Downton Sassy Sue

After rain on Tuesday and before our heavy showers on Wednesday, I went out side and cut all the KnockOut roses by 50%. They were already nearly six feet tall and were finishing a bloom cycle. By cutting them back harshly, before plenty of rain, I was converting all the bush energy to budding instead of finishing up their blooms with seeds.

A few other roses needed some trimming.

All the Father' Day roses are blooming now - in a circle around the maple tree in front. They are various colors because Gurney's does not guarantee what they send when they are $5 bare root roses.

The same is true of bulbs. Those who want the lowest prices get a rainbow collection of tulips, but tulips are far more impressive with a massive group of one color, or a color combination.

Weather Drama
Last night's rain meant black skies while the sun was shining and cloudbursts alternating with steady rain. Tuesday's rain was enough, and Wednesday's rain was way too much by itself.

The weather map for today says that we will have a big thunderstorm at 1 PM. Two different storms on radar seem to be coming from the West and up from Texas.

The birds ate frantically yesterday, even in the rain. The Jackson EZ Bird Swing often had a bird sitting there to stay out of the rain. The swing is under the eaves. Sharon Lovejoy, I believe, suggested that birdhouses are good shelters for birds in cold weather, so I may put some spare old shelves out under the eaves for a dry roost.

Downton Sassy
The key image for Downton Abbey is the bell being rung to call a servant.

Sassy Sue decided to call for her servants by dragging her claws across the maple table near the bed. At first she did that when I was not looking. I pretended to be shocked when I found the source of the strange noise and she was a bit intimidated. When she saw that I was laughing, that became her little joke.

Now Sassy routinely uses her call system to notify me of her needs. Of course, she has these other tools:

• The neck cuddle means I identified what she wanted.
• Licking her lips and looking toward the kitchen. Ears pop up at the sound of "Food?"
• Perching on the corner of the bed, ready to take a walk.
• Drooping on the bed, still waiting for the walk.
• The Bad Daddy speech, a series of loud sad barks, is always from a failure to walk her on time.

When we are sharing the joke together, it is so much fun.

The landscaper living nearby said, "I never saw a dog that talked so much."

Several times Sassy has pouted. Once I gave a long speech about her not wanting to turn around or acknowledge us. She finally flipped over and grinned, looking for a tummy rub. This week she got a shampoo outside and a much-needed comb out. She refused to look at me that night, but made up for it the next night.

Sassy normally goes to us separately for hugs and kisses before she goes to the foot of the bed to sleep.

Sassy Signals

Your mouse is mine now.
 I need a tummy rub.

We were warned that Sassy's Cattle Dog nature would mean a talkative dog, but she is more than a little talkative. Sassy is so expressive that we laugh at all her signals.

Cats and dogs will use a paw to get attention. Sassy has levels  of paw action and commands:

• The gentle prod - are you thinking about my food yet?
• A more insistent prod - food, I already mentioned this politely.
• Slow tail rotation - fair warning that someone is not doing his job.
• Fast tail rotation - now I am really unhappy.
• Tail rotation on my arm - stop on the computer and take care of me.
• Holding down one of my arms - no more computer, stop and pet me. I start laughing at the power of her personality and leg strength. She laughs too. I used a wired mouse since she got so good at knocking my wireless mouse into hard to reach places, laughing.
• Loud tail thumping, ears back, eyes squinting - I mean it!
• Dropping Mrs. I off at the doctor's - Oww-woo-woo-woo. You forgot her! Sassy is quite serious about this until she learns that we will come back to get Mrs. I.
• Resting up against me on the bed, facing me, smiling - I have a job for you soon - walking.

After our granddaughter tumbled backwards, no harm done,
Sassy got herself into the posed picture.

Sassy knows that a bark into the bank's drive-through speakers will get her treats and a big smile. The tellers grin at her and talk about what a smart dog she is. The one who did not smile - no longer working there.

Sassy really loves women, who almost always fuss over her. Once she spots a new friend, she walks up to say hello. If the woman starts complimenting her and petting her, Sassy lays her ears back, points her face forward for kissing, and wags her entire body.

Sassy is tentative with small children. Her loud, happy barks startle them. She is careful around them and always wants to be the center of their attention. If she knows the children, she settles down in the shade and watches the yard.

If I talk too long...
Bark! Very loud and insistent.
Are you in a hurry?
Bark!
Do you have an appointment somewhere?
Bark!
She is a little more inclined to rest for a bit, but she has favorite places to visit. and she is not going to wait long.

When Sassy would not sit with Ronald McDonald's statue on a bench,
she grinned to make up with me.

One of Those Perfect Days with Sassy

Yesterday was so much fun. We took Sassy Sue a few miles south to downtown Fayetteville, where I delivered a number of books to the Dickson Street Bookstore, one of those magical places with endless rows of books, every topic imaginable. Previously I noticed their affinity for some of the books I had to offer.

The book buyer is right out of central casting. He is slight with long, grey hair tied back into a ponytail. He looked over my sets of books, one bought 50 years ago at The Source Bookstore in Davenport, Iowa (still run by the founder's granddaughter).

We arrived at a price inside while Sassy and Mrs. Ichabod waited in the limo outside, on the sidewalk in front of the store. Yes, I had permission to pull up there. I waved the check at the staff as I left and asked,"Is this check good?" They laughed and invited me to cash it right away.

Downtown Fayetteville is college-town, home of the Razorbacks. We "call the hogs" at Walmart meetings. Hog and pig are common business names in the area, including the Harrison Oncology Group - H.O.G. The University of Arkansas is the city's main business, I am sure.

Our next stop was familiar. Chris loves one bead store, which is two doors away from The Little Bread Company, one of those high quality bakeries, which I love. In-between is one of the few barbershops left in America. The barber is a woman who only cuts men's hair. Mine was close to a Trump comb-over in the wind. so I went inside. Sassy waited in the car.

Soon I had Sassy with me, going up to the bead store, almost next door. Sassy was welcomed inside and charmed everyone. When she grew tired of that store we went outside to explore. She knew the block from previous trips. Walking ahead without a leash, she turned back and grinned at me, "This is so much fun." The college kids welcomed her at the outdoor cafe, and we walked to the back, where our Columbus friends ate with us during a visit.

Back in Springdale we drove through at the bank. Sassy's favorite teller was there. eager to give out treats. Sassy got one for starters. We talked a bit as I cashed the check. Sassy gave one loud, commanding bark, and the teller saluted at attention, giving her a second treat. We laughed about Sassy's bossiness, and Sassy got her third treat on the way out.

Once I made sure Sassy got her treat and drove away without the cash, which I left in the tray. They thought that was pretty funny when I returned a few minutes later.

 

Some Requested Photos

Funny Sassy Stories

Christmas lasts until the Day of Epiphany, Sassy reminds you.

Sassy is getting older, but that only makes her more skilled in managing her household. Yesterday she began wagging her tail...more like thumping her tail against the bed. She looked at me, "You know what I want."

It was time for her walk, so I suited up and grabbed her leash. Our current deal is she goes without her leash on our block only. When we get back to Letha, she stops moving until I take the leash off.
She rewards my correct responses with smiles.

I did some grilling and we were going to save bones for later, since Sassy gets scraps from us and meat juice from the tray. I was cleaning up when I heard "crunch, crunch" in the living room. Sassy is not one to steal food, but this time she quietly took a bone from my plate when my back was turned. I invited her outdoors to hide the evidence of her crime and not implicate my lax supervision.

She knows how to work the whole crowd when Team Jackson is over for a cookout. Afterwards she sleeps all day.

Sassy loves car trips and knows our stops quite well. She saves her happy bark for the turn into our neighborhood.

When I buy something at the meat market, she inspects the bag with her nose. She holds it over the bag and takes an olfactory inventory of everything inside. She knows all our familiar routes, so she gets yowly when we head into the industrial part of Springdale for the meat market.

The sad look is good for starting guessing games.
The correct answer is - "Let's go for a walk."

Sassy assumes her job is to watch over us. When our helper came to the door at the end of his work, Sassy headed outside and set up a watch of our cul-de-sac. She carefully scanned everything going on, something she does if I sit and visit with neighbors on our walks. However, if I stand and talk to someone, she soon begins barking at me to get going. "Do you have an appointment somewhere, Sassy?"

"Bark, bark."

"Are you in a hurry today?"

"Bark!"

Sassy knows every sign of a potential walk, and she observes carefully. She hears me quietly sticking my feet into loafers. A walk! So I was brushing my teeth and she appeared in the bathroom doorway, laughing. I said, "You guessed it." She disappeared for a few minutes and came back, laughing again. "OK, Sassy, let's go."

Then the barking began and did not stop until we were outside the door.

Sassy has the intelligence and independence of her parents - a Cattle Dog and a German Shepherd. She is remarkably intuitive, a mind-reader and emotion-reader.

Our grandaughter tilted the easy-chair backwards and laughed.
I asked Danielle to hold the post for a photo.
Sassy walked into the frame to photobomb Dani.

Sassy Cues

My friends enjoy Sassy posts. She woke me up early, so I decided to write about her signals and cues to us.

Yesterday was a banner day for her. Walking in the rain, she found three squirrels to chase and nearly caught one. She learned early from a dog pal that evasive maneuvers can be countered, so she baffled and startled one squirrel, which made for a long race.

Sassy looks at me when she wants permission to cross the road. Every so often she violates the rule and we have a talk. I hold her chin up and explain the importance of asking permission. She obeys hand signals and loves to run at me when I wiggle my index finger.

Our streets are so quiet most of the time that she is tempted to think the road is just another sidewalk.

Another day she saw a new person drive up at our neighbor's. She waited and looked up at me. I said, "Go ahead and cross." She ran across the street, missed the girl getting out of the car, but got a thorough double-ear massage from the girl's father. Sassy walked away grinning, and he said, "She got what she wanted."

Sassy has a lot of vocal cues. We were warned that she was a talker. More than that, she is a manager. She knows how to finesse us into doing her will.

For treats, she has various levels of cues.

• Murmuring and muttering.
• Rotating her tail slowly. This is reserved for treats.
• If I miss that one, she rotates twice as fast, striking the bed.
• For emergencies, she moves next to me to make the tail strike my arm as I am working. It is difficult to write with a tail methodically striking my arm.

Chris got some supper for herself, so Sassy posed as the starving puppy. That did not work for getting nibbles, so Sassy gave me gentle paw jabs to force some donations. That was so funny that I went along with it and urged some sharing.

Sassy and I have quite a few discussions. If Chris thinks we should go out for a walk, a conversation with Sassy usually erupts after a delay. Sassy begins to bark loudly and sounds irritated. It is the Bad Daddy speech. I cannot win at that stage. If I defend myself, she barks even more. Once I give in, the happy barks start, and they insure our exit outside. The noise is just too great.

If I stop to talk to a neighbor for too long, Sassy barks loudly for me to hurry up. "Do you have an appointment somewhere?" She barks, "Yes, hurry." If I answer that, she has another set of barks for me.

However, at certain locations she takes on the role of watch dog. She sits up straight and faces the neighborhood, looking around intently and listening for all the various noises. Sassy adjusts her position to make sure she has complete coverage, even when resting from walking and running.

All the kids call out her name, and Sassy goes running to them for some petting. The dogs who come out the front door have warned her away somewhat, but Sassy is the dominant dog. Once she has settled a dog's hash, she will not even acknowledge the animal.

Sassy has a strange way of doing this. She will approach the dog quietly and open up with barking at close range, or she will run full speed at a fence while barking. Both tactics almost cause canine heart attacks and furious counter-barking. After that, Sassy no longer sees or hears them.

Sassy Susan Steals a Snickerdoodle

Our daughter-in-law left us some gluten free Snickerdoodles. Chris tries to stay gluten free, and I normally make up for that preference. Gluten free can be awful, but many new foods are quite good.

I tried one cookie and really liked it, so Chris said, "Give me a half cookie. I want a little more."

I passed it behind my back because I was on the computer. I assumed my wife got it. Chris said, "No, Sassy took it from your hand."

Sassy defends herself from trouble by grinning, and she was really pleased with herself. I went to get some water, and Chris promised her more Snickerdoodles.

Sassy sat outside in the hallway, grinning at me. She heard the continuing conversation about another cookie. We all laughed about it as we had one or two more, and Sassy enjoyed it most of all.

I still love the photo we saw of Sassy on the rescue website. The grin captures her personality so well. She grins that way when she approaches her friends among the children on the block. They greet her, pet her, and ask about her.

The latest, "Where are you walking each day?"

"We are not going anywhere - it is just for exercise. We both need it."

Today, Sassy ran smiling toward the four sisters who live on the corner of our street. One is the cutest baby girl. The baby was a bit startled by Sassy's loud barks, but Sassy settled down and got some of those beautiful baby smiles.