Mango Minster - Cabana the Working Stiff

For the first time, Cabana and I have decided to participate in Mango Minster. Being extremely slow on the uptake, it has taken me about 3 years to figure out that Mango Minster is a dog blog show and contest, put on by the Mango Momma, based on the Westminster Dog Show. As Mango himself would say, "Duh!"

I have entered Cabana in the Working Stiffs category. After all, she may have flunked out as a guide dog, but she still works hard for her keep! Over the holidays, Cabana was invaluable as a babysitter, or more specifically, a young boy sitter. My nephews, ages 8 and 5, came for a visit, and Cabana was in stellar working form, which will undoubtedly lead to inevitable questions from the boys about why can't get their own dog back home in Louisiana. Sorry, but that's what happens when you come to the home of the greatest working stiff dog in the world.

Here, Cabana lets the boys practice reading to her. Her previous experience as a certified therapy dog/reading buddy came in handy. See how intently Cabana checks for accuracy? Or maybe she's having a staring contest with the Angry Bird on my nephew's shirt.

Always one to set a good example, Cabana shows the boys how to pose for a photo. They copy her, down to the paws! Now if only Cabana could teach them how to eat their vegetables....

Playing follow the leader, Cabana makes sure to steer the boys down the straight and narrow path. Exercise and routine are sacrosanct, and house guests are no reason for skipping a morning walk, especially when the standard dog rule also applies here--namely, a tired boy is a good boy.

If dog tummies make good pillows, cousin tummies must make good pillows, too. As with most things in our house, Cabana is at the center of the fun. With a single move, she can recapture the attention from all those bleepity techno gadgets, like iPhones, iPads, Nintendos and xBoxes. Cabana holds her own against them all--and that's got to be the toughest job there is! Any creature that can accomplish that deserves a prize, wouldn't you agree?

Hope you'll wish us luck in the contest. Or better yet, why not enter, too? I hear there are going to be some great prizes!

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Baby Ana Gets Babysat by Cabana

I sometimes babysit my friend's 8-month old baby girl, Ana. It's a great baby fix for me, and Ana is adorable and incredibly easygoing. Usually, I go over to Ana's house, but this week, Ana came to our house.


Cabana LOVES it when Ana is here. Because Cabana is super excited for the first 10-15 minutes, I hold Ana up high to keep a bit of distance between them. But after the initial frenzy, Cabana calms down and becomes very gentle. She loves to sniff Ana's hair and face and feet and, of course, diaper. Luckily, Ana has dogs at her own house, so she's very comfortable about being sniffed. Ana laughs and rambles in her intelligible-only-to-her language and uses her forefinger and thumb to poke and explore Cabana's fur and paws.

This time, I needed to put Ana down for a nap. Since I didn't have a port-a-crib for her, and because she isn't mobile yet, I laid her down in the middle of my bed, with pillows all around her. I stayed with her until I was sure she was asleep, during which time Cabana invited herself up on the bed, too. She seemed to want to help with whatever responsibilities Ana's presence required. I guess I should have made her get down since I hadn't invited her, but she just curled herself up, out of the way, on the corner of the bed. Maybe she was trying to set a good example for Ana--"Look, Ana, this is how we take a nap!"

After Ana fell asleep, Cabana and I crept out of the room. I closed the door partially, leaving it ajar so I could easily hear Ana when she woke up. I went down the hall to do some work in my sewing room, but unusually, Cabana didn't come along with me! She has a dog bed in my sewing room and likes to hang out there. But this time, she just laid in the hallway in front of my bedroom door--for the next hour and a half, until Ana woke up. She's obviously taking her new role as a babysitter quite seriously!

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