Happy Birthday, Kiwi

Kiwi is one year old today. Bill went to the store last night to buy her a special box of doggie biscuits. I took her birthday picture this morning, but technical difficulties prevented me from posting it.

I'll also gave her a new Folgers coffee can to add to her herd, and if it works out, I might just take her out to Grouse Creek, where she was born, to see her mother Sam. Robin told me to bring her by sometime to herd the ducks, so what better day than her birthday.

In less than a year's time, Kiwi has won over a huge herd of hearts among family, friends and lots of strangers around town. The folks at Co-Op Farm Store love to see her trot through the door, and she loves to see them. She knows they'll stop what they're doing, give her a big hug and hand over a treat or two. And, of course, there are all the customers whose faces light up when they meet her in the aisles.

Kiwi loves people. Her exuberance gets a bit much at times as her body wiggles and her nose and tongue go into action. Kiwi's a bit like me in the people circles. She loves to greet everyone along her way. Instead of words, the folks along the way get French kisses when they least expect them. I try not to do that when greeting people, so we're a little different in that respect.

I still can't figure out how dogs know about banks and biscuits. Kiwi had visited only one bank and received just one doggie biscuit one day when we were driving my mother around on her errands. Mother needed to drop off deposits at two different banks. After getting her doggie biscuit at the first bank, Kiwi went back to her "round-town" nap as we made other stops.

Later, when we pulled into Bank of America, that little pup was wide awake and waiting. She'd never even seen the Bank of America before, but her doggie sense told her that another biscuit lay waiting inside that window. I've often thought that if banks wanted to do some good advertising, they should use dogs like Kiwi to advertise their superior biscuits.

I can't imagine life without Kiwi. I know Bill feels exactly the same as do the kids, even though they don't get to see her as often as we do. Now the cats---I think their opinion might vary. Charlie still growls at her as do my mother and sisters' cats. Our Lonesome Love lurks around the house in her midst, but Festus still doesn't mind having his entire head inside her mouth.

Kiwi and Festus hit it off from the get-go. Just like her sense for doggie biscuits, Kiwi knows to play very gently with Festus's head. The two of them even get into some good boxing matches on the love seat. Seems like a strange place for pugilism, but they pound at each other with their paws lovingly.

We feel very fortunate to have our Kiwi, and so does her pal Annie Dog. Annie moped around for a couple of months last year after her longtime friend Ebbie died. She spent most of her time lying in the bunkhouse, getting more and more arthritic. Then, along came the new pup on the block.

After a few initial growls and snarls had established the ground rules, Annie and Kiwi formed a close friendship. Though Kiwi can run circles around her, Annie can still outdo Kiwi with the coffee-can tug. Those Yellow Lab teeth of hers have decimated enough sticks over the years that they could probably pull a car down the driveway.

As we celebrate Kiwi's special day, it seems like she's been with us forever. We hope that continues to be the case. She has brought great joy to us, and we look forward to many more Kiwi adventures.

Who knows---maybe next year we'll even buy her a real sheep for her birthday.