Tiegan & Miles, December 2016

 

Tiegan and Miles are now busy, active two-year-olds. They are so full of energy and enthusiasm for everything. When they are inside and spot a squirrel in the back yard, they immediately run a lap through the house before scratching at the back door. There seems to be a very definite rule that our excited puppies cannot simply go straight to the door but must first run a lap. That gives me time to open the door as they round the corner from the piano room and fling themselves out into the back yard.  

    Our vet and the animal hospital staff knew how devastated we were when we lost Dasa and then Ivan eight months later. They were delighted that we were once again basenji parents. When we went in for Miles’ wellness exam our vet wrote on our paperwork that Miles was a good brave boy and thank you for bringing Tiegan along, they always love seeing her. One of our friends said, what that really meant was “Peggy and Eric have two new dogs; we can add on another wing.” 

     They are little tornadoes who run through our house, leaving chaos and laughter everywhere. Tiegan has efficiently dispatched a record number of pens, tubes of lip balm, shoes laces, and handles on all sorts of tote bags, purses, and lap top cases. She greets me with her front feet in the air, waving and dancing when I come home.

      Miles discovered the hair dryer blows warm air, and thinks it is a wonderful thing indeed. When he hears the hair dryer, he promptly sits with his back to me so I can run it up and down his back and sides. I only do this for a few seconds so I don’t dry out his skin, but he is just blissful and basks in the warmth.

     Both babies are extremely helpful with laundry. They love to grab a sock and race off, knowing I will chase them and trade a treat for the sock. If the laundry room door is open for the teeniest sliver of time, they materialize, both grasping the same piece of clothing, happily pulling on their ends until I save the endangered item.

     They love to kill stuffed animals. Miles is especially skilled at this, and our house often looks as though we’ve had a blizzard in our living room, with fluffies from destuffed animals and the occasional small dog bed festooning the floor, the rugs, the couch, the chairs….

    We had little horse blanket coats made for them because this is the only type Miles does not pull over Tiegan’s head and wave around. He is also much happier about wearing these than regular sweaters. 

    I cross-stitched their names on stockings that we’ve hung from the ceiling with care, so Tiegan and Miles are ready for Santa. They are, of course, both on the Nice list.