Fur-niture and Traif

I picked up a Xoom tablet last week to see what the Android version of an iPad looks like, and my son has been playing with the camera. He is still working on the idea that the tablet needs to be held steady, but he got one or two nice shots that I thought might cheer Sheena up today.

Faith on my grandmother's couch

We're a pretty dog-friendly house. Definitely a "that's why they call it fur-niture" kind of place. As you can see, Faith is having no trouble getting with the program. Here she is lying a couch that came from my grandmother's house. Trevor is lying on the floor in front of the couch, somewhat miffed that his dog bed has been usurped. Unfortunately those shots are pretty blurry.

I'm not sure my dad would appreciate this shot, but his mother would have. While she kept a very orderly house, it was first and foremost a house for people to live in. My mother isn't always sure what to make of the granddogs, but she seems to like Trevor, and Faith is probably more her size (literally) than any of our previous dogs. Mom was bitten by a German Shepard as a child, and she remains somewhat fearful. The Rotties frightened her a bit - even Morgan, who mom readily acknowledges was a gentle dog by just about any standard.

Mom is definitely not a fur-niture kind of person. For years she showed up with a lint roller and tried to get up the fur before she would sit down. Does the term "losing battle" resonate? Mind you, that lint roller had been packed in her suitcase and come across the country with her. Eventually she gave up and started wearing more casual clothes to our house. After that she was willing to let Trevor put his head in her lap, which made both of them much happier. It will be interesting to see what happens when she meets Faith. Faith is, if anything, more gentle than Morgan was.

This particular couch has an end that folds down; I slept on it often as a child when I stayed with my grandparents. My son occasionally sleeps on it today, but these days it mostly belongs to Trevor. On balance, I think my grandmother would feel that it was being appreciated, and that is what would have mattered to her.

My favorite dog bed.

Just to prove that Faith is not a complete couch potato, here is Faith making herself comfortable on her other dog bed. She likes this one because it's where I sleep, and she is a dog who seems entirely motivated by cuddling. Give her a dog cookie and you get the impression that she's eating it mostly to be a good sport. Give her a chance to snuggle with you and all is pretty much right with the universe. Hey, works for me.

Give my son a dog cookie, on the other hand, and it's completely clear that he's eating it to see your reaction. He'll also tell you, quite gleefully, that Trevor likes to floss his teeth. Especially his back teeth. If that gets a yuck face from you and Trevor happens to be handy, he'll demonstrate. My mom was utterly horrified, which had my son giggling for days. Today he went one better with a neighbor and explained during his little speech that Trevor eats cat poop sometimes (we have since gated off the litterbox). Having done the setup, he got a big "ewww" out of one of our neighbors by demonstrating the flossing thing with their dog. He, of course, thought that was pretty funny.

Well, that's it for tonight. I had the pictures and thought Sheena could use a light moment. One of her dogs, Piper, got in to some sort of poison yesterday. Thankfully, Piper seems to be okay now. From the description, it sounds like rat poison, which is exceptionally nasty stuff.

Oh. One more thing. My son announced today in the car that he wants another dog who is a mix of Trevor and Faith. He wants to call her "Traif"...