Will these two ever see eye to eye?
Prince. Bear. (Well, Bear is on top, here, so, "Bear. Prince.")
Before them came Blaise and Bailey. Litter mates. Neither was ever rescued from a life of abuse or neglect, yet Bailey lived in constant concern that Blaise might get one more pat on the head, a bigger scrap from the table, a bit more love from the humans. Blaise, a jumbo collie at almost 120 pounds, never acted anxious or worried. He just shouldered his sister aside and got what was coming to him. Praise. A pat on the back. A bite of CHICKEN!*
But I am not posting old photos of the old days, the days gone by, the years when our first pair of collies were here, watching our children grow up. When Claire finished college, Blaise gave up the ghost. When Mariel graduated high school, Bailey followed. Of course both dogs had to be put down. They would never leave us. No. Dogs like these will never voluntarily quit this earth. Their owners must put them down. At the vet's. It is awful. It is part of the Dog-Human pact.
Ok, I lied. OF COURSE I'm a gonna post at least one shot of B and B!
I've already posted dozens of Prince and Bear shots, back when @kona hosted the @dpet community. Does anyone know what's become of our beloved @kona? I miss him/her. (Some say Kona was a her.)
Back on track: two collies in constant competition for the attentions of THE MAN!
Bear cannot bear to see Prince getting attention from The Man of the House.
He looks at me with disbelief. "Seriously? What does the man see in that other shaggy dog?" So he hauls himself up, ambles over, averting his face, and lays a gentle paw on the man. "Here. Look at me. Me, Bear, the son of Black Onyx, dandy with the champion bloodline. Prince has no papers! He came from working parents. Farm dogs. Herders. What am I, chopped liver? --OMG, liver! When will the food lady cook us some more liver?"
That collie in Wayne's World.
I've seen some collies in the assorted Facebook collie groups with hair (fur) almost like this. I was trying to capture Bear's wispy ears but he made this face at me, and that was the end of that.
Or so he thinks. I'm a gonna come round with a comb and give Bear, the court jester, a floppy blow-out just to remind him that The Other Dog is a crown prince, whether or not he has the papers to prove it.
We love them both, but Bear will never be convinced of this."Puppy Bear" was only ten months old when his young owner posted him on For Sale on Craig's List. With a baby on the way, this guy and his wife were unable to handle a little fluffer they named Bear.
All Bear's "bad habits" were dead on arrival at our house. Well, except for the barking. I just cannot use one of those shock collars on him to break him excessive, enthusiastic barking. It's what he does. Bear is so sensitive, I cannot imagine the trauma an electric shock for barking would inflict on him. Prince would take it like a man, but Prince is already the strong, silent type. No need for rough (evil?) heavy-handed training methods with the gentle collie. (Or any dog. Says me.)
Whatever "misbehavior" Bear was guilty of in his former life, it had to be acting out due to lack of attention. And food. Lord, that dog was skinny. To this day he acts like he's starving to death. Poor little Bear! He was an angel from Day One, from the moment he got into our SUV without a single glance back at "Josh."
Prince was like a proud daddy when we drove home on that snowy Sunday in mid-December with another dog. My "Evil Jungle Prince" was suddenly letting this poor, pathetic, blank-slate of a dog, "Puppy Bear," win at tug-o'-war. Mind you, Prince would NEVER let any human wrest that rope from him. Ever. He taught Bear everything he knew, patiently, like a doting papa. Even so, little Bear has remained insecure.
But, little Bear knows he is loved. I am confident he knows this. I'm not sure Bear always believes it.
Bear is the first to hear a car approaching, half a mile out, knowing it's our daughter coming home from Omaha. He is first to hear the UPS truck rumble down the driveway with a package. Prince merely pricks up an ear: "Duly noted." Bear runs out to play Master Watch Dog, barking to alert us of STRANGER DANGER on the driveway.
Come on, Prince! The TRUCK is here!
Every evening, Bear starts counting the hours til the sun goes down and it's no longer too wretchedly hot for a walk. If we don't get moving at twilight, he barks to let us know what time it is. At bedtime, he barks to remind us of the hour.
To be fair, the Barker, little Bear, also does this to-die for bow. Every day. Every time we praise him! Prince never bows. He's just too cool for that.
Two collies, only a few months apart in age, but Prince is The Man (even if he is a dog!) and Bear is forever the little clown. Mr. Sweet Face, demure, unassuming--until he sees Prince getting attention that Bear believes is rightfully his.
Ok, little Bear. Know this:
We love BOTH of you,
even if Prince was here first, for an entire year, before we rescued you from that impatient young man who clearly wasn't gentle with you. Even though the cat arrived long before Prince. Bobi was rescued from the pound when Prince and Bailey were already fixtures here. He enjoyed only a few dog-free years before the Advent of Prince and Bear.
Our hearts have room for Blaise and Bailey, for Prince and Bear, all in equal measure.
The cat? No comment. :)
What a lovely household!!!
Funny too! AND THAT FACE!!! What a great shot.
Thank you for reminding me: they ARE fun! A lot of work (and money!), with vet bills, flea and tick meds, monthly heartworm pills, THE FOOD, the dog sitters if we dare to leave them (gasp!) for a day or a weekend or A WEEK, oh, the horror, oh, the abandonment! Oh, the guilt tripping faces when we get back.
Bob is fairly chill with the dogs. The faucet... that's a whole other story.
#MustTreasureEveryMoment - they do die on us far too soon. (How is Jimmy???)
Jimmy is being kept comfortable. I have decided not to do the thousands of dollars of tests the vet is insisting on before he will treat Jimmy for the "textbook case" of the disease he has. A treatment that is new, highly toxic, with unknown efficacy and known toxicity. I don't want to bring more of those chemicals into the world, and I don't want to torture Jimmy with several different types of radiation, and a slew of blood tests, to get a treatment that is unlikely to work and likely to make him even sicker instead.
I will be bereft when he's gone, as I always am when any pet dies, but one fewer creatures to care for right now would be a relief. And he has had a loved-filled and dog-heaven life, which matters much more than having a long one.
Awwww!
I'm with you 100% on saying no the expensive, invasive, and ultimately not even helpful vet care. "Care." The treatments are often worse than the cure....
At least Freddy is in good health, right?
I've been revisiting Tennyson today, he who immortalized "tis better to have loved and lost" -
If you have time to click on only one link today, I would exhort you to make it this one:
A Short Analysis of Tennyson’s ‘Nature Red in Tooth and Claw’ Poem
Does this not say that Nature is pissed about man's putting god above her?
But the poem begins with Nature's declaration that she is non-judgmental:
I interpret this poem very differently than this author does, but then, I read it from today, with a nascent interest in Victorian culture. The author thinks this ends on a hopeful note, but I see it as less so, just as Tennyson himself, who said
I love how Tennyson chose words with multiple meanings to deepen his own. I try to do that too. It can take me days to choose a single word. I wonder how long Tennyson spent on "tare". I read it with a meaning the author didn't mention, that of balancing to zero, evening the odds, leaving it to nature.
Not sure I love the analysis, but do adore that poem! Thanks!!!!!!!
Glad you like the poem. It's one I have to revisit or I keep forgetting it (all but the two two famous lines, anyway).
Weird. "Transaction Error" and "Disable side-by-side editor" had me hitting "post" several times, apparently in vain. Later, I find the six copies of the same reply. Oh what a day. Worse things, much worse, have happened today, most involving credit charges - you cancel something, and it is NOT CANCELLED - ugh. I see why my Luddite relatives have NO CREDIT CARDS. At all. No Cell Phones, no Internet. What are they missing? A lot of hassles. A lot of wonders too - are they talking to @owasco and discussing Tennyson today? Nope. Fixing cars or milking the cows, panting in a dark corner of the not-air-conditioned farmhouse, but also not fighting bogus credit card charges. *sigh
Freddy's great!!! Getting more and more used to human touch. I'm working on picking him up for longer and longer periods. We're up to 3 or 4 seconds lol. He's very loving, but still skittish.
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Neither one I hate dogs. At least you have a picture of a real pet in last photo.. 🙀🙃
Oh my!
You "hate" dogs...?
Somehow I was in denial about this, but today, I believe you really mean it.
Well, eleven cats, including Scary Mary, are in a better place because you love cats, so I'm not gonna argue with that. :) Also, a brilliant ivy-league lawyer who's studied the Kabala and contemporary prophets and mystics has a lot of interesting things to say about cats. (Dogs, not so much.) E.g.
I would think house cats are MORE likely to be former humans trapped in feline bodies, getting pampered by guys like @manorvillemike.... demanding our devotion and servitude... oh wait. Ah. I get it. These cats are more likely occupied by evil spirits. Feral cats tend to be more humble, right? LOL...
Carol, you are killin me with this deep thinking crapola. Release your inner little girl. Run naked through the nearest mega mall, When you are released in your priest's custody you will feel like a new woman.
LOL
Here's another cat-claim from the same source, an ivy-league alum:
Oh my!
You "hate" dogs...?
Somehow I was in denial about this, but today, I believe you really mean it.
Well, eleven cats, including Scary Mary, are in a better place because you love cats, so I'm not gonna argue with that. :) Also, a brilliant ivy-league lawyer who's studied the Kabala and contemporary prophets and mystics has a lot of interesting things to say about cats. (Dogs, not so much.) E.g.
I would think house cats are MORE likely to be former humans trapped in feline bodies, getting pampered by guys like @manorvillemike.... demanding our devotion and servitude... oh wait. Ah. I get it. These cats are more likely occupied by evil spirits. Feral cats tend to be more humble, right? LOL...
Both dogs look so nice and cute, I wanna pat and hug them. I have a Maltese at home.
Aww. Prince and Bear would welcome your attentions.
Maltese - beautiful breed!