"All Things Ellie" Tuesday -- Other Animals

 Of the fun things with Ellie is to watch how she responds to other animals.  We have many feral cats in our neighborhood, and she usually responds as you would expect.  However, the more she sees each one of them, the less she reacts to them.

One spring, we hiked part of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Abingdon, VA.  This particular part of the trail had a good bit of farmland.  At one point, we passed some grazing cows.  There was a bench across the trail, so we took that opportunity for a water break.

Ellie wanted to see the cows. As we sat on a bench, she didn't take her eyes off them. I truly believe if I had dropped the leash, she would have been at that fence in a second.

The next day, while continuing our hike on the "Creeper", we again encountered cows and Ellie didn't even turn her head to give them a look.   This was a very different reaction to what she had to the horses.

The Virginia Creeper is not only a very popular trail for hikers, but bikers and equestrians utilize this trail as well.  Ellie seemed totally shocked by the horses.  I couldn't tell if she wasn't frightened at all or was so frightened she couldn't even move.  Maybe she was thinking, "Those are the biggest dogs I have ever seen.  And the humans are riding them!"

I kept her as far away from the horses as I could because I didn't know how she would respond to them up close.  As it turned out, when they passed us on the trail, she did very well.

Ellie has some other animal friends, too.  One day, she was smelling around under the bushes by the house and became very excited.  I looked under the bushes and saw a turtle.  At that point in my life, I knew almost nothing about turtles.  I certainly didn't know that this particular turtle was going to be a beloved part of our lives.  I also didn't know I was to write four children's books about his relationship to Ellie! (The fourth is not yet finished.)  I didn't know that each morning would begin with Ellie looking for Percival (as we call him) and even feeding him.

Next Tuesday, I will introduce you to Percival and share more about his unique relationship with Ellie and with us.