Cats and Dogs

Chief is one of our black labs. He's a great dog. He's at the perfect age for the boys too. I should have taken pictures, but never did. All summer while Rett and I would be working in the yard, our boys practiced riding sheep on Chief. You'd tell him to sit. The boys would take turns climbing on him. And then you'd call him to you, and they'd try to stay on. He didn't mind at all. A pretty good dog to let the boys abuse him like that. He's good with cats too! This cat climbs in his kennel and cuddles with him all the time. They are weird, but they seem to love each other. Rett really wanted a picture of it, because it is a little strange, and not something you see everyday. So here you go, the friendly cat and dog!

And these pictures show part of another recent project. We, well, mostly Rett, but I did help some. We built dog houses, attached them to the inside of the shop, and cut dog doors into the shop wall so the dogs had a warmer place to go during the FREEZING winters up here. They are pretty nice and much cleaner and warmer than previous options we've used.

While we are on the subject of the cats, I have to share more about the cat. He's a soul survivor of three. Grandpa Kip brought us 3 kittens in May. The boys were so excited and loved them! Rett and I aren't really cat people, but we had tons of mice in the shop last winter, so we decided it would be ok. The first cat met its fate not too long after we got them. Which is kind of funny with the pictures of the other cat and Chief being so sweet together! Zink loved the cats too, only he played with them a little too rough. One morning the boys came into the house crying and so upset. One of the cats had crawled into Zink's kennel and Zink licked it to death. It was all wet when I found it. I don't think he meant to hurt it, but he did. And the boys won't let him live it down either. They freak out whenever he's near the cat! So, I think that's kind of the boys first real experience with death as they understand it. We had a little funeral for Family Home Evening that night and talked about resurrection. The second cat disappeared. Possibly an owl or hawk. Or maybe it just ran away. We don't know. It was just gone one day. So, this is a real survivor of a cat. The boys carry it all over, put it on the baskets on their bike, drag it around, and do whatever else they can think of to do to it. He lets them and is pretty good about it. Every once in a while though, he does bolt away from them as fast as he can. He has had a couple close calls himself though. Apparently our garage door got smashed on him because he's too low for the sensor. Luckily that wasn't one of us, and it was an accident. We were out of town and for a day, Rett and I thought he was dead, but hadn't said anything to the boys yet, and we're glad, because he was just fine. This puppy we've got for a friend also chews on the cat. I think he must like it, because he just stays there instead of running away from him, and the boys kind of freak out, but he's never gotten hurt by Hook yet. Even though Rett and I aren't cat people, we'd be really sad for the boys if we lost this last cat! I don't even know what his name is. I think originally the three were named Kit Cat, Rollo, and Licorice. I'm not sure which one the survivor is! But we're glad he's here. And we're glad Chief likes him so much!