A good dog

Man did the spring rush hit in South Dakota while I was there. This resulted in an extended stay to help with three brandings, AIing heifers, getting the drill ready and planting barley, putting CIDR's in cows, hauling heifers to pasture, planting around 1,500 trees, planting half a yard, saving a pig from death, a wedding dress fitting, cake testing, and an eight-hour round trip to Sheridan for an Ag Books for Kids presentation. Whew!
While it was fun, exhausting and a good experience for my fiancee and I, a dampener was put on the trip when my parent's called to tell me my two little dogs, Miss Weenie and Emmie Lou, had been missing for three days. When you live way out in the country, dogs missing for two days might still be out and about, but three days is kind of the turning point. Now, five days later they still haven't returned home, and reality is setting in that they most likely won't. Coyotes, a tunnel falling in on them, a badger, a stranger on the road? Who knows, but they are gone, most likely for good.
While both will be missed terribly, there are dogs and then there are special dogs that you get in a lifetime. While Miss Weenie was a good dog, Emmie was one of those special few.
I got her in Cheyenne six years ago this month, and she was the cutest puppy you ever saw. She threw up in my pickup six times on the drive home, and that was just the beginning of what would be a lifetime of sensitive stomach issues. She also made frequent trips to the vet, and had to be put under anesthesia three times, never for spaying, and also threw up after coming out of anesthesia each time. Then there was the time she ate mouse poison, and I had to give her hydrogen peroxide in a syringe until she threw up...
Stomach issues aside, she was a sweetie, and made it through four moves with me, from college to across the county and back to Wyoming. From city to country to city and finally back to country again, she was there for all the major and minor life events in the past six years. We racked up over 100,000 miles of windshield time together, and she could handle a 14 hour drive like a pro.
She aimed to please, loved kids when she was younger, chased balls and sheep, and would sometimes sleep flat on her back, all fours in the air, snoring. She was an attention hog, food lover and incapable of sitting still 90 percent of the time.
Since returning here, her life centered around feeding with me every day in the winter, riding the 4-wheeler whenever allowed, eating gross things, holding down the pickup cab whenever we were doing cattle work, keeping the cats in line, getting ear mites regularly, somehow knowing and silently appearing at the dinner table every night when my dad was finished with his meal so she could follow him to the porch for her morsel, sneaking a chance to sleep on the couch, begging out belly rubs, and all sorts of other little dog activities.
Now, as I plan another major move in a couple months, the thought of her not continuing the role of cherished constant companion is a very sad one.

Split opinion

Emmie loves winter. The nice, fluffy snow, the brisk, clean air, the lack of cockelburs and other nasty plants getting stuck in her hair.


Ah yes, she feels like a combination of Batman and Fabio, with her black, pointy ears and long, flowing hair.






Pearl, on the other hand, feels quite differently about snow and cold : )

Dogs and bulls and mud, oh my!

Emmie, Pearl and I went home this weekend to shear, then we got 2 1/2" of rain and that was the end of that. But, the new bulls I bought a couple months ago had been delivered, so I had to get some pictures of them, of course.


Saturday morning dawned sunny and bright. The bulls are safely locked in the corral this time of year. Well, kind of safely locked in. The calves tore out the entire side of the pen in the above picture last fall and we have the new posts set but the continuous fence isn't up. But anyway, part of having them under lock and key is feeding them.

Since I was taking pictures anyway I was given the task of moving the bulls out of the pen so dad could put the hay bale in their feeder. I used my dogs because they were already a mess and they really love the opportunity to chase anything. (That's not mud they're covered in either, and after a really good bath both still smell faintly of manure)


After getting everyone moved I started happily snapping away. Well, Pearl was obviously not happy with this guy's pose and being the tough little gal she is, she just decided to move him.


She literally has no fear.


This is my favorite!


And where, you may ask, was Emmie during this little show? She was wisely standing on the other side of the fence, thinking, "Pearl, you're gonna get stuck, I wouldn't do that if I were you."


Yep, Pearl got stuck, look at her face..."Heather, seriously, put down the camera and help me."


"I mean it, put the *#%@ camera down, this is no time to be taking pictures, help me!"

Have no fear, she survived without a scratch and was back at the harassment a couple minutes later.

Emmie Lou & Pearl Ann

Since I talk about my dogs constantly I decided they should be properly introduced. They are polar opposites and my primary source of entertainment.

Emmie Lou is a 9 lb toy Aussie and I have had her since my college days. She is kind, listens well and has been described as "a vets dream" for her ability to wrack up a bill there. She bounds out of bed before my feet hit the floor each morning, bouncing around and happy as a lark. She is all kindness and willingness to please and enjoys being the center of attention. I get asked about her name a lot and it stems from Emmy Lou Harris, who my parents listened to when I was growing up.

Emmie's loves:
Being scratched, held, pet, loved in any way.
Eating.
Pleasing anyone nearby.
Chasing rabbits, birds, sheep, deer, etc.
Snow.
Playing fetch.

Emmie's hates:
Water in any volume larger than her water dish will hold.
Baths, since they involve water.
Getting in trouble.
Other dogs picking on Pearl.
Being picked on by my brother.
Birds.

Pearl is my mini Dachshund. I acquired her when I left NM and she is a 9 pound ball of personality. She doesn't give a crap what anyone says and the only thing getting after her accomplishes is scaring Emmie. She sleeps in and usually jumps off the couch, stretches and gives a half-hearted wag of the tail around 7:00 each day. If something scares her she just leaves the situation and good luck finding her. I wanted to name her Penny, but that sounds too much like Emmie, so Pearl it was.

Pearl's loves:
Killing any new toy or ball and breaking her previous time record in the process.
Racing and chasing people around the house.
Wiggling in next to you on the couch and sleeping.
Digging.
Playing.
Looking tough.
Faking deafness.

Pearl's hates:
People, particularly one guy from NM that was my good friends bf.
The Akbash sheep guard dog, he chased her and she ran into the herd of sheep and got run over. She blames him for the whole incident.
Birds.
Cold weather.
New situations.
Did I mention people?

Together they love to chase just about anything, with their specialty being birds, cats and livestock. Pearl is personally responsible for killing 18 chickens, and one cat that I am aware of.
They also love to go anywhere I am going. Pearl spends the drive wandering around, shoving Emmie off her seat or curling up in the cleanest available coat. Emmie prefers to hang out the window, curl up in the second cleanest coat, or sit on the center consul. However, she also spends a lot of time trying not to puke since she gets car sick.
They fight like two kids and every night sit on the floor until Pearl puts her front paws on the couch and they both give me the, "please mom," look. At which point I almost always give in and let them up. After some petting and scratching Emmie stretches out on the opposite end and Pearl digs under my blanket and roots in as close to me as she can get.
Both have been kicked, stomped on and beat up and Emmie usually goes to the vet and Pearl comes out without a scratch. They don't care much for town, but hey, were all in agreement on that one. I love my little dogs and like I said, they provide a lot of entertainment.