Introducing Suijei

It was unusually sunny for a cold February day, and I was feeling pretty good after my energy drink, so I decided to take a stroll around my yard and see if there was anything worth snapping. I took this shot of the view through the trees in my yard -- kind of dreary, in a hopeful sort of way. Of course, our resident canine had to accompany me because any excuse to be outside -- even in February -- is better than being inside. So, let me introduce you to this member of our household. Her name is Suijei (pronounced SWEE*jigh), and she is part Rottweiler and part coon hound. She came with my son and his wife when they moved in with us -- of course, she was just a puppy then, and she is now about the size of a small pony. She is very good with the children and keeps us alerted of any dangerous mail carriers or nefarious UPS delivery men that may wander near our property.

At first, Suijei was confined to a large semicircular area within the reach of her 50-lb chain. But she is a large dog and needs room to run, so my son had one of those invisible electronic fences installed. Once she learned her boundaries and stopped cowering along the sides of the house, she became comfortable with her new-found independence. She now has access to my entire yard and can trample my flower beds, tear up my grass, and leave droppings wherever and whenever she pleases. Suijei lives a very simple life (that's a euphemism for boring). She eats the same food every. . . single. . . day of her life. She is not allowed "people" food. She gets an occasional rawhide bone to mangle and mutilate, but only inside the house. She has no interest in such nonsense when she is outdoors. Actually, her favorite toy is a rock. That's right. A large oval rock, about the size of a bowling ball. She rolls it around the yard (and through my flower beds), growling, barking, and biting at it. Today, I had to chop the rock free from the ice beneath it, and Suijei was very grateful. Another one of her favorite pastimes is barking at the neighborhood squirrels and cats, who love to torment her because they know she can't go past the property line without getting zapped. On the whole, Suijei is a good dog, as dogs go, she's just. . . well, you know. . . a dog. And I'm not a "dog person." I know they are supposed to be "man's best friend," but I'm not a man so I don't have to like them. One of these days, I'll enumerate the reasons why cats make better pets than dogs. But not this day.