FIONA'S BIRTHDAY

My Fiona Rose Blossom is 8 years old today. She is my oldest Scottie who was old when she was born. Yes, she is a wee bit of a crusty soul from the moment we brought her into the house. I have pictures of her from the very first hour she was born & have loved this wee girl for all the 8 years she's been in my life. Fiona is my 3rd Scottie. Back in 1999, I found out my first Scottie, FalaPink, had cancer. My second Scottie, SkyeBlue, could not survive if she was left without a canine pal. She had separation anxiety really bad not for me, but for him. Plus also that Summer, we were robbed when I was upstairs sleeping with both Fala & Skye snoozing next to me. So I was determined to get another Scottie who could be Skye's pal and at least wake up if someone tried to get into the house. She was so full of energy when we got her & OH YES! that dog could bark. When I asked the breeder about Fiona's barking she laughed & told me that was why she was so darn happy to get rid of that pup. Yeppers, Fiona barked. She barked at the cars coming down the road, she barked at the kids playing in the field, she barked at the leaves falling from the tree. Matter of Fact, I told people that if she heard an ant a mile away pass gas, she' come running barking to let me know.

Fiona is a beautiful wheaten color Scottie. At that time, I actually thought about showing her. She loved all the attention with grooming, but get her out in public especially in a ring & that ears go down, tail between the leg, nope! I ain't goin' strut anything. So, no career as a show girl for her. I then decided to breed her as she has a lovely pedigree & is in wonderful health. I studied for a year all the books, talked to breeders, actually got sanctioned as a mentored breeder. Had one litter of puppies, and Fiona hated it. I had to make her sleep with her puppies for the first 3 days. She wanted to sleep upstairs with me and barked all the time whining about having to stay in the whelping box with those puppies. Finally she did become maternal, but just when we the puppies were weened, she wanted nothing to do with them. I could see her holding up her paw & telling them...talk to the paw! Thank god, Skye jumped in & became a surrogate Mom or else I would have gone out of my mind with 4 wild Scottie puppies. To make Fiona happy, I had her neutered. No sense making her do something she didn't want to do.

Fiona likes to be alone most of the time. I think she would have been a wonderful only dog. She does play with Frodo & Arwen, but only on her terms and then only for a couple minutes before she takes off to do her own thing. She always waits for me on the stairs sticking her head out waiting for "the stair love" before I let the other two out of their crates. She LOVES BRUSHING. I swear, but she'd rather be brushed than get a cookie. She's slowing down & does sleep a lot. She's still healthy and loves to take long walks that is after she's bitten my foot when I put the leash on her. Oh yeah, she's chewed up about every pair of shoes I own. But I love her so much.

This morning after "stair love", I pulled out the brush and before I went to bed we had a 15 minute brushing session. Now that I'm up, I'm going out to PetSmart to get her some of that new soft Beneful, a cup of Frosty Paws, and a new toy for her birthday. I know. I spoil her so much.

About is a picture of her first birthday. Yes, I actually had a cake made for her & had guest over!