Our Over-the-Fence Greeter

Charlie Sue trained our fence guard in chasing up and down the fence line. He is a Great Pyrenees, known for their ability to protect the flock. He is gentle, high speed racer. Once Charlie got him going, he circled the trees, sheds, and the whole yard. 

I saw his eyes light up when I first told him about his attributes. When I go outside, he stands up at the fence for a conversation about how gentle, kind, and handsome he is.  He loves to have his thick white fur finger-combed, so I drag my fingers on one side, only to have him face the other way for a thorough combing of his other side. 

Sassy Sue loved finger-combing too and really hated various brushes.

Charlie Sue and Friends

 

Charlie Sue is very bright, easy to teach, timid indoors, fun and always unpredictable. When asked to do things (like coming indoors), she sometimes puts her head down, walks sadly away, sits, and looks proudly as if to say, "You are not my boss."

Drought plus Charlie racing in the back = no grass.

Charlie Sue is a Patterdale Terrier, a prankster, a remarkable digger and runner. 

Porchie is a Great Pyrenees, the first of Charlie's students in racing up and down the fence. All three are diggers, so we added chicken wire and obstacles to the fence. 

Charlie Sue has trained Dustmop, Porchie, and the Doggie Daycare dogs to race along the fence with her. She barks commands at them but never barks in the house.

Charlie Sue's Photo - More To Come

 

Tunneling Across the Border

  

Charlie Sue is a Patterdale Terrier, bred for digging, bossy, energetic, quiet indoors, hilarious with all her tricks, jumps, spins, and games.

I wrote before that the Berlin Wall, stage left, was letting the Little White Floormop dig and pass under the fence, both ways. He is the tiny version of Porchi, the Great Pyrenees, who also digs but not that much. I saw LWF go under the fence both ways, thanks to the digging done by Porchi and him, but clearly facilitated by Charlie Sue.

I let Charlie Sue out in the rain, knowing she would be back soon. When I went to the back door, I had to call for Charlie several times. She came running full speed, grinning, out of deep back yard, cloaked by the green wall of plants and trees. Right after her was LWF, also grinning, his white fur soaked in mud up to his belly. 

LWF wanted to stay and share the mud, but I wrapped him up in a towel and carried him over to the neighbor. I knocked hard on the door (very cold and heavy rain), and it opened up. The father said to the children, "Look. He's back. Say thank you!" They all said, "Thank you! Thank you!" They were grinning and all lit up like Christmas. They might have thought LWF was lost forever, because he was in our yard, in an area surrounded by plants. 

Yesterday my favorite repair guy looked over the multiple Tunnels of Love under the fence wire. He said, "Just like my fence." He fixed the multiple efforts with chicken wire, with a couple of extensions to keep it more secure. 

Doggie Day Care has similar issues, but that fence is largely backed by a series of Clethra shrubs. I intended them for sharing those hummingbird plants, but now I thinking of cutting down on flirting, blocking their view. Charlie loves to socialize and train other dogs to run up and down the fence on their side.

Fun with Charli Sue

 

We were lucky to have a professional photographer at the dog park one day, and Sassy Sue adored a crowd.

Treasure (Treshy) was a medical mess, but we took her on and had a riot of fun with her, Sassy, and Precious II . I think Norma A. Boeckler took this photo.

Ranger Bob recently spotted an abandoned dog at the cemetery and took her in, naming her Lady. She had serious ear infection problems, but that was cured with antibiotics. Lady's antics at the Ichabode were hilarious, because she loved her superhero Bob and found so many ways to  have fun and be funny.



More than one person said to me, "Rescue dogs are special, because they always have that unique attitude from being given a forever home."

Friends asked me when I would fill the void left by Sassy Sue, who died from kidney failure. Looking quickly changed to visiting Lowell Animal Shelter to have a walk with Charli, a female Patterdale Terrier.

"When can I take her home?" They said, "Now is fine." They were wonderful with Charli, who wanted to stay there.



Charli's ambiguous name repeated the question asked about Sassy - boy or girl? I added Sue. Everyone is noticing that Charlie Sue is almost identical to Lady, except she is much smaller. 

The two of them got along at once, and they love tearing around the backyard. Christina asked me to create a green fence in the middle of the backyard, because we were looking right into the backyard of neighbors. A variety of dogs saw a rival dog facing them and barked their terrible threats whenever possible.

I followed the idea of stretching logs across the center of the backyard, letting the birds plant seeds for a green fence. I added elderberries earlier, and soon some large hostas and lambs ears.

I never saw the backyard as a race track, but Lady and Charli Sue did. First they were running up and down the fence with Porchi (aka Snowflake, a Great Pyrenees). Charli Sue demands running because Patterdales were bred for catching moles and rabbits. Charli Sue turned a bit of tag into a madcap race, around the oval formed by the green fence. Nothing is funnier than a small dog identical to a larger dog, racing full speed. To add to the fun, Charli took short-cuts through the green island and practiced zig-zag and spin around running, grinning all the time.

Charli Sue, the Patterdale Terrier - Vimeo

 

Charli Sue's Homecoming

May 26, 2023

Staff - Gregory L. Jackson

Link to 

Charlie the Patterdale Terrier

Sassy Sue - The Three-Legged Dog Who Sang and Made the Dog Park Dogs Jealous

Sassy was the only dog at the park who could catch the orange squeaker ball and bring it back to my hands, the dog owners clapping, the jealous dogs trying to get the magical ball. 

I taught her the "Cattle Dog Blues," and she once got a house loaded with dogs singing the chorus with her.

Sassy had to go to the vet today, because her kidneys no longer functioned. She was 15, a rescue, very old for a German Shepherd mix.

I was telling one lady, years ago, that Sassy was a very special dog. She said, "My dog is very special too." I asked, "Does your dog have a blog?" She replied, "No," so I said, "Sassy does."

 Norma A. Boeckler took this photo. Sassy was watching all the action at the dog park.

Do Cats and Dogs Have a Sense of Humor?

 

Sassy grinned up at me, as if to say, "No! I will not sit next to Ronald McDonald on that bench. Never!"

Sassy Sue, the Three-legged Wonder Dog, pretends to ignore me at times. She has seeing and hearing problems, but it is more than that. 

Recently I was moving from the computer desk to the bed, a short distance. I began slipping down, not able to move back to the chair or all the way to the bed. Sassy was lying on her side, her eyes half open, watching me slide to the floor. She had a half-smile on her face but showed no movement or alarm. She seemed to be thinking, "Serves him right."

The solemn doctor said Bethany would not be able to use her eyes normally, but she had perfect vision (Cleveland Clinic) and followed everyone around the room with her eyes. Bethany had an angry fit in my arms, so I asked her, "Is this how you get your way around here?" She relaxed and laughed, conceding my observation was correct.

Today Sassy stretched out near me on the bed. She does not want me to touch her paws, so I stayed close without touching them. I closed my eyes and felt her paw slip under my hand. I looked over - she was grinning at me. That reminded me of tricks played by Bethany and Erin. They did not speak words, but they also knew how to provoke smiles and laughter.

Cats and dogs are four-legged psychologists, carefully listening to our symptoms and supplying remedies. They are very much like children, young and supposedly limited in knowledge, but very insightful and delighted by their own observations or questions.

Nurses were pleased to hear that Erin's middle name was Joy, because that was their private nickname for the ever-smiling and laughing girl. She was such a prankster that she would start laughing before the nurses finished their story about Erin's latest burst of joy. That often came from a spill or a loud, angry naughty word - from a nurse dropping a quart of yogurt or a huge three-ring notebook of patient records.

Sassy is the mouthiest dog ever, and she is eager to order me around. However, she stays just outside the chapel and listens quietly to the entire worship service. Sometimes one short bark will let everyone know she is attendance. What more can anyone expect from using a spare room in a rented house?

 Norma A. Boeckler took the picture and designed the graphic - from the dog park in the Bella Vista area, Arkansas.