A Pup named Jake 1994
Today’s dog with the name, Sister.
Jake’s here — and here in a big way. Jake is a six-month-old puppy who was in need of a country home. This reminds me of when our girls wanted a dog and made all the promises to get it: “Yes, I’ll feed and take care of it.” This works well for a short time, but soon the new wears off and then the parents inherit the feeding and cleanup jobs.
Jake was cute little puppy and didn’t need much space; however, he didn’t stay little. He had belonged to our youngest and her other half. Today Jake is a big, gangly, long-tailed dog and he loves to romp. He has good manners and he minds well, but he pesters Jill to death wanting to play. Jill just takes it and goes on Now with Sister it’s different. Jake wants to plop on Sister and play, too, but she will have none of that and is quick to let the young dog know how she feels.
Last night Jake spent his first night outside, and he did well. The only destruction we find is that he chewed off our new Japanese Red Maple — we bought it the day before his arrival – price: $40. We did hear him bark a few times. Barking is one reason we agreed to take him in – these old dogs don’t bark. Sister’s hearing is as bad as mine is — she doesn’t even hear us when we come home, to say nothing of an intruder. Hopefully, after Jake learns this is where he lives he will let us know when someone is around, by his barking.
He is already smarter than he was when he came. He accompanied John and the old dogs when they went to see about the cows, and he got some first-hand experience with the electric fence. John laughed and said Jake ran so fast that all he could see was a streak. Anther encounter Jake had was when John was moving a new hive of bees. John tried to get the dog to stay at the house, but he had to “help”, too. He was quickly introduced to bees and stinging and he made a so-called “beeline” back to the house. Experience is a good teacher, as she allows no dropouts in her school — be it human or animal.
We are glad to have Jake at the Windy Knoll; however, we are somewhat concerned about what will happen when he meets Skeeter, the skunk. We do not see Skeeter every night like we used to, but he still comes around. Occasionally, we see him – he comes on the back stoop and eats from the dog bowl. Even if we don’t see him, we can tell he’s been by the looks of the dog food bowl. There’s a part of the dog food that he doesn’t like and he knocks it out and gets the good part. Skeeter can stand his hand with Jake, but we, too, will have to suffer when the spraying occurs.
The guineas no longer loll around on the back stoop, using it for their bathroom, so this is another way Jake is helpful.
The early swarming of a hive of bees tells us it’s springtime here at the Windy Knoll – one of the best seasons to experience country living.