Why Hello Ladies

Today our neighbors were holding a birthday party for their daughter, so their dogs, Sadie and Zoey, came over to our yard to stay out of everyone's way. Sam, as you can expect, was beside himself with joy. Two friends to play with for hours and they can't get away!

Sadie, the pit bull


Zoey, the boxer

Mostly the girls stayed by the fence, looking longingly into their own yard where children ran around giggling and playing on a water slide, while Sam tried unsuccessfully to entice them into play. Sadie would have none of it; she's very attached to her family and doesn't have that much patience for Sam, so when he'd tackle her she'd snap at him or snarl to get him to back off. And given Sam's Labrador IQ, she had to continue to do so until Sam finally got the hint.

The girls watching their yard while Sam just wants to play

Zoey, the younger of the two girls, was more open to playing. She and Sam chased each other around the yard for awhile, and Zoey followed Sam into the pool for a brief swim. Even Zoey's considerable patience wore thin after a couple of hours of this, though, and toward the end she started snapping at him too. Poor Sam. There are very few creatures on this earth that can keep up with a seven-month-old Labrador pup, especially one with full access to a pool.

Sam and Sadie keep watch


All three doggies together!

As I type this on the back porch (it's been raining most of the day and is nice and cool out, so I've been reading out here for the past couple of hours), Sam's keeping watch around a pair of trees in the backyard where he recently cornered a squirrel I pointed out to him. He's looking up in the trees, his tail wagging furiously, then looking back across the yard to me with perked ears, as though waiting for me to give him directions.

Earlier he was playing with his ball, or should I say, the replacement ball, since he popped the big green one he loved so much a couple of weeks back when it lost enough air for him to bite down and tear it. We got him a replacement ball yesterday and blew it up this morning, hoping it would give him something else to focus on other than bothering the girls. (And it did; he pushed it into the pool and spent a solid half hour jumping in after it and pushing it around like a seal.) But he popped that one too about an hour ago; I was watching him from the porch when he did it. Everything normal, going fine, then whoosh! The air flooded out of a four-inch long gash in the side, deflating under Sam's very paws. He stared at it curiously for maybe half a second, then immediately switched gears into kleptomania, snagged the deflated skin of the ball, and pranced around the yard with it like a prize.

Now he's back in the porch with me (I've found if I leave the porch door propped open and he can come and go as he pleases, he doesn't whine to be let in or destroy things when he can't get back out) and trying to dry himself by rolling around on the floor and growling. Oh, wait, nevermind, I think he's found a bug. He's digging at the edge of the carpet--well, I hope it was a bug, since he just ate it. I think it may have been a dead beetle.

All in all, a good day for Sam. Oh, and in case you noticed Sam's collar is green now instead of orange, the change is courtesy of my family from Texas. The new collar and a matching leash were a gift from them, and I think he looks quite nice in forest green. Thank you again!