Someone is incredibly happy to see her swiming pool again, now that Spring is here. Freki loves the cold weather, and today she just looked like she could use a bit of cooling off. Luckily, the kiddie pool survived the move and I dragged it out into the yard and filled it up.

She saw it in my hand as I came out of the garage, and her ears perked up. But I had to retrieve the water hose from the garden shed (she chewed the last one in half) before I could fill the pool, and she stood, front feet in the dry pool, ball in her mouth, looking terribly forlorn.

She did let Ben in the pool- for a moment. But he apparently decided it wasn't worth getting in her way as she reacquainted herself with her precious pool.

I will have to say he fits in it better than she does. Perhaps we need a larger pool.

The photo below is a favorite. I love the water splashing up, though it is likely a bit hard to see on the page.

Summer is here!

p.s.- Angus the cat is doing fine. He slept on my pillow last night, Freki at the foot of the bed. :-)

An update from Wednesday's post.

Freki is now fascinated with the cat. She has made a complete turnaround. She now follows him around, literally on his tail, and observes every tiny movement he makes. 

It is such a huge relief from the barking and threatening behavior, but poor Angus likely wasn't looking for a nanny or guardian, either!

I know the post is late this week, but we've had a lot going on. Things have been in a rare upheaval, and it all began with a cat.

We'd wanted a cat for a long time. At least, we'd talked about getting a cat. Cute, cuddly, purring- what's not to like about a cat? So, Saturday, I picked out a cat at the local shelter, paid for his neuter, and waited for them to call Monday and say he was ready to come home.

We tried to prepare the dogs, really, we did. Showed them the litter box, the treats, crate, toys, food. But somehow, the message didn't get through.

Freki hated Angus on sight.

It was predictable. Clearly our alpha girl does not like things she cannot control. And she'd never encountered a kitten before. We were subject to her barking, growling, lunging. Angus didn't know what to do. We had ideas, but would they work?

With the kitten tucked safely in his crate, we allowed the other dogs a chance to meet wee Angus. When the Corgis didn't seem upset, we let the kitten out. Dixie gave a sigh that pretty much said, Just don't let it touch me. Ben crawled in my lap and nudged the kitten away. They have accepted the change in the house, though the kitten is low man on the totem pole as far as they are concerned.

Freki claimed the cat was evil. And her job was to protect the family. It was a long night.

I have to admit, things weren't looking good. My day was patterned with carefully rotating who was out, who was in, and who could exist in the same room together. There was no room for error.

And then we had a breakthrough. It wasn't easy. It took hours of Freki on leash, Angus given free rein so he did not feel trapped, and me offering calm, reassuring words to both animals. Yesterday morning, we logged an hour. 5 minutes of together time, 5 of treats and play ball in another room. Return to Angus' room, repeat. Last night, two hours. But at the end of the day, Angus stretched out on a box, asleep, I sat on the floor a foot or so away, and Freki laid beside me, gnawing a toy. 

I'm not saying there won't be spats. And, to tell the truth, Freki jumps two feet off the floor if the kitten so much as sneezes. But everyone has reached their version of a truce, and the house has gone from Defcon 1 (maximum defense readiness) down to Defcon 4 with an eye to everyone's mood and security measures in place. Co-existence seems to be just around the corner. Dare I hope for friendship?