cuddler

It has been thirty below zero all day, and I have the beginnings of a nasty cold. I wavered for awhile after I got home from work this morning, wanting to take the dogs out for a run but finally giving into to the fact that I am in no shape to be outside, much less with the mercury so low. I picked up a tub of sled-dog fat supplement & a fifty pound block of frozen chicken scrap for the dogs at the local mushing store, then slept all afternoon.

The thermometer is reading twenty below now, and it feels warm outside. That is the beautiful thing about these little cold snaps - they make what would otherwise be brutally cold temperatures feel manageable.

Peter, in the mean time, has brought Dottie inside again 'to warm up.' I find that this is happening more and more often. He is on a not-very-subtle campaign to keep her when the other dogs go home. Since she is now too old to race, her owner is looking for a retirement pet-home for her. I'm sure we are not that home for a number of reasons, but her sweet personality has wormed its way into Peter's heart (ok, mine too.) She is a world-class cuddler, and I find the two of them on the couch together any time she is inside. If she were any younger, I'd be jealous.
One of my concerns about keeping her was compatibility with our cat Duncan. The trapper dogs tried to eat him when we introduced them last year, and I decided at that point that loaner sled dogs were not to be trusted with the cat. Period. Peter, however, in ramping up his campaign, introduced the two of them while was at work last week. He documented this for me, and it's a good thing he did because I never would have believed him. It went well, to say the least.

I am still not convinced. We aren't going to be here forever, and finding a place to live with two dogs and a cat is going to be challenging enough. Three dogs will be close to impossible. Dottie has several health problems that will be increasingly expensive to deal with as she gets older. And although she does well in the house while supervised for short periods, we have seen her destructive potential. Total lack of house training is another issue.

Her cuddling contribution, however, is very compelling. I'm certainly not going to protest her place on the couch in the mean time. Especially when it is too cold outside to do anything but bundle up and cuddle the afternoon away.