So, a pill a day and lots of discipline for Floyd.
Final Update 10/11: What began so well has come to a sad end. Once Floyd was comfortable his dominant/territorial tendencies came out. We soon realized he couldn't be trusted around other males or too many dogs at once. Despite our best efforts over the course of a very stressful 9 months, we had to admit defeat and have him put down; we didn't have the space, resources or manpower to safely keep him.
We may be in the middle of nowhere, but it can feel like the center of the universe.
A recent day began with a view of a full moon setting over the water
and the sun rising inland.
Happy news for Paco the rooster; he finally has 2 cute little hens for company.
They aren't quite full grown and they're all getting along fine.
I think his morning crowing has been more exuberant since we got them.
Between him and the lovely dawn, I just may become a morning person.
I think I'll call them Eddy and Patsy.
This shot of Truman reminded me of one of the first pictures I took of him.
He's three now and just as cute.
Thank heaven for little boys! He was the only one in a litter of eight.
Speaking of sweet boys and how quickly they grow up...I tend to take a lot of pictures of Rufus, the camera loves him and so do I.
This is already his 4th post (#1, #2, #3).
He's always so darned enthusiastic!
The rest of his litter-mates are feral; I'm not sure how he found his way to us, but I'm glad he did. He's such a fun dog. Thanks to this blog and a little math, I believe his second birthday is around now!
Elewah, semi-retired queen of the woods, hangs out with his wild siblings. It isn't a stretch to believe that one or more of them fathered Jack and Lily (they turned 1 last month). That means that Rufus is Jack's uncle.
Shirley, Jack and Rufus in profile.
There is an undeniable family resemblance.
They've become great pals.
¡Feliz cumpleaños Tio Rufus!
Nothing in moderation, that's summer in the Yucatan.
Here thousands of flycatchers fill the sky and cover a nearby tower.
It lasted about 20 minutes and then they were gone.
The dog formerly known as Dolores is doing great.
She has been spayed and vaccinated and now
answers to Monkey (or Monkey Butt).
Monkey sleeping with Tuesday a few months ago:
She's pretty on the outside now too!
Her coat took about 6 months to grow back and is now silky and soft.
She's a riot -rambunctious, smart and vocal.
Monkey on the move:
Elewah retains her stray status, but just barely. It turns out that she does not like thunderstorms, or rain of any kind. She had been staying mostly on the ground floor and sleeping in the utility room, but when the rain came she relocated upstairs. We do still let her out to visit with the pack of strays that we call the Brethren, but she does so less often. I'm concerned that they'll find a non-spayed female to run with but there isn't anything I can do about that.
Elewah likes couch:
Sunny day shot of Frijolita.
She and her siblings just turned 3.
The rain has submerged many of the trails, so walks have been difficult.
It was so hot the day of this walk that the puddle was like a hot tub.
Nothing can stop Tito.
These pretty girls are surrogate mom and daughter and were just spayed.
Teresa, the bigger dog, was a street dog and had just lost a litter when Negrita,
the little dog, lost her mom while still nursing. Negrita's human brought them together.
He couldn't watch them after surgery, so they recovered here with us.
They were perfect guests and our pack's behavior made me proud.
Don't look directly into Lily's eyes...you'll be hypnotized.
Just a whole lot of dogs doing nothing.
Brothers and bookends Oscar and Otto think we need to bring more color into the room.
They may be colorblind.
