...happy 3rd birthday, Molly

this picture was taken a couple of days ago...
as Molly was chewing an old piece of leg bone...

as I celebrate Molly's 3rd birthday...
I find myself reflecting on the past year +...
that she's been here, in "Kitty City"...
with me and the felines...

Molly is a happy dog...

I say that having known a few who were often morose...
and a few that weren't...

she is not,"cool", like the felines...
she wears her heart on her sleeve...
bouncing about, mauling one of several squeaky toys...
punctuating the squeaks with yips of doggy glee...
scattering previously sleeping felines in her wake..

sometimes, she thunders through the house, [aka,"the runnsies"]...
when she's glad to see me or wants to play...
especially if Lucyfur, Mackie or SPie are about...
[and woe, to any feline or human who gets in the way...
sort of like a baby rhino going downhill...]

she likes the back yard, spending an hour or so in the morning...
[in good weather, much less if it's wet or cold...]
sometime, also in the late afternoon, if I've been gone...
patrolling the perimeter, calling the nasty blue jay names...
looking for Piglet, who I try to have inside when Molly's out...
[Molly wants to play chase & Pigs will have none of it...]

Molly loves the cat window perch...
from whence she barks at anything that moves outside...
though she can really wreak havoc getting up there...
scattering cats left & right...

I do have to keep her in the crate when I'm gone...

she goes batso and throws herself at the windows...
when the mail or a delivery comes...
and I'm afraid that she'll break a window...
she already "unhung" a stained glass panel...
while barking at a passing dog walker...
fortunately, it didn't break...

there were numerous plants in pots that suffered a worse fate...

she also spends the night in her crate...
cozy, right next to the floor furnace grate...
and anytime that she gets too carried away barking...
she goes in for a "time out"...

always willingly, especially if I toss in a toy or treat...
she seems to enjoy her crate...
yipping at any feline cheeky enough to pass too close...
she only "talks" to greet me on my return...
or if she really needs to go...

I have to be very careful of the cat food or she'll scarf it...
and she is quite stealthy too...
feline quality sneakiness...
going around through the kitchen...
to get at an unguarded morsel or cat dish with crumbs...

so I am still quite amazed...
[considering just how much territorial yipping, etc...
accompanies the gnawing of bones, etc, from her nest...]
that she will share all sorts of goodies put in her dish...
with any feline who sticks their nose in...

no growling, or defensive posturing...
no gulping or bolting the food so they won't get any...
just gently taking a bit, eating it & politely going back for more...
too bad the kitties aren't that nice to each other...

two days ago...
I had to give up on the last of the meatloaf...
[it had been around too long & didn't smell right...]
yesterday, it was the last of the chicken...
that I had slow-cooked, weeks ago...
and had made many good meals from...
but was now, too old & tasted strange...

they didn't care...

I broke up the few remaining slices of meatloaf...
giving Molly the bigger pieces...
and the kitties the crumbled ones...

the chicken went the same way, & quickly...
but shared with great gusto & no rancor...

I found myself just shaking my head in wonder...
as I watched Molly nibbling daintily on some chicken...
while Thomas, sitting right next to her, was eating from her dish too...

I've been working on building up my legs...
so that we can take an extra long walk for her birthday...
I'm sure that she'll like that...

it's still a work in progress...
me having a dog, that is...
I know cats, inside & out...
dogs, not so much, but I'm learning...

after all, there's a reason that God made her the way that she is...

the ideal dog to live here, with me & the kitties...
to teach me things & help me to become more patient...

so despite the small annoyances [purloined cat food...]
the need to train her & be,"the boss"...
the plethora of toys, old old bones, half-chewed rawhide...
ripped pillows, broken plant pots and messed-up chair cushions...
and, I hope, the "never again" dislocated finger...

I'm glad that she's here...

so, Happy Birthday Molly !
I hope you have many more...