Dogs (and Cats)


    I considered putting Dogs in the "Acres" section under livestock. Then I defined family to be "Anything that lives in the house by choice." Therefore the dogs go in here. A wise man once told me (in fact it was my second real boss, a guy named Fred, who smoked cigars and was anything but politically correct), "once you let the dogs in your house, you'll live in the dogs house." He's right.

(Note 20 Jan 2005: Any reasonable homesteader knows that a few felines around helps keep the dogs well exercised and reduces the number of migrant mice. So, don't be confused if you see a few cats around).


  Click for Larger Version During the cold of January 2011, the Big Man takes a snooze on the couch until I wake him up with a flash.

  In August 2010, these two casumatics hanging out. Big Man laid down so his head would be the same height at Little Girl's head. Both are interested in the camera. Junior took this picture. Click to Enlarge

  Click for Larger Version In May 2010, Buster got a hair cut. He talks about it on his Twitter Page. Note that all his little stray hairs (called feathers) are all gone. Its a close shaven look, even though his stubble is still about three inches long.

  In December 2009, two things happened: One, Buster the Dog got sick with some stomach infection and Two, it snowed. Here buster walks around slowly in one of his few outings, since he spent most of time lying down. Click to Enlarge

  Ribbon and Gadget Here's Buster, the Golden Retriever, playing with his gifts received during his Christmas 2006 celebration. He loves stuff for his mouth, especially kittens.

  Speaking of kittens, here is Blue. He is a real kitten, having been birthed some time in November 2004. Like most entertainment products and toys, this timing is just in time for the Holiday season. So, over the holidays, after guilting my Pop into another of the litter, I felt compelled to actually take the one we said we liked. He (or she) is pretty small now but will get bigger. Blue the Cat

  Soft Mouthin a Xmas Gift Buster again. Seems we get the best pictures during the holidays, this time at the gala Christmas 2004 celebration. This Christmas, he learned to talk. For Christmas, he said he wanted "Things and Presents." Dogs are not as smart as we sometimes think they are.

  Here is Red. He is a grown kitten, though not really a dog (I don't and can't have a Kittens Page). He was a stray (actually the neighbor's cat). He eats cat food, but no mice. Red the Cat

  Buster a' Snoozin Another photo of Buster. This is him looking west with a big chunk of wood in his mouth. He gets his fingernails clipped every week and brushed twice a week. He loves the brushing, not so crazy about nail clipping. I bring out the clippers with the brush, so he'll go through the clipping to get brushed.

  Here's Libby. She's a cock-a-poo. A cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle. The rules say the dad must be the poodle and the mom the cocker (or maybe the other way around). Can't have two cock-a-poo's having young uns though - they're called mutts.

Libby is the best dog in the world. She just inched out Pandora, the boxer my brother had from the time I was five to twenty. Libby hangs out, doesn't whine, stands up to big dogs, barks OK, and doesn't puke in the house.


  Yet another Buster photo, this time at about 9 months in age. We got him to be the "big dog." He's very smart and the hungriest. He eats anything on the counter. He's been zapped twice by the electric fence, both times running full pace back to the house, barking all the way. The first time he was a puppy and it took a long time for him to get there. It was funny watching and listening to him the whole way.

  Heeeeerrrrrrrreeeeeee's . . . Bonnie!

She is a scotty, but white. She is pretty slow as her legs are only about 3" long. When she runs, she gets her legs moving very fast. But with such short legs, she runs the risk of stubbing her nose on something, which then sends her into an end-over-end tumble. When she gets up, she keeps going but much slower.


  Buster on his couch. It used to be ours, but remember what I said above - we now live in the dog house.

  Buster as a pup, though getting big. Junior is just able to still heft him. He's pretty fuzzy still. Kind of fluffy. Lucky we didn't name him that. Could have named him Hammer..

  Buster with his favorite beverage. We used to have to bring this stuff in ourselves - now he can handle it on his own. He needs to work on pouring the cans into the glasses better.

  Libby on the stairs. She has these special ionistrophic optiporial psychoactivated eyes - they can burn right through a person if they are unlucky enough to meet this terrifying gaze. She will stair down all the other hounds. Psychoactivated Optiporial Gaze

  Buster a' Snoozin Buster having a half shut eye. He's a slow blinker. His blink lasts about three seconds. Its pretty funny. When he snoozes, he takes it seriously. That's why the psycoactivated barker in the previous photo doesn't bother him.

  Buster likes to run along with the G-Cart when we drive out into the woods and through the fields.  Usually, he comes when I whistle.  That day, he wouldn't come.  There was a storm coming up fast.  I booked back to the house.  I whistled and whistled - still no Buster.  Finally he came trotting up from the back.  What was in his mouth?  His first kill.

He's a very nice dog and never attacks anything.  This little groundhog must have been making fun of me for riding around in a goofy G-Cart.

Buster with his First and Only Kill

  Getting Ready for Dog Chicks Buster's favorite time of the week - getting a brushup and a fingernail trim. Once we finish this, we sell the leftover's to L.L. Bean for their Retriever Jackets.

  Buster on his couch again, this time with his little buddy, Blue. Buster likes to keep his tail close and have his head raised up on a pillow. Blue doesn't care as long as he's near his Buster. Buster and his Buddy Blue

  Blue on Bed Seems most pet pictures involve pet snoozing. Here is Blue, kitty #2 having a snooze on the lower bunk. These are supposed to be American Girl bunks, but once you let animals in the house, you live in an animal's house.

eBark