I have many things I want to write about so I narrowed it down to something simple. Let's start with the newest member of the Nelson family.
Shortly after we moved to Leona we were hanging out at Joe’s house (he’s our pastor and neighbor) and on the way home we found his beagle cornering a kitty. We took the kitty and put it on our backyard so it would be safe from the dog. The next day the kitty was in our back porch and would not leave. Chris (who “doesn’t” like cats) said “We should get him some food”. So, we did. A few days later he said “We should call him Charlie”. And so it began. We got a second pet. An outside cat named Charlie who climbs trees, plays with lizards and tries to make friends with our Chihuahua Tinai.
The first several weeks of having Charlie were a bit difficult for one reason: Ringo.
Ringo is the dog that originally cornered Charlie and would continually harass him. Ringo knows how to get into our backyard by opening the gate or getting under the house (it’s on stilts). So everyday Charlie would be hanging out and Ringo would get in, corner him and bark until I came out there and brought Charlie into the laundry room. (NOTE: We cannot have an indoor cat because many of our family members are allergic and they could never come visit) So, this ritual went on for several weeks. One day we were in the front yard and both Tinai and Charlie were with us. I saw Ringo coming so I put Charlie in the backyard. Charlie got out and followed me. The next thing I know Ringo makes a mad-dash for Charlie and when he gets to him, he is greeted by a swat in the face. It was fantastic. All of a sudden Charlie showed him who was boss and it was over after that.
Charlie, Ringo and Dash (Joe’s other dog) became friends. It was like a Disney movie happening in our backyard. Dash and Charlie are best friends, and Ringo just tolerated them. Everyday Charlie comes to my house during the day. At lunch time I feed him and play with him. During the evenings when the Dacus family comes home (Joe and his family) he goes over there to play with the kids and sleeps on their porch with Dash. On cold nights Charlie comes inside and sleeps in the laundry room but is itching to get out as soon as morning comes.
On a sad note for several weeks now Ringo has been missing. We’re not sure where he is but we pray that he found a new home. Dash and Charlie are even closer now since they only have each other. The last thing I leave you with is the following pictures. This is what it looks like when Dash and Charlie play together. It scared me the first time I saw it but now I know it’s all good. Enjoy!
Charlie and Dash say hello!
Dash lets Charlie know he wants to play.
He swallows his head...for the fun of it!
And then drags him off to find a new place to play.
And when they're all tuckered out.....they cuddle.