This week, Phyllis’ brother Glenn and sister in law Anna, came for a visit! They brought their dog Molly with them! We had a great week visiting, but I think Molly and the Beast had an even better time! Molly is an older dog and a much more reserved dog than Beast. When they first met, Molly growled a little and Beast just kept circling around her! After the introductions, they began to play!
Molly and the Beast loved boxing on the den floor! At least I know Beast did! Beast would come in and immediately charge Molly! Molly would drop back and show her teeth and Beast would dive under her! He would try to lift her up and then he would jump back and shadow box with her! He never actually hit her and she would just sit back and look at him like he had lost his mind! He would do this indefinitely and every now and then, Molly would jump in and knock him around and then run off to another room! After a minute, they’d both come running back in and start all over again! When Molly got tired, she would just lay down and ignore Beast! After trying to get her to box a little more, he would finally give in and lay down and stare at her!
One of the funniest moments came when I gave both Beast and Molly a treat! Molly took her treat and went to a corner to chew! Beast picked his up and dropped it and then played with it! He dropped it and went to Molly’s corner and tried to get hers. She showed her teeth and growled and Beast backed off! Beast did this about ten times! While he was doing it, Molly finished her treat! When she stood up, Beast walked to where she had been and looked for her treat! While he had his back turned, Molly casually walked across the room and picked up Beast’s treat and carried it to another corner! Beast walked back across the room for his treat and looked up at me like, what the heck! Where is my treat? He looked so dejected and wandered around for a minute. When he got close to Molly, she showed her teeth and let out a little growl, and Beast walked off in defeat! When Beast came to me, I had mercy on him and gave him another treat! This time, he went to his corner and enjoyed his treat! Lesson learned…Be happy with what you have or you may lose it!
We spent a day in the Cohutta and at Lake Conasauga! On the way to the lake, we stopped at the roadside falls and let the dogs paly! Of course, Beast jumped right in and ran wild, while Molly was much less sure! She ran and played with Beast, but when he hit the water, she pulled up! After watching him play awhile, Molly finally crossed the creek! She ran back across and decided the water was not for her! She and the Beast ran around and played while we enjoyed the falls!
When we reached the lake, we had it almost to ourselves! We let Beast and Molly run! This time, Molly kept up with the Beast most of the way, except when he stopped to jump in the lake! She would have none of the that! They ran back and forth up and down the trail! At one point, Phyllis and Abby were spread across the trail and Molly was chasing Beast! Beast was about to go between Phyllis and Abby, but at the last minute he made a sharp right turn and bowled Abby over! He clipped her right below the knees and she went down like a sack of potatoes! Molly cut around Abby and kept going after Beast! Abby was a little shocked by the fall, but suffered no injury, so it was okay to laugh! She shook it off and Beast and Molly came back to check on her and then ran off again!
We came back around the lake and let Abby swim, while Beast and Molly kept playing! Of course, Beast had to check out the water! He walked along the underwater wall and then right off the edge! He was a little shocked by the drop, but climbed back up with Molly looking on again like he was crazy! You’d think he would learn, but a little while later, he was walking on the other end of the wall and walked right off again! This time he hopped right out and shook off the water! Then Beast and Molly ran off to play some more!
We had a nice picnic lunch and then let Abby swim some more. After we ate, more people showed up so Glenn and I got the dog’s leashes and let them sit with us! The whole time we had been eating, a very small, very brave squirrel had been circling our table! He would get within a few feet and then run! Molly watched him intently and at one point had him treed right above us! The squirrel screamed for a few minutes and then jumped to another tree! He did this for a long time and every time he got Molly’s attention, she would chase him. While Glenn and I were holding their leashes, we saw the squirrel coming down the tree! This time, both dogs were following him intently with their eyes! When he reached the ground, both dogs tensed and Glenn and I tightened our hold on their leashes! This squirrel was brave or stupid, but it was so funny! He got within about 3 feet of the dogs and they both jumped off their hind legs nearly pulling us off the bench we were sitting on! The squirrel sprinted to the tree, turned, and I could swear I saw him stick his tongue out, before he shot up the tree! The dogs sat back in rejection and then laid down!
When we got back in the car, I opened the driver’s door and Molly jumped right in! I could swear she wanted to drive! If I had thought about it, I would have let Beast jump in my seat like he does every time I get out! He could drive and Molly could operate the gas and breaks! Now, that would be funny! Guess it might be illegal though, so I put the dogs in the back! It was a great day and both dogs slept happily on the way back out of the wilderness!
Molly and the Beast settled in to a wonderful friendship! When Molly left, Beast came out to say goodbye, but the next time Beast came into the den, he looked around everywhere for Molly! I could tell he missed her greatly! It is always hard to say goodbye to new friends, until we meet again!
