Squirrel!

It is definitely fall, with temps dipping into the 40s making for chilly mornings and evenings, leaves changing, and days getting shorter. The only important thing about fall to Ruby, however, is the bushy-tailed creatures that mock her from every window and every corner of the yard. She stalks them. CONSTANTLY.

Squirrel encounters (or near-misses) this week are too numerous to count. Every time the back door is opened for her, Ruby races out and leaps off the deck at the trees. And leaps. And leaps. Roughly every other time there's a squirrel in the yard so she's rewarded regularly for her attempts. This keeps her going, watching, and waiting. She's learned of several great viewing locations. 

The spot in this picture (standing on the back of the couch) is a favorite, and often a perfect view with a small tree just a few feet from the window that the critters use to get on our roof (and chew through our satellite cable but that's another story). She's can't usually SEE the squirrel unless it moves, and this one was particularly stealthy, just hanging on the tree literally right in front of her nose. We told her it was there and she was on point. But as soon as she turned her head, it scurried up and onto the roof and she never saw it.

Another near miss when Ruby was coming home from camp Thursday and saw the squirrel in the front yard before I did. I thought she was going out the window, but I managed to get the car stopped and the back door open in time for her to chase it up a tree. There is one large tree in the front yard, the kind a squirrel can hide in, but can't get to other trees or roofs from. In other words, he has to come down sometime. Ruby camped out at the base of the tree, watching him for several minutes.

I was very proud of my big protective dog, patrolling the grounds, keeping out the critters. Until she got bored waiting, stood up, pulled a piece of bark off the tree and started eating it. With me, Ruby, AND Sophie all at the base of the tree, but with the more threatening of the three of us occupied with a piece of BARK, the squirrel saw his opening and made a break for it, racing down the tree, across the yard, and under the neighbor's fence to safety. By the time the dogs got their wits about them, there was nothing but a squirrel vapor trail and a little poof of dust under the fence. Our little fury invader proceeded to climb the neighbor's tree and heckle the dogs from above for the next few minutes. Pretty sure Ruby still thinks he's up there.

My favorite Ruby story of the week...she went to camp on Thursday, chased the squirrel (above) and then came in only to find out that the Dad had decided it was bath day. Sophie was already clean, and Ruby fell for the oldest trick in the book ("come get a treat!!!") and immediately had a bath. She managed a few laps around the house, and then was shivering cold. I know, she's a sissy. But it was chilly that evening, and since she ATE her kennel bed, she didn't have a place to keep warm. So I got out her hoodie. It did the trick keeping her warm and keeping the wet dog smell out of the couch. By then the activity of the day had set in. And she was too tired to fight it. I guess sleep trumps humiliation.

After her dinner at 5:30pm.

At 7:00 PM.

At 8:30pm (very little change in an hour and a half):

And at 9:30pm when Sophie was playing with the Dad and Ruby was fed up with the noise (make sure you have the sound turned up):

What a mouth on that girl!

In other news, she is now eating only twice a day, but still 6 cups a day. Occasionally she seems to think I've forgotten to feed her before bed, but she's not waking me up in the middle of the night, so I'm calling it good. And not a single potty accident weeks and weeks now. Also, I finally watched Homeward Bound with her. She digs that movie. I mean, who doesn't?? It's a classic. 

We are still sticklers for the 'no dogs on the bed rule.'  Even if we got rid of the queen-size and moved to a king, there wouldn't be room for her. And the bulldog. AND the cat. So the rule stands, but it doesn't keep her from trying. 

Favorite Ruby Picture Of The Week:

Stay classy, girlfriend.