How Humiliating

Indy comes with me to the barn on a regular basis. During nice weather, I cable him to the picnic table and provide him with a bucket of water. He can choose sun or shade as he waits for me to finish playing with Phantom. During our dreary, wet, and muddy winters, however; Indy waits for me in his crate in the tack room. I know he is safe there, and he quickly settles down for a nap while I groom and ride.

Mufasa and Scar, our newest additions to the Critter Control Staff, are fascinated by the "dog in a box." The first time they observed Indy enter the crate, they stood on their hind legs to peek in from the sides, and then jumped on top to peer at him upside down.

How humiliating!

But wait...it gets worse. When winter arrives I bring to the barn the gray fleece cooler that covers Phantom from ears to tail. I toss it on my sweaty pony following my ride after I remove his tack. I then let Phantom glean the barn aisles or free graze outside while I put things away and record our ride in my journal. Once Phantom is returned to the paddock in his turnout blanket, I either toss the cooler loosely folded atop my saddle on the rack in the tack room, or bundle it up and place it atop Indy's crate. Instant kitty bed!!

Even more humiliating!!

Whenever Mufasa and Scar have access to the tack room in the little barn, they curl up on my cooler on top of the crate -- individually or curled around each other like a feline Mobius strip. Indy's presence does not deter them (after all, he is the Fluffy Puppy and intimidated by the hissing kitties). So now it has become a common site to see Indy snoozing in his crate with an orange kitty or two napping overhead.

Cute.

But oh so embarrassing. So please don't tell the Canine Union about this!!