I’m sure the Christian Patriarchy Enthusiasts will put this down to me being an unmarried female of a certain age, but I think it’s because apartment living and frequent geotripping gave me a whole new appreciation for self-sufficient animals. But either way, it’s true: the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve become enthusiastic about cats and meh about dogs. I mean, I like dogs. They’re okay. Some of them are even awesome. But, in general, I’d rather leave ’em than take ’em.

This attitude has not impressed the dogs who live in this house.

Pipa, the little minature pinscher, talked me in to taking her for a walk once, and now expects me to take her walkies every time I go near the hall closet where her leash is kept. And I have to admit that, aside from picking up poop, healthy walks are rather more fun with a dog in tow.

Then there’s Iris, the German Shepherd who lives downstairs. I am a former German Shepherd owner. Alas, my Shutzhund-trained guard dog got stolen. See, she loved children lots, and when some neighborhood kids liberated her from our backyard, she didn’t protest a bit. She came back once all freshly-washed and with a new collar, so we knew she was being taken care of. Since I was off to college and my dad worked 16-hour days, we put her out where they would claim her again. Point is, I have a soft spot for German Shepherds, especially those skinny, bubbly ones that remind me of my own. And Iris is one of those. She also seems to think I am an interesting person with the best car ever, because while she was being walked by a friend of her owner and I was heading for the post office, she refused to head off on her walk. Instead, she jumped in and asked to go for a ride.

Isn’t that just adorable? I’ll have to ask her owner if she can take a trip with me sometime.

Misha’s not thrilled by any of this. Pipa irritates her, and she wants to murder Iris, just on general principles. But all this annoyance means she rage-eats a lot, so she’s actually gaining weight and looking sassier than ever. And she cuddled with me this morning, so as long as I don’t invite the dogs to live in our room with us, she’ll probably tolerate the situation.

Boo-Boo is finally getting over her mad. She was carrying a bit of a grudge from Saturday, when we stuck her in her daddy’s room after dark rather than letting her mingle with guests. It was useless – she got out afterward, and escaped into the night, refusing to come in as her daddy wants her to after sundown. The garage has a cat door, and she was in there when I went out the next day, so at least she stayed safe and dry. But she was highly upset at us for harshing her mellow in the first place, so she’s given us a bit of the old cold shoulder for a few days. She’s pretty much over it now, though – she’s too sociable to stay mad for long.

It’s a busy household, what with four adults and four animals. And you can expect many more cute pictures in the future. Today, I just wanted to share that super-adorable photo of Iris, and explain why I haven’t written up the next chapter of Escape yet. I’ve been busy having my time monopolized by dogs when I haven’t been listening to N and C rehearse (sax and drum duo, people, they are awesome and hopefully I’ll have some videos for ye soon), unpacking boxes, and trying to figure out how to fit all of my great big cosmic power into an itty-bitty living space. We are, however, going to resume our explorations of Christianist earth science textbooks just as soon as I type up the article for ye.