Helpful Citizen Canine

I intended to blog about a helpful service that Dieter is providing in our backyard. But first, I need to vent. He's now sitting in his cage and whimpering and carrying on. Earlier, he was an absolute wacko when Lloyd's two brothers and sister-in-law came over. For now, I'm letting Dieter play the "puppy card" as a bit of an excuse--all those who firsthand witnessed his exuberance today said "He's a pup yet."  But you'd think this dog has never met another human being before. "Oh boy, new people. I must leap around like a Baryshnikov with fur and claws and teeth." Poor Karen has claw marks on her arms now. In spite of that, she still gave Dieter a new toy--a flying pig. I must go back and consult our homework assignments and see what we're doing wrong. A large, jumping puppy is a bit off-putting. We need to work on calm and collected. Oh, and needless to say he's still not listening when we tell him "off." It seems Dieter no longer understands English; however, we don't know what his preferred language is.

Dieter fur in use. And how we harvest it (below).

As for the service Dieter is providing: He is selflessly giving of his own fur so that baby birds can stay safe and warm. He's really shedding now, and so every handful of Dieter fur--or "bird fur," as I call it--that I harvest goes out into a suet holder I use for nesting materials. Sure enough, not too long ago I saw a tuft of Dieter's golden-red fur poking out of the opening of a bird house I have hanging in the cherry tree.

Dieter says he's happy to oblige with the fur donations. As the weather continues to warm up, he's thinking this fur coat he's wearing is going to be a bit uncomfortable.

Dieter fur in waiting.