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I often baby-sit this tremendous, big clown of a dog, called Duke. I just love this big clown but he is an Oddball of sorts.......... You see, he has balls and other toys but his favorite is a "Hockey Stick". Yup, a hockey stick which he plays with by the hour. Throw his hockey stick and where he retrieves his other toys and brings them to you to throw again, he so loves his hockey stick that he may forget to bring it back to you. But that is not the real Oddball part of this story. It is what he does with it that baffles me. And apparently I am not the only one who first thought this happened by accident and tried to rescue the dog.

Within seconds of clamping his jaws on it, it ends up run through his collar. He appears to be in a bit of a dilemma, with his pride and joy now caught in his collar. Don't bother to rescue him and remove it........because he does it on purpose. Yup, he grabs it, twists his head and carefully inserts it through his collar so it is easier to carry. Now he can leap and bound with it and it never leaves his side. Crazy dog anyway!!!

Being a dog breeder, I have learned that my dogs are often dedicated to caring for another dogs pups even if they are not related. My pure white girl, named Happy, has pups right now. Now no other dog in their right mind is going to go near Happy's pups. She will rip right into them. Happy is big and strong, compared to Furbie. Little, black Furbie doesn't even like pups. Apt to bite them if they are running loose and go near her precious food bowl which she guards 24 hours a day. Sleeps with her head resting on it. HERS and no one else's. Mind you, there are dozen food bowls scattered around the house, so she may guard anyone of them. Which ever one on that particular day is hers.

So I am busy doing the dishes the other morning and see Furbie paying close attention to Happy's, squirming and toddling around pups in their space by the stove. She is just kind of watching them a bit to closely for my liking. After all, she doesn't like other dogs pups?

I am wiping the table and see Happy leave her pups and go through the dog door to the great outdoors. Instantly Furbie grabs a mouthful of dry dog food out of her much guarded bowl, glances at the dog door to make Happy is really gone, jumps in with the pups and drops the kernels of dog food in front of them. She cocks her head, studies them and jumps back out to guard her food dish.

I watch and this happens a couple of times that day. Now I don't want Furbie getting caught by Happy in with Happy's pups and Furbie doesn't want it either. Getting caught in with those pups means that "HAPPY MIGHT NOT BE A HAPPY CAMPER" if you know what I mean.

Well it just happened this afternoon. Happy came in through the dog door and caught Furbie in with her pups. The fact that Furbie was trying to help feed her growing brood didn't matter. The fact Furbie had done so with her precious food didn't mean anything to Happy either. She tore a strip off of Furbie, something awful. No real injuries here, Folks, but put Furbie out of her pen in an instant.

That should of been the end of it but you see, I don't have any normal animals in my life. Later on, Happy went back outside to lay on the step in the sunshine. Furbie made sure she was gone, jumped in with the pups and grabbed a huge mouthful of their puppy food. Jumped out and coughed it out beside her food dish. Not hungry enough to eat it but "FAIR IS FAIR". Just taking back what she had left in the first place.............I give up, someone please give me a normal animal. Any animal..........Any kind...........JUST NORMAL!!!