Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

There are differences between Sweetie, my female golden retriever, and Coco, her daughter, who is completely black with a small white splash on her throat.  Sweetie does not have an angry bone in her body.  She is just that–sweet.  Coco is also very sweet but can be very insistent when she wants to go out.  Sweetie always defers to her kids–Coco and her other kid Tilla.  Coco likes her privacy:  sometimes she will go to another room by herself or if the dogs come in from the yard she may decide to stay behind.  Coco knows my bedroom routine.  By the time I make it to bed there she is lying on the floor on one side of the bed.  Coco when she gets excited may “mouth” you.  She never bites but she is the only dog to do that.  I love both of them.

Tags: big dogs, Coco, Coco likes privacy, dogs, golden retriever, pets, sweet dogs, Sweetie, Sweetie defers to her kids, Tilla
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Last night Cool Hand Luke, my black cat came up to me in bed, arched her back to greet me in bed and got stroked and then settled down in the corner of the bed catercorner to me.  She is one of the three black animals who join me in my bedroom every night.

The other two are dogs:  Coco unusually sleeps to one side of the bed and sometimes Tilla is at the base of the bed unless my wife did not join me right away.  Then he will sleep on the bed to the left of me within reach of me.  This is their routine every night.  Sometimes there are more animals in my room.

Buttons, one of my cats hides under the bed and sometimes in the middle of the night there will be a scuffle between Buttons and Cool Hand Luke.  The two don’t like each other.  Other animals sometimes join us, too like Sweetie and Pax our other dogs.  It is hard sometimes not to step on a dog if you have to leave the room to use the john in the middle of the time (???).

And if there is a thunderstorm during the night all you can hear is the panting of the dogs and sometimes two or three jump on the bed.  I know it is a king sized bed but all our dogs are midsized and crowd us when that happens not to say anything about keeping us awake with their loud panting.  They simply are scared of the thunder and usually have to be kicked out of the room so we can sleep.  Thankfully thunderstorms only happen occasionally in the middle of the night.

Tags: big dogs, Buttons, cat sleeps in bed, cats, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dogs, dogs afraid of thunder, dogs panting, dogs sleep in bed, four dogs, my wife, Pax, pets, Sweetie, thunderstorm, Tilla
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A pet’s love is nothing you can earn.  Sure, you can feed it and give it water.  Nevertheless they have their own ways and proclivities.  I don’t know why Cheyenne, one of my cats, usually goes in the opposite direction when I approach him but he does.  Each animal has their own personality and likes and dislikes.  Tilla, one of my black dogs, and I have a special relationship.  When he wants a hug, he puts his paws and chest on me when I am sitting–all eighty pounds of him.

Some of my seven cats ignore me.  Buttons is one.  He is about as wild as you can be and still be an indoor cat.  He is also another that goes the opposite direction when I approach him.  Catching him to take to the vet is near impossible.  He is a tiger looking cat and we have two of them.  The other appropriately called Tiger will let me pet him.  Cool hand Luke is the last animal I brought into this marriage and he is the closest cat I have to being mine.  He usually sleeps on our bed.  The other three dogs we have are all different.

Pax loves bread and is a thief.  Don’t leave your bagel unattended.  Coco will appear at your lap if you are eating anything crunchy and demand her share.  Sweetie does have a lovable nature.  And she is a golden retriever.  She will insist on you giving you her (???) attention.  She is almost needy and probably gets lost in the mix of dogs.  If she was the only dog, she would get more attention but she is not.  I have not even talked about all the cats.  We have five others–all unique.  China is an exotically black and white colored cat, who is one laid back cat.  Her mom Jasmine is a diminutive, demure cat who holds her own with all the other cats.  There is nothing you can do to earn their love.  Sure you feed them.  They either like you or don’t.

Tags: bagel, Buttons, can't earn love, cats, Cheyenne, China, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dog hug, dog loves bread, dogs, four dogs, golden retriever, indoor cat, Jasmine, love, Pax, pets, seven cats, Sweetie, Tiger, tiger cat, Tilla, vet, wild cat
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The dog I encountered near my house loose was a spitting image of my golden retriever.  I thought that somehow Sweetie had gotten out.  I was trying desperately to unlock my passenger door so she could hop in.  I was not successful.  The dog briefly headed toward me and then disappeared.  I told my wife about the discovery.  Well, Sweetie was in the house.  I almost brought home a strange dog.  We both laughed.  I had other encounters on the way home that night.  I had to brake a little.  A baby opossum scurried frantically across the road right in front of me and when I got home I flushed a cottontail in my driveway.

Tags: baby opossum, cottontail, dogs, golden retriever, my wife, pets, rabbit, Sweetie, wildlife
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“Coco”, my adult female “pup” was cute.  “Coco” is a midsized long-haired black dog (about eighty pounds).  She was quietly and comfortably sitting on my wife’s Lazy Boy chair cradling her eight inch bone to her chest.  No one was going to take it away.  I just smiled looking at her.  She was all female sitting there so demurely.  When she wants her belly rubbed, she rolls slowly on her back–ever so slowly raises her one front paw to indicate that.  She is definitely sweet but can be quite demanding when she wants to go out into our fenced yard and we are not so quick to comply.  She definitely has the sweet and good natured personality of her Mom, a golden retriever, appropriately named “Sweetie”.

Tags: belly-rub, Coco, demure, dog bone, dogs, female, golden retriever, good natured, Lazy Boy chair, pets, Sweetie
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Coco is one of my “pups”.  I call her that although she is full grown.  Her Mom is our golden retriever and Dad is our Rottweiler mix.  She is totally black with a little patch of white on her breast, long haired with the most adorable fluffy ears.  She was the pup who hung back and observed before doing anything.  She is so different than her Mom, “Sweetie”.  Sweetie will demand your attention.  She will put her paw on you to get petted more.  Not Coco.  Coco is this unassuming lovable dog.  Sometimes she sits there both paws crossed so feminine-like.  She likes her privacy:  often she is the last dog to come inside from the yard.  When she has a bone, she is loath to leave it and will, often, run out into the yard with it in her mouth and return into the house with it in its mouth, too.  I love all my four dogs but she has a special place in my heart.

Tags: Coco, dog bone, dogs, four dogs, golden retriever, Pax, pets, puppies, rottweiler mix, Sweetie, yard
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My world is interconnected.  There are so many people I owe thanks to.  And I am sure I will leave somebody out.  A thanks to my primary doctor who takes goood care of me.

A thank you to our retired electrician who did some work in our house this year.  My wife still loves that lamp you installed over the sink.  And we have three new electric radiators and two new thermostats.  There is nothing like heat in the winter.

Thanks, to Bob, who willingly answers my questions about “ailing” cars.  Thank God I have not needed you too much this year and our 2006 SUV is behaving well.

Thank God to all my listeners at the Open Mikes.  Their comments encouraged me and kept me writing.

A thanks to Mike whose comments in his letter to me I have picked up occasionally when my spirit dropped.  I am sorry your best friend died unexpectedly.

There is Sonya, our postmaster, who always asks how I am doing, everytime I drop by our post office.

A thanks to the team of doctors that takes care of me–my nephrologist, etc.  There are so many people I appreciate.

A thanks to the small church I go to–its pastor Pete and the many people I have become friendly with from there.

I know I have left out people.  My sisters who had an hand in making my trip to San Francisco by train a reality and who both support me and care about me.

Philhaven, a thanks to for helping get me past a rough patch.  You all know who you are.

And all my pets, particular my dogs:  Pax who always comes to me when he wants something.  And Tilla whose tail never refuses to wag when he see me.  And Coco is a real sweetheart.  And don’t let me forget Sweetie, who is just that a sweetie.

And that is just the dogs.  Thanks Cool Hand Luke, the last pet still alive from my Duncannon days, a black cat, who often keeps me company on the bed.

And most of all my wife who is always there and gives me a reason to get up each morning.

Tags: car repair man, cats, church, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, doctors, dogs, electrician, friends' letter, give thanks, God, my sisters, my wife, open mikes, outpatient, pastor, Pax, pets, poetry, postmaster, reading poetry aloud, Sweetie, thank God, Tilla, writing
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Coco, my other “pup” was content chewing on a bone, all by herself, outside.  She was two years already but I still called her my “pup”.  Her brother was in the house lying down.

I loved Coco who was an long haired female almost totally black.  She enjoyed her privacy.  Her mother, a golden retriever, was named Sweetie so I could not name Coco that.  Coco also was a real sweetheart.

Her nickname was wiggles.  I did not know I could love dogs (and cats) so much.  Each animal has their own personality.  And they are all different.  And I love each one.

All this is new to me.  I did not have any pets growing up.  My Mom was too fussy so she could not tolerate any.  So here I am with seven cats and four dogs, a real menagerie.  My wife loves animals.  And I do too.  I had to become an adult to find that out.

Tags: Coco, dog bone, dogs, four dogs, golden retriever, love dogs and cats, menagerie, my Mom, my wife, pets, seven cats, Sweetie
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I have several nicknames for my dogs.  My daughter says you can’t change the name of you pet once you give one for your dog.  I beg to differ.

Pax my 90 pound Rottweiler mix is now Big Woof or Woof for short.  He is the most vocal of our four dogs.  And he is beginning to respond to the last name.

Coco is now called Wiggles for obvious reason when she sees you she wiggles all over the place when she sees you (???).

The other pup Tilla originally Atilla The Hun, now shortened to an affectionate Tilla, now has been called at various times Junior Woof or The Olympian or Small Woof.

The last other dog we have is named Sweetie and her name describes her to a tee so she will not get any other name.  It fits her perfectly.

Tags: "Big Woof", Coco, dog names, dog nicknames, dogs, Junior Woof, my daughter, Pax, pets, rottweiler mix, Small Woof, Sweetie, The Olympian, Tilla, Wiggles, woof
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My three dogs were laying at my feet and I realized how much I loved them and they were only on loan (the fourth one was in the next room). I loved each dog and each one I had a special relationship with.

Coco, the black long haired mutt, the offspring of Pax and Sweetie, was lovely. She had the personality of her mother, a golden retriever: She just loved you and asked nothing in return.

Sweetie, her mother, often spent hours chained in the previous owner’s house. She, sometimes, demanded affection, having been deprived of it in her first year of her life. She was one happy-go-lucky dog.

Tilla, the second offspring of Sweetie, was perhaps the most intelligent and athletic dog I have ever known. Often when he is in the office with me he pushes the door shut–a behavior I have never figured out.

I looked at all three dogs who had joined me in the office while I was reading my paper and realized everything is by grace. I did not grow up with pets but here I am with four dogs and seven cats all of whom I love dearly.

Everything is by grace. And God gives you first, second, third, sometimes fourth chances, etc., to do it all over again.

Tags: affection, athletic dog, Coco, do it all over again, dogs, everything-is-by-grace, four dogs, God, God gives you more chances, golden retriever, happy-go-lucky dog, intelligent dog, love, love each dog, Pax, pets, reading my paper, relationships with my dogs, seven cats, she just loved you, Sweetie, Tilla
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Thank God for my pets.  Somehow I believe it is no accident my second wife also loves animals.  I never had pets growing up.  I love all of my pets.  All eight cats and all four dogs.  It is a menagerie.  And it is true I can’t go on vacation so easily but that is a small price to pay.

There is Tilla one of the pups we kept of our golden retriever (we kept two) who is a paradox extremely aggressive but timid at the same time.  For example, if you throw four scraps to our four dogs, he usually will get three if you don’t stop him.

He actually let my daughter pet him the last time she was over (that was a first).  He still runs in the other direction when my son approaches him.  And he is good with pets.

Coco is the other pup of Sweetie and extremely affectionate although she can be pretty insistent when she wants to go out.  She will sit at our feet front legs crossed sometimes–a real lady.  She gets along with everyone.

My eight cats are all different (the one unfixed female, now fixed) had two litters–one and three.  Pumpkin the only surviving cat from the first litter is one quiet, laid back cat who seems to get along with all the other seven.

The other three from the second litter of Jasmine’s are Cheyenne, China, and other whose name temporarily escapes me.  Both Cheyenne and China are long haired.  The mother is shorted (???) haired, small and dainty but able to take well care of herself.

Cheyenne is one beautiful although somewhat wild cat.  He usually does not let me pet him.  If I get too close, he gives me the eye as if to ask me “how dare you approach me?”

China is one exotically black and white colored cat who is one cool character.  He is extremely laid back and nothing seems to faze him.  I always have trouble remembering the sexes of our cats.

Cool Hand Luke a black female cat I brought into this marriage who hangs out in our bedroom and is appropriately named.  I have another completely black cat “Slinky”.

It is hard to tell the two apart although if you pet them you can tell the difference immediately.  “Slinky” is somewhat timid and extremely affectionate.

Tiger is the third cat from the second litter of Jasmine also appropriately named who sorts (???) blends in with every one.

Buttons is the other tiger looking cat who decided to adopt our family.  He showed up at our doorsteps and my wife started feeding him and when he got his shots, she let him come in.

He knew a good thing when he came in:  he did not go out for months again.  He is the newest member of our menagerie.  He does, at times, terrorize the other cats.

He also terrorized the vet and her staff during his exam:  It took them ten minutes to catch him in the exam room when he squirmed out of the grasp of the vet and three people were chasing him around the room (the vet called for backup).

He scratched the hell out of the vet in the process.  He is still a (???) somewhat wild although he has calmed somewhat after he got fixed.  That pretty much takes care of our cats.

Pax, the father of the pups, is the only pet of ours not mentioned by name.  He is the biggest and oldest dog close to an hundred pounds, an Rottweiler mix.

He suffered from bad ear infections and only at the vet where they put a muzzle on him would he allow anyone to go near to clean them.  It took me awhile before I lost my fear of him.  The veterinary helper called him a “baby.”  He is one dog I never want to get out he is one scary looking dog.

There is also Sweetie our golden retriever who is aptly named.  She will stand there forever letting you pet her.  She is one happy-go-lucky dog who always likes to have something in her mouth.  She was traumatized by her original owner who would lock her up for hours.  That is how we got her and that is the last of our menagerie.

Tags: Add new tag, big dog, Buttons, cats, Cheyenne, China, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dogs, ear infection, eight cats, four dogs, God, golden retriever, happy-go-lucky dog, Jasmine, menagerie, my daughter, my son, my wife, Pax, pets, Pumpkin, quiet laid back cat, rottweiler mix, Slinky, Sweetie, thank God, Tiger, Tilla, veterinarian
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Coco is my other pup.  I call her that despite the fact she turned two in the past July.  She is the second pup we kept when our retriever had her litter of seven.  She is a long haired black female dog.  Coco loves what we call “crunchies”–crackers, chips anything like that.  If she hears you munching away she immediately “plops” herself right in front of you hoping you relent and share some of your snacks with her.

She is a very gentle self assured affectionate dog.  There are some others things about her:  when she looks at me cockeyed with her absolutely adorable fluffy ears I just want to “melt”.  To say she has captured my heart is an understatement.  If we had not named her mother “Sweetie” already she would have probably gotten that name.  That pretty much sums her up.

Tags: affectionate, capture my heart, chips, Coco, crackers, crunchies, dogs, gentle, golden retriever, July, pets, puppy, self assured, share your snacks, Sweetie
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