Living With Cats

I'll say this about that -- it ain't easy! Cats...they're another breed, ya know? I'll admit to being pretty fascinated with them -- I have no idea what makes them tick! I'm not allowed in the bedroom for some reason, and you can find our cats in there lounging most of the time. They're incredibly lazy and don't earn their keep around here at all! They look pretty cute and sweet, don't they? Don't be fooled -- they're not.


The gray one, that's GrisGris, is not a bad sort, but if you look up the word scaredey-cat in the dictionary, you'll see her picture. Wherever I am, you won't find her. Our paths don't cross that often. When they do, she always makes sure she is high up on something, and she gets all pissy and hissy if I try to sniff her butt. M and C always take her side!





But, like I said, she's not so bad. She doesn't deliberately try to get me in trouble.

That's the other cat's job. That would be Llano, the stripey one. She thinks it's her house and treats me like I entered illegally. She taunts me! She'll sit in the window and watch me outside; she lies on the bedroom floor when M and C are around and dares me to come in; when I'm tethered in the kitchen she comes and sits just out of my range. She's smart -- I'll give her that. She seems to know exactly how long my tether is, right down to the inch.

Ok so she's smart, but she's also an evil psychotic! Look at that expression on her face -- like I ever did anything to her! Sometimes when I rush in from outside and she's standing there in the kitchen I do lunge at her, but it's all in fun! She SO overreacts! She growls and yowls and tries to draw blood. Geez...like I was gonna hurt her!

M and C always take her side of course.

I've tried to make friends with her. I've offered her my Squeaky Squirrel and many other toys. I've tried to play tag with her like she does with GrisGris. No matter what I do she is unfriendly and downright disrespectful!

It's not really fair...there are two humans and two cats, and only one of me, so I think the cats should be willing to play with me, but they alternate being aloof and bitchy. Sorry...but it's true!

There is one thing I like about living with cats though, and that's this box. Problem is it's in a room that's off limits to me, the cat feeding room.

C put this ridiculous barrier across the doorway -- it's so ghetto I could easily push it out of the way, but I know I'm not supposed to. It's more of a visual border than a real barrier, and whenever I try to push past it, someone always shouts out "Hey!"

I'm just not sure what the big deal is. What would be so bad about me keeping that box cleaned out? Wouldn't that be beneficial to all concerned? Sometimes the humans are as hard to figure out as the cats.

Let me know if you have any insights! Til next time! Woof woof!

Flyball

So did I tell you about my flyball class? Yeah, I'm takin' a class -- it's my third one. I had intermediate obedience (skipped beginner cause I was homeschooled), beginning agility, and now flyball. Agility was fun and challenging, but I'm all about speed and that's what I like about flyball!

In case you've never played, here's what you do. You start at one end of a long room (yeah, indoors; it's Texas in the summertime!) and you run as fast as you can to the other end of the room, jumping four hurdles on the way.

Then you step on this pedal and a tennis ball pops out! I try and catch it as it pops out but mostly I have to chase it down. Then you race back to the starting point, jumping the four hurdles again. If you've seriously never seen this done, check out some pros!

Sometimes when I get the ball I try and get Sammi Jo, my trainer, to play "Try and Get the Ball Away From Me," but for some reason Sammi Jo won't play that. My favorite part is running -- I am FAST!

So fast I beat the camera!!! Pssst! Anyone know where I can get a competent photographer?

Talk about fast, you should see Lily! Wow -- she's like the queen of flyball! She's very intense, but a total babe!

Here's me and some of my flyball friends. That's Gator in the back trying to start something with me.

That's Slick in the front, trying to start something with me. The other two guys are Scamper (brown and white border collie) and Grogan (brown lab/vizla cross).

When C tells me we're going to Biscuit (Bed, Bath and Biscuit -- where my class is!) I get so excited I have to run a lap around the house before I jump in the car! Just takes a few seconds -- I told you I'm f-a-s-t!

Shadows

I really like this picture of me 'cause it looks like I have three legs and my eye looks badass.

I love my pond!

So the other day I was telling you about things I like, and I got to thinking. Yes, I said thinking! I know I said I was a man of action, and I meant dog of action, but I have my reflective moments also! So I was thinking about other things that I like, and I realized that some of the things I like would r-e-a-l-l-y gross you out if you're not a dog. (Somethings might just gross you out a little, like that morsel below my paw that I've been gnawing on for a few days.) I'll try and focus on things that humans don't think are disgusting. What I'll do for a few readers!

So how about this -- a cool dip in the pond in the good old summertime! I LOVE my pond, and on hot days I'm in and out all day long! It's great for cooling off, but it's more than that. It's just a great place to hang out and play. Here I am, the terrifying alligator, stalking my hapless prey!

I heard C say once that if she fell off the dock into the pond she'd probably have a heart attack before she reached the shore. Huh? I don't get it! There's nothing but a bunch of fish, frogs, snakes and turtles swimming around. Nutria? I don't think so! I'd be the first to know!

The most fun is being in the water, but scouting around the shoreline is also way cool. And, you can do that any time of year.

Of course, you can find a lot more in the summertime, especially if you wade into the cattails. You wouldn't believe all the action in there! Amphibians and reptiles galore, not to mention the birds and mammals!

Did you know that turtles get out of the pond to go lay their eggs? I don't know why we have so many turtles -- something always digs up their eggs and eats them, and it's not me! I'd rather eat the turtle than the egg! Whoops...sorry. I wouldn't do that. I've never done that.

If you're a dog, come on over for a swim! If you're a human, I can cool you off by shaking on you when I get out. Everyone seems to react enthusiastically to that!

Till next time, keep cool! Woof woof!

Hi, I'm Sparky!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

I've been looking at some other blogs online, and I thought, "Wow! How boring! I know I could do better -- I think I'll write a blog!" C agreed to be my typist; it drives me crazy when my nails slip on the keys.

My blog is going to be full of things I like, with lots of pictures. I'm not going to blab on and on about my deep insights. That doesn't mean I'm not insightful -- I'm actually incredibly smart. But, I'm more a man of action than words. Frankly, I'm not that verbal, although I'm definitely into some late night barking.

Here's a picture of something I like -- where I live. I'm in charge of six acres, and I make sure nothing goes on that I don't know about. Hey, did I mention that I'm half border collie? I got my smarts and my markings from my Dad, and my sleek short hair from my Mom.

I like surveying my property from upstairs in the barn. A nice bird's eye view, and nothing gets past me!

Here's something else I like -- Squeaky! This is actually the fourth Squeaky Squirrel that I've had...Squeaky is not very indestructible. This picture of Squeaky the 4th was taken a few days ago; now he's in two pieces. I'm not sure how that happened. I like the tail end the best -- it's the part that still squeaks. I just love to walk around the house with that in my mouth, squeaking and squeaking and squeaking -- it's great!

Squeaky reminds me of those maddening creatures outside -- they move a lot faster than Squeaky. I can't think of anything I would rather catch than one of them!!! They've been taunting me for months and someday one of them is going to pay!

Here's something else I love -- tug-of-war! I'll play it anywhere, anytime, with anything or anyone. I'll use a rope, or my leash, or Squeaky, or anything. This picture shows that I can win lying down!

Thanks for reading, and by the way, I love comments and followers!! Check back in a couple of days -- I've got a lot going on!