Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Pine-cone

Spring may be starting to emerge, but as always, old man winter is fighting hard to stay a little longer.  High winds and cold temps will keep my jacket buttoned and mittens on for another blustery day.

At the very start of our day Todd was enthusiastically playing outside with what looked like a small pine-cone. He was running back and forth in the yard with it in his mouth, and in the darkness of the morning I could see him pouncing on and tossing his new toy into the air and playing with what can only be described as pure unbridled joy!  When I called for him to come inside, he instantly stopped, gave me a quick look, and grabbed his new toy and with full terrier-speed, he darted past me at the door to continue playing inside.  Not wanting a mess on my freshly vacuumed rug, I decided to take the pine-cone away from him.  It was only then that I realized that what Todd was playing with was not a pine-cone but a dead and very frozen mole!  Knowing how quickly the attention of a terrier can change, especially Todd's, I looked around and offered him what was closest to me, the treat jar!  I could see his mind was spinning as he tried to decide which he wanted--For the other dogs, the choice was obvious, but for Todd, it took a moment or two and he dropped the mole in return for a handful of treats.  Even in the cold, dark, early morning hours of our day, there is never a dull moment when Todd is around.

47 comments:

  1. thank goodness it was frozen!!! most often around here, i get a half of a wood rat...

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  2. Well, there's one mole less in your garden...you don't need a cat!

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  3. LOL, oh Todd, you keep your momma hopping don't you!! Keep warm :)

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  4. *haha* This darling story made me instantly think of an incident with one of our dogs... Mozart.

    I am into wildlife *big* time... land preservation, wildlife rehabilitation, etc. Both my Standard Poodles were clued in to this fact from 8 weeks old. :-D So they barked at squirrels & other various things, while outside, but never ever did they chase, kill, play with or otherwise do anything with any sort of wildlife.

    One evening, after dark, my husband was out in his workshop which is just about a stone's throw away from the back of the house. Mozart knew "Daddy" was in his shop & wanted to go out to see him. On his way he spotted an opossum & took chase. That was Big No-No #1. Then he had the poor thing cornered & was about 3 ft from it, barking. That was Big No-No #2. The poor opossum thought his number was up, I'm sure. The minute I knew what was happening, I yelled for Mozart to stop. Well, he did but he kept barking all the same. I said "Come Mozart" twice but he didn't budge.... he just kept barking at his *ahem* "friend".

    Then, for the first time in his life, I said:

    "Mr. Mozart in B Major, if you do NOT come here immediately, you are going to regret the punishment that will be immediately delivered forthwith!!!!".

    He looked at me, looked at the opossum, looked at me.... longingly gazed at the opossum one more time..... and came to me & into the house. The opossum ran into the woods the minute he knew Moe's attention was diverted.

    I think dogs understand English quite well indeed. *LOLOL* I think Moe understood perfectly that the treat jar would disappear until Santa brought it back in 6 months!!!!!! :-))

    Have a wonderful day, my friend.

    Blessings--Andrea
    XOXOXO

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  5. Todd is a handsome guy, and glad you got the dead mole away from him.

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  6. Ahh, a little Mole Hunter in the family! You could hire him out for those people who have their nice neat lawns ruined by moles. lol.

    Been meaning to ask how your husband is doing recovering with his leg? Hope all is healing well.

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  7. What else can you expect from a Terrier! I'm impressed he gave it up. I've lost on that trade to watch it get swallowed as the dog thinks it can have both :0)

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  8. Never a dull moment with a terrier in the country! Congratulations on your quick thinking.

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  9. Oh my lol sounds like something Miggs has done only hers was a frozen mouse lol she has terrier in her to and boy there are days it shows lol Cute post and photos ok maybe not all cute for you lol ! Have a good day !

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  10. A frozen mole....yeah, Todd that was a tough decision. Immediate treats, or wait for the mole to thaw. We think you did the right thing.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  11. Yuck! Just the thing you want in the morning. I had a similar adventure when Fudge was a puppy. He brought his prize into the house one day and played keep away with it. It was a dead blue jay. Treats worked on him, too.

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  12. OH Todd, we really love your antics. My Vickie is doing the "EWWWW" thing about the mole in your mouth but me, I am just enjoying your joy.

    Bert

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  13. What a funny little stinker

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  14. We ending Kim, to funny, a frozen mole, yuk....but guess Todd loved it....So cold here, hate it, Blessings Francine.

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  15. Barharhar, thats what we Scotties Do!

    Your Pals
    Susie & Bites

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  16. Hi Kim, Todd reminds me so much of our Sadie*my heart dog*; the first day we got her, I went to get her a collar etc and when I got home there was a dead mole on my pillow. She was an adult and had basset or terrier in her too. Years later, I would let her run in an open space with a friends Golden and Sadie will see gopher holes and get a good part of her nose down them-it surprised me so much. Hunter loves to chase the bunnies in the yard but I haven't seen him experience small rodents yet.
    Hugs tonight-stay warm.
    Noreen

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  17. We had the same weather here...in fact I am still freezing and need to get under some covers. Todd is really a beautiful boy and a fine example of his breed. He just wanted the dog version of a popsicle.

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  18. I knew Todd would be an endless source of joy for you and I am so glad it turned out to be true.

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  19. Aaah! That's my Todd. A "moler", he must have, if only for a moment, been in Todd heaven. LOL

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  20. Oh, that is too funny! Don't you love it when you can see them thinking and deciding?

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  21. Ewwwwwwwwwwww! Thank goodness is was frozen! He is too stinkin' cute for his own good!

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  22. Oh gross! Thank dog it was frozen! I hope he doesn't repeat this with a thawed version.

    Cindy

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  23. Oh Todd. Never a dull moment with you around for sure. You are the zest in life my friend.
    Blessings,
    Goose

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  24. Hah,Hah! Glad it was frozen.My dogs drop & roll in stuff like that.Having a treat jar nearby is always handy!phyllis

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  25. Todd- we think you made a very wose choice! The treat jar is always better! But the Pine Cone was so beautiful.
    love
    tweedles

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  26. Woof! Woof! Just imagine if you did not have Todd. Golden LOVE to the Golden Pines Gang. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  27. TOO cute! ok, a little gross, but CUTE! :)

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  28. Ha!!! At least it was frozen!! My LadyBug would have been rolling in it!! Glad he chose the treat jar!!

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  29. I'm so glad it was a mole - I was expecting it to be a dead bird - yuck!!

    On the way to take Lilly to have her pre-natal xray, she scarfed up a dead mole that Ivy had left in our yard and ate it before I could get it away!!


    xo
    Lynn

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  30. Oh I guess I see how your week is going....lol.

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  31. Gotta love dogs bringing their 'treasures' inside. Our Golden Rosie (RIP) had brought in her mole to chomp INSIDE! Gross goo everywhere...ugh

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  32. I had s similar experience with chipmunk jerkie...
    I think I scared Lucy when I started scream drop it because she did.

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  33. LOL! Don't you love it when they aren't quite sure of your intent and look to be figuring it all out!

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  34. i think i can speak on behalf of all of us in appreciating that you put up a picture of the pinecone rather than the mole.
    oh todd.
    you never disappoint!
    i'm a doggy nose kisser from way back. all my life actually.
    might have to rethink. LOLOL!

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  35. Lord, there's never a dull moment is there? LOL I was vacuuming at 6:30 this morning to prevent the dogs from eating the loose particles that come off the wood we use for heating.

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  36. Not a sign of Spring here yet, but thankfully no frozen moles either!!!

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  37. Well, he is a Terrier, of that I have no doubt!

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  38. LOL bribery and corruption work every time. Would he of caught the mole?
    Love Leanne

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  39. Haha. Glad he listened to his stomach!

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  40. Ha--quick thinking on 'trading'! So much easier than a wild chase and wrestling match. My girls are constantly getting their 'finds' inspected, as there is no telling what they have found.
    Tammy

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  41. You had me laughing. I did almost the same thing the other day when Shyla found a very fresh deer leg. I literally started throwing treats all around her to get that leg from her!

    Todd is a smart cookie and so are you!

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  42. oh yuck....so glad he was only playing with it. I fear my two would be working at tearing it up. Ugh! :)

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  43. Hee Hee Todd, what a guy.
    Hmmmm, frozen mole, treats, cheese danish???
    By the time you see this it will be TGIF
    Have a good weekend

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  44. Never a dull mo(le)ment with Todd! hee hee

    Maybe Todd was.....bringing a new ingredient for dinner -->
    gwok-a-moley

    then again he may have invented a new fun game for the backyard --> whack-a-mole

    Mo :)

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  45. Thank goodness it was dead and frozen! My first Golden used to bring live rabbits in the house. She never hurt them, just caught them and brought them in.

    Sam

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