Pet

Each week Jake proposes a theme and you can post your interpretation of the theme on your blog anytime before the following Sunday. If you decide to join in, remember to post your link in the comments section  at Jake's blog.

Here is my entry for this week's theme.

Playful, when Jallie first arrived.

I have four rescue dogs of mixed breeds. Friends sometimes suggest that having pets places constraints on my ability to travel and go on holiday. To them I say that before I had a crippling mortgage, I did go on holiday - it just meant making arrangements with a pet-sitter. I cannot imagine my life without dogs around the place.

They are all female. I have a soft spot for the females because they are the ones that get abandoned more frequently. Two are medium-sized dogs, one is small and the newest addition to the family is quite big. Each has her own distinct personality. I love them to bits. They always give me the royal welcome home, regardless of my having been away for five minutes or a whole day. They love walkies and fortunately the Algarve weather permits that almost every day.

Exploring by the sea

This is my oldest dog, Mimosa. She has been with me since 2000. She is hard of hearing and has never had very good eyesight but she is still very energetic and protective of me. She hates thunderstorms. She follows me everywhere she can, like a shadow. She was top dog until the big one took over.

I'm sooo cute!

This is my smallest, Clarita. Everyone loves her so she is spoilt. I can take her anywhere and nobody complains. She craves attention and feels entitled to it all the time. She only really gets on well with humans, Nina and a few small dogs she meets on her walkies. She likes to try catching any gecko that lives in the garden.

What is going on?

Nina is my most loving dog. She gets on well with all dogs but is still wary of people she doesn't know. When she first came to me she used to run away and hide in the garden. I still remember trying to coax her from under the bougainvillea and into the house on a cold, dark rainy night. She gives really good foot massages with her tongue. LOL. Some say she has a sad expression but she is very happy and energetic, really.

Top dog.

Jallie is the most recent arrival, and now top dog by virtue of size and strength. Everyone comments on her big ears. She is old enough to be wiser but she is still a bit mad. I don't let her stay in the front garden unsupervised because she sticks her head through the railings and scares the hell out of passers-by. She also dashes here and there, bumping against my legs and her 3 companions. They don't like that one bit, because she's much bigger than them and hurts them even when she doesn't intend to. She's very bossy.

Two in a bed.

They are all reasonably well-behaved doggies, but when they came to me they had already developed their hatred of cats to such an extent that I have never been able to change that. The neighbours' cats like to visit my garden and cause quite a stir when they are detected. Sometimes I have to go to the rescue.

Related post: Why was that cat up the lemon tree?