the newest member of our growing menagerie, Salty.
M and I love dogs. When M and I were first dating, he was taking care of Caesar, our friend Phil's sweet German Shepherd. It is always a helpful icebreaker to have a dog to bond over. As M and I bonded, Caesar was a joyful witness of our friendship.
As I spent more time at M and Phil's house, I came to love Caesar and it was very difficult for both M and I to say good-bye to him when we left. Separately, M and I, throughout our lives have moved from place to place which precluded each of us from having a dog. Now that we have a wonderful, permanent home and 6 buxom, bustling hens, it is time to make a commitment to a canine friend. Enter Salty, the Pirate Dog.
Our neighbor, Jorge, has 3 adult dogs (a female and 2 males.) His younger male dog, Pinta (Salty's dad) is a called a "cazador," a hunting dog. He's looks like a mixture of a blood hound and a dalmation. Often Jorge would let him roam about the forest and we always
knew where he was by his baying howl. Cuca, (Salty's mom) is a fierce-hearted mountain dog that Jorge got from one of the Guaymi. Cuca is a brave fighter. She has engaged in battle with coyotes and wild boar. Fortunately, Jorge has great skill in healing her severe wounds after these incidents. Cuca had 6 puppies and Jorge offered one to us.
We were excited to have Salty join our happy home. M came up with his name because Salty has a black patch over his right eye, like a pirate. And his coloring is black and white like salt and pepper. He came home with us a little over a week ago having been weaned from Cuca. Cuca was more than ready to have the puppies done nursing. She was nipping their hind legs to keep them away from her. I carried him in my arms as we walked from Jorge's to our place. He was shivering with anxiety though curious about his new situation. He is smart, energetic and full of joy. We are enjoying every minute of his companionship though these 3 fine qualities are keeping us on our toes. There is nothing cuter than see him gambol toward me with his long dark ears flapping and his whip-like tail tick-tocking. Though it is somewhat less amusing when he trotted off with my passport case in his mouth and took it deep under the house to leave it there. M was very upset when we came home to find that Salty had scratched and town up several of the window screens in the downstairs bedroom. We are learning to "puppy proof" our home. It takes a little extra effort and trying to think how a puppy acts.
Salty is helping around the property. He enjoys aiding M in digging new holes for plants.
Salty is finding his way with the 6 hens. He was exposed to all sorts of fowl at Jorge's finca. We weren't too concerned that he'd attack them and the hens being bigger than Salty waste no time in putting him in his place.
The hens love to peck at cardboard boxes and we gave Salty a cardboard box as his "house." We have to shoo the hens away from his house; they'll start pecking away even if he is sitting inside. He gives us a rather forlorn look and perseveres.
Watching Salty as every new day unfolds a different experience is adding a loving new dynamic to our lives.
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