Round Robin: Together Wherever We Go

I had two ideas for my entry about the Round Robin Challenge: Togetherness, as suggested by Suzanne of SuzyQ421's Photo Blog. You see, this weekend is the English Faire at St. Michael and All Angels Church. I was kind of hoping to get photos of parishioners happily working together to prepare for the jumble sale, book sale, collectibles sale, children's area, Dirty Duck Pub etc. But frankly I was too busy and too stressed today, getting the rest of my own donations cataloged for tax purposes and priced for sale, to even think about taking pictures of the equally stressed people carrying all that stuff from the church office to the school gym and elsewhere.



Okay, then, back to my original idea!



Our dog Pepper (previous name: Lady Heather) came to us in March 2008, to help ease us through the last months of Tuffy's life. A rescue dog who was dumped by her owner for the crime of being pregnant, Pepper was initially an extremely standoffish dog. She would not obey commands, tended to get up and leave when petted, and just wanted to be left alone.

We adopted Cayenne (previous name: Ireland) on August 2, 2008, the day after Tuffy died. "Ireland" had also been dumped by a previous owner while pregnant, but temperamentally she was Pepper's opposite, a needy sweetie. After an initial period of mutual jealousy and struggles for dominance, they became more than friends. They became sisters.




For about a year when I was entirely jobless, I took the dogs to Reid Park nearly every day. We became very close, the three of us. Pepper became much less remote and contrary. Cayenne remained needy.



It's probably been a year since we've been to the dog park, but the dogs still like to hang out with me. If I'm in the bedroom, waiting on hold to file my unemployment claim (worth about $15 this week. Woo-hoo!), they want to be in the bedroom with me. If I'm watching Doctor Who in the den, Cayenne is probably on the couch beside me, Pepper on the floor. Or maybe they're both on the couch with me. If John's in the room, he takes precedence on the couch, and Pepper has to get down.



And there's a thing they do, these dogs, that I've never seen from any other dogs. Pepper likes to lick Cayenne's face, possibility as an act of fealty, or perhaps the opposite, in an attempt to dominate and mother her. Often it becomes a kissing contest, with both dogs competing to lick each other's mouths. Cute!

Karen

Now let's go see everyone else's photographic evidence of togetherness!

Linking List:

as of Sunday, September 25th, 11:11 PM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Nathalie **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
Memoirs
http://nathalie-memoirs.blogspot.com/

Jenn
Shutter Happy Moments
http://shutterhappyjenn.blogspot.com

Linda - Canceled (sick)
Mommy's Treasures
http://mommystreasures.blogspot.com

Freda - Posted!
Day One
http://fredamans.blogspot.com

mairie **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
Word in the Hand
http://wordinthehand.blogspot.com/

Annette
Getting Inside My Head
http://www.annetteholland.com

Rudo - Posted!
Passion in the Moments
http://ethos-photographic.blogspot.com/

Erin - Posted!
A Hardcore Life
http://erin-hardcorehensel.blogspot.com/

Sherrie
Food For Thought
http://100sweets.blogspot.com/

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com

Rich - Posted!
Rich Image
http://richimage.blogspot.com

Sandy - Posted!
From the Heart of Texas
http://sandyfromtheheartoftexas.com

Ruth - Posted!
The ScrabbleQueen Knits, Too
http://scrabblequeen.wordpress.com

Hayley **Welcome, new participant!** - Posted!
Hayley's HeARTwork
http://hayleysheartwork.blogspot.com/2010/09/97.html