Llama Drama

Llama Drama: A Piper the Cairn Story

I am turning out to be a very bad blogger. In my defense all I can say is that I often bite off more than I can chew and in this case setting up the expectation of blogging weekly choked the proverbial horse. As always, I promise to do better- to provide more regular book reviews and musings..  maybe even a list of 'what I read this week' would be better than nothing. I am all about making amends and so, in keeping with the original intent of this blog to be not just about books, but also about the life of a bookseller, I'm going to share with you the story of Piper and her Llama.

Piper at the end of a long hard day

 

as a bookstore dog

In early December, on a trip to the mountains, I purchased a fluffy, adorable stuffed animal at Mast General Store in Valle Crucis. It was a beautiful white llama with a multicolored and tasseled halter; a perfect gift for the upcoming grandchild of a dear, dear friend. Several weeks later, I tucked the llama and a book about a baby llama in a gift bag and set it on the bench by the back door; I delivered the baby present a few days later and as I slid the bag across the table to my friend, I suddenly wondered 'why is this bag so light? and where is the little llama head popping out of the tissue paper?'

Backstory: ten years ago my kids and I adopted Piper, a one year old Cairn Terrier, through a NC prison program called New Leash on Life. Piper had been picked up as a stray and ended up at the Craven County Correctional Facility for eight weeks where she had 24 hour, one on one training with her inmate, Joe. Piper has been a member of our family ever since and if you don't know anything about Cairns, let me be the first to tell you: they are smart. Very smart. To while away the hours and combat boredom, they will create games and tasks for themselves. They are also independent and quite stubborn. And they are the best dog breed. Ever. Seriously, my children BEG me to clone this dog.

I went home from my friend's house, knowing that Piper had probably pulled that llama out of the bag and hidden it as she is wont to do with toys, random bags of snacks, the occasional bra, etc. We looked all over the house in the usual spots: under couch pillows, behind chair cushions, in the blanket bin. Nothing. We looked out to her fenced in back yard. It is not uncommon to be doing yard work and find buried under a bush an old, mildewed bag of pretzels. Note: it is also not uncommon to come home from work one day and begin finding one mini pretzel in the shower, another under the tv, two or three under a pillow, I've even found stolen snacks buried on the bottom of a perfectly folded basket of laundry. She never eats said snacks, just hides them individually around the house and then buries the bag. A tell tale sign that she has been up to this favorite pastime are crumbs around the dog door. She often lets some time pass, then unburies the now soggy, moldy bag and brings it back inside, this time the tip-off being a bunch of sand and dirt around the dog door. We looked under bushes, stairs nothing. The Case of the Missing Llama continued...

Shamed on social media but she don't care.

..until I looked out a window a month later and saw her standing on the edge of the fire pit, looking back to the house almost as if to see if anyone was looking. We have upon occasion found things buried in the fire pit, but I had checked it more than once and nada. Out I went to check again,  by then she had gotten into the fire pit, started digging and lo and behold, there was the llama. A filthy, ash encrusted, sandy, wet llama. I immediately dog shamed her on Facebook... she didn't give a *&%$. I found another stuffed animal for my friend's grandchild and turned the care of the llama over to Piper.

llamas sure were early this year!

one of my favorites!

That dog has never been much for dog toys but does she llove to bury that llama. Unfortunately, she also likes to unbury it and bring it inside dirt and all to hide again. I'm working with her on that. I have to say it was entertaining to look out in the midst of winter and see popping up out of a flower pot her first crop of llama. Most recently she buried the llama headfirst by the back steps.. two days later it was residing in a recently planted flower pot. I've given up for the most part, and unless the llama is trying to share space with newly planted radish seeds or a pot of thyme I llive and let llama. And Piper llives to llama another day.

NOT IN THE POTS!!!

 NOTE: no actual llamas were harmed, buried or hidden during this blog.All references to llamas are purely stuffed. All photos are completely untouched and the canine gardener was unassisted at all times.