Anya the Nanny

Tango is growing. Two weeks ago he weighed 12 pounds; yesterday he was up to 16 pounds. And his ribs still feel like a washboard. I think he might be 2 or 3 inches taller.

Here are two photos, for comparison.

Tango and Anya, Day 2


Tango and Anya, Day 21


This morning when I went to the back door to let them inside, Anya was sitting patiently, just like in the photo above. A little distance behind Anya, Tango was also sitting patiently, also like the photo above. I don't know whether I believed that one dog could teach another, but I'm pretty sure that Tango did not teach himself to sit patiently like this!

Last night, after our long walk in Webster Park, Anya, Tango and I were really tired. (It's not clear whether exercise EVER makes Chuck tired.)

Eventually I gave up trying to do anything useful, and went into my recliner. For a while, I was reading, but the next thing I knew, Chuck was removing the book from my hands and saying, "Tango really wants to be on your lap." So he put Tango on my lap and Tango and I dozed there while Chuck worked on his mother's bills.

In the park, it was fun and interesting watching Anya with Tango. For one thing, she only runs as fast as he can run. She keeps him (mostly) about 6 inches from her tail. Once, when she misjudged, he got hold of her tail with his teeth and held on fiercely. Sometimes he get hold of her collar or her leash and tugs. It's cute, but Anya didn't like Tango's teeth holding onto her tail. I can't imagine why not!

Anyhow, Anya runs and runs, but just fast enough to challenge him. Then a larger dog comes along, in this case a 4 month old English Springer Spaniel, and Anya does two things: she guards Tango from the larger dog AND she turns on a bit more speed, to challenge the larger dog.

She still hasn't started to lope.

When she's going full out, I think she may cover 6 or 8 feet of ground between her feet touching down, and she looks like this long black dancer, much the way I imagine a panther running. A black streak that barely touches the ground.


Elaine is rearing one of Tango's cousins, without the benefit of a nanny-dog, and I think she is finding Pierre more work because she doesn't have a full-time Anya to watch over everything.