Cats and chickens........ and Snow White.

Mickey had a "time out" this morning-- in the house. He was outside while the chickens were walking around the front yard, and that tiny cat (half the size of the full-grown hens) decided he was going to play "Tag" with the chickens. Mickey hasn't chased the chickens in the longest time now, so I don't know what possessed him to run after them in this morning's heat.

But..... there was Mickey, running towards all four hens, each hen scattering in a different direction. I was out near the garage and Mickey was so intent on catching a chicken that he didn't even see me out there. Before I had a chance to yell out MICKEY!! (which usually stops him in his tracks), he had cornered the oldest hen near the picket fence gate. This all happened in just a few seconds.... Mickey chasing all the hens, Audrey running towards the gate, Mickey running towards Audrey, Audrey trying to get away from Mickey by squeezing herself through the wooden pickets...... (not a chance--Audrey is wider than the width of space between those pickets)..... so there's Audrey, trying to squeeze through the gate, and Mickey was running so fast that he rammed into the back of Audrey, pushing her further into that space, and now she was really stuck in the space between the pickets. I'm sure Mickey was seeing stars after that collision.

By that time, I had yelled MICKEY!!!....... he turned around to look at me, and then sat down in the dirt because I think he was stunned that he rammed into the back of that hen...... I picked up Mickey and put him in the house.... then went back to the gate, and there's Audrey, still stuck inbetween the slats of the gate. She wasn't making a sound, just standing there with her head and neck on one side of the gate, her legs and body on the other side of the gate. (Don't chickens know how to walk backwards?)

I got down in the dirt (not even thinking about bugs and spiders) and eased Audrey out of the gate. As soon as I had her out of there, she relaxed in my hands and started making little coo-ing sounds.... they sound almost like pigeons when they do that. I stood there and held Audrey for a few minutes--- something she has never let me do.... and when I thought she had calmed down enough, I put her in the grass. While all of that was going on, Mickey was in the kitchen and meowing so loudly that I heard him from outside. Let me out of here!! I amost had her!! You spoiled it!!!!! I didn't let him back out for another half hour, and then he ignored the chickens when he went into the yard. We'll see how long his good behavior lasts.


Yesterday after dinner, as I was walking to the coop to lock the gate for the night, I was in the courtyard behind the garage and there came Scarlett..... she was walking from the coop (had she already been in there?).... she walked right towards me, then plopped herself by my feet so I could pick her up. Into my arms she went, and she settled down with her little coo-coo-ing noises, and I carried her to the coop. She didn't seem to be in a hurry to get down, so I stood in the coop and just held her for a little while. The other three hens were on the roosting bar, watching what was going on but not making a sound. Scarlett's coo-ing was the only sound in the coop, except for some strange woman who keeps talking to the hens every night.


And today........ I went to the local animal shelter, to give them all the dog food and treats that we had left after we had to put Gracie to sleep. I held onto the food and all for a couple of weeks, just in case, mind you, we happened to want another dog. And there was one day that we did go to the shelter "just to have a look around." On that particular afternoon, we found a black and white Border Collie mix that looked enough like Gracie to be her brother. No, no, no. I had told my husband a long while back that a Border Collie wouldn't be my first choice for another dog... way too much energy.... and I'd be worrying about the cats and the chickens. Gracie was fine with each..... she and the cats all grew up together, and by the time we found "new" cats, Gracie was already accustomed to sharing her house with felines. And the chickens-- Gracie chased the hens just once, we told her they were our hens, our pets, and she left them alone after that. She was such a smart dog. My husband didn't think he wanted a look-alike dog to replace Gracie, so we left without a dog being in the back seat of our car.

But today.... when I walked into the animal shelter with the dog food, the first thing I saw was a long-haired white dog with beautiful dark eyes.... and she was walking right towards me, with that big old doggie-smile on her face..... came right up to me to say hello. The girls in the office told me that she was 12 years old, and had been abandoned by her owner. Who in their right mind abandons a dog after they've been together for a dozen years?!

This was such a sweet dog..... and she seemed to be very content with me as I petted her and told her how pretty she was. White as snow, long hair, such a happy face...... gorgeous dog, a little smaller than Gracie was, and about ten pounds lighter.

But..... we decided not to get another dog. We're getting used to not having a dog now.... and as much as we miss Gracie, I don't miss the work of having a dog in the house. So I donated all of the food and dog biscuits that I had in my car this morning.... told them we just weren't ready to have another dog yet, and I said goodbye to that pretty long-haired white dog in the office at the shelter. She's beautiful....... I'm sure she will find a home. Until she does, the two girls who work at the shelter are taking turns bringing her to their homes because they don't want to put her into one of the kennels there. I would have taken that dog home in a heart-beat if I had seen her that day my husband and I went to the shelter....... I would have wanted to name her Snow White.

I need to stay away from the animal shelter. They now have all the dog food that we had left from Gracie. I don't have a drop of dog food in this house. I don't have any rawhide treats or Milk Bones. And I don't have to sweep the kitchen floor three times a day to keep the dog hair at bay. And I don't have to take a dog outside after dark and worry about snakes in the yard.

Stay away from the animal shelter. Stay away from the animal shelter. Stay away from the animal shelter.