The Adventures of Watch Dog and Not-Watch Dog, Part 2:
Video Description: The wind blows, and the sound of a lawnmower can be heard in the distance. Zelly is in the foreground, looking around at stuff in her typically alert manner. She walks away, revealing Dudley lying on the grass like the laziest dog who ever lived.
Every once in awhile, we give the dogs this moist dogfood from the local feed store that's all organic and fancy la-dee-da. They love it, so it's a huge treat for them, even though it's good for them. (We couldn't afford to make it their regular food, since Dudley alone would need five cans a day, lol.) Anyway, here's a little video of the monsters going wild when Iain's about to give them their special dinner.
Video Description: Iain stands in the doorway of the kitchen; Dudley and Zelly sit in front of him, looking up at him expectantly. "Do you know what's wrong with these dogs, babe?" he asks. "I have no idea," I reply. I pan down to Zelly's tail wagging against the floor. "What's up, you guys? You guys hungry?" Iain asks. I gasp excitedly. "Are you hungry, puppies?!" I ask. Zelly turns and looks at me. "You guys want food?" Iain asks. Dudley collapses to the floor dramatically. "Is that what it is, hmm?" Dudley grumbles and wags his tail. I laugh. "All right, well, I'll think about it," Iain says, then turns and walks into the kitchen. Zelly follows him in; Dudley goes to the door, looks in, runs back to the rug on which they're fed, runs back to the door, back to the rug, and playbows with a bark and a windmilling tail. Iain walks back in holding two bowls, Zelly behind him. Dudley leaps up to sniff the food. "Waitwaitwait!" Iain says, as he walks to the other side of the rug. I laugh. Dudley can hardly contain his excitement, and again flops onto the floor into a lie position. Zelly sits down politely beside him. They look up at Iain. "All right," he says, "are you both sitting? Are you both good puppies? You both want some food?" They look up at him eagerly. "You ready?" He makes a sound like a releasing slingshot and quickly bows, putting the food on the floor. The dogs hop up and dig in. "Go! Eat! Fast!" he says. (Which is a joke, because they are not quick eaters.) I laugh as, after all that drama, the dogs eat calmly and slowly.
And here are some still images of the monsters in the garden, on another unseasonably lovely day care of global climate change:
Dudley, tall and proud and two-dimensional next to his newest digging experiment.
Zelda, checking things out to see if there are any squirrels who need herding.
Matilda: I still can't stop thinking about Tony. Wondering where he could be, who he is with, what is he thinking, is he thinking of me, and whether he'll ever return someday...
Zelda: Oh, hey. What's going on?
Matilda: Nothing. I'm just thinking about Tony again, and hovering here around the kitchen door in case Two-Legs goes in there, so I can get my begging game on.
Zelda: Cool. Say, can you do me a solid? Is it just me, or do my feets totally smell like corn chips?
Matilda: It's not just you, girl. You got some Frito feet to match your Dorito ears.
The current view just to my right: Dudley on his stripey pillow, the edge of which he's scooched up on the bottom of the bookshelf to create a little cushioned headrest for himself.
I don't even know what to do with how cute this dog is.
Video Description: Zelly sits beside me in the garden, alert. Her Dorito ears are perked up like little parabolic receivers, and her nose twitches as she swivels her head around, checking things out. A plane flies overhead; she looks up. Okay, noted, it's a plane. She yawns. She looks toward the sounds of a pair of robins in the park behind our house, then toward the sound of an ambulance siren. She is keen to know and understand everything. I pan to the left. Dudley is lying splayed out on the ground, asleep. His ear twitches.
For those who can't view video, still images are below the fold...
Video Description: Sophie the Torbie plays with her favorite toy and is her usual infectiously adorable self. Set to "When You're Smiling" by Billie Holiday, accompanied by Teddy Wilson & His Orchestra.
Earlier today, three little beggars followed me into the kitchen to see if they might, perchance, convince me to give them a little reward for being such GOOD GIRLS.
Zelda, mildly perturbed that Olivia couldn't get her shit together to competently perform her role in the Begging Trifecta of Cuteness, turns to Sophie and asks:
"Is there anything you can do, Titchy?"
Sophie, an old pro at looking redonkulously cute in order to get whatever she wants whenever she wants it, responds, "Sure!" and sets to work.
"Give us things, Two-Legs!"
Do you think I gave them things? Of course I gave them things. I gave them ALL THE GOOD THINGS! Treats for everyone!
The dogs are so happy to have some warmth and sunshine! They just want to be outside all day, and who can blame them—it's a gorgeous day. I've never known a dog who loves lying in the sun as much as Dudley.
Zelly, of course, is just content to sit there grinning, as per usual. Happiest dog on the planet.
Do you need some purring cat love? Well, if you do, here you go!
Video Description: The video is nothing to look at—it's just Matilda wriggling around on the couch beside me while I scratch her back, chirping and purring. The thing is that she purrs like a lawnmower. When she's purring away upstairs in the loft, I can hear her downstairs. Happy cat is so happy!
Matilda, thinking about Tony.
Olivia, thinking about Tony.
Sophie, thinking about how much Tils and Livs think about Tony.
I have a huuuuuuuuuuge scratch on my arm, and, the other night, after noticing it for the first time, Zelda helpfully licked and bit it (gently but ow), then looked at me like, "All better!"
"I fixed it!"
Naturally, I gave her an abundance of cuddles and told her, "Thanks, Mongrel M.D.! You should have your own medical drama on CBS called Dr. Muttz." She wagged her tail appreciatively and grinned.
I pretend her grody lick-chomps heal my wounds; she pretends to understand my pop culture jokes. It's a fair exchange.
Auntie Eastsidekate and Auntie Westsidebecca and Cousin Miss A recently sent Dudley and Zelda a present, which they asked me to open for them with my enviable opposable thumbery. I was happy to comply, and the dogs were thrilled to be gifted a plushy tree-trunk filled with three squeaky plushy chipmunks! (True Fact: Rory the Spud has the exact same toy.)
Zelda immediately removed all the chipmunks and began squeaking them with vigorous enthusiasm!
Dudz immediately took possession of the chipmunks' tree to use as a pillow, because getting presents is exhausting.
Later, the two dogs were in the office, both of them happily squeaking away, with a chipmunk apiece.
Video Description: The two monsters lie on their monster beds in my office, squeaking their chipmunks. I pan from Dudley to Zelly. Chew chew chew. I pan back. Chew chew chew. "Dudley, do you like your new toy?" I ask him. Chew chew chew. I pan to Zelly. "What about you, Zelda?" Chew chew chew. "Good puppies!" I say. I start to pan back to Dudz, but Zelly looks at me and wags her tail. I pan back to her. "Good puppy?" She looks at Dudley. I pan to him. He grabs his chipmunk, which has fallen onto the floor and returns it to his bed. Fin.
Zelly's favorite new game is to grab one of the chipmunks by the head and offer us its tail, so we can grab it for CHIPMUNK TUG-O-WAR! Zelly is the undefeated champion.
I tell Dudley all the time that we are going to survive for weeks off his drumsticks when the zombiepocalypse comes. He gives me a look in return which I believe is reasonably interpreted to mean: Not unless your fat ass magically acquires the ability to run 45mph, you won't.
There are many, many things I love about Zelly—like, for example, the fact that she is currently lying on the floor immediately behind my chair, snoozing away and having a Very Important Conversation in her sleep that requires much huffing and yipping and growling and sighing—but chief among them is her grin. LOOK AT THAT FACE! Her grin is infectious. I cannot feel anything but happiness when I look at that smiling puppeh face.
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