My Animals

Cally on the look out on the front porch!

I have never shown a photo of my animals before. I have a pug, named Maddie. She is a fiesty female. Always has been. I even tried being the "Boss" when she was little. I would lay her on her back and let her know I was "The One", not her. I got her from a farm down near Gaylord. She was the runt and very tiny and cute when she was a baby. They described Pugs in all the books I read as "golden retriever personalities, clown like, loves people, etc. I thought this sounded pretty good. She's "clown like" all right but that's about it.

Cally is a black lab/golden retriever. I was watching TV one Christmas Eve shortly after I was divorced and the kids were gone and I saw this TV spot on the news about 6 puppies abandoned in a box in Minneapolis on a street corner and if anyone would like one to call this number. So I thought for a minute and decided "what the heck". So, I called and left a message and they called me back and they said I sounded so nice they would give me one of the puppies and I could pick it up Christmas morning. So my daughter, Nicole , and her husband Peter went over to pick out the puppy and they did a great job. She's been a wonderful animal.

Needless to say, Maddi never potty trained totally. I blame that on the huge house we were living in. She couldn't figure out where the door was and so she started going anywhere she could find. Including her kennel. She just doesn't care! She is in charge and that is it!

Maddie can escape from anywhere. You cannot confine this animal. I now finally have a kennel she cannot get out of but it took some time to find the perfect one. She would use her paws to push the levers down and unlock the cage. She walks on a leash really well but if she wants to go after another dog (which she would do frequently) she can wiggle out of a regular collar no matter how tight, so I had to buy a harness to walk her outside. Finally, I gave up --it just wasn't worth the walk because she would attachk all other dogs.

We call her the "pugster"! I'm sure she was a criminal in a former life.

Our neighbors (in the first neighborhood that she lived in) had two german shepherds when Maddie was still in her youth. One of the children were walking these two well behaved animals and maddie was tied up outside and she kept barking at them until finally one of them couldn't stand it any longer and he took her by the neck and forced her to the ground. Didn't hurt her but let her know who was boss. She got right back up and started barking until I went out and got her. Part of the reason she is an escape artist is that she has alot of extra skin so she can wiggle out of your hands by twisting her body. If she doesn't want to do something she will wiggle and bite and growl till you give up. I usually wear gloves if I know I'm in for a real fight like trying to get her in her kennel or trying to get some food item away from her.

Cally, this fall - watching me trim bushes and hunting for a rabbit! She loves to chase them. One spring I found a couple baby bunnies in the lawn and looked like they had been there awhile. That evening Cally came to the back porch with a limp baby bunny in her mouth. I looked at her and said "No, you are not bringing that in here, drop it". She did and I let her in the house and went to check on the bunny and it was gone. Just playing dead so it could get away. I know no one believes me but she does know what I'm saying. She's very smart.

I do not knit sweaters or scarves or anything for these two. They won't wear them.

I bought an invisible fence when I moved to this house. I had the lab/golden mix by then and felt she would get more exercise running the yard than being on a leash outside. Well, the fence worked great for the lab (she's definitely more timid) but ole maddie girl broke right through several times with a little "yip" and she was gone. The neighbors complained and so I had to up the voltage (really it's a vibration) so she would stay in our yard. These two are not really pals but Cally tolerates her and tries to get her to behave. Maddie does pay attention to Cally so they have an understanding. Works that way in the animal kingdom.