Dogs in the village

Mr. Jim's dog - Obie hanging out as far as his rope
will let him.  This is one of his favorite places to be.

I really should have written about dogs in the village much earlier since they do rival people in numbers here.   They come in all colors and sizes but I think that, much like most of the people in the village are related, the dog's relationships could all be charted to reveal they too are almost all related to one another.  Most of our furry friends roam the village freely so I feel like I've gotten to know them as well as many of the people here.  During our first days here, a black lab type dog and spotted puppy welcomed us and walked with us up the trails.  He's since greeted us several times on our way to school and gave us a moment of concern and amusement as he and another dog chased a bear into the woods and quickly came rolling back out.  Both dogs now have a couple scars on their faces from the adventure, but seem to think it was well worth it.  With tough dogs like these, one would assume little dogs wouldn't stand a chance at survival in this place, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.  We are usually chased by a family of Dachshunds whenever we pass Father's house.  I've counted at least five different Dachshunds and am sure they've fathered a few children judging by the unusually long torsos on some of the other dogs running around the village.  I'm also always amused by one feisty and very pampered little dog who rides her owner's Honda everywhere.  I've seen her go after some of the many black lab type dogs despite the fact she's barely higher than their knees, which I find ironic considering she spent most of the winter sporting a fuzzy lined, pink coat all winter.  The dogs personalities are as varied as they're owners (and I'm sure far more varied than their gene pool), but they've all been entertaining, and given my many smiles.  I've got some pictures of a few below.

Little Miss Feisty and Papmered - she's a cutie and
very friendly to people, but doesn't get pushed around by
any dog, she's usually doing the pushing.

Our neighbor mama dog with her cutie-pie puppies.

One of Father's Dachsunds giving our bear chaser - who is
half wolf and huge - a good barking over for being in his yard.