Dogs

Maggie is the Mother of 7 puppies (that I know of). She showed up at a friend's house in Dahlgren one day, moved into an abandoned dog house and dropped a litter of pups the next day. Wendy and Paul took care of her and the pups for the first 6 weeks with the intent of sending them off to a local shelter when they were older. I was in the market for a dog and promised to take one of the puppies. Gosh they were cute. I couldn't decide which one, so I took Maggie and all seven pups with the intent of picking one and finding homes for the rest. By the time I got around to giving puppies away in the fall of '96, I had named them. Sweetpea, Butterball, Princess, Bandit, and the Three Bears. The bears so named because they all looked the same, much like teddy bears. With the help of my girlfriend (at the time) and her mother, I was able to give away all but Maggie and two of the three bears in one beautiful fall afternoon at the Westmoreland Berry Farm Apple Butter Festival.
So this is Maggie.

Bobby was the largest of the three bears. He is the bigger of the two boys left with me, and he acts like a bigger brother. He's a bully, and I honestly think he was suffering from testosterone poisoning, a situation that was "fixed.". (Update 3/26/01). You have to admit that he is cute even if he picks fights with his little brother. Don't missunderstand. It really upsets me when they go at it, and if possible, Bobby gets a bucket of cold water. Which is most of the times since the apparent reason for their agressiveness is just to show off for me. When I'm not around (or so they think) they get along fine. They have about 5 acres on a wooded island all to themselves. I have installed an electronic fence (shocking collars) to keep them around.

Lewie is the smaller of the two remaining "bears." He is much more independent than Bobby, and while he tries to avoid being in a situation where his big brother is going to start a fight with him, he usually gets the upper hand. He is also the one that has taken on Maggie's hunting skills, with something (muskrat, raccoon, possum) usually lying around "seasoning" until it's edible. Actually the reason I have dogs is to keep the Muskrats and Beavers from eating my trees. This was a real problem when I moved in. One beaver can kill a 50 year old tree overnight by girdling it. Hasn't been a problem since the boys have been on duty. Maggie is the original hunter, but after an unfortunate incident with a neighbors dog, she remains chained.

That's Lewie on the right with the glowing eyes. Even though it is always Bobby that instigates the fight, he is the one with more scars. They really don't hurt each other too much, but it needs to stop. 5 minutes later they're all friendly and content.