Typist: Bethany
I love talking about my pets. I could talk about my pets all day long and probably into the next day and the day after that too. I am proud of their accomplishments. I adore their individuality, quirks and faults. One of the reasons I take my pets everywhere is to interact people enjoying my pets. Yes, sometimes I get carried away and babble on and on and follow people as they try to walk away (okay, usually not that) but they started it by asking about my pets, right?
I love talking about my pets. I could talk about my pets all day long and probably into the next day and the day after that too. I am proud of their accomplishments. I adore their individuality, quirks and faults. One of the reasons I take my pets everywhere is to interact people enjoying my pets. Yes, sometimes I get carried away and babble on and on and follow people as they try to walk away (okay, usually not that) but they started it by asking about my pets, right?
 Shy Face | Leo Of course, Leo always garners the most attention. He's "exotic!" Leo is far from shy but he is also does not have the personality of a movie star parrot. The fascinating thing to me is that very few people come up and ask about Leo. I see them stop and stare, I hear them exclaim "look at the bird" but very few people stop and ask or talk about him. When someone does ask, Leo is usually able to give them more of an earful about himself than I can. Many of the people who will stop and ask about Leo are kids or families. I appreciate this opportunity to do a little bit of "a parrot is not an easy pet" education. Often the people we meet while out and about with Leo, are or were parrot people. And all too often, they tell sad stories of "I feed my parrot cheeseburgers, does yours like them?" or "I used to have a parrot but [insert lame excuse of moving or noisiness here.]" There are very few times that I actually want Leo to scream but it's at those moments I wish he had a cue for it. |
Wilhelm
Everyone loves a dachshund. Well, almost everyone. We do hear a lot of comments about how well behaved Wilhelm is. "My aunt has 40 dachshund's and they are so barky." "My mom's dachshund could never go out in public, it's so grouchy." Wilhelm is a really awesome dachshund, but I did work hard to socialize him and he is very well trained. So while these compliments are nice, my mind does drift to "those poor dogs" when people tell me such stories. Children are always drawn to Wilhelm and he most often reciprocates the attraction. There have been times when both the human mother and I begin to give "just a few more minutes" warnings to our children while they are enjoying one another so very much. Plus, there is the therapy dog in Wilhelm that causes him to instinctively know that someone needs to pet him or hold him. It is very sweet.
The tough job of being adored
Huxley I am still getting used to people being afraid of Huxley. I do understand because he is very large and all that fur makes him seem even bigger. But he is such a teddy bear! At his point, seeing people cross the street away from us, is a hilarious private joke between he and I. A lot of people do adore him, though. I still grin when thinking of one of the first people that called him "Lassie." This man was so excited and exclaimed, "look at me, I'm petting Lassie" several times. Huxley loved it! Many people not just know and like his breed, but, especially older people, have personally known or owned collies in their lives. I absolutely love listening to seniors tell stories about their childhood dogs and Huxley seems to bring that out in a lot of people. It must be a part of being an old-fashioned farm collie. |  Huxley and Lassie. Not really. It's his sire, Dandy. |
 I say "he's just a corgi" but we all know that just isn't true | Brychwyn Ah, poor, poor Brychwyn. Adored. Admired. Gawked at. Photographed. Ah, the trials and tribulations of life as our "deadly handsome man." Too bad most of his myriads of fans think he is an Australian Shepherd and Corgi mix, or a Cattle Dog and Corgi mix, or a husky and Corgi mix or some other "designer breed." Okay, Brychwyn probably doesn't care, as long as he is worshiped. When I tell people who ask what breed he is, some will inquire more about the breed. That is nice. Others awkwardly grin and nod as if I just made "Cardigan Welsh Corgi" up. One person said "oh, the designer breeds they come up with these days." I told him this breed was one of the oldest known breeds in the world. I don't think he liked me. But he liked Brychwyn. That's all that matters to Brychwyn and, in turn, me too. |
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