happy as a dog in mud

Some of the pictures are a little gloomy because it's been overcast;
rainy season is here. At the end of June, Maldi started coming along on walks.
Such an odd cat.Tito follows Maldi:














Maldi and Tito on the trail:

















from Maldi's first walk:


July has brought rainbows and puddles.
double rainbow over our house:
 













dogs play under a rainbow:


















everybody (except Miles & me) plays in the first mud puddle of the walk:














Puppy G and Maggie share an enthusiasm for mud:














Tuesday and Maggie.
happy, filthy little beasts:


















Maggie at her most satisfied:


















April is less of a fan of the mud.
striking a pose:
 













she still manages to get good and wet:














everybody's favorite puddle:


puddle part II:


Tito is doing great! His skin is healthy, his coat is shiny
and he's put on some muscle. He has a big voice, too.
He doesn't care much for the mud, but he's a fan of walks.
Tito in the lead:
 



















Lots of walks, but lots of time spent relaxing.
Ginger, Chester and Lucy at home:
 

el bandito Tito Negrito

Last Wednesday (I think), we got a little surprise... another dog showed up at our fence. The house alarm was sounded (it sounds like a lot of barking ) and Sean went out to retrieve what, at first glance, appeared to be a puppy.
It was instead a full grown chihuahua. Skinny little guy with a bit of gray. He isn't at all trembly or snippy. I didn't even know I wanted a chihuahua!Since we already had an appointment scheduled for the formerly fluffy girls and Rufus, Tito went in to be neutered just days after he got here. He was very brave on the ride to the veterinarian's office. He's home now and healing well. He's about half the size of Miles and has impossibly skinny and bowlegged back legs . He's been de-wormed, de-loused and vaccinated, so I think he'll soon be filling out a little. He has totally charmed me. He's got loads of personality. I assume he was dumped, but I can't imagine why. He can't possibly eat that much! Whatever, people suck. Chihuahuas on the other hand, can be pretty cool. I'm guessing he's about 4 or 5, maybe older.
Don't they look happy together? Sean and Tito:


















Tito checks things out:


















all together now...aaaaaaaawwww:


















first bath:














Zasu, Archie and Tito:






















me, Rufus, Godzilla and Tito:















come on? again with the big spaces? what the hell? I'm (temporarily) giving up in frustration.

spay and a haircut

Maggie and April have been spayed. Mags was in heat when she was dumped and pregnant. They both came through great, but Maggie managed to pull out 2 stitches on her second day at home. Gross.
She's fine now, but is spending a few days at the vet's office.

Maggie (l) and April (r):

we had the girls clipped while they were there.
Maggie(l) and April (r):
 

















The groomer was wise and left a tuft on April's tail, to help us tell them apart.
I think they look adorable:

I meant to post on 4/20, but I forgot.

Happily, there is nothing new to report.
Crepuscular pulchritude:















Spot and Maldi, just doing their thing:














Henry finally got his haircut. With two more fluffy dogs in the house,
I may have to invest in clippers.
The trick is to cut away all that is not Henry:














Speaking of the new fluffy dogs, they're doing great. It's gratifying to see them so happy, knowing what a crappy life they had and how close they were to suffering a cruel death. If you missed the previous post, these 2 were hog-tied and stuffed into boxes to be thrown away at the dump. Still, they remain optimistic. Dogs are amazing.
Early on, April preferred to be in a sheltered spot:


















Maggie is a bit more outgoing:














After they were here about a week, we took them on a walk. 
April in the lead:














She had a blast:


















Maggie is still covered in cuts and bruises, but it didn't slow her down:














she's a sweetheart:














Maggie and April think things are looking up:

Resurrection Day

April 12, 2009. Easter. Resurrection day.
Damn near for two shaggy little dogs. 
saying hi:















(That isn't puppy prison -we just put them in our storage building to allow them to calm down.)

To summarize, some guy showed up mid-day Sunday with two cardboard boxes, tied shut with twine. Each had a bound dog in it.
Some woman (?) told him to throw them away at the dump.
She bothered to mention that we might take them.
What do you say to that? I suppose it's obvious what we said:


















I didn't think to get the camera until we had them nearly untied:













This little girl is the more frightened of the two.
She has an enormous under-bite and managed to get a little piece of Sean:


















This little girl is 2 or 3 years old (my best guess) and looks like she just weened a litter.
She's very sweet. 
Someone tried to give her a haircut and gave up:


















First bath -horribly infested with fleas and ticks:














Notice the thumb bandage and the audience:


















Second bath, just as gross, with a bigger crowd:














These two have had a bad day:














Monday -feeling a little better.
We're calling them April (l) and Maggie (r):














If someone is interested in adopting one, or both, of them, let me know.
Also, if there are any itinerant dog-groomers reading this that would like to spend some time at the beach...

*Update: April has gone from terrified mess to being Sean's enthusiastic truck-dog.

Running with Sean

...and Bette and Lucy and Alice and Ginger and Archie and Chester and Eve.
Sean took the camera along Friday morning and made the following videos.
Don't watch if you're prone to motion sickness.
Otherwise, enjoy a bumpy tour of the woods, trails and salt ponds on a run to the mangroves.

third kilometer:

salt ponds:


water break:


the half way point -mangroves, lagoon and muck:

last leg:

Re: Rufus

Well, let's see...it's been windy.
tongues are flapping and poor Henry needs a haircut:














Sean -nearly always working, but never lonely:














Rufus is doing fine, but for a minor bladder infection. We're nearly certain which beach dog is his Mom, she spends a fair amount of time barking in our general direction. Lately she has had a few pups trailing her, and last week we flushed them out of the woods while we were walking. Initially I didn't think that Rufus was from the same litter because he's much smaller than the others. It's amazing that he made it to us, he covered a lot of ground for being such a sick little guy. He must have gotten separated from his family and headed towards the sound of dogs.
When I first saw him by our gate (alerted by the pack, of course) and went to retrieve him, he did his best to avoid me and went straight for the dogs. You might think that *Jehovah* dogs barking and jumping furiously at the fence would be intimidating to such a little guy, but apparently not.
Come to think of it, that's what Maldi, while a squirrel-sized kitten, did too.
Rufus says it was all part of his plan:

















taking on Oscar:













Oscar is not impressed:


















Tuesday and Gowron chew on him a little:














chewed on and spit out:














he likes Greta best:














Rufus gets some sun and Sean gets a face full of Shirley:














Truman oversees the housebreaking:














I'm working on a circus act to help pay for dog food.
today only...Rufus the Magnificent and Roni Ninefingers:














beautiful boy: