Zena

We all finally met Zena this weekend, Stacey's newest addition to the family. She is so sweet and very intelligent!


Gotta love those ears!! I ended up making noises just to get her to cock her head. She's adorable!

Destruction Mode

Bell looks innocent enough....


Nicki was just lollygagging around....




Until I gave them some toys and dared turn my back. I was hoping to have a cup of tea in peace and quiet.



Unfortunately this stuffed ball and toy bunny paid the price. And I only found one ear!

Meeting Mason

This is Mason. Jess brought him to meet me and the girls. Nicki was excited to meet him and Bell decided he needed to be barked at first. Bell is rude!

Mason is so sweet!


You gotta love that face!

Mason finally barked for the first time because he wanted to play with Lily so badly!


Unfortunately Lily didn't feel that way about Mason. But it was fun to watch the interaction!

Dog Food

Still struggling to find a dog food that agrees with the girls. Bell seems to have the most issues. She's gets wicked gas and we all know what THAT'S like don't we??!!

Farewell to Mousages

In June of 2009 I wrote about Miss Mouses/Mousages in the Tigger Time blog. She was an adult mouse at that time although I have never been really sure of her age. I wasn't paying enough attention to her actually arrival date I'm afraid.

Well poor Miss Mouses has passed away. I found her dead in her food dish the other day. It really looked like death had come a knocking and caught her totally unaware. One minute she is enjoying her slice of cucumber and the next minute it is time to go. I hope at least that it was fast for her. There was no sign of struggle and she had not been acting sickly at all. She did have some hair loss in recent weeks but she maintained a normal active life up to the end. I'm glad that she didn't become sickly and die slowly. I wouldn't have been able to bear it if that had happened...knowing that I couldn't have done anything to help her.

Miss Mouses was a wild mouse up to the very end. I never held her in my hand and I never petted her...until she died that is. I did pet her soft fur when saying good bye to her. She didn't have a big 'to do' for her send off. I rather think that wasn't really her style. Does any animal really want a big funeral after all? No, she had a quiet send off..a personal farewell with a tearfully expressed hope that she is now back in the circle of her mousy family and friends.

The girls will miss her and indeed already do. They were accustomed to running up the stairs to stand and sniff her pen in the mornings. They'd take turns nudging the bathroom door open and stand there expectantly until I told them they could go ahead and say hello to Miss Mouses. Nicki in particular seemed very interested in Mousages. She'd stand there and watch her for long periods of time and sometimes a starring contest took place. I don't think either dog really understood what that little thing was in that pen but they sure seemed to like the smell of her.

I will not of course look to replace the little mouse. She was a rescue and I don't have a desire to keep mice in captivity or to repeat the pain associated with losing them..which seems to happen way too fast. I have kept her house and all her mouse paraphernalia, as well as some live traps that I bought but never had to use. If I should ever come across baby mice that need rescuing from the damn cat at least I'll be prepared this time. And if ever any adult mice should invade my home I'll be able to capture them without killing them too.

So I bid you farewell little Mouseages..my silent friend...my little buddy in the bathroom...the one that always seemed to listen to everything I said. The bathroom will never be the same without you and I'll miss our 'conversations'. I hope I did enough for you and made you as comfortable as possible during your time with me. Please put in a good word for me with the Big Cheese. Farewell until I see you again little one!

I'm Down With That

We play, we play, we play...and then we pass out. It's a way of life.

Just Jack

I awoke one morning much like any other morning...wandered downstairs to make a cup of tea. I hadn't taken the girls out yet and I hadn't prepared myself for visitors, but that's what I got...a visitor.

I first spotted a man in my driveway. I couldn't make out who he was or what he was doing but it looked like he had rope in his hand. I was curious as to why this stranger was in my yard, coming across my driveway and up onto my deck, carrying a rope of some kind, yet not coming to my door. This was no ordinary Jehovah's Witness and it wasn't the mail man...who was this guy?

I had a moment's trepidation at opening the door unarmed and in my bathrobe (mainly because my vanity demands that I not let people outside the family see me in my morning getup), to confront an unknown man lurking on my deck. But as I opened the inner door I saw something brown and white shoot across my deck and over the snowbank that is as high as my deck railing. It startled me and I startled the man. We were all startled. I opened the screen door, said hello nicely and asked him why he was on my deck.

He was obviously frazzled and told me that he can't get his dog....which, as it turns out was the brown and white rocket that had just gone up and over the snowbank. I smiled to myself when I realized that this must be a small dog having the time of his life sniffing around in my yard that smells like my dogs. This must also be the little dog that occasionally "talks" to my girls when we're outside...someone they've never met but have answered with deep bellowing howls to his short rapid barks.

The man looked like he was going to go over the side railing after his dog but I informed him that the snow is chest deep over there. I also told him that way leads to the road so perhaps it might be a good idea to head around to the front of the house. We don't want the little brown and white rocket dead in the road. He got a momentary look of panic on his face and started for the front of the house. It was apparent that his dog didn't want to come to him and in fact was having the time of his life staying just out of arms reach. Oh those little dogs! They know just how to push your buttons don't they?

I looked out a front window but didn't see anyone so I determined I had to help this guy and grabbed my coat and jumped into my boots. I also had the idea to grab some dog biscuits....little dogs like them just as much as my big girls do.
I no sooner joined the man on my deck then 'the rocket' came to the crest of the largest snowbank and paused to look at me. This was my first clear look at him. I already knew he was a boy because he'd left his signature on the side of my deck snow....clever boy! He looked to be a Jack Russel terrier or something quite close to that. He looked a little bit like "Eddie" from the Frasier show.
I asked the man what the dogs name was and he said "Jack"......I thought, of course it is.

Well I looked at Jack, raised my voice to that high baby talking sissy voice we use for speaking to small dogs...and said 'Where ya going Jackie? Come on over here and gets a biscuit from me!' And that's exactly what Jack did. He launched himself in my direction and happily chewed a biscuit long enough for me to grab his collar. His little body was all wiggles and wags and he was clearly very excited about his adventure. I got the impression also that 'Dad' doesn't normally have much control over Jack. I think Jack is a momma's boy and that's why he came to me so easily.

Jack's Dad clipped his leash on him and while I fed Jack biscuits he explained how the escape took place. Jack normally has free reign of his backyard but this day Jack discovered that he could walk on the snow and that snow just happen to be piled up just right so he could go up and over the fence out into the wild world. Thankfully Jack stopped at my house..probably because he smelled the girls and was hoping to meet them. Jack's Dad (I never did get his name) had been following about 3 feet behind Jack for the past hour. Jack is a smart little guy and he knew he had to stay away from Dad to continue his adventure.

Well thankfully Jack didn't wander into the road and nothing bad happened to him. I told his Dad that he'll have to move the snow in Jack's yard. Once he's made a break he'll do it again. The small dogs are very smart about retaining that kind of information. I said good bye to Jack; gave some extra biscuits to his Dad; accepted his thanks for my help and went back to my morning cup of tea.

The picture here is not Jack...it's just a reasonable facsimile of him. :)