Farewell, Sophie Mae

This is a miserable Christmas for us, because our sweet 14-1/2 year-old Sophie Mae had finally reached her limit of elderliness.  She had a strong heart, but as is frequent with people & critters alike, other things were getting weaker by the day.  Much like her younger "sister" (Lily Rose), Sophie enjoyed every meal to the fullest, right up to her final breakfast this morning.  She would frequently give me a face that said, "well, that was a good appetizer, now where's the entree?!" 

When we first went looking for a puppy, we found an advertisement that said "mini-schnauzer puppies" for sale.  And me, being incredibly ignorant of what a real schnauzer should look like, was mesmerized by her oddball cuteness & little red bandana around her neck, and brought her right home. 

It wasn't until my veterinarian said "what is that?" that I realized I'd been schnookered by a pretty face, but by then it was too late.  We think she was probably half Cairn Terrier, maybe a quarter schnauzer, and who-knows what else.  Regardless, she retained the schnauzer protectiveness by growling at anything and anyone, yet at the same time, wiggling her little schnauzerized-tailstub ferociously (thus earning her the nickname of "wigglebutt").  She sang "operas" to any squirrel she spied, and she played rip-roaring games of tug and hide-and-seek with her sister/child Lily.  And whenever we came home, we could see Sophie's face at the window, usually with a look of distress, and we immediately knew that Lily had been up to no good.  Apparently, Sophie was incapable of controlling Lily.
As every dog-parent will testify, their's is the cutest, greatest, lovingest, protectingest dog that ever existed, and we will defend that definition of Sophie Mae forever.  And we will always remember Sophie and Lily together as mother/daughter, and/or sisters enjoying their days in the sun.

Competition

Annabelle sulks as Lydia gets first dibs on

the Wild Rocker Ride.

Boredom

Confucius say: 

"Humidity begets boredom begets silliness."

Krispy Kritter

Once again, Annie goes to extremes in food-finding maneuvers because, obviously, nobody ever feeds her.