Hertzler’s Outpost

Squirrel in our Patio

Annie came and woke Cathy up this morning, terribly concerned about something. She led Cathy to the back door where Cathy discovered this squirrel inside our screened patio. It must have found its way through the tear in the screen that Annie created the last time she bolted out the back door after the squirrel. How ironic.

Anyway, the squirrel was in no hurry to leave but instead took a nap above the screen doorway. Cathy was amused and enjoyed having a new friend for the day. Annie was not amused.

I can’t recall a time when we’ve been in our house without Annie. The last few days have been enlightening for us. We used to think we had Annie pretty well trained, but now we see it was us who was trained.

We first noticed it when Andrew started intentionally hitting the lamp pull-chain ball against the lamp rod. The other three of us (who live here) immediately urged Andrew to stop before Annie went crazy barking. Then we realized she wasn’t there to bark and there really wasn’t any reason not to do this. Then Cathy got the tin foil out and braced herself for the explosion of canine insanity as Annie lunged at the foil. And then she realized that wouldn’t happen either. I bumped into the dishwasher, causing the latch to snap shut, and I prepared for Annie’s kitchen patrol to come shake me down for the infraction. That didn’t happen either.

And we have begun to see how miserably trapped we are in our own home. We can now run the vacuum cleaner, open the back blinds in the afternoon and let the sun reflections in, get CD’s out of their case, use tinfoil, put away reflective pot lids, close the dishwasher, turn the lamps on and off and use flashlights in the house - all without getting barked at for five minutes.

Those are just the things we’ve realized in the last two days. Who knows what the next few days will reveal?

In this case, parting has not been sweet sorrow at all, only sweet.

Thank you for watching her, Kelloggs!

When everyone arrived last night, Fondue’s first order of business was doing business in the grass. When she finished we let Annie out to meet her new puppy cousin. They dog-sniffed each other for about 15 seconds, then Annie attacked Fondue and didn’t let up until we grabbed her. She left for the Kelloggs five minutes later. Once she returns we’re considering military academy for her.

Sandhill Cranes In Our Backyard

These two adult sandhill cranes (red caps) picked off a helpless baby snake from our yard this morning for their baby crane. From the picture you can see why these birds exist in plentiful numbers here in Central Florida. They aren’t intimidated by suburbia in the least, let alone a snake.

Everyone hates snakes which makes me like them more. I had one as a pet when I was a kid, so they have my sympathy and protection. The cranes have just lost both. (Yes, I know it’s the natural order of things. I’m just trying to keep the tabloid interesting here.)

I took two things out the back door when I took this picture; my camera and the dog. Rather than fly away like most backyard animals, they turned and gave me and the dog the once-over. Annie was even barking at them, but they didn’t flinch. I suppose if I had a beak like theirs I would think it might be fun sport to jab it into a yappy little dog like Annie. Especially after devouring a snake.

Muffin & Annie

Annie stayed with her best friend, Muffin, while we were in St. Louis last week, and now Muffin came to live with us for a few days while her parents are away. While she is here, she’s teaching Annie some new tricks.

At Muffin’s house all the good stuff is out of reach of the dogs, but at our house it’s just above dog-nose level. This is where Muffin has the advantage because she is taller than Annie and can locate the canister with the doggie treats. Annie never knew this before today, but Muffin showed her all about it.

First you locate the canister then knock it off the shelf with your nose. This causes the lid to fall off, and then the rest is easy.

When Cathy came back home she said dog treat wrappers were spread around the house and hardly a milk bone was left. Annie slinked off into her corner with a guilty look on her face, but Muffin couldn’t have been happier. Any place that puts the cookies on the lower shelf is all right in her book!

Annie Trying To Avoid The Vet

Living with a dog is not unlike living with a perpetual 2 year old. They’re not very sophisticated, but they do learn.

Annie loves going for car rides. We’re not exactly sure why, but we think it has something to do with the fact that if she is in the car she is not getting left behind for several days. Often the car rides end up at the vet, but that doesn’t occur to her when she gets in. It used to be she never realized she was at the vet until she smelled the entrance, but now she recognizes things a little sooner - as we drive into the vet’s parking lot.

This is a picture of Annie cowering in the back of the van behind the seats shortly after arriving at the vet’s last week for her cone. She has another vet trip scheduled tomorrow morning to get her stitches out. I wonder how long it will be before she decides it’s safer not getting into the car in the first place.

Annie’s Cone

Just when we thought life with Annie couldn’t get any nuttier, she takes it one step further.

Last week Annie had a tumor on her leg removed. She chewed out the stitches, so this morning the vet fitted her with a cone so she can’t chew on her leg anymore! It’s funny watching her bump into corners. She’s not quite sure what to make of it yet.

Annie’s New Harness

While I accept grace from God rather than karma, I am happy to see the animal world in my house get a little karma. That is, what comes around goes around. Or rather, what you send around comes back around to you.

Annie, as you know from previous posts, is terribly neurotic. This is entertaining, but what you may not know is how much she barks. The list of things which send her off barking grows every day, and some days it drives all of use crazy. About five days ago this began to change.

One night she couldn’t stop coughing, and this continued into the morning. It subsided for a couple days but resumed later until we took her to the vet. The vet says she has a collapsing trachea, something common in small dogs as they age. When Annie gets excited, like when she’s barking, she starts coughing and gagging. It is harmless, if not a bit annoying, but we couldn’t have come up with a more effective remedy for the barking! The vet also recommended a harness rather than a collar; less pressure on her throat when she tries chasing the neighborhood cat or the egrets in the backyard.

This made things even funnier. She won’t hardly walk with this harness on. I’m not sure if she’s embarrassed or confused, but it slows her down to almost a standstill. We know there is nothing wrong with her, so this has provided a new level of entertainment.

In a week or two this will probably all be past, but it has been a gratifying relief from the barking while it lasts.

[Update 7 Dec: Yep. It wasn't a collapsing trachea after all. Probably just kennel cough. The barking has resumed to previous levels, but Annie is back to her old self again.]

Annie finally hit her limit with Cat. In the last 24 hours she has attacked the cat three times, each time coming out the winner. Surprisingly the cat doesn’t seem too bothered. She just finds a place to lie above Annie’s reach.

This surprised all of us. We thought the cat had Annie under complete control, but when the brawls begin the cat turns and runs. Like any dog, a cat in full retreat transforms Annie into a crazed cat-killing lunatic until we jump in and calm her down.

It would be really cool to get this on video, but the skirmishes happen suddenly and end as quickly as they begin.

Annie’s New Nemesis, Cat

Last week when the cold weather hit, the local stray cat which Audrey has been feeding kicked the “Let-Your- Neighborhood-Cat- In” campaign up to the next level. With big saucer eyes she peered in our back door and meowed for all she was worth. It worked.

Cat immediately endeared herself to all the right people. Right away she curled up on the couch with Andrew who had been wanting a pet which preferred him. Since Audrey is allergic to cats, the mere presence of a cat being cute in the house was enough to please her. And Cathy’s world was far better knowing she had reduced feline suffering in the world. My warnings about fleas, dirt, scratched up furniture, and the alienation of Annie fell on deaf ears.

Before I knew it the question had become, “Can she spend the night in Andrew’s room?” We completely skipped the “Can Cat come in the house and stay for a couple hours?” stage.

Furthermore, Cat clearly established her authority over Annie. A few swift claw swipes to the curious, but stupid, dog face made this point. An extra loud hiss and a show of sharp little cat teeth made the point emphatically. Poor Annie isn’t sure what to do, so she generally goes about business as though the cat doesn’t exist. It appears to be a coping mechanism.

As I write, Andrew is searching for Cat so he can put her out and go to bed. I think Cat knows this and is hiding so she can stay inside all night. I’m sure the whole thing is part of her plan to live inside permanently.

I have a bad feeling about all of this.

Freaky Weird Dog

When I take Annie out for her morning walk anytime before 6:30 am, we can be sure to run into Freaky Weird Dog. Or, rather, he is sure to run into us.

He’s a sweet dog, but his social manners are missing. He gets his nose all over Annie, which she hates, and he constantly side-swipes her from behind, which she also hates. When Annie sees FWD, she turns and goes the other direction. Only FWD always follows, so it gets really frustrating.

Yesterday morning I fixed the problem. In my best Hungarian I said, “Menj haza!” (Go home!)

And he did! He walked the entire length of the street, without stopping, all the way back to his gate. And it worked again this morning.

I am definitely ready for the Springfield Police Department!

Langewood Pioneers

There is a photo album here with pictures from the beginning of Langewood. This one stood out from the others. Who camps in a vest and tie?

Quote of the day:
“Just think, a hundred years ago all this was black and white.” - Andrew

Today Annie discovered the lake and drank about half of it. Click on the photo for a video of the process.

Annie hunting chipmunks

Annie is a Miniture Pincher - Yorkshire Terrier mix, bred to hunt rats. Here at Langewood the abundance of chipmunks provides her ample opportunity to fulfill her purpose in life. Only she’s a city dog and hasn’t developed her hunting skills.

This morning while she was hot on the scent of one of the chipmunks that live near the cabin she had an embarrassing encounter with her quarry. While her head was down, one darted right past her within six inches of her nose. She didn’t realize what happened until it was out of range, and it happened so fast it surprised her and made her jump back. It was very funny. Rather than discouraging her, it motivated her for the next two hours. In fact every minute she has spent outside she has spent hunting chipmunks. She is a happy dog.

For the last several months, Annie has had an unusual attraction to our back yard. We put her out on the leash, and she stays out happily for long stretches. We began to wonder about her since she normally doesn’t like being out so long, and today we found out why.

I left the back door cracked open for just a minute, and Annie quickly sneaked out. Soon I heard our neighbor talking to Annie from inside her house. I arrived at her back door to see Annie convulsively inhaling their cat’s food while their cat, Bili, stood by, helplessly watching. I wasn’t sure if she was eating it or snorting it. The result was the same. She trembled from the rush of all that forbidden food through her mouth in such a short time.

It was then I realized Annie has a problem. She is addicted to cat food.

Annie sorts her food

This may be signs of developing higher intelligence in our dog or simply another neurosis. Last night Annie began sorting her food into piles, visible in this picture. Her dog food has a mix of different flavored pieces, and we knew she liked some and left the others. Now she’s taken this to a new level, sorting the pieces into piles; like and don’t like.

While this might look like another cute doggie picture, it’s really Annie nearly having a nervous breakdown. I was far too encroached into her territory, and I was shining the flash focus light in her face. She didn’t know whether to chase the light or chase me out of her corner, so she tried doing both and kept hitting the camera with her nose.

new socks
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

Before dinner tonight I modeled my new socks. I got them a couple days ago at Tesco on sale; 5 pairs for 200 Forint (about 1 US Dollar). Don’t confuse them with executive socks, they are not. Rather, they are low-cut dark athletic socks, de rigueur for the European male.

Not only does this mark a transition for me toward assimilation into the local culture, but it marks a reduction on the list of things “I’ll never do.” While I’m not exactly mowing the lawn in these socks (Line #5 on The List: “Never mow the lawn in black executive socks”), it’s close enough that I’ve had to scratch that taboo from the list.

“Oh NO!” was Cathy’s reaction when I came to the dinner table.

“DAAAD” was Andrew’s. (Said with the sad resignation of a Jr. Higher who must reconcile himself to the possibility that DAAAD might enter his world in such attire).

But I was vindicated by Audrey.

“What’s wrong with sandals?” was her honest assessment. (Ok, Audrey. You can take the car out anytime when you’re old enough to drive. Maybe even before then.)

Well, this was an occasion that needed a photo.

That’s when Annie got involved. Once she saw the camera, I couldn’t keep her away. I ruined her to it a few weeks ago when I used it to run her around the back yard chasing the flash-focus light. Now whenever she sees the camera she starts looking for the light!

Snow Annie
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

More snow today meant Annie was ready to play again. I managed to get it on video if you’re interested. Click the photo or click here to see it.

Dead Snowman
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

Inspired by their favorite cartoon character, Calvin, Andrew and Audrey created some snow horror scenes in the backyard tonight.

Equally as fun was Annie. I took a light outside (the one from my camera’s focus-assist) and ran her around the yard in circles. I got tired of it before she did.

Annie the snow dog
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

Tonight we took Annie out for another snow chase. She was only getting warmed up after five minutes, but we wanted to go sledding and needed to take her back in. We literally had to drag her back, and she immediately began imploring us to take her back outside again.

Walking Annie
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

Last night a stray dog got into our trash and dragged out all the turkey leg bones into the driveway and street. We cleaned up the mess and then took Annie out for her nightly walk. Once Annie discovered the smell and scraps of turkey littered around she became quite excited. She would hardly do her duty she was so distracted.

We finally got her done and back inside, but she was anything but done in her own mind. No, she urgently needed to go back outside and get more of those turkey bits!

All night she gave us the most empassioned pleas to go back outside. No matter how much we ignored her, she begged us to take her back outside. I wish I had recorded a video of her performance. It was worth an Oscar.

This alley is where I normally walk her, just around the corner from our house.

Annie’s light spot
Originally uploaded by squarejer.

Rob asked me how our dog was so neurotic. Actually he and Patricia had kept our dog for a few days before, and he KNEW how weird she is. He really asked what new strange things she was doing lately.

As I wrote him a reply I realized how much Annie keeps us entertained.

Generally she has a fixation with light spots and moving water. It began with a laser pointer I brought home once. She wore herself out chasing it and barking at it that first night, and since then she’s decided that anything close is just as much fun.

Moving water? That gets her barking and biting, too. From a hose, the tub, a puddle - just as long as it moves. Frozen water (snow, slush)? Yep. Moving water in a dishwasher? Yep.

But that’s just a small part of it.

You should see her when we let the rabbit run around the kitchen! Whenever the rabbit gets near her food bowl she growls. The rabbit is clueless about what that means, so sometimes the rabbit keeps hopping onto Annie’s little carpet, and it just drives her crazy.

Annie’s latest neurosis is FBSA (Food Bowl Separation Anxiety). If you pick her up from her corner (where the food bowl is) and carry her away, the farther away you get, the more she struggles to get loose and get back to her bowl. By the time you leave the kitchen she is almost impossible to hold! If you get her into the family room, she’ll start whimpering. When you let her go she scrambles as fast as she can back to her bowl.

The corollary to this one is that she will come running, very concerned, from wherever she is if you rattle the food in her bowl. We can tell her to “come here, Annie” until we’re blue in the face - with no results, but as soon as we disturb her bowl she is there in an instant!

The latest light-related annoying habit is connected with the lamp in the family room. It has a pull-chain with a metal ball on the end of it. When we first got the lamp she barked at the light pattern it made on the ceiling. Soon she learned that whenever the pull-chain ball clanked against the lamp rod, the light pattern would appear. So, of course, our highly intelligent dog decided, “Why wait?” She barks whenever she hears the pull-chain ball clank, regardless of whether the light is on or not. We have three of these lamps in the house on three different levels, so you can imagine how busy this keeps her!

This is a picture of her, on top the couch, trying to catch a light reflection on the wall.

If dogs become like their owners, what does that say about us!!???

The Culprit

For the last four years I have run Annie, our dog, on my bike. Since we have lived here in Budapest I only run her with the bike rarely since our street is usually pretty busy at evening “run time.” She normally runs just ahead of me on her leash, and for about 500 meters she can run as fast as I can pedal. Tonight, at full speed, she decided to cut in front of me and then stop. Rather than run over her with the bike I swerved away from her, but this caused me to fall off the bike. The bike went over the top of her, but I fell hard.

Annie was OK. Pretty soon she was ready to start running again and looked at me wondering what my problem was.

I, on the other hand, have two ground-up palms, one ruined pair of pants, one ripped up jacket, and one scraped up knee and elbow. My wonderful wife cleaned me up, so I think I’ll live now, but it will be a long time before Annie runs with the bike again.