Cousin Cletus

We adopted our dog, Hannah Joy, from the local animal shelter two days before Christmas 2017. She had been one of three dogs rescued from an owner who had mistreated and starved them. We were told that all three dogs had sand in their stomach; obviously they ate it because there was no other food. They were merely skin and bones. Happily, I think all three dogs were quickly adopted.

Our Hannah is very loving and loves to cuddle. EJ and I can’t hug each other without her insisting on one too. She hates to be separated from us. I’ve seen her observing our actions and routines and then trying to anticipate what we will do next. Most of the time she is correct. She is very protective. I think she had dreams of becoming a police dog because she seems to feel that security is her job. She tattles on the cats if they do something she thinks is wrong.

Hannah also has her issues and quirks, probably because of her past mistreatment. She is food-obsessed. She is addicted to eating paper. She occasionally steals Kleenex from my pocket and we have to keep the toilet paper out of her reach. She is impatient and wants what she wants NOW. She is very verbal so we always know what she’s feeling. She holds grudges and isn’t particularly fond of Timmy, who swatted her once when we first brought her home. She gets easily stressed by new situations and people. She acts rather ferocious when we have a new visitor. Because of this, we are careful who and how we introduce her to new people. Some people she loves; some she never warms up to. I think we are the perfect home for Hannah because EJ and I are quiet people who live in a quiet area. We love Hannah’s quirks and aren’t impatient with her issues.

EJ has a friend that he’s known since high school. They are as close as brothers. In fact, they are closer to each other than to their own brothers. The first time TH visited after we adopted Hannah, I wasn’t sure how Hannah would react so I kept her on her leash to pull her back if I needed to. She growled and lunged at TH when he entered the house. TH said, “Take her off the leash.” I told him I wasn’t sure how she would act and I didn’t want her to bite him. He replied, “If she bites me, it’s on me. Take her off her leash.” So I did and he poured on the love to her, and she fell in love with him. When he visits, she doesn’t leave him alone but sits on his lap and brings him her favorite toys. We call him, “Hannah’s Favorite Uncle.”

A week or two ago, TH adopted his own dog from an animal shelter. Cletus is an older dog, about 7-8 years old. And he’s BIG, weighing about 100 lbs. He is about one-third larger than Hannah. He makes her look small–like a pony next to a Clydesdale. Because TH is Hannah’s Favorite Uncle, we labeled his dog, “Cousin Cletus.”

TH lives far enough away (about 2 hours) that when he has an appointment in our area, he often spends the night with us and goes to his appointments the next day. That way he has a more relaxed schedule. TH had an appointment this last Tuesday so he arrived on Monday afternoon…with Cletus. He couldn’t exactly leave his new dog home alone. This was the first time we met Cousin Cletus. I was concerned about how Hannah would react to a strange dog. I gave it some thought and messaged TH that when they arrived, I would put Hannah out on her tether and he could bring Cletus near but pull him back if she was hostile. He thought that was a good idea because it was more neutral than the two dogs meeting in HANNAH’s house. EJ said that when Hannah saw huge Cousin Cletus coming toward her, her eyes got very big. Once we saw that there wouldn’t be outright hostility, we brought the dogs into the house.

Hannah and Cousin Cletus did fine. They wagged their tails at each other. Of course, Hannah grumbled and complained a lot while he was here, but Cletus has a gentle nonaggressive personality and he simply ignored her complaints. Hannah was jealous that Her Favorite Uncle didn’t focus entirely on her. She also grumbled with displeasure when Cousin Cletus played with her balls or gnawed on her bones, but she simply waited until he put them down and then snuck in and stole them back. It was rather funny.

I’m relieved that Hannah Joy and Cousin Cletus got along. I’m sure future visits will go well and they will become friends.

Meanwhile…

The chickadees watch me. They appear whenever I go outside. The other day I heard a “chickadee-dee-dee” as I left the chicken coop. I looked up and there was a chickadee on the roof of the coop looking down at me. I went out to change the batteries in the trail cam and a chickadee flew onto the camera. Another day I took Hannah out and a chickadee landed on her leash which was stretched between us. I’ve begun keeping a small pill bottle filled with seeds in my coat pocket so I have some handy whenever one appears. I tell EJ that I don’t want to disappoint my fans.

In the mornings, I go out to coop in the backyard to feed the chickens and let them out. Then I come through the house, grab a container of seeds, and go out onto the deck to feed the wild birds. This morning while I was leaving the coop, I heard a chickadee but didn’t see it so I continued on my way. I suspect that the chickadee was alerting the others because when I opened the entrance door to go out onto the deck–before I even had opened the screen door–I saw a chickadee fly past, swooping very low. I took one step out onto the deck and was mobbed by a flock of chickadees. I was too busy to count them: 10? 20? More? It filled me with delight.

I love standing out in the morning to feed the birds. I stand there delighting in the birds eating from my hand. I absorb the beauty of the forest. I watch shier birds hopping from tree to tree in the forest or swooping through the orchard waiting for the feeders near the boulders to be filled. I listen to the birds singing and calling to each other. I see the squirrels crawling down from the trees and headed toward the boulders. Sometimes I watch deer approach to graze even when I’m nearby.

Once I’m done hand-feeding the birds, I retrieve larger containers of seeds from the house and fill all the feeders. Then EJ and I sit in the house and watch the birds and squirrels move in to eat. The whole area teems with life. Even TH commented on how much life there is flying, swooping, and running around. It’s awesome.

I love our Enchanted Forest.

Here is a video I took a week or so ago of the birds eating from my hand. It’s difficult to hold seeds in one hand and operate my phone camera with the other. I think this video is the best I’ve been able to get of the birds landing on the feeder pole and taking turns to eat from my hand.