Puppies! and some of the other feral dogs in the neighbourhood.

There are two feral dog packs in our neighbourhood; one in our village and another one in the village which borders ours.  Like wild packs there are disagreements between the two groups and fights break out.  The dogs below all belong to our village's pack.  Currently there are at least 12 dogs in this pack plus the puppies.  The dogs are territorial and not too choosey about what they eat.  They can all climb and jump. (Of course the names are what we call them so we can tell them apart.)

This is JW. She came to the village in the fall of 2013.  She has a blue ear tag, which I am guessing means she is spayed.  She has claimed our yard as her own.  She climbs the fence from the neighbour's yard to get into ours.  When the weather was so cold two weeks ago she began sleeping on the deck.  I added a tarp for insulation and put the rug she'd claimed on top.  She is very territorial and barks at other dogs who come around.  If I walk in our own village she will go with me, but if I walk in the village next door she turns around at the bridge. Yes I've been feeding her regularly for the last month or so, but as more people return to the village that will come to an end.  My next door neighbour will not appreciate her.

This dog arrived in the village the same day as JW.  He also sports an ear tag.  This is the first time I've seen him in at least a month.  A lot of the dogs in both villages seem to have mange or some other skin condition.  He looked quite miserable yesterday.

From left to right Lloyd (big and not too bright Other dogs don't really seem to like him.), Gimpy (Alpha), Mutt and Jeff (siblings perhaps - always together and lately always with Gimpy). Many dogs have an injury to their back leg or hip as a result of fights, Gimpy is one of those.  Gimpy has been here since we first arrived in December 2011.  Gimpy, Mutt and Jeff have claimed a yard in our village and act quite aggressively when anyone comes near.

Nicole, Sam and I found these pups (2/3 pictured) a couple of days ago.  Their mom and dad were hanging around, but when Sam and I went back for pictures yesterday, their parents were no where to be seen. Their mom is a skeleton, but they seem well fed. Their dad is enormous - probably the biggest/heaviest dog in the village. At the place where we first saw the pups, we also saw 11 cats. ELEVEN!

Puppies

Puppy

Sausage has been in the village for about 18 months.

Number of ... Random Math

Number of dead dogs I saw today?     Two - bleh 

Number of cups of Turkish tea I drank today?     Two

Number of pencils I bought today?     Twelve in neon colours (no more "I can't find my pencil!" from the  kids.)

Number of conversations I had in Turkish?      Three If you count the cashier who exclaimed over the number of pencils I bought and the bus driver.

Number of times I thought I was going to be run over?     Five at least.  I've completely forgotten how to navigate on foot in Turkish traffic.  

Number of Italians I met today?     One

Number of meals I cooked?     None (thanks, Johanna)

All Critters Great and Small

"Alexander Beetle" or one of his small relatives?  The bugs are back. Today I saw this fellow, a lady bug, a wasp, and a mosquito.

Beetle vs Cats

Cats ready for their close up - Nicole has her lens trained on them.

Can you count to 9?

These two sit on the window ledge and watch me make supper!

Sausage is new to the neighborhood.  When he first arrived he was barrel shaped. (hence the name)  He's lost lots of weight.  We think he was a drop off or left behind by one of the summer residents. He follows us on our walks and greets us like old friends.