The dogs of Almost Heaven Ranch show off their happy feet

February 6, 2011

Sometimes, this veterinarian is a little bit of a hypocrite.

I’ve been on TV telling pet owners that live in colder climates to keep the hair trimmed between their dogs’ toes so that they don’t get ice balls or soak up salty brine off of the sidewalks and irritate their feet.

It’s good advice, but the truth is, some winters we trim the hair on Quixote’s feet and other times like this year we’re letting it grow out. Why? Because we love what Teresa calls his “furry slippers.”

Quora, on the other hand, has two Ticonderoga #2 pencils for legs, and stands digitigrade (only digits on the ground) like Natalie Portman en pointe in “The Black Swan.”

But just because she stands like a ballerina, don’t think Quora’s a softy.

We live in the wilds of Northern Idaho and have both wolves and coyotes as neighbors. Rather than have a flock guard dog like a Great Pyrenees, Komondor or Anatolian Shepherd, we use Quora as a lethal deterrent. Facing her in her pink outfit, the feared predators would die laughing!

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