Saturday, February 18, 2012

Thelma and Louise

Katie and Lady have become two peas in a pod. I've taken to calling them "Thelma and Louise," a reference that will ring a bell for readers over the age of 20. Can you believe that movie came out 20 YEARS ago?? 21, to be exact. Geesh...it seems like just the other day. Thelma is described in the movie reviews as a passive, goofy housewife (that'd be Katie) with Louise summarized as "strong, organized, and stern, with some unspecified trauma in her past." Yep, that's Lady. 


The two friends take off on a 2 day fishing trip that unexpectedly turns into a wild cross country adventure. To this day if I encounter a rude or lewd truck driver, I channel Thelma and Louise and smile, mentally enjoying the fantasy of watching his semi blow sky high.

I was so surprised when Katie took up with Lady. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while remember that Animal Compassion Network placed Katie here to live with her brother, after she was "given back" to the agency. So of course the expectation - at least on my part - was that she would hang with Lucky. But it didn't work that way. She'll spend time with him on occasion, but it's Lady who has become the BFF. 

I admit that I wasn't thrilled at this change in the planned order of things. After all, Lady can be a real rascal. Stubborn, sneaky, and with a variety of behaviors that occasionally make you want to pull out clumps of your own hair. Lucky on the other hand is the most well behaved dog that ever lived.

I knew I was in trouble the first time I saw Katie tiptoe behind a bush and pretend to pee - one of Lady's infamous tricks. Lady must have some camel DNA, because she has always been able to go inordinately long periods of time without urinating. She'll go outside with Lucky for potty breaks, but just stand there and watch him, and then come back in. Most of the time I don't insist, but there are occasions when I do need her to go, like when she won't have another opportunity to go out for 8 or 9 hours. If I insist - "Lady, do your business!" she will generally comply.

Or so I thought, until the day I realized that what she was actually doing was heading off to a bush with purpose, going around the back side of it - and standing there. Then, when Lucky was done and came running back, so would she, with the exact same "I went, I'm so proud of myself, aren't you proud of me?" body language. Now when I see her lurking behind a bush (I even catch her peeking at me, to see if I'm looking), I"ll say "I see you!" And then she'll usually come on out and pick a place to go. Hilarious, that dog.


So you can imagine my disbelief (and amusement) the day I let the three dogs out and then noticed that TWO of them were lurking behind bushes, and only one was taking care of business! What a hoot. I have to insist that Katie go, however, because while Lady has camel DNA, Katie does not. Katie is on medication for spay incontinence. So hiding behind bushes is not an option for her. But how funny is that? Silly dogs.

And so it goes - what Lady does, Katie does. What Lady won't do, Katie won't do. Two stubborn peas in a pod. But what funny, sweet peas they are. Thelma and Louise.



24 comments:

  1. What a sweet and unexpected friendship. Your pictures of these two are just precious. Halle can also hold it for a tremendous amount of time for a 13 year old standard poodle. She is impressive. Have you tried those canine
    diapers on Katie? I once had a little Maltese that we rescued when she was 14 years old who was incontinent and the diapers worked well on her, but then again she was only 4 lbs. I eventually bought a used child's playpen to contain her. That worked well too, but would not work for Katie.

    Hubby got a Mac and I am typing my comment on it. Never used one of these Macs before thus the space seen above....

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    1. Hi Ina - thankfully Katie does not need the doggie diapers. She takes Proin, a half pill one day, a quarter pill the next, rotating, and that completely takes care of her incontinence issues. Never having had an incontinent dog before Katie, I had never heard of this medication and was amazed when the vet told me about it. Yaaaay for Proin!! How do you like the Mac? I've been tempted.

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    2. The Mac takes getting used to. I am planning to schedule a session at the Genius Bar at our local Apple store. I know I will like it. But it will take time to switch. I have only used Windows and a PC "forever"

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    3. PS Halle takes Proin too! She takes one pill in the am and one pill in the pm. Full pills. I put them in peanut butter. It is amazing. For a 13 year old she has great control and NO accidents. She has been on Proin for years (even when she lived with my mom)

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  2. I probably assumed that Katie and Lucky would be the BFFs, just like you, so I'm surprised at the turn of events. What a pair, though! Wonder what kind of girl secrets they're hiding from you? :)

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    1. Oh Deborah, I don't know their secrets, but I know they have them! One look at those faces, and it's plain to see...

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  3. Just don't let them have the keys to your car....

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  4. Hey, Brenda... stopping in to thank you for the visit (via Vicki) and comment you left. Thank you!

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  5. How lovely to have such a good dog pal.

    Love and licks, Winnie

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  6. How sweet! It is odd when the pair you expect to be good friends doesn't actually do so...We thought Fenway and Nyxie would be pals, but he seems to prefer Arwen's company. Things are definitely warming between Fenway and Nyxie, but I didn't expect it to take so long.
    And yes, I remember Thelma and Louise - one of my favorites ;)

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  7. Brenda, these characters are precious! What a great story to start off my day!

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  8. Hi Brenda
    I LOVE your blog header ~ what gorgeous furry friends you have ♥ Thanks for stopping by & leaving such a nice comment. Looking forward to reading through some of your posts this afternoon.

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  9. Oh my goodness! they are so cute!! Love the pictures. Dogs are hilarious, they have such colourful personalities. And it's always somewhat surprising when they pick up creative ideas from each other, like pretending to pee behind a bush. That's great!

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    1. It's funny...I've had only one dog at a time for most of my life. Without a doubt, one of the most entertaining aspects of being a "multiple dog household" has been watching their relationships with one another develop. It's been a fun and surprising aspect of having what sometimes feels like a herd of dogs here. :)

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  10. Thelma and Louise are perfect names for them. I loved that movie and could watch it again and again. These two must be a lot of fun for you Brenda, but also keep you on your toes. Pets are as unpredictable as people.
    Sam

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  11. They are very adorable!

    Nubbin wiggles,
    Oskar

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  12. What a lovely and amazing friendship! Both looks adorable.
    Love the pictures of these two good friends!

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  13. I loved reading this post. I felt like I knew your two peas in a pod at the end of it. What a wonderful pair. My sweet K used to do the same trick when she was a puppy, and we were house training her. We'd give her a treat every time she did her business outside. So, being a very smart puppy, she'd ask to go out and then fake a pee. Ha! We fell for it for a few days, giving her a treat for her "fake" squats. Then, we got wise...

    You said in a comment that you went through my posts, seeing the "falling a cliff" post but not seeing why K didn't have her leg amputated. It turned out that Colorado State Univ veterinary teaching hospital has a very fancy radiation setup. We had the bone tumors killed by radiation (there are only 2 or 3 places in the world where this procedure can be done). Now, K is in the middle of 6 rounds of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, osteosarcoma is not considered to be curable. The median lifespan is less than a year even with all these treatments. However, a few lucky dogs do get more than a good two years from these treatments... and without treatment, most dogs live only a couple of months.

    We're still holding out hope that K might be a miracle dog who lives a long time with osteosarcoma. But, even if her time is short, we're glad that we've bought her this super-high-quality time. It's priceless. She's a bright shining star in our lives.

    I can't wait to get to know you better by looking through your blog! Thanks so much for your comments on mine!

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