Our friend Lindi Black has a spot of land down near Ferris and on that land Lindi has some animals, e-i-e-i-OH!!!
There's a cluck cluck here, an oink oink there, etc., just like on Old MacDonald's Farm. In fact one animal -- the one thatt goes "bark bark" -- is available for adoption: Oscar the dog.
Lindi has managed to snap a photo that certainly deserves spotlighting in our weekly Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap feature.
And, yes, there's a sleeping dog in the photo, though it might take two glances to spot Oscar snuggled in with the piglets. He's the one in the red collar. The piglets had shed their Pig Pajamas for the photo shoot-- they were under the mistaken impression this photo was for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and everybody knows pigs love skinny dipping.
As you may suspect, Lindi and her daughter, Sara, are animal nuts. We've known them for years and the parade of rescued and "acquired" (as in "somebody gave me this dog") critters has been like watching Noah load the Ark. Mules, pigs, horses, cows, ducks, chicks, cats, etc. (By the way, Lindi's farm produces vine-ripened eggs and fresh-off-the-hoof peaches...Wait. Let me check that. Not having been raised on a farm, I may have some of that wrong...I'm kidding. I know eggs don't come off a vine -- they're plucked off Yolk Shrubs.)
Enough of that. Lindi also works with Animal Rescue Friends -- ARF! -- in Ferris and the group's goal is to save critters that wind up in dire straits either in the local animal shelter or just on the side of the road. (Click here.)
Now, as people in rescue know, all dogs don't come from the puppy farm -- just as all kittens are not delivered in cardboard boxes by UPS, though I'm sure that happens now and then.
Oscar the dog, Lindi says, "got his name from the fact that some nice lady found him in a dumpster at about 2 weeks of age." He's named for Oscar, the Sesame Street trash can-dwelling character. (That's Sara holding Oscar the young puppy aloft for a mugshot.)
"I took Oscar in, bottle fed him, carried him around with me for weeks, and as you can see, he is doing great," Lindi says.
Now nearly three months old, he's had two sets of puppy shots, is crate-trained and is working on other "manners."
"We think that he is a lab mix," Lindi says. "He has been raised around the various animals here -- dogs, cats, horses, sheep, etc., and, of course, piggies.
"He's a wonderful little dog with a great personality. I now have another rescue which I got at one day of age and I have GOT to find Oscar a home even though it will break my heart to let him go." (If you are certain you can give Oscar the greatest home, call 214-251-5556 or e-mail http://[email protected].)
How did Oscar wind up sleeping with the piglets?
On a recent cold Sunday morning, Lindi says, Oscar "insisted on going to the barn with me ... and he decided that it was too cold, so he snuggled up with the piglets on their comforter under the heat lamp. Do you think other pig farmers provide such amenities for their animals?"
Probably not -- and I understand Lindi is having the barn wired for cable TV.
Well, folks, there you have it, a pup who sleeps with pigs. I'll bet if you adopted him, he'd lower his standards and, on a really cold night, be happy to snuggle up in bed with humans either with or without a heat lamp.
Remember, you, too, can have a sleeping critter featured in our weekly Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap feature. Send your nominees -- photo and info -- to [email protected]. Remember, this feature is dedicated to insomniacs -- if we could ever sleep, I'll bet we'd dream of taking naps.
