The Baboon Congress

Krakatoa 2

77 Comments

Today’s guest post comes from Sherrilee

You’ve all heard me say I don’t want more dogs after my current dogs are gone. So when Young Adult called me from the Humane Society, I fought valiantly but after an hour of arguing on the phone, I just couldn’t envision any win/win. Although she did cave to my request that she wait 24 hours, when the time was up she came home with Guinevere, otherwise known as Krakatoa 2. Or The Little Terrorist. Or Troublemaker. Or – well, you get the gist. So now, despite my protests, there are three dogs and two cats in the household.

K2

Zorro, my elder cat has somehow managed to maintain his “alpha dog” status, although I’m not sure how. He’s the smallest and with no front claws, the most vulnerable in the household. I have seen the puppy put her mouth on Zorro, but then stop. Maybe Zorro has a special muscle twitch that makes K2 back off.

The baby kitty Nimue (although she’s not really a baby anymore at 3) gets a good deal of tumbling. She refuses to get out of the way, so is a natural target for the galumphing puppy. She bats out, makes a great deal of hissing noises, but apparently isn’t using her claws or her teeth in defense. I can only guess that she is either A) absolutely convinced that she can’t cede her space one inch, even if being tortured by a puppy or B) she kinda likes it!

Rhiannon ignores the puppy most of the time, however if K2 gets in her face (or near her food), there is a great deal of snarling and growling and barking on both sides. As with the baby kitty, it doesn’t appear that anybody is using teeth in these pitched battles. No scrapes, no crying, no blood.

Thorin is my hero. He loves K2 and they play and play and play. K2 is really rough, but all that white fur of Thorin’s seems to protect him well enough. Eventually Thorin wears out and he’s had a few nights on which it’s clear that he’s a little stiff and sore, but it never stops him from chasing after the puppy the next morning.

Of course, I am the main one who still wishes we didn’t have a puppy. When she’s quiet and calm, she’s pretty cute and I don’t mind her, but she’s not quiet and calm very much. I did make Young Adult sign a puppy contract with a lot of points but the one I’m already looking forward to is the “You can’t move out unless you move to a place that takes dogs”!

How does everybody get along at your house?

77 thoughts on “Krakatoa 2”

  1. We are down to two dogs two cats and 6 fish tanks and all is good. The cats still hold the dogs hast age at the top of the stairs without letting them pass but it all works out
    Brother and sister teams both the sibs have very different identities and it makes it fun they cut each other a lot of slack, if people worked it out they animals do it would be a wonderful bipartisan world.
    Great post vs
    Young adult will remember the day you made her sign the 15 year commitment and factor that into next pet . I understand you are thinking pet less. I understand and feel the same way sometimes but insure do like me, my dogs are great my cats are fine and my fish will never be a problem except for space. Maybe a fish rack huh?
    Thanks vs

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  2. Our dog chases the cats if they run or move too fast, but I catch glimpses of them rubbing up against one another and mutual ear cleaning when they think no one is looking. Our littlest cat can be very standoffish but will cuddle if we sit in a chair. Husband and I get along quite well unless he is too pokey or I am too impatient. Daughter and I are doing very well, although she is technically not at home any more. The dog is a constant shadow and cuddler.

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  3. You know, in spite of, maybe because ours is a pretty small house (800 sq ft), we get on pretty well.

    We had always been a single cat household until the departure if Our Fair Twixie (see gravatar). We now have the pair of Delinquents. I can’t imagine one without the other. The Purrfessor would go nuts without somebody to look after and Princess Beatrice is too much of a fraidy cat to be happy without her big brother.

    They wrassle a good bit when they get bored, but nobody gets hurt.

    Purrfessor tends to end up on the couch with the s&h, Bea sits on my lap.

    S&h will have to get his own cat when he moves out, as these 2 cannot be separated and Bea won’t leave me.

    And really, they like regular meals.

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      1. Not really. We took in Twixie as a temporary measure, until her owner found a place to live where she coild have her.

        We would have gotten another cat had that happened. I can’t imagine living without one (actuallt, 2-now that I see how much these two enjoy each other).

        Once the s&h moves on, I will really need them :).

        Blending into yesterday’s post about neighbors, my west side neighbor has always like the fact that she gets to have a cat without having a cat. The Purrfessor loves to hang out with her when she is in the garden. Twixie did the same. Bea is too much of a fraidy cat. In the winter, they hang out on the back of the couch and visit her through the window.

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        1. On the Shore three dogs and two cats sort of belonged to about six homes. We often had fires in our back yard in a neat little bay of lawn with a fire pit in the middle. Cats and dogs pull come even when we did not have food.

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    2. We have seen a big increase in domestic and child abuse in our area with entire families living in campers and other small spaces for oil field jobs. Sometimes small can work but out here small is causing a lot of problems.

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      2. I can see a small space making a nad situation worse. Bear in mind, this is the only home the s&h has ever known.

        We sheltered a co-worker of mine (and her dog) fleeing a domestic violence situation when the s&h was about 2 (and shortly after we had lost our first cat, who had gone from grad school to motherhood with me, including seversl plane rides).

        I figured when I made the offer, it would be for a weekend, week or two tops. After she got to our house, she decided it was time for her to buy a house. Somewhere in there, 9/11 happened, I turned 40 and my last grandparent was dying.

        She ended up staying with us for about 3 months. A couple of months after she moved into her new house,the company we both worked for let her go.

        It was challenging.

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        1. OMG, mig. How did you survive? That’s a very long time to survive that kind of invasion – especially in such a small space. Rhetorical question, really, but that had to be unbelievably challenging, to say the least.

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        2. It was quite challenging, PJ, but I’ve seen other Baboons post about far more challenging situations of longer duration. I think most people get through things because they can’t think of a better alternative.

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  4. The couple down the street doesn’t get along too well at times, as the police have hauled him off for domestic violence on a couple of occasions. We hear yelling in drunk voices and their dachshund barking, telling them to knock it off, and then the police show up. They are new to the neighborhood and we don’t know them.

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      2. Piper is doing very well, all things considered. He’s adorable and likes his toys which we are constantly substituting for the other things (remotes, cords, shoes, furniture, etc.) that he insists on experimenting with. His antics with a full size tennis ball in his mouth while he kicks and pounces on another ball are hysterical to watch. He changes every day and is actually starting to be somewhat predictable about needing to go outside if we are very vigilant and notice the signs. We’re loving him, but he’s a full time job. Fortunately husband is retired so they are building a close bond.

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  6. Alas, there are just the two of us, Husband and me, since Charley the Cat died a few years ago. I contemplate getting another kitty, but we travel a bit now (and have no neighbors that I would trust with the responsibility – see yesterday). Husband and I get along quite well, kind of go our own ways during the day… except when we don’t, but luckily those are short lived.

    I do miss a feline jumping into my lap while I’m reading.

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        1. We did foster Beatrice at first, but it quickly became obvious to us that she and the Purrfessor (already residing with us thanks to Ben) should not be separated. He needed somebody to look after and she needed somebody to let her know she was safe.

          Animal Humane Society needs fosters for all kinds of situations, including adult cats with upper respiratory infections that need to be kept away from other cats. You mostly can just keep an eye on them for a couple of weeks and provide some lap time.

          You get sent emails about who is available amd their needs and you just reply back when you can and want to take one. They will also provide food and equipment.

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  7. No pets for 18 years. Would have been and be unfair to pets. As for sandy and I, not doing so well. She cannot manage her diabetic diet, so I do. But that makes me Bad Cop, which she resents and I hate. Do I keep being hated Bad Cop, or let it go so she will have to go on pills, or more likely injections, which five Drs. Advise strongly against.
    Nice post, nice. K2–that is a mountain the Karakorums.

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      1. But cheese has a lot of calories. We are not counting calories; cheese has zero carbs.
        This has 17 carb units. No it has 17 grams but only one unit. You can have three units.
        I will just eat salad and a hamburger patty. No, you have to gave three units every meal.
        I can have ice cream it is milk. A unit is a quarter of a cup and you had 4 units in the meal, one over the amount.
        Gets herself a cup of ice cream.

        Friday we went to a party in medina. My brain was in shut down from all the pain from the noise and chaos. I could not eat. She went to the buffet without telling me. She had at least 10 carb units on her plate. I told her she had to reduce some of the carb. She got upset with me. Ate it all. Went and got two prices of cake.

        Last night at the ball came she sent the kids for food. She ate at least 8 units.

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  8. Our dog and cate were great buddies. Wrestled a lot. Cat could go any where in the house. Fog could not. My how the cat teased with her greater privilege.

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  9. Nobody here along with whom to get.
    One of the beauties of living alone is that there is no need or opportunity to compromise or resent or fight or badger.
    I am occasionally tempted to fill the dog void but I really like not being responsible for anyone or anything. And no one wakes me up at 6:00am with food or potty needs.

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  10. Wonderful post, vs. K2 is very cute but sounds like a handful. What puppy isn’t?

    We had to euthanize our old Daisy in February, so we’re down to Martha, Gizmo and Pepito. Pepito is Bourke’s parakeet. A 22 year old, skittish little bird that never leaves his cage.

    Gizmo is a double yellow-headed Amazon parrot. He was 23 years old when we got him, and we’ve had him 22 years, so quite an elderly fellow. He is a very social bird, and loves company, and he talks, although not as much as he used to.

    Whenever the phone rings, Gizmo waits for us to answer and then he’ll holler: Well hello! Then he’ll chatter along, imitating my speaking cadences. When we laugh, he joins in, and when he watches TV and he hears people laughing, he joins them, too. Sometimes, out of the blue he’ll say “What’s the matter?….huh?” with an upward inflection on huh. When he senses you’re about to leave the room he’ll say “Bye-bye. Bye-bye.”

    I made the mistake many years ago to teach him to say “I love you.” Mistake, because we’ve not been able to teach him anything since. Whenever I attempt to teach him anything now, he’ll tilt his head, look straight me and purr “I love you.” He’s really quite charming and irresistible. But Gizmo is a man’s bird; he love’s husband and sees me as a competitor for husband’s affection. He’ll bite me if he gets the chance, and I have a couple of scars on my right hand that can attest to how hard he bites.

    Gizmo pays little attention to Pepito, but is fascinated by Martha, our tortie cat. Martha lives downstairs, both birds live upstairs, but on occasion Martha goes upstairs to visit. She’s curious about Gizmo, but careful to not get too close to him. Sometimes Gizmo joins us for dinner. He loves people food, especially noodles and chicken, and sugar snap peas are among his favorite treats.

    The two humans in the household get along reasonably well most of the time.

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    2. My dad had a parrot named Ahab. Nice enough but he was very social and with both my parents working, he just didn’t have enough company. My folks found a really nice guy who was disabled and couldn’t work outside the house anymore; turned out to be a great home for Ahab!

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      1. Glad to hear they found Ahab a good home. Most people don’t realize what a long-term commitment and a lot of work a large bird is. Because they are so long-lived most parrots are re-homed upward of five or six times. Also, they are messy. If we outlive the two birds we have, we agree, no more birds. Still considering getting an older rescue dog. If the right one comes along, we’ll probably adopt.

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  11. Thanks, vs. A dog man all my life, I’m now living without the joy of a pet.

    Visiting the painfully cute tourist town of Cannon Beach, Molly, Liam and I had ice cream at a “Candy Shoppe.” I sat on the front porch to eat my cone and enjoy the passing parade of tourists in sun glasses and flipflops. The cone itself, a sugar waffle cone, began disintegrating in my hand. Soon the porch in front of me was littered with chunks of cone that I could not (thanks to arthritis) pick up.

    A friendly woman walked by with a Labrador on a leash (but the dog was clearly in charge), I said, “If your dog’s thirsty, there is water up here.” Liam pointed to a bucket labeled “Dog Water.” (He pays close attention to signs, reading them out loud, thrilling to his new ability to comprehend the world around him.) The woman led her dog to the steps to our porch. When the Lab’s nose got near me, he lunged forward and began scarfing up the chunks of cone. The woman struggled to contain him, but the Lab had became a powerful black Roomba (those robotic vacuums they advertise on TV).

    “I’m sorry,” wailed the woman. I grinned and said, “Dogs will be dogs, won’t they?” She never guessed that this was exactly the outcome I’d intended when I mentioned the Dog Water.

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    1. Does Liam remember learning to read? S&h does vividly. I cannot remember ever not being able to read and feel like I have missed out on some great experience (like the “water” scene in The Miracle Worker).

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  12. Had a nasty experience at Moon Dogs game last night. Part of it was couple next to sandy brought a sweet chocolate lab, which kept pushing Sandy’s feet out from under her chair. Owners response was that we were sitting in the only seats where dogs were allowed. They are the only seats in which sandy can sit because of her mobility problems. After three innings it was clear seats a little over were occupied, so they moved.
    Saw a human cannonball between games. Grandkids loved it. Moon Dogs won first game in a walk off.

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  13. My three felines, if they could express their feelings in words, would probably say something like this:
    Isabel – The big guy is okay, but that little squirt is so annoying. Spoiled rotten, always gets fed first, pushing everyone else away from the food dishes. What was she thinking when she brought him into the house?
    Jory – She’s just an old sourpuss, always hissing at me. I take a swing at her sometimes just to annoy her, or corner her under the dining room table. She hates that. The other one, he’s okay, kinda quiet.
    Sammy: [yawn] Well…I’d rather be an only cat. But, you know, whatever.

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  14. Ot. Clyde.. I got your artisan bread recipe and also borrowed the book from my girlfriend. I’m going to experiment with half batches as I’m not sure YA and I will get through it fast enough.

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    1. Have fun. My daughter, sil, and grandkids are heading east tomorrow morning from here. They will ice pa k meat and cheese and fruit. Tonight I will bake them two loaves to bring with.

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  15. Yesterday I teld Liam that our dogs knew we were going hunting even though we didn’t tell them. He reflected, then asked: “How did they tell you they knew?” (Typical sort of question for him.)

    Actually, this was part of a long experiment to see what tipped the dogs off to the fact we would go hunting that day. I finally learned that I couldn’t touch my hunting clothing, couldn’t touch my shotgun, couldn’t put my thermos and sandwiches by the door and couldn’t get up with cheerful energy in the morning. Any of those would tip the dogs off. If I got up slowly, avoided my hunting gear, didn’t pack a lunch but did mope around the house like a usual day, they didn’t know. Oh, and if I put my boots on instead of padding about in sock feet, they knew.

    As for how the dogs told us . . . they would sit by the front door with vibrating tails, watching our every move.

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  16. OT – The daughter of a friend of mine has just spent 9 months in Oman. While there on a visit, my friend – a former coworker – became Facebook friends with their cab driver/tour guide. He posts the most beautiful post on FB – in Arabic, of course. I use the automatic translator to peruse them. Here’s one of today’s gems:
    تبارك الذي خلق المودة في القلوب،
    ويسر لها بالتواصل كل الدروب،
    فسلام عليكم ودعاء من القلب إلى رب الوجود،
    بأن يمن عليكم وعلينا بجنات الخلود
    وصحة وستر وعمر بالطاعة ممدود…
    Blessed be the one who create intimacy in hearts.
    And left them to continue to all routes,
    Same days be upon you, and from the heart to the God of existence,
    That right you and I am crazy for eternity.
    Health strpce and obedience blowtorch
    , and unlimited
    Good morning

    Don’t you just love “obedience blowtorch”?

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  17. We’re not getting along very well. The ants are being evicted. The fruit flies are committing suicide in my apple cider vinegar trap. The wasps keep trying to exercise squatters rights but are denied with extreme prejudice. The mosquitoes have yet to make an appearance but I’m ready for them.

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  20. A good friend of mine had a cat, Nico, who she adopted when she was in her late teens or maybe twenty. He lived until after her first child was born, as I recall. After Nico died, she didn’t want to get any other pets. I asked her if she’d let the kids have pets if they wanted them as they got older. She said no – “I’m turning in to my mother. [Drill sergeant voice] NO PETS!”
    When her son got to be about 9 or 10, he started lobbying to get a cat. She resisted, but husband and daughter were on board, so she finally relented. They got an adolescent tabby and named him Stripe. Son was besotted. He told my friend, “It’s like a beautiful dream I don’t have to wake up from.”
    Moms who say yes to pets are the saints of the world. 🙂

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  22. Henry, out latest dog, is similar to the others we have had, a little troublesome because we don’t seem to be able to train dogs. The dogs train us, we don’t train them. Henry has a bad habit of barking loudly whenever anyone passes in front of our house. He is not at all interested in any of our attempts to stop his barking. Sometime I wonder why we have dogs for pets. Of course, Henry is a well loved family member who we treasure in spite of his bad habits.

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    1. Henry is in good barking company. Thorin feels the need to bark at almost everything. My next door neighbor says “I bark therefore I am.”

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  23. I’d thought I couldn’t make BBC this afternoon, but as it turns out, I can. Could someone email me the address?
    caroline(dot)wolfe(at)gmail
    (dot)com. Thanks.

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  27. Here it is after midnight and I still haven’t commented on Krakatoa 2. (Love that name by the way)
    Thanks for writing it.

    Our new puppy ‘Humphrey’ — ‘Humph’ for short, is 35 lbs of youthful exuberance. With a tail that can clean off the coffee table in one swoop.
    He was supposed to be an outdoor dog.
    But we got him in February and it was cold…
    He is outside during the day now but really, he’s a people dog not a watch dog. Although we’re still holding out hope.
    Allie, the existing indoor dog, a fox terrier, hasn’t completely given in to the idea of competition in the house. And of course she has an attitude bigger than her stature.
    Zoe, the existing outdoor dog (and the real watch dog) enjoys playing with Humph. And has made him take the fall for numerous things we think.

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