Although the two week sleep-over came to and end yesterday Kali has pretty much been sleeping since Piper left.

It was great having Pipes ‘O Peace” hang out with us for the past two weeks.  Kali had a lot of fun and was far more active than she usually is.  Kali proved to us, as we knew in our hearts,  that she can be a great companion and housemate for any dog given a little time to realize that dog is not a threat but actually a friend.

[Cue Randy Newman’s ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me]

As the days passed Piper became increasingly confident and comfortable in her new temporary surroundings taking lots of time to explore the house and yard on her own.  It was great fun watching Kali and Piper wrestle even if at times Kali was a reluctant participant.  With Kali at six years old and Piper at one there is quite an energy gap especially when considering Kali’s ultra laid back temperament and Piper’s tireless demeanor typical of her Australian Shepherd breed.

Piper was ready to rumble at moments notice.  If Piper was like the late wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, then Kali was like Mohammed Ali (the greatest boxer of all time).  Ali would use his famous “rope-a-dope” technique designed to get his opponent to punch themselves out while he rested along the ropes and covered his face and body with his arms.  Sorry for the mixed analogy of wrestling and Boxing but hopefully you get the picture.  When Kali had enough she would let Piper know by using her own version of rope-a-dope leveraging her weight advantage to hold Piper down with her legs and body or let Piper run circles around her while she remained in one place watching and resting.  Eventually there would be enough hair flying around the room that Holly or I would ring the figurative bell and send them to their respective corners until the next round.  Which of course never began too soon for Piper.

Rope-a-dope with Ali covering up while he let’s George Forman punch himself out

Kali, Holly, and I took an extra long walk this morning and as much as Kali seemed to enjoy having a canine companion the past two weeks she seemed to appreciate her time alone with us.  It reminded me of kids having a cousin or best friend over for several days and how old toys and games seemed new again and how everything that was normal was all of a sudden special because of sharing it with someone who isn’t around too often.  But then when that cousin or close friend went home it felt good to get back to “normal” and now you appreciated the routine that just a couple of weeks ago seemed boring.

It was a great two weeks and of course I took a gazillion photos of Piper and Kali.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Piper Day 1 a little shy and apprehensive ran onto the couch to get away from Kali

Hanging out along the creek trail

Temporary office staff

Are you ready to rumble?…

Nap Time (take your corners)

But wait there’s more…  Piper is due back this afternoon because Steph and Dillip need to pick up her crate.  And when Piper comes in the house I won’t be surprised to hear her say, “Hey Kali, ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE??….”.  And as pooped out as Kali may be I’m pretty sure she’ll be ready to answer the bell.