A few minutes after we let the dogs out the other morning, our barn cat Smoke saw blind Penny the Yorkie drinking from the bucket by the fence and headed straight for her. Something about Penny caught his attention, and he kept trying to reach her by sticking his paw through the fence. (I took the photo with my phone, which is why the quality isn't so good.) It was odd because he so clearly wanted to physically touch her. Exactly why I don't know!
Between being blind and having her head in the bucket, Penny never seemed to realize Smoke was there -- she was just out of reach by an inch or so -- and I don't know what she would have done if she had figured out there was a mysterious cat's paw by her face. (Yes, we have smaller water bowls for the small dogs but as I've pointed out in other posts, they like drinking out of the big dogs' buckets and vice versa.)
The lumber on the driveway was for a remodeling/repair project -- Billy the blind Beagle and Max the Dachshund have been destroying the lattice under the porch, and after several patch jobs, we decided it was time for some stout lumber to close it off instead of lightweight lattice that can be chewed up and ripped apart.
In any case, Smoke kept pawing at her for a minute or so until giving up and wandering away. Penny eventually quit drinking and sauntered off, none the wiser.
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Final Contest of The Year -- Please Vote for the Farm!
The latest Shelter Challenge started Monday, October 8 and ends at midnight on December 16. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
*** You will find us listed as Rolling Dog Farm. The state is NH for New Hampshire. ***
Please remember, you can vote every day ... consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
We just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the last contest, and thousands more in the previous contests. The Shelter Challenge really does bring in a lot of money for the animals here!
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Thank you for your votes!
Penny is so tiny! Kitties are not afraid of dogs who are amaller than they are. Glad to see you are the weekly winner in the shelter challenge. I'm sure that money will come in handy for holiday animal treats! ha h
Posted by: Barb Ribinski | November 15, 2012 at 10:14 AM
Maybe Smoke and the other barn cats were playing Truth or Dare and Smoke was challenged with a "Double Dog dare!"
Posted by: Mary H./Washington state | November 15, 2012 at 09:52 AM
I love how Smoke has him arm out..he was going to try with all his might to get Penny's attention! Great picture :)
Posted by: Ann | November 15, 2012 at 03:11 AM
Penny will admit that it's hard to hear when you're drinking. Our 16-year-old dog is mostly blind and deaf now, and it's sad and funny at the same time to see him being oblivious of a rabbit panicking a few feet away, or a neighbor dog going ballistic at him behind a fence. He just moseys around in his own little bubble. Penny is so cute.
Posted by: Tonya Allen | November 14, 2012 at 07:32 PM
Perhaps Smoke was attracted to Penny because her size made her approachable. Then, when he tried to touch her and she didn't react, she was even more approachable. Smoke had a tale to tell to the rest of the barn cats that night, "I almost touched a dog!"
Posted by: Moon Rani | November 14, 2012 at 02:57 PM
Congrats on being a weekly winner in the Shelter Challenge. Love to all at Rolling Dog Farm!
Posted by: Janet | November 14, 2012 at 11:54 AM
I always love hearing about and seeing Smoke!
Posted by: Linda | November 14, 2012 at 11:02 AM
Silly kitty.
Mamma Heartbeat
Posted by: Heartbeats | November 14, 2012 at 09:22 AM
Penny is as cute as a bug! Human or cat we all would love to give her a hug.
Posted by: z | November 13, 2012 at 10:47 PM