Best Friends (cont.)

By mid-week, I was walking much better...still a little swollen and limited flexibility but so much better.   I could actually walk down stairs without much pain...YEAH!!!!

"The kids" kept me busy. Silly me,  I actually thought they would occupy each other and I would get a break...you know, like a mini vacation.  I was wrong!   Livy is 19 months and Harley turns 5 this year so managing was challenging at times especially with being unable to move quickly.

For instance, feeding them, which happened twice a day...was a nightmare. You see,  Harley goes to her dish and devours her kibble as if it's her last meal while Livy, who is very petite, eats slowly.  She chews her food rather than inhaling it like Harley.  So, as you can imagine, after Harley chowed down, she couldn't get to Livy's bowl fast enough.  Her size scared the crap out of Livy, who moved out of the way even as Harley approaches.  

That happened so often that by Tuesday, the process was that I would just sit by Livy so when Harley showed up, she couldn't intimidate or eat her food.  I had already tried blocking a room to keep Harley contained but once Harley started barking, Livy would back away from her food dish and not eat!  Then I tried putting Harley outside.  Again, once Harley began to bark, Livy would stop eating.  It was as if she was telling me that Harley wanted and had to be with her...UGH!!   

Of course, they are both "the only child" so sharing was not in their minds during meal time or when any stuffed toy was removed from the toy box, or picked up by Livy when out in the yard.  In that photo above, Harley is literally holding her frog with her front paws so Livy can't get it.  Bear in mind though, according to my son, Harley hasn't touched these toys since she was a puppy!  But it's because Livy wanted one, she had to take them away and hoard them. 

There was one toy in particular that Livy wanted...a stuffed lamb...Lamb Chop.   Harley has four of them...one in the bedroom, one downstairs in the FR, one in the LR, and one in the den.  Livy wanted to hold JUST ONE.  

Pathetic as it was, there was no way my dog was going to hold it.  So I Googled and discovered that they had them at a nearby Target.  Off I went.  

In need of a few household things anyway, when I spotted it in the pet isle, it made my day.  The problem was that when I gave it to Livy, Harley took it away.  And let's face it, an 85 lb dog with shoulders the size of my hips was going to get her way.  So, at first chance, Livy's "Lamby" was placed in the back of my car and was there for her on our ride home.  It was hers to keep. 

In this photo of Livy chewing on Lamby's leg, please note that the darn old green frog is on Livy's side of the sofa.  I put it there without Harley seeing...LOL!!

The two of them had so much fun for a solid week.  They ran and ran around the yard together.  Livy is fast but that Harley can run too.  They ran through the hostas, behind the azaleas, through the black-eyed susans  and back to the porch so many times throughout the day that by 7:30 pm, they were both as exhausted as I was.  

They barked when someone walked by the house.  Harley went ballistic when the neighbors cat (who she hates) was out side too.  If one was outside, the other one wanted out.  Our last day there, after the banana bread was done and cooling, I put them in the car and we went "cruisin."  

Heading home Saturday night, I hoped Livy was looking forward to it as much as I was.  There's nothing like home.  Personally I thought that Harley was going to need a good, long rest after we left too.   

Something that I was thinking about driving home.  Harley was always positioning herself between Livy and I.  Then it dawned on me.  

The weekend my DIL and son got Harley, the Pres and I came to drop off a few things for them to use...Copper's crate, Copper's water-resistant bed for outside, Copper's blanket, a few toys that Moon and Copper played with, one of the feeding stations, bowls, etc.

Harley was only 10 wks old.  They'd been told she was a Lab/Boxer.  That Saturday I showed my son a photo of a Great Dane pup, he said, "Mom, don't tell her (as he pointed toward the kitchen).  She won't want to keep her if she's going to be big. She thinks Harley is going to be about 45 lbs.  That's what they told her at the rescue.

Telling my son to look carefully at Harley's paws and body shape and compare it to the pix of Great Dane pups, there was no doubt in my mind she was part Dane.  She turned out to be a giant lap dog...a gentle soul who, like so many rescues, just need love.

seeing, saying, and sharing...

Best Friends