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Oct. 17th, 2005 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furtechFrieda's been getting pretty creaky lately, so I've been taking her around to see old buddies (in lieu of walks) for enrichment.
Last night I took her over to see Baron (the dog who my LJ icon is based on). Baron's a big, black shepherd that I found right after the Northridge Quake (literally-- maybe four hours after the major shock). He'd been wandering in and out of Laurel Canyon Blvd. where my work is, miraculously not getting hit by panicked drivers. I ran across the street with a leash and collar (yes, I've got spares in my trunk just for things like this) and he allowed himself to be hooked up. In fact, he seemed slightly dazed but followed on the lead. I was apprehensive about putting him in the car with Frieda, but he was just fine. A bit on the large and galoot-ish side, but friendly enough (especially to Frieda).
There were hiking buddies for years before his arthitis got too bad for him to take walks. I honestly never guessed that he'd outlive Frieda, but that looks to be the case (if not by much). He's creaky and old but still has a pretty full bag of marbles. When I bought Frieda into his house, they both studiously ignored each other...but each would surreptitiously sniff when they thought the other wasn't looking. I was reminded of two friends who hadn't seen each other in years and were embarrassed to let the other see how far they'd declined. It was touching, actually.
Certainly Tess recognized Frieda! She stared and stared...but didn't work up the nerve to go sniff her. Tess is a small black cat who thinks she's a dog. I found her about 8 years ago on a late dog walk: as we were going back to the car, I thought I saw a rat chasing after Baron! Resisting the urge to scream and dance around, I took a closer look and saw it was a tiny black kitten. She had followed Baron -and- Frieda (!) to the car! I was amazed that Frieda didn't go after her and chase, but apparently the kitten didn't know what a dog was because she didn't run (and therefore was uninteresting to her). I bundled the kitten up in a box and brought her to Baron's owner. They were SoooOOooo grateful... (not!) But I knew they're both soft touches and would end up keeping her.
The kitten grew up thinking she was a black dog, like Baron. The big, black shepherd was her sole role model. You could almost see it: she fully expected to eventually grow into a big, black dog. She followed Baron around and imitated him, even to trying to steal dog treats almost bigger than she was). I even taught her to "sit" for a treat (to the amusement of her owners, who didn't believe I could do that!). Tess must have been very frustrated to stay so small...She still acts more like a dog than a cat. Of all the pets there that night, she was the only one who was in good shape -and- fully recognized Frieda. It was cute!
Today was making sure Frieda didn't stand out in the rain all day. But she seems happy (if a bit dazed), so that's good. The thunder didn't even faze her (as you can see in the pic).
Last night I took her over to see Baron (the dog who my LJ icon is based on). Baron's a big, black shepherd that I found right after the Northridge Quake (literally-- maybe four hours after the major shock). He'd been wandering in and out of Laurel Canyon Blvd. where my work is, miraculously not getting hit by panicked drivers. I ran across the street with a leash and collar (yes, I've got spares in my trunk just for things like this) and he allowed himself to be hooked up. In fact, he seemed slightly dazed but followed on the lead. I was apprehensive about putting him in the car with Frieda, but he was just fine. A bit on the large and galoot-ish side, but friendly enough (especially to Frieda).
There were hiking buddies for years before his arthitis got too bad for him to take walks. I honestly never guessed that he'd outlive Frieda, but that looks to be the case (if not by much). He's creaky and old but still has a pretty full bag of marbles. When I bought Frieda into his house, they both studiously ignored each other...but each would surreptitiously sniff when they thought the other wasn't looking. I was reminded of two friends who hadn't seen each other in years and were embarrassed to let the other see how far they'd declined. It was touching, actually.
Certainly Tess recognized Frieda! She stared and stared...but didn't work up the nerve to go sniff her. Tess is a small black cat who thinks she's a dog. I found her about 8 years ago on a late dog walk: as we were going back to the car, I thought I saw a rat chasing after Baron! Resisting the urge to scream and dance around, I took a closer look and saw it was a tiny black kitten. She had followed Baron -and- Frieda (!) to the car! I was amazed that Frieda didn't go after her and chase, but apparently the kitten didn't know what a dog was because she didn't run (and therefore was uninteresting to her). I bundled the kitten up in a box and brought her to Baron's owner. They were SoooOOooo grateful... (not!) But I knew they're both soft touches and would end up keeping her.
The kitten grew up thinking she was a black dog, like Baron. The big, black shepherd was her sole role model. You could almost see it: she fully expected to eventually grow into a big, black dog. She followed Baron around and imitated him, even to trying to steal dog treats almost bigger than she was). I even taught her to "sit" for a treat (to the amusement of her owners, who didn't believe I could do that!). Tess must have been very frustrated to stay so small...She still acts more like a dog than a cat. Of all the pets there that night, she was the only one who was in good shape -and- fully recognized Frieda. It was cute!
Today was making sure Frieda didn't stand out in the rain all day. But she seems happy (if a bit dazed), so that's good. The thunder didn't even faze her (as you can see in the pic).
