After a very sad weekend (the death of a colleague and the unbearable tragedy in Newtown, CT), it lifted the spirits to have some puppies over to play. Get ready for the deluge of photos…
SATURDAY
Juniper, our landlords’ pointer/pit mix, came over for a brief romp while our plumbing was being repaired. She is a muscular sweetheart. This was Pyrrha’s first introduction to Juniper and the two of them played very nicely together. It is fun to observe how differently every dog plays. Juniper is a playful growler and she likes to use her strong body to block and check, as if she were a hockey player. And so Pyrrha would alter her body language accordingly.
Cute little incident: Juniper is apparently both cuddly and protective. I would crouch down to watch them play, and Juniper would sidle up next to me and lean against me. If Pyrrha tried to approach us, Juniper would snap at her and challenge her to a wrestling match. I thought it was cute and interesting; I’ve never seen a dog so quickly take “possession” of a new person.
SUNDAY
On Sunday, we had lots of friends come to play: Loki, my coworker’s five-month-old Newfoundland was the first to show up. And he is such a doll. Just look at that face!
Pyrrha’s gregariousness was a little much for him at first, but he warmed up very quickly and was soon flopping around and chasing her.
As you can see, he was very soon holding his own:
Roland, a dear favorite whom you may remember from previous play-dates, arrived next. (Check out Loki’s expression in the following photo… Cracks me up.)
And then we had a newcomer, Stella, the young Jack Russell terrier, who was none too pleased to join in the fun. She was terrified when she first arrived and emitted these sad, high-pitched screams whenever the other dogs would approach her. Poor girl. I don’t necessarily blame her: She is about the size of her playmates’ heads.
Stella eventually sought us for comfort and was more than happy when her mama, Audrey, showed up to take her home.
Aside from poor Stella’s fears, everyone else got along very well and we had a great (if chilly) afternoon in the backyard. I’m looking forward to keeping up these Sunday play-dates again after the holiday season.