Tag: Twiggy

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste at Play

~ John W. Howell ~ 119 Comments

“The panther spots the unsuspecting puma in the valley.”

“The puma senses a lurking presence.”

“The panther goes for the throat.”

“The puma wards off the attack.”

“The panther finds herself in a bit of trouble.”

“The puma gives the panther a chance to surrender.”

“The panther breaks the hold and parries with a jaw thrust.”

“The puma avoids the razor-sharp teeth.”

“The panther tries for an upper leg grip.”

“The puma shakes the grip off.”

“Well, that was fun, Twiggy. I say it is a draw.”

“It is so good to see you back to near normal.”

“I have to say it feels better, and I’m happier off the medicine.”

“You still have to take it easy but are recovered.”

“What now?”

“I hear the call of a nap.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Tempeste Back From Surgery

~ John W. Howell ~ 118 Comments

“What was the surgery for this time?”

“Tempest had an elongated soft palate that, if not taken care of, would cause problems later. She will be able to breathe better and not have issues with gagging later in life.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Yes. She is a little sleepy from the anesthesia.”

“Come on, Dad. Give it to me straight. She doesn’t look okay.”

“This is perfectly normal. Her body needs to rest, and traces of the anesthesia cause her to be sleepy.”

“I guess I’ve never seen her so still. When can she play?”

“Her recovery time is going to be at least three days. Playing will be based on how she feels after that.”

“Three days? How are we going to keep her quiet for three days?”

“For one, you can help by not engaging in any incidences of ruckus.”

“I can do that. You must know, though, that she’s the one who usually starts it.”

“I do know that, but you’ll be a big sister and not engage even if she tries.”

“Okay, I will do my best.”

“That’s all we can ask.”

“I must admit I like her as an awake panther better.”

“It won’t be long, Twiggy. She’ll be attacking you before you know it.”

“Don’t tell her, Dad, but I hope you’re right.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste Expect a Visitor

~ John W. Howell ~ 93 Comments

“So Twiggy, what makes you think someone’s coming?”

“I heard Mom mention a delivery.”

“FedEx or what?”

“Hmm. I think she said UPS. Maybe I’ll ask her.”

“If you ask, she’ll be on to us. We might be put in the no barking place.”

“Good thinking. I would hate to miss the opportunity.”

“I know. You taught me that barking UPS to St Louis is one of life’s pleasures.”

“The greatest is when UPS, FedEx, and Amazon all show up.”

I don’t think I have ever seen that.”

“No, but trust me. It will happen.”

“Are you sure you heard Mom correctly?”

“Well, yeah. I was standing by the sink, and she was looking at her phone.”

“Looking at her phone? You said she mentioned a delivery.”

“When she looks at her phone, it is usually a delivery on the way.”

“So you never heard her say ‘delivery.'”

“Give me strength. It doesn’t matter if she said it or not. A phone look is a delivery.”

“What about a text or something else?”

“Do you want to bark? Yes or no? If you do, you have to have faith.”

“Okay, I have faith.”

“Good. Stand by for a good bark, then.”

 

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste and The Sofa.

~ John W. Howell ~ 91 Comments

“What are you doing down there?”

“Thinking of which toy to play with.”

“I would get Mr. Froggy.”

“I was thinking of Fishie.”

“Yeah, he’s a good choice, but Froggie is so much softer.”

“That is true. Do you want to play too?”

“No, you go ahead. Choose what you want.”

“Of course, there is Peeps, as well.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I just don’t feel it right now.”

“So you are back to the sofa?”

“Yeah. I think a little nap is in order.”

“Okay, but given the space here, I think you can spread out.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Seems nice right here.”

“You are forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m here and was here first.”

“That has not missed my attention.”

“So you can’t find a spot of your own?”

“Not on as nice as this.”

“You want my spot?”

“No, you can have your spot. I’ll just join you there.”

“Sorry, sis, but I am not in the mood for sharing nap spaces.”

“Gee, why not?”

“Well,  it is hot outside, and too close makes me sweat.”

“I get that. Where are you going?”

“To find a place that is 99% Tempest free.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Tempeste Tries Twiggy’s Patience

~ John W. Howell ~ 97 Comments

“Do you see you are pulling the covers off the couch?”

“Yeah. It is so much fun, too.”

“I wish I could tell you the consequences, but you’ll find out yourself.”

“Oh, please? What harm does burrowing under the couch covers do?”

“Well, if you have dirty paws, it gets on the couch and not the cover.”

“I never have dirty paws. Besides, I hear all this stuff is like iron.”

“What’s like iron?”

“Oh, Hi, dad. We were just talking about how durable the couch is.”

“You are going to get a taste of durable on your butt if you don’t stop messing with these covers.”

“I tried to tell her, Dad.”

“Not sure I can get this stuff back the way it was, but I’ll try.”

“Dad. Give us a minute, and we’ll figure this out.”

“Twiggy, I can’t get this cover to co-operate.”

“This mess is the moral equivalent of the Titanic. I need to move.”

“Don’t leave me. I think I almost have it.”

“I see they are loading the last lifeboat. Bon Voyage, Tempeste.”

“What’s going to happen?”

“I think I hear Mom coming, so you may have to explain to her on your own.”

“Do you think she’ll be mad?”

“No more so than the captain of the Titanic.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

“Yeah. See ya.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Tempeste Shows Twiggy Agility

~ John W. Howell ~ 126 Comments

“Hey, Twiggy. I’ve been to an agility class. You want to see what I learned?”

“I would like that. I’ve never been.”

“Okay, so this thing is called a tire. I don’t know why, but it is.”

“So what do you do with it?”

“The idea is to jump through it.”

“Wow. You did that nicely.”

“They raise it up, so jumping through gets harder. Right now, it is perfect.”

“Are there other things to jump?”

“Oh yeah. There is a crossbar, and they also have these sticks you have to weave through. My favorite is the tunnel.”

“Sounds like work. I’ll meet you in the yard. The sun isn’t on the turf yet, so we can play.

“The panther sees movement in the tall grass.”

“The puma stays downwind and is ready to spring a trap.”

“The panther slowly stalks its prey. The sight of the puma’s pointy ears makes an easy target.”

“The puma regulates breathing to minimize movement .”

“The panther makes contact and wishes the puma a good day.”

“The puma returns the greeting and decides to make a confrontation some other day.

“The panther executes a sneak attack.”

“The puma readies razor-sharp teeth for a bite on the panther’s neck.”

“Have you ever noticed how my shadow looks like Batman?”

“Another score for attention deficit on the panther side.

 

Thursday – A Little Personal – Tempeste and Twiggy Housebound

~ John W. Howell ~ 107 Comments

“Hey, Twiggy. Want to go outside and ruckus?”

“That sounds like fun. Let’s do it.”

“I think we should start with a game of Panther and Puma.”

“Always fun, Little One.”

“Mom, we need to go out and play.”

“Unless it’s an emergency. It’s too hot. It is 105°F (4o.5°C) out there”

“What do you think? Should we fake an emergency?”

“When you do that, you may be ignored when a real emergency comes up.”

“I’m dying to get outside and play. What do we do?”

“We can still play inside. We just can’t run around as much.”

“How about we switch roles. You be the panther, and I’ll be the puma.”

“You crack me up, Tempeste. You wouldn’t even know where to start being a puma.”

“Oh yeah. How about this roar?”

“You did scare me there. Maybe I could give you a few pointers.”

“I have been watching you, so I think I can handle it.”

“Okay then. Let’s just step over to the mat and give it a go.”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Showing you the puma face grab move.”

“Yikes. You caught me off guard.”

“I thought you said you could handle it?”

“Well, maybe I overstated my skill set.”

“The puma holds the panther down for the count of three.”

“Okay, I’ll admit it. We need to stay in our own roles.”

“At least you were willing to try something new. You get kudos for that. You ready to play Puma and Panther?”

“The panther stalks her prey. This will be a clean kill.”

“The puma gets ready for the attack. The panther will be no match.”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste Visit Aunt Kizzy

~ John W. Howell ~ 88 Comments

“Here we are at Kizzy’s house.”

“Oh boy, it has been a while.”

How about you, Tempest? Ready to see Kizzy?”

“”Yeah, I can’t wait to jump on that big ole  horse.”

“Okay, kids It’s time to play. Inside or out?”

“You have to be kidding.  Inside, of course. It’s 10,000 degrees out here.”

“Hey Tempeste have I ever shown you my lion imitation?”

“No, Kizzy, I don’t think so.”

“Check it out. Grouffffff.”

“You have some serious teeth in there.”

“Twiggy why are you so quiet.”

“Well, for one, I’m a little nervous around lions, and I think you have it.”

“Aw, you know the saying. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. I think I knocked her out”

“Just be careful down there. Lions know how to play possum.”

Whoa, you are right. This one just attacked.”

“You are all mine now, you panther pipsqueak.”

“Twiggy, are you going to help your sister?”

“In a word Dad. Nope.”

“That’s okay, Dad. I got this.”

“Sure you do, ersatz panther. You have a first-course booking on the lion menu.”

“Who you calling ersatz? Come on, big stuff. You want a piece of me?”

“I’ve changed my mind. I think you will be dessert.”

“So Tempeste. After you take care of that lion, I think there is a treat waiting.”

“Yeah, hold on. I’m starting my Panther stalk right now.”

“Well, girls. Did you have fun?”

“We certainly did. Aunt Kizzy is so much fun.”

“How about you, Kizzy?”

“I love it when these guys come to visit.”

“Well, see you next week. Bye now.”

 

 

 

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy and Tempeste Playtime

~ John W. Howell ~ 93 Comments

“Hey Tempeste. Look at you.”

“I know. No cone. I feel free.”

“As free as you can be with that anchor on your rear.”

“That was the condition of the cone removal. Leash at all times.”

“That puts a damper on the ruckus.”

“Yeah, but it is still nice to be together.”

“You are right. Not being able to play has been a real downer.”

“Let me tell you a secret.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“When Dad isn’t paying attention, I can make a big tug, and then we can run free.”

 

“The only problem with that plan is you could get hurt.”

“Oh, come on. We have done it hundreds of times.”

“Yes, but not with your tender nose and stitches from the spay.”

“Oh yeah. You were going to explain what a spay is.”

“Yeah, I was. Hmm, let me see. Hey Dad, can you explain spay to Tempeste?”

“Sure. Being spayed means you won’t be having babies.”

“That was as clear as mud, Dad.”

“So, Dad. You and Mom are made sure I don’t bring unwanted babies into the world?”

“Boy, Dad. This kid is a little advanced for her age.”

“You would do well to get on the internet a little Twiggy.”

“In answer to your question, Tempeste, yes, we want you to be healthy and live a long life without the complications of having puppies.”

“I appreciate that, Dad. By the way. How are puppies made?”

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy Welcomes Tempeste Home From the Vet

~ John W. Howell ~ 150 Comments

“Twiggy, wake up. Mom is heading this way with Tempeste.”

“Muufff. Oh, good.”

“They will be here pretty soon, so we want to be ready for them.”

“What did Tempeste have done?”

“Well, she has had Stenotic Nares Correction surgery and a spay.

“I know what spay is, but what is that other thing?”

“Her nostrils are pinched, so she had to have surgery to correct that so she can breathe freely.”

“I never noticed that she had a problem.”

“It is better to care for it now that she is young than to wait until there is trouble.”

“How about my nostrils? Are they okay?”

“Yes, yours are okay. You were checked out long ago.”

“That’s good. Hey, I hear something.”

“That is mom pulling in the garage.”

“I can’t wait to see if Tempest is okay.”

“How you doing Tempeste. I was worried.”

“I’m real tired. Plus, I have to wear this stupid cone.”

“That is to protect you from hurting yourself. Your nose looks good.”

“Thanks, I think. You know this bed is not big enough for the cone and me.”

“Mom brought you a bigger bed. How does that feel?”

“Oh, much better. I really need to take a nap.”

“Yes, you need to get some rest. Trust me, you will feel better tomorrow.”

“The nose thing I get, but what is a spay anyway?”

“We’ll talk later. But for now, know that you’ll be glad you have it. I know I am.”