Awwww . . . thanks, Debi! This should make you laugh - I sure laughed about it. Shiva's always doing something that makes me smile. She's such an exceptionally sweet creature and is so focused on pleasing us.
I heard a small commotion this morning; some growling and a few excited barks - no yelps, so I didn't think too much of it, probably just Shiva and Kharma wrestling again, so I finished getting ready to go up to the courthouse in Scott County - the ends of the earth - to work on a couple of projects.
I heard Shiva thumping around in the living room, so I checked to see what she was into. Lo and Behold! She'd brought in a monster of a groundhog. There she stood, head held high, tail up and wagging slowly, forehead all wrinkled up, head cocked sideways, with this giant rodent in her mouth! In the middle of the living room!
Oh, Shiva was sooooo proud! Bimmer stood just behind her, beaming from ear to ear. He's spent so much time with the girls, teaching them the niceties of the hunt, and he's so proud of their accomplishments.
Kharma was lurking, trying to hide in the grass, biding her time and hoping for a chance to snatch Shiva's breakfast.
I really needed to get going. Scott County's an hour and a half away, but I just didn't have the heart to make Shiva leave her prize, and Bimmer's drummed it into their heads that you eat what you kill. He's also taught them that you don't try to eat HIS kill, but that's a whole 'nother story! Anyway, I told her to take it outside; she wagged her tail and backed out the front door, holding her prize high, and I ended up waiting for another 45 minutes. It gave Shiva long enough to have a nice (?) leisurely breakfast, and she was just superb about leaving it and coming in when I called her.
She's finished it up this evening, leaving just the pelt, which she's brought into the house three times now. She brings it in, lays it on the floor, then looks at us as if to ask permission. We tell her to take it back outside and she picks it back up, turns and takes it back out onto the front stoop.
What a dog!