Feeding the Pets

Asher has a new job around the house - feeding the pets! 
He loves it.
And I love it because it means he's no longer yelling about wanting to go outside to play ba-ba-ball (baseball) while I feed the pets. 

First he feeds Rambler.  He is the easiest to feed because he waits patiently. 
Rambler is not that impressed with dog food anyways.

Then he feeds Cricket. 
This is tricky because Asher has to carry the dish to the bedroom where Cricket eats.
Rambler is much more interested in cat food. 

 Then, the hardest of all, Asher feeds CJ.
CJ tries to gobble up the food before the bowl touches the ground. 

Success!!
Asher carries the leftover food back to the cupboard. 
We have occasional spills, but Asher is very careful about picking up every last piece of food and putting it into the bowl.  This is agonizing for whichever pet has to wait for his/her bowl to get filled piece by piece.

He's even working on learning how to feed the birds. 
I believe Chris is maintaining 7 suet feeders, 2 birdseed feeders, and 1 squirrel feeder right now, so feeding the birds is no small task!  Asher may expect an allowance when he takes over that job! 

Asher's Favorite Song

Asher has a new favorite song - "How much is that Doggie in the Window?" 

I think this is a step down from his previous favorite, "Baa Baa Black Sheep." 

Anyways, he likes "How much is that Doggie in the Window" so much that we sing it right before bed every night.  He likes to join in on the woof woofs.

 He feels this song is so far superior to all other songs that if I ever try to sing or even hum any other song, he says, "No!" very sharply and puts his hand over my mouth to stop my singing.  I can't even sing along with the radio without him asking ordering me to stop.  I thought I might be able to get by with other doggie songs, like "Oh Where oh Where has my Little Dog Gone?" but he found that song unacceptable.  I think tomorrow I'll try "Who let the Dogs Out?"

He's also a fan of cats, but I don't think he knows any songs about cats right now. 

Afternoon Routine

Every afternoon we drive home & chat about our days.

Asher downs two cups of milk, ending his daily milk strike.  If he finishes cup #1 and I fail to get cup #2 to him immediately, there are tears, as seen in this picture

 . 

 We look for school buses, trucks, and cars with bike racks all of which are cause for celebration & clapping.

Once home, we ring the doorbell because I guess we really like to get the pets wound up!

 Rambler greets us at the door.  He never looks this calm though! 

 He races to the back door & leaps into the air!

 Then he remembers that he's supposed to sit like a good boy to go outside. 

 Once he's outside & free, he sprints in circles around the yard at top speed!

 CJ chows down.  Sometimes Asher gets out the cat brush and tries to brush him while he eats.  It's the only time CJ holds still enough to let Asher get that close to him.  We try not to disturb CJ too much during his favorite part of the day, so alas no photos of Asher brushing him while he eats. 

At last, we can settle in for some fun. 

The following are additional steps in our afternoon routine that are not photographed because they take so long anyways that a person would go mad trying to take pictures of them all & prolonging the process even more! 

• Check the mail - this involves a slow walk down the driveway & opening & closing the door to the mailbox at least 3 times.  Sometimes we take time to make sure the flag is still working too. 
• Slowly follow Asher as he climbs the steps to the house OR somehow haul him and all our gear up the steps
• Wave to CJ in the front window
• Point at and exclaim over the pumpkin
• Comfort Asher after Rambler knocks him over or overwhelms him by his wildness
• Feed Rambler
• Feed Cricket
• Lock Cricket up so nobody else eats her food
• And so on...

A Dog and his Boy

 

It's so nice being greeted by this welcoming committee when I come home!

They're tired of being trapped inside because the heat index is 110 degrees! 

Someday they might figure out how to work together to open the door & run out! 

They are best buds you know. 

(excpet when Asher throws trucks at Rambler or uses him as a step stool to try to climb up on the couch)

(or when Rambler climbs across Asher while he's trapped in the car seat or plows him over while running to catch of glimpse out the window of a dog walking down the street)

I guess they're typical brothers. 

Pets

Last night we almost decided to adopt two of these...

Photos: East Coast Pygmy Goat Club

Pygmy goats!!!

Really, we almost did. 

Then we had a reality check.
Dog
Two cats
One year old
We are already frazzled.
Pets cannot outnumber people here. 
Pets probably should not outnumber adult people, but it's too late for that. 

But look at these cute faces... 

We were sad about no goats. 
Final decision--We will adopt two goats when we turn 40. 
We're planning ahead for our mid-life crises. 
No need for convertibles, just a couple of mini-goats,
and maybe an extended vacation to the Meditteranean too. 

It all started when we went to a friend's retirement party last weekend, discovered that Chris knew their neighbors, and met the neighbor's baby pygmy goats.  They are the perfect pet. 
Except we already have too many pets...for now.