There and Back: Lexi's Story: I know this is Lexi's story...

but Sable is a part of it too. I wish I could say Lexi loves Sable but she is insanely jealous of her and if the attention is NOT on Lexi, she will often seek out Sable to harass. She hits at her face and hits her bottom and basically terrorizes the dog. Sable is a trouper though and has never reacted aggressively.

Today, Lexi and I had to drive about 30 minutes away to pick up Sable from the vet. Her teeth cleaning and mole removal surgery went great and hopefully once she heals she will for the most part be mole free. (Austin Powers fans are probably thinking "moley, moley, moley, MOLEY!") When I picked her up Lexi was excited to see some horses that were there to visit the vet. Our vet is awesome and took time to meet Lexi and then told me about Sable. The fun part was driving home. Lexi of course was in the backseat in her carseat and Sable took her usual spot in the front seat. Well, every single time I reach over to pet Sable, Lexi would just cut up like crazy. I WISH I could have gotten it on tape. As soon as I removed my hand from Sable, it was like turning "off" Lexi. Boy, this girl is so jealous of Sable! Today when I told her we had to go bye, bye to pick up Sable she said "bad". That's what she calls Sable. "Bad". Good gracious, help us!

But in honor of our special little furbie, I had to point out some of her special quirks that make her Sable. I love how she...

* has to run around the table once before she can go outside.

* loves her toys and has finally learned that Lexi's toys are not hers

* tricks Geoff into thinking that she can't jump on the bed by herself but clearly will do it for me

* lays in the floor like a frog

* loves her toys but not enough to go get them if they fall too close to a cord

* can be so easily fooled into coming back home when she escapes by us just telling her "want to go for a walk" (she comes back to get her leash)

* is such a begger for food that she will chatter her teeth in anticipation

* loves to tear up the wrapping paper that we crush up on birthdays or Christmas (sometimes we make them just to watch her!)

* likes to nap with me on Sunday afternoons

* is patient with Lexi (as much as could caninely be expected!)

on the other hand... she drives me nuts!!!! Especially ...

* when it rains and she romps in the mud and water and then bursts into the house making a huge mess (bless our dear Patches who on the other hand would "tip-toe" delicately only after being VERY encouraged!)

* eats catfood non-stop

* has at least one daily "barkument" with the neighbors 6 dogs

* barks like mad ANYTIME someone comes to the door (except the one night we had a peeping tom, she didn't hear a thing)

* has ruined our French doors pawing to come inside as she is NOT an outside dog

* is the cause of my constant need to vaccum

* likes to rub her stinky self on my clean sheets or will act like she is digging to China on the sheets while she makes this crazy grunting sound (that part does amuse me)

I hate to admit it but our loss of Patches has made me appreciate our time with Sable more. I'm trying harder to teach Lexi to love the animals. Here are some pictures from today...