The Toilet of Doom!

If there is one thing my friends and family love universally, it's animals. Every one I'm close to has a pet of some kind. Mostly cats and dogs, though my brother and step-brother are partial to reptiles and my dad has an African grey parrot named Spencer. (Lauren nick-named it Satan because it's evil. Really!)

Anyways, while most of my family has no partiality where breed is concerned, Mom and Steve love collies. They've had four. Prince was the first, he was my childhood dog and the best dog who ever lived. Then came Joey and Julie. Now they have Bunny, a tri-color collie who was bred to be a show dog, but instead is a pampered house pet.

Collies make AWESOME pets. They're very calm, even-tempered dogs. Very intelligent and eager to please, making them easy to train. You can teach a collie to do almost anything. They're also protective without being aggressive. They'll guard their people, but won't attack strangers unless they see their family being harmed. Well, most collies anyways. I can't speak for all of them, obviously. The only real draw back to having a collie is the hair.

And it's a LOT of hair. They don't shed one hair at a time, no they leave clumps of it lying around the house like wild dust bunnies roaming the prairie. But if you invest in a good vacuum cleaner, then the hair becomes a moot point. So, who wouldn't love them?

Bunny is fairly young, and certainly the most active dog Mom and Steve have had in years. Steve met Mom when Prince was very old and arthritic, so he wasn't particularly active then. Julie had a heart defect and passed away at the age of 5. Joey was adopted at the age of 7 or 8, so even he was past his most active years. Bunny, though, is healthy and only 3 years old. So she's full of spunk and orneriness. Even with her mischievous nature, she plays so well with children and other dogs. Even with Christina, my 3-year-old niece, Bunny is careful not to harm her when they play. What's not to love?

Like most dogs, Bunny has a habit of drinking out of the toilet. It's not the most charming habit dogs possess, but it's not really all that surprising either. One day recently, she had her head in the bowl, slurping up that toilety goodness when the lid fell on her head. Don't worry, she wasn't hurt, but it scared her a good one. Now when Bunny wants a drink of water, she goes into the bathroom and barks at the toilet until Mom or Steve bring her a bowl of water and put it under her nose.

But, that's Bunny for you. She's smart, but she's dumb at the same time. She hates closed doors and will scratch on any closed door until someone opens it for her. She doesn't necessarily want in that room, she just wants the door open. Bunny is definitely a character.



Bunny

So that's my animal blog for the week. Animals are a big part of my life, and I tend to tell funny stories about them until I'm blue in the face. So I do hereby pledge to only write about my pets once a week. Unless something REALLY momentous happens.

Family pets:

Me: Eartha Kitty and Onyx (cats), plus the two goldfish
Mom and Steve: Bunny (dog - Collie)
Dad and Jill: Kodiak (dog - Chocolate Lab), Isabella (dog - Bassett Hound) and Spencer (bird - African Grey Parrot)
Grandma: Mindy (dog - Shih Tzu), Brandy (dog - miniature poodle), Emma (dog - miniature schnauzer), Sally, Sadie and Bud (cats)
Aunt Susan: Katie (dog - miniature dachshund), Liddy (dog - shih tzu), Babe (dog - cocker spaniel) and Callie (cat)
Aunt Jamie: Cole and Touche (cats)
Lauren: Gracie (dog - shih tzu) and Peanut (dog - long hair miniature dachshund)
Justin: Annie (dog - mixed breed) various lizards and assorted other creatures in tanks
Deanna: Beckham (dog - beagle mix)

There, now you have a reference if I start rambling endlessly about pets and you can't figure out what or who I'm talking about.

<3

Elisabeth