Thursday Thirteen: Sign Language

Sign on old smokehouse, Franklin County, VA.
(Click pictures to enlarge)

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man." ~ Mark Twain

1. Daisy doesn't bark. Yes, she can bark and she has barked, but only once every nine months or so and when she does bark, it is a half-hearted little "woof" and usually only one. Most of the time she is silent.
2. Daisy is afraid of her shadow, or so it seems at times. Even a light brush against your leg when she isn't expecting it will make her jump and run. Perhaps this is a result of someone hurting her in the past or of her hard time when she was lost or had been turned out by her previous owners.
3. Daisy bathes easily. She isn't thrilled, but she stands still and lets you pour the water over her whole body and is so patient while you rub the soap in and rinse and again. She just looks at you and perhaps gently licks your nose.
4. Daisy is also perfectly quiet and still when her nails are clipped and when she has a hair cut. She is even still when her nails are filed with a dremel tool. The groomers continue to comment on this... very unusual for a cocker spaniel.
5. Daisy has never met a dog she doesn't like. OK, so she is a bit intimidated and scared of Nyssa's dog Zoey; but only because Zoey is a bit bossy and likes to be the alpha dog and is younger and better designed for running. Zoey runs... over Daisy... this scares Daisy.
6. Daisy never met a cat she doesn't like. She loves to romp with Mr. Rhett and he is tolerant of her. Miss Willow, the big ragdoll, is not friendly and she hisses at Daisy.... so, Daisy is afraid of her. At Christmas, Daisy was in heaven. Nyssa's cat Fatness, a long haired marmalade and white fellow, decided that Daisy was his special friend. He walked right up to her and started rubbing his head under her chin and his body on her side, winding round and round as cats do. Daisy was rendered ... well, she seemed stunned. No cat had wanted her company like this.
7. Daisy never met a child she didn't like. Whenever a child comes toward her, she simply sits... remains quiet and lets them stroke her head or her ears. Her little stubby tail wags. She doesn't lick or overwhelm them and when they are finished she simply gets up and walks away.
8. The squirrels aren't afraid of Daisy. At least this new crew of squirrels isn't. When we first rescued her, she did love to chase the squirrels and this activity was the primary time she barked. Then she slowly figured out that she would never catch them, so she simply stopped chasing squirrels. Now, they have grown to know this... at least some of them. This week, I let her out and two squirrels were at the bird feeder. One ran... she ignored him. The other, just sat there under the feeder chomping on some dropped sunflower seed. Daisy was nosing around and getting closer to the squirrel all the time. Finally, when only three feet away, she saw him... and that tiny spark of excitement returned and she gave chase. The squirrel was caught off guard and dashed across the yard to safety, but not by much. Daisy looked invigorated for a few minutes but quickly found a place for a nap.
9. Daisy doesn't jump up on people. She does stand up and put her head in my mom's lap at suppertime... but this is only because Mom has surreptitiously fed her from her plate and Daisy is always looking for something besides dog food.
10. Daisy loves older people. She is calm and will sit next to them and put her head on their shoulder and lean her warm body into theirs. When Mom was in the nursing rehab facility after her last hip replacement, Daisy went to see her. They allowed dogs to visit and she sat quietly on the bed and gave Mom her full attention. On the way in we met a lady in a wheel chair and Daisy saw her reach her hand out to pet her, so she sat down next to her. She seems to know when an elderly person needs her company. My brother thinks she must have been the companion to an elderly lady with a cat.
11. Daisy loves to cuddle. She takes up over half of a queen size bed when she wants to, but in the morning she puts her head on my arm and snuggles in close. Who could resist such affection?
12. Daisy has NEVER growled or bared her teeth.... EVER. She is definitely NOT a watch dog.
13. Daisy is a rescue dog... saved from a gassing shelter in South Carolina thirty minutes before being killed... transported to Richmond, Virginia because the cocker rescue in South Carolina was full... found to have barbed wire embedded in her fur when first groomed...she has EVERY reason to be mistrustful, aggressive and hard to handle. But she is quiet and loving and only asks for a little food, a cool place to rest and the pleasure of your company. Who could resist those eyes?

Beware of dog? No, not with these eyes! (Note the long eyelashes!)

(end of post)

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Carmi's Theme: Signs of the Time
Friday's Ark