Sticks and Stones

Cinnamon is growing litterly by leaps and bounds. She has learned how to bark and play both tag and keep-away with Daisy; unfortunately, that madhouse occurs as often in the living room as it does outside. Daisy’s nose has been out of joint since Cinnamon came to live with us, but she’s slowly making her peace with the littlest dog in our house.

Mia? She’s never had her own litter, but she’s a “mama” when it comes to other dogs. Mia is the one who sniffs the appropriate places on Cinnamon to determine whether we need another trip to the potty place, and Mia is right more often than she’s wrong.

Several weeks ago, I had a neighbor earn some spending money by hauling wheelbarrows full of dirt into the area along the fence that Mia digs up. He brought in 10 loads, so I thought we were set; however, Mia has managed to dig two large craters into which she folds herself when the nights are just warm enough, without being too hot, and therein she sleeps the night away. Cinnamon has discovered that there are small rocks throughout the sandy area, rocks that she roots out first with her nose and then with her ferocious digging (note rock in photo). She tosses sand this way and that until the rock is showing, and then she digs it out and brings it into the house, where she plays her own form of ceramic tile soccer. I have to keep picking up the rocks and taking them back outside because that is a slip and fall waiting to happen!

Cinnamon’s other favorite chew toy is a stick, but I try to be quick to take them away as she hauls them into the house. Sticks shred, and her digestive system is not ready to handle wood shards. Yes, I have indeed invested a small fortune in an assortment of chew toys, but just as the younger child likes the empty boxes and wrapping paper at Christmas, rather than the toy inside the wrapped box, Cinnamon likes her sticks and stones.

I’m glad I brought Cinnamon home, even though the timing is not the greatest. I’ve made arrangements for her to stay with my housekeeper while Yucheng attends classes and I'm away from the house. It’ll be a bit of back and forth, but it’s important that Cinnamon knows this is her home, even when I’m not here to play with her and cuddle. Of course, she's still small enough that I could stash her in my shoulder bag and take her with me, but that's not a good idea with the full house already planned for the wedding!