Little Big Girl

Daisy is now one year old! That makes her officially a big girl, even though she’s still a titch – especially when she’s viewed alongside The Monkulus.

She still embarrasses us on walks by squeaking and throwing herself onto her side when she wants to meet another dog or humie, and that combined with her compact proportions often cause her to be mistaken for a very young pup. I suspect that will continue for some time to come; Beanie was still getting mistaken for a pup at 14 years old! Interestingly, the same people who say “Aww, is that a new puppy?” often also say “and is that the Mum?” in reference to Monkey, even though he’s still in full possession of his naughty bits.

It might be wishful thinking, but I see elements of all three of our other Beagles in Daisy. Like Poppy, she’s an incredibly cuddly little girl who will happily lie on her back in our arms while we tickle her tummy, and if she wants to go through a doorway, she’s so small and fast that it’s almost impossible to stop her – another Poppy trait. Leave your cup unguarded for a second and Daisy’s snout will be in it, slurping up the remains just as Beanie used to do, and she’ll shamelessly vacuum up crumbs for our clothes like Beanie too. Despite never meeting Biggles, Daisy has inherited the role of Chief Gobhead from him; it’s common to see her perched on the sofa by the window, laying down the law to binmen, delivery folk and any neighbor who has the temerity to take their own dog for a walk. In fact she’s such a vocal little girl I often imagine her as a Beagle drill-rapper called “DayZee”, telling it how it is on the street in London and Chicago. In recent weeks she’s taken to boinging at mealtimes – another Biggles speciality – though her small stature prevents her from being a headbutt risk.

In some ways Daisy’s a very cheeky and forceful little girl; if she wants to probe your pockets, be prepared to push her away quite firmly ten or more times before she gets the “no” message, and at many points in each day Monkey follows her lead, not the other way about. For all that, she can also be remarkably biddable. I guess what I’m saying here is that she’s a spoiled little madam who knows that in order to get away with the more outrageous and demanding stuff, she has to do the cute and adorable stuff too. That again is classic Beanie, and I’m a sucker for it!

Some more recent shots:

A birthday pupcake for our little big girl

And of course there’s one for Monkey as well!

Monkey lets Daisy have the driving seat for most things, but not toys! He claimed first dibs on the squeaky lion that was intended for Daisy.

But then the green dinosaur caught his eye, and a swap was arranged.

Spring is nearly here…

The daffodils are showing…

And the new deck is finally approaching completion…

..though Monkey and Daisy are pretty sure it’s still missing a major component, like a surface to walk on!

Monkey’s fetch skills are undiminished several months of hibernation

Now that Daisy’s officially a big girl, maybe she can learn fetch too!