Baby animals are impossible to hold grudges against. Not that Trixie deserves any grudges just yet, but let’s just say she is all puppy and no training. She is grovellingly sweet – unless, of course, she has something and thinks someone is trying to take it away. The sweetness melts and out comes this ferocious little tiger of a dog. Project number one.
She has already decided that this is home. I’m pretty impressed, considering that this was only day three for the little tyke. So for most of today, we were able to let her roam at will, mainly only chaining her up if my uncle drove by – Because he has a yellow lab who is already Trixie’s favorite buddy, and she will follow Sunny to the ends of the earth. But there is very little risk of her wandering too far. She is sociable and friendly, so pretty much where the people are, there she will be.
We have a new rule on the homestead, and that goes something like this: Anything belongs to Trixie. Anything she might be interested in, if it is conceivably within reach, belongs to her. That’s just how things are right now. Project number two.
There is an unfortunate symbiotic relationship between the cats and the dog. Cats kill rodents, dog eats remains. Perhaps if it happens more rapidly in the future, it will be fine, but Trixie found a very dead rabbit today. As in, full grown rabbit at least a week dead. It was putrid, and was apparently very appetizing. She carried it off and refused to give it up. Refer back to “tiger of a dog.” When Dad got it away from her (she already respects him), she tried fishing it out of the trash can. Nasty. The words “drop it” mean absolutely nothing to her. Neither does the word “come.” Projects number three and four.
As I said, she’s all puppy, and she still thinks she is the size of a kitten. Meaning, she still things she is a lap dog. Sitting down on the porch next to her is an invitation to be mauled, in a puppy-rough kind of a way, where teeth get lightly involved with ears and chins and heads. That’s why the putrid rabbit was not an option. Baby, my sister’s dog and the one we had until about 6 months ago, is a reluctant cuddler. Trixie thrives off of cuddling and rough play.
And she is darling. Absolutely darling. And good company. I took a blanket outside this afternoon, and sat on it to do my Bible reading, and she sat with me watching her world go by, and sharing my bag of granola. She finally collapsed in the shade and fell asleep. I think she had a long day.
Beautiful weather and very little wind made for a nice kayaking excursion across the lake. Pennington County sheriff’s deputies were cruising around in a speed boat, checking fishing licenses and looking like they were enjoying their job – I loved seeing that. With all the vitriol directed at our public servants, it was fun seeing them doing something like that. I can’t imagine cruising around in a speed boat is much of a chore! I wanted to flag them down and ask if they would make wakes for us to kayak in, but they got away too fast.
And finally – finally! – we drove home via Rapid City and picked up the newest addition of the Adrian household! Meet Trixie. I think it was love at first sight for all of us, even for Dad, who tends to be a little more reasonable about this kind of thing.
Trixie is a husky-golden retriever mix, or at least that is what we were told – She has all the grovelling sweetness of a golden, and at the age of seven months she still has all of her puppy energy. She was so excited and playful, to the point that she just about mauled each of us this evening, and she thinks she is small enough to curl up in a lap. Trixie already is treating us like “her people,” and she was determined to make herself at home – inside the cabin. That was a big “no”, but she is sleeping in her crate right now, and seems content. 
Needless to say, she was a little freaked out and overwhelmed, but she has the sweetest disposition and already seems to be settling in. The cats and she haven’t yet had a chance to come to a truce, but I’m sure they will in time. The cats had Baby, our sister’s dog, very well trained and it didn’t take long for them to train her. They kept their distance this evening, hungry for attention as usual, but uncertain of the intruder. I felt kind of bad, but they’ll figure it out.
We spent the 45 minutes before dinner playing with Trixie and taking pictures. Of course, we all wanted pictures with our new pup. I can already tell she’ll be a good fit. It has been seven months since we had a dog, and I think we were all very ready to have a ready-made hiking buddy, company when home alone, and just the delight a dog can bring to a household.
Our pets always remind me of the loving, good God that I serve, who created such an amazing world for us to live in, for us to enjoy, for humanity to have dominion over with gentleness and wisdom. God created this world to glorify Himself, and although humanity is the crowning piece of that creation and we all, Believer or not, bear the mark of our God, I do believe He takes delight in all of His creatures, even those not made in His likeness.
A passel of butterflies was flittering around the little cove, and finally obliged by posing for a picture. They weren’t bothered by the heat! What color and life in such a tiny creature. 
We’d been there an hour when the sky clouded over a bit and the temperatures cooled – It looked like a storm was brewing, but other than a small rumble of thunder, nothing materialized.
Song Dog Journal 