He’s happy, really, he is.

I have a new house sitter. She’s wonderful with the animals, but not too sure of Fonzi. He’s a bit of an odd duck. Most of my zoi talk, either a little or a lot. They roo, bow, bounce and wag. Fonzi does not roo. His communication is, well, weird. He does bark, but instead of rooing, he growls. Not an aggressive growl, it seems that it’s the only noise he makes besides a bark. It’s so odd to see him happy and wagging with his tongue hanging out and boinging at the gate, and then you hear this low, almost inaudible growl. If I talk to him it gets louder and he bounces higher and higher, wagging his tail so hard I am sure it will fall off. It took me a long time to figure out that this was not aggression, but rather his means of communication. Just like my cat Velcro, who can only make a sound like a hiss (he has no meow, and not a mean bone in his body), apparently Fonzi only has two modes of talking…….growling (which is reserved for friendly situations), and barking (which is reserved for either warning situations or when there is a varmint about). I guess in his case the growling is a replacement for rooing. Maybe a roo is beneath him. He loves everyone, and he shows it. I just wish he would talk like a normal Borzoi, but somehow, I dont’ think that is ever going to happen. I love him all the same.

On another note, we will soon be headed west again to meet up with JR. Colleen is coming down, I will be taking three or four. She will get some time in the slips, and a couple new dogs will get to test the wiles of the whitetail.