BEAU AT HOME . . .
PART II
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Beau on 9 January 2010, prior to his first grooming
On 17 December, Chuck writes:
There is no doubt that "Daddy's Baby Boy" is slowly coming out of his shell. He's managed to "taste test" an arsenic-treated wooden bench in the back yard, torn up the carpet in the hallway, woke us up at 3 a.m. most mornings, just for starters. I may have to start making idle threats at him like I did with the Case-monster. Once in a while I'd have to threaten him with tacking his hide to the garage wall as a warning to the other critters. Namely the Wiener Dog from Hell. Casey would yawn and look at me as if to say, "Yeah, right".
I haven't had to yell "No!" and "Stop That!" so many times in a day since Casey crossed The Rainbow Bridge. The little guy has gotten the idea that it's OK to bark his head off outside at 4 a.m. The other dogs don't make a sound. They just go potty and then want to go back into the house. Well, except for Andy & Beau.
Beau has corrupted my sweet Andy. Now it's a game to get them both back into the house even when it's only 2 degrees outside (Andy has a regular Airedale cut; mind you, as he was just groomed three weeks ago). I hate having to freeze my buns off chasing them down and dragging them in when it's that cold in the morning!
Andy used to do his business and then trot to the back door, but not since Beau arrived!
Life is interesting to say the least.
Oh yeah, we had to change over to metal food bowls for the small dogs. Beau thought the plastic ones were chew toys.
He's resting peacefully in the hallway right now. Right on the area where he has "rearranged" the carpeting.
At least he doesn't get the hard look that Casey used to get. The kind where you could tell that the wheels were turning in his head trying to figure out what kind of atrocity to commit next. If this happens I'll know that the Case-monster has possessed this little guy. Hopefully I won't see his head spinning on his shoulders.
But ya know what? We love him anyway.
Unfortunately Annette Hall is no longer with us. She helped me survive Casey's adolescence. I used to cry on her shoulder a lot. Hang the long distance charges. I needed help then. Now I'm a "seasoned veteran". I have the scars (and the destroyed furniture) to prove it.
Beau has begun giving me "big nose pokes" from behind. It's like he's trying to hurry me along.
25 December:
Ya know . . .
Ever since Beau arrived I can't get these two goofs back in the house. They want to stay outside and play; mud, snow, cold . . . it doesn't make any difference. Rain, on the other hand, is a different story. This morning both of the them were at the back door wanting to be let back in. I was half tempted to make them wait for an extra thirty seconds, but that would have meant the other critters would have had to wait also. It was nice not having to chase these two down and drag them in by their collars.
Andy will run around the yard "exploring" and sniffing everything, with Beau "galumphing" along behind him; he is still a bit too uncoordinated to "gallop".
Beau is still finding new objects to "taste test" and destroy. Hey! Beau! Leave that carpet alone! At least raising my voice still works with him.
Andy will keep right on going until I can physically grab his collar or shake a can of pennies. He was such a sweet, calm, good little boy before Beau came. Now he becomes a devil dog (just like the Case-monster) at opportune moments. I NEVER had to worry about him getting into serious mischief before.
I've had several occasions when I've let our dogs out and the two noisy Australian Shepherds next door are out. This is always a very noisy experience. The Weiner Dog from Hell will go totally crazy, frantically running back & forth along the fence, barking his fool head off, threatening death & destruction to the dogs on the other side of the fence.
This, of course, sets off everyone else, including Gordita, the geriatricm overweight Chihuahua. I'm sure the other neighbors appreciate this at 5 a.m. or 10 p.m.
Listen, WDfH, shut up or one of these days I'm gonna toss you over that fence and you can prove just how tough you really are! This little jerk used to torment the heck out of Casey. I'm surprised Casey never broke his neck; he definitely had it coming on more than one occasion. I'd never really toss him over the fence, but I can dream, can't I?
The icy conditions do provide some added entertainment. I've watched Andy & Beau crash & burn a couple of times. Beau went flying across the yard and wound up spinning out of control into the side of the garage. Andy did the same thing and wound up crashing into the garbage can where we put all the dog poop. That was a stinky mess.
But did this slow either one of them down? Nope. They've got more guts than brains, just like a 19-year-old boy with a souped-up car (my neighbor's son for an example).
Merry Christmas everyone!
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Beau on 9 January 2010,
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26 December:
Poor little Beau.
He's having to adjust to such a rough life.
Only getting a bit of lasagna yesterday and having to
share a porterhouse steak with three other big dogs today.
(That's on top of his daily dole, of course.) |
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He'll probably be whining because there wasn't enough pepperoni and hardboiled egg in the lasagna. Hey, pal; that stuff was made from scratch! You were expecting roast duckling à l'orange? Get a job!
Can you hear the violins playing in the background?
Merry Christmas, critters.
Beau on 9 January 2010, after his first grooming
28 December: Attention Mr. & Mrs. America
I just caught Beau & Andy playing bitey-face in the hallway. They're becoming buddies!
This is so great!
Uh, wait a minute . . . two Airedales teaming up . . . .
Uh oh, does this mean that they are going to be getting into trouble together? I just remembered how Casey & Gracie used to team up. This could become a problem for the hoomans around here. Quick, hide the watches and the dog biscuits. First one of you to open the refrigerator spends his day in the box. Hide your children; they're gonna get licked to death!
Beau on 9 January 2010, after his first grooming
7 January 2010: These two Airedales today . . .
One of these two Airedales is gonna wind up thinking he has a new name. Most likely it will be "Dammit" . . .
Dammit, get out of there!
I don't know what has gotten into these two today but they are acting like they are possessed. At the very least they have become heathens.
Beau started bugging Gordita, the old Chihuahua today. She cussed him out six ways to Sunday. I was laughing, listening to her scold him. It almost sounded like she ended it with ". . . and don't make me take off my belt!"
He's been giving her a wide berth since then. I'm still snickering six hours later. I can almost see her giving Beau the finger. After her little tirade, she jumped up into my chair, looked at Beau with disgust and growled at him. You're such a tough little muchacha. You sure you're not a Puerto Rican?
Never tease an old Chihuahua, she might have one bite (gumjob) left! Kinda reminds me of Casey and Rat-Dog, except Rat-Dog had eight teeth. Come on Airedale! I've got eight teeth left and I know how to use them!
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8 January:
You'd think this Airedale would get the idea to get out of the way when I was trying to shovel. To Beau it was all a game as I tossed the snow. So I just threw the snow at him as I proceeded down the walk. He loved it! Great fun! More, more! Took me 15 minutes to do a five-minute job. |
Beau on 9 January 2010,
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9 January: Beau today
Here is Beau with his new hairecut; I had him groomed at Dapper Dog today. Now he looks like a proper Airedale. His brothers & sister didn't recognize him at first. They had to sniff his butt a couple of times to be sure. He seems to be a little more sure of himself now. It's amazing what a good grooming will do.
I'm surprised at how small he really is. It's like he's half the size that he was without all the curly hair that he had. I kinda liked the way that he used to look, but I can give him a really good scratching & head rubs now. He was freezing his little feet off this morning; now he runs around and lies in the snow. go figure.
It's sorta neat having two younger Airedales, although they do get into a lot of mischief. The other five critters don't give us as much "entertainment" as Andy & Beau do.
10 January: Baby it's cold outside!
So far the temp. has gotten "up" to -2 degrees F. Beau's paws started to freeze and I went to pick him up and carry him. He managed to take off on his own then and headed for the back door. Didn't have to "drag" Andy in either this morning.
OK, I've had it with winter; it can go away now!
Later that day: Hole number two
Beau started hole number two in the carpet this morning. He got carpet fibers stuck in his teeth. Had to wrestle him down and part the jaws of death to try and remove them.
Casey never did this; why now?!
Two naughty dales in trouble are we.
11 January: It's not even 5 a.m. . . .
. . . and Beau is looking for some trouble to get in to. Man, he reminds me of Gracie Allen, who was my Casey's all-time best Airedale friend. We're in trouble. I'm waiting to see Beau's head start spinning on his shoulders.
17 January:
This is Beau & Andy this morning. They look so sweet and innocent. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of these two?!
Beau let us "sleep in" until 4:45 this morning. All I had to do was move in bed a bit; that got Andy up and he shook himself, causing his medals to jangle. That set Beau off barking & whining in his crate in the next room. At that point, Bear & Matt start barking in my face. Time to get up dad! What I wouldn't have given to be able to sleep until six.
Paula replies:
He is so darn handsome! He also looks content and happy, especially when he is in charge of the sleeping hours!
It is such a pain when they wake you up like that, but this past weekend I had to go to Chicago and stayed at my niece's in Waukesha. I am soooo lost when I don't have all of them to take care of or wake me up or anything else, that I am all discombobulated the whole time I am away from them. I think they keep me more on schedule than vice versa. Give him a hug for me, Chuck.
17 January, Andréa writes:
Beau & Chuck stopped by today. Beau is soooooo handsome! And calm, just slowly wagging his tail back & forth while I scratched his head. I don't know WHERE Chuck gets all these stories of the naughty things Beau does . . . must be a different dog! ,BR>
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TWO YEARS LATER . . . HERE
