Where to start?
First, I got a picture of Lucy ("orange devil ball with feet") stuck in Stevie's Jolly Ball so you can see how funny it looks. This photo was a re-enactment for your viewing pleasure. She has also quite nearly worn out Neon Frog #2... one of his legs has come undone, woe is me...
Second, Stevie has begun to bark more often of late. Odd that she would wait an entire year to discover it's something she can do regularly.
She actually barked when I knocked on the door today. Megan said she has also started barking at dogs on the TV, something she has usually just perked her ears up at, but otherwise never paid much attention to.
Last Sunday (September 16) I got a new foster dog, a tiny 5.6 lb black and rust female Min Pin I've taken to calling Little Bit. She gets along pretty well with my two Pinheads, but they are much larger (Darlin' is 10 years old and 12 lbs and Newton is 6 years old and 15 lbs), so it's sometimes hard for them to play well. I thought, hey, brainstorm, I'll take her to play with Stevie, whose weight is somewhere in the same range. And, I reasoned, it would be good for Stevie to have some more interaction with a canine of her own size. So Little Bit and I drove to Austin today to introduce them to one another.
Little Bit was very growly
at first, so we took them both down to the Stevie Tree to work off some energy and provide a neutral playground. We let Stevie off leash since she always stays inside the stone bench circle. I lengthened Little Bit's leash and the two of them walked and ran around, sniffed, pottied, and did dog stuff in general. Stevie found a wonderful and very special stick (exactly why it is special is a mystery, the answer to which is known only to Stevie).
She carried it around the whole Stevie Tree arena. Any of you with Pinheads know how goofy it is to see a little bitty dog carrying around a big stick... This was too funny not to capture in pix. Megan took the stick home and is going to wash it up and sand it down so Stevie can play with it in the apartment, too.
A short time later we were joined by a curious little boy and his mom. Jason was intrigued by the two tiny Min Pin girls. He petted them both and called to them and clapped his hands for Stevie. Then he would run around the tree and Stevie would chase him following the sound of his 5 year old boy footsteps while Little Bit investigated every inch of Stevie Tree country on her own. At one point Jason said, "Mom, I LOVE Stevie".
I, being the dedicated Min Pin Rescue volunteer that I am (see www.minpinrescue.org), made a big pitch to the mom to wait another year or two before getting Jason a dog of any kind, then recommended that she visit our web site to see just how many dogs there are that need homes.
By that time, everybody was pretty worn out. The four of us (Megan, Stevie, Little Bit and I) went back to the apartment. There, some of the negative energy spent, Little Bit and Stevie played and ran around like old pals. Things got a tad out of hand a time or two, but both moms would intervene and make their respective dogs submit for a few minutes before allowing them to resume play. It was pretty hysterical to see them together.
I was surprised to note that Stevie is actually smaller than Little Bit! But Stevie's skull is bigger. You might think that means she's smarter, but Megan insists the UPS man has not yet come to deliver Stevie's brains.
Both canines [okay, moms too] were tuckered at that point. Stevie went into her crate for a puppy nap
while Megan, Little Bit and I drove to Sonic to get some lunch. There was nary a peep out of Little Bit; I think she also took advantage of a break in the action to catch a little snooze.
Little Bit needed a name tag with my phone number on it, so after we finished lunch, we went to PetCo where they have the "instant pet i.d. tag" machine. She was pretty unhappy about going in. I can only think that seeing [and hearing] dogs in x-pens (there was a rescue group out front with several dogs) frightened her.
She dug her haunches in and refused to enter on her own. I had to carry her most of the time. But, of course, being small and cute, she managed to charm everyone who saw her in spite of her insecurities.
Back to the apartment to wake Stevie up and let them play a little more, then time to head home. We arrived back home around 3:00. Darlin' and Newton were less than thrilled that I brought Little Bit back with me, but they have been good ambassadors of the breed for my foster dogs, and they know it's temporary.
I haven't had much to blog about lately, so this one is extra long. But as Stevie grows and matures, there are less firsts and more things that she does on a routine basis. I know I'm leaving stuff out, but I have tons of pictures from today, so be sure to check out the Gallery. Megan will read this and call to let me know what I forgot.
What a day!
Enjoy the photos,
G
So Stevie thought she musta died and gone to dog heaven when Megan allowed her to lick her orange Cheeto fingers. Ya know how when you eat Cheetos and that cheezy orange dust gets all over your hands... According to Megan, Stevie's nose, tongue and tail all went into hyper drive when she offered to let Stevie lick the orange Cheeto dust off her fingers. Sorta wish I coulda been there to see it. Megan and I have decided that Stevie's tail has it's own brain and operates independently from the rest of her body. Good thing it's docked, because at the rate it goes, if it were a natural (i.e., long, undocked) tail, she'd be likely to take off like a helicopter when it got going good. Now there's a mental picture... blind, butt flying Min Pins... 
