Clover Beene - The Energizer Border Collie
Doddy-Mans - The greatest daddy a pup could have and marveled over by Clover Beene.
Mommy-Mans - The woman who means business. You do what she says cause she buys the treats.
Sissy-Mans - Sometimes playful, mostly busy, always good for a car trip excuse.
Kitties - Very lazy, Fun to chase, Not so much fun when get chased back.
Act 1
Doddy-mans is lying on the couch - sick. Mommy-mans is on the computer with her pal, Photoshop. Sissy-mans has turned in early - also feeling bad.
Enter stage left: Clover Beene begins the ultimate stare down with Mommy-Mans
Mommy-Mans: What do you want Clover?
Clover Beene noses a squeaky toy.
Mommy-Mans: Mommy is busy. We just finished playing for half an hour!
Clover Beene drops the toy, approaches Mommy-Mans and proceeds to nose her hand off the mouse multiple times.
Mommy-Mans: Okay, get your toy. I'll throw it.
Clover Beene sits down and begins staring contest again. Mommy-Mans reaches down for the toy. Clover Beene snags up the toy and runs away. Mommy-Mans climbs up from halfway into the floor back into her chair. Clover Beene reappears, without the toy, and begins to nose her hand away from the mouse and paw at her arm.
This is an on-going thing. Everyday. This is what it's like living with a border collie. If she's not insisting that I play, she's insisting that Tim does. And we play with her... a lot! But it's never enough. It's also much worse when we're all feeling bad.
As luck would have it (at least ours), Tim has re-caught the cold he had last week, Ashby is complaining of a sore throat again, and I will forever deny that my immune system is anything but superhuman. So, since we've all been tired, cranky, and under-the-weather this week, we haven't been able to get out as much as we would have liked. Miss Clover Beene certainly hasn't appreciated it much, either.I did manage to get her to the park yesterday evening for some exercise. I let her go wireless since no one was around. She had a ton of fun running and sniffing, and I got a little practice in with my new camera. She tolerated me resting on a bench for about 30 seconds before she decided it was time to play "Chase Clover" some more. We stayed out long enough to watch the sunset before heading in out of the quickly cooling evening temperatures.
Tim and I teamed up this evening and took her out to play again. True to her border collie nature, she's a ball of energy almost all the time, and that's a hefty task to deal with when you feel bad. She just doesn't understand the concept of "rest and relax." It's playtime all the time except between the hours of 10pm and 7am when she sleeps and the occasional moments you can charm her with belly rubs to lie still in the floor.
But you know? We wouldn't trade her for the world. She's the most loving dog, and so very smart. Sure she has her quirks, but she also has a huge vocabulary and is full of kisses. She's definitely not the type of dog for everyone, but she does keep us active. And we love her so very much!
