QI check list

I don't think that was me with a hot headed pooch but Goldens are the best. My Georgia is a talker. She will sort of 'lecture' my husband or dd if she wants them to do something for her. When dh broke his leg she would not leave his side for weeks and then he had a heart attack and she was really upset. She loves the man and is sort of his protector. Ginger is the big barker around here. She was about a year and a half when we got her. She is the clown dog and just like a ray of sunshine running around. Dang they are great dogs. Yep Heidi, we can go on forever about these great dogs! If you enjoy goldens you might like Spencer's blog:

Heidi wrote:

I inherited my mom's golden retriever, Joey, when she passed this summer. He is an amazing dog. We think he's about 8 years old - not sure because he was a rescue dog. He has been such a fast learner. Having been born and raised in Florida, the NY snow was a puzzle to him at first -- he wouldn't do his business for a while the first time it snowed!

He is just so affectionate too - loves to be cuddled. If I yell "cuddle dog", he runs to the couch because he's only allowed on it if he is sitting next to me. He also has hot head I've noticed. First I was wondering if he had a fever.

L>I don't think that was me with a hot headed pooch but Goldens are

Linda PATCHogue, NY

Yes, Hoover is VERY vocal! He'll get a ball or something else in his mouth and prance around making growling and moaning sounds. He also barks in the house which is not allowed, but try to tell Hoover to 'hush' when I'm dishing up their food. He is the cuddliest dog I've ever owned- a total lap dog at almost 80 lbs. Missy had the nicest natural manners I've ever seen in a dog. (I've owned about 25 dogs over the years, so I've seen about all the various canine behaviors and a wide swath of personalities!) She would always approach you head on and sit in front of the person without being told. I could count on my hands the number of times she barked in the house- even when the doorbell rang or there was a cat fight on my front porch. She knew to stand perfectly still while being brushed without being taught and would give you her paw to have her nails clipped. She was just about perfect- except on a leash- she spent more time bouncing around and leaping in the air than with her feet on the ground!

You might like to see these photos- taken while my HairyButt Gang was stealing tomatoes from my garden-

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Goldens are the bestest dogs, I agree. I have not noticed the hot head phenomenon, but either of them would be glad to volunteer to be stroked for as long as I would care to experiment. I call them my Golden Love Sponges, or Golden Attention Hounds. I saw a picture of you Missy when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge and she was a beautiful girl. Was she or one of you others a talker. Mine almost never bark, but Daisy takes hold of one of her toy and moans and whimpers and dances around while she shows it too her. My DH calls her the Wookie.

I could go on about them forever. Someone stop me.

Heidi

Coming in late, but hey! I am catching up with myself.

Four felines and two fish.

The fish, Lucifer the betta, and Yoru the clown pleco, are totally inadeqate as quilt inspetors.

The felines, eldest to youngest, are:

Stripey a 14 year old mackeral tabby with thyroid trouble. She thinks she should be an only cat and can hide a pill behind her back teeth for _ages_. She is wiley and generally gets the best of Spike who will not leave her be. I was particularly amused when she dumped their water bottle over onto him after he had chased her off her favorite bed. He got soaked, she stayed dry and just sat and watched him spaz while she calmly licked her paw. Stripey likes to oversee the process of piecing the blocks together to make the quilt top. She will sit and calmly watch until it is big enough for her to lay on, then she does just that. There is no denying her either, she is very persistant and will come back and find a spot no matter how often the top gets turned or she gets shooed. She is a breeder rescue (her purebred momma clearly was hanging out with an unauthorized boyfriend)

Thorncat is a five year old with pretensions to caliconess. She is mostly white with grey and ginger tabby splotches. She is a cat that had all the makings of a fine servent of Bast, until she got fixed. She is one of those rare cases of a female cat who bloats up and turns surly after they are fixed. Within a month she had nearly doubled her weight and her disposition had certainly taken a severe downward turn. Now we have to take her in for a bath every couple of months because she is so huge she cannot bath herself properly, even though she spends half her days trying. No wonder she is grumpy. Thorncat loves batting, she has shredded enough that I made her a pad of it and locked the rest up. You will find tufts of batting in odd corners all over the house from where she saved some and made off with it after her "nest" was discovered and confiscated. We saved her from the three Bs when she was the last kitten of a litter at a neighbor up the street's house.

Jiji is black and certainly at least part Turkish Angora. We got him at the shelter a couple of years ago, and if their estimate of his age is correct he is around 4 years old. He actually _poses_! We have some pictures around that I will put up if I ever get a site going and manage to keep it for more than a week. Jiji curled up in a Christmas wreath, Jiji looking proud of himself after rousting a mouse from a flour sack in the pantry, Jiji helping wind a bobbin, etc. etc. kiri has been threatening to get him a pet tag that says "Still the prettiest". Jiji is the ultimate flannel junkie, he will open the dryer to get a warm sheet out if he saw you put one in. He has stolen my jammies, collected up DH's conjure bags, and tried to make off with an entire bolt of 90 inch wide flannel. He did manage to drag the bolt off the shelf and partway to the bed before he gave up and just shredded the wrapping and cozied himself down on it. Long haired black cat napping on white flannel, I'll have to paint that some day.

Spike is around ten months old and wants to be a panther when he grows up. At 15+ pounds of muscle as of yesterday, he is on the way there! He is very black and has one of the shortest sleekest coats I have ever seen on a cat. When the vet got a look at him she exclamed "What a lovely mandalay!" Seems she has a fondness for burmese cats. If she is correct in this identification he may get larger still, by as much as 5 or ten pounds. He is completely devoted to kiri (yet another bone of contention between him and Stripey), and bonkers for laser pointers and rabbit fur toys. I also have to keep a sharp eye on him around yarn, thread, and all textiles. Silk and wool especially are often mistaken for cat toys. He will sit and stare while I knit or crochet, and then pounce when he thinks I am not looking at him. He has always been very energetic, I suspect he fancies himself a kitten still. He was a "stray". I posted about the little old lady with the big silk flower covered straw hat, knocking and warning us not to run over our little kitten playing under our van. Us=Suckers!

NightMist

Just 2 QI's in our household.

(Hirsh E's) Nugget - 11 yo male Chocolate Lab (son of Mr. Hirsh E. Barr & Cuddly One who have both gone to Rainbow Bridge quite a while ago) and

Maya(n Princess) - almost 4 yo female Chocolate Lab.

Both love to be under your feet constantly or on the furniture because the floor is just entirely too hard for them! They love to help you do EVERYTHING from sewing to cooking or just watching TV. Nugget is my vocal one - will talk to you constantly about anything! Maya only talks about people or animals that she sees from her perch on the arm of the sofa. If she can see you/it, they must be invading her space and that is just NOT allowed! Although, as soon as you walk in the house both will roll over for belly rubs. I pray no one ever tries to rob us - the dogs will help the robbers carry stuff out the door!

Thanks all for responding. My pets are a joy to me and it seems that I'm not alone in my feelings.

Molly in Mass.