And what a group! They all get along surprisingly well, as this account will show...

 

Lila, my dog of many years, believes that she alone ought be the center of any attention given. But now she is graciously -- if reluctantly! -- learning to share the love. Magik, the new Chihuahua, is very happy to be here, and also very lucky to be alive, if not entirely well. We have discovered some of the reasons he may have been given up by two previous families: he has some challenging health issues which, nonetheless, do not usually dampen in any way his apparently irrepressible enthusiasm to play with any thing mammalian. He cannot always walk straight or remain upright, but he is incredibly sweet as he spins his little gleeful circles, all the while untiringly trying to affectionately "bump" you with his behind, then wagging excitedly, searching your face for whatever play he hopes to illicit with this technique.... Something better seen than described. Suffice to say it is abundantly comical.

 

Of course, Lila -- for her part -- also has long shown her affections oddly: Aside from hugging (no, not humping!) your leg -- even walking along with you down the hall, clinging to your thigh with her curved thumbnails -- she will lift her leg, in the male-dog "peeing" position, then assume a similar face as Magik's, hoping for whatever sweet smiles and cooing praises she can get for this wacky behavior. Of course, to the uninitiated, she typically strikes mostly fear in the objects of her affection. Many a house-guest has lurched backward, crying, "Your dog is PEEING on me!" "No," we explain," she doesn't pee that way. She's female...she only squats to pee. We really have no idea why, but this means she likes you very much." If allowed to, Lila will assume that pose, then maintain it for many minutes at a time, carefully balancing on three legs while craning her neck around to gaze up at you, kicking the elevated leg slightly for added effect. It's hysterical, and again, better seen that explained.

 

The sign that Lila is beginning to accept Magik as part of the household is that she has begun to lift her leg on him in this way. She is a medium-sized dog, so the smaller Magik almost disappears under her when she does, he turning his little joyful turns, trying to whack Lila with his tiny behind. I hope to provide video soon, if only to prove that I am not making this up. The scene is nearly unbearably funny.

 

So, the other day, the tortoise showed up at the back Arcadia door, wanting in the house. This is a rarity for her, but maybe she's tired of the lonely back yard and its 110 degree heat. Of course, we let her in, then offered her some ripe cantaloupe.

 

As she is ate, I decided to acquaint her with the new dove, and vice versa. The dove (who has grown quite accustomed to preferring to sit on some part of my body, and also to come promptly when I whistle at her in the little baby-dove whistle I learned form none other than her)  had no issue whatsoever with standing on the tortoise's carapace, where I placed her just for fun. She watched attentively as the tortoise devoured the cantaloupe slices, and even stayed there for a minute or two when it moved to explore the house. (This I can verify...I have posted a photo at my Animal Pics page at this site.)

 

Then, as if this were not enough, a couple of days later the tortoise showed up around the same time of day, only this time banging at the glass door, wanting in. When opened, she hurried across the threshold (inasmuch as a tortoise can "hurry") and soon began making the rounds of the main room.

 

Meanwhile, Magik napped on a nearby pillow on the floor. But when the tortoise came to join him on that pillow, slowly lumbering up one leg at a time, the dog decided to observe this procession from some comfortable distance.

 

We all watched, rather amazed, to see the dove -- who herself had been foraging on the floor by the door -- now following the turtle every step of the way, just a few inches behind! When the tortoise mounted the pillow, the dove came right along. And, on top of that, she then hopped directly onto the tortoise's back and continued to forage, presumably this time for tiny morsels of dirt the tortoise seems always to carry around between the plates of her shell.

 

For the full two days that tortoise slept, burrowed into my closet, the dove continued to have lots of play time on the floor, coming always when I whistle, and more often when I have done nothing at all. Though she can fly across the room to land on my shoulder, when I take her outside to sun on the porch each day, she does not even think of flying away. Rather, she comes close when anything frightens her and readily mounts my finger for the trip back inside with no fuss whatsoever.

 

Because of the intimacy and proximity with these crazy creatures, I might otherwise say our house has become a zoo..but really, it is so much more amusing than that!