Patty

Little white-chinned Patty

Patty (pattypan squash) is another wee girl, just six ounces bigger than Summer. She has her mama's short stubby legs - the shortest legs of all the pups. She sports white tips on both back paws, a few white hairs on her chest, and - her distinguishing features - a white goatee and white eyebrows. Her brindle colouring makes the goatee stand out, giving rather a comical effect for this little girl pup.

Patty may be small, but she is big on activity. She pounces and runs and plays at superspeed. And she is fearless. Most of the pups, when first taken outside, crouch in the grass afraid to move. Not our Patty - she immediately bounced around on all fours like a little wind-up toy dog, and her whole demeanor expressed pure joy.

And can she ever run!!! She races from one side of the yard to the other, as fast as any big dog could run. Trying to get a photo of her in the yard was next to impossible as she was sure we were playing a game of tag and she was IT. I ran to the other side of the yard to try to get a body shot and she came barrelling after me as fast as those little legs could go. Sometimes, just before racing toward me, she stands with all four feet firmly planted and her chest expanded, a little bull in doggy skin about to charge her toreador. But before I can focus the camera, the charge is on!

In the house, she is just the same - busy, busy, busy and always up for a game of tag or wrestling or touch football with her much bigger brothers. However, she also enjoys having one-on-one time with her two-legged caregivers, sitting nicely in a lap and appreciating strokes and bellyrubs. When returned to the pen, she often stands up at the gate crying for me to come back and pick her up again. But she is soon distracted by her siblings and off she goes for another round of play.

This social butterfly will likely do best with either an at-home caregiver or another animal for company. Patty, dressed in her pale pink collar, just wants to party, and everyone's invited.

Here I comes!

Short little legs

I kin take on de world!

Mah feets got wet in the grass!

Patty in the basket

Could you pick me up, pwease????

(Patty is one of ten pups I am fostering for the Cowichan and District SPCA. Each is being featured in a separate blog entry. The pups and their mama, Lucy, will be available for adoption shortly. All applications should go to the Cowichan and District SPCA. More information on Lucy and the pups can be found by reading the past two months' blog entries - starting September 11/2010 for Lucy, and October 1/2010 for the pups. If you are considering adopting Lucy, feel free to email me with any questions you have about her personality and behaviour, using the link on the side of this blog.)