by Minnie's Mom, Sandi
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Went to KMart and got Minnie a small kiddie pool to help her beat the heat. Had gone to a friend's Pampered Chef Party and didn't get home til about 9:30 p.m. But I was excited to show her the pool, so I changed into my long nightgown, flopped on my ripped up rubber gardening clogs and went to put the pool out back.
Minnie came dashing over to see what was going on and when I put the pool on the ground to show her, she promptly grabbed it by the lip and took off running, pool in mouth, before I even knew what was going on. Well my garden clogs are shot and more like flip flops now, so I'm stumbling after her trying not to step in a mole hole and break an ankle in the dark. She crashed through a few garden beds, somehow maneuvered around the pine trees, and finally stopped when the pool collided with the boulders that surround the burn pit out back. I grabbed it hoping she hadn't punctured the thing, told her "No" and a vicious game of tug of war commenced. Perhaps she thought it was some sort of giant Frisbee? Finally, I got the pool away from her, but Bill had just cut the grass and it had rained so by now my nightgown was covered in grass clippings and mud and was soaking wet. I walked in the back door and Bill said "What happened to you?"
I let Minnie out this morning, but didn't go out back since it was raining. So, hopefully I can find the pool this afternoon after work and fill it with water so we can keep it in one spot.
As her 2nd birthday approaches in July, I'm happy to announce that the shy girl who I thought had too many fears when we brought her home a year ago, has come out of her little shell, fully. Let the games begin, she really is a Bull Terrier. And we all already know, "Life is merrier with a Bull Terrier."
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It's a prolific year for baby toads in Anderson, IN. They're about 3/4 inches long and actually kind of cute, and they're EVERYWHERE!
Each evening when Bill and I sit on the porch Minnie performs what we now refer to as "toad patrol". She walks the perimeter of the porch two times looking for toads then settles in next to me on the sofa when she's satisfied none are hopping about and goes to sleep.
She seems to sometimes remember from last year that if you try to eat a toad, you will foam at the mouth. So she usually just pounces as they jump and when they freeze up and refuse to "play", she barks at them in total frustration and kind of snaps in the air. At or before this point I usually rush over and pick them up to deposit them back into the flower beds where they're less obvious to the little dog. Such is our nightly routine.
Two toads have already wandered into the recreation room though. Discovered the first one the other night when I opened the back door. Saw something squirming on the floor, thought it was a slug. Bent down to discover it was a baby toad whose front end was in perfect shape, back end was totally flattened though. My guess is it got stepped on by a Bull Terrier. Scooped it up and outside it went, back to nature. It was pretty clear it wasn't going to make it.
Found the second one last night. Went by to put some clothes in the dryer and noticed Minnie lying down staring at the floor. Walked over to discover another toad very much alive and in great shape, except it was lying in a pool of slobber. I swear it looked at me as if to say "Help me". So, I scooped it up and put it out under the sprinkler to deslime.
Must be a small crack under the storm door, I'll have to check and plug it up somehow. Seems the ones that wander in only have a 50/50 chance of survival.
If all these babies manage to survive to adult hood, it's going to be a very interesting summer at our place.
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Started out my day in the usual fashion, coffee on the porch at 5:20 a.m.. A few moments passed when I noticed Minnie trotting up from the back forty with something in her mouth, so fearing another baby bunny bit the dust I told her "Drop it". Which to my delight she did. Walked out to investigate and discovered it was only a green pear that must have fallen off the tree out back. Told her it was "Ok, eat the pear", and she proceeded to wolf the thing down. Picked up a few sticks and placed them in the burn pit and started heading back in.
This time she was standing by the back porch, something else hanging from the little dog's mouth now. Thought it looked like a string of rotted leaves and sticks since we had just cleaned out the back gutters, perhaps we dropped something. Instructed her again to "Drop it", she did and I reached down to pick it up and place it in my garden refuse bag. It was only after I had the thing firmly in my grasp I discovered it was the decaying carcas of some animal, I'm guessing a squirrel, mole or rabbit. Said "Gross Minnie", made a face and tossed it over the fence at which point she jumped straight up in the air and proceeded to run in circles around me smiling as if to say "Gotcha".
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About 6:10 a.m. headed in to do my sit-ups. Minnie likes to "coach". She starts out by licking my face, but then just sits aside my head and stares, waits for me to finish a set, licks my face a few more times, and then sits and waits for the next set to finish and on we go. Odd, but one gets used to it knowing Bull Terriers like to "participate". Going along with our usual routine when she lets out a giant sneeze. Across my face. Thank you so very much. Grabbed a towel off the weight bench, cleaned up and on to the last 50 sit-ups. Bored Min's now "creeping" under the skirt of a table that is draped with a white cloth elsewhere in the garage. Somehow it had become wrapped around her head and she looked like a ghost caught in a tuna net. Untangled that before the table came down atop her and went back for more sit-ups. A split second later I hear her clinking collar and clicking nails and notice she is trotting by with the towel I just used on my face, shaking it violently as she passes. Whatever, I no longer cared knowing she couldn't possibly injest the entire towel and die.
Finished my sit-ups, got up, grabbed my coffee cup and proceeded to head to the showers. As I pass through the pool room I see Minnie has opened the folding dog closet door (where her treats are kept) and is sitting there, towel by her side, staring into the closet as she does when she is trying to "hint" a treat is in order. I pick up the towel, give the dog a treat just because, why not, and she wolfs it down with her usual gusto. Then she casually trots to her crate, picks up her Nylabone, plops down and settles in for a good morning's chew.
As I pass through the dining room on the way to deposit my cup in the kitchen, I notice Bill virtually breathless and practically in tears in his chair. He informs me Hunter was racing throughout the house like a madman with large saucer eyes. Suddenly he leaped from halfway across the living room trying to reach the back of the loveseat, but overshot the landing, bounced off the picture window and ended up going straight down the wall behind the sofa like a cartoon cat.
Just another morning in Anderson, Indiana.
Ok, it's pretty exciting up here in Anderson, but here's what we like to do to entertain ourselves. We start a fire out back in the evenings and sit out there in the swing and chat til it's time to go to bed, not every night but most weeknights and always Saturday and Sunday weather permitting. Very relaxing.
Any ways, Minnie wanders around sniffing, grumbles and occassionally barks at noises in the woods, eats a few pears, if she's bored she jumps up in the swing with us. Somewhere along the line, Bill started playing hide and seek with her in the dark and he'll duck behind a tree and jump out or she'll try to find him behind the hedge or he'll just take off and she'll chase him, etc. She loves these games. When he jumps out and goes "Rah" she usually runs around in circles and spazes, you get the picture.
So last weekend when I was in Michigan he goes out about 7:00 p.m. to start a fire, has the newspapers, lighter, etc. Minnie's already out there, he hears her little collar clanking, doesn't pay too much attention. He walks around the corner of the hedge heading out back and just as he does, Minnie bolts out from behind it, hunches in front of him, lets out a growl and does a fly by. Scared him to death!
We think this is her version of the hide and seek game. She got him!
Thursday is trash day, so I was clearing out some newspapers from the dog closet last night. Noticed the overflowing bushel basket of dog "things" and decided a few items could probably be tossed. So, I took it out, sat on the floor and started going through the contents. Made a little pile of things to toss; like the unopened dog "Dental Kit" Bill picked up before we got Minnie cause we were going to brush her teeth daily. Also found an old frisbee, a chewed up tennis ball, a half empty bottle of hydrogen peroxide that looked old, etc. So, I was sitting there putting things in piles and Minnie took off with something I assumed was the Cressite ring I had just put in a stack. So, she's spazzing around the room as she normally does with something fun she's found and I'm not paying any attention.
All of a sudden I hear "Yo Quiero Taco Bell, Yo Quiero Taco Bell" from across the room. I look over and she is lying in her crate with one of those little stuffed dogs from Taco Bell in her mouth with an amazed look on her face, like "Wow, it talks". Forgot that was in there! ha
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Finally, spring has sprung in Indiana! Minnie Me had an eventful winter “helping” us redo the rec room. Look closely at the one photo and you will see faint remains of smeared burgundy paint on her shoulder!
Found the faux mink throw on sale for $12 at a local department store and it was just too tacky and fun to leave behind. It was only halfway out of the bag when Minnie leapt into the air, grabbed it out of my hand, and ran off across the room shaking it. Her athleticism and precision in accomplishing this in less than a split second was impressive! After she decided it was not “alive” (and therefore posed no threat), she spent the remainder of her winter days sprawled across it, toasting herself on the corner of the sofa closest to the wood stove. Initially, Bill and I tried to use the throw ourselves; but the weight of a 48 lb. Bull Terrier often causes limbs to go numb, so it just wasn’t as relaxing as we anticipated. We brought out some afghans and find it works best each of us lounge with our own “blankie”.
Spring is here now and we are all spending more time outdoors. I’m an avid gardener and early riser, so Min and I are usually outside at 5:15 a.m. We live in a secluded setting in the woods, so I plop my old jacket over my pajamas, slip on my rubber gardening clogs, and stroll with my coffee to see what flowers are coming up as she sniffs around the yard exploring. This is our peaceful morning routine when the warm weather hits.
At some point we nicknamed Minnie, “Who” and it stuck. A game we play is to repeat this a few times in a high pitched voice, like an owl, and she spazs around in circles and jumps and has great fun. We never imagined this would backfire until she actually heard her first owl last summer at 5:00 a.m. We both heard the “Hoo, hoo”; and I wish you could have seen her expression when she looked at me and it “clicked” it wasn’t me. Another “Hoo hoo” and the hair was up and she took off like a shot to the fence line! One more “Hoo, hoo” and we had a bona-fide conversation, Minnie a little louder with each exchange. To date we’ve had three early morning owl chats, the last one just a few days ago. We have no plans to move to the city, so I’m sure it won’t be the last. Bill tells me the coffee stains all over my jacket (the result of my trying to run in my clogs to quiet her down) add character to what is already a stunning ensemble. Lieutenant Columbo has nothing on me.
We celebrate 20 years of Bull Terrier ownership in May and our friends and family are finally convinced we couldn’t possibly have made all these stories up over the years. Only Bull Terriers have that kind of imagination! We send our best to you and yours in Virginia and hope you are enjoying the warm weather.
Getting more laugh lines in Indiana,
Sandi, Bill & Minnie Me
who sits back, wide-eyed,
and watches all these shenanigans.