My dad has always said that if animals & kids don't like a person, you need to wonder why. Proof that Michael and I were destined to be together was given to us by Ding, Dad's anti-social and extremely rude cat. (Sorry, no photo - I wasn't kidding about the anti-social part) He hates pretty much everyone except for Dad & I, but he decided it was true love with Michael and began mauling him right away. Dad decreed that Michael was a keeper because Ding liked him. Can't argue with that logic...
Now on to the largest of our herd.. Introducing Chandler (Bing)
Chandler is a 2 1/2 yr old Catahoula/Plott Hound mix. He is a BIG baby, weighing about 100 lbs now. He is a big lover who enjoys lounging, chasing butterflies, and stopping to smell the flowers (and then unfortunately - for his momma - eating them.) The picture above was taken when I caught him chowing down on all of my lovely pansies. You can see the lone survivor behind him. He enjoys roses and strawberries as well. Not only do I deal with the birds, bugs, and hubby stealing my produce..I also have this brute who "helps" me in the garden.
He has a real love of sleeping on our bed even though he has a wonderful doggy bed of his own. His best friend, besides our other dog Calien, is Celie the Siamese kitty. When she was a tiny little kitten about the size of his ear, she decided that he was her hero and that she had to sleep on him and pounce on him whenever she could. He gives her slobbery baths and cuddles up with her at night. It's really cute to see this tiny little cat and her big protector all snuggled together.
Even with his plant-stealing issues, Chandler is a great dog. He is very smart and fiercely protective of both Michael and I and his kitties. He has become a very good watch dog around the place, letting us know right away if there is anything amiss or if we have visitors. I highly recommend this mix of breeds as you get the best of both the Catahoulas and the Plott hounds.
There are several of these dogs with this particular mix available for adoption on the website: http://petfinder.com/ I am seriously considering another one for us as we are so happy with our Chandy.. (and yes he's named after THE Chandler Bing from "Friends". We were having a hard time coming up for a name for our puppy when we were watching TV one night. He was sitting between us on the couch and something caught his attention on the screen. He had the exact same silly, surprised look on his puppy face that Matthew Perry had on the TV. So we had our name! Of course, Chandler is my favorite of the "Friends" guys, so that helped..)
In our next installment of Critter Corner, you will meet the 3-legged, blind in 1 eye..Porkchop..
Hi Jules, are you aware the unicorn is the symbol of lost, wayward and foundling animals? You, like Thistle Cove Farm, must have a unicorn flying over the barn, unseen to all but the animals who need sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely *adore* the thistle you've got in the background...how BEAUTIFUL! The way it stays while the words go...please tell me you know what I mean...?
They are beautiful on the side as well but I LOVE the one in the middle!
You're SO clever.
And I'm envious.
-smile-
I love that! I collected unicorns (and critters) as a kid so I must have unconsciously had my guardian with me then. (My husband seems to think we have a flashing neon sign that we can't see.) It's much nicer to think of a beautiful unicorn guiding the little ones home.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could take credit for the background, but I found it at backgroundfairy.com. I chose it for a couple of reasons: my hubby is Scottish so we used the gorgeous purple thistles in our wedding and as a kid, my dad paid me a quarter for each thistle plant I would dig out of our pasture. Imagine his expression when I told him which blooms would grace our wedding tables. Full circle!