Patricia Stoltey

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Stoltey Family Critter Updates

October 17, 2017 By: Patricia

Looks like all the Painted Lady butterflies have moved on. We’re still getting visits from those cute pygmy nuthatches though. Boxelder bugs and lady bugs. Lots of lady bugs. And the squirrels. Oh, my, they’re so busy. I bought another squirrel-proof bird feeder for regular seed but would have to have a squirrel-proof finch feeder made special…kind of pricey. The poor finches can’t ever get to their own feeder because there’s always a squirrel wrapped around it, apparently sucking out one tiny seed at a time. Hopefully the finches will find enough small seed in the other feeders to make them happy.

The house critters are as entertaining as ever. Katie Cat apparently likes grocery sacks as much as she likes boxes. I barely had this one emptied before she jumped up on the counter, pranced her way past the sink, and climbed inside.

 

Sassy Dog has a new haircut. She’s a Scottish Terrier and when we first brought her home, she still had the skirt, lots of hair on her legs and feet, and lots of facial hair. Not the full classic show dog cut, but still a lot of hair. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t let me brush her unless I insisted, and then it was clear the brushing hurt. As a result, she ended up with some matting, making it even tougher to get her brushed or combed out.

So off we went to the groomer to make Sassy more comfortable. Here’s what she used to look like with all the hair. Fluffy!

And here’s Sassy with her new spiffy haircut. The groomer predicted she would be more frisky and lots more likely to accept brushing and combing if she was kept trimmed up. He was right.

It’s hard to tell from this  picture, but she still has her beard although she’s well-trimmed around the face. The annoying eyebrows will be kept trimmed so she can see. Once I realized what a difference this cut would make, I began to feel sorry for the show dogs whose owners must sacrifice comfort for “beauty.”

If you have house critters, what kind are they? Do you consider yourself more of a dog person, a cat person, a gila monster person, or some other choice (or non-choice)? If you have pets, do you dress them up for Halloween?

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Category: Photography, The Writing Life Tag: Katie Cat, Katie in the Bag, Painted Lady butterflies, pygmy nuthatch, Sassy, Sassy Dog and Katie Cat, Scottish Terrier haircut

Comments

  1. Donna Volkenannt says

    October 19, 2017 at 6:09 pm

    Katie Cat and Sassy are so cute.
    I’m definitely a dog person. We have an old black Lab, who has more gray on his face than black now. We’ve had cats in the past, but not now.
    I don’t dress up our dog for Halloween, although our grandchildren have done that in the past. He does have a set of costume antlers that the grandkiddos put on him around Christmas.

    • Patricia says

      October 20, 2017 at 6:55 am

      Hi Donna! Katie and Sassy say thanks and hope you’re doing well.

      I’m ridiculously tempted to dress Sassy up in something fun. She’s fine with wearing a harness so the hard part would be whatever goes on her head. If I do it and am successful, I’ll post a photo.

  2. L. Diane Wolfe says

    October 18, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    We had a Cockapoo and we’d have her shaved, too. Although it made her look like too much poodle.
    Our two cats are growing like weed. Little kittens no more.

    • Patricia says

      October 18, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      Kittens and puppies do not stay kittens and puppies long enough, that’s for sure.

      My husband thinks we should let Sassy’s coat grow out more, but Sassy and I like the short look. I may have the groomer keep it that way.

  3. Madeline mora-summonte says

    October 18, 2017 at 5:48 am

    Sassy looks much more comfortable with that haircut. Even from that end. 🙂

    We don’t dress the tortoises up for Halloween although every year I’m sort of tempted. 😮

    • Patricia says

      October 18, 2017 at 6:51 am

      I’m trying to imagine what kind of costume would work for a tortoise. That could be a challenge, Madeline.

      As for that view of Sassy, she’s very camera shy. I have a hard time getting her to pose for a head shot.

  4. Alex J. Cavanaugh says

    October 17, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    I bet that does make her easier to brush!
    Squirrels are persistent, aren’t they?

    • Patricia says

      October 17, 2017 at 6:12 pm

      Too persistent. And there’s not much you can do about it. The bird feed store says they do have suet cakes that contain peppers the squirrels won’t eat, but that doesn’t solve the finch feeder problem.

  5. Margot Kinberg says

    October 17, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Oh, Sassy looks great, Pat! We once had a Tibetan Terrier mix that used to need that sort of grooming, too. When we first adopted her, she was all matted through, and we had to give her a complete shave to even start brushing her fur. Now, both our dogs are shorthaired, so they shed, but don’t need as much brushing out. I think you were wise to handle Sassy’s coat like that. And Katie looks adorable in that grocery sack! Little kids can be like that, too; sometimes they like boxes and bags and ‘forts’ more than they like the toys that come in them!

    • Patricia says

      October 17, 2017 at 11:13 am

      Ah, yes, the kids who passed over their toys so they could empty the bottom cupboards and play with the pots and pans. I remember it well.

Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

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