My Garden Helper

For those who do not know me, I am the biggest animal lover that has ever been born. I use to have a very large array of pets but have stopped taking in all of the strays that I find for many reasons one being the cost to raise them and another is, I get so attached to them and can’t handle losing them (usually from age.) I recently had my friend of 17 years put to sleep because she could no longer walk. She was a very smart and loyal companion. As always, I was so upset and had a hard time adjusting to not having her by my side at all times. I decided that was it, NO MORE NEW PETS. I still have 1 small dog and two cats, Once they live out their normal lives I don’t want anymore pets. My husband agreed. So I made this known to my daughter, who is almost as animal nuts as I am. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t afford to take care of them like they deserve, The vet bills are too high and I can’t handle it emotionally when they pass on. Plus I’m getting up there in age myself and I’m starting to worry about what will happen to my cherished pets when It’s my time to go. No More!

Then the inevitable happened, My daughter smuggled in a puppy, It’s only temporary, I’ll take it back if it doesn’t work out, I’ll take care of it myself, I’ll pay all of it’s bills and buy it’s food. All of the usual things were promised, along with I will take it with me when I move out. WELL… She named her Nikki . She was supposed to be a small dog and she was so sweet. She fooled us all.

She turned out to be hell on four legs. Nothing or Nobody was safe from her, She was very hyper and so ornery, all she wanted to do was play and she played rough, She was very bullheaded and when threatened with a rolled up paper would grab it and shred it into a million pieces. Everything was a game to her, When you were mad she thought you were playing. And just get rougher. She chewed on everything in site. The other animals wanted nothing to do with her. After a very short time neither did my daughter. (SURPRISE!)

I refused to get rid of her , I know from experience that sometimes the hardest pups to train are usually, the best dogs when they grow up. She is turning out to be a very good dog. She even helps me in the garden. When I pull weeds she swoops in and grabs them and runs off shaking all of the dirt from the roots, drops it in the yard and comes back for more, Unfortunately she can’t yet determine weeds from plants, and we had to put a fence up around the vegetable garden to keep her from pulling up everything I took so much care in planting. She was very persistent. She gave a new meaning to the phrase “Weed Dog” She also chases the birds away from my plants, She doesn’t allow them in her yard at all. So I have to feed the birds where she can’t get to them, or their stale bread. She will gather all of the bread and bring it back up to the porch to take back inside. Most of the bird feeding is done in the front yard by my bird feeders now.

She use to steal my garden tools when I set them down, just to get me to stop working and play with her, Standing just far enough away from me with my favorite trowel in her mouth, daring me to come and get it. Did I mention, She’s getting very smart? She hates the garden hose and avoids it at all costs. She usually doesn’t bother my decorations, but does like to chase the real frogs and toads poking at them with her nose to get them hopping. Then I do the swooping in to snatch up the live plaything and take it to my front garden, to live in toadtown.

I am looking forward to seeing how she acts this year when its planting time. I may be able to take the fencing down, But probably not just yet. She still likes weeds and is still playful too.
Nikki has calmed down a lot, and she has the whole family wrapped around her paws. Needless to say “ She will be by my side for the rest of her life” I now have 2 dogs and 2 cats. But… NO MORE! My daughter who has just had her 18th birthday, will be moving out before too long and I will be keeping Nikki here. Why? Well she has become a part of the family.