Penny & Bridgette

Bridgette is miserable in wind, rain, and cold weather and that's what San Diego has right now. Penny was game to go out and take care of business; Bridgette stuck her head out and dug her paws into the cement sidewalk. Nope, not doing it. I dragged her through a very short, non-productive walk. She returned home and curled up against me on the couch. There she remained. We woke up to 38 degrees this morning with possible rain expected. The girls will not be pleased. Their mother (me) is rather happy about this colder weather. While I'm a California girl, I've had my fill of 90-degree temperatures. Penny will definitely miss the heat, but she's a little trouper and will make the best of it.  

Ahh, my little Bridgette. Miss Personality Plus. Things to know about Bridgette: She's never had a bad day in her life. She is first and foremost a "people" dog. She will always approach a human before a dog, but she loves other dogs; that is, as long as Penny approves. If Penny takes exception to another dog, Bridgette will back her up with all of her little snaggle-tooth ferocity. Bridgette snacks - as on anything she finds on the sidewalk, in bushes, and at home. I have to quickly snatch up anything I drop, because she's right there to lap it up. I worry about what she finds outside and can't take my eyes off of her for a second. Bridgette doesn't walk, she prances. Bridette is allergic. She often sneezes both outward and reverse. Sometimes she will sneeze rapidly about 10 times. She doesn't do that often. I think Bridgette is very comfortable at home with Penny and me, but I suspect she could be a runner. Soon after I brought her home...

In her dream of dreams, Penny catches a big, fat crow...  ...for a toy, of course). She tries, but doesn't quite get that she can't fly and that if she advances toward one growling and snarling, the crow isn't inclined to stick around. I end up feeling sorry for her, she is so earnest her quest. Crows tend to be fat and healthy in our community since people think nothing of tossing half-eaten sandwiches, half-emptied Starbucks cups, and a variety of food wrappers throughout. It's disgusting, since this is a rather upscale area, ut the birds love hanging out here. Penny loves the sun. In the picture of her above, she is definitely in her preferred zone. She will find the hottest, sunniest spot anywhere to curl up. I believe this is because she has quite a bit of Chihuahua (the configuration of her ears give this away) in her. Chihuhuas are a sun-loving, hot-zone breed. In this instance, her Border Terrier (and Dachshund?) blood take backseats. The heat o...

Bridgette turned 8 years old yesterday, at least based on an estimate of the Humane Society where I adopted her. She will always be a puppy - never had a bad day in her life. Well, that is until she pried open a canister of Viactive calcium chews and had to go to the vet; BUT, that wasn't as bad as when she managed to open a bag of chocolate chips, consume most of them, and spewed chocolate lava all over the place - another trip to the vet, this time to spend the night. Bridgette is a little lover. She gives dog kisses freely and begs to be picked up and held. She's a snuggler at night. She can jump from almost any place in the living room to the couch. When she runs, she looks like a little jack rabbit fairly hopping and jumping, ears flying in the wind. Penny , on the other hand, is quite a bit more independent. She leads us on every walk. She knows exactly where she's going, which route she would prefer. She remembers them all. She has become rather fearful recently....

Today was hotter than blazes where we live. Usually for Penny, no problem. Bridgette, as indicated in the previous post, does not do well in heat or wind. We walked this morning around 7 am. It wasn't too bad, but the heat was coming on fast. On most days, The Girls can hold on until later afternoon, but that was not to be today. The peak heat of the day heat hit in early afternoon. Penny insisted on going out, so I figured we could walk around the block and that would be it. Bridgette tried to hold her ground. She didn't like the feel of things the second she walked outside. She really wanted to return to the apartment where it was nice and cool.  Penny pulled. Ahhh...what to do? Penny won. As usual! She led the way up to the dog park about a 1/2 mile away. Before we got there, The Girls sought respite on the Village Green a large park with a huge expanse of green grass. The sprinklers were hissing on about half of the field, which provided small pools of water enough for ...

A LITTLE HISTORY - before Penny & Bridgette there was Iona The story of Penny and Bridgette began with Iona, the most beautiful, sweet West Highland White Terrier (Westie) whoever lived. Everybody loved Iona. That's her above: I wanted a dog in my life and I decided on a Westie, so I set off for Hemet on a warm spring day in 2002. The ad had said there was a litter of puppies 5-6 weeks old. When I arrived, I found all boy dogs in a child's playpen ( s ans the child). How would I ever choose? They were all so cute. The breeder pointed out the mother and grandmother of the puppies, who were peering through a glass door. They were agitated, squealing and barking, as if they knew I was there to take one or more of their babies. The breeder's son yelled: "SHUT UP!!!!" They calmed down. I asked about the possibility of a girl. "Well, I have one in the back. I really wanted to keep her, but..." her voice trailed off as she left the room. ...