Duncan's New Hobby

Duncan has a new hobby. You can see it in this video of Darcy playing fetch:

Now, to the uninitiated, it may look like he's just standing there, behind the Japanese maple, doing nothing. But actually, he's busily engaged in Waiting For The Neighbours' New Puppy To Come Outside. He's been doing it for most of the last two days.

Yes, our neighbours have a new puppy - a very sweet little brindled girl, 9 weeks old, of baffling ancestry, although there are apparently a couple of terrier breeds in the mix. Her name is Sophia, although at last report that was under review. If I ever have a camera handy at the right time, I'll grab a photo, because she's adorable.

Duncan and Darcy inspected her through the fence as soon as she arrived. She was a bit scared at first when she first realized there were two much larger and much louder animals just a board's width away from her new home, but she's now sticking her little nose through the fence quite happily. Darcy greets her happily, tail waving, then moves on when Sophia goes back indoors.

Duncan, though, is obsessed. He's not usually much of a fan of the great outdoors, but it's becoming hard to get him in. He stands there peering through the fence at a totally puppy-less yard, and can't seem to quite believe she's gone. I'm not sure whether he adores her, or whether he's worried because the last time we found a random puppy in the yard, we kept her...

And speaking of hobbies, Darcy has been experimenting with her Couch-Sitting Like a Cat skills. She's having a few challenges:

When Darcy Grows Up...

Darcy is now 13 months old. A teenager, in dog years. And like all teenagers, she has been giving some thought to what she wants to do when she grows up.

She thought learning to be one of the wonderful Paws4Stories dogs who come to the library. But they have to be calm, quiet, and gentle at all times. Not really Darcy's style.

Duncan, of course, has had an important career as a construction supervisor, first when we took out the pool, and later on the deck. So Darcy tried her hand - uh, paw - at helping to install the new flooring in the basement. It's not as easy as it looks!

But we think she's finally found her niche. Darcy has decided to become a cat:

She's been practicing walking along the back of the couch, and is getting quite good at it. She's even been working on lying down up there, and has actually managed not to fall off a couple of times.

Stop, Drop & Roll

Darcy's signature move when she's playing is to throw herself to the ground and roll over without missing a beat. This tends to leave her covered in grass, leaves, mud, sand, mulch and other interesting substances (most of which are later deposited on our bed). It's also the main reason for her rather unfeminine but accurate nickname: Pigpen!

This morning she put on an impressive series of rolls, even for her, while playing with Duncan. And for once, I actually had my phone handy to record it for posterity. Be sure to crank up the volume to hear her ferocious growls!

Playing at Pinery

Yes, I admit it - I have been negligent in updating the D&D Fan Club about their stars. I blame summer. We spent months with Darcy napping on the living room AC vent, while Duncan napped on the dining room one. Occasionally they'd trade. Not exciting to watch.

But recently things have picked up. This week, for example, we spent a day picnicking and playing at Pinery, mostly to avoid the guys who were climbing all over the house installing news eaves troughs. It was a great way to spend a day!

We had the park almost completely to ourselves; as far as we could see in both directions, there was nobody else on the beach. Duncan and Darcy had a lot of fun running and playing on the sand (that's Duncan in his spiffy blue harness, and Darcy in Kerry's old green one, because she chewed the buckle off her spiffy purple harness):

This was the first time Darcy had really been able to play in the lake. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, but Duncan showed her how to wade in the shallow water:

It wasn't long before she decided that the water was great fun.  She ran and played for the longest time. Duncan, being older and wiser, realized the water was cold, so he played for a while then stood on the beach with the grownups, watching the silly pup:

And then she got daring. She ran as far away as she was allowed, then charged back at full speed. Over. And over. Again!

Eventually, we decided to leave the beach and go for a hike in the woods. Darcy loves hiking, unless Duncan gets ahead of her:

Duncan loves hiking, as long as Darcy is behind him:

The trail was one dog wide, so we traded places a lot! But there were interesting smells:

And a river to pose beside:

We ran into traffic problems on the way home, so the trip took 4 hours, compared to the usual 2+. But both dogs were so tired they slept the whole way.

Why Cats Shouldn't Nap on Windowsills...

... at least not when Darcy is around!

Baby Bunnies

Wheatens may look cute and cuddly. But they've actually been bred for centuries to hunt down vermin. Admittedly, the unfortunate incident where Kerry met a mouse in the house and wagged her tail at it may not have been the ideal example of their ferocity. But in theory at least, they are mighty hunters.

So it must have been a not-too-bright mother rabbit who decided to make a nest and raise her babies in a yard that contains, not one, but TWO wheatens. Yup. We have tiny newborn baby bunnies in a cozy little hole in the garden right under the bedroom window. Just a few feet away from Duncan's favourite pooping area. You'd think that would have tipped her off...

Still, despite the fact that rabbits ate almost all the veggies I planted last year, it didn't seem right to leave them exposed to Duncan and Darcy just because their mother didn't think things through. So we have sacrificed a laundry basket to protect the nest, while still allowing Mom in to feed them. Darcy is quite intrigued, and keeps sticking her nose into the holes, but since the rest of her doesn't fit we hope the babies will be be safe.

For now, at least. But once they reach veggie stealing size, they're on their own!

S is for Surgery

Life Chez D&D is a bit chaotic this morning. 

Darcy was spayed yesterday. She is doing very well, and seems to be feeling almost her usual self already. Which means she wants to run and jump, doesn't want to pee on leash, can't understand why she's stuck in a penned-off end of the family room, and hates her "cone of shame" with a passion!

Here's a photo of her waking up from her surgery, in a nice cozy nest of blankies:

And here she is last evening, still feeling a bit sorry for herself:

But what of Duncan, you ask? Well, yesterday he was torn between enjoying the peace and quiet while she was gone - he slept most of the day - and worrying about her disappearance. After all, who knew who might disappear next? He kept a close eye on me all day, and even napped in front of the garage door for a while:

He has been very stressed since she got home - part worried about her, and part jealous of the attention she's getting - but, after a roughish sort of night, he's beginning to adjust, I think. By the way, three years ago, almost to the day, was Duncan's surgery.