Princess Ariel

Ok, I know you will think I have gone crazy with the pets, but I am not planning on getting anymore pets for a while. Yes, someday I would like some goats. Our property is covered with barbed wire fencing, yet nothing is closed in where you can keep an animal contained...very strange. Anyway, fencing is expensive and time consuming, and so is the upkeep of animals that need fences and I don't want any pet that is small enough for the cats to attack and eat. I don't mind gerbils, rats, etc, but I think for now I will stick with the normal pets.
I was going to post a picture of our new puppy, but it appears that our camera has died. Never was that great of a camera in the first place, sucks down batteries faster than I can buy them, but it did take pictures and I could post them on the internet, and now I can't. Maybe I can put camera on the Christmas list. At least I have a picture of the scrawny thing on the memory card that I could print out at Walmart.
Back to the dog, I have been wanting one for a while. While the girls were at a play date last week, my Mom and I went to the animal sheltor/ zoo in our county.
Funny story... The first summer here, a retired teacher from church told us about a zoo in our county that she used to go on field trips. So, I followed the signs into the country to this family owned zoo. It was closed.. and closed to the public, but on the same property was the animal shelter for the county. That is the day we got Duchess. Someone was dropping her off, let us see her, and we took her home instead. All you could see from the road was a few emus. Big deal.
Later, Aaron and I were driving in that area with the girls, and we see someone working there in a cage, so we drive up to ask the guy if they give tours of the zoo anymore. When we got closer we realized the guy didn't have his original arms, but has mechanical arms. Have you seen Dumb and Dumber? Well, he looks like Jeff Daniels in that movie. Wild, crazy, thinning hair. That isn't the funny part. I would never make fun because someone doesn't have arms. Anyway, Aaron asked about tours and he says "No, we couldn't afford to keep up the liability insurance to let people come to the zoo" Maybe it wasn't so funny, but we both laughed later, wondering if his lack of arms had anything to do with no more liability insurance.
So, back to the story, Mom and I went looking at dogs without kids (my kids, not dogs that have never had children-although I do prefer females that haven't had puppies, I feel like the ones that have had puppies should invest in a good bra or thick shirt) , so I could actually think straight.
I said "how long do you keep your dogs here, will these same dogs be here next week?" He says "do you want reality or fantasy land?" I wanted reality and he said 7 days, but the puppies I was looking at would be around for a while. Well, I went back 2 days later and all but one was gone. And it was a pitt bull mix. So, we got this cute yellow lab/hound dog mix instead. He said she was probably 4-5 months old. The vet guessed 8-10 weeks, so she is going to be a little bigger than we expected. She was very shy, shaking, tail tucked under her legs, wouldn't look us in the eye. Aaron was trying to look her in the eye and she kept turning her head pretending he wasn't there. She was very emaciated and didn't eat at first. I thought I had gotten a dying dog. We put her in a cage in the living room and she has gradually perked up since we got her Saturday. We have wormed her and she had a little bit of fever, so the vet gave her some antibiotics, and she is eating good. I am almost afraid to say it, lest I break the wonderful spell, but the dog has barked twice. She is so good. Thank you Dog Whisperer. Within 24 hours, she walked well on a lease for all of us but Hannah. And even then, she is better than some dogs. Hannah is a little erratic with the walking, and Princess tends to want to lead her. She is learning though. Not one accident in the house or her cage yet. I take her out every few hours during the day in case she needs to go. Put her in the cage at night and don't hear a peep out of her until she sees us come in the room in the mornings. Then she gets excited, but still doesn't bark. She has played with the kittens. They don't play with her, and hiss a little, but I think Princess thinks they are little puppies. She doesn't seem to dislike them, only curious about them and she does pounce a little on our tiniest kitten. But the kitten just ignores her and keeps on with whatever she was doing.
One funny story, the dog was in the cage a few days ago, with the door open. I was sitting there and all of a sudden the dog starts growling low at something. I didn't think it was me, so Aaron and I looked all around the cage trying to find a cat perhaps that the dog sensed that we couldn't see. Couldn't find anything. I look back in the cage and on the other side of the dog was the oblivious tiny black kitten, in there sitting next to the dog, lucky to be alive. I got onto the dog and pulled the kitten out and she I have only heard her growl at her one more time.
Oh, back to the zoo. While picking out a puppy, we got to see 3 wolves, fox, racoon, 2 full grown male lions, and a black bear. I didn't even notice the lions about 10 feet away behind 2 fences at first. Just looking at puppies and notice a movement to the side and there stood a full grown lion.