Last, but not smallest

Currently the Suburban Ranch is home to two parents, two kids, two cats, and two dogs.  The girls do out number the boys--as The Girl and I are joined by Alice the Cat, Indy the Dog, and Liberty the Dog.  And let's face it, Tigger is pretty girly...
Ever since we realized that Indy is clearly not a St. Bernard or Bernese Mountain Dog we have talked about getting a "real, big dog".  Well, Mr. Ranch has talked, I've mostly "umm, hummed".  Last summer, Mr. Ranch discovered the Colorado St. Bernard Rescue and spent the summer finding the perfect dog for us.  In August a young (between 12 and 18 months) St. Bernard became available.  I was convinced that Indy, being a dominant female, would hate her...but they surprisingly became almost immediate friends and the rest, as they say, is history.
Liberty has some quirky behaviors for a Saint...for example, she likes to run.  And jump.  And leap.  The other day I watched her run down the stairs and leap from about 8 stairs up, easily clearing the baby gate at the bottom and continuing her sprint through the living room without ever breaking stride.  She also also the world's largest and most stubborn toddler...the last time I took her to the kennel she refused to go in.  Just sat down in the parking lot.  The groomer came out and carried her in.  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She is a good companion for Indy though--we had to convince Indy to stop chewing on her ears though...Indy's fungus saliva apparently caused an ear infection.  (Ick...have you ever tried to put ear drops in a 110 lb toddler's ears?)  Liberty is very protective of Indy, except for when she is dragging her around the kitchen by her tail.  They seem to be typical siblings.
Liberty's most entertaining trait has to be her fear of cats.  For the first several months she lived with us all we had to do was pick up Alice the Cat and hold her in front of Liberty to inspire full-fledged panic and hiding under the couch.  (Of course, that is quite often my reaction to Alice the Cat, so maybe not so quirky after all)

 For a "shelter dog, she has been remarkably good with the kids and other pets.  You can see in the pictures above how scrawny she was--the picture below was this week--she isn't chubby, but certainly looks healthier.

 We have a bad habit of fattening up shelter pets, so we're feeling pretty good about her being a "healthy size".

In other news, since school started for me on the 19th, I guess the daily posts might start slacking off.  Or not, school is always interesting.  I wonder if I have to create code names for all my students and co-workers too?  Sigh..