Knee Deep In Corgis

It was that time of year again. When Max and Merlin's sister and cousin come to visit. This time, they brought along a friend. It was fascinating to see the variation in eye color - as rendered by my digital camera.

Emmy, sister to Max and Merlin, and owner of turquoise eyeballs.Maggie, cousin to the herd, and possessor of red-ringed golden orbs.
Friend/guest dog, Panzer, with those sparkling baby blues.


Merlin and Maximus did the yellow ghost eyeball thing. I think Merlin looks like Little Orphan Annie . . . .

Maggie and Panzer tried to use their freaky eyes to cage treats -

While Merlin kept watch over his Precious - all the lost bones and chewies the guests unearthed in the couch cushions, under the chair, behind the bookcase. All Merlin's best hiding places, compromised!

The code word "Treat" managed to get 3 out of 5's attention. Yes, those are Max's ears in the bottom of the picture. I guess he figured the closer he got to the camera, the better the treats would be.

Another use of the word Treat got even more results. Fine except I was trying to get everyone together to take a group picture. Corgis are not shy when it comes to food. They successfully got about as close as they could get without being in my pocket. (They were on my feet.)

This was the best I could do. 4 out of 5. Even the promise/threat of treats couldn't get them to all look at me at the same time. Mass dog photography is definitely a two person job. One to wave liver, and one to snap pics.

Surprisingly, there was little fuss over the bones and chewies. Probably because there was enough for everyone to have several. Toss in a couple of treat cubes, and they were happy campers for the duration.

And Anubis? He was less than thrilled with all the company, but strolled among the herd with impunity.

I'm sure his Dawn of the Dead/Vampire Kitteh impersonation had a lot to do with the respect the dogs gave him. Or maybe it's that, coupled with the left hook-right jab he's perfected to keep Max and Merlin in line. No one wants to mess with 12 pounds of annoyed cat highly skilled in the Death From Above maneuver - i.e. dropping from the top of two stacked kennel crates on to the back of his unsuspecting victim.

I'm glad cats provide their own amusement, but I think poor Panzer was glad to leave and return to slightly less chaotic surroundings. Merlin hid the Christmas hedgehog Panzer brought, and I have yet to find it. I'm thinking it's outside in a snowbank, because, in Merlin's line of thought, who would trudge out to the backyard and dig through drifts looking for a squeaky toy?

Besides me, that is . . . .