Pets of back40

Seems like I should be writing about myself but right now I'm still admiring the part shepard/husky mix dog,"Bob", that I'm sitting for the next 2 months or so.
He's about 12 years old and the quietest, calmest dog I've ever seen. He doesn't beg, doesn't bark, likes everyone, doesn't chase other animals.

If he has any bad habits I guess it would be chewing up tennis balls till they won't bounce anymore. On top of all this he's absolutely gorgeous ! He "talks" in small whimpers when he wants more petting or playing and in less than 2 weeks I've come to love him more than I would have thought possible.

I had a small dog,"Suzi", that I'm sure was the smartest dog in the world. She seemed to understand
everything you said to the point of us spelling out a few things, thinking that she wouldn't understand but I know she she understood "e-a-t" and "r-i-d-e".
After a number of vet visits Suzi died of a collapsed trachea. After 7 months I still miss her.

In the past 40 years we had a black lab,Reena,that played possum if you walked by her at night because she thought she may be sent to the basement, She'd close her eyes real tight and then open one to see if you were looking or whatever. Also had several black cats but my favorite was the first, "Keever" whom, I swear, could read my mind. Keever died in 1991, while we were away at a hospital for my (now deceased) wife's first bout with cancer.

Also had a mini horse, Jinnger Ale, that was a lot of fun and taught me a lot about horses. We also had a lamb (another Suzi) that died in my arms at 8 months old, after conferring with 5 vets about a possible cause for her running into walls and staggering. As always seems to be the problem,this,of course, was on a weekend and no vets available except by phone.

One of the most interesting and fun & funny was a little black hen, "Emmy". She was another that seemed to know us better than we knew her. Meeting the cars as they parked in our yard, talking or begging for treats and followed me around like a puppy. But the one that topped 'em all was one summer I was building a storage shed,and as I was shingling the roof had climbed off the ladder to retrieve another tool from the garage and returning to the roof could not locate my hammer. Looking all around I finally gave up and got another from the garage.
Returning to the shed I spotted Emmy laying down, I put my hand under her and there was my hammer !
Don't know if she was trying to hatch it or just tired of the noise ! Many times before she would come running to me when I was hammering something and if it was on the ground would have her beak only an inch or so away from the hammer.

Guess I've neglected another/lamb/sheep, Teddy, that we actually got for/as a playmate for Jinnger, the minihorse. And a playmate she was. They'd kick and bite and chase each other most of the day, stopping only to eat. Real fun to watch them.

PS: ask me about my funniest deer hunting story !