Patterns

Like many artists I am drawn to patterns in nature. I particularly love the regular and seemingly random spots, stripes and myriad combinations of the furred and feathered.  Appaloosa horses, tabby cats, black and white spotted Jacob Sheep, giraffe splotches, leopard spots and tiger stripes - all give me a frisson of pleasure.

While browsing a local thrift shop recently, I came upon a wonderful leopard faux fur vest.  The perfect gift for the kitties!  Sure enough, as soon as it was splayed on the couch, kitties claimed it one by one - with a few hissy quarrels over possession.  Generally though, possession rules even in the cat world and nearly every feline has had a turn mushing and posing on the best $2.00 cat accessory ever.

Pattern upon pattern - Garfy on The Vest

Snoochie if full mush mode. More pattern upon pattern.

I once had a harlequin Great Dane and I once had a brindle Great Dane, so when I thought of getting another dog to keep Freda company, I wanted another Dane.  Came up a bit short though, when I spotted Carrie up for adoption.  She's a year old brindle American Bull Terrier (not a pit type) weighing about 45 lbs. nearly the same size as Freda.  I figured it was meant to be as she purportedly got along with cats (very important), other dogs and liked everyone - even toddlers.  (Geez - I don't even like toddlers...)  And she would eat less than another giant dog which was better for my budget.

I met the owner, brought Carrie home and she and Freda hit it off immediately.  By the third evening she was deathly ill.  What started as a bit of coughing the second night became obvious difficulty breathing and a temp of 106.2!  I'd just gotten home from work and saw her trembling and with her eyes all squinted up like she was in pain.  I rushed her to the Vet Saturday night where she was given fluids and meds I.V.  Several tests were done - none conclusive at that point.  I was able to pick her up on Sunday with a tentative diagnosis of pneumonia and oral antibiotics but she went downhill again and had to go back in on Monday for more intravenous treatments - and they kept her for 24 hours before sending her home with I.V.'s and three antibiotics!  (I was once a vet tech so I know how to give I.V. meds and shots.)

I was puzzled when the Vet asked me to find out whether anyone in the previous owner's household had had flu or especially strep throat recently.  He said no - but sounded unsure about recent illnesses.  The Vet said dogs can pick up strep type infections from humans and visa-verse, which was new to me.  I'll never know for sure where it came from - but get this:  I'm sick now.  Within 24 hours of Carrie's onset, I had terrible bronchitis, sore throat, headache, fever, chills and loss of appetite, rather like my new doggie.  Unlike Carrie, at the first sign I hit the Emergen-C, got out my inhaler and prepared for the worst.  I'm coughing so hard I had to buy protection.... (no I'm not explaining this...)

Sympathy illness?  Perhaps.  I could have pick it up anywhere, but a pattern is a pattern - and this looks like a pattern to me.  That frisson I spoke of?  In this case, it must have been the first onset of the chilblains.

We are both doing better - though that vet bill is likely to kill me.  Better photos when we both stop coughing.

Here's Carrie - See her shaved legs and her bandage?  Poor baby.  Apologies for the cacophony of patterns here.  She's a real sweet tiger of a dog.

Introducing Freda...

As my last post was rather lengthy, and my fingers are stiff from pulling on fence wire, I thought I'd tell Freda's story. She's so uncomplicated that there's not much to tell. Just the facts (mostly).

Fact No 1. I couldn't say no.

For nearly I year I didn't have a dog at all. After the loss of my beautiful black Great Dane Chloe, it was a long time before I thought of another canine. I was cat food shopping at a Petsmart, and I stopped to look at the photos of pets for adoption. Just as I was turning away, a young woman with three small children walked up. She asked if I was looking for a puppy and she shoved a snapshot of five mostly black hound-dog looking pups at me. I politely said that I really didn't want another black dog as it would remind me of my Dane. The woman's face actually crumpled, and much to my horror she began to sob loudly and to wail "Oh God, what am I going to do? Nobody wants any and now I have seven dogs and they're getting really big and they're not very cute anymore and I've tried everything and what am I going to do and I don't have any place to keep them and we found the mom dog and she was starving and we rescued her and she was already pregnant and I can't bear to have them all put to sleep and what am I gonna do? Wa-aa-ah."

Fact No 2. No good deed... yadda, yadda, yadda.

Everyone in the store was looking at me... I said: well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look . She hic-cupped and smiled and apologized - and said she didn't live far and I followed her... I named my new nearly all black puppy "Freda" after Frida Kahlo - but I didn't learn how to spell it until later (obviously).

Freda's mom was a Yellow Lab. Freda's dad ?????. He must have been some sort of Pointer though, as she looks like a black German Shorthaired Pointer. And she points.

Fact No 3. Some dogs are completely useless. (heh)

Freda is naturally lazy. She doesn't bark unless the moon is full and the foxes or coyotes are yipping in the distance - oh, and once she barked all afternoon out in the pasture and when I finally went to investigate, she was dancing around a huge rattlesnake that had obviously just eaten something very large ( rabbit? neighbor's chicken?) Freda must have known it was the sort of thing one rarely sees in real life, and she didn't want me to miss out (eeesh). Safari guide dog anyone? She loves strangers and won't even bark at their dogs. Not much of a watch dog...

But she did help me get that plaintive look for a little painting...

Fact No 4. A winning smile will take you far.

I'm a huge supporter of spay/neuter and good care for all cats and dogs, no matter the color, breed - or lack thereof. I hate that so many people are indifferent to the wonderful mixed breeds in shelters and go out and buy dogs and get on "waiting lists" for particular puppies rather than saving one from euthanasia.

I mean: just look at that face!!!

Coming soon: Freda's paw...