Kill goes home

Annie picked up Kill this evening. It's going to be an adjustment for us, not having him around. Annie assured us he can come back when she has to leave for a weekend/two weeks/deployment. We assured her he is welcome anytime.

First, let's catch up. Katie came over while Anna was home so she sat for her Kill shot.

She prefers the one with the kiss in it so that's the one you see here.

Kill brought a squeaky pink elephant with him. He loves to run and squeak. Annie told us tonight he runs around, squeaking, quite a bit at home. She has to put it up at night.

It took a couple of weeks but Janis and Kill united on the bed. Usually, they just bond when it's time to bark at the Great Danes. This shows actual proof they sat together on the bed, next to me, without barking. Of course, Kill was trying to sleep, so that probably helped.

Kill also joined me on a conference call during a work at home day. The usuall arrangement during a day like that has Janis on our bed, with the door closed, and Kill in the office, sleeping on the chair (when he's not running around, squeaking that pink toy, or barking at the Great Danes or other sounds only he hears). At the time of my call, Janis was on the chair so Kill wasn't allowed up there (her rules, not mine). So, he came to me and jumped up on my lap. He tucked his nose down near my elbow, and went to sleep. Typical office worker.

We ended our time with Kill with another bath, and a blanket wash, since he picked up some local fleas. Annie came by around 7:30 PM, we gathered up his toys, leftover food, blanket, leash, and bid him goodbye. Until the next time, buddy; our door is always open!

Catch Up With Kill

We are in our second week with Kill in the house. He is still as active as ever. In anticipation of Anna arriving last Wednesday night, I felt it was time for a bath. Since I was using the sink already, Janis was also subjected to the same. Anth was made part of the deal; when a dog was clean, he was given the job of drying. So, at one point, Anth, Janis and I were in the kitchen behind the child gate. This lead Kill to whine since he was outside the gate, alone. Put him in the kitchen alone, and he whines to get out.

Kill loves to run around outside and roll in stuff. I have not seem him take care of his business out there but Anth assures me he has witnessed it. Usually, Kill is just out to enjoy the yard and bark at the Great Danes next door. As mentioned earlier, he is a very active dog. I tried to get him in a video and he froze by the fan, until I opened the door. He moved outside at that point, then dashed over to the fence when he saw one of the Danes.

I am hoping to catch a shot of all of us with him. I have already posted Matt and me with Kill, and now have Anna and Anth.

One shot of Anth looks normal but the second one is rather creepy. First, it's Kill's flash eyes; second, it's the light coming out of (or shining into) the top of Anth's head.
I keep forgetting to get a shot of Katie with Kill so that will have to wait for the next post. Annie, of course, needs a picture in this blog but that will need to wait until she picks him up.

I came home from dropping Anna off at the art museum and found Kill dragging a bath towel. I thought he got it caught on his license tag ring when he was burrowing (as he loves to do). But, when I finally dropped everything I was carrying and felt around his collar, I found that he had managed to slip his head between the main part of the towel and a string that had separated. Anth told me it was the towel that is usually on the downstairs couch so not only was Kill caught, he had to drag that up the stairs! Too bad the mere application of a towel to one's neck does not bestow the super power of flying!
To add to his embarrassment, I forgot to take a picture of him when I got home so had to re-enact the situation when Matt got home (you can see Matt's boots in the picture).

Kill is probably grateful that my knee hurts this week; he can lay down on the heating pad for a warm rest.

I also fell victim to his chewing. Annie did mention he has chewed on her shoes; he found my Birkenstocks (which I use for slippers) under the bed and had a snack. I hope he just chews and doesn't swallow! So far, no sickness. All my shoes and slippers have been put in the closet and everyone else has been warned. He has also chewed on newspaper and a paper napkin; again, just chewed, not ingestion. I am very lucky he either took care of my slippers before I went to yard sales; or, he is not interested in chewing on my $10 Chanel purse of my $2 Burberry purse I found at one sale.

Kill is in the House

We have a doggie boarder! Killian ("Kill") is staying with us for a couple of weeks while his owner, Annie, is doing her two-week service for the country. We are just thrilled! We had a practice visit about a month or so ago; he stayed overnight while Annie was visiting our daughter, Katie. During that visit, he learned how to bark; mostly, having conversations with our chihuhua, Janis. Annie told us later she had never heard Kill bark before.

He is so active! I thought he was in the sunroom one day, while I was standing in the dining area. I turned around, and he was right behind me. I don't know how he moves so fast and so silently. He is like a liquid dog. He is also very excitable; when he wags his tail, I think his rear end is going to fly off. I laugh when I see him from behind and he has lifted his ears while checking something out. He looks like origami dog, with his ears up and folded forward.

I am having a very hard time getting a clear picture of him. He moves around so much. I took a series of him on the bed, hoping to get him to sit still for a portrait. I don't want it to look like I'm pinning him down but it appears I am (Annie, I'm not!).

We put a child gate across the kitchen so Kill would be safe while we are at work. Safe from our cats. I don't want Mercedes to scratch his eye like he did to Janis! Kill just wants to have fun - with Bonnie & Janis and with Delta & Mercedes. Bonnie just acts like he doesn't exist (just don't eat her food). Janis would rather he just leave, stay off "her" bed, stay away from "her" mom. The cats just hiss at him if he gets too close. I think, though, the longer he stays, the more accustomed all the pets are becoming to him.

Janis and Kill had a bonding moment yesterday. Kill came outside first and saw the Great Dane next door. That Dane is so tall but Kill just ran up and down the fence, barking at it! The Dane looks through the chain link fence at Kill, and starts to run up and down his side. Janis then came outside and did the same thing, running up and down and barking. One of these days, that Dane is going to realize he can probably jump over the fence!

This is a great shot I got of Matt and Kill in the backyard. They are sitting on Anna's bench, enjoying the sun. Well, Kill is enjoying looking at the squirrel across the yard, with his origami ears.

We're trying not to overfeed him. We don't want to return him to Annie with extra poundage. He is very trusting, though; he's used to eating by himself with no competition from other pets. He tends to check out his food and then wander away. When he's ready to eat, the other dogs have helped himself. As the days pass, he is learning to eat when the bowl is set down and not leave it alone. He enjoys his dessert treats (doggie bones) with the other dogs. I did catch him checking out the cat dish for leftovers.

Kill is a bit of an early riser, something we never do. He is a great watchdog: Matt said that, one night, he barked at the cat entering the living room, at a pet coming in the pet door, at Anth coming up to the kitchen in the middle of the night, at the paper hitting the step outside. He's a better watchdog than any of ours! He chooses where he wants to sleep: with me or out in the living room or down in the family room. But, when he needs to, he does sleep!