Squirrels And Charlie

Another beautiful day here today, 66° sounds of birds, a squirrel sighting and finally all of us get to see Charlie, a big white puppy a couple of houses down from here. He is 10 months old and his owner tells me he is not destructive inside when left alone but likes to pee on the shoes of his grown son when they visit. It was a restless and sad day today ... we went on hound walks, out for lunch but couldn't seem to just sit outside and relax ... Samson was put down today around noon local time.

With high winds and some rain last night, those two things led to Watson having some fun this morning. If you haven't guessed, those are his paw prints there and the chair is there to keep him from digging. When the chair was blown over, he has a clear shot to finish what he and Samson started three weeks ago. With the nice bright sunshine, I really didn't care ... as long as he agreed to lick his four paws clean ... which he did because he seems to be OCD about having clean feet and legs.

Samson came February 1st with all of his toys. This tough built lizard has already seen so many chases and tugs of war, I felt it would last a while. It felt very durable and non-destructible. But this week Watson found out he could get a good start destroying the lizard from the inside out. I will post occasional photos of his progress but my guess is ... the lizard isn't going to be around much longer.

To those that sent emails to me with questions about Watson's choker collar and about Samson's euthanasia, I have your answers here.

I went back to a choker collar for Watson, not for rough treatment but to use only on his walks. Twice he slipped his head out of a normal collar while we were stopped on his walk. One time he headed for the slow passing car until I called his name. The other time was on the side of the street and evidently caught me off guard while I stood there with him while he was exploring a scent a little more closely than normal. 

I called the animal control center this morning to confirm what I was pretty sure I already knew but after one comment and a few emails asking questions, I decided I would call on last time to confirm. I was not allowed to attend, to hold him, only the vet and the animal control officers were allowed in the same room.

Due to his short history with them and the control officers at my house, he would be tranquilized before they transport him to the room where he would be put down. Ashes were not available if I wanted them, I didn't. It is a sad situation as I have stated before. I have been trying hard to divert my attention to other thoughts, to the hounds and the dog. Things are good, really.

Believe it or not, Walter does not like looking into the camera. He will always turn his head away by the time I press the button. The photos you have seen on this blog in the past, with a face you would think he was posing ... was pure luck on my part. I can still get what I consider great pictures of him some times and he has 2,470 of them in his folder, not counting the videos and a second folder called "Walter's Damage". LOL

Henry is just the opposite and craves the camera and his picture taken almost as much as he craves attention. The only problem I have with these Nikon photos, the hounds and dog are too dark, even after some edits. Any camera professionals out there, don't hesitate in giving me some advice or why this is happening.

I do have a new project that will give me something to do whenever I want to get started. A red battery warning light popped on the dash on my way home from lunch. I just installed a new battery a few weeks ago so I suspect that is the cause. Maybe some corrosion I missed the ground connections need to be cleaned. Worse case, since that light means the charging system isn't working properly ... I might need a new alternator. I can change that out myself pretty easy, but I will double check my battery installation and connections first before buying a new rebuilt alternator.

Same tree was in yesterday's post but the skies were dark, clouds everywhere and it was windy. Not today .. perfect weather.

While I was on the computer, in the FJ forum, searching about that red battery warning light, I heard that certain type of bloodhound baying, that is a little different when a squirrel is around. I grabbed my camera on the way through the kitchen and hoped I would be in time to see Henry's and Watson's friend ... the squirrel. That is him straight ahead. Watson does not try to go through the vertical pieces of fence but would love to I'm sure.

If you look hard the squirrel is just to the right of the tree on the left. I was guessing he would climb the light pole again or the post that holds the bird house just before the light pole. Didn't matter to Watson though ... until that squirrel disappeared, he was going to hop up and down, wag his tail and bay like a maniac.

He doesn't know how easy it would be to stick his head between those vertical pieces and then just force those strong shoulders right though that small space to get outside the fence and closer to that squirrel. He will bay the same way if there is a bird that bothers him. Bloodhounds are not bred to hunt or kill squirrels or birds. Their specialty is tracking shot/dead deer or live deer when deer hunting ... plus SAR when trained professionally. They can track scent two weeks old and if trained specifically they can actually track scent in a river bed.

The squirrel may have ran off but that doesn't mean the yard doesn't need to be explored.

He is a pretty basset hound and almost identical color to what Winston was at three years old. 

Walter actually got out into the yard and enjoyed a little waking today. My friend that has a younger bulldog says Ollie likes to go on walks. She even takes him to work one day a week where will sleep and destroy any files she might not have put back in the cabinet yet. NEVER leave a bulldog alone around books or paper.

You can tell by that stain on his nose that he was in that mud puddle in the picture above, just past his nose.

When I passed this house coming home from lunch, they had just started painting the upper left corner. The rest of the brick front was a little lighter than the color of the foundation bricks. It looks like it will be identical color of the brick house across the street from me and a little lighter than what is on my house. All of the painted houses had the same color of brick with most of the houses having red brick. 

That house either just sold ... or the owner had pulled the sign and decided to do updates before putting it back on the market. His 91 year old father lived there before passing away last month. I am not sure which way is true. Another house down to street to the left sold within 48 hours from when it was put the market. People know about this quiet neighborhood from what real estate agents have said. Yet, the hounds, the dog and I are pretty happy living here. We will have been year 2 years already this April 29th.

Not only is Walter specific on how clean his water must be, but how much kibble is served. Anything more than the scoop I use, which is a little more than a cup, two times per day ... he will not finish his meal. Walking away from a few pieces of kibble left in his bowl makes Henry and Watson very happy hounds after they eat their meal.

Like always, Watson, Walter and I might be on our way back inside but that doesn't mean Henry is going at the same time. He will wait until he is ready ... that is unless Watson comes back out to get him.

Even after he started walking towards the patio door ... he didn't quite make it.

That big white dog is Charlie. His owner had told me about him a couple of weeks ago. He loves hearing Watson's baying he says. I had always saw Charlie when he was running back to his house like now, but not a total body shot of him. They do not have a fence, nor do they have an electric fence for him. They use an electronic hand remote that buzzes his collar to keep him in the yard. 

I had an appointment to install an electric fence before putting in the one I have now but my concern was the older neighbor with dementia. I didn't want a big bloodhound knock her down because before the fence she use to walk over to see the dogs in the yard. Walter loved her. Stella would stand as she was getting petted ... but Watson I am afraid would have hurt her. He is still jumping up when people approach him.

Of course when Charlie was out in his yard, Walter and Watson came running back outside to bark. Walter is the instigator for Watson barking sometimes, inside or outside. Walter can hear things way before people show up or dogs show up, even two lots away.

My dog bite continues to heal. Not a lot of visible change the past few days but this morning I had the feeling of itches in that area. To think that was a tooth that did that damage and not a large hound toenail puts a little different perspective on that bite. What I wouldn't do to have a different Saturday night on February 11th.

It's a good day weather wise here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana. 

I think I will just kickback and do nothing except enjoy the weekend. I am getting the urge to hike that State Park again, a different area this time. Those are never sure plans ... I live too much on impulse being retired.