Thunder rolls, dogs sleep on the living room floor...

Anyone who knows us knows that we have always been "animals outside" people. In fact, there were times I suspect we threw the children outside (and many times I wanted to banish a muddy-booted DH to the yard). Still, our puppies do not like bad weather. It was a storm last week that frightened Paddy and resulted in our two days of worry.

Today I was cooking - and right in the middle of things - when I heard the thunder in the distance. I shut off the fires and headed to the backyard. Both puppies were ready to move inside. Scruff loves his crate. I am still amazed that he heads to the crate without hesitation (we cannot get him to sit with us in the living room). Tonight we convinced him to join us in the living room for a little while. He sat with me and accepted some head and tummy scratches. [Seriously, I cannot express how much of an "introvert" our Scruffy is. He must have been harmed by his earlier owners. He does not ask for affection, but will accept it upon rare occasion. And even more rarely will he give one a lick. It is almost a "stealth" lick when it happens.]

Crate-hating Paddy always heads directly to the living room and did so today.  We sat together as I adjusted her "thunder vest." She sat still while I fastened the Velcro (I am not sure how effective the thing is in calming her "thunder fear," but she does seem generally calmer when wearing the vest.

Paddy thinks she is a "lap dog." I guess it is some kind of doggy body dysmorphia. She sees herself a chihuahua or terrier. If you sit close enough to her, she will do all she can to climb into your lap. She starts with one paw, then there is a stealthy climb - one paw at a time. Soon enough there will be 50+ pounds of Labrador knees and elbows trying to balance.

We are still waiting for the storm right now. It caused chaos north of us - power is out in a number of places and wind has damaged trees and buildings. We keep watching the radar and hoping the storms do not strengthen before they come our way.

Our short walk disclosed a thirsty garden. The end-of-summer blooms are dry. The grass is starting to curl. It is time for the last or almost last mow. With little rain, it has not been a difficult summer for yard maintenance. Still, I am itching to get out and pull weeds and trim up the shrubs before the cold weather sets in.

Ah, the storm finally hit, but was over quickly. I sat with Paddy and tried to hold her through the thunder. She is stronger than I am and so I expect there will be bruises. She is not fretting and should be taken out, but it is dark and muddy and cold. We will keep her inside tonight.

Unfortunately we will not have time for a walk in the morning. I have to be at work early and so the walk will have to wait for the late afternoon.

Before I post I will end this with our most recent "Houdini dog" story.

While on our two week trip, the dogs stayed at the vet. I was bonding them out of jail (writing the check) and asked how they managed during their stay. The vet tech said that everything was fine...and then started laughing. It seems that there had been a pretty violent storm just before we came home. The vet tech had put Paddy into her "thunder vest" and back in a kennel with Scruffy the evening the storm was expected. When the staff came in the next day they found Paddy sitting in the receptionist's chair. Somehow she had taken off her vest, gotten out of the kennel, and found her way into the office. I quickly looked around to see if there were teeth marks or paw prints on any of the files or other items kept on the shelves in the office. All was well.

So, at least I know I will have witnesses if I am ever cited for "dog at large" if (really WHEN) Paddy is spooked by fireworks or thunder or a car backfiring and we don't move fast enough.