Dear Gloria; It's been awhile since I've written to you but I just wanted to give you an update. We took Andi to the Dachsie races in Azle on 9/11/04 and she came in third, mostly because it was her first time and she became a little distracted by a fellow dachsie on the sidelines during the race. We all had a grand time and Andi got lots of compliments!
She is wonderful. My husband says this is the best dog he's ever had and he absolutely adores her. I agree with him, this *is* the best dog I've ever had. She's so smart (we play chase every morning and she fetches, brings, and releases her ball on command). She's a wonderful guard dog yet when you take her out in public she's polite and well-behaved. The throat problem is almost non-existent. Once in a great while she'll gag a little on something but I've learned that if I pick her up and burp her like a baby it clears the problem and often it is air that she's swallowed when she's excited. She *talks*, tells me when she wants to play, or go outside, or go for a walk. She has different intonations for different needs. I'm truly amazed by her intelligence and ability to communicate, I have never been exposed to a dog with the capacity for learning that Andi has, she picks things up in a heartbeat.
Recently I had to have major surgery and I attribute a large part of my quick recovery to Andi. I think without her around me in the daytime when the kids were off at school I would have been horribly depressed but she kept me too busy for that! She was always by my side and is the picture of canine loyalty. Do you remember I had told you that I missed having a dog laying at my feet when I quilt? Well if Andi isn't laying her head *on* my foot she's laying on the quilt! Nothing pleases her and the cats better than finding that mom has forgotten to pack away the quilt in progress properly because the latch on my basket is old and sometimes doesn't catch all the way as then Andi gently drags it out of the big project basket with her teeth so that she and the cats can burrow in. I frequently find all three of them laying all over one another in an attempt to get mom's quilt as furry as possible!
You will recall that you told me Andi liked to bark. She still likes to bark but she's really tapered it down to playtime and outside time. One of my cats, Oreo, is this huge fat long-haired tuxedo cat and her fixation is trying to steal Andi's dog food. They have a game where Andi will lay on the top of the couch where she can see her bowl and Oreo will try to sneak up and get some food. Then Andi goes to barking fit to wake the dead and Oreo will act surprised and leave. 10 minutes later they repeat the whole thing. What is so hilarious is the other day I saw Oreo go over and rub on Andi and when Andi wouldn't respond Oreo swatted her on the butt with her paw. Andi then got up, shook herself, heaved this big doggie sigh, and assumed her place on the top of the couch and they began their 'cat steals dog's food' game. I just died laughing. I had never realized that Oreo enjoys that game so much, I had assumed she was really just trying to get more food (the cat is outrageous, she puts Garfield to shame in terms of amounts ingested and putting a cat on a diet is not the easiest thing in the world, lemmee tell ya).
I could tell you a hundred more stories but in the interests of time I should curb myself. I will try and get some good pictures in a week or so to send in to you so you can see how Andi looks now.
Thanks again Gloria, for the most precious dog I've ever had! Lisa Boyce